Best Stocks For 2015: April 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

eBay reports earnings loss on tax charge

SAN FRANCISCO — Online marketplace operator eBay reported a first-quarter loss of $2.3 billion Tuesday due to a tax charge on foreign earnings.

Wall Street had expected the company to report earnings of 67 cents per share excluding the charge. It reported slightly over that, at 70 cents per share.

Shares fell 4.02% in after hours trading.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company's revenue increased 14% compared with the same period in 2013, to $4.26 billion.

The company touted its growing role in global commerce as well as customers using it on mobile devices. Mobile downloads attracted 6.5 million new customers in the quarter, the company said in a release.

"We delivered a strong first quarter, with enabled commerce volume up 24% and revenue up 14%," said eBay CEO John Donahoe.

There had been pressure for eBay to split its online payment system, PayPal, from its e-commerce portion, in part from activist investor Carl Icahn.

However, "We affirmed that eBay and PayPal are better together," Donahoe said in a conference call Tuesday. They are "both great businesses, and they support and enhance each other."

"We have put this distraction behind us," he said. "Now our full attention is focused on growth and execution."

Overall, the earnings were in line with market expectations, although the outlook for the second quarter was slightly below estimates, said Colin Sebastian, with Robert W. Baird & Co., a San Francisco-based financial services company.

"PayPal performance continues to be strong, while the eBay Marketplace was a little bit softer, in part due to some fee changes at StubHub," he said.

In its earning release, the company said revenue from the company's PayPal online payment system grew to $1.8 billion. According to eBay, PayPal gained 5.8 million new active registered accounts to end the quarter at 148 million, up 16%.

Analysts expect that trend to continue.

"Recent growth trends for the company have been driven by its ! payments category as well as its non-auction e-commerce category; we expect both trends to remain," said Edward S. Williams with BMO Capital Markets.

Monday, April 28, 2014

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now

Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report tomorrow, and the telecom giant has managed to put together the No. 1 wireless carrier in the nation. Yet despite the fact that Verizon's earnings have soared along with the popularity of smartphones and wireless-network use, the company faces a big question: where to get the growth it needs to move on to the next phase of its development.

Investors have long looked at the telecom stocks within the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) as dividend cash cows. But Verizon isn't just a stable, mature business that spits off plenty of free cash flow; it's also part of a fast-growing industry and needs to respond to competitive pressures. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Verizon over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Verizon

Analyst EPS Estimate

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci surgical systems for various surgical procedures, including urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, general, and head and neck surgeries. Its da Vinci surgical system consists of a surgeon?s console or consoles, a patient-side cart, a 3-D vision system, and proprietary ?wristed? instruments. The company?s da Vinci surgical system translates the surgeon?s natural hand movements on instrument controls at the console into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports. It also manufactures a range of EndoWrist instruments, which incorporate wrist joints for natural dexterity for various surgical procedures. Its EndoWrist instruments consist of forceps, scissors, electrocautery, scalpels, and other surgical tools. In addition, it sells various vision and accessory products for use in conjunction with the da Vinci Surgical System as surgical procedures are performed. The company?s accessory products include sterile drapes used to ensure a sterile field during surgery; vision products, such as replacement 3-D stereo endoscopes, camera heads, light guides, and other items. It markets its products through sales representatives in the United States, and through sales representatives and distributors in international markets. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dan Caplinger]
Arguably, though, the worst news for MAKO came from competitor Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG ) , which faces controversy over its da Vinci surgical system. The FDA recently announced it would investigate Intuitive's device in light of lawsuits filed by patients alleging injuries and deaths as well as comments from medical experts that the devices add expense without corresponding medical benefits. Although the two companies don't overlap as much as you might think in terms of medical procedures, MAKO is likely to suffer from any fallout from Intuitive's problems.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

TrueBlue, Inc. provides temporary blue-collar staffing services in the United States. It supplies on demand general labor to various industries under the Labor Ready brand; skilled labor to manufacturing and logistics industries under the Spartan Staffing brand; and trades people for commercial, industrial, and residential construction, and building and plant maintenance industries under the CLP Resources brand. The company also provides mechanics and technicians to the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul, aerospace manufacturing, and assembly industries, as well as to other transportation industries under the Plane Techs brand; and temporary drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Centerline brand. It primarily serves small and medium-size businesses. The company was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. TrueBlue, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By idahansen]
The entire demand labor industry should do well as the US Department of Labor just reported that 169,000 more jobs were added to the American economy. The more work there is, the more demand there is for the services of staffing solutions firms such as Labor SMART, Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), and Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI).
[By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of staffing agency TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI ) jumped 10% today after the company reported earnings.

So what: Revenue jumped 19%, to $422.3 million, and beat estimates of $420.2 million from Wall Street. Adjusted earnings per share were also up 19%, to $0.31, outpacing estimates by $0.05.�
[By Jonathan Yates]
For those looking to invest in real estate stocks, highly recommended is the Dr. Housing Bubble blog. In a recent posting, the "Dr." pointed out that there was a "Lost Generation" when it came to household income. That has not happened for those investing in staffing industry stocks such as Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE: TBI), and Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC).
[By Jonathan Yates]
When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).

Top 5 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: Checkpoint Systms Inc.(CKP)

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets identification, tracking, security, and merchandising solutions for the retail and apparel industry worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Shrink Management Solutions, Apparel Labeling Solutions, and Retail Merchandising Solutions. The Shrink Management Solutions segment provides shrink management and merchandise visibility solutions. It offers electronic article surveillance systems, such as EVOLVE, a suite of RF and RFID-enabled products that act as a deterrent to prevent merchandise theft in retail stores; and electronic article surveillance consumables, including EAS-RF and EAS-EM labels that work in combination with EAS systems to reduce merchandise theft in retail stores. This segment also provides keepers, spider wraps, bottle security, and hard tags, as well as Showsafe, a line alarm system for protecting display merchandise. In addition, it offers physical and electronic store monitoring solutions, incl uding fire alarms, intrusion alarms, and digital video recording systems for retail environments; and RFID tags and labels. The Apparel Labeling Solutions segment provides apparel labeling solutions to apparel retailers, brand owners, and manufacturers. It has Web-enabled apparel labeling solutions platform and network of 28 service bureaus located in 22 countries that supplies customers with customized apparel tags and labels. The Retail Merchandising Solutions segment offers hand-held label applicators and tags, promotional displays, and queuing systems. The company serves retailers in the supermarket, drug store, hypermarket, and mass merchandiser markets through direct distribution and reseller channels. Checkpoint Systems was founded in 1969 and is based in Thorofare, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Udovich]
Small cap Checkpoint Systems, Inc (NYSE: CKP) fights shoplifting or retail theft and other forms of�"shrink��that costs retailers over $112 billion worldwide last year (according to a study funded by the company), meaning it might be an interesting stock to take a closer look at and to compare its performance with that of SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: XRT) and PowerShares Dynamic Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: PMR). Just how bad can shoplifting or shrink be for a retailer? Troubled retailer J.C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP) has just reported that shoplifting took a full percentage point off the department store chain's profit margins during the quarter. Moreover and given that tens of millions of Americans are now facing higher health insurance costs thanks to Obamacare (which will likely impact consumer discretionary spending),�retailers�will need to find ways to shore up their margins and bottom lines by preventing�retail theft with solutions from company�� like Checkpoint Systems.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Alex Planes]
This graph represents the "purchase consideration" of Men's Wearhouse against some of its largest suit-selling competitors, listed as Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ: JOSB ) , Macy's (NYSE: M ) , and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN ) , among others. The industry average has been pretty steady, but Men's Wearhouse appears to be wearing thin among millennials (and among male consumers on the bubble between the millennial generation and Generation X). If that's so, then why did Men's Wearhouse report a nice spike in profits in its latest report? Well, older consumers still like the way they look in a Zimmer-promoted suit:
[By Sue Chang]
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) �on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter earnings of $1.37 a share, marginally down from $1.40 a share a year earlier. The retailer also forecast full-year profit of $3.75 to $3.90 a share and first-quarter profit of 60 cent to 70 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were looking for a profit of $4.07 a share for the year and 79 cents a share in the first quarter. Shares of Nordstrom were down 1.1% in after-hours trading.
[By Rich Duprey]
Not that the actual service Kmart is providing is unique, mind you. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) offers a free ship-to-store feature, as do J.C. Penney,�Radio Shack, Toys R Us,�Nordstrom� (NYSE: JWN ) , and a number of other retailers. Actually, so committed to customer service is Nordstrom that it's even had employees drive items to a customer's house at no charge to ensure they get it.�
[By Grace L. Williams]
The hits keep coming at high-end retailer Nordstrom (JWN).
Bloomberg
After reporting a decline in fourth-quarter earnings and weak sales, shares traded down 0.3% to $59.24 today. And Sterne, Agee & Leach�� Charles Grom, while acknowledging that the fourth quarter was ��K,��warned that there were issues developing underneath. He explains:

Beneath the surface, there are two disturbing trends emerging that shouldn�� go unnoticed, including: 1) a more promotional environment/gross profit margin risk (as Nordstrom price matches); and 2) full line cannibalization (via e-commerce), which structurally compresses Nordstrom�� top-line algo. All told, the Nordstrom experience is one of the best in retail, but the stock is dead money for the foreseeable future, in our view.

Grom accentuated a few positives that included a rise in same-store sales by 2.6% and decent earnings. A rise in inventory levels and lower EPS guidance were some of the negatives, Grom said.

Nordstrom’s pain didn’t cause stand in the way of gains for some other department store stocks. Dillard’s (DDS) gained 1.5% to $89.33, while Macy’s (M) rose 0.5% to $53.71. Even J.C. Penney (JCP) had a better day. It finished down just 0.2% at $5.64.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Lauren Pollock]
ProAssurance Corp.(PRA) agreed to acquire Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI) for about $205 million, expanding the insurance company’s casualty insurance offerings. Eastern Insurance is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers’ compensation products and services, among other things. ProAssurance plans to pay $24.50 in cash for each outstanding Eastern share, a 16% premium over Monday’s closing price.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: Waste Management Inc.(WM)

Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides waste management services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. It offers collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services. The company also owns, develops, and operates waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Its collection services involves in picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility, or disposal site; and recycling operations include collection and materials processing, plastics materials recycling, and commodities recycling. In addition, it provides recycling brokerage, which includes managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and electronic recycling services, such as collection, sorting, and disassembling of discarded computers, communications equipment, and other electronic equipment. Further, the company e ngages in renting and servicing portable restroom facilities to municipalities and commercial customers under the Port-o-Let name; and involves in landfill gas-to-energy operations comprising recovering and processing the methane gas produced naturally by landfills into a renewable energy source, as well as provides street and parking lot sweeping services. Additionally, it offers portable self-storage, fluorescent lamp recycling, and medical waste services for healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and individuals, as well as provides services on behalf of third parties to construct waste facilities. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Daniel Sparks]
Scouring the market for excellent dividend stocks isn't as easy as finding the stocks with the highest yields. In fact, dividend yield is just one of many factors investors should consider when they are looking for the best dividend stocks. To illustrate, I'll analyze two companies whose stocks have meaningful dividend yields: Waste Management (NYSE: WM ) and Ford (NYSE: F ) .
[By Sean Williams]
Today, I plan to introduce the first of 10 selections to the Basic Needs Portfolio: Waste Management (NYSE: WM ) .

How it fits in with our theme
Waste Management fits the theme of the portfolio in actually more ways than one. Obviously, trash collection is a basic necessity that's needed regardless of whether the economy is booming or in a recession. The amount of trash we generate may fluctuate slightly based on the health of the economy, but hauling it away remains a basic need that creates consistent cash flow for Waste Management.
[By Sean Williams]
Keep in mind that some companies�deserve�their current valuations. Take Waste Management (NYSE: WM ) , for instance, which has rallied ever since reporting its first-quarter results last week. The company's internal revenue growth from yield for its collection and disposal operations came in at a two-year high, 1.4%, and the company modestly improved its adjusted year-over-year EPS. Trash disposal and recycling are necessity businesses and make Waste Management a solid long-term buy.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: Thoratec Corporation(THOR)

Thoratec Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary medical devices used for circulatory support. The company?s primary product lines include ventricular assist devices, such as HeartMate II, an implantable left ventricular assist device consisting of a rotary blood pump to provide intermediate and long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS); and HeartMate XVE, an implantable and pulsatile left ventricular assist device for intermediate and longer-term MCS. Its ventricular assist devices also comprise Paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device, an external pulsatile ventricular assist device, which provides left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for bridge-to-transplantation (BTT), including home discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery; and Implantable Ventricular Assist Device, an implantable and pulsatile ventricular assist device designed to provide left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for BTT comprising hom e discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery. The company also provides CentriMag, an extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platform that offers support up to 30 days for cardiac and respiratory failure. In addition, it offers PediMag and PediVAS extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platforms designed to provide acute surgical support to pediatric patients. The company sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through a network of distributors internationally. Thoratec Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Todd Campbell]
Competing for heart pump market share
Abiomed's products provide circulatory support for up to six hours and are designed for use in cardiac cath labs or during heart surgery, but competitors Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR ) and Heartware (NASDAQ: HTWR ) target the intermediate- and long-term-use market instead.
[By Brian Pacampara]
What: Shares of medical device company Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR ) sank 12% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations. �

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: Crocs Inc.(CROX)

Crocs, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children. The company primarily offers casual and athletic shoes, and shoe charms. It also designs and sells a range of footwear and accessories that utilize its proprietary closed cell-resin, called Croslite. The company?s footwear products include boots, sandals, sneakers, mules, and flats. In addition, it provides footwear products for the hospital, restaurant, hotel, and hospitality markets, as well as general foot care and diabetic-needs markets. Further, the company offers leather and ethylene vinyl acetate based footwear, sandals, and printed apparels principally for the beach, adventure, and action sports markets; and accessories comprising snap-on charms. The company sells its products through the United States and international retailers and distributors, as well as directly to end-user consumers th rough its company-operated retail stores, outlets, kiosks, and Web stores primarily under the Crocs Work, Crocs Rx, Jibbitz, Ocean Minded, and YOU by Crocs brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 164 retail kiosks located in malls and other high foot traffic areas; 138 retail stores; 76 outlet stores; and 46 Web stores. Crocs, Inc. operates in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Western Brands, LLC and changed its name to Crocs, Inc. in January 2005. Crocs, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Niwot, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
Crocs (CROX) has dropped 5.5% to $12.93 after it was cut to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray.

CF Industries�(CF) has gained 3.6% to $$217.51 after it sold its phosphate business to�Mosaic�(MOS) for $1.4 billion. Mosaic edged up 0.1% to $45.98.
[By James Brumley]
The next Crocs (CROX) earnings announcement is coming after the market closes Wednesday, Oct. 30, and if this report is anything like most Crocs earnings updates … well, investors have a 50-50 shot at hearing good news.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Robert Hanley]
Consumer-goods marketer Blyth (NYSE: BTH ) , owner of weight-loss upstart ViSalus, has been in the doghouse lately, sitting near a 52-week low due to poor results in its weight-loss unit.� Despite a large potential customer base of overweight people worldwide, the industry has had difficulty generating growth lately, with data provider Marketdata Enterprises estimating that industry sales rose only 1.7% in 2012.� However, Blyth caught a bid in late October from a proposed combination with marketing-services provider CVSL, indicating that some people see incremental value in Blyth's businesses.�So, should small investors bet on this small cap or should they focus their attention on Weight watchers International (NYSE: WTW ) and Medifast (NYSE: MED ) instead?
[By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Nutrisystem have gained 20% to $18.05 at 1:34 p.m., while Weight Watchers (WTW) has risen 3.6% to $39.42. Medifast (MED), however, has dropped 1.9% to $24.94.
[By John Udovich]
Last Friday, small cap dieting stock Weight Watchers International, Inc (NYSE: WTW) lost weight for investors when shares tumbled�27.73% to $22.10, meaning its probabaly a good idea to take a closer look�at the stock along with�other small cap weight loss or dieting stocks like NutriSystem Inc (NASDAQ: NTRI), Medifast Inc (NYSE: MED) and Reliv International, Inc (NASDAQ: RELV). Why did Weight Watchers International loose weight last Friday? The company reported its fourth straight quarterly sales decline as fewer people attended meetings and bought its products and also projected earnings that trailed analysts' estimates with the blame being placed on new mobile applications and bracelets that track calories��thus�hurting traditional diet companies.
[By Monica Gerson]
Medifast (NYSE: MED) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $80.83 million.

Full House Resorts (NASDAQ: FLL) is estimated to post a Q4 loss at $0.06 per share on revenue of $33.24 million.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Vanin Aegea]
I have heard many people comment about the insurance policies for cars, houses, life, assets, etc. The arguments always revolve around the same issue: Is it really necessary? What are the chances to be hit by a Hurricane, or to meet a sudden death? Well, nobody really knows. Some individuals however, sleep better when they know a policy backs their life investments. Here, I will look into three insurance companies that concentrate on different policies, or geographies. These are: China Life (LFC), and Conseco (CNO).

Sunday, April 27, 2014

3 Humongous Health-Care Stocks This Week

After extensive research, number-crunching, sorting, and filtering, the results are in. Here are your three most humongous performers in the world of health-care this week.

Breathing easier
Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY ) shares climbed nearly 18% this week. The company announced positive results from a phase 2 study of its experimental asthma drug ARRY-502.

The study included 184 patients with mild-to-moderate persistent allergic asthma. ARRY-502 met the study's primary endpoint of significant improvement in a key measure of lung function. Several secondary endpoints were also successfully met, including statistically significant improvement in asthma control and symptom-free days during treatment.

Piper Jaffray bumped its price target for Array up from $7 to $10 after the good results were announced. That represents more than a 50% upside potential from the stock's current price. Array says that it's now looking for an "appropriate partner" to help complete development and potentially market ARRY-502.

An "alley-oop" from the opponent
Prosensa (NASDAQ: RNA ) shares made something of a slam dunk this week, jumping more than 16%. That dunk was made with what amounts to an "alley-oop" from its primary rival, Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRPT ) .

Sarepta announced on Thursday that it plans to seek approval for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, drug eteplirsen without assurances from the Food and Drug Administration about an accelerated approval pathway. The biotech completed a phase 2 study for eteplirsen that showed impressive results. However, the small number of patients involved could present a hurdle for FDA approval.

In the meantime, Prosensa, along with partner GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK ) , continue to plug ahead with a phase 3 study of DMD drug drisapersen that includes 186 participants -- much larger than the 12 boys in Sarepta's mid-stage study. Initial results from the study are expected in late 2013. An FDA approval could be forthcoming as early as the second half of next year.

Lunging forward
Intermune (NASDAQ: ITMN ) announced second-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Higher-than-expected revenue helped shares advance almost 16% for the week.

The company's good news stemmed from strong sales growth for Esbriet, which is used in the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive form of lung disease. Intermune reported that sales of the drug were $14.4 million during the second quarter. Analysts expected $12 million.

With solid sales in the last quarter, Intermune now expects full-year revenue of $55 million to $70 million. That's a nice jump from the previous revenue guidance of $40 million to $55 million.

Esbriet was first launched in Germany in 2011. Intermune has rolled the drug out in 13 other European nations. However, the big U.S. market still remains to be tapped. The FDA rejected approval of Esbriet in 2010. Intermune has a late-stage test under way in the U.S. with results expected in the second quarter of 2014.

Best of the best
It's a tough decision between this week's humongous stocks as to which is the best pick. All three have had great years thus far and have potential to keep moving up.

All things considered, though, my hunch is to go with Array BioPharma. It's been a long time since a new allergic asthma drug has been introduced. Array definitely needs a partner to tackle the huge asthma market. I think it will find one and do well in the years ahead.

You might love the thrill of high-flying biotech stocks, but it's those ho-hum dividend stocks that can improve your odds the most of getting rich over time.Over the long term, the compounding effect of the quarterly payouts, as well as their growth, adds up faster than most investors imagine. With this in mind, our analysts sat down to identify the absolute best of the best when it comes to rock-solid dividend stocks, drawing up a list in this free report of the only nine that fit the bill. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can download this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now

April 25 (Bloomberg) --Japanese shares rose, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average advancing for a second day to its highest since 2008, before a Bank of Japan (8301) meeting. Canon Inc. (7751) and Nintendo Co. fell on disappointing earnings.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan�� biggest lender, advanced 2.2 percent. Nippon Electric Glass Co. jumped 7.1 percent after industry bellwether Corning Inc. forecast growth for a product used in smartphones. Canon tumbled the most on the Nikkei 225 after projecting net income lower than analyst estimates on slumping demand for compact cameras. Nintendo lost 5.9 percent after the world�� biggest maker of video-game consoles posted profit that missed analyst estimates.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.6 percent to close at 13,926.08 in Tokyo. Volume on the measure was about 15 percent above than the 30-day average. The Topix Index (TPX) rose 0.7 percent to 1,172.78, with twice the number of stocks gaining as falling on the 1,698- member gauge.

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HDD)

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is a German producer of solutions for the print media industry. The Company divides its activities into the three business segments Heidelberg Equipment, Heidelberg Services as well as Heidelberg Financial Services. Its product portfolio includes the prepress area with the Suprasetter product family; the press area, which comprises Speedmaster product families, that are used for classical offset printing, as well as for special applications, such as ultraviolet (UV) printing; as well as the postpress area, that includes cutters, folders, saddle stitchers, adhesive binders, die-cutting products, folding carton gluing machines and label systems. The Company also offers a range of spare parts and used equipment, as well as training programs and its own printing process automation software, Prinect. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated three domestic subsidiaries and a number of foreign subsidiaries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Brazil, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Patricio Kehoe]
Seagate Technology (STX) has the ability to look for strategic acquisitions that easily synergize with the current operations. As a consequence, Seagate is going to acquire Xyratex, whose shares went up 27.3% on the announcement day and remain at that price level. The deal will help Seagate acquire testing equipment for its hard disk drives (HDD) along with storage systems to analyze and manage network data. It is expected that the deal will close in mid-2014, and add about $500 million or more in revenue in its fiscal year 2015.
[By Inyoung Hwang]
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HDD) jumped 14 percent to 2.20 euros, its biggest gain since February 2009, as it announced a digital partnership with Fujifilm Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, Heidelberger Druck will gain access to Fujifilm�� inkjet technology and its partner will in return benefit from the German company�� engineering and manufacturing activities, Heidelberger Druck said.
[By ICRAOnline]
Second-quarter revenue dropped 3.8% to $3.53 billion due to weakening hard disk drive (HDD) demand, reflecting the continuous slump in the PC industry. And even though low-cost and reliable HDDs are demanded by the burgeoning cloud storage space, Seagate�� high-margin HDD sales were poorer than expectations. On the flip side, demand for HDDs from consumer electronics, external storage and network-attached storage areas progressed well.

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: Charter Communications Inc.(CHTR)

Charter Communications, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides entertainment, information, and communications solutions to residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers cable video programming services, such as basic and digital video, premium channels, OnDemand, pay-per-view, high definition television, digital video recorder, and online video services; Internet services; Charter.net, which provides multiple e-mail addresses, as well as various entertainment, games, news, and sports content; and telephone services. It also provides broadband communications solutions, such as Internet access, data networking, fiber connectivity to cellular towers and office buildings, video entertainment services, and business telephone services under the Charter Business brand name to business and carrier organizations. As of December 31, 2011, the company served approximately 4.1 million video customers; approximately 3.5 million Internet customers; appr oximately 1.7 million telephone customers; and approximately 476,200 commercial primary service units. Charter Communications, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Rich Bieglmeier]
Investors should view Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) differently, according to Northland Capital Markets. Analyst, Tom Eagan upgraded the cable TV service provider to "Outperform" from "Market Perform" with a $146 price-target ��potential upside of 15% to target.
[By Jonathan Berr]
Rumors that Malone will make a bid for Time Warner Cable by the end of the year caused shares of the New York-based company to jump about 3% in trading last Friday. It also rose briefly Monday after Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Russo raised his rating on the stock to a “buy,” saying a merger with Charter Communications (CHTR) is “more likely than not.” Time Warner has so far rebuffed Malone’s overtures, according to media reports.
[By Harold L. Vogel]
For cable networks and distributors, first admire the long-term pricing power for cable services (shown in the chart below). Price increases have far exceeded the rate of gain of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for decades and thereby supported the stock prices and earnings growth of the entire industry (even though some companies such as Charter (CHTR) stumbled into bankruptcy even with this pricing wind at their backs).

Top Transportation Stocks To Watch Right Now: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Matt DiLallo]
One of the most promising potential plays in the country is in the Neuquen Basin in what is called the Vaca Muerta formation, which actually means "Dead Cow" in Spanish. One of the first movers here is Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) which drilled two exploratory wells into the formation last year. The company is drilling another exploratory well this year with plans to drill three more appraisal wells. It's looking to expand its presence in the country even as it evaluates the results from those wells.�
[By Doug Ehrman]
In the following video, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses how a change in U.S. policy on the export of crude could benefit certain oil stocks such as Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM ) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) .

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI)

McGraw Hill Financial, Inc. incorporated on December 29, 1925, is a financial intelligence company. The Company is engaged in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. The Company�� brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power & Associates, McGraw Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company�� credit ratings, indices, price assessments and other capabilities provide clients with the intelligence to manage risk. Standard & Poor�� Ratings Services helps investors and markets participants measure and manage credit risk through credit ratings, research and analytics. S&P Capital IQ is a provider of real-time data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment and commercial banks, investment advisors and wealth managers, corporations and universities globally. On March 22, 2013, the Company sold McGraw-Hill Education. Effective July 18, 2013, McGraw Hill Financial Inc acquired a remaining undisclosed interest which it did not already own in Tata McGraw-Hill Education Pvt Ltd from Tata charitable trust. In August 2013, McGraw Hill Financial Inc completed the sale of Aviation Week to Penton.

The Company provides a range of capabilities designed to help track performance, generate alpha, identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform risk analysis and mitigation strategies. The Company�� S&P Dow Jones Indices is the provider of financial market indices. Its Platts is a provider of information and a source of benchmark price assessments for the energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture markets. J.D. Power & Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in business sectors, including customer satisfaction research, market research, social media research, and performance improvement programs. McGraw Hill Construction connects people, projects, and products across the design and construction industry. AVIATION WEEK is! the multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By John Waggoner]
The problem with the Aristocrats is that their yields, too, are often low. The three largest holdings in the index, McGraw-Hill Financial (ticker: MHFI), Emerson Electric (EMR), and Dover (DOV), yield 1.56%, 2.5% and 1.62%, respectively. If you're only in it for the income, you could do better with a five-year bank CD.

Top 5 Japanese Companies To Buy Right Now: DDR Corp (DDR)

DDR Corp.(DDR), incorporated on November 20, 1992, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company is engaged in the business of acquiring, owning, developing, redeveloping, expanding, leasing and managing shopping centers. In addition, the Company engages in the origination and acquisition of loans and debt securities, which are generally collateralized directly or indirectly by shopping centers. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� portfolio consisted of 452 shopping centers , including 206 shopping centers owned through unconsolidated joint ventures and three shopping centers that are otherwise consolidated by the Company in which the Company had an economic interest. These properties consist of shopping centers, lifestyle centers and enclosed malls owned in the United States, Puerto Rico and Brazil. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned more than 115 million total square feet of gross leasable area (GLA), which includes all of its aforementioned properties. In October 2013, the Company acquired a portfolio of 30 prime power centers from its existing joint venture with Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII L.P. (Blackstone).

The Company owns more than 1,500 acres of undeveloped land, including an interest in land in Canada and Russia. As December 31, 2012, the Company had 14 assets under development and/or redevelopment (consisting of 11 wholly-owned shopping centers and three joint venture shopping centers). As of December 31, 2012, the aggregate occupancy of the Company�� operating shopping center portfolio in which the Company has an economic interest was 91.5%. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 14 assets under development and/or redevelopment consisting of 11 wholly-owned shopping centers and three joint venture shopping centers.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dividend King]
Earnings per share came in at $0.35 while competitors DDR Corp. (DDR) and Kimco Realty Corporation (KIM) reported earnings per share of -$0.56 and $0.27, respectively. With a price to earnings ratio of 123.57, it is clear investors are expecting higher growth from this stock than its competitors, whose price to earnings ratio are twice as half. I think it will not take very long for the stock to appreciate in value at a much higher rate due to higher revenue, good investor and market sentiment towards the stock, and an improved real estate market.
[By Rich Duprey]
Shopping mall operator DDR� (NYSE: DDR ) announced today its regular second-quarter dividend for three series of preferred shares:
7.375%�Class H stock dividend of�$0.460938�per depositary share. 6.50%�Class J stock dividend of�$0.406250�per depositary share. 6.25%�Class K stock dividend of�$0.41667�per depositary share.
The board of directors said the quarterly dividend for all three series of preferreds is payable on July 15 to the holders of record at the close of business on July 1 and�covers the period beginning�April 15�and ending�July 14.
[By Marc Bastow]
Shopping center real estate investment trust DDR Corp. (DDR) raised its quarterly dividend 15% to 15.5 cents per share, payable April 8 to shareholders of record as of March 13.
DDR Stock Dividend Yield: 3.95%

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Starbucks Puts the Fizz in SodaStream

SodaStream (SODA) has shot higher as if propelled by the pressurized gas is uses to add fizz on speculation that Starbucks (SBUX) might be negotiating to buy a piece of the company.

AFP/Getty Images

The news that someone somewhere was in talks with SodaStream actually broke April 16, when Israeli website, Calcalist noted that SodaStream was talking with either PepsiCo (PEP), Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS) or Starbucks. As a result, “the cost of higher-strike options increased at a faster pace than the decline in lower-strike options,” noted Interactive Broker’s Andrew Wilkinson at the time.

Now, another Israeli website, Globes, has said that Starbucks is the one negotiating with SodaStream. The amusing part of all this: Starbucks owns a stake in Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR), which recently partnered with Coca-Cola (KO) to compete with SodaStream, noted the Street’s Herb Greenberg on Twitter.

Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Shares of SodaStream have gained 16% to $47 at 2:49 p.m., while Starbucks has dropped 1.2% to $70.29, Keurig Green Mountain has fallen 4.3% to $94.47, PepsiCo has ticked up 0.2% to $85.31 and Coca-Cola is little changed at $40.73. Dr. Pepper Snapple has gained 4.8% to $54.90 after beating earnings forecasts.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Don't Get Too Worked Up Over OSI Systems's Earnings

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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 OSI Systems (Nasdaq: OSIS ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, OSI Systems burned $72.1 million cash while it booked net income of $48.2 million. That means it burned through all its revenue and more. That doesn't sound so great. FCF is less than net income. Ideally, we'd like to see the opposite.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at OSI Systems look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

With 22.0% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, OSI Systems investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, stock-based compensation and related tax benefits provided the biggest boost, at 19.5% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Looking for alternatives to OSI Systems? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add OSI Systems to My Watchlist.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

A Cloud in Japan: Salesforce.com Continues Its Expansion

Founded in 1999, Salesforce.com (CRM) is the leading provider of hosted Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software services, which helps organizations manage critical operations such as sales force and marketing automation, customer service and support, document management, analytic and custom application development. Leveraging its expertise in on-demand software has allowed the company to increase the scale operations and moreover, it has been currently expanding its product portfolio through new services, especially cloud products. The new cloud products include six different lines: Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Work.com, Salesforce Chatter and Salesforce Plaform. The company has more than 100,000 customers around the world, including managing customer information for Allianz Commercial, Dell, Dow Jones Newswires, Japan Post, Kaiser Permanente, KONE and SunTrust Banks.

The company reports revenues through two segments: Subscription and Professional Services & Other. Subscription revenues comprises revenue from subscription fees received by the company from customers for accessing its enterprise cloud computing application service, and from subscription fees generated from customers for providing additional support. This stream accounted for 94.1% of Salesforce's 2013 earnings. The Professional Services & Other segment includes fees that the company derives from consulting and implementation services and training. This segment represented, for the same period, 5.1% of total earnings.

Results for the last fourth-quarter 2014 were mixed, with a wide loss per share but above estimated revenues. The most important highlight seems to be the diverse cloud offerings and strong spending on digital marketing posting positive results. Still, competitors are developing new products as well, and the weakened European market might affect the company's future revenues, given the sluggish spending environment.

Better Solutions

Analysts tend to agree when saying Salesforce.com is leader in customer relationship management software, building a better solution for its customers. Its users pay annual subscription fees for continued access to the services, providing Salesforce.com a steady revenue stream and cash flow yields. The public cloud development has allowed the company to reduce costs by supporting a common hardware, networking and software platform and passing some of that savings along to customers. Thus, heavy capital investment usually needed for on-premise software installations has been lifted, enabling a predictable and manageable operating expense.

Within the cloud computing applications, Salesforce has become a leading supplier and platform vendor, positioning itself in a strong position among other cloud application providers. Currently, through Sales Cloud, the company's most popular product, it has succeeded in expanding its addressable market towards the purchase of Service Cloud as well. Providing different on-demand Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), such as the Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and Chatter applications, it allows customers to improve communication and sales to their respective customers. Moreover, it offers other platforms such as The Force.com Platform, or Heroku Platform, and developer tools like Database.com and The AppExchange, enabling its users to customize its applications.

The new introduction of the Chatter platform is an enterprise social collaboration application platform, free add-on offering from Salesforce. Companies already using this additional platform are Chipotle Mexican Grill (CHPL), Kelly Services, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever, among others.

International Expansion

Since the first international data center opened in Singapore in July 2009, Salesforce has been establishing different data center around the world, looking to seize the increased demand of international customers. After opening data center in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, Salesforce expects to open another data center in London, getting to expand its business through different geographical regions. A recent announcement of Salesforce points towards an expansion its Japanese operations. It seems the firm is will appoint former HP Japan head Shinichi Koide as Chairman and Chief, expanding its Japan leadership team, being in charge of growing the company in Japan into a $1 billion business with more than 2,000 employees. Hitoshi Kawahara, Senior Vice President and head of enterprise sales at Salesforce.com Japan will step up as President and Chief Operating Officer, leading the company's enterprise sales and oversee business operations. Keith Block, president and vice chairman of Salesforce.com, said "With Shinichi Koide joining our exceptional Japan leadership team, salesforce.com Japan is well-positioned to deliver on its next decade of growth."

These expansions, however, have leaded the company to spend heavily, and increasing investments have affected margins. Indeed this development is necessary in order to achieve long-term growth, but it has still pressured over margins and is likely to continue doing so for the next few quarters, until it has effects on revenue growth.

Possible Alliances

Despite being Salesforce.com and Oracle Corporation (ORCL) fierce competitors, they have developed a cloud-partnership to drive growth and project a further integration between both companies, helping customers easily move their data between the two platforms. Salesforce software will run on Oracle's Linux, and use Oracle's cloud-based human resources and financial applications, while Oracle´s Exadata hardware will run on Salesforce's cloud based applications. Their partnership is very promising, and likely to lead market share gains, accompanying the exponential cloud environment growth.

Final Thoughts

Peers like Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) present strong competition in the could-based CRM market, and have been enhancing their companies through various acquisitions such as recently acquired Nimbula, Eloqua Inc., RightNow Technologies and Taleo Corp from Oracle, or MarketingPilot and Netbreeze from Microsoft. Competition is moreover expected to increase with the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM software (Titan). Nevertheless, Salesforce has also been strengthening its product portfolio and expanding within the cloud based CRM services.

Salesforce.com has accelerated its acquisition activity, spending more than $1 billion on acquisitions, which have supported the company's aggressive push of product pipeline developments. These investments might carry some integration expenses and pressure on margins. Still, Salesforce's revenues of $1.15 billion increased 37.2% year over year primarily driven by the acquisition of ExactTarget, in July 2013. Yet, gross margin contracted to 78.9% compared with 80.3% in the previous-year quarter because of this acquisition, and the Oracle license agreements. Indeed operating margins are expected to remain depressed until management stabilizes and gains scale in selling and administrative expenses. Returns on invested capital should rise in line with operating margins, enabling the company to comfortably exceed its cost of capital.

Bullish analysts think Salesforce is leader in the on-demand delivery of CRM software, and providing its services in the public cloud will attract more customers as the cheaper cost and more mature product poses strong competition to Oracle's and SAP AG (SAP)'s products. However, many customers are reluctant to put all of their information in the public cloud due to security and compliance concerns, making more attractive the hybrid cloud solutions. Keep watching how business develops in the technological field as well as the new Asia-Pacific expansion driven by the increased business Japanese segment.

Disclosure: James Miller holds no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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Monday, April 21, 2014

3 Retirement Planning Tips for Young Investors

Are you a young investor? I don't want to feed your ego or anything, but you are the most dangerous type of investor. And that's a good thing. Being young allows you to make your money work longer and harder to build a comfortable retirement. However, it only works to your benefit if you take advantage of the opportunity. Here are three retirement planning tips to set young investors on the right path.

Don't squander an early start
It's never too early to begin planning for your retirement. In fact, the sooner you start, the easier it will be to save in the long run. Stowing away a few hundred dollars per month now can save you from needing to save hundreds more each month if you put off a retirement savings plan until later in life. Consider the following chart, in which savings compound at 6% per year:

Start saving at age...

Monthly savings

Pre-tax savings at age 65

24	$300	$629,822
34	$300	$323,603
44	$300	$152,612

Author's calculations.

As you can see, your savings power diminishes greatly the longer you wait. You can save more or less than $300 per month as long you are comfortable with your plan. The important thing is to make contributions over the long term.

Pay off credit card debt
This may never be considered a part of your retirement planning, but my girlfriend Suze Orman will tell you otherwise. Carrying credit card debt can significantly impact your ability to save for retirement. Think about it: monthly credit card payments often come with high interest payments. If you don't already, start viewing the added interest as an anti-investment. By not making credit card debt your priority -- even over investing, savings, and employer retirement accounts -- you are throwing money away over the long term. To maximize your savings efficiency, pay off your credit card balances before lower interest-rate debt, and continue to reset your balances at the end of each month.

Make a budget spreadsheet
It seems so simple to sit down and track your expenses for a month or two, but it can be an eye-opening experiment with big benefits. By writing down each purchase and payment, you'll be able to see if you're spending too much money on one category -- ordering too much food, perhaps -- or can boost spending in another -- maybe an extra couple of bucks in beer money each month. It will also give you a better idea of how much money you can actually afford to put toward your retirement. Shooting blindly from the hip at monthly savings totals increases the likelihood that you will fall off the bandwagon. Making a budget spreadsheet taught me that saving for retirement and having fun do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Foolish bottom line
One important thing to mention is that, as a young investor, you are bound to make some silly mistakes. Of course, the younger you start, the more time you have to learn the ropes and avoid future downfalls. It isn't too often that you gain an advantage in investing because of an external factor such as age, so you should certainly take advantage of it while you can. You will be happy you did later in life.

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

Hot Healthcare Technology Companies To Own In Right Now

Sunday, April 20, 2014

The 10 fastest rising food prices

Food prices at the grocery store are up, following an increase in production costs and wholesale prices. In March, retail food prices rose 0.4% from the preceding month, matching February's increase. These marked the largest monthly gains in food prices since September 2011, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Food prices are often volatile and are affected by a number of factors. While certain factors reflect human decision — such as the changing tastes of consumers and farmers' planting choices — others are forces over which farmers have very little control. Issues such as weather conditions and diseases can cause severe supply shortages that cause the price of products to rise.

In recent years, drought in the western U.S. has driven up the prices of meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables. Parts of California, the Southwest, and the Great Plains have suffered from three consecutive years of drought, according to Brad Rippey, meteorologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). More than two-thirds of California is currently covered by extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Of course, drought directly impacts crops. "Agriculture uses about 80% of California's water," Rippey told 24/7 Wall St., and, because of cutbacks in water delivery, "a lot of fields may have to lay fallow."

Drought has also driven up meat prices because it caused feed prices to spike in recent years, Rippey added. The higher feed prices increase the cost of raising cattle for slaughter and, in the end, the meat prices for consumers. Bacon prices have gained more than nearly any other food tracked by the BLS since the start of the decade, rising 35% to $4.13 per pound.

The price of the only food product that has risen more than beef is bacon, which soared 53% since January 2010. This is due in large part to the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) in hogs. Although the disease has no effect on humans or food, it can be fatal for young pigs and ! is therefore expected to cut into hog production considerably. Ham and pork chop prices have also increased since 2010, up 32% and 24%, respectively.

Diseases are hardly limited to livestock. Citrus fruit, too, has suffered from a disease. Production of both oranges and grapefruits has dropped as citrus greening disease has damaged Florida crops — which account for the majority of grapefruits and oranges produced in the U.S. Trade publications, national media, and even the USDA have portrayed the disease as a threat to the survival of the citrus industry.

Demand is another key factor that drives food prices. According to Steve Freed, vice president of research at ADM Investor Services, the agricultural world pays attention to a number of trends that can drive prices. These include the state of major economies, such as the U.S. and China, as well as consumer tastes. "We'll be watching any change in U.S. and world diet," he added.

To identify the food prices that have risen the most, 24/7 Wall St. examined average retail price data published by the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the period January 2010 through March 2014. Similar kinds of products, including certain beef and pork products, were grouped together to avoid duplication. We also reviewed data on commodity futures from CME Group and the IntercontinentalExchange Group for a range of products. A number of reports produced by the USDA were also considered.

These are the 10 fastest rising food prices.

1. Bacon

> 4-yr. change: +53%

> 1-yr. change: +13%

> Current price: $5.55 per lb.

Sliced bacon cost an average of $5.55 per pound as of March, up from $3.63 per pound in January 2010. In the last year alone, the price of bacon increased 13%. One factor that may contribute to this recent increase may be the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) in hogs. While PEDv poses no risk to humans or food safety, the disease is expected to cut into hog supplies. Sam Hines, executive ! vice pres! ident of the Michigan Pork Producers Association, told CBS Radio that "U.S. production is going to decline this year about seven percent and that will probably translate into 10 to 20 percent higher prices for pork." Currently, lean hog futures — settling in May — are up over 20% on the year, and consumer prices of products such as pork and ham may increase further. Ham prices are up 32% since January 2010, and 6% since last March. Similarly, pork chop prices are up 24% and 8% during those periods.

MORE: America's fastest shrinking cities

2. Ground Beef

> 4-yr. change: +35%

> 1-yr. change: +8%

> Current price: $4.13 per lb.

Drought in the Western U.S. and declining numbers of cattle being sent to slaughter are both major causes of higher beef prices, according to the USDA. Futures for live cattle — which are cattle ready for slaughter — reached an all-time high earlier this year. These higher futures prices appear to be showing up at the register. The price of a pound of uncooked ground beef has risen 35% since 2010. And for some types of beef, the price increases have been even greater. For example, lean and extra lean ground beef now costs $5.27 per pound, a 55% increase from January 2010 as well as an all-time record.

3. Oranges

> 4-yr. change: +35%

> 1-yr. change: +23%

> Current price: $1.21 per lb.

Florida citrus growers have had to contend with citrus greening, a disease spread by a small invasive insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. The disease has hit citrus growers hard, cutting significantly into crop production. The lower supply, in turn, has led to increased prices, both in the futures market for frozen orange juice concentrate, as well as for consumers. Since the start of 2010, the price for navel oranges has risen 35%. However, much of this increase was just in the last year, as consumer prices for oranges rose 23% between March 2013 and March 2014 — more than any other food product. And prices! may cont! inue to rise. According to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. national orange production is forecast to decline 18% from the previous year to a total of 166 million

MORE: America's most (and least) healthy cities

4. Coffee

> 4-yr. change: +31%

> 1-yr. change: -17%

> Current price: $5.00 per lb.

Brazil, the world's largest supplier of arabica beans, has suffered from a severe drought this year. But because many producers have amassed stockpiles, and top coffee retailers such as Starbucks have locked-in short-term prices, consumers have yet to feel the pinch from the poor crop year. Coffee futures, however, have risen considerably — up nearly 70% year-to-date. For consumers, coffee prices have actually declined in the last year — although coffee prices in general have risen 31% since the start of 2010. Higher prices may eventually reach consumers. A USDA study found that retailers were less likely to considerably raise prices in response to short-term increases in commodity prices. However, where higher costs lasted for longer periods, costs would be shifted to customers.

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5. Peanut Butter

> 4-yr. change: +30%

> 1-yr. change: -2%

> Current price: $2.71 per lb.

Like several food products with rising prices, the poor growing conditions for peanuts in recent years are behind the increase in peanut butter prices. While prices are down slightly from a year ago, peanut butter still costs an estimated 30% more than it did in 2010. Much of the price increase followed the abysmal 2011 growing season in the Southern U.S. — nearly half of the nation's peanuts are produced in Georgia. Output in 2012 was considerably better, but in 2013 production fell again, down 38% from 2012. A significant uptick in Chinese demand in 2012 may have als! o increas! ed prices, although exports to China have since leveled off.

MORE: See the rest of the fastest rising food prices

24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently ofUSA TODAY.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Does the Fed Have Street Cred?

The biggest challenge for the Federal Reserve over the next two years is “to manage market expectations for interest rates,” according to a report issued by Merrill Lynch on Thursday. “It is safe to say that many bond investors are confused and frustrated by the Fed communication,” it noted.

What’s behind the confusion and what exactly is needed to guide the markets in a rising-rate environment after last summer’s tapering drama? The Merrill experts lay out exactly what happened and what needs to change.

They also draw a clear conclusion on the level of clarity the Fed has been sharing of late, which should be good news for investors and advisors seeking less volatility in both the fixed-income and equity markets.

“The Fed has had a tough time communicating its policy intentions,” Ethan Harris and several other economists explained. “At the start of last summer, tapering talk caused a sharp sell-off in the bond market. A few months later, the Fed surprised the markets by not tapering.”

In recent months, there’s been confusion around how to interpret the “dot plot,” which shows forecasts by various members of the Fed Open Market Committee of how high the federal funds rate will be at different times in the future, and whether there is a “six-month rule” for interest-rate hikes, the economists say.

The confusion, the Merrill experts say, stems from the “uncharted territory” of both a weak recovery and the use of “unconventional policy.”

The Fed also suffers from a “very awkward communication structure.”

In contrast, Norway’s central bank, which has used forward guidance for a decade, employs a simple and transparent process. “With just seven members, the committee is small enough to be efficient and big enough to get a diversity of views,” the report explained.

“These published forecasts, including the interest-rate projection, are derived from a consistent set of underlying assumptions,” it added. “By contrast, the Fed has a very awkward structure.”

Indeed. The FOMC has 19 members and 11 regional presidents, including four voting positions that rotate each year. It also has 13 different research groups.

“The official forecasts are not derived from a careful discussion with consistent assumptions, but are delivered by spreadsheet without a systematic discussion,” the economists explained.

The group relied on different and inconsistent means of communication.

“In our view, all of this means lots of head fakes for the markets and headaches for investors,” the Merrill analysts said.

What makes for good guidance?

Olystein Olsen, governor of the Norges Bank, says first and foremost, economic agents must indeed understand the “announced reaction pattern.”

Second, the conditionality of the guidance must be very clear and easily understood.

Third, the Fed’s guidance must affect agent “expectations.”

Fed Report Card

Merrill Lynch economists using these standards conclude the Fed, in fact, has done a good job at guiding agents’ expectations.

Over the last three business cycles, the market consistently mispriced the Fed, expecting rate hikes much too early. But then, in 2011, the Fed announced “calendar guidance.”

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In general, the markets looked for rate hikes around the corner, sometimes three years too early.

However, recent expectations have moved out beyond a year. The market is now pricing in about 100 basis points of rate hikes in the first year of tightening and less in the second year, the report states. “And yet in the past two cycles, a year and a half before the first rate hike, the markets were pricing in 140-150 bp in rate hikes in the first year of the tightening.

“Clearly, the Fed has been quite effective, at least so far, in convincing the markets that the tightening cycle will be much slower and later than normal."

As for the conditional nature of the Fed’s promises, the Fed seems to be succeeding on this measure as well. “In particular, the markets seem to have correctly interpreted the Fed’s unemployment rate thresholds,” the economists say.

As for the Fed's impact on agent expectations, while there will be some short-term deviations, Yellen and her supporters should “continue to jawbone the markets back in line,” the Merrill team concludes. The Fed is expected “to likely lean on low inflation to justify a slow exit.”

Its overall conclusion is even clearer: “While there have been plenty of bumps along the road, the Fed’s forward guidance has worked quite well in anchoring expectations. We expect the Fed to defend their exit strategy rigorously and effectively against likely challenges in the years ahead.”

Friday, April 18, 2014

Cyber cops: Target hackers may take years to find

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secret Service investigators say they are close to gaining a full understanding of the methods hackers used to breach retailer Target's computer systems last December.

But the agency says it could take years to identify the criminals who stole some 40,000 debit and credit card numbers of Target shoppers and other personal information from as many as 70 million people in the pre-Christmas breach.

And it may take even longer to bring the offenders to justice. The federal investigation is complicated by the international nature of high-profile digital heists. The perpetrators are likely located overseas, which makes extradition and prosecution difficult. As a result, the Secret Service is focused on monitoring the online activities of its suspects, in hopes that they'll be able to arrest them at an opportune moment, says Ari Baranoff, an assistant special agent in charge with the Secret Service's criminal investigative division.

"We take a lot of pride in having a lot of patience," Baranoff said during a rare sit-down interview with the Associated Press at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "There are individuals we've apprehended that we've known about for 10 years and we're very comfortable indicting these individuals, sitting back and waiting patiently until the opportunity arrives that we can apprehend them."

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Target says it can't yet estimate what the breach will cost the company, but some analysts put it at close to half a billion dollars. The total cost of the breach —which also would include losses incurred by banks, consumers and others— could easily reach into the billions of dollars.

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Target, which is in the midst of its own investigation, has said very little! about how the breach happened, except that it believes the thieves gained entry to its systems by infiltrating computers owned by one of its vendors, thought to be a Pittsburgh-area heating and refrigeration business.

Baranoff couldn't speak specifically about the federal investigation into the Target breach, since the case is ongoing, but he talked candidly about the growing threat of large-scale, financially motivated cybercrimes and the Secret Service's efforts to stop them.

Behind every major breach, there's usually a team of highly specialized cybercriminals who mainly know each other through online nicknames and reputations. Most aren't motivated by politics, just greed, Baranoff says.

If the hackers do invest in anything, it's their own operations. An increasing number are building their own server farms, sometimes leasing space to other criminals, making it harder for law enforcement to track them down.

Further complicating matters, Baranoff says the vast majority of high-level cybercriminals tend to be Russian speakers based in former Soviet and Eastern European countries, which largely puts them out of the reach of U.S. authorities.

But the Secret Service has strong ties with cybercrime agencies in many countries — including The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom — and has found others to be helpful as well, even if they don't have extradition treaties with the United States.

While best known for protecting the president of the United States, the U.S. Secret Service was originally formed in 1865 to investigate crimes related to counterfeit currency. The passage of the Patriot Act following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks expanded its role in investigating computer-related crimes.

From the agency's unassuming headquarters a few blocks from the bustle of the National Mall, special agents infiltrate online forums frequented by hackers, monitoring their activities, and creating online undercover identities in hopes of infiltrating criminal net! works.

The same kinds of activities take place at the Secret Service's other electronic crimes task forces in the U.S. and overseas. The tactics the investigators use are surprisingly similar to the law enforcement methods used by traditional beat cops everywhere. But digital investigations come with their own challenges. And based on the growing volume of stolen data now up for sale, hackers are becoming more sophisticated and more successful at evading justice.

Chester Wisniewski, senior security adviser for the computer security firm Sophos, says it's the Secret Service's ability to coordinate with law enforcement agencies around the world that make it effective in fighting cybercrime and help speed things up.

"With electronic crime, criminals move extremely fast and they're dependent on the police being tied up in red tape," Wisniewski says.

But challenges remain. After years of work, agents might be able to shut down a message board where stolen credit card numbers are bought and sold, but there's nothing to stop another from replacing it the next day, he says.

Meanwhile, political and economic pressure on countries known to harbor cybercriminals can also help, Wisniewski says, noting that U.S. promises of a better trade status helped eliminate much of the cybercrime that previously originated in Romania.

Despite all of that, many countries, including Russia, follow an unwritten rule: they won't pursue cybercriminals as long as they don't commit crimes in their own countries, Wisniewski says.

Baranoff says criminals could evade U.S. capture indefinitely if they stay hunkered down in their homes, but they're generally not happy staying put and like to spend their ill-gotten gains on trips to countries friendly to the U.S.

That's when authorities can make their move.

"These actors are making a lot of money and they want to travel," Baranoff says. "Some have suggested that there's no greater punishment actually than forcing them to stay where they are."

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015

We might not be able to define good customer service, but most of us know it when we get it. Research firm J.D. Power took a more measurable approach and evaluated 600 brands across nine industries and came up with a list of 50 2014 Customer Champions.

The list includes seven health care companies, two airlines and four car brands, in addition to perennial customer service overachiever Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is notorious for his focus on customer service, as he must be because it is very easy to spread negative reports about customer service in this day and age.

The only pure technology company on the list is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which probably makes the list based on its retail stores and well-trained customer service staff.

Among car makers, the Cadillac brand from General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), the Lincoln brand from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), and Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Lexus brand make the list, as does Jaguar, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM).

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Infosys Technologies Limited(INFY)

Infosys Ltd. provides information technology (IT) and consulting services worldwide. It offers IT services, such as application, architecture, independent validation and testing, information management, infrastructure, packaged application, SOA, systems integration, and knowledge services; product engineering services, manufacturing process and plant solutions, and product lifecycle management services; and consulting services in the areas of information and technology strategies, product innovation, next generation commerce, process excellence, and learning and complex change. The company also provides business process outsourcing solutions in the areas of business platforms, customer service outsourcing, finance and accounting, human resources outsourcing, legal services, sales and fulfillment, and sourcing and procurement outsourcing. In addition, it offers collaborative analytics solutions; digital consumer platform; Finacle universal banking solution; iProwe, a Web ac cessibility assessment product; mConnect, a real-time enterprise middleware; and research and analytical support services. Further, the company offers unified communications and collaboration solution that streamlines business processes between employees, customers, and suppliers; iTransform that helps healthcare organizations accelerate transition to new platforms; and supply chain visibility and collaboration product suite. It serves aerospace and defense, airlines, automotive, banking, capital markets, communication services, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, education, energy, healthcare, high technology, hospitality and leisure, insurance, life sciences, logistics and distribution, publishing, resources, utilities, and retail industries. Infosys Ltd. has a strategic partnership with Alstom SA. The company was formerly known as Infosys Technologies Limited and changed its name to Infosys Ltd. on June 16, 2011. Infosys Ltd. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered i n Bengaluru, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Robert Martin]
Infosys (INFY), Housing Development Finance and Reliance Industries LTD are the top three holdings, with weightings between 8% and 10.5%. Of course, just about any India ETF will have a heavy� allocation to Infosys and Reliance. However, INDA dedicates a lower percentage to energy than some of the alternatives, and instead leans more on IT and consumer spending.
[By Dan Caplinger]
Infosys (NYSE: INFY ) will release its quarterly earnings report next Monday, but investors are already skittish about how well the IT services company will be able to perform. In a sluggish environment for global economic growth generally and for IT spending in particular, the entire outsourcing and consulting industry has felt the pressure, and as a primary beneficiary of more positive trends in the industry over the years, Infosys is potentially vulnerable to a reversal in those trends.
[By Dan Caplinger]
Overall, the most popular emerging market ETFs experienced much sharper declines than the less-than-1% drop the Dow posted this week. Vanguard Emerging Markets (NYSEMKT: VWO  ) and iShares Emerging Markets (NYSEMKT: EEM  ) were both down just under 3% for the week. But when you drill down to look for particular culprits in the emerging markets, you don't have to look very far to find that it was generally a broad-based decline:
In China, more concerns about a slowdown in the manufacturing industry put pressure on stocks. The Shanghai index didn't move much, but one key ETF tracking the Chinese market sank nearly 4% in response to the news, largely on weakness in telecom giant China Mobile (NYSE: CHL  ) , which plays a commanding role in many emerging market-focused ETFs.
� Indian stocks suffered from some of the same macroeconomic issues, with the Bombay market's index down about 3% and ETF tracking the market falling 4% to 5%. The Indian finance minister responded to the decline, which many blamed on Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's comments, by saying, "We think that Bernanke's statement has been misunderstood or misinterpreted." Yet that didn't seem to appease investors in outward-directed industries like Infosys (NYSE: INFY  ) , whose IT offerings require health activity levels not just in India but in the U.S. and other customer-heavy countries as well.
� Stocks in Mexico suffered declines of almost 5%, retracing some ground after an extraordinarily strong stretch of gains on optimism about the country's ability to reinvigorate its economy beyond its core reliance on petroleum and to resolve ongoing conflicts with drug cartels.
But there were some relatively bright spots in other emerging markets. Brazilian stocks were actually up a bit on the week, as the nation found itself better insulated from all the happenings in Asia related to China and Japan. Russian stocks also remained relatively stable,

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Tata Motors Ltd(TTM)

Tata Motors Limited, an automobile company, engages in the manufacture and sale of commercial and passenger vehicles primarily in India. The company offers cars, utility vehicles, trucks, buses and coaches, and defense vehicles, as well as develops electric and hybrid vehicles for personal and public transportation. It also involves in distributing and marketing cars; and financing the vehicles sold by the company. In addition, the company engages in the provision of engineering and automotive solutions, as well as machine tools and factory automation solutions; construction equipment manufacturing; automotive vehicle components manufacturing and supply chain activities; tooling and plastic and electronic components for automotive and computer applications; and automotive retailing and service operations. It offers its products and services through its dealership, sales, services, and spare parts network. The company also markets its commercial and passenger vehicles in Eu rope, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia, and South America. The company was formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited and changed its name to Tata Motors Limited in July 2003. Tata Motors Limited was founded in 1945 and is based in Mumbai, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Justin Loiseau]
Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM ) released April sales numbers for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover vehicle lines today, and sales are soaring.
[By Paul Ausick]
Among car makers, the Cadillac brand from General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), the Lincoln brand from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), and Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Lexus brand make the list, as does Jaguar, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd. (NYSE: TTM).

Top Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In Right Now: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

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

[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY). Utilities shares dropped by 0.11 percent in the US market today.
[By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY).

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(RDY)

Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical company. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, and biotechnology products. The company also conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, and bacterial infection. In addition, it involves in the contract manufacture generic prescription and over-the-counter products for branded and generic companies in the United States. The company primarily focuses on therapeutic categories of cardiovascular, diabetes management, gastro-intestinal, and pain management. It markets its products in India, the United States, Europe, and the Russian Federation. The company has a co-development and commercialization agreement with Rheoscience A/S for the development and commercialization of Balaglitazone/DRF 2593, a partial PPAR-gamma agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; an agreement with ClinTec Internatio nal for the development of an anti-cancer compound, DRF 1042; collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; and an agreement with Argenta Discovery Limited for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also has an agreement with 7TM Pharma for drug discovery collaboration on selected drug targets; and an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop and market pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology, gastroenterology, and pain management. Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
Teva has dropped 7.7% to $37.85 today at 3:23 p.m. but doesn’t seem to be spreading though the generic drug space. Taro Pharmaceuticals (TARO) ha gained 1.1% to $79, while Actavis (ACT) has gained 1.2% to $156.25 and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY) has advanced 1% to $40.24. Mylan (MYL) has dropped 0.7% to $38.40.
[By Rich Duprey]
Following FDA approval of its abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA,�Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY ) announced today that it launched its lamotrigine extended-release tablets, the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal.�

Top 5 India Stocks To Own For 2015: Stewart Information Services Corporation(STC)

Stewart Information Services Corporation provides title insurance and related information services required for settlement by the real estate and mortgage industries. It operates in two segments, Title Insurance-Related Services and Real Estate Information. The Title Insurance-Related Services segment offers services that include searching for and examining documents, such as deeds, mortgages, wills, divorce decrees, court judgments, liens, paving assessments, and tax records, as well as provides titles insurance for residential and commercial properties, undeveloped acreage, farms, ranches, and water rights. This segment serves attorneys, builders, developers, home buyers and home sellers, lenders, and real estate brokers. The Real Estate Information segment offers products and services, which primarily include lender services, title technology, foreign and domestic government services, mapping, title information, Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 tax-deferred property e xchanges, pre-employment services, and online filing and transaction management. Its customers include mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, mortgage investors, government entities, commercial and residential real estate agents, land developers, builders, title insurance agencies, and others interested in obtaining property information, as well as accountants, attorneys, investors, and employers. The company has operations primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, central Europe, Mexico, central America, and Australia. Stewart Information Services Corporation was founded in 1893 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
Tower Group has dropped 12% to $3.88 today at 11:39 a.m., while Stewart Information Services (STC) has dipped 0.1% to $31.16, the�Navigators Group�(NAVG) has fallen 1.4% to $54.78 and HCI Group�(HCI) has gained 1% to $38.16.
[By Ben Levisohn]
Tower Group has dropped 40% to $4.43 today, and some other small insurers are also getting dinged this morning. HCI Group (HCI) has fallen 1.8% to $39.36, Stewart Information Services (STC) has declined 0.7% to $31.36 and the Navigators Group (NAVG) has ticked down 0.4% to $56.10.
[By James Fink]
My housing pick is Houston-based Stewart Information Services (STC), a 120-year-old real estate business founded in 1893, that is still owned and managed by the founding family.