10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014

UBS (UBS) released estimates for its second-quarter results on Monday in an apparent effort to pre-signal the markets about its actual results, which are set to be released July 30.

The global investment bank expects its operating profit before taxes to be up 7% from last year to roughly 1.020 billion Swiss francs (or $1.3 billion) and its net profit attributable to shareholders to jump 62% to about 690 million Swiss francs ($742 million).

Last year, it reported a second-quarter operating profit before taxes of 951 million Swiss francs ($1.02 billion) and a net profit of 425 million Swiss francs ($457 million).  

The bank also says that its Basel III common equity tier 1 ratio should “improve significantly to approximately 11.2% on a fully applied basis and 16.2% on a phase-in basis.”

These preliminary results include pre-tax charges of about 865 million Swiss francs (or $930 million) for litigation, other provisions and an impairment of financial assets; some 700 million Swiss francs ($753 million) is expected to affect the results of the Corporate Center, while roughly CHF 100 million ($108 million) will impact its non-U.S. Wealth Management in relation to the Swiss-U.K. tax agreement.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Rambler Metals And Mining Plc(RAB.V)

Rambler Metals & Mining PLC, a junior mining company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada. It principally holds a 100% interest in the Ming copper-gold mine located on Newfoundland and Labrador?s Baie Verte Peninsula. The company is based in Sutton, the United Kingdom.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Xyratex Ltd.(XRTX)

Xyratex Ltd provides modular solutions for the enterprise data storage industry and hard disk drive (HDD) capital equipment for the HDD industry. It offers enterprise data storage solutions that include storage enclosures, which provide a common technology platform that reduces qualification time for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers and includes management interface software, standardized across enclosures, and provides easy integration as new platforms; integrated application platforms that comprise embedded storage platforms, which incorporate embedded server modules into its storage enclosures; and HPC Solutions that consolidate controllers, storage enclosures, application platforms, operating system, data protection, Lustre File System, and management software into a optimized scale-out storage platform that can be deployed in hours rather than weeks. The company also designs and manufactures a range of process test systems, which incorporate mechanical and electronic hardware, and firmware for controlling the HDD operating environment during the formatting of the disk drive. In addition, it provides automated solutions comprising substrate and media inspection systems; servo track writers and related subassemblies; and head testing systems that test and process HDD components throughout the manufacturing process. The company markets and sells its products primarily to OEMs and disk drive manufacturers, as well as to other companies in North America, Asia, and Europe. Xyratex Ltd was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Havant, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Xyratex (NASDAQ: XRTX) reported a drop in its third-quarter profit. However, the company issued downbeat forecast for the fourth quarter. Xyratex shares tumbled 7.83% to $11.06 in the after-hours trading session.

Top Stocks To Watch Right Now: SkyPeople Fruit Juice Inc.(SPU)

SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production and sale of fruit juice concentrates, fruit beverages, and other fruit related products in the People?s Republic of China. It offers fruit concentrates, such as fruit purees, concentrated fruit purees, and concentrated apple, pear, and kiwifruit juices; fruit juice and fruit cider beverages that include apple juice, pear juice, kiwifruit juice, mulberry juice, kiwifruit cider, and mulberry cider; and other fruit related products, such as organic and non-organic fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, dried fruits, preserved fruits, fructose, concentrated turnjujube juice, kiwifruit seeds, and apple spice. The company sells its products directly to hotels, supermarkets, whole sellers, and other outlets, as well as to end-users; and through distributors and trade Web sites. SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc. also exports its products to the United States, the European Union, South Korea, Russia, and the Middl e East. The company is headquartered in Xi?an, the People?s Republic of China.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Affirmative Insurance Holdings Inc.(AFFM)

Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a distributor and producer of non-standard personal automobile insurance policies and related products and services for individual consumers in the United States. It offers liability-only policies that comprise bodily injury liability coverage, property damage liability coverage, and personal injury protection coverage and/or medical payment coverage. The company also provides full coverage policies, which include collision coverage for damage to the insured vehicle as a result of a collision with another vehicle or object; comprehensive coverage for damages to the insured vehicle as a result of theft, hail, and vandalism; and optional coverages, such as towing, rental reimbursement, and special equipment. In addition, Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc. sells third-party non-standard personal automobile insurance policies; and complementary insurance products underwritten by third-party insurance companies, including homeowners and renters insurance, motorcycle and recreational vehicle coverage, vehicle protection, and travel protection; and non-insurance products and services, which comprise towing, motor club memberships, hospital indemnity insurance, and bond cards. Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc. distributes its products through independent agencies, unaffiliated underwriting agencies, and retail agencies, as well as through premium finance companies. The company was formerly known as Instant Insurance Holdings, Inc. Affirmative Insurance Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Addison, Texas.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Yangaroo Inc(YOO.V)

Yangaroo Inc., a technology company, enables secure business to business distribution of media via the Internet. It offers digital media distribution system (DMDS), a Web-based delivery system that enables secure digital file distribution by incorporating biometrics, encryption, and watermarking. The company?s DMDS replaces the physical distribution of audio and video content for music, music videos, and advertising to television, radio, media, retailers, award shows, and other authorized recipients with digital delivery of broadcast quality media through the Internet. It offers DMDS Music that delivers new music to broadcasters, radio programmers, journalists, and other industry influencers; and DMDS Advertising, which delivers audio and video files to broadcasters. Yangaroo Inc. serves music and advertising industries. The company was formerly known as Musicrypt.com Inc. and changed its name to Yangaroo Inc. in July 2007. Yangaroo Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headqua rtered in Toronto, Canada.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Fuwei Films(Holdings)

Fuwei Films (Holdings) Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and export of plastic film using the biaxially-oriented stretch technique in China. The company offers its biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) film under the ?Fuwei Films? brand name primarily for use in flexible packaging, printing, laminating, and aluminum-plating applications, as well as in electrical and electronic uses. Its products include printing base film used in printing and lamination applications; stamping foil base film and transfer base films used for the packaging of luxury items, such as cigarettes and alcohol; metallization film or aluminum plating base film used for vacuum aluminum plating for flexible plastic lamination; high-gloss film used for aesthetically enhanced packaging purposes; and heat-sealable film used for construction, printing, and heat sealable bags making. The company?s products also comprise laser holographic base film used as anti-counterfeit film for food, medicine, cosmetics, cigarettes, and alcohol packaging; dry film used in circuit boards production, and for nameplate and crafts etching; and heat shrinkage film used for special-shaped packaging for alcohol, cans, mineral water, and cleaning products. It exports its products to packaging customers and distributors primarily in Europe, Asia, and North America. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Weifang, China. As of May 1, 2011, Fuwei Films (Holdings) Co., Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Weifang State-owned Assets Operation Administration Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Haigh]

  Among stocks that fell, Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Ltd. (551), a supplier of shoes to Nike Inc. and Adidas AG, sank 12 percent to HK$23.80. The company said its first-quarter results showed a ��ignificant downturn��compared with a year earlier and this could adversely affect interim performance.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (SRPT.W)

Sarepta Therapeutics Inc., formerly AVI BioPharma, Inc., incorporated on July 22, 1980, biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based therapeutics for the treatment of rare and infectious diseases. The Company�� product candidates include Eteplirsen, AVI-6002, AVI-6003, and AVI-7100. As of December 31, 2011, the Company primarily focused on advancing the development of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug candidates, including its lead product candidate, eteplirsen, which is in a Phase IIb trial. The Company is also focused on developing therapeutics for the treatment of infectious diseases, including its lead infectious disease programs aimed at the development of drug candidates for the Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever viruses. The Company's program focuses on the development of disease-modifying therapeutic candidates for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The Company initiated a Phase IIb trial for eteplirsen in August 2011 with an objective of initiating a pivotal trial subsequent to 2011.

The Company is also leveraging the capabilities of its RNA-based technology platforms to develop therapeutics for the treatment of infectious diseases. The Company's RNA-based drug programs are clinically evaluated for the treatment of DMD and have also demonstrated anti-viral activity in infectious diseases such as Ebola, Marburg and H1N1 influenza in certain animal models. The Company's lead product candidates are at various stages of development.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Program

The Company's lead program is designed to address specific gene mutations that result in DMD by forcing the genetic machinery to skip over an adjacent contiguous piece of RNA and, thus, restore the ability of the cell to express a new, truncated but functional, dystrophin protein.

Eteplirsen is an antisense PMO-based therapeutic in clinical development for the treat ment of individuals with DMD who have an error in the gene ! c! oding for dystrophin that can be treated by skipping exon 51. Eteplirsen targets the frequent series of mutations that cause DMD. Eteplirsen has been granted orphan drug designation in the United States and European Union. In addition to the Company's lead product candidate, eteplirsen, the Company is actively pursues development of a product candidate that skips exon 45 through an IND-enabling collaboration.

Anti-Viral Programs

The Company is implementing its RNA-based technology platforms in its anti-viral programs for the development of therapeutics to treat viruses, such as Ebola, Marburg and influenza. The Company's arrangement with DoD supporting the development of the Company's Ebola and Marburg virus drug candidates provides funding for all clinical and licensure activities necessary to obtain approval of a New Drug Application (NDA), by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), if DoD exercises all of its options under the arra ngement. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company paused its clinical development efforts on AVI-7100 and is exploring funding opportunities or partnerships with DHHS and industry collaborators to advance its development.

The Company's anti-viral therapeutic programs use the Company's translation suppression technology and applies its PMOplus chemistry backbone, an advanced generation of its base PMO chemistry backbone that selectively introduces positive backbone charges to improve selective interaction between the drug and its target. The Company's translation suppressing technology is based on Translation Suppressing Oligomers (TSOs), which are PMO-based compounds that stop or suppress the translation of a specific protein by binding to their specific target sequence in mRNA.

The Company is pursuing development and regulatory approval of its Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever virus product candidates under the FDA's Animal Rule. The Company's lead product candidate against the Ebola viru! s in! fec! tion i! s AVI-6002. For Marburg virus infection, the Company's lead product candidate has been AVI-6003. In February 2012, the Company announced that the Company received approval from the FDA to remove one of the two oligomers composing AVI-6003 and proceed with a single oligomer approach, AVI-7288, given that efficacy in non-human primates has been demonstrated to be attributable to this single oligomer. The Company is exploring the feasibility of alternate routes of administration of its Ebola and Marburg drug candidates, and at DoD's invitation, the Company is developing a proposal to be submitted for a study to demonstrates feasibility of the intramuscular route.

AVI-6002, which is a combination of AVI-7537 and AVI-7539, is designed for post-exposure prophylaxis after documented or suspected exposure to the Ebola virus. The Company is evaluating the feasibility of developing AVI-7537 as a single agent for the post-exposure prophylaxis after documented or suspected exposure to Ebola virus. AVI-6003, which is a combination of AVI-7287 and AVI-7288, is designed for post-exposure prophylaxis after documented or suspected exposure to Marburg virus. In February 2012, the Company announced that the Company received approval from the FDA to proceed with AVI-7288 as a single agent against Marburg virus infection. The Company intends to proceed with dosing AVI-7288 in the Phase I multiple ascending dose studies and in non-human primate studies.

Influenza Program

The Company's anti-viral therapeutic programs are also focused on the development of the Company's product candidates designed to treat pandemic influenza viruses. AVI-7100 is the Company's lead product candidate for the treatment of influenza and employs its PMOplus technology. In June 2011, the Company initiated dosing of AVI-7100 through intravenous infusion in single-ascending doses in up to 48 healthy adult volunteers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company paused its clinical development efforts on AVI-7100 ! and are !! exploring! funding opportunities or partnerships to advance its development.

The Company has developed three new phosphorodiamidate-linked morpholino oligomers (PMO)-based chemistry platforms in addition to its original PMO-based technology. The Company's PMO-based molecules are designed to sterically block the access of cellular machinery to pre-mRNA and mRNA without degrading the RNA. Through this selective targeting, two distinct biologic mechanisms of action can be initiated: modulation of pre-mRNA splicing and inhibition of mRNA translation.

The Company competes with GlaxoSmithKline plc, Toyama Chemical, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp., Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Prosensa, and Santaris Pharma A/S.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (FO)

Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd. (Falcon) is an energy company engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring and developing petroleum and natural gas properties. The Company focuses on the acquisition, exploration and development of conventional and unconventional petroleum and natural gas projects in Central Europe (specifically Hungary), Australia and South Africa. Falcon holds 100% interest in 245,775 acres in a production license in the Mako Trough, southern Pannonian Basin in Hungary. Effective July 18, 2013, Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd raised its interest to 96.9% from 72.68%, by acquiring a further 24.22% interest in Falcon Oil & Gas Australia Ltd, from Sweetpea Petroleum Corp Pty Ltd, a unit of PetroHunter Energy Corp. Effective September 19, 2013, Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd acquired the remaining 3.1% stake, which it did not already own, in Falcon Oil & Gas Australia Ltd, a oil and gas exploration and production company.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: PFSweb Inc.(PFSW)

PFSweb, Inc. provides business process outsourcing and ecommerce solutions in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It offers digital marketing services comprising search engine optimization, pay-per-click, affiliate marketing, comparison shopping engines, merchandising, Web analytics, customer experience, email marketing, and social media; and ecommerce technology services, including End2End eCommerce solution for the direct-to-consumer (DTC) and business-to-business (B2B) online channels. The company also provides order management services consisting of order management interfaces, collaboration technologies, and information management services; customer care services, including customer relationship management, customer order assistance, quality monitoring, and interactive voice response; and logistics and fulfillment services comprising distribution facilities and infrastructure, facility operations and management, kitting and assembly, and product management and insp ection. In addition, it offers financial management services consisting of billing, credit, collection, and cash application services for B2B clients, as well as fraud review, chargeback management, and processing and settlement credit card services for DTC clients; and professional consulting services in the areas of interactive marketing ecommerce, supply chain management, distribution and fulfillment, technology interfacing, logistics, and customer support. Further, the company provides seller services financial models, including enablement financial, agent or flash financial, and retail financial models. It serves fashion apparel and accessories, fragrance and beauty products, consumer packaged goods, home furnishings and housewares, consumer electronics, office technology and network connectivity products, and aviation spare parts industries. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Allen, Texas.

10 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Align Technology Inc.(ALGN)

Align Technology, Inc., a medical device company, designs, manufactures, and markets clear aligner systems or Invisalign systems, intra-oral scanners, and computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) restorative models used in dentistry, orthodontics, and dental records storage in North America and Internationally. The company?s clear aligner products include Invisalign Full for the treatment of malocclusions; Invisalign Express and Invisalign Lite solutions for less complex orthodontic cases; Invisalign Teen, which is primarily marketed to orthodontists for treating malocclusion in teenage patients; Invisalign Assist for use in anterior alignment and aesthetically-oriented cases; and Vivera retainers for invisalign and non-invisalign patients. It also offers ancillary products comprising cleaning material and adjusting tools used by dental professionals during the course of treatment. In addition, the company provides iTero scanners; iOC scanners; a nd iTero dual scanner, which includes both the iTero restorative software and the iOC orthodontic software, as well as services comprising iTero restorative and OrthoCAD services. Further, it offers CAD/CAM services, such as iTero Models and Dies; OrthoCAD iCast and OrthoCAD iRecord that provides a digital alternative to traditional stone cast models, which allows for simplified storage and digital record retrieval; and OrthoCAD iQ, a computer-guided system for optimal placement of traditional brackets and customized indirect bonding tray system. The company distributes its products primarily directly to orthodontists and general practitioner dentists, as well as restorative dentists, including prosthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons. Align Technology, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN  ) , a medical device and software design company for the dental and orthodontics industry, jumped as much as 12% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Its braces might be invisible but Align Technology’s (ALGN) gains are not.

  Getty Images

  The maker of transparent braces and other dental products reported earnings of 42 cents a share, week above analyst forecasts for a 30 cent profit. Revenue, meanwhile, rose to $164.5 million, above the $158.6 million forecast.

  William Blair’s John Kreger and team are impressed:

  We are encouraged by the strong results, which stand in stark contrast to second half 2012 when volume growth and margins declined unexpectedly. Align’s Invisalign is clearly gaining market share, generating 16% unit growth in an environment where overall orthodontic procedures are essentially flat by our estimates.

  Stifel’s Jonathan Block and Ethan Roth can barely contain their excitement. They write:

  Our entire 2014 leverage thesis played out in 3Q13 as ALGN significantly beat EPS numbers…yet we were silly enough to make a cautious call in front of the quarter. That said, we think our 2014 $1.66 versus the Street�� $1.53 should no longer be viewed as an ��nrealistic expectation��and we believe consensus likely brings their estimates up to us��overnight. Align seems to be in the sweet spot as past investments (APAC, N.A. sales reps) are starting to pay off and new innovations (SmartTrack) are resonating with docs and helping to drive utilization higher. We are raising our 2014 and 2015 EPS estimates. Reiterate Buy and increase PT from $54 to $57.

  Cantor Fitzgerald’s Jeremy Feffer upgrades Aligns shares to Buy from Hold:

  After seemingly hitting bottom in 3Q:12, ALGN has taken concrete steps to revitalize its North American GP dentist segment, stabilize/improve pricing, and build a formidable O-U.S. sales and training operation, all of which are paying dividends. With better overall volume trends, the ClearCorrect ITC victory, and the Realine launch, we see plenty of runway for continued outperformance.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Bracing for success
  Preliminary third-quarter results sent shares of orthodontic medical device maker Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN  ) soaring by nearly 34% this week. Align blew past expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Stock Falls After 3D Printer Developer Camtek Clarifies Product Plans

Shares of tech industry testing and inspection systems maker Camtek Ltd. (NASDAQ: CAMT) closed at $1.89 on November 7th, the day the company announced third-quarter earnings. It closed at $2.65 last Friday and skyrocketed to a high of $6.43 on Tuesday before dropping back to around $4.00 in Wednesday trading.

The rise was due to the company's mention during its conference call that it would be introducing a 3D printer for the printed circuit board (PCB) market next year. The decline was due to a clarification of the company's plans that was issued Tuesday afternoon as a result of the volume spike in Camtek's shares.

The Israel-based firm offered this clarification:

[Camtek] is now in the advanced stages of the development of the GreenJet, a digital 3D printing system used for the deposition of solder mask designated for the printed circuit board industry (the "GreenJet System"). The first installation of the GreenJet System for evaluation in a customer’s manufacturing environment is expected to take place in the beginning of 2014 and, subject to the results, the Company expects the first commercial sales of the GreenJet System to take place during 2014.

The company also said that it would stop development on a sample-preparation product for the semiconductor industry and "focus its activity in the field of digital 3D printing for the printed circuit board industry, including the GreenJet System."

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, Camtek's share volume reached about 24 million shares each day and more than 5 million shares have traded hands by the mid-afternoon on Wednesday. That number would probably be larger were it not for traders getting an early start on the Thanksgiving holiday.

Profits from Camtek's GreenJet system appear to be at least six months to a year away. Many investors who bought the stock earlier this week are taking profits rather than waiting. It's pretty likely that another opportunity to get the stock cheaply will turn up.

Camtek's shares are trading down about 11.5% at $4.16 in a 52-week range of $1.31 to $6.43.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014

This week in new hires, Carol Yochem joined TD Wealth; Karen McNeill was appointed head of family history for U.S. Bank’s Ascent Private Capital Management; Nanette Abuhoff Jacobson was tapped as global investment strategist for Hartford Funds; Kenneth Robb and Robert DiMaggio joined fi360; RidgeWorth Investments welcomed Christopher Danos, Scott Goldberg and Mallory Carr; Amar Kothapalli was promoted to partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause; and John Liebowitz joined Davis Polk as a partner.

Also, Lincoln Financial Advisors appointed Bill Fortner managing director; Washington Trust named Mark Gim head of Washington Trust Wealth Management; Simple Alternatives added two new managers as subadvisors to its S1 fund; clark Kendall was named to the City of Rockville’s financial advisory board; the SEC promoted Amelia Cottrell to associate regional director for enforcement in New York; Lisa Weil was named to the SPARK Institute’s board of directors; and Commonwealth Financial was named a Best Place to Work for a seventh time.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Total Telcom Inc.(TTZ.V)

Total Telcom Inc., through its subsidiary, ROM Communications Inc., develops and provides Web to wireless products and services for commercial, industrial, and consumer applications in North America. The company offers various products based on MicroCom, a Web to wireless technology; and ROMTraX, a proprietary hardware and software. Its products comprise Remote Weather Station, a solution that provides picture of the weather trends; EnviroWatch Irrigation Flow Metering solution to track water consumption, inflow, and outflow; and Water Quality Monitor, a series of devices to offer data acquisition for various environmental monitoring or study applications, including water quality monitoring. The company also provides Vessel Monitoring System, a satellite based positional tracking system; ROMTraX asset tracking device to track the location and movement of vehicles or other mobile assets; Power Fault Trip Monitor, a fault monitoring solution for monitoring power underground and aerial circuit over-current faults for utility or other providers; and Remote Power/Utility Monitor, a power monitoring solution for modbus based power meters. In addition, it offers Remote Gas Flow Monitor, a solution to remotely connect to various electronic gas flow meters; MicroCom Remote Telemetry, a device with a combination of proprietary hardware and software; and EnviroWatch Remote Telemetry for the data acquisition of various environmental tracking or study applications. The company?s products are used in environmental, tracking, utility, oil and gas, and customized applications. Its solutions enable companies and organizations to remotely monitor, track, and control their fixed and mobile assets with a Web browser from any Internet enabled personal computer. The company is headquartered in Kelowna, Canada.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Cross Country Healthcare Inc.(CCRN)

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. provides healthcare staffing and outsourcing services to the healthcare market in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Asia. The company?s Nurse and Allied Staffing segment provides nurse and allied staffing services; healthcare professionals in various specialties, such as operating room and radiology technicians, rehabilitation and respiratory therapists, radiation therapy technicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants; and registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse assistants for per diem assignments. This segment markets its nurse and allied staffing services primarily to acute care hospitals, health systems, public and private healthcare facilities, and for-profit and not-for-profit facilities under the Cross Country TravCorps, MedStaff Healthcare Solutions, NovaPro, Cross Country Local, CRU-48, Allied Health Group, and Assignment America names. Its Physician Staffing segment offers temporary physici an staffing services. The company?s Clinical Trial Services segment provides contract staffing and outsourcing, drug safety monitoring, and regulatory consulting services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies, as well as contract research organization customers under the ClinForce, Assent, and AKOS brands. Its Other Human Capital Management Services segment offers education and training, as well as retained search services primarily related to physicians, allied health, and healthcare executives. The company was formerly known as Cross Country, Inc. and changed its name to Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. in May 2003. Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Buy Right Now: Navarre Corporation(NAVR)

Navarre Corporation engages in the distribution and publication various computer software, home entertainment, and multimedia products in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Distribution and Publishing. The Distribution segment distributes computer software, home video, video games, and accessories; and provides a range of value-added services including, vendor-managed inventory, Internet-based ordering, electronic data interchange services, fulfillment services, and retailer-oriented marketing services to the vendors and retailers. The Publishing segment owns or licenses various computer software and home video titles, and other related merchandising and broadcasting rights. This segment publishes print, personal productivity, education, family entertainment, and system utilities computer software categories; and packages, brands, markets, and sells to retailers, third party distributors, and the company?s distribution business. The company?s custom ers include wholesale clubs, mass merchandisers, third party distributors, computer specialty stores, book stores, office superstores, and electronic superstores. Navarre Corporation was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in New Hope, Minnesota.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Las Vegas From Home.Com Enterta (LVH.V)

Las Vegas From Home.com Entertainment Inc. engages in the development and marketing of software for online multi-player interactive card games. The company provides LVFH Gaming Platform that offers an array of real-money and play-for-fun games, including poker, Asian, and casino games with a library of tournament formats in download and in-browser versions. Its poker games include Texas Hold'em, Omaha, and Guts; Asian games comprise Mahjong & Mahjong 1-on-1, 13 Card Poker (Chinese Poker), Big 2 & Super Big 2, Fight the Landlord, and Si Ki Pi (Bao Bao); and casino games consist of multiplayer blackjack, card games, table games, and video pokers. Las Vegas From Home.com Entertainment Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: StarTek Inc.(SRT)

StarTek, Inc. provides business process outsourcing services for the communications industries in the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Costa Rica, and Honduras. It offers technical and product support services through telephone, e-mail, chat, facsimile, and Internet; sales support services comprising receiving and closing sales on inbound sales inquiries, and cross-selling and up-selling its clients? products; provisioning and complex order processing services, including order management and technical sales support for wire-line, wireless, data, and customer premise equipment communications, as well as services for its clients direct to consumer order processing and transfer of accounts between client service providers; and receivables management services, such as billing, credit card support, and first party collections. The company also provides industry-specific processes, which include technical support; phone number portability services comprising automated an d live agent interaction, facilitate pre-port validation, data collection, automatic processing of port-out/in requests, direct and automated interface with the service order activation platform, fallout management tool, and port request tracking and archiving; and directory management services. StarTek, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Buy For 2014: Blackline Gps Corp (BLN.V)

Blackline GPS Corp. develops, manufactures, markets, and sells industrial safety and commercial products in Canada and the United States. It offers hardware and software products that enable its customers to protect their assets, track suspect vehicles or shipments, share the conditions of their environment, and connect with emergency services. The company provides Loner safety solutions that communicate worker safety awareness to monitoring staff through mobile, Web, and Web service interfaces in the utilities, transportation, property management, guard services, mobile sales, real estate, homecare, maintenance, and delivery services sectors; and surveillance solutions that consist of Javelin and Flat Track covert locator products, which provide tools for monitoring target�s driving activities for the police services, border protection, homeland security, and private investigation sectors. It also offers security solutions comprising Entourage PS and Entourage CIS securi ty locators for the consumer automotive, auto dealer, inventory, and shipment loss prevention sectors; and delivery service solutions, including Progress Web application that creates geographic location-enabled tracking numbers, which enable to view the online delivery progress of shipment for the auto vehicle transport, live organ transplant, and package delivery sectors. In addition, the company provides Harpoon GPS watercraft security systems; BlipPlus friend-finder app for Blackberry smartphone; and the Blackline GPS monitoring and recovery service, which offers text, email, and direct voice contact alerts when vehicles or watercraft are tampered. Blackline GPS Corp. is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

What Are The Odds Of Scoring A Winning Trade?

Top 10 Warren Buffett Stocks To Buy For 2014

When many of us think of probabilities, the first thing that comes to mind is a coin toss - having a 50% chance at being right on a given toss. Can something as simple as a coin toss be effectively applied to the market? It can at least provide us with some tools for approaching the markets, and it can be applied in many more ways than one might expect. A trader's current views of probability could be completely wrong, and they could very well be why they are not making money in the markets. This article is an introduction to the probabilities of trading and to a commonly overlooked but integral part of the financial system - statistics. Don't be scared by the word "statistics"; everything will be explained in plain English and without many numbers or formulas.

Understanding the Coin Toss
In the short term, anything can happen; this is why the coin toss is an appropriate analogy for the stock market. Let's assume that at a given moment in time the stock could just as easily move up as it could move down (even in a range, stocks move up and down). Thus our probability of making a profit (whether short or long) on a position is 50%.

While hopefully no one would make completely random short-term trades, we will start with this scenario. If we a have an equal probability of making a quick profit (like a coin toss), does a run of profits or losses signal what future outcomes will be? No! Not on random trades. This is a common misconception. Each event still has a 50% probability, no matter what outcomes came prior.

Runs do happen in random 50/50 events. A run refers to a number of identical outcomes that occur in a row. Here is a table displaying the probabilities of such a run; in other words, the odds of flipping a given number of heads or tails in a row.

Run Length	Chance
1	50%
2	25%
3	12.5%
4	6.25%
5	3.125%
6	1.5625%

Here is where we run into problems. Let's say we have just made five profitable trades in a row. According to our table, which is giving us the probability of being right (or wrong) five times in a row based on a 50% chance, we have already overcome some serious odds. The odds of getting the sixth profitable trade looks extremely remote, but actually that is not the case. Our odds of success are still 50%! People lose thousands of dollars in the markets (and in casinos) by failing to realize this. The reason is that the odds from our table are based on uncertain future events and the likelihood they will occur. Once we have completed a run of five successful trades, those trades are no longer uncertain. Our next trade starts a new potential run, and after the results are in for each trade, we start back at the top the table, every time. This means every trade has a 50% chance of working out.

The reason this is so important is that often, when traders get into the market, they mistake a string of profits or losses as either skill or lack of skill. This is simply not true. Whether a short-term trader makes multiple trades or an investor makes only a few trades a year, we need to analyze the outcomes of their trades in a different way to understand if they are simply "lucky" or actual skill is involved. Statistics apply on all time lines, and this is what we must remember.

Long-Term Results
The above example gave a short-term trade example based on a 50% chance of being right or wrong. But does this apply to the long term? Very much so. The reason is that even though a trader may only take long-term positions, he or she will be doing fewer trades. Thus, it will take longer to attain data from enough trades to see if simple luck is involved or if it was skill. A short-term trader may make 30 trades a week and show a profit every month for two years. Has this trader overcome the odds with real skill? It would seem so, as the odds of having a run of 24 profitable months is extremely rare unless the odds have shifted more in his favor somehow.

Now what about a long-term investor who has made three trades over the last two years that have been profitable? Is this trader exhibiting skill? Not necessarily. Currently, this trader has a run of three going, and that is not difficult to accomplish even from totally random results. The lesson here is that skill is not just reflected in the short term (whether that is one day or one year, it will differ by trading strategy); it will also be reflected in the long term. We need enough trade data to accurately determine whether a strategy is significant enough to overcome random probabilities. And even with this, we face another challenge: While each trade is an event, so is a month and year in which trades were placed.

A trader who placed 30 trades a week has overcome the daily odds and the monthly odds for a good number of periods. Ideally, proving the strategy over a few more years would erase all doubt that luck was involved due to a certain market condition. For our long-term trader making trades that last more than a year, it will take several more years to prove that his strategy is profitable over this longer time frame and in all market conditions.

When we consider all time frames and all market conditions, we actually begin to see how to be profitable on all time frames and how to move the odds more on our side, attaining greater than a random 50% chance of being right. It is worth noting that if profits are larger than losses, a trader can be right less than 50% of the time and still make a profit.

How Profitable Traders Make Money
So, obviously people do make money in the markets, and it's not just because they have had a good run. How do we get the odds in our favor? The profitable results come from two concepts. The first is based on what was discussed above - being profitable in all time frames or at least winning more in certain periods than is lost in others.

The second concept is the fact that trends exist in the markets, and this no longer makes the markets a 50/50 gamble as in our coin toss example. Stock prices tend to run in a certain direction over periods of time, and they have done this repeatedly over market history. For those of you who understand statistics, this proves that runs (trends) in stocks occur. Thus we end up with a probability curve that is not normal (remember that "bell curve" your teachers always talked about) but is skewed and commonly referred to as a curve with a fat tail (see the chart below). This means that traders can be profitable on a consistent basis if they use trends, even if it is on an extremely short time frame.

Source: Stockcharts.com

The Bottom Line
If trends exist, and we can no longer have a random sampling of data (trades) because a bias in those trades will likely reflect a trend, why is the 50% chance example above useful? The reason is that the lessons are still valid. A trader should not increase his or her position size or take on more risk (relative to position size) simply because of a string of wins, which should not be assumed to occur as a result of skill. It also means that a trader should not decrease position size after having a long, profitable run.

This information should be good news. New traders can take solace in the fact that their researched trading system may not be faulty, but rather is experiencing a random run of bad results (or it may still need some refining). It also should put pressure on those who have been profitable to continually monitor their strategies so they remain profitable.

This information can also aid investors when they are analyzing mutual funds or hedge funds. Trading results are often published showing spectacular returns; knowing a little more about statistics can help us gauge whether those returns are likely to continue or if the returns just happened to be a random event.

If Kennedy, Eisenhower, Alexander the Great Et Al Were Leaders in Finance

The world of finance can sometimes resemble a war zone; it takes a special set of skills to successfully negotiate the chaos, pressure and personalities. So, when you think about it, the most renowned world leaders would probably fare well in this environment. Let's look at past world leaders, their strengths and weaknesses and how they would measure up if they were to work in finance today. Could success on the battlefield or in the White House translate into success in the boardroom? Read on to take a look at where these famous personalities might have found a niche in the corporate world.

John F. Kennedy - Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Sales

The scion of not one but two influential families, Kennedy was groomed for some level of notable power and fame, if not the presidency itself, from birth. (The untimely war death of the original Kennedy presidential hopeful, Jack's older brother Joe, created a vacancy.)

It's a general rule of human relations that ceteris paribus, people are genetically predisposed to buy their goods and services from the charismatic rather than from the dour. More than any leader on this list, Kennedy had an abundance of charisma and photogeneity, which might sound superficial but which became vital qualities for a world leader in a new age of mass media, television, and eternal campaigning. And if any president was a natural salesman, it was the man who convinced a prosperous nation of 180 million that a 43-year-old could make a viable presidential candidate.

Marketing and sales executives at major multinationals have job requirements that differ in kind, not merely in degree, from their smaller counterparts. A successful worldwide VP needs to be fluent in other cultures, literally if not figuratively. Kennedy was educated in the United Kingdom, and traveled extensively throughout France, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Egypt and what are now Israel, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Germany and the Czech Republic before the onset of World War II! . He then spent 4 years on the other side of the world as a naval officer, commanding sailors and earning medals while fighting the Japanese in the Pacific Theater.

To reach untapped markets, a competent senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales needs to be ready to adapt to any contingency: the job requires skills that go far beyond taking orders and ensuring that the widgets are delivered on time. And no president dealt with more unexpected and varied crises in a shorter period than did Kennedy. It takes someone supremely confident and organized to invade a neighboring nation (albeit unsuccessfully), thwart Communism both in Latin America and Southeast Asia, and contain a bellicose Soviet Union without causing global conflagration – all while expanding civil rights back home and setting into motion man's first journey to the moon.

A VP of worldwide marketing and sales is directly responsible for increasing revenue, ever on the lookout for greater streams from multiple sources. To the extent that the analogy carries into political leadership, Kennedy had a greater hand than almost anyone in developing the contemporary American "brand" and advocating for its growing use and acceptance around the world.

Dwight D. Eisenhower - Director of Financial Planning and Analysis
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. He came up through the Army ranks as a specialist in logistics and supply, authoring mobilization plans for the military prior to the outbreak of World War II. During the war, Eisenhower impressed military colleagues and U.S. and international political leaders with his leadership and diplomatic abilities while leading the military effort composed of different nations and often difficult personalities (such as General George S. Patton). A huge military campaign became a coherent one, increasing the likelihood of success.

Financial planning and analysis (FP&A) directors often spend many years in a finan! cial-plan! ning capacity, and in the course of carrying out these responsibilities, become highly acquainted with the various businesses of the company. They are often next in line for the job of chief financial officer (CFO). If they do assume this executive role, they will have to develop relationships with Wall Street - just as Eisenhower had to work with and coordinate America's wartime efforts with the political and military leaders of its allied nations.

FP&A involves extensive amounts of historical analysis, but also forward-looking assessments of the organization and the industry in which that entity competes. Several high-level and smaller-scale drivers and variables are reviewed to help management with short-term and long-term financial and operational forecasts for the business. If the company is large enough, the FP&A director may be tasked to coordinate reporting functions with the various finance managers or controllers of the different divisions within the company - if he has the sufficient skill and respect. Otherwise, the chief financial officer may have to do it himself (and the director's time in that role may be limited as the CFO searches for an appropriate replacement).

Alexander The Great - Director of Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate Development
Alexander the Great led Macedonia into one of history's largest campaigns of conquest. Tutored and mentored by Aristotle, Alexander integrated many foreign armies into the Macedonian army as their drive for expansion continued. The Macedonian empire extended from southern Europe, through portions of the Middle East, all the way to western and northern India. While integration of conquered kingdoms was practiced, Alexander also displayed military viciousness in executing residents of local towns and forts that resisted his army. Some historians consider him more of a general than a statesman, although Alexander also made large attempts at cultural and social integration of East and West by encouraging intermarriage an! d the ado! ption of foreign customers.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) directors, along with senior members of management within a company, analyze several areas:

Capabilities, strengths and improvement areas for the organization The strategic and competitive landscape Key product and service providers within the industry The capital markets A company may offer core products beneficial to its customers, but may not manufacture accessories or replacement parts critical for the smooth operation of its clients. Or the company may have strong branding and quality products, but may have a weak sales and marketing team. If the company has sufficient cash and robust prospects - and debt is available in the capital markets - M&A directors can champion a merger with another well positioned company and/or acquisitions of smaller companies to improve the organization. The company will have paid for, and secured, benefits that allow it to more aggressively compete against its competitors.

In military terms, if an army is comprised mostly of infantry and archers, and that same army conquers a competing military outfit (and its kingdom) that uses ballista (artillery-like weaponry), triremes (small naval fighting vessels) and cavalry (horses), the added capabilities will boost the overall strength of the victorious army as these new weaponries are integrated into the infantry and archer units. Alexander the Great combined two important traits for an M&A director: the ability to conquer and overtake other entities and the softer skill of promoting integration between the acquirer and the acquired.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Managing Director of Private Equity
Franklin Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. An educated man from a privileged background, Franklin Roosevelt attended Harvard University and became president of The Harvard Crimson daily newspaper. He secured work experience as a corporate lawyer on Wall Street, as New York state senator, as assistant secretary of the Navy and as New York governor. When Roosevelt became president in 1933, he championed the New Deal, a series of programs that aimed to tackle America's Great Depression (where nearly one-fifth of the labor force was unemployed) and social instability.

Among the massive initiatives included in the New Deal were the fol! lowing:

Creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps - 250,000 unemployed men were hired to work on rural projects New financing availability for farmers, railroads and the industrial base Creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate Wall Street Creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority to build dams, power stations and other infrastructure Establishment of the Works Progress Administration, which employed more than 2 million workers Establishment of Social Security, which aimed to provide economic security for the elderly, poor and sick Partners and managing directors at private equity firms raise pools of investment capital from high-net-worth and institutional investors, which is used to acquire and invest in companies. Private equity partners supervise the engineering effort to improve the companies (and increase their value) while their fund's capital is invested in them. Managing directors, in partnership with the portfolio companies' management teams, use a variety of strategies and approaches to increase the value of their organization. Similarly, Roosevelt demonstrated the skills necessary to implement wholesale changes to improve the financial lot of the country.

When a private equity firm acquires a company, several initiatives can follow suit:

Managers can institutionalize process improvements across the different divisions and within the corporate function. The company can acquire related companies to enhance the parent organization's capabilities as well as product and service offerings. Stronger managers and employees are put in place to run the business better. When portfolio companies are sold, investors earn a return on their investment, and the private equity firm earns a hefty payday. For Roosevelt, his investments in the U.S. economy and infrastructure helped steer the country out of depression.

Henry Kissinger - Investor Relations
Henry Kissinger served as national security advisor and secretary of state for President Richard Nixon and continued as secretary of state for President Gerald Ford. Kissinger played a dominant role in U.S. foreign policy, including handling delicate (and often highly tense) relations with China, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Kissinger led the policy of détente with the USSR, which aimed to relax tensions between the rivals. Kissinger also helped to form closer ties between China and the United States (to put pressure on the Soviets), and negotiated a settlement ending the war in Vietnam. He was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.

A director of investor relations is the key company representative that interacts with the organization's shareholders, Wall Street, the financial community and securities regulators. The responsibilities held in this role integrate finance, marketing, corporate communications and compliance, so this position is generally held as an integrated member of the management team. The management of public companies holds periodic earnings calls with the financial community each quarter to discuss the performance of the company. Investor relations serves as the key contact with the shareholder and financial community as well as securities regulators, and facilitates the informational exchanges between the company and outside parties. A master negotiator like Kissinger would surely be an asset in this position.

The director of investor relations allows the company to provide a unified and common message to external and investor constituents regarding various issues. If you have several messengers, sooner or later you will see conflicting answers and incoherent responses. Consolidating corporate communications within a single function is an effective and efficient way of providing important information when a lot is at stake.

The Bottom Line
While it's anyone's guess how the world would be different if Ale! xander the Great had traded world domination for corporate takeovers, the financial landscape would certainly be interesting. Aspiring financial gurus could take their cue from these historical leaders and apply principles of political or military success to their chosen careers.

Baron Funds Comments on Del Frisco's Restaurant Group

Top Safest Stocks To Own For 2014

Del Frisco's Restaurant Group, Inc. (DFRG) owns and operates 35 upscale steakhouses under the brands Del Frisco Double Eagle, Sullivans and Del Frisco's Grille. We believe the company's operating culture is best in class, its restaurants are unique and have great brand awareness, and have strong economics. There are 10 Double Eagles in marquee locations that dominate their markets as high end business destinations. We think that, over time, this division will more than double as the company meticulously adds best in class large units in major cities.

The company began development of its Grille concept last year and has now built seven stores, all of which are successful and have exceeded expectations. These restaurants have a broader menu, are packed at both lunch and dinner, and are working in both urban and suburban locations. This will be the primary growth vehicle and we believe that there easily can be 50 of these in time. We think the company can grow earnings at between 20-25% per year for the foreseeable future. However it trades at only a high teens multiple because current sales are soft in the Sullivans' units which matters less to the overall business as the other concepts grow. We believe the multiple should expand along with the earnings growth.

From Ron Baron's Baron Funds third quarter 2013 report.

Currently 5.00/512345 Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote)

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Aggregated Portfolio Monday, November 18, 2013 Top 10 Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report tomorrow, and with its report coming on the heels of similar announcements from many of its banking peers, B of A needs to demonstrate its ability to keep up with its rivals. As the best-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) last year, B of A has already given investors high expectations for its future. In many ways, though, B of A has had an easy environment in which to recover. With rising interest rates looking to hamper its mortgage business, the bank may not have as easy a time growing its earnings in the future. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Bank of America over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report. Stats on Bank of America Analyst EPS Estimate $0.25 Top 10 Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now: Axmin Inc. (AXM.V) AXMIN Inc. engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties primarily in central and west Africa. It primarily explores for gold, copper, nickel, and cobalt ores. The company�s principal asset includes the Passendro gold project comprising 2 exploration licenses covering approximately 1,240 square kilometers located in the northwest trending Archaean Bambari-Bandas granite-greenstone belt. It also holds interests in exploration projects located in the Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Senegal. AXMIN Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Top 10 Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now: Great West Lifeco Com Npv (GWO.TO) Great-West Lifeco Inc., a financial services holding company, operates in the life insurance, health insurance, retirement savings, investment management, and reinsurance businesses in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia. It offers financial and benefit plan solutions, such as investment, savings, and retirement income plans, as well as life, disability, and health insurance for individuals and families; life, healthcare, critical illness, disability and wellness, and international benefits plans, as well as group retirement and savings plans, and online services for businesses and organizations; and life, annuity, and property and casualty reinsurance products. The company also provides financial security advice and planning services; creditor insurance for mortgages, loans, credit cards, lines of credit, and leases; and insurance and wealth management products and services, such as payout annuities, investments, group insurance, savings and individual insurance, pension products, fund-based pensions, and critical illness insurance. In addition, it offers employer-sponsored retirement savings plans and private-label record-keeping and administrative services; and money management services comprising various equity, fixed-income, asset allocation, and absolute return products, as well as other related services, including transfer agency, distribution, shareholder, trustee, and other fiduciary services to individual and institutional investors. Great-West Lifeco Inc markets its products and services through direct sales force, brokers, advisors, consultants, third-party administrators, financial institutions, discount brokers, managing general agencies, financial security advisors, financial institutions, automobile dealerships, other lending institutions, and a network of independent agencies. The company was founded in 1891 and is based in Winnipeg, Canada. Great-West Lifeco Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Power Financial Corporati on. 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The company is also involved in the property investment and property development activities, such as property related investments, the holding of i nvestments in property related assets, and trading in and the development of property. In addition, it engages in the construction and sale of residential and commercial properties. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Singapore. Top 10 Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now: Mercury General Corporation (MCY) Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance products. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile and property, mechanical breakdown, fire, and umbrella insurance products. Its insurance products cover collision, property damage liability, bodily injury liability, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards for automobile policy holders. The company sells its policies through a network of independent agents in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan. Mercury General Corporation was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Advisors' Opinion: [By Chuck Carnevale] their website: ��ercury General (NYSE-MCY) is the leading independent broker and agency writer of automobile insurance in California and has been one of the fastest growing automobile insurers in the nation. It is ranked as the third largest private passenger automobile insurer in California, with total assets over $4 billion. Mercury also writes automobile insurance in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. In addition to automobile insurance, Mercury writes other lines of insurance in various states, including mechanical breakdown and homeowners insurance.��/p> [ Enlarge Image ] Performance and Dividends Impacted by Operating Stress It should be clear from the above graphs that the earnings records of these three Dividend Champions have been far from steady, consistent or reliable. Therefore, I cannot get comfortable either recommending them or investing in them because I cannot get comfortable predicting what their future operating results may be. Furthermore, by examining the performance results associated with the above earnings and price-correlated graphs illustrates a lot of uncertainty. A focus on the earnings growth rate column illustrates a lot of stress on each company�� ability to keep their dividend streaks alive (Blue Circles). [ Enlarge Image ] [ Enlarge Image ] [ Enlarge Image ] The Overvaluation Rejection Other reasons besides irregular earnings growth that caused a Dividend Champion to be rejected include one of my all-time favorites, valuation. Or to be more precise ��overvaluation. The following example, McCormick & Co. (MKC), represents one of my favorite Dividend Champions based on a very consistent above-average record of earnings growth that produced its impressive dividend streak. The only reason that this Dividend Champion was rejected was because of current overvaluation. [ Enlarge Imag [By Fredrik Arnold] Ten Champion dogs that promised the biggest dividend yields into July included firms representing five of nine market sectors. The top stocks were three of five from the financial sector: Universal Health Realty Trust (UHT); Mercury General Corp. (MCY); Old Republic Int'l (ORI). The other two financial firms, HCP Inc., and United Bankshares Inc. (UBSI), placed sixth and eighth. 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Regenerative medicines focus on repairing or restoring lost or damaged tissue and cell function. Its principal products include the Celution family of products, which processes patients' adipose-derived stem and regenerative cells (ADRCs) at the point of care. The Celution family of products consists of a central device, a related single-use consumable used for each patient procedure, proprietary enzyme reagents, and related instrumentation. Its core product, the Celution System, provides physicians with clinical grade stem and regenerative cells for use in the cosmetic and reconstructive surgery market. The company also provides PureGraft, a consumable product that provides grafts for use in aesthetic body contouring procedures. In addition, it sells the StemSource family of products worldwide, including in the United States, for research, as well as for the cryopreservation and storage of ADRCs. It offers the StemSource System as a standalone product, or as a part of a comprehensive suite of systems, equipment, and protocols collectively referred to as a StemSource Cell Bank. Further, the company develops Celution System, which has completed two clinical trials for applications in cardiovascular disease, wound healing, gastrointestinal disorders, stress urinary incontinence, liver and renal disease, spinal disc degeneration, and pelvic health conditions. It has strategic development and manufacturing joint venture agreement, and other related agreements with Olympus Corporation. The company was formerly known as MacroPore Biosurgery, Inc. Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Top 10 Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now: Ziwo Holdings Ltd. (I9T.SI) Ziwo Holdings Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of 30D terylene filament yarn, sandwich mesh fabric, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), and other foamed materials primarily in the People�s Republic of China. It also offers foamed SBR, foamed ethylene vinyl acetate, and high foamed polyethylene, which are primarily used as raw materials in the production of sportswear and sports accessories, bags and luggage, furniture upholstery, automobile interior lining, and other lifestyle consumer products. In addition, the company is involved in the trade of foamed materials, textiles, sports and sports accessories, garments, and footwear. It sells its products to approximately 600 customers through a sales and marketing network in Fujian, Guangdong, Shandong, and Zhejiang Provinces, as well as in Shanghai and Tianjin municipalities. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Quanzhou, the People�s Republic of China. Ziwo Holdings Ltd. is a subsidiary of Sky Upright Holdings Limited. Top 10 Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now: Highbank Resources Ltd. (HBK.V) Highbank Resources Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties primarily in Canada and Ireland. It primarily explores copper and molybdenum mineral properties. The company owns a 100% interest in the Murvey and Mace molybdenum prospecting licenses located in the County of Galway, Ireland; and a 100% interest in the Swamp Point Gravel deposit located in British Columbia. It also holds an option to acquire a 50% interest in the Highland Valley property in the Highland Valley copper porphyry district, British Columbia. Highbank Resources Ltd. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Saturday, November 16, 2013 Jim Cramer's 6 Stocks in 60 Seconds: DPS MAS GILD GRPN TRV PIR (Update 1) Hot China Companies To Invest In 2014 Check out Jim Cramer's latest trading recommendations on "Action Alerts Plus". (Updates from 10:42 a.m. ET with closing information.) NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here's what Jim Cramer had to say on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Thursday. Goldman Sachs downgraded Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) to sell from neutral. Cramer thought the stock would have done better thanks to its new product lines. DPS fell nearly 1% to $45.79. Cramer said Masco (MAS) was red-hot going into yesterday's FOMC announcement, and the stock's price action predicted a no-tapering outcome. MAS fell nearly 1% to $22.23. Gilead Sciences (GILD) "has been one of the remarkable ones," and will continue to go higher because of its hepatitis C treatment, Cramer said. GILD was flat at $64.32. Cramer thinks it's "still not too late to buy" Groupon (GRPN). He likes its new management and better business model. GRPN jumped 9% to $12.59. Travelers Company (TRV) was upgraded by FBR Capital Markets. Cramer added that Jay Fishman, the CEO, has been doing a terrific job. TRV rose 1.2% to $86.90. Cramer didn't understand why Pier 1 Imports (PIR) missed on its recent earnings report. He added that this could be a buying opportunity for a fabulous company. PIR dropped 13.9% to $20.33. To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter, with all of his latest articles and videos, please click here. -- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich. Follow @BretKenwell Thursday, November 14, 2013 Carbon Motors’ only super cop car goes to auction INDIANAPOLIS — No matter what it sells for, it will always be the $7 million car. Crowds ooh'ed and ah'ed when the vehicle was unveiled, but today the high-tech police car prototype that Carbon Motors Corp. used to woo investors — including government officials who awarded the company $7 million in public grants — is all the bankrupt start-up has left. STORY: Feds reject loan for police car maker Carbon Motors STORY: Automakers' competition fierce for law-enforcement fleets And now, it's going on the auction block. The vehicle isn't likely to fetch anywhere near the amount state and local governments invested — nor is it likely to put much of a dent in the $21.7 million the company owes private vendors and investors. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a nice catch for a wealthy high-end car collector. Carbon Motors, which once promised to bring 1,300 jobs to the economically challenged city of Connersville, Ind., received permission last week from a federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis to put its high-tech car up for auction. Proceeds from the sale will be used to repay the company's private creditors. “ It's a prototype created solely for sales purposes and not to be driven on public streets. The likely interested parties would be collectors of cars that would only be driven on private streets.” — Henry Efroymson, Carbon Motors' bankruptcy attorney Those creditors don't include the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, which gave the company $2 million in grant money, or the city of Connersville, which awarded Carbon Motors $5 million through a regional grant program funded with riverboat casino revenue from Lawrenceburg, Ind. That's because government officials put few requirements on the grant money, and later waived some of those requirements. Needless to say, the auction isn't stirring much excitement in Connersville. "It's a shame," said David Devor, a former Fayette County, Ind., commission! er. "That won't make a dent in what they took us for." He compared the vehicle to a bottle of snake oil. "That's exactly what they were," he said. "Snake oil salesmen." According to court records, the so-called E-7 vehicle is being housed somewhere in California. The company's other remaining assets are described as "nominal" and include maintenance tools and a trade show booth, court records show. <!--iframe--> Indianapolis-based Key Auctioneers will conduct the auction, which is scheduled for Jan. 23. The auction company said in court filings it will market the vehicle to "very well moneyed collector car enthusiasts." And at least one well-known collector — late-night talk show host Jay Leno — has already expressed interested, said Henry Efroymson, Carbon Motors' bankruptcy attorney. "There are a number of different guys out there who like to collect these type of cars," said Efroymson. The E-7 was supposed to be the first car of its kind — a vehicle built especially for law enforcement. According to the company, the E-7 can run on bio-diesel fuel and features an automatic license-plate-recognition system, touch-screen computers, shotgun mounts, and cutaway seats that make room for a police officer's heavy belt. It has a top speed greater than 150 mph and can go from zero to 60 in 6.5 seconds, according to the company. But the vehicle isn't likely to appeal to the average driver — it's not street legal. "It's a very unusual motor vehicle," Efroymson said. "It's a prototype created solely for sales purposes and not to be driven on public streets. The likely interested parties would be collectors of cars that would only be driven on private streets." No starting bid price has been set, but the auctioneer is authorized to spend up to $20,000 to market the car. Carbon Motors plans to pay those expenses with the sale proceeds. “It's a shame.! That won! 't make a dent in what they took us for.” — David Devor, former Fayette County, Ind., commissioner Carbon Motors filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June, listing $21.7 million in liabilities and $18,976 in assets. Creditors include German car company BMW, which provided the vehicle's platform, and Troy, Mich.-based Inteva Products. Those suppliers say Carbon Motors owes them more than $3 million combined. Carbon Motors was founded by former Ford Motor Co. executive William Santana Li and former police officer Stacy Dean Stephens. In 2009, they announced their decision to locate their start-up in Connersville, a city once nicknamed "Little Detroit" that had been ravaged by factory closings. Thousands of the town's 13,000 residents gathered to welcome the company and take in the shiny high-tech police car. But the company never built another car and the 1,300 jobs it promised never materialized. In the meantime, Carbon Motors blew through the $7 million in public money. An Indianapolis Star investigation found some of that money was spent on upgrades to the building Carbon Motors leased from the city, but most of it was spent on vehicle engineering, salaries for company executives, and travel expenses that included stays at high-end hotels across the country. Carbon Motors also used $11,500 to pay a Connersville councilman as a "contract employee," even as he voted on issues related to the company. Top Heal Care Companies To Watch In Right Now Carbon Motors announced it would build a high-tech E-7 police cruiser in Connersville, Ind., in 2009.(Photo: Charlie Nye, The Indianapolis Star) Now! , the only thing left of any real value is the company's sole concept vehicle. Then-Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who supported the project, and Li, the company's CEO, have blamed the failure on the U.S. Department of Energy's rejection of the company's request for a $310 million loan. The regional grant program that provided most of the money has since become part of an FBI criminal investigation, though the bureau has not identified any targets. Connsersville Mayor Leonard Urban said he thinks his city should get the car in exchange for its investments. "It ought to be given to the city of Connersville to auction off so we can recoup some of what we gave them," he said. "Or it ought to be in a museum here." Asked what the display description would say, he answered: "Lesson learned." About the car Name: E-7 Engine: Forced induction diesel Top speed: Greater than 150 mph Acceleration: 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds Special features: Integrated sirens, automatic license-plate-recognition system, touch-screen computers, shotgun mounts, rear-hinged back doors, and cutaway seats that make room for a police officer's heavy belt. Source: Carbon Motors Corp. Wednesday, November 13, 2013 What the FOMC Meeting Means for Currency Traders While last week certainly had its share of risk events that helped move currencies, the major theme in currency trading was continued weakening/consolidation for the U.S. dollar. This week, the weakening will be a key focus for us. We have some very weighty top-tier data events occurring in the next few days. The key event on the economic calendar is the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and rate announcement today (Wednesday). No one is considering there will be an actual rate change, but what traders and speculators are looking for is the U.S. Federal Reserve comments related to the much dreaded taper of economic stimulus. This presents an opportunity for profits from currency trading... Currency Trading on the Fed When the Fed first discussed tapering quantitative easing in June of this year, it sent markets into a tailspin. From June 18 to June 24, the S&P dropped its biggest consecutive-day loss on the year, from 1,651 to 1,573. At that point Ben Bernanke came out to reassure the markets that all was well, and there was no need to worry. The S&P happily resumed its record-setting climb. There were rumors that the Fed could announce a taper in September, although we knew that was highly unlikely... If indeed the Fed was going to be data dependent on their decision (as opposed to simply following a timing schedule), there was no way that the economy was ripe for any kind of stimulus reduction as the fall quarter began. And as expected, such was the case, there was no taper and the U.S. dollar sold off, as you can see in this 4H Chart of the EUR/USD. The red vertical line represents the start of the week when the FOMC met. We had a gap open on Sunday, and the real move began on Wednesday. It has continued unabated, as the euro has beaten the stuffing out of the dollar over the last month with a move up of 350 pips. Currency Trading Ahead of the Fed Here's what you should understand about currency trading on Fed meetings... The QE taper won't be any time soon. The U.S. economy data has failed to improve substantially - or consistently; we now have shutdown-related losses that aren't known, and September's nonfarm payroll report was abysmally poorer than forecast. Currently, Bloomberg economists seem to have their eyes set on a taper beginning March 2014. However, we don't need an actual QE taper, as the market is inclined to price in certain volatile actions in advance. So we have to begin thinking in terms of expectations for that event and not simply wait for its arrival to see what may happen. So as we look to the Fed speak out of this week's meeting, we are looking to see if there is any reason to consider a March date for the timing of the taper beginning. Such an acknowledgment will likely send the market reeling again. This is what that would mean for currency trading: A strong dollar trade would likely be hitting the markets. Since we would be looking for the dollar to gain strength, we want to be in the right arena to make the trade. That means the currency trading opportunities appear to be with EUR/USD or the GBP/USD (British pound/U.S. dollar). Against all the major currencies, this is where we find the dollar to be the cheapest; we'll get the most bang for our buck with these pairs should the dollar start to strengthen. But what if the FOMC is not all that interested in talking about the future of stimulus? What if they are concerned with the falling jobs numbers and the impact of government shutdown, which is only delayed, rather than resolved, by the recent congressional action. We'll see this this again before the end of the year. What if the Fed hands us a forecast that implies they will have to maintain (or even increase) stimulus going forward? In that case, we want to be trading where the dollar is already very expensive...where it is already strong against the counter currency in the pair. That means the USD/JPY (Japanese yen). As you can see from this weekly chart of the USD/JPY, we have been rising strongly in this pair, as the dollar has been beating the yen since January of last year. But we have been recently working into a consolidation triangle that is begging for a break out. Should the Fed hand us any information that would look like a weakening dollar might be in the forecast, I would be looking to trade the USD/JPY to the downside, as it has so much potential room to run, nearly 2,000 pips from its current price of 97.67 to the recent swing low at 78.00. Today's top story: New Rental Securitization Deal Likely Heralds Double Dip in Housing Tuesday, November 12, 2013 How Yahoo! Topped Google in Web Visitor Rankings After five years at the top of the heap, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has relinquished its top spot in comScore Inc.'s (NASDAQ: SCOR) ranking of the top 50 U.S. Web properties. The new leader is Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) in what can only be called a stunning upset. The comScore rankings are based unique visitors to all the sites owned by a brand. Yahoo's climb in July from about 189 million uniques in June to more than 196 million in July topped Google's slight decline of about 250,000 unique visitors. More interesting perhaps, is where the million additional visitors might have come from. The total number of unique visitors grew by about 1 million, from 224 million to 225 million. Among the top five properties the big loser was Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), which dropped from about 144.7 million uniques in June to 142.3 million in July. Sites owned by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) gained about 4.6 million to 179.6 million uniques in July, and AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) gained about 4 million to 117.4 million total unique visitors in July. 10 Best China Stocks To Watch Right Now The dramatic increase in Yahoo!'s traffic may be due to its May acquisition of Tumblr.com, but it is not clear what portion of Tumblr traffic is being counted for Yahoo! At least since March comScore's ranking of Tumblr includes the cryptic footnote, "Entity has assigned some portion of traffic to other syndicated entities." What that means is left up to the imagination. Tumblr had 29.3 million unique footnoted visitors in March and 38.4 million in July. The July total is 2.6 million higher than the June number, so it is not a stretch to assign more visitors to those other entities. The rankings are worth more than just bragging rights too. Yahoo! has taken over the top spot in comScore's Ad Focus rankings as well with an 87.2% reach. That means that a page owned by a Yahoo! site was viewed by 87.2% of the 225 million total Web visitors in July. That is well ahead of Google's 80.6% reach. And that translates into higher ad rates and more revenue for Yahoo! Shares of Yahoo! are up 2.2% in early trading Thursday morning, at $27.65 in a 52-week range of $14.59 to $29.83. Monday, November 11, 2013 Retailers brace for a tough holiday season Sales at stores open at least a year are expected to grow just 1.6% during the key holiday quarter, Morgan Stanley estimates. That would be less than half of last year's 3.5% growth and the worst since 2008. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The holidays may not be so merry and bright this year ... for retailers. Sales growth during the fourth quarter is shaping up to be the weakest since 2008, according to predictions from Morgan Stanley. Same-store sales, a key metric that measures sales at store locations open at least a year, are expected to grow a mere 1.6% from a year ago during the fourth quarter, Morgan Stanley estimates. Last year's holiday sales were up 3.5% from the fourth quarter of 2011. The 1.6% figure excludes sales at troubled J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500). That's because J.C. Penney is expected to offer deep discounts to try and get back on track after a disastrous drop in sales last year. As a result, J.C. Penney may not have that tough a time beating last year's low bar. And its results could skew the overall sales figures for the industry. Why will sales be sluggish this year? The culprit appears to be weak consumer confidence. While Americans have more to spend thanks to a rising stock market, higher home values and low gas prices, they're not so willing to part with their cash. "Concerns over future income linger and the government shenanigans have dampened confidence on the cusp of holiday shopping," Morgan Stanley analysts said. In order to attract more customers, retailers are expected to roll out steep price reductions. In fact, Morgan Stanley expects the season to bring "the most intense promotional holiday environment since 2008." The calendar isn't helping retailers either. Since there are six fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christ! mas compared to last year, retailers may hit the "panic button" earlier than necessary to ensure sales growth. While lower prices are good news for cost-conscious consumers, they will put pressure on what are already low profit margins for many retailers. Teen retailers can't catch a break: Any LFO summer girls still out there? Stores like Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), American Eagle (AEO) and Aeropostale (ARO) will likely face another difficult quarter, as teens continue to abandon these once-hot retailers in favor of less expensive and fashion-forward outlets like Forever 21, H&M and Zara. Last week, Abercrombie & Fitch said its third quarter same-store sales tumbled 14%, and that it expects fourth-quarter sales to also drop.   Abercrombie is no longer cool While some stronger competitors like Gap (GPS, Fortune 500) reported upbeat October sales and strong guidance, Sterne Agee analyst Ike Boruchow remains cautious about the apparel industry. Boruchow said "tepid" sales, rough competition and heavy promotional discounts could further hurt teen retailers during the holidays. Plus, teens are just going to the mall less often in general. A recent survey from Piper Jaffray showed that American teens visit the mall about 28 times a year, down almost 30% from the peak in 2007. Instead of frequenting the mall, teens are "browsing increasingly on their mobile devices, engaging with brands on demand," said Piper Jaffray analyst Stephanie Wissink. The bright spots: Though the broader holiday forecast for retailers is weak, some retailers could be getting more than just a lump coal in their stockings. The Morgan Stanley analysts think that online commerce companies will benefit as "! time stra! pped and value conscious consumers" increasingly choose convenience and comparison shopping over waiting on line in stores during Black Friday. Last year, e-commerce sales represented about 11% of total retail sales during the holiday period. This year, they could reach between 12% and 13%, according to Morgan Stanley. The continued shift to online shopping should help Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500), as well as digital coupon site RetailMeNot (SALE). The Morgan Stanley analysts also expect Michael Kors (KORS) will continue to post strong sales growth as women buy more accessories. L Brands' (LTD, Fortune 500) Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works are also likely to boast solid sales during the holiday season, as they are able to attract shoppers without having to offer "irrational promotions," Morgan Stanley said. Discount retailers like Ross Stores (ROST, Fortune 500) are also likely to steal market share from department stores as consumers seek out brand name goods at lower prices, Morgan Stanley said. 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Carbon Motors’ only super cop car goes to auction What the FOMC Meeting Means for Currency Traders How Yahoo! Topped Google in Web Visitor Rankings Retailers brace for a tough holiday season Taser Drops 4% as JPMorgan Cuts Stock to Neutral Anadarko Petroleum Falls as Earnings Disappoint, G... Groupon Sales Growth Anemic As Operating Income Sl... Toyota axes FJ Cruiser with ‘Ultimate’ model Will AIG Continue To Move Higher? Mecklai Graph: Tightening noose around liquidity? Nike Inc. (NKE) Dividend Stock Analysis ►  October (25) ►  September (14) ►  August (19) About Me JackWilliem View my complete profile Picture Window theme. Powered by Blogger.