10 Best Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014

LONDON -- Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) may open down by a single point this morning.

European markets inched slightly higher this morning as anxiety about global growth prospects was balanced by investors' confidence following yesterday's European Central Bank rate cut. In London, the FTSE 100 was up just 0.2%, but the headline figure disguised large moves for individual shares in the index. Miners, which make up a large part of the index's capitalization, made gains of between 2% and 4%, while traditional defensive stocks such as tobacco and pharmaceutical firms dropped. Royal Bank of Scotland was the biggest faller, sliding 5.6% after missing its quarterly forecasts.

U.S. investors will focus closely on today's nonfarm payrolls jobs report, which is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT and is expected to show that 140,000 new jobs were created in April, up from 88,000 in March. April's unemployment rate is due at the same time and is expected to remain unchanged at 7.6%, while average hourly wages are expected to have risen by 0.2% after remaining unchanged the previous month. At 10 a.m. EDT, April's nonmanufacturing PMI is expected to read 54, down slightly from 54.4 in March, while factory orders are expected to have fallen by 2.8% in March after gaining 3% in February.

Best Healthcare Technology Stocks To Own Right Now: USell.com Inc (USEL)

usell.com, Inc. (uSel), formerly known as Upstream Worldwide, Inc., incorporated on November 18, 2003, is a technology-based company. The Company focuses on creating an online marketplace where individuals interested in selling small consumer electronics.

The Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries helps individuals monetize household items. Household items, such as small consumer electronics that they no longer using.

The Company competes with eBay.com, craigslist.com and BestBuy, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By EquityOptionsGuru]

  Over the past decade, online marketplaces have been springing up at a rapid fire pace.� Consumers continue to seek new outlets to both buy and sell products at reasonable prices with high efficiency.� This need can be seen in the re-commerce industry, which represents an annual market of $57 billion.� Although eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) has been the dominant player for the better part of a decade, it is facing increasing pressure from other marketplaces for cost and convenience reasons.� One such marketplace, uSell.com (OTC PINK: USEL), appears poised to rival eBay for years to come.

10 Best Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: Yum! Brands Inc.(YUM)

YUM! Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It develops, operates, franchises, and licenses a system of restaurants, which prepare, package, and sell various food items, as well as operates Chinese casual dining concept restaurants. The company?s restaurants specialize in chicken, pizza, and Mexican-style food categories. It operates approximately 37,000 restaurants in 110 countries and territories under the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands, as well as approximately 450 casual dining concept restaurants in China. The company was formerly known as TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc. and changed its name to YUM! Brands, Inc. in May 2002. YUM! Brands, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  The impressive results are instructive at a time when other restaurant chains, including McDonalds (MCD) and rival Pizza Hut owner Yum! Brands (YUM), can't get their act together.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) was raised to a still-cautious view of Neutral from a very cautious Underperform at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

  Deutsche Bank has released its list of top stock picks that will capitalize on cloud computing.

10 Best Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: Zygo Corporation(ZIGO)

Zygo Corporation designs, develops, and manufactures ultra-high precision measurement solutions to enhance its customers? manufacturing yields, and optical sub-systems and components for original equipment manufacturer and end-user applications in the Americas, the Far East, and Europe. It operates in two segments, Metrology Solutions and Optical Systems. The Metrology Solutions segment offers 3-Dimensional surface metrology products, precision positioning systems, and custom engineered solutions that are used to measure surface characteristics and critical parameters, including topography and roughness, shape, dimension, thickness, optical characteristics, and defects. This segment primarily provides NewView Series 3D Optical Profilers for fuel injector components; ZeGage to measure and visualize various materials, including rubber, paper, metal, plastic, and ceramics; VeriFire Asphere system that provides high resolution 3-Dimensional surface metrology for aspheric shap ed surfaces; VeriFire Systems, which are optical systems; GPI and VeriFire systems for the defense/aerospace market; and semiconductor products. It serves automotive, consumer electronics, medical, aerospace, military, materials research, optics, flat panel displays, and semiconductor industries. The Optical Systems segment manufactures high precision optical components and electro-optical systems used in the semiconductor, defense, life-sciences, and research markets. It offers defense-related products comprising lenses, windows, freeform optics and assemblies, and meter class optical components; life-science products, such as laser eye correction, dental 3D imaging, and genomic analysis instruments; and custom components and assemblies used in the manufacture of semiconductor chips. The company markets its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent agents and distributors. Zygo Corporation was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Middlefield, Co nnecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Zygo (NASDAQ: ZIGO) shares gained 31.06% to touch a new 52-week high of $19.24 after Ametek (NYSE: AME) announced its plans to buy Zygo for about $364 million.

10 Best Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: Sony Corp Ord(SNE)

Sony Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for consumer, professional, and industrial markets worldwide. The company offers consumer products and devices, including televisions, video cameras, compact digital cameras and interchangeable single-lens cameras, Blu-ray Disc players/recorders, DVD-video players/recorders, home theaters and audio systems, and portable audio and car audio products. It also provides charged coupled devices, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors, system LSIs, small- and medium-sized LCD panels, and other semiconductors; and components, such as batteries, optical disk drives, chemical products, audio/video/data recording media, storage media, and optical pickups. In addition, the company develops, produces, markets, and distributes games, such as PlayStation3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2 hardware and related software; and PCs and flash memory digital audio pl ayers, as well as manufactures broadcast- and professional-use products, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CD discs. Further, it produces and distributes motion pictures and television programs, and home entertainment; creates and distributes digital content; operates television networks and studio facilities; and develops entertainment products, services, and technologies. Additionally, the company engages in the music publishing business, as well as provision of various financial services, including insurance, savings products, loans, and credit financing services; and a network service business and an advertising agency business. It also involves in research, development, design, production, marketing, sales, distribution, and servicing mobile phones, accessories, services, and applications. The company was formerly known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha and changed its name to Sony Corporation in 1958. Sony Corporation was founded in 1946 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Neiger]

  The rumors are growing that Apple is on the cusp of releasing its iWatch, but while investors are impatiently waiting for the company to enter the wearables market, Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF  ) , Sony (NYSE: SNE  ) , Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM  ) and others are already firmly in the smartwatch space.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Japan climbed at the start of trade Tuesday, as U.S. dollar strength against the yen aided the export-oriented market. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) advanced 1% to 14,431.03, and the broader Topix rose 1.5% to 1,201.63, with the greenback moving back above the 楼102 level versus Japan's currency. Among exporters, stock in Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) rose 1.6%, Mazda Motor Corp. (JP:7261) (MZDAF) tacked on 1.5%, and Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) gained 1.4%. Banking stocks were higher ahead of the conclusion of the Bank of Japan's meeting later Tuesday, and officials are not expected to announce any changes in monetary policy. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (JP:8306) (MTU) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (JP:8316) (SMFG) were each up by 1.7%.

10 Best Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL)

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an engineering and manufacturing company. The Company is engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, construction, testing, commissioning and servicing of a range of products and services for the core sectors of the economy, including power, transmission, industry, transportation, renewable energy, oil and gas and defense. Its segment includes Power and Industry. It is a manufacturer of Power generation equipment, supplying a wide range of products and systems for thermal, nuclear, gas and hydro-based utility and captive power plants. It is also a manufacturer of a range of industrial systems and products. Products and systems supplied by the Company include captive power plants, centrifugal compressors, drive turbines, industrial boilers and auxiliaries, waste heat recovery boilers, gas turbines, pumps, heat exchangers, electrical machines, valves, heavy castings and forgings, electrostatic precipitators and seamless steel tubes. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Harry Suhartono]

  Most Indian stocks rose as producers of capital goods and software companies advanced. Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) rallied for the fourth day, helping a gauge of machinery producers to its biggest three-day climb in about two months. The rupee fell the most in a week on concern slowing economic growth will make it tougher to attract investment as the U.S. prepares to rein in stimulus.

10 Best Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: Northwest Bancshares Inc.(NWBI)

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Northwest Savings Bank that offers various banking and consumer finance services. The company offers consumer and commercial deposits, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, term certificate accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises one- to four-family residential real estate loans, multifamily residential and commercial real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and commercial business loans, as well as consumer loans, including automobile loans, sales finance loans, unsecured personal loans, credit card loans, and loans secured by deposit accounts. It also offers trust, investment management, actuarial and benefit plan administration, brokerage services, title insurance, and municipal bonds, as well as involves in the ownership and operation of properties. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 171 community-banking of fices in northwest, southwest, and central Pennsylvania; western New York; eastern Ohio; Maryland; and southeastern Florida. It also operated 51 consumer finance offices in Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ: NWBI  ) announced today that it will be paying a special dividend of $0.12 per share in May to�supplement the regular dividend for the first quarter of 2013, which it prepaid back in December in a bid to�accelerate the distribution of cash�to help shareholders offset some of the risk of higher taxes.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  The financial crisis bought an end to the takeover activity, but as the industry has recovered and valuations have stabilized we should once again see the former thrifts become too tempting for growth-starved larger banks to ignore. It is a worthwhile exercise to look at some older thrift conversions that may be beyond their “sell by” dates.

  Northwest Bancshares�(NWBI)

  Northwest Bancshares (NWBI) did its conversion offering back in 2009, right near the bottom of the financial crisis. The bank has 65 community banking offices in central and western Pennsylvania, western New York, eastern Ohio, and Maryland as well as 52 consumer finance offices in Pennsylvania. The bank has an above-average equity-to-assets ratio of 13.42, and nonperforming assets are just 1.59% of total assets. That puts NWBI in solid financial shape.

10 Best Defensive Stocks To Watch For 2014: LCY Chemical Corp (1704.TW)

LCY Chemical Corporation is principally engaged in the manufacture and distribution of polypropylene (PP), solvents and other chemical products. The Company provides methanol products, including methanol, formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde and dimethyl ether, among others; solvents, including ethyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol and methyl isobutyl ketone, as well as electronic chemical products, PP related products, thermoplastic rubber and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Its products are applied in the manufacture of resins, agricultural pesticides, catalysts, medicines, paintings, inks, artificial leather products, shoes, industrial products, electronic components, toys and electrical appliances, among others. On June 23, 2014, it acquired a certain shares of TECHNOLOGY CORP. After that, it holds 86.65% stake of LCY TECHNOLOGY CORP. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Kraton Performance Polymers Inc.'s(KRA) board is no longer pushing for the company’s stockholders to approve its plans to combine with LCY Chemical Corp.'s(1704.TW) styrenic block copolymer operations.

Pickups, Small SUVs Fuel Auto Sales Rebound in April

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now

Carlos Osorio/APDodge cars on display at a Chrysler dealership in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. DETROIT -- U.S. car buyers came out of hibernation in April to spend on pickup trucks and SUVs, fueling an auto sales rebound that analysts expect to last the rest of the year. Nissan led the way with an 18.3 percent increase over a year ago, with sales of the redesigned Rogue small SUV up almost 27 percent. Chrysler posted a 14 percent gain, boosted by a big jump in sales of Jeep SUVs. Both companies reported record April sales. Toyota (TM) sales grew by 13 percent, led by a double-digit gain in truck sales. General Motors (GM), which has suffered through bad publicity from a string of embarrassing safety recalls, posted a 7 percent gain, led by the Buick Encore small SUV and the Chevy Silverado pickup truck. And Hyundai sales rose a little more than 4 percent on strong SUV sales. Analysts are expecting an industrywide sales gain of at least 8.5 percent compared with last April. That would mark the best April since 2005. But there were some soft spots. Ford's (F) sales fell 1 percent. Its car sales sputtered, although sales of its F-Series pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., rose 7.4 percent. Sales at Volkswagen dropped 8.4 percent. U.S. consumers bought 15.6 million new cars and trucks in 2013. The industry entered 2014 with expectations of selling more than 16 million cars for the first time since 2007. But sales dropped 3 percent in January and were flat in February. March started slowly, but finished with a flourish. "Sales momentum from March rolled into April, pushing the industry to its best back-to-back monthly sales pace since fall of 2007," Toyota vice president Bill Fay said in a statement. Analysts expect that April's sales pace was slightly slower than the rate in March, but should still translate into full-year sales of more than 16 million cars and trucks. "It appears we are in a more stable environment, and the sun is shining," said Jesse Toprak, chief analyst for Cars.com. "We are now finally not stuck in first gear anymore." Toprak expects April sales to rise 9 or 10 percent over a year ago and run at an annual rate of 16.2 million. He expects that pace to hold through the rest of the year. U.S. buyers have continued their shift toward small SUVs. At Ford, smaller SUVs accounted for 16 percent of U.S. sales in April, 2 percentage points higher than the same month last year, said Erich Merkle, the company's top sales analyst. Small-car sales fell two percentage points and midsize car sales were flat. "It is our estimation that both the midsize ... and small-car segments are being adversely impacted by continued really strong performance in the small utility category this year," he said. Small SUVs are stealing sales from other parts of the market as well, especially with baby boomers who are downsizing from larger SUVs but like the maneuverability and high seating position of the smaller ones, Toprak said. Ford's sales report was eclipsed by the news that company CEO Alan Mulally will retire July 1. He'll be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Mark Fields.

Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now

With shares of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) trading around $23, is FB an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Facebook is engaged in building products to create utility for users, developers, and advertisers. People use Facebook to stay connected with their friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world around them, and to share and express what matters to them to the people they care about. Developers can use the Facebook Platform to build applications and websites that integrate with Facebook to reach its global network of users and to build personalized and social products. Advertisers can engage with more than 900 million monthly active users on Facebook or subsets of its users based on information they have chosen to share. Social networking has been a powerful movement and tool in recent years that has changed the way many companies and consumers operate. Facebook is a pioneer and a leader in the social network trend that looks to be here to stay. Facebook will see rising profits through its engagement with the increasing user base that social networking is seeing in coming years.

Hot Energy Stocks To Own For 2015: United Technologies Corporation(UTX)

United Technologies Corporation provides technology products and services to the building systems and aerospace industries worldwide. The company?s Otis segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs passenger and freight elevators, escalators, and moving walkways, as well as provides maintenance and repair services. Its Carrier segment offers heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems, controls, services, and energy-efficient products for residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation applications. The company?s UTC Fire and Security segment provides electronic security products comprising intruder alarms, and access control and video surveillance systems; fire safety products, such as specialty hazard detection and fixed suppression products, fire extinguishers, fire detection and life safety systems, and other firefighting equipment; systems integration, video surveillance, installation, maintenance, and inspection services; and mon itoring, response, and security personnel services. Its Pratt and Whitney segment supplies aircraft engines for the commercial, military, business jet, and general aviation markets; industrial gas turbines; geo thermal power systems; and space propulsion systems, as well as provides fleet management, maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. The company?s Hamilton Sundstrand segment supplies aerospace products, such as power generation, management and distribution, flight control, engine control, environmental control, auxiliary power units, and propeller systems; and industrial products, including air compressors, metering pumps, and fluid handling equipment under the Sullair, Sundyne, and Milton Roy names. Its Sikorsky segment manufactures military and commercial helicopters, as well as offers aftermarket helicopter and aircraft parts and services. United Technologies Corporation was founded in 1934 and is based in Hartford, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) is one of those extremely boring businesses that can rake up untold billions in shareholder value without turning heads on Wall Street. There's nothing sexy about building elevators or fire safety systems, but these products are at the very bedrock of modern society. United Technologies runs a cash machine that is unlikely to ever run out of fuel.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  In Peter Jackson’s the Desolation of Smaug, the second part of his Hobbit trilogy, Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions make their escape from a group of elves by hiding inside barrels and being swept down a river. Investors this week can surely sympathize with those dwarves, as the stock market provided a rocky and uncomfortable ride, and stocks like Nike (NKE),� United Health (UNH) and United Technologies (UTX) pulled the major benchmarks down. Unlike last week, this time there was no escape.

Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: Markwest Energy Partners LP (MWE)

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (MarkWest Energy) is a master limited partnership engaged in the gathering, processing and transportation of natural gas; the transportation, fractionation, storage and marketing of natural gas liquids (NGLs), and the gathering and transportation of crude oil. It provides services in the midstream sector of the natural gas industry. The Company also provides processing and fractionation services to crude oil refineries in the Corpus Christi, Texas area through its Javelina gas processing and fractionation facility. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated in four segments: Southwest, Northeast, Liberty and Gulf Coast. Effective December 31, 2011, the Company acquired the remaining 49% interest in MarkWest Liberty Midstream. On February 1, 2011, the Company acquired Langley processing plant.

Southwest Segment

The Company owns a system in East Texas that consists of natural gas gathering pipelines, centralized compressor stations, a natural gas processing facility and an NGL pipeline. The East Texas system is located in Panola, Harrison and Rusk Counties and services the Carthage Field. Producing formations in Panola County consist of the Cotton Valley, Pettit, Travis Peak and Haynesville formations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 77% of its natural gas volumes in the East Texas System result from contracts with six producers. The Company sells substantially all of the purchased and retained NGLs produced at its East Texas processing facility to Targa Resources Partners, L.P. (Targa) under a long-term contract. Such sales represent approximately 19.4% of its consolidated revenue in 2011.

The Company owns a natural gas gathering system in the Woodford Shale play in the Arkoma Basin of southeast Oklahoma. The liquids-rich natural gas gathered in the Woodford system is processed through Centrahoma Processing LLC (Centrahoma), its equity investment, or other third-party processors. In addition, it owns the Foss Lake! natural gas gathering system and the Western Oklahoma natural gas processing complex, all located in Roger Mills, Beckham, Custer and Ellis Counties of western Oklahoma. The gathering portion consists of a pipeline system that is connected to natural gas wells and associated compression facilities. The Company also owns a gathering system in the Granite Wash formation in Wheeler County in the Texas panhandle that is connected to its Western Oklahoma processing complex. The Company completed the expansion of the Western Oklahoma natural gas processing plant in October 2011.

Approximately 70% of its Oklahoma volumes result from contracts with three producers in 2011. The Company sells substantially all of the NGLs produced in the Western Oklahoma processing complex to ONEOK Hydrocarbon L.P. (ONEOK) under a long-term contract. Such sales represent approximately 13.2% of its consolidated revenue in 2011. The Company owns a number of natural gas gathering systems located in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico, including the Appleby gathering system in Nacogdoches County, Texas. It gathers a portion of the gas produced from fields adjacent to its gathering systems, including from wells targeting the Haynesville Shale. In addition, it owns four lateral pipelines in Texas and New Mexico.

Northeast Segment

The Company�� Northeast segment assets include the Kenova, Boldman, Cobb, Kermit and Langley natural gas processing plants, an NGL pipeline and the Siloam NGL fractionation plant. In addition, it has two caverns for storing propane at its Siloam facility and additional propane storage capacity under a long-term firm-capacity agreement with a third party. The Northeast segment operations include fractionation and marketing services on behalf of the Liberty segment. The Company owns and operates a crude oil pipeline in Michigan (Michigan Crude Pipeline) providing transportation service for three shippers.

Liberty Segment

The Company pr! ovides na! tural gas midstream services in southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia through MarkWest Liberty Midstream. It is a processor of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, with gathering, processing, fractionation, storage and marketing operations.

Utica Segment

Effective January 1, 2012, the Company and The Energy and Minerals Group (EMG) formed MarkWest Utica EMG, a joint venture focused on the development of natural gas processing and NGL fractionation, transportation and marketing infrastructure to serve producers' drilling programs in the Utica shale in eastern Ohio. During 2011, the Utica Segment did not have any operations.

Gulf Coast Segment

The Company owns and operates the Javelina processing facility, a natural gas processing facility in Corpus Christi, Texas that treats and processes off-gas from six local refineries operated by three different refinery customers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 40% interest in Centrahoma Processing LLC (Centrahoma), a joint venture with Cardinal Midstream, LLC (Cardinal). Centrahoma owns certain processing plants in the Arkoma Basin and Cardinal operates an additional processing plant that is not owned by Centrahoma but is located adjacent to and operates in conjunction with the Centrahoma plants.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Moving Marcellus gas
  In Summit's second deal it is purchasing the Mountaineer Midstream gas-gathering system in the Marcellus from MarkWest (NYSE: MWE  ) �for�$210 million.�The newly constructed 40-mile system leads into MarkWest's Sherwood Processing Complex which is currently being expanded from 400 million cubic feet per day to 800 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity. The system Summit is acquiring is secured by a long-term, fee-based contract with Antero Resources. Again, the company is picking up an asset that has secured revenue while providing MarkWest with capital so it can grow its processing capacity.

Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG)

iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the German market, as measured by the MSCI Germany Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the German equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray]

  A few weeks ago, I focused on some of the euro countries' debt levels, as well as the improvement in some of their manufacturing data. Their stock markets have continued to rally sharply as the iShares MSCI France (EWQ) is up over 13% since early July and is doing just slightly better than Germany (EWG).

• [By Mary Anne & Pamela Aden]

  If you're a new buyer and concerned that it's too late to buy, consider buying on weakness. If you want to buy, and or, add to your positions, we'd stick with our strongest stocks, which are: the Powershares NASDAQ (QQQ), the MSCI Germany ETF (EWG), Microsoft (MSFT), and Market Vector Retail ETF (RTH).

• [By Matthew McCall]

  iShares MSCI Germany ETF (NYSE: EWG)

  The mess in the Ukraine has spread to Western Europe. Germany led the region lower with a three percent loss this morning. The German economy is the largest in Europe and with their trading ties to Eastern Europe, it is not surprising to see the country falling on the news. Many Western Europe ETFs have gotten ahead of themselves in the short-term and the pullback on the conflict could result in a great buying opportunity by the end of the week, depending on how the situation plays out.

• [By Mark Salzinger]

  iShares MSCI Germany (EWG) and iShares MSCI Switzerland (EWL) continue to have relatively attractive valuations.

  EWG recently sported an average price/earnings (P/E) ratio on 2013's projected earnings of 12.6 and a price/book value (P/B) of just 1.4.

Best Building Product Companies To Buy Right Now: SJW Corporation (SJW)

SJW Corp., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, purchase, storage, purification, distribution, wholesale, and retail sale of water. It also provides nonregulated water related services, including full water system operations, billing, and cash remittances under agreements with municipalities. The company?s water supply consists of groundwater from wells, surface water from watershed run-off and diversion, and imported water purchased from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The company, through its subsidiary, SJW Land Company, owns undeveloped land in the states of California and Tennessee; owns and operates commercial buildings in the states of California, Florida, Connecticut, Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee; and holds a 70% limited partnership interest in 444 West Santa Clara Street, L.P., a real estate limited partnership that owns and operates an office building. It provides water service to approximately 226,000 connections that serve customers in p ortions of the cities of Cupertino and San Jose, as well as in Campbell, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, the Town of Los Gatos, and adjacent unincorporated territory in Santa Clara County, California. The company also provides water service to approximately 9,200 connections that serve approximately 36,000 residents in a service area comprising approximately 237 square miles in the region between San Antonio and Austin, Texas. SJW Corp. was founded in 1866 and is based in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Finally, geographic diversity, or lack thereof, can be a worry for water utilities. Although demand seems to be pretty consistent over time, certain regions of the country may be called upon to ration or conserve water usage depending on a drought. This can therefore reduce demand and profits for water utilities that are confined to a region of the country prone to droughts. SJW (NYSE: SJW  ) ��which actually operates in two business segments, water utility and real estate ��is one such company that could experience this shortfall. With just over 225,000 customers all located in the Cupertino and San Jose areas of California, any drought in this region could cause a serious fall in demand.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Public water utility holding company SJW (SJW) raised its quarterly dividend 2.7% to 18.75 cents per share, payable on Mar. 3 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 10.
  SJW Dividend Yield: 2.62%

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy Right Now

These days, it often seems unnecessary to carry cash or even your checkbook, as credit cards are accepted just about everywhere. Though you might not realize it, however, paying with plastic can cost you. Some merchants add an extra surcharge or convenience fee onto each credit card transaction, effectively penalizing you for using your�credit card.

Below are some payments you might want to rethink using your credit card for.

1. Overseas Purchases
If you've never traveled internationally, you'll be in for an unpleasant surprise when you realize that, with many credit cards, you'll have to pay a foreign transaction fee for every purchase. Fees average about 3 percent, but can vary greatly by card. While 3 percent might seem small, it can add up very quickly when tacked on to each and every one of your purchases. Combat this issue by paying in the country's native currency as much as possible, or opening a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.

2. College Tuition
College tuition might be one of the most costly expenses you'll ever incur, but putting the balance on your credit card won't help matters. Many colleges and universities do not directly accept credit card payments, due to pricey processing fees, but they do allow you to pay through a third-party vendor.

Hot Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: First Industrial Realty Trust Inc (FR)

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company is a self-administered and fully integrated real estate company, which owns, manages, acquires, sells, develops and redevelops industrial real estate. It is engaged in the acquisition of individual properties, as well as multi-property portfolios. As of December 31, 2011, its in-service portfolio consisted of 354 light industrial properties, 113 R&D/flex properties, 159 bulk warehouse properties, 105 regional warehouse properties, and eight manufacturing properties containing approximately 68.6 million square feet of gross leasable area (GLA) located in 26 states in the United States and one province in Canada. The Company�� in-service portfolio includes all properties other than developed, redeveloped and acquired properties that have not reached stabilized occupancy (generally defined as properties that are 90% leased).

As of December 31, 2011, it also owned noncontrolling equity interests in, and provided various services to, two joint ventures. The Company�� interests in its properties and land parcels are held through partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Company, including the Operating Partnership, of which it is the sole general partner with an approximate 94.3% interests as of December 31, 2011. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired one industrial property consisting of approximately 0.7 million square feet of GLA in connection with the purchase of the 85% interest in one property. The Company generates revenue primarily from rental income and tenant recoveries from long-term (generally three to six years) operating leases of its industrial properties. It also generates income from the sale of its properties.

As of December 31, 2011, the Non-Strategic Assets consisted of 133 industrial properties, including approximately 11.3 million square feet of GLA, and land parcels of approximatel! y 359 gross acres. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 739 in-service industrial properties containing approximately 66.3 million square feet of GLA. During 2011, the Company owned 739 in-service industrial properties containing an aggregate of approximately 66.3 million square feet of GLA in 26 states of the United States, and one province in Canada, with a diverse base of approximately 1,900 tenants engaged in a variety of businesses, including manufacturing, retail, wholesale. During 2011, the Company sold 36 industrial properties totaling approximately 2.9 million square feet of GLA and one land parcel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Industrial real estate owner�First Industrial� (NYSE: FR  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.085 per share/unit, the same rate it paid last quarter when it reinstated its dividend after a four-year hiatus.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy Right Now: Dole Food Company Inc(DOLE)

Dole Food Company, Inc. engages in sourcing, growing, processing, marketing, and distributing fresh fruits and vegetables, and food products to wholesale, retail, and institutional customers worldwide. It operates in three segments: Fresh Fruit, Fresh Vegetables, and Packaged Foods. The Fresh Fruit segment involves in growing and selling bananas under the DOLE brand name primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia; ripening and distributing DOLE and non-DOLE branded fresh produce in Europe; growing, sourcing, and selling fresh pineapples under the DOLE TROPICAL GOLD label; and exporting Chilean fruits, including grapes, apples, pears, stone fruits, and kiwifruits primarily to North America, Latin America, and Europe. The Fresh Vegetables segment engages in sourcing, harvesting, cooling, distributing, and marketing various fresh and fresh-cut vegetables, including iceberg lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, c arrots, Brussels sprouts, green onions, asparagus, snow peas, artichokes, and radishes, as well as fresh strawberries and raspberries. This segment also processes and markets value-added vegetable products, such as packaged salads and packaged fresh-cut vegetables. The Packaged Foods segment produces and markets canned pineapples, canned pineapple juice, fruit juice concentrate, fruit parfaits, snack foods, and frozen fruits, as well as fruits in plastic cups, jars, and pouches. Its principal customers include mass merchandisers and supermarkets. Dole Food Company, Inc. was founded in 1851 and is based in Westlake Village, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Lewis]

  On a valuation basis, Chiquita isn't richly valued, though not the extreme bargain it once was, either. Set to return to profitability this year, Chiquita is trading at a little over 10 times forward earnings. Competitor Dole (NYSE: DOLE  ) , which just this week received a buyout offer led by its CEO, is now valued at 20 times forward earnings. On an EV/EBITDA basis, Dole has been valued by its CEO's offer at nearly 19 times. Chiquita trades at 12.6 times.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy Right Now: Active Control Techn (ACTV)

The Active Network, Inc. provides organization-based cloud computing applications services to business customers in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers ActiveWorks, an organization-based cloud computing platform, which transforms the way organizers record, track, manage, and share information regarding activities and events. Its ActiveWorks back-office system pulls customers� participant management, operational reporting, volunteer management, and service and payment processing functions into one hosted system. The company also provides consulting services, which consist primarily of business mapping, project management services, and guidance on best practices in using its services; and implementation services, including system set-up and configuration, and data conversion, as well as develops customized training and education programs relating to both the use and administration of its services. It serves a range of customers, including communit y and sports organizations, large corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, educational institutions, federal and state government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other related entities. The company was formerly known as Racegate.com, Inc. and changed its name to The Active Network, Inc. in May 2001. The Active Network, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Lethargic networks
  As Home Depot rose in value over the past year, Active Network (NYSE: ACTV  ) , an online event-management service, has been going in the opposite direction, suffering a yearlong decline that's resulted in the loss of 70% of the company's value. Yesterday, though, it went in the other direction, jumping more than 10% after announcing that it will soon be reporting its earnings.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Monday’s session are Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN), Active Network Inc.(ACTV) and Harvest Natural Resources Inc.(HNR)

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  The biggest new holdings are Liberty Media�and AbbVie. Other new holdings of interest include The Active Network (NYSE: ACTV  ) , which specializes in online registrations for endurance events such as marathons and triathlons. The company recently signed a three-year deal with Ironman, and its most recent quarterly earnings report featured revenue up 12% and shrinking losses. Some have questioned the company's solvency, while others like its valuation.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy Right Now: Prosperity Bancshares Inc (PB)

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc., incorporated on December 22, 1983, is a financial holding company. The Company operates through its bank subsidiary, Prosperity Bank (the Bank). The Bank provides a broad line of financial products and services to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers. As of December 31, 2012, the Bank operated 213 full service banking locations; 59 in the Houston area; 20 in the South Texas area including Corpus Christi and Victoria; 35 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area; 21 in the East Texas area; thirty-four 34 in the Central Texas area including Austin and San Antonio; 34 in the West Texas area including Lubbock, Midland-Odessa and Abilene; and 10 in the Bryan/College Station area. The Company added a net of two banking centers in Tyler, TX in connection with its acquisition of East Texas Financial Services (East Texas) on January 1, 2013, after consolidations. In November 2013, the Company announced that the completion of the merger of FVNB Corp.

On January 1, 2012, the Company acquired Texas Bankers, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Bank of Texas, Austin, Texas. On April 1, 2012, it acquired The Bank Arlington. Effective July 1, 2012, the Company announced the completion of the merger with American State Financial Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary American State Bank (collectively referred to as ASB) whereby American State Bank was merged with and into Prosperity Bank. In October 2012, the Company announced the completion of the merger with Community National Bank, Bellaire, Texas. On January 1, 2013, the Company announced the completion of the merger with East Texas Financial Services, Inc. (ETFS) and wholly owned subsidiary First Federal Bank Texas. Effective April 1, 2013, Prosperity Bancshares Inc announced the completion of the merger with Coppermark Bancshares, Inc. and wholly owned subsidiary Coppermark Bank, whereby Coppermark merged with and into Prosperity and Coppermark Bank merged with and into Prosperity Bank.

The Company pr! ovides medical and hospitalization insurance to its full-time associates. The Company considers its relations with associates to be good. Neither the Company nor the Bank is a party to any collective bargaining agreement. In 2012, the Company added additional products and services including trust services, credit card, mortgage lending and independent sales organization (ISO) sponsorship operations.

Lending Activities

The Company, through the Bank, offers a variety of traditional loan and deposit products to its customers, which consist primarily of consumers and small and medium-sized businesses. At December 31, 2012, total loans were $5.18 billion. Loans at December 31, 2012, included $10.4 million of loans held for sale and consisted of residential mortgage loans that were acquired as part of the acquisition of ASB in 2012. As reflected in the table below, loan growth was also impacted by the acquisition of Texas Bankers, Inc., The Bank Arlington, ASB and Community National Bank. Excluding loans acquired in these acquisitions and new production at the acquired banking centers since their respective acquisition dates, loans held for investment grew approximately $234.9 million, or 6.2%. The Company offers a variety of commercial lending products including term loans and lines of credit. The Company offers a broad range of short to medium-term commercial loans, primarily collateralized, to businesses for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion (including acquisitions of real estate and improvements) and the purchase of equipment and machinery.

The Company makes commercial real estate loans collateralized by owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied real estate to finance the purchase of real estate. The Company�� commercial real estate loans are collateralized by liens on real estate, typically have variable interest rates (or five year or less fixed rates) and amortize over a 15 to 20 year period. Company�� lending activities al! so includ! es the origination of 1-4 family residential mortgage loans collateralized by owner-occupied residential properties located in the Company�� market areas. The Company offers a variety of mortgage loan products which generally are amortized over five to 25 years. Loans collateralized by 1-4 family residential real estate generally have been originated in amounts of no more than 89% of appraised value or have mortgage insurance. The Company requires mortgage title insurance and hazard insurance. Other than with respect to mortgage banking activities acquired in the ASB acquisition, the Company has elected to keep all 1-4 family residential loans for its own account rather than selling such loans into the secondary market. By doing so, the Company is able to realize a higher yield on these loans; however, the Company also incurs interest rate risk as well as the risks associated with nonpayments on such loans. The Company makes loans to finance the construction of residential and, to a lesser extent, nonresidential properties. Construction loans generally are collateralized by first liens on real estate and have floating interest rates. The Company provides agriculture loans for short-term crop production, including rice, cotton, milo and corn, farm equipment financing and agriculture real estate financing.

Investment Activities

The Company uses its securities portfolio to manage interest rate risk and as a source of income and liquidity for cash requirements. At December 31, 2012, the carrying amount of investment securities totaled $7.44 billion. At December 31, 2012, securities represented 51.0% of total assets. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company did not own securities of any one issuer (other than the U.S. government and its agencies) for which aggregate adjusted cost exceeded 10% of the consolidated shareholders equity .

Sources of Funds

The Company offers a variety of deposit accounts having a wide range of interest rates an! d terms i! ncluding demand, savings, money market and time accounts. The Company relies primarily on competitive pricing policies and customer service to attract and retain these deposits. The Company does not have or accept any brokered deposits. Total deposits at December 31, 2012, were $11.64 billion. Noninterest-bearing deposits at December 31, 2012, were $3.02 billion. The Company utilizes borrowings to supplement deposits to fund its lending and investment activities. Borrowings consist of funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and securities sold under repurchase agreements.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Houston-based bank holding company�Prosperity Bancshares� (NYSE: PB  ) �announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.215 per share, the same rate it paid the last two quarters after raising the payout 10% from $0.195 per share.

• [By mitu77]

  Various chip manufacturers are now focused on their flash drive storage portfolio to leverage their top and bottom lines. EMC (EMC) is one such company that is a market leader in storage solution providers with global foot prints. Not just the storage, but EMC also provides various solutions like security, big data and hybrid cloud solution. The company�� emerging business is its storage business with high end solutions and performance. The size of data has been exponentially growing and this growth has enabled companies like EMC to flourish. IDC ( Market research company) and EMC had jointly estimated global data size to be around 2,837 Exabytes (EB) in 2012, and it is estimated to reach 40,000 EB by 2020. As the digital world continues to expand it is further anticipated that by 2020, average storage requirement would be around 5200 Gigabytes (GB) per person. 1 Exabytes (EB) = 1000 Petabytes (PB) = 1 million Terabytes (TB) =1 billion Gigabytes (GB)

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Next, I run graphs on liquidity ratios and additional data on various valuation ratios to include price to book value (pb), price to cash flow (pcfl), price to free cash flow (pfcfl) and others that can be seen as options on the navigation bar to the left of the sample graph which only plots the current ratio (cr), a quick ratio (qr) and for those diehards concerned with volatility [size=11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">��/p>

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy Right Now: Pimco Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund (PTY)

PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund (the Fund) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is to seek maximum total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation in a diversified portfolio of United States dollar-denominated corporate debt obligations of varying maturities and other income producing securities. The Fund will normally focus on corporate debt obligations rated in the lowest investment-grade category (Baa or BBB) and in the highest non-investment-grade category (Ba or BB). Its portfolio includes corporate bonds and notes, the United States Government agency securities, sovereign debt obligations, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and short-term investments.

The Fund invests in residual interest municipal bonds and residual interest tax exempt bonds (inverse floaters), whose interest rates bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund may purchase and write (sell) put and call options. The Fund may sell options on the United States Treasury futures and other fixed-income instruments. PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund invests in various industries, including airlines, banking, energy, financial services, food and beverage, hotels/gaming, oil and gas, paper/paper products, telecommunications and utilities. The Fund's investment manager is Allianz Global Investors Fund Management LLC, which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Global Investors of America L.P. PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund's sub-advisor is Pacific Investment Management Company LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Lesson 1: Income is king.
  A look at the four funds trading at the highest premiums to net asset value reveals a common thread: They're all focused on maximizing income. What's interesting, though, is that they use different methods to reach the same ends. Among the three PIMCO funds, PIMCO High Income (NYSE: PHK  ) looks largely to the high-yield bond market for its holdings, while PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunities (NYSE: PTY  ) has a somewhat lower distribution rate but has a sizable allocation to investment-grade debt. The fund with the highest premium, PIMCO Global StocksPLUS, uses futures contracts to add stock exposure to its portfolio of income-producing bonds. Finally, BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond rounds out the top four with its tax-free bond portfolio.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy Right Now: Mechel Steel Group OAO (MTL)

Mechel OAO, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and steel businesses in the Russian Federation, other CIS countries, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Mining, Steel, Ferroalloys, and Power. The Mining segment engages in the production and sale of metallurgical and steam coal, coke, iron ore, and limestone, as well as chemical products, such as coal tar, naphthalene, and other compounds. The Steel segment produces and sells semi-finished steel products, carbon and special long products, and carbon and stainless flat products, as well as metal products, including wire products, forgings, and stampings. The Ferroalloys segment is involved in the production and sale of nickel ore, low-ferrous ferronickel, ferrochrome, and ferrosilicon. The Power segment engages in the generation and sale of electricity and heat energy from steam coal; and power distribution activities. The company, f ormerly known as Mechel Steel Group OAO, was founded in 2003 and is based in Moscow, the Russian Federation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  As a result, Russian stocks have generally been getting hammered. To keep the data clean and discrete, I ran the charts over the last three months. In that period, energy giants Gazprom OAO (OTC: OGZPY) and CNOOC Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE: CEO) are both off more than 18%. The steel company Mechel OAO (ADR) (NYSE: MTL) is off 24%.

• [By Fede Zaldua]

  According Citigroup's analysts its about time to start accumulating Mechel's (MTL) shares. The reason for the sharp upgrade (from sell to buy) was Mechel's recent deal with some of its creditors to ease part of the company's huge debt burden. More specifically, the Russian metals and mining company managed to seal a deal with the state controlled VTB Group through which it managed to get covenant holidays and a debt restructuring. That said, I don�� think Mechel is out from the woods and I do not think its time to buy the company's shares, even when the are down by 67% year-to-date (ytd).

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL) shares reached a new 52-week low of $1.57. Mechel's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $120.84 million.

  Posted-In: 52-Week LowsNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Buy Right Now: African Barrick Gold PLC (ABGLF)

African Barrick Gold plc (ABG) is a United Kingdom-based company. The Company is a gold producer in Tanzania. Its operations include exploration and development to mine construction and operation. ABG has resources of approximately 32 million ounces of gold. The Company has three producing mines, all located in northwest Tanzania: Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi and North Mara, and several exploration projects at various stages of development in Tanzania and Kenya. Bulyanhulu is an underground gold mine. Buzwagi is an open pit gold mine. North Mara is an open pit gold mine consisting of three open pit deposits. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Over the last several months, ABX has been divesting non-core assets. Starting in mid-2013, the company sold its non-core energy assets. Since then, focus has been on selling Australian gold assets. As we have stated previously, we believe the company will continue to sell noncore assets, focusing primarily on its interests in North America. Barrick had been previously seeking a suitor for its 74% interest in African Barrick (ABGLF); to date, the company remains unsuccessful in disposition of the ABG interest. In addition, we would not be averse to seeing Barrick sell off some or all of its copper assets, if they can get the right price.

Top 5 Information Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) recently won a multi-year service contract renewal from infrastructure developer Black & Veatch, a 98-year old engineering, consulting and construction company, which serves clients across the energy, water, telecommunications, federal and security markets. Financial terms of the contract were kept confidential.

The renewed contract spans 6 years, thus extending the existing 7-year relationship. Till now, H-P was responsible for managing Black & Veatch�� information technology (IT) and applications environments. Henceforth, H-P will provide tools, technology and hardware support to help the company extend its geographical reach.

H-P�� services will include data centers, networks, computing devices, workplace, security and applications. Black & Veatch will deploy H-P�� services across its operating centers located in Argentina, India, Malaysia, Singapore, U.K. and the U.S.

Black & Veatch�� reliance on H-P came as a result of years of services that helped the company to remain competitive. The company believes that H-P�� services will be critical to its success in delivering solutions to meet the complex needs of its clients.

Top Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2015: Blue Calypso Inc (BCYP)

Blue Calypso, Inc., formerly JJ&R Ventures, Inc. (JJ&R), incorporated on March 2, 2007, is a development stage company. The Blue Calypso platform consists of two primary components. The Blue Calypso Network, or back-end, includes the data warehouse of ad and related content, the ad rendering engine, endorser portal, brand portal, agency portal, administrative portal, and Web services and communications clusters responsible for receipt and transmission of data and content. The second component is the mobile platform, installed on endorser smartphone devices or accessed via an endorser Web portal, www.calyp.com, and called Calyp. The Calyp mobile application and Website are the portals for endorsers to enter the community, initiate endorsements and interact with other endorsers. The Company owns four registered trademarks in the United States. Blue Calypso Holdings (Texas Corporation) merged into Blue Calypso, Inc. (Delaware Corporation), on December 17, 2011.

On September 1, 2011, Blue Calypso Acquisition Corp., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, merged with and into Blue Calypso Holdings, Inc., with Blue Calypso Holdings, Inc. On October 17, 2011, the Company merged with and into Blue Calypso, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary, for the sole purpose of changing its state of incorporation from Nevada to Delaware. Aztec Systems, Inc. provides administrative and technical support services to the Company. The Company outsources the endorser reloadable Visa Debit card processing to an organization that is responsible for filing necessary taxes documents, preserving personally identifying information (PII/PCI) and maintaining and issuing the cash rewards to the endorsers.

The Company competes with MyLikes, Zuberance, WeReward (IZEA), Dunnhumby, BzzAgent, Groupon and Living Social.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, BCYP surged (+1.17%) up +0.002 at $.173 with��631,330 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 2:29PM EDT September 26, 2013).

  Blue Calypso, Inc. previously increased its intellectual property portfolio by purchasing proprietary mobile gamification technology in an all-stock transaction for approximately $150,000.

  Blue Calypso has already applied for one new patent based on the integration of this technology with its own platform. Management expects to further develop the intellectual property purchased as well as file a family of patent applications. This new family of patents combined with Blue Calypso�� existing patents, creates an unprecedented IP portfolio in the social media space.

Top 5 Information Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014: Berkshire Hills Bancorp Inc. (BHLB)

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth management services. Its primary deposit products include checking, NOW, money market, savings, and time deposit accounts; and primary lending products comprise residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, commercial business loans, and consumer loans. The company also offers electronic banking, cash management, and other transaction and reporting services; and interest rate swap contracts to commercial customers. In addition, it offers wealth management services, including trust, financial planning, and investment services. The company serves individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities with 48 branch offices in western Massachusetts, northeastern and central New York, and southern Vermont. It also operates five community banking offices in Rome, Lee; and New Hartford, New York. Further, it operates as an agent for various lin es of property and casualty, life, disability, and health insurance. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1846 and is headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  This industry tumbled 3.15% by 11:50 am. The worst stock within the industry was Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE: BHLB), which fell 3.9%. erkshire Hills Bancorp and Hampden Bancorp (NASDAQ: HBNK) have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Berkshire will acquire Hampden and its subsidiary, Hampden Bank, in an all-stock transaction valued at around $109 million.

Top 5 Information Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014: AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc.(AVEO)

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery and development of cancer therapeutics. The company?s lead product candidate, Tivozanib (AV-951), is a novel, highly potent and selective oral inhibitor of the vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, receptors 1, 2, and 3. It is also leading the clinical development of AV-299, which includes conducting multiple Phase I clinical trials and preparing for the conduct of multiple Phase II clinical trials. The company?s product candidate in preclinical development is AV-203, a potent ErbB3 antibody that has demonstrated efficacy in vivo. It has strategic partnerships with OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merck, and Biogen Idec, Inc. AVEO Pharmaceuticals was formerly known as GenPath Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in March 2005. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of AVEO Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVEO  ) , a cancer therapeutics company, collapsed as much as 27% following the release of briefing documents today in anticipation of AVEO's meeting with the Food and Drug Administration panel on Thursday.

Top 5 Information Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014: HealthSouth Corporation (HLS)

HealthSouth Corporation offers inpatient rehabilitative healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company primarily operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and long-term acute care hospitals, which provide treatment on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. Its inpatient rehabilitation hospitals offer services to patients who require institutional rehabilitation care, and patient care is provided by nursing and therapy staff as directed by a physician order. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated 97 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, including 68 owned hospitals and 29 jointly owned hospitals; 6 freestanding long-term acute care hospitals; 32 outpatient rehabilitation satellite clinics; 25 licensed hospital-based home health agencies; and managed 4 inpatient rehabilitation units through management contracts. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  As the only healthcare REIT with a "hospital-focused" platform, MPW is a relatively new REIT that was formed (in 2004) to lease from many of the nation's leading hospital operators, including Prime Healthcare Services, Kindred Healthcare (KND), HealthSouth (HLS), Health Management Associates (HMA), Community Health Systems (CYH), Vibra Healthcare, Ernest Health Inc., and IASIS Healthcare.

Shutdown, Schmutdown: Midwest Business Activity Surges

Top 5 Freight Companies To Invest In 2015

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images WASHINGTON -- Business activity in the U.S. Midwest surged past expectations in October as new orders hit their highest level since 2004, countering recent evidence of soft economic growth. Weekly unemployment claims also fell, in welcome news for the nation's battered labor market after the impact of a government shutdown on furloughed federal workers diminished. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer jumped to 65.9 from 55.7, the strongest reading since March 2011 and well above the most optimistic forecast in a Reuters poll. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The U.S. job market has apparently slackened in recent months, with private-sector employers hiring fewer workers in October after uncertainty caused by budget brinkmanship in Washington dented confidence among both consumers and businesses. Given that backdrop, analysts treated the ISM-Chicago numbers with some skepticism. "The report may be exaggerating the extent of economic growth momentum," said Millan Mulraine, director of research at TD Securities (TD). Financial markets showed little reaction to the figures, with stocks lower on investor caution following recent record highs. Treasury bonds were also down modestly. Other recent data on hiring, factory output and home sales in September have suggested the economy lost a step even before the government shut down. Readings on consumer confidence this month have shown the fiscal standoff rattled households. Anxious to maintain policy support while the economy works through this soft spot, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its asset purchase campaign at a policy meeting that opted to keep buying bonds at a $85 billion monthly pace. A 16-day partial shutdown of the federal government had pushed up claims in recent weeks as furloughed workers applied for benefits, but this factor appeared to be diminishing. Claims filed by federal employees dropped 29,713 in the week ended Oct. 19 to 14,423. The shutdown ended Oct. 17. In addition, a Labor Department analyst said California, which had been dealing with a backlog, reported no carryover in claims last week from previous weeks. Technical problems as California converted to a new computer system have distorted the claims data since September, which had made it hard to get a clear read of labor market conditions. The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, increased 8,000 to 356,250. Federal Reserve officials are closely focused on improvements in the labor market, which they have made a condition for tapering their massive bond buying program, while stressing they will wait a considerable period before beginning to raise interest rates after asset purchases have halted. Markets have pushed out their expectations for a rate hike to June 2015, when the chance of a move was priced at 60 percent. Earlier this week, the Fed funds futures contract had signaled a 52 percent chance of a hike in April 2015. The government will publish October's employment report on Nov. 8. Payrolls gained 148,000 in September, with the unemployment rate hitting a near five-year low of 7.2 percent. But if average monthly jobs growth continues at less than 150,000, where it has been over the last three months, that would make it difficult for the jobless rate to fall further.

Hot Media Stocks To Buy For 2014

With the Big Two presenting, Saturday is sure to be the biggest day of Comic-Con 2014. Credit: SDCC.

Comic-Con 2014 is expected to add $178 million to the San Diego economy. Hollywood has much more than that on the line. Every major studio is here in some form. So is every major comic book publisher and game developer. For all of them, Comic-Con is an annual rite of passage in which publicists hawk new products and projects. If fans get on board, riches could follow.

Of course, the biggest reveals are always reserved for Saturday when Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX  ) DC Entertainment and Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS  ) Marvel Studios take the stage at Comic-Con's famed 8,000-seat Hall H. What should investors be watching for today? We asked three of our top media and pop culture analysts to weigh in.

Leo Sun: �What will Marvel do with the outcasts?
I'd like to know what Disney and Marvel's long-term plans are for its recently reclaimed characters. Specifically, Daredevil, Blade, Ghost Rider, and Punisher.

Best Media Stocks For 2015: Liberty Global Inc.(LBTYA)

Liberty Global, Inc. provides video, broadband Internet, and telephony services primarily in Europe and Chile. The company offers broadband services over cable distribution systems, including video, broadband Internet, and telephony; and video services through direct-to-home satellite, or through multichannel multipoint distribution systems. Its analog video services comprise basic and expanded basic programming; and digital cable services include basic and premium programming, digital video recorders, and high definition programming, as well as pay-per-view programming, such as video-on-demand and near video-on-demand. In addition, the company offers voice-over-Internet-protocol and circuit-switched telephony services, as well as mobile telephony services using third-party networks. Further, it owns programming networks that provide video programming channels to multi-channel distribution systems owned by the company and the third parties. As of December 31, 2011, the com pany owned and operated networks that passed 33,262,100 homes; and served 18,405,500 video subscribers, 8,159,300 broadband Internet subscribers, and 6,225,300 telephony subscribers. Liberty Global, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Brugger]

  Upon Liberty Global's (NASDAQ: LBTYA  ) successfully closing its acquisition of Virgin Media (NASDAQ: VMED  ) , Tom Mockridge will assume CEO responsibilities of the U.K. communications firm, Liberty Global announced today.

Hot Media Stocks To Buy For 2014: DIRECTV(DTV)

DIRECTV provides digital television entertainment in the United States and Latin America. The company provides direct-to-home (DTH) digital television services, as well as multi-channel video programming distribution services in the United States. It offers various channels of digital-quality video entertainment and CD-quality audio programming directly to subscribers' homes or businesses, as well as video-on-demand services; and approximately 160 national high-definition television channels and 4 3D channels. The company also provides premium professional and collegiate sports programming, such as the NFL SUNDAY TICKET package, which allows subscribers to view the NFL games. In addition, it offers DTH digital television services in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. The company provides its local and international programming under the DIRECTV and SKY brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it served approximately 19.2 million subscribers in the United States; and 8.9 million subscribers in Latin America. The company was founded in 1990 and is based in El Segundo, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Miller Phd]

  DirecTV (DTV) is engaged in providing digital television entertainment in the U.S. and Latin America. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the company operated two direct-to-home business units: DirecTV U.S. and DirecTV Latin America, which are differentiated by their geographic locations and are engaged in acquiring, promoting, selling and distributing digital entertainment programming primarily via satellite to residential and commercial subscribers.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  Heard on the Street: Deal-Making Patience May Prove Dish’s Virtue: “AT&T’s offer to buy DirecTV(DTV) seems to narrow options for Dish. But Chairman Charlie Ergen still has cards to play.”

Hot Media Stocks To Buy For 2014: 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 Jayson Derrick]

  Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) are reported to be considering a joint bid for Time Warner Cable�(NYSE: TWC). Comcast gained 4.36 percent, closing at $49.52. Charter Communications gained 6.06 percent, closing at $134.66. Time Warner Cable was the biggest winner of the group, gaining 9.92 percent, closing at $132.85.

Hot Media Stocks To Buy For 2014: DISH Network Corporation(DISH)

DISH Network Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides direct broadcast satellite (DBS) subscription television services in the United States. It offers programming that includes approximately 280 basic video channels, 60 Sirius satellite radio music channels, 30 premium movie channels, 35 regional and specialty sports channels, 2,800 local channels, 250 Latino and international channels, and 55 channels of pay-per-view content. The company also offers local HD channels in approximately 160 markets and 215 national HD channels; and receiver systems, including a small satellite dish, digital set-top receivers, and remote controls. In addition, it provides DISHOnline.com, which enables DISH Network subscribers to watch 150,000 movies, television shows, clips, and trailers; DISH Remote Access that enables subscribers to remotely manage their DVRs using compatible mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops through their broadband-connected receiver; and Go ogle TV that enables DISH Network subscribers to search the Internet, check email, interact with social media, and find additional online programming content while simultaneously watching television. As of March 31, 2011, the company had approximately 14.191 million customers. DISH Network provides receiver systems and programming through direct sales channels; and independent third parties, such as small satellite retailers, direct marketing groups, local and regional consumer electronics stores, nationwide retailers, and telecommunications companies. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  Shares of Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) rose today on news that DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH  ) has proposed to buy Sprint for $25.5 billion. What would the deal mean for the competitive landscape? Who would be the big winners? In this installment of Investor Beat, our analysts talk about the future of television.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Until last week, it looked like Sprint would move forward with its deal with Japan's SoftBank, under which the Japanese bidder plans to give the U.S. carrier a massive infusion of capital in exchange for a 70% stake in Sprint. But DISH Network's (NASDAQ: DISH  ) offer last week to make a $25.5 billion bid for the entire company has thrown a wrench into the works, and investors are hoping for higher bids from potential buyers to sweeten the deal.

Hot Media Stocks To Buy For 2014: Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI)

Gannett Co., Inc. operates as a media and marketing solutions company in the United States and internationally. Its Publishing segment publishes 83 U.S. daily newspapers with affiliated online sites, including USA TODAY, a national, general-interest daily newspaper; USATODAY.com; USA WEEKEND, a magazine supplement for newspapers; Clipper Magazine, a direct mail advertising magazine; bi-weekly Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek periodicals; and military and defense newspapers. This segment also includes 17 paid-for daily newspapers; approximately 200 weekly newspapers, magazines, and trade publications; and approximately 600 non-daily publications, as well as involves in commercial printing, newswire, marketing, and data services operations. The company?s Digital segment owns and operates CareerBuilder, an employment Web site, which offers online recruitment and career advancement services for employers, employees, recruiters, and job seekers; ShopLocal, which provides multicha nnel shopping and advertising services; Planet Discover, which offers hosted search and advertising services; PointRoll, which provides digital marketing services and technology; and Schedule Star, which offers scheduling solution for high school athletic departments. Its Broadcasting segment operates 23 television stations and affiliated Web sites, which produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment programming. This segment also includes Captivate Network, a national news and entertainment network that delivers programming and full-motion video advertising on video screens located in elevators of office towers and select hotel lobbies in North America. The company has strategic business relationships with online affiliates, including Classified Ventures, ShopLocal.com, Topix, and Metromix LLC, as well as strategic marketing agreement with Microsoft. Gannett Co., Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Not only did Gannett� (NYSE: GCI  ) shareholders re-elect its board, ratify its public accountants, and approve a say-on-pay measure at the�media conglomerate's annual meeting yesterday, but the board of directors also declared the company's second-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past five quarters.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Gannett (NYSE: GCI  ) reported earnings on July 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Gannett missed estimates on revenues and missed slightly on earnings per share.

• [By WilliamBriat]

  Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is the top newspaper publisher in the U.S.; its flagship paper is USA TODAY. The company also owns 23 television stations and more than 200 papers in the U.K. Gannett Co. provides an annual dividend of 3.3%. During the second quarter, it reported solid broadcasting and digital revenue growth and its fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year circulation revenue growth.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Gannett (NYSE: GCI  ) will release its quarterly report next Monday, and investors are unusually enthusiastic about the company's prospects. Although a big acquisition raised awareness of Gannett's businesses outside the struggling newspaper industry, it's still unclear how much of a boost it will produce for Gannett earnings growth in the future.

Ahead of Apple's Entry, Google Is Pushing Payments

The mobile payments industry doesn't have clear leadership right now. There are a slew of companies trying to tap the space, including eBay's PayPal and start-ups like Square, but no contender has emerged as the dominant player.

Of the five tech giants currently at war, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) have the most immediate structural advantages since mobile payments will inevitably be driven by smartphones, and iOS and Android power over 90% of all smartphones sold. Amazon.com has 209 million active customer accounts with payment info on file, but the e-tailer doesn't operate a smartphone platform (yet).

Google is a first-mover in mobile payments with Google Wallet, but it has failed to move the needle even after launching two years ago. Meanwhile, Apple hasn't made any official forays, instead only offering Passbook that doesn't have a direct way to make payments. The Mac maker is widely expected to enter in a big way as early as this fall, since the iPhone 5S will likely include a fingerprint sensor for biometric security. Those 575 million active iTunes accounts are just waiting to be tapped.

Mobile payments are too important to ignore, and Google is making a renewed push with Wallet ahead of Apple's presumed entry. The search giant has launched a fresh promotion to encourage developers to integrate Google Wallet into their apps. At Google I/O in May, the company had also unveiled a new application programming interface, or API, for developers to integrate Google Wallet into their Android apps. Google said only 3% of shoppers on mobile devices complete checkouts because there are so many steps.

Big G is broadening its horizons beyond just in-app purchases of virtual goods; Google is facilitating the payments for third-party merchants selling physical goods and services.

Apple's key differentiator may be the expected integrated fingerprint sensor, which is something that Google can't uniformly support since that's a hardware element -- a decision that falls into OEM jurisdiction. For now, Google has a first-mover advantage over Apple, which it should aggressively exploit before the iPhone maker shakes things up.

The war among the five tech titans is heating up, and mobile payments will be an important battleground to strengthen platform loyalty. Payments are just one skirmish in the grand scheme of things, and there are a plethora of other dimensions where the big five will compete. Read more for free by clicking here.

Best Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014

Popular Posts: 8 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now4 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now12 Oil and Gas Stocks to Sell Now Recent Posts: 4 Internet and Web Service Stocks to Sell Now 7 Internet and Web Service Stocks to Buy Now 4 Machinery Stocks to Sell Now View All Posts

For the current week, the overall ratings of four internet and web service stocks are worse, according to the Portfolio Graderdatabase. Each of these rates a “D” (“sell”) or “F” overall (“strong sell”).

Top US Companies To Watch In Right Now: Giga-tronics Inc (GIGA)

Giga-tronics Incorporated (Giga-tronics), incorporated on March 5, 1980, includes the operations of the Giga-tronics Division and Microsource Inc. (Microsource), a wholly owned subsidiary. Giga-tronics Division designs, manufactures and markets a line of test and measurement equipment used in the development, test and maintenance of wireless communications products and systems, flight navigational equipment, electronic defense systems and automatic testing systems. These products are used primarily in the design, production, repair and maintenance of commercial telecommunications, radar, and electronic warfare equipment. The Company manufactures products used in test, measurement and control. The Company has two segments: Giga-tronics Division and Microsource. In April 2013, it completed the sale of its product line known as SCPM to Teradyne, Inc.

Giga-tronics

The Giga-tronics Division produces signal sources, generators and sweepers, and power measurement instruments for use in the microwave and radio frequency (RF) range (10 kilohertz (kHz) to 50 gigahertz (GHz)). Within each product line are a number of different models and options allowing customers to select frequency range and specialized capabilities, features and functions. The end-user markets for these products can be divided into three segments: commercial telecommunications, radar and electronic warfare. These instruments are used in the design, production, repair and maintenance and calibration of other manufacturers' products, from discrete components to complex systems.

The Giga-tronics Division also produces switch modules and interface adapters that operates with a bandwidth from direct current (DC) to optical frequencies. These switch modules may be incorporated within its customers' automated test equipment. The end-user markets for these products are primarily related to defense, aeronautics, communications, satellite and electronic warfare, commercial aviation and semiconductors.

Microsource

The Microsource segment develops and manufactures a broad line of yttrium, iron, garnet (YIG) tuned oscillators, filters and microwave synthesizers, which are used by its customers in operational applications and in manufacturing a variety of microwave instruments or devices.

Giga-tronics competes with Agilent, Anritsu, EADS, Aeroflex and Rohde & Schwarz.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Giga-tronics (NASDAQ: GIGA) dropped 14.84% to $1.32. Giga-tronics' trailing-twelve-month profit margin is -30.58%.

  MER Telemanagement Solutions (NASDAQ: MTSL) dropped 14.62% to $2.09 after the company terminated MVNE solution provider agreement with SBC Communications.

Best Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: Cleantech Transit Inc (CLNO)

Cleantech Transit, Inc., incorporated on June 28, 2006, is a development-stage company. The Company focuses to explore opportunities in the development and production of hybrid, electric, alternative fuel and diesel heavy duty transit buses, luxury motor coaches and tour buses. On July 11, 2011, the Company formed Cleantech Energy, Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary. In February 2013, the Company announced that acquired from Crown Equity Holdings Inc., Crown Buy Rite.

On July 25, 2011, the Company formed Cleantech Exploration Corp. as a wholly owned subsidiary. On October 31, 2011, the Company acquired a 40% interest in Ortigalita Power Systems, LLC a waste power generating project in California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Cleantech Transit, Inc. (OTCMKTS:CLNO) (www.cleantechtransit.net ) through its Discovery Carbon subsidiary, develops emissions offset strategies for companies, municipalities, and countries. Today, CLNO has�shed (+11.11%) down -0.025 at $.200 with 580,687 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:06PM EDT July 17, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.

  CLNO�� daily range is at ($.23 – $.1615) thus far and currently at $.200 would be considered a (+18081.81%) gain above the 52 wk low of $.0011. The stock is up +0.20 ��( +11664.71%) since the concerning dates of January 18, 2013 ��July 17, 2013. +11664.71% is the 6 month high and rightly so.

• [By CRWE]

  Cleantech Transit, Inc. (OTCMKTS:CLNO) (www.cleantechtransit.net) through its Discovery Carbon subsidiary, develops emissions offset strategies for companies, municipalities, and countries. CLNO currently has surged (+30.00%) up +0.030 at $.130 with 1,747,826 shares in play at the close (ref. google finance June 21, 2013 ��Close). Last Friday morning (June 21, 2013), this company hit as low as $.102 and as high as $.148. The fact that their is over a million shares in play all week only ignites the excitement that CLNO brings to the table.

  Last Friday (June 21) CLNO�� daily range was at ($.148 – $.102) currently at $.130 would be considered a (+11718.18%) gain above the 52 wk low of $.0011. Eventhough CLNO has surged (+30.00%) up +0.030 at $.130 with 1,747,826 shares in play at the close (ref. google finance June 21, 2013 ��Close), the stock is up +8566.67% since the concerning dates of December 24, 2013 ��June 21, 2013. +8566.67% is the 6 month high and rightly so.

  Earlier this month (June 3), CLNO acquired control of Discovery Carbon Environmental Securities Corporation (��iscovery��. The acquisition advances the strategy of developing significant market share in the alternative clean energy sector. Discovery�� proprietary GreenTrees��for renewable energy, and EvoCert��environmental credits for offsetting business and individual carbon foot prints are some of the exciting products Discovery provides to clients throughout the world.

  CLNO reported last Friday (June 21), that it has acquired 81% of the issued and outstanding shares of Discovery Carbon Environmental Securities Corporation (��iscovery��, a Nevada corporation. The acquisition advances the strategy of developing significant market share in the alternative clean energy sector. Discovery�� proprietary GreenTrees��for renewable energy, and EvoCert��environmental credits for offsetting business and individual carbon foot prints are some of the excitin

Best Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: Eastern Co (EML)

The Eastern Company, incorporated in October, 1912, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of industrial hardware, security products and metal products from four United States operations and six wholly owned foreign subsidiaries. The Company maintains ten physical locations. The Company operates in three segments: Industrial Hardware, Security Products and Metal Products. The Industrial Hardware segment consists of Eberhard Manufacturing, Eberhard Hardware Manufacturing Ltd., Canadian Commercial Vehicles Corporation, Eastern Industrial Ltd. and Sesamee Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. The Security Products segment is made up of Greenwald Industries, Illinois Lock Company/CCL Security Products/Royal Lock, World Lock Company Ltd. and World Security Industries Ltd. The Metal Products segment is based at the Company�� Frazer & Jones facility.

Industrial Hardware

The industrial hardware segment units design, manufacture and market a diverse product line of industrial and vehicular hardware throughout North America. The segment�� locks, latches, hinges, handles, lightweight honeycomb composite structures and related hardware can be found on tractor-trailer trucks, moving vans, off-road construction and farming equipment, school buses, military vehicles and recreational boats. They are also used on pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and fire and rescue vehicles. In addition, the segment manufactures a selection of fasteners and other closure devices used to secure access doors on various types of industrial equipment, such as metal cabinets, machinery housings and electronic instruments.

Eastern Industrial expands the range of offerings of this segment to include plastic injection molding. Typical products include passenger restraint locks, slam and draw latches, dead bolt latches, compression latches, cam-type vehicular locks, hinges, tool box locks, light-weight sleeper boxes for Class eight trucks and school bus door closure hardware. The products are sold directly to ! original equipment manufacturers and to distributors through a distribution channel consisting of in-house salesmen and outside sales representatives. The industrial segment sells its products to an array of markets, such as the truck, bus and automotive industries, as well as to the industrial equipment, military and marine sectors.

Security Products

The Security Products segment manufactures electronic and mechanical locking devices, both keyed and keyless, for the computer, electronics, vending and gaming industries. The segment also supplies its products to the luggage, furniture, laboratory equipment and commercial laundry industries. Greenwald manufactures and markets coin acceptors and other coin security products used primarily in the commercial laundry markets, as well as hardware and accessories for the appliance industry. In addition, the segment provides a level of security for the access control, municipal parking and vending markets through the use of smart card technology.

Greenwald�� products include timers, drop meters, coin chutes, money boxes, meter cases, smart cards, value transfer stations, smart card readers, card management software, access control units, oven door latches, oven door switches and smoke eliminators. Illinois Lock Company/CCL Security Products/Royal Lock sales include cabinet locks, cam locks, electric switch locks, tubular key locks and combination padlocks. Many of the products are sold under the names SEARCHALERT, PRESTOSEAL, DUO, WARLOCK, SESAMEE, BIG TAG, PRESTOLOCK and HUSKI. These products are sold to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, route operators and locksmiths.

Metal Products

The Metal Products segment produces expansion shells for use in supporting the roofs of underground mines. This segment also manufactures specialty malleable and ductile iron castings. Typical products include mine roof support anchors, couplers for railroad braking systems, adjustable clamps for con! struction! and fittings for electrical installations. Mine roof support anchors are sold to distributors and directly to mines, while specialty castings are sold to original equipment manufacturers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  Eastern Co. (EML) - Market Cap $96.49 Million

  Eastern Co. is down 16% over 12 months. The company has a market cap of $96.49 million; its trades at around $15.55 with a P/E ratio of 13.60 and a P/B ratio of 1.30.

Best Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: AGCO Corporation (AGCO)

AGCO Corporation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and related replacement parts worldwide. The company provides tractors, including compact tractors for small farms and specialty agricultural industries comprising dairies, landscaping, and residential areas; utility tractors, such as two-wheel and all-wheel drive versions for small and medium-sized farms, and specialty agricultural industries consist of dairy, livestock, orchards, and vineyards; and horsepower tractors for large farms and on cattle ranches for hay production. It also offers application equipment, which includes self-propelled, three and four-wheeled vehicles, and related equipment for use in the application of liquid and dry fertilizers, and crop protection chemicals; chemical sprayer equipment for planting crops; and related equipment that comprises vehicles for waste application, as well as provides combines. In addition, the company offers hay tools and forage equipment consisting rou nd and rectangular balers, self-propelled windrowers, disc mowers, spreaders and mower conditioners for harvesting and packaging vegetative feeds; and engines, such as diesel engines, gears, and generating sets. Further, it provides implements, including disc harrows for improving field performance; heavy tillage to break up soil and mix crop residue; and field cultivators for preparing smooth seed bed and destroy weeds, as well as offers tractor-pulled planters and loaders. Additionally, the company provides precision farming technologies to enhance productivity and profitability on the farm; and other advanced technology precision farming products to gather information, such as yield data, as well as offers wholesale financing and retail financing. It markets its products under the Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, and Valtra brand names through a network of independent dealers and distributors. AGCO Corporation was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia .

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Kubota isn't the only company aggressively challenging Deere. AGCO (NYSE: AGCO  ) has made aggressive expansion efforts in Africa, working with specialty agricultural lender Rabobank to try to help farmers on the continent buy more farming equipment. Moreover, both AGCO and CNH Global (NYSE: CNH  ) have made emerging markets like Latin America a high priority, reaping benefits from the more rapidly expanding economies among Latin American nations. Deere has targeted Latin America as well, but it hasn't been as aggressive with its international efforts as its peers. Deere's stock price has reflected its lack of initiative in expanding globally:

• [By vaninaegea]

  In august, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) published the mid-year review for the agricultural sector. Their findings point to a slowdown for the industry, highlighting a 9.5% decline on exports through the first half of 2013. Also, late soybean planting in the USA is expected to compound the industry�� slowdown. So, what are the prospects for AGCO (AGCO), CNH Global (CNH), and Deere & Co. (DE) under such conditions?

• [By Mike the PhD]

  Historically the stock prices of Deere (DE) and other agricultural equipment firms and retailers like Case-New Holland (CNH), Titan Machinery (TITN), AGCO (AGCO), Tractor Supply (TSCO), Valmont (VAL), and Lindsay (LNN) have tended to closely track the price of corn. When corn prices go up, farmers tend to make more money, and they spend that money on new equipment from Deere and other firms. This relationship is especially strong for Deere and Corn, but it holds true for all of the stocks above to some extent. (Correlation coefficients between all of the stock prices above and corn are statistically significant to at least the 5% level, see my blog here for more details.)

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  But don’t just buy any company, DeBlase says. Instead, focus on those that have EPS momentum, which has generated outperformance in 10 of the past 11 years, DeBlase says. As a result, investors should prefer Terex (TEX), her top pick, and Agco (AGCO), which she rates Outperform. John Deere (DE) and Parker Hannifin (PH) get tarred with Underweight ratings.

Best Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: Lindsay Corp (LNN)

Lindsay Corporation incorporated on January 7, 1974, is a provider of range of water management and road infrastructure products and services. The Company operates in two segments: Irrigation and Infrastructure. The Company�� irrigation segment includes the manufacture and marketing of center pivot, lateral move, and hose reel irrigation systems, which are used principally in the agricultural industry. The irrigation segment also manufactures and markets repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls, and designs, manufactures and services water pumping stations and controls for the agriculture, golf, landscape and municipal markets. The Company�� infrastructure segment includes the manufacture and marketing of moveable barriers, specialty barriers, crash cushions and end terminals, road marking and road safety equipment, large diameter steel tubing, railroad signals and structures, and outsourced manufacturing services. The Company�� principal infrastructure manufacturing facilities are located in Rio Vista, California, Milan, Italy, and Omaha, Nebraska. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Claude Laval Corp.

Irrigation Segment

The Company manufactures and markets its center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems in the United States and internationally under its Zimmatic brand. The Company also manufactures and markets separate lines of center pivot and lateral move irrigation equipment for use on smaller fields under its Greenfield and hose reel travelers under the Perrot and Greenfield brands in Europe and South Africa. The Company also produces or markets irrigation controls, chemical injection systems and remote monitoring and control systems, which it sells under its GrowSmart brand. In addition to whole systems, the Company manufactures and markets repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls. The Company also designs, manufactures and services water pumping stations and! controls for the agriculture, golf, landscape and municipal markets.

The Company�� irrigation systems are primarily of the standard sized center pivot type, with a small portion of its products consisting of the lateral move type. Both are automatic, continuous move systems consisting of sprinklers mounted on a water carrying pipeline, which is supported approximately 11 feet off the ground by a truss system suspended between moving towers. The Company also manufactures and distributes mini-pivots and hose reel travelers. The Company also markets pivot monitoring and control systems, which include remote telemetry and a Web or personal computer-hosted data acquisition and monitoring application. These systems allow growers to monitor their pivot system, accumulate data on the operation of the system, and control the pivot from a remote location by logging onto an Internet Website. The pivot monitoring and control systems are marketed under the GrowSmart brand and product name FieldNET.

In the United States, the Company sells its irrigation systems, including Zimmatic, to over 200 independent dealer locations, who resell to their customer, the farmer. Dealers assess their customer�� requirements, assemble and erect the system in the field, and provide additional system components, primarily relating to water supply (wells, pumps, pipes) and electrical supply (on-site generation or hook-up to power lines). Lindsay dealers generally are local agribusinesses, many of which also deal in related products, such as well drilling and water pump equipment, farm implements, grain handling and storage systems, and farm structures. The Company has production and sales operations in France, Brazil and China, as well as distribution and sales operations in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and sales operations in Central America and the Middle East serving the European, South American, Chinese, African, Australian, New Zealand, Central American and Middle Eastern markets, respect! ively.

Infrastructure Segment

The Company�� Quickchange Moveable Barrier (QMB) system consists of three parts: T-shaped concrete barriers that are connected to form a continuous wall; a Barrier Transfer Machine (BTM), capable of moving the barrier laterally across the pavement, and the variable length barriers necessary for accommodating curves. The BTM employs an inverted S-shaped conveyor mechanism that lifts the barrier, moving it laterally before setting it back on the roadway surface. The QMB system is useful in busy commuter corridors and at choke points, such as bridges and tunnels. QMB systems can also be deployed at roadway or roadside construction. The Company offers a range of equipment lease options for QMB systems and BTM equipment used in construction applications.

The Company offers a line of redirective and non-redirective crash cushions, which are at locations, such as toll booths, freeway off-ramps, medians and roadside barrier ends, bridge supports, utility poles and other fixed roadway hazards. The Company�� primary crash cushion products cover a range of lengths, widths, speed capacities and application accessories and include brand names, such as TAU, Universal TAU-II, TAU-B_NR, ABSORB 350 and Walt. In addition to these products the Company also offers guardrail end terminal products such as the X-Tension and TESI systems. The Company also offers specialty barrier products, such as the SAB, ArmorGuard, PaveGuard and DR46 portable barrier and/or barrier gate systems. The gates are generally used to create openings in barrier walls of various types for both construction and incident management purposes. The DR46 is an energy absorbing barrier to shield motorcyclists from impacting guardrail posts.

The Company offers preformed tape and a line of road safety accessory products. The preformed tape is used primarily in temporary applications, such as markings for work zones, street crossings, and road center lines or boundaries. The road s! afety equ! ipment consists of plastic and rubber products used for delineation, slowing traffic, and signaling. The Company also manages a testing laboratory, Safe Technologies, Inc., that performs testing of safety products. The Company�� Diversified Manufacturing and Tubing business unit (Diversified Manufacturing) manufactures and markets large diameter steel tubing and railroad signals and structures, and provides outsourced manufacturing and production services for other companies. The Company�� customer base includes certain industrial companies and railroads. The Company�� primary infrastructure market includes moveable concrete barriers, delineation systems, guardrails and similar protective equipment. The United States roadway infrastructure market includes projects, such as new roadway construction, bridges, tunnels, maintenance and resurfacing, and the purchase of rights-of-way for roadway expansion and development of technologies for relief of roadway congestion.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jacob Roche]

  In 2008, only about 14% of cropland in the U.S. was irrigated, and less than half of that was done with high-efficiency center pivot systems, like the kind Valmont and its competitor Lindsay (NYSE: LNN  ) sell, so farmers have been scrambling to upgrade their equipment to deal with increasingly bad weather. This presents a big opportunity for Valmont, which gets about 28% of sales from irrigation equipment. The opportunity is even bigger for Lindsay, which gets about two-thirds of its sales from irrigation equipment.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Lindsay (NYSE: LNN) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.91 per share on revenue of $155.68 million.

  Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.25 per share on revenue of $2.71 billion.

Best Machinery Companies To Invest In 2014: Terex Corporation(TEX)

Terex Corporation manufactures capital goods machinery products worldwide. Its Aerial Work Platforms segment offers portable material lifts, portable aerial work platforms, trailer-mounted articulating booms and light towers, self-propelled articulating and telescopic booms, scissor lifts, telehandlers, and bridge inspection and utility equipment under the Terex and Genie brands. The company?s Construction segment provides off-highway trucks and material handlers; loader backhoes, compaction equipment, mini and midi excavators, site dumpers, compact track loaders, skid steer loaders, wheel loaders, and tunneling equipment; and asphalt and concrete equipment, and landfill compactors principally under the Terex name. Its Cranes segment offers mobile telescopic and tower cranes, lattice boom crawler and truck cranes, and truck-mounted cranes; and straddle and sprinter carriers, gantry cranes, ship-to-shore cranes, reach stackers, empty and full container handlers, and genera l cargo lift trucks under the Terex brand. The company?s Material Handling and Port Solutions segment provides standard and process cranes, rope and chain hoists, electric motors, and light crane systems; and crane components and port equipment, such as mobile harbor and automated stacking cranes, and automated guided vehicles, as well as terminal automation technology, including software under the Demag and Gottwald names. Its Materials Processing segment offers crushers, washing systems, screens, apron feeders, chippers, and related components and replacement parts under the Terex and Powerscreen brands. The company provides financing solutions to assist customers in the rental, leasing, and acquisition of its products. It serves construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, manufacturing, shipping, transportation, refining, energy, and utility industries through dealers, rental companies, direct sales, and major accounts. The company was founded in 1925 and is based i n Westport, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Given Fisher’s mixed message, it shouldn’t come s a surprise that Caterpillar is little changed today at $90.52, even as Terex (TEX) has fallen 0.8% to $41.03 and Joy Global (JOY) has dropped 1.1% to $55.19. Deere has (DE) gained 0.4% to $90.10.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Manitowoc have gained 33% so far in 2014, easily besting Caterpillar’s (CAT) 6.6% rise, Deere’s (DE) 3.1% drop, Joy Global’s (JOY) 3.1% fall and Terex’s (TEX) 2.3% advance.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Caterpillar’s dismal report is weighing on other stocks machinery companies.�Terex�(TEX) has fallen 2.5% to $34.37, Joy Global (JOY) has dropped 1.1% to $53.91 and Manitowoc (MTW) is off 1.9% at $19.36.