Morgan Stanley Beating Goldman in Retail: Russia Overnigh

One day after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reiterated its preference for X5 Retail Group NV among Russian retailers, Morgan Stanley (MS) reinforced its backing of competitor OAO Magnit.

Traders are siding with Morgan Stanley.

Global depositary receipts of Magnit gained 0.3 percent to $64.10 in London, after touching a record high of 8,719 rubles in Moscow yesterday. The stock has gained 80 percent this year, the best performance on Russia's benchmark Micex index. X5 slipped 1 percent to $16.08, set for a 9.9 percent decline in 2013. The Bloomberg Russia-US Equity Index of the most-traded Russian companies in the U.S. slumped 0.5 percent as futures on Russia's RTS Index fell in U.S. hours.

Morgan Stanley boosted its price estimate on Magnit's global depositary receipts by 23 percent, reiterating a buy rating, a day after Goldman Sachs said a turnaround in the management of X5 Retail Group NV (FIVE), Russia's second-largest retailer, will boost competition for the No.1 supermarket chain. Magnit said on Oct. 28 that profit margin rose to a record high while X5's third-quarter revenue fell short of analysts estimates.

"I side with Morgan Stanley as we own Magnit and believe in its potential to expand in Russian regions and further increase revenue," Mansur Mammadov, a portfolio manager at Kazimir Partners, which oversees $300 million in assets, said in a phone interview from Moscow Oct. 30. "I was surprised with Goldman's report on X5. It will take another several quarters for X5 to actually turn around."

Moscow Expansion

X5, which has lost almost two-thirds of its market value since mid-2011, formed a new management team as it plans to refurbish stores in a bid to bolster sales. X5 seeks to improve focus on the "individual needs" of its store formats and improve supplier relationships, Chief Executive Officer Stephan Ducharme told investors Oct. 11.

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Magnit, owned by billionaire Sergey Galitskiy, plans to expand in Moscow and St. Petersburg, traditionally X5 strongholds.

Morgan Stanley increased its price estimate on Magnit to $80 per London-listed depositary receipt. Goldman said in an Oct. 29 note that X5 "can win the race", reiterating a buy on the stock and keeping it on the bank's list of the most recommended shares in the region.

Tanya Barkas, a spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley in New York, said the firm's office in London, which was closed after regular business hours, oversees Magnit coverage. An e-mailed message to Anna Leath, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman in New York, wasn't immediately returned.

Market Share

ADRs of OAO Gazprom Neft (GZPFY), the worst-performing Russian oil stock in New York in at the time, have jumped 18 percent since Goldman Sachs predicted in August that it would rebound on prospects of higher output and dividends.

Magnit, which reported a record-high profit margin in the third quarter, can double its market share in the next three to four years, Natalya Kolupaeva, senior analyst at ZAO Raiffeisenbank at Moscow, said by phone yesterday.

"Magnit keeps amazing everyone," Kolupaeva said. "It's a stable, clear and transparent company. It is a leader in the market and will remain a leader. X5 can rise from the ashes, but the risks it may fail to do so are also great."

Kolupaeva rates both stocks a hold and is in the process of revising her recommendation on Magnit, she said, declining to comment on whether she plans to upgrade it to a buy.

"Moscow-listed shares of Magnit are a real opportunity for investors," Kolupaeva said. "The gap between London and Moscow is still wide and will shrink over time because the local shares become more accessible by foreign investors."

London Premium

Magnit's London depositary receipts traded at an 18 percent premium to the Moscow-listed shares, the narrowest gap since April 10, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Raiffeisenbank's Kolupaeva expects the gap will shrink to about 5 percent in a year from now.

While none of the analysts covering Magnit recommends selling it, sell recommendation on X5 rose to an eight-month high in October, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised X5 to a buy on Oct. 24, 10 days after JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc cut their recommendations to the equivalent of sell.

"World's major banks have been lately showing a very different vision on how to play Russia's retail sector," Mammadov said.

The Bloomberg Russia-US gauge dropped to 103.69. The Market Vectors Russia ETF (RSX), the biggest U.S.-traded exchange-traded fund that holds Russian shares, slipped 0.7 percent to $29.34. The RTS Volatility Index, which measures expected swings in the index futures, dropped 2.3 percent to 22.78, while RTS stock-index futures decreased 0.5 percent to 147,960 in U.S. hours.

United Co. Rusal, a Moscow-based aluminum producer dropped 0.8 percent to HK$2.37 in Hong Kong trading as of 10.36 a.m. local time. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent.

Canada Stocks Advance on U.S. Confidence, Jobless Data

Canadian stocks rose, after falling the most in two months yesterday, amid an unexpected increase in U.S. consumer confidence and a decline in U.S. jobless claims.

Novagold Resources Inc. jumped 7.9 percent, pacing gains among raw-materials producers. Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. and Lightstream Resources Ltd., both oil exploration companies, dropped at least 1.4 percent amid a report showing U.S. crude stockpiles continued to increase. Trinidad Drilling Ltd. fell 5.3 percent after reporting its plan to raise C$150 million ($142 million) through a stock sale.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index (SPTSX) gained 12.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,362.06 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark equity gauge is little changed for the month, and up 7.5 percent so far in 2013. Trading volume today was 21 percent below the 30-day average.

"Any sort of data that points to consumers being more willing to spend is a positive for the markets," Jeff Young, chief investment officer at NexGen Financial Corp., said in a phone interview. The Toronto-based firm manages about C$950 million. "If the consumer is more confident and starts to spend more, that translates into higher revenues for companies."

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of U.S. consumer sentiment in November unexpectedly rose to 75.1 from 73.2 a month earlier. Fewer Americans than projected filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the labor market is showing resilience.

Railroads Gain

Seven of 10 industries in the S&P/TSX advanced, led higher by raw-materials producers. The group added 0.8 percent, halting a five-day losing streak. Novagold Resources surged 7.9 percent to C$2.45, it's biggest increase since Oct. 17, and Detour Gold Corp. rose 4 percent to C$3.63.

Iamgold Corp. added 2.1 percent to C$4.41, rebounding from a 4.2 percent slide yesterday. The company said it will build a 5-megawatt solar farm in Suriname to minimize energy costs. The project will cost as much $14 million and start producing energy in the third quarter of next year, Toronto-based Iamgold said.

Industrial stocks added 0.6 percent, as Air Canada rose 1.9 percent to C$7, its highest since June 2008. Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. added 1 percent to C$161.18 and Canadian National Railway Co. climbed 1 percent to C$118.61.

Energy companies retreated for a third day, as the price of oil fell to the lowest level in almost six months after government data showed U.S. crude stockpiles climbed for a 10th week. Oil is Canada's biggest export, while the U.S. is its largest trading partner.

Oil Slump

Canadian Oil Sands fell 1.6 percent to C$19.81, while Lightstream Resources dropped 1.4 percent to C$5.41.

Trinidad Drilling fell 5.3 percent to C$9.92. The company plans to sell 15 million shares at C$10 each and use the proceeds to finance capital expenses and for general corporate purposes.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM) lost 3.4 percent to C$17.28 for its eighth retreat in nine sessions. The company said today it "strongly disputed" a claim by noteholders that a default has occurred on bonds issued by Inmet Mining Corp., a company it bought this year.

Slower growth in consumer debt and a cooler housing market will allow the Bank of Canada to wait until early 2015 to raise interest rates as it waits for a pick-up in exports, the International Monetary Fund said.

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz last month abandoned his bias to raise interest rates and issued a monetary policy report that said a forecast increase in exports and business investment had been delayed. Canada's inflation was an annual 0.7 percent in October, Statistics Canada said Nov. 22, below the bottom of the central bank's target band.

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Policy makers "should remain focused on sustaining growth until the rotation to exports and business investment gains firmer momentum, while assuring that the gradual unwinding of domestic imbalances continues and that the fiscal position is maintained on a sustainable trajectory," the IMF said today.

Tragedy Puts Weapons Detection Companies in the Spotlight (VSYM, ASEI, OSIS)

It's tragic that it takes an event like the one earlier this week at a Nevada middle school to put building security stocks in the spotlight. But, reality is reality. The death of one teacher as well as the student/shooter himself has once again underscored the need for names like View Systems Inc. (OTCBB:VSYM), OSI Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIS), and American Science & Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASEI). These three companies make equipment that may have prevented the shooting at the school. As is so often the case, interest in defense-oriented equipment - and a stronger likelihood of buying them - is eventually going to impact stocks like ASEI, OSIS, and VSYM for the better.

Of the three, American Science & Engineering, Inc. is apt to be the best known. It's the company that became the hot button a few years ago following the 9/11 tragedy that spurred airport security to new heights. It's still the "go to" name to meet X-ray and detection needs, even if ASEI struggled a while back with concerns that its backscatter X-ray device took exceedingly "intimate" looks at an individual being scanned.

OSI Systems, Inc. also makes body scanners, though it's not the company's bread-and-butter business. OSIS makes the Rapiscan system, which is aimed at the luggage and freight detection market. Its equipment is good, but it's also priced at institutional levels; airports and ports can afford to pay premium prices for multi-unit systems.

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It's View Systems Inc. that builds body scanners and handheld metal detectors that are just as effective when it comes to finding weapons, but presented in a way that's not foreboding - the VSYM walkthrough scanner looks like little more than a doorway. It's they're also priced and sold more in line with what the typical school system is looking for and can afford.

From and investor's point of view, however, View Systems has something that OSI Systems and American Science & Engineering don't have...it's a young and small company, which means its high-growth phase is still in front of it. Better still, the company is finally getting serious about its publicity effort, which is half the battle for a small cap stock. We've seen more press releases from the company in the past five months than we've seen in the prior couple of years. It's partially a sign that the company is making an effort to keep up interest in its stock, but it's also a sign that View Systems has some activity worth talking about.

Again, it's horrible that it takes horrible news to put these companies in the spotlight. It's equally horrible that these two deaths happened at all. But, an investment in VSYM is in many ways an investment in preventing the next such tragedy. 

For more on View Systems Inc., visit the SCN research page here.

Want Cheaper Healthcare? Just Make Less Money

Over the weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle delivered a stunning message that discourages and demotivates American workers from earning more income and promotes greater government dependency.

It's all thanks to sloppy incentives created by the Affordable Healthcare Act.

The Chronicle reported that Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said last week that workers in California should consider reducing their 2014 income and work hours in order to qualify for Obamacare subsidies.

"If they can adjust (their income), they should," said Pollitz. "It's not cheating, it's allowed."

For a California family to fall under the 400% of poverty-level ceiling (the threshold to qualify for government assistance), the family's net income must be at or below $62,040. However, if they make just $1 more than this amount, they will not qualify for thousands of dollars in public assistance to purchase healthcare.

Earning $62,041 would trigger a massive increase in taxes and cost of healthcare premiums for the family.

In progressive terms, that amounts to a loss of a subsidy worth more than $10,000 each year for a family of four.

This is all part of a perverse welfare system that has for decades discouraged economic advancement.

As these Obamacare incentives now begin to creep into the lives of the middle class, the government is playing an extremely dangerous game with state dependence. This will have a staggering impact on the economic health of the middle class.

Incremental Income Displacement

For decades now, a debate has swelled on the influence of welfare on the motivations of Americans to find work or advance their careers to the next level. Some critics have argued that welfare discourages work and enables some to live off the production of their neighbors.

Meanwhile, supporters of the system believe it is a vital safety net that prevents Americans from living in squalor and limits economic inequality.

While the welfare system may have the best intentions, it is poorly designed. It's a flawed system that creates disincentives for workers to climb the ladder of economic development.

Then individuals decide to stay at lower-paying jobs to maintain welfare benefits instead of taking better pay, more responsibility, and freeing themselves of government dependence - a line known as the "welfare cliff."

Just take this example from Pennsylvania...

Gary Alexander (the state's secretary of Public Welfare) explained in 2012 that a single mother is better off making $29,000 than she is making $69,000 thanks to the massive influx of public programs available to support her and two children.

At $29,000 in gross income, she will end up with $57,327 in pay and social benefits. But as she begins to increase her gross income (or take-home pay), those benefits erode, and her net income and benefits begin to shrink.

She would not make the same amount of money to pay her own way until she adds another $40,000 in gross pay. In fact, her net income at $69,000 is still lower than the benefit-laden salary above since she would only have $57,045 after taxes.

The welfare-related benefits remove the incentive for her to take a new, better-paying job - even if the new position offers greater career-building skills and development. That's how the flawed welfare system gets people hooked to government programs.

Now Obamacare will allow this problem to slowly creep into the economic decisions of the middle class. This will trigger a serious impact on entrepreneurialism, the public debt, and growth in the economy.

Obamacare's Creeping Terror on the Middle Class

Pollitz encouraged any family thinking of getting subsidized health insurance from Covered California in 2014 to cut their incomes down to qualify. But Pollitz failed to understand the consequences of her suggestion...

When Americans make less money, they contribute less to the public treasury. However, these same Americans will be pulling thousands of dollars out of the pool and placing a greater strain on available resources.

Over time, this will create a perpetual downward spiral where more is being consumed than being produced. The only way to stop-gap the problem is to borrow more, tax more, and spend more, while politicians pretend that the collective drain on society isn't a problem.

Americans will have to make the irrational economic decision to pay more and attempt to earn more money through extra work if the nation wishes to survive the consequences of this law. It is all part of an ongoing trend that continues to plague society as we move from a productive class to a privileged class, where people expect more money and benefits for less work.

In the United States, we used to have the world's greatest entrepreneurial class in the world. We built bridges and buildings and businesses.

Now, we just reach into one another's pocket.

And Obamacare is a shining example of the perverse incentives Congress continues to peddle.

Go here to find out what Obamacare will do to your wallet - and how to protect your money today.

Shutdown ends, but small businesses lost big

The 16-day shutdown cost an estimated $33 million in lost tourist money around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The government shutdown hit business owners across the country in unexpected ways.

Rafting outfits, wedding photographers and firms with government contracts were examples of small businesses that took a hit during the 16-day shutdown. Now that the impasse has ended, they're relieved -- but angry at the unnecessary toll it took on their businesses.

The shutdown mandated the closure of the nation's national parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains, which covers more than 800 square miles in North Carolina and Tennessee. It's the country's most visited national park, and tourism brings in millions of dollars to area businesses every year.

Steve Morse, an economist with Western Carolina University, estimates that the first 10 days of the shutdown cost more than $33 million in lost visitor spending to businesses located within 60 miles of the park.

"About 80% of that money would have trickled down to restaurants, hotels, souvenir shops, gas stations, rafting and other outdoor recreational businesses," said Morse.

One of those business owners, Jeff Smith, estimates that he lost $20,000, or 10% of his annual revenue, because of the shutdown. "That money is gone. We can't recover it this year and that's a shame for a small business like ours," said Smith, who runs the Jonathan Creek Inn in Maggie Valley, N.C., 15 minutes from Smoky Mountains National Park.

October is especially crucial for the inn because it's the peak tourist month. Tens of thousands of tourists come from surrounding cities to take in the fall foliage.

"We're just hoping that the leaves are still vibrant and the rest of October is go! od," he said.

Government shutdown delays Social Security COLA announcement

The U.S. Department of Labor will not issue the September Consumer Price Index report on October 16 as originally scheduled due to the federal government shutdown.

Without the September CPI figures, the Social Security Administration will not be able to calculate the cost-of-living allowance for Social Security beneficiaries for 2014. Normally, SSA issues its COLA announcement, which affects benefits as well as the inflation-adjusted taxable wage base for the following year, in mid-October.

A phone call to SSA, which is short-staffed due to the government shutdown, was not returned.

"The purpose of the COLA is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is not eroded by inflation," according to th

Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2014

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) stock closed the trading week up 1.8% -- a surprisingly weak performance considering the bank's strong second-quarter results, but maybe not so surprising considering what else went down in the banking sector over the past five days. Regardless, investors don't realize how good they have it.

The good, the bad, and the confusing
First, the good news, or what should be taken as good news. JPMorgan reported second-quarter total net revenue of $25.2 billion and net income of $6.5 billion, versus $22.2 billion and $5.0 billion for the second quarter of 2012, respectively. Earnings per share were $1.60, versus $1.21 for the same period last year. �

And now the bad news, or what is in all actuality good news.

Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation proposed new rules for America's financial system: All banks would be required to double their capital reserves, and the eight-biggest bank-holding companies would be required to have leverage ratios of 5%.

Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2014: Mucklow(a&j)

A & J Mucklow Group plc, a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the investment and development of industrial and commercial properties in the United Kingdom. The company?s investment property portfolio includes industrial, offices, and retail properties; and development land holdings. It is also involved in the sale of investment properties and trading of properties. A & J Mucklow Group plc was founded in 1933 and is based in Halesowen, the United Kingdom.

Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2014: Britton & Koontz Capital Corporation(BKBK)

Britton & Koontz Capital Corporation operates as the holding company for Britton & Koontz Bank, National Association that provides commercial and consumer banking services in Adams and Warren Counties, Mississippi, and East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, as well as in the adjoining counties and parishes in Mississippi and Louisiana. The company offers various deposit products, including personal and commercial checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, non-interest bearing deposits, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; real estate construction, residential, and other loans; installment loans; consumer loans; and overdrafts. In addition, the company provides automated clearinghouse services; safe deposit box facilities; brokerage services; automated teller machines; cash management services, including remote deposit, money transfer, direct de posit payroll, and sweep accounts; VISA credit cards; and letters of credit. As of May 17, 2011, it operated three full service offices in Natchez, two in Vicksburg, Mississippi; three in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and a loan production office in Central, Louisiana. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Natchez, Mississippi.

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Own For 2014: Blackrock Preferred (BTZ)

BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust IV is a closed ended balanced mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc. The fund is co managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC, BlackRock Financial Management, Inc., and BlackRock Investment Management, LLC. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. The fund invests in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. For the fixed income portion of the portfolio, it primarily invests in securities with an average credit quality of BBB by Standard & Poor�s Corporation. The fund was formerly known as BlackRock Preferred & Equity Advantage Trust. BlackRock Preferred & Equity Advantage Trust was formed on December 27, 2006 and is domiciled in the United States.

Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2014: Barclays Bank(BARC.L)

Barclays PLC provides various financial products and services worldwide. It offers retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services. The company?s personal banking products include bank accounts, a range of credit cards through Barclaycard, savings accounts, loans, insurance, online banking, and mortgages through Woolwich. Its corporate and business banking services comprise online banking, savings and investments, card services, risk management services, leveraged finance, international trading, and business loans, as well as support for businesses from microenterprises to multinationals, and access to services from Barclays investment banking and investment management portfolio. The company also provides investment banking services, such as strategic advisory, financing, and risk management services to large corporate, government, and institutional clients. In addition, it offers wealth management ser vices, which include international and private banking, investment management, fiduciary, and brokerage services. Barclays PLC was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2014: Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe Fund Inc.(RNE)

Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe Fund Inc is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. It is managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Advisors Inc. The fund invests in the public equity markets of Russia, Central and Eastern European countries. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the MSCI Emerging Markets Eastern Europe Index. Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe Fund Inc was formed on September 30, 1996 and is domiciled in the United States.

Best Financial Stocks To Watch For 2014: BanColombia S.A. (CIB)

Bancolombia S.A., a full service financial institution, provides various banking products and services to individual and corporate customers in Colombia, as well as in Panama, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, Peru, Brazil, the United States, and Spain. The company offers savings and checking accounts, fixed term deposits, and investment products; and trade financing, loans funded by domestic development banks, working capital loans, credit cards, personal loans, vehicle loans, payroll loans, and overdrafts. It also provides mortgage banking, factoring, treasury, cash management, foreign currency, and bancassurance and insurance; and asset management and trust services that comprise money market accounts, mutual and pension funds, private equity funds, payment trust, custody services, and corporate trust. In addition, the company offers brokerage, investment advisory, and private banking services, including selling and distributing equities, futures, foreign cu rrencies, fixed income securities, mutual funds, and structured products; and investment banking services, including advising and assisting companies from various economic sectors in project finance, capital markets, capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and corporate lending. Further, it provides financial and operational leases, including cross-border and international leasing services; and pension plan administration services. The company offers its services through a traditional branch network, and sales and customer representatives, as well as through mobile branches, non-banking correspondents, an ATM network, online and computer banking, telephone and mobile phone banking, and electronic funds transfer at point of sale (PACs). As of September 30, 2012, it had 978 branches and 3,703 ATMs. Bancolombia S.A. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Medellin, Colombia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Smith]

  Bancolombia appears attractively priced
  Another Colombian company that appears under-valued is the Andean country's largest commercial bank Bancolombia (NYSE: CIB  ) . For the year-to-date Bancolombia's share price fell 17% because of a weak second quarter bottom-line. This decline was primarily caused by the bank's net income plunging by 41% year-over-year because of mark-to-market losses caused by the value lost in the bank's securities portfolio.

Stocks to Watch: Target, Green Mountain, Johnson Controls

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Thursday’s session are Target Corp.(TGT), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc.(GMCR) and Johnson Controls Inc.(JCI)

Target’s fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 46% as the retailer posted weaker margins and earnings at its U.S. business and losses at its Canadian segment. Shares fell 3.7% to $64.05 premarket as the company cut its earnings guidance for the year.

Green Mountain’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 38% due to higher sales of the company’s single-serve coffee packs and robust demand for its Keurig brewers. Shares rose 5.9% to $65.50 in premarket trading Thursday, as results for the latest period exceeded expectations.

Johnson Controls unveiled a three-year, $3.65-billion share repurchase program Wednesday as the manufacturer also said its board has increased the company’s regular quarterly dividend. Shares climbed 4.1% to $50.20 premarket.

Williams-Sonoma Inc.'s(WSM) fiscal third-quarter profit rose 16% as same-store sales increased at all store formats the housewares and furniture retailer operates, led by gains at West Elm and PBteen. The latest results exceeded expectations and Williams-Sonoma issued a rosier outlook for the year. Shares rose 6.7% to $59.20 in premarket trading.

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Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. issued an outlook for the upcoming fiscal year that topped Wall Street expectations as the vendor of anti-aging skincare products expects to see strength in all of its regions. Shares rose 4.7% to $120.16 premarket.

Liquidity Services Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 88% as the surplus goods seller’s revenue grew while expenses dropped. However, shares fell 9.2% to $23.60 premarket as the company forecast weaker-than-expected earnings in its new fiscal year and missed income estimates in the latest quarter.

Discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc.’s fiscal third-quarter sales increased 9.5% as higher traffic drove improvements in consumer basics and seasonal and variety merchandise categories. Still, shares dropped 5.8% to $55.50 premarket as both the top- and bottom-line results were weaker than expected.

Activist investment firm Crescendo Partners called for Aeropostale Inc.'s(ARO) board to immediately pursue a sale of the struggling teen-apparel retailer, saying that the company’s turnaround efforts are best pursued as a private company. Representatives for Aeropostale didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Shares rose 2.6% to $10.30 premarket.

Hologic Inc. adopted a one-year shareholder rights plan with a 10% trigger after receiving notification that activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a big stake in the women’s healthcare products company. Shares rose 5% to $23.40 premarket.

Pay day lender to pay $19M in refunds, fines

Cash America International, a major owner of U.S. pawn shops and payday loan shops, has agreed pay $19 million in consumer refunds and fines for robo-signing documents used in debt collection, issuing improperly high loans to military members and destroying records sought by a federal regulator.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau imposed the penalties Wednesday under a consent order with the Fort Worth-based company. The penalties marked the agency's first enforcement action against a payday lender, one of the industries the regulator has examined since its 2010 creation under the Dodd-Frank financial reform act.

"If the bureau had not gone on site at Cash America, these problems might never have been uncovered," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray, who said the case highlighted the watchdog agency's mandate to oversee non-bank firms that affect millions of Americans "and make sure they're following the law."

Cash America CEO Daniel Feehan said the firm cooperated with examiners. "Now that we have completed the initial CFPB review process and entered into this settlement, we will continue to focus on serving our customers while working to develop additional compliance programs," he said.

According to the consent order, workers in Cash America's Ohio-based collections department improperly stamped their manager's signature on loan collection affidavits for nearly five years "without the manager's prior review of the affidavits or supporting documentation." An unidentified in-house collection attorney also directed workers to stamp the lawyer's name on Ohio court pleadings that had not been reviewed, the order said.

More than 14,000 Ohio consumers targeted in debt-collection lawsuits from 2008 to Jan. 2013 were affected, said Cordray. Cash America has already started repaying $6 million to the consumers, and will pay an additional $8 million in refunds, he said. The company also worked with the consumer watchdog to cancel improper Ohio debt-collection judgments.

Sep! arately, investigators found that Cash America's online payday loan subsidiary in Chicago for nearly a year gave active-duty service members loans above the 36% annual interest rate maximum allowed by the Military Lending Act. More than 300 military members or their dependents received the loans.

Cash America has refunded $33,550 in loans and related fees to those customers, according to the order.

When notified in July 2012 that the regulator planned to examine its records, Cash America failed to preserve recorded phone calls and halt shredding of documents requested for the review. According to the order, company managers also told call-center workers "to de-emphasize the marketing and sales aspect" of their duties. They also instructed some to avoid using the word "sales" during interviews with examiners, and removed sales-focused material from office walls and cubicles.

The company has agreed to pay a $5 million fine for failing to preserve the requested records. During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Steve Antonakes, the consumer watchdog's deputy director, said it was unclear whether the record destruction was part of a deliberate effort to impede the exam.

The consent order also requires Cash America to strengthen its legal compliance procedures.

Legally-married same-sex couples get retirement boost from DOL

The Labor Department has released guidance on same-sex couples who are legally married, defining them as spouses — regardless of which state they live — in the context of retirement plans. The agency's ruling hews closely to the Internal Revenue Service's and Treasury Department's Ruling 2013-17, which expands “spouse” and “husband and wife” to include gay couples in the context of federal tax law.

Further, both the IRS/Treasury ruling and the DOL guidance recognize same-sex marriages based on where the couples were married, rather than the state in which they live.

“A rule for employee benefit plans based on state of domicile would raise significant challenges for employers that operate or have employees in more than one state or whose employees move to another state while entitled with benefits,” the Labor Department noted in its guidance.

In reality, had the agency decided to go with recognizing marriages based on where couples reside, the validity of spousal elections and consents on plans could change if the spouses were to move to a jurisdiction that didn't recognize their marriage. This would be an administrative nightmare for record keepers, as they'd have to keep track of changes in residence and tweak their benefits accordingly.

Such was the concern brought by the SPARK Institute Inc., an advocacy group for retirement plan record keepers and service providers.

Furthermore, same sex-spouses could lose their rights if they went to a state that didn't recognize their marriage.

The Labor Department's guidance not only covers the entire U.S. and Puerto Rico, but all of the U.S. territories, including the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Nymex oil settles at lowest since late May

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Nymex oil futures fell Monday with strong crude exports from Saudi Arabia, expectations for progress on talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials leaning toward a pullback in the central bank's stimulus program contributing to the lowest price settlement since the end of May.

December crude (CLZ3)  lost 81 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $93.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — the lowest close for a most-active contract since May 31, FactSet data show. Prices, which fell 0.8% last week, marked their sixth consecutive week of losses on Friday. That was also their longest stretch of weekly declines in about 15 years.

On the ICE Futures exchange, January Brent crude (UK:LCOF4)  settled at $108.47 a barrel, down 3 cents, after scoring a gain of roughly 3% last week.

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The price spread between the European benchmark Brent crude and U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude traded on Nymex topped $15 a barrel on Monday.

Comments Monday from William Dudley, president of the New York Federal Reserve, that the economy is doing better prompted a selloff for Nymex oil as tapering fears return, said Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at Price Futures Group.

The U.S. economy could be doing better and anemic growth could give way to stronger growth over the next two years, Dudley said in a speech at Queens College. Also Monday, President of the Philadelphia Fed, Charles Plosser said the central bank should bring an end to its asset-purchase program.

The comments from the two officials raised expectations that the Fed may soon decide to begin tapering its bond-buying stimulus program. The program has been seen as supportive of energy demand.

Flood of factors

But there were many other factors for oil traders to consider.

"Some of the slump in U.S. oil prices today reflects increased U.S. production and competitive issues with Saudi Arabia, which has the capacity to very quickly increase output and exports — something not as simple or as cheap over here," said Richard Hastings, a macro strategist at Global Hunter Securities.

News reports, citing data from the Joint Organization Data Initiative's website, said Saudi Arabia's September exports reached the highest monthly level since Nov. 2005.

/quotes/zigman/2237079/realtime CLZ3 92.95, -0.89, -0.95% /quotes/zigman/2648923/realtime LCOF4 108.20, -0.30, -0.28%

"The nation in September exported the most crude in some eight years — suggesting supply is still adequate to meet demand on a global scale," said Eric Bickel, a commodity analyst at Schneider Electric, in a daily note.

A Citigroup report suggests that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may need to cut its output in 2014 to keep the market balanced, as non-OPEC supply growth rates continue to outpace growth rates in demand, according to Bickel. "As the perennial balancer of the market, the onus falls on OPEC to keep the market's supply from far outweighing demand," he said.

The cartel is scheduled to hold its next ordinary meeting on Dec. 4 in Vienna.

There was also some talk of a return of Libyan oil production, said Flynn, but there also continued to be reports of ongoing political unrest.

Continued increases in U.S. crude inventories also kept pressure on oil prices. U.S. supplies climbed for an eighth consecutive week, as of the week ended Nov. 8, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

But news of plans for economic reforms in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, kept a cap on losses for oil prices early Monday.

Late Friday, China's government announced a 60-point list of policy tasks, tackling a wide range of issues from financial markets and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to legal reforms and the one-child policy.

Meanwhile, the oil markets looked forward to further talks between Iran and world powers over Iran's disputed nuclear program. The talks were set to begin Nov. 20 in Geneva, according to news reports. They could lead to an easing of oil sanctions on Iran.

Traders are waiting for something material to actually develop because "most market participants are getting tired of the lack of progress that has come from the negotiations," said Tyler Richey, an analyst for the 7:00's Report, which offers daily markets commentary.

Back on Nymex, December gasoline (RBZ3)  closed about flat at $2.66 a gallon, while December heating oil (HOZ3)  ended at $2.92 a gallon, down nearly 2 cents, or 0.6%.

December natural gas (NGZ13)  was at $3.62 per million British thermal units, to finish with a loss of 4 cents, or 1.2%, after earlier touching a high above $3.70, jostled around as traders weighed the de0mand prospects for the heating fuel.

iPhone 5c Pre-Orders Go Live

Top Dividend Companies To Buy For 2014

Update from 8:29 A.M. to include additional pre-sales information.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 5c is now available for pre-order, as the tech giant looks to ramp up sales of its largest revenue driver ahead of the upcoming holiday season. However, people who want Apple's high-end phone, the iPhone 5s, will have to wait.

When making the announcement earlier this week that the 5c would be available for pre-order starting Friday, Apple conspicuously "forgot" to mention when the 5s would be available for pre-order. The iPhone 5s will be available at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 20th for pre-order, but customers will more than lilkely have to line up at Apple Stores and the stores from Apple's carriers, including AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), Sprint (S) and T-Mobile USA (TMUS). Apple's approach to limiting pre-orders for the 5s ensures there will be exceptionally long lines, as customer demand for the phone is said to be high.

The iPhone 5s has a host of new features to separate it from Apple's previous offerings. Sporting a fingerprint authentication -- TouchID -- on the home button, the 5s also runs a 64-bit A7 CPU, the first 64-bit chip inside a smartphone. Apple also unveiled the M7 co-processor, a chip used to track motion data. The phone comes in silver, graphite and gold, marking the first time Apple has offered the iPhone in colors other than white and black. In contrast, the 5c runs Apple's A6 processor, announced last year as part of the iPhone 5. It will come in five colors (white, pink, yellow, blue and green), and will come in 16 GB and 32 GB models. The 5c starts at $99 on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. T-Mobile users can purchase the phone unlocked, which starts at $549 for the 16 GB model. The yellow version of the 5c has already sold out at Sprint on the pre-order, with the carrier's Web site saying it'll do its "best to get it to you by 9/20; but because of high demand, some phones will ship in up to 2 weeks." Apple shares were lower in trading Friday, off 1% to $468.05. --Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York >Contact by Email. Follow @Chris_Ciaccia

Beat the Market Comfortably by Investing in HVAC

Amid significant tailwinds in the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning or HVAC industry, one company looks poised for market-beating returns.

In the developed world, we've grown accustomed to heating and cooling, and we rely upon these systems to keep us comfortable year-round. Now that the housing market's booming, HVAC companies will likely have a better chance to sell more units in new homes.

As the economy improves, existing homeowners who put off upgrading their HVAC equipment will be more likely and able to buy new units. Furthermore, as emerging countries gain wealth and improve infrastructure, they'll probably buy and install more HVAC units for their buildings, too.

A successful HVAC distribution company with great growth potential
An excellent way to profit from these tailwinds is by investing in Watsco (NYSE: WSO  ) (NYSE: WSO  ) (NYSE: WSO  ) . Watsco is a leading distributor of HVAC equipment, with more than 570 locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Watsco also exports products to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Watsco's 2012 financial results were excellent. Its revenue increased by 15% to $3.4 billion, and its net income increased by 14% to $103 million.Its latest quarterly earnings report was positive as well, resulting in a 29% increase in earnings per share year over year.

Watsco's current P/E of 24.5 is in the same ballpark as its competitor Lennox International (NYSE: LII  ) (NYSE: LII  ) (NYSE: LII  ) , whose P/E is 23.8. Lennox is a manufacturer of HVAC equipment and components, and will also benefit from HVAC industry tailwinds.

However, Lennox's revenue and net income have both declined over the last five years, while Watsco's revenue doubled, and its net income rose 72%. Watsco is a distributor, not a manufacturer, and it focuses strictly on sales, instead of being concerned with the manufacturing challenges that now face Lennox.

Watsco has a long history of boosting its dividend. Over the last decade the company has increased its quarterly payout by a factor of 20, from $0.03 per share in 2002 to $0.62 per share in 2012. In December 2012, Watsco also elected to pay a special dividend of $5.00 per share, owing partly to dividend tax changes that were projected to go into effect in 2013.

As a result of this massive special payout, Watsco reduced its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, which equates to a 1.1% yield. Watsco will more than likely resume its dividend growth beginning in 2014. 

A very effective partnership
In 2009, Watsco made a very important acquisition, by purchasing a 60% stake in a joint venture with Carrier, a subsidiary of United Technologies  (NYSE: UTX  ) (NYSE: UTX  ) (NYSE: UTX  ) . This joint venture, known as Carrier Enterprise, was Watsco's largest acquisition and made Watsco the sole distributor for Carrier, Bryant, and Payne products in specified areas.

United Technologies, a diversified blue chip, would not trust just any company to be a distributor for Carrier, the market-leading provider of HVAC equipment. Indeed, it seems pleased with Watsco's performance, since the U.S. joint venture was later expanded to Canada and Mexico, creating a new international growth opportunity for Watsco.

Carrier represents 22.5% of United Technologies' overall sales; the company also provides elevator, security, controls, and a wide variety of aerospace products and systems. Its diverse mix of businesses makes it a compelling investment, but while it will benefit significantly from the HVAC tailwinds mentioned above, it's not as pure a play on the industry as Watsco.

"Buy and build", a business model that works
Watsco has grown by utilizing a "buy and build" strategy in which it acquires smaller competitors and increases their capabilities by enhancing their product offerings and adding new distribution locations. Watsco has used this strategy to complete 59 successful acquisitions since 1989.

Watsco's plan is to continue the same successful "buy and build" business model that has served it so well in the past. In other words, if it is not broke don't fix it. Even after Watsco's tremendous growth in the HVAC distribution market, it still only represents 10% of the overall market,which leaves plenty of room to continue its "buy and build" strategy.

Watsco currently has an even greater opportunity for growth by implementing its "buy and build" strategy in international markets. International sales represent 16% of Watsco's overall sales,and this number should grow in upcoming years. Watsco now has decades of experience with the implementation of this strategy in the U.S., and this experience should pay dividends (literally) in its efforts to incorporate a similar strategy in the international marketplace.

Another opportunity for its "buy and build" strategy is the joint venture with Carrier. Watsco should get the opportunity to expand this joint venture by acquiring additional distribution areas from Carrier, and building the business at each new area.

Foolish bottom line
I believe that Watsco is the best at what it does and that its future is very bright. I recommend that investors consider a position in Watsco as part of their diversified portfolio.

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7 Reasons HP Is Bad for 3D Printing Companies

3D printing stocks have soared in the last couple years, but especially in the last month. Companies such as 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD  ) , Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS  ) , ExOne (NASDAQ: XONE  ) , and the newest addition Voxeljet (NYSE: VJET  ) are now priced for operational perfection. However, with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) entering the space, should investors of these momentum stocks be worried that the bubble is about to burst?

A Quick Glance
The concept of 3D printing is quite simple: Consumers can buy printers of different sizes, add materials, and then create actual objects. These objects can range from décor to furniture and even massive industrial products. Essentially, there are no limits.

3D Systems and Stratasys are the two largest publicly traded companies in the space. 3D Systems sells mostly consumer models, meaning smaller printers at a high quantity. Stratasys is diversified with printers of all sizes, in a cost range between $10,000 and $600,000 per unit.

Then, there is another class of 3D printing companies that include ExOne and Voxeljet. ExOne operates in the industrial space with large printers that cost more than $1 million per unit. Hence, ExOne does not have high volume, but investors hope that more industrial companies will elect to use such devices to save on long-term costs.

Voxeljet is newest to the group, becoming a public company last month and also operating in the industrial space. Voxeljet is a great example of the excitement and somewhat irrational exuberance that plagues this space. The company's IPO was priced at a midpoint of $14 on October 18, but today it trades over $50, representing a market cap of $700 million. However, the company has annual sales of just $11 million with a backlog of only $5.7 million according to its S-1.

A bubble forming
Unfortunately for investors, it's not just Voxeljet that's trading at a large premium to fundamentals. Take a look at how its peers measure in terms of market capitalization to annual revenue.

Company

Price/Sales

3D Systems	15.7
Stratasys	14.3
ExOne	21.8
Voxeljet	63.3

Clearly, these four companies are illustrating bubble-like valuations. This fact doesn't mean that all of these stocks can't continue to soar. In fact, these stocks might all increase another 100%. However, sooner or later, as with all bubbles, some event will come along that will cause the bubble to burst.

Consequently, investors need to realize that this unknown event might actually be in the making. Last month the massive technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP), known for its printers, announced that it would be entering the 3D printer space by mid-2014 and would concentrate on affordability and speed.

A bubble about to burst?
Strangely, it was HP's entrance announcement that has helped to push the industry's elite higher over the last month. HP's CEO Meg Whitman suggested plans to enter the space via acquisitions. This has led many to believe that 3D Systems, Stratasys, etc. might be targets. Yet, while 3D printing investors want to bet, and pay a high premium, on this assumption, there are more than a few reasons why HP's entrance could be bad news for current 3D investors. Here are five:

As the world's largest technology company, HP clearly has 1) more resources and a 2) larger distribution network than any individual company in the 3D printing space. HP has a presence in nearly all countries around the globe with more than 330,000 employees. 3D Systems has roughly 1,000 employees and not nearly enough resources to produce products at the same rate of HP.

With more resources and a larger distribution network comes 3) pricing power. 3D Systems made news last week after announcing a $399 scanner, but conventional wisdom suggests that HP could price the same product much cheaper. Also, with 3D Systems having operating margins close to 20% compared to HP's 8%, HP can afford to be more aggressive with pricing without sacrificing margins. If 3D Systems does the same, investors might flee (same for Stratasys).

HP might acquire in order to have an established 3D printing business with patents, but HP will have the ability to invest in R&D to create better products at a faster rate. In fact, HP spent $3.4 billion on R&D in 2012 alone; that's more than three times the annual revenue of 3D Systems, Stratasys, ExOne, and Voxeljet combined! Simply put, 4) HP can spend money that its competitors can't match, and it will not hurt HP's business.

HP has $13.3 billion in cash to make acquisitions. Some investors think HP is eyeing one of the four noted 3D printing companies discussed. However, there's a reason that Stratasys acquired Makerbot and 3D Systems has grabbed 38 companies over the last two years in the private market. The reason is because private companies are cheaper.

 With that said, there are two elements to this argument: 5) HP not acquiring any of the noted companies could drive stock prices lower and 6) HP acquiring in the private market could boost asking prices from private companies. The latter would slow acquisitions, affecting top-line growth.

One for the road
And the last reason that HP's entrance into the space is bad for publically traded 3D printing companies is because 7) HP is significantly cheaper.

This final argument really seals the deal for current shareholders of 3D printing companies, as HP trades at just 0.44 times sales, far cheaper than its soon-to-be peers. With the 3D printing market valued at just $3 billion, this space is not going to make-or-break HP. However, if analysts are right and the space grows to $6 billion by 2016 and $10 billion by 2020, then 3D printing could be a major piece of the HP puzzle. Also, it could be a major growth driver.

Either way, when it's all said and done, none of these points are good for the current flock of 3D companies. Given their respective valuations, none are priced for these risks, and this could signal the bursting of this bubble, and it's all thanks to HP.

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Top Growth Companies For 2014

The latest outlook from the IMF on global growth does not reflect the current economic reality and MoneyShow's Jim Jubak thinks the inevitable revision might impact the markets.

The International Monetary Fund issues its World Economic Outlook twice a year, and they just came out with the newest one on October 8 and it basically says, "Well, after a really pretty not great year-really pretty not great year in 2013, when the global economy grew by about 2.9%, we're looking for an increase in growth rate globally to 3.6% in 2014." The problem with this, is that this is completely outdated by this point, that, if you remember, that this doesn't include any possible effects of the US government shutdown. It doesn't include the effects of US debt ceiling crisis.

All of those things aren't there, and this idea that the world global economy is going to grow at 3.6% in 2014, up from 2.9% in 2013, is based on a whole series of assumptions about what the developed economies of the world are going to do. The IMF, before all these crises, was saying, "Hey, we're seeing more momentum." The European economies are going to go from contraction to expansion in 2014.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Other department stores, such as Nordstrom (JWN) and Kohl’s (KSS) are also dedicating more space to active wear, the analysts say.

  As a result, Boss and McCormick upgraded Under Armour to Neutral from Underweight. They write:

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  Worth noting is that the average remaining tenure for the Calvin Klein licenses is eight to nine years. Other tailwinds for GIII include:

  The team sports business is now a $100 million business and was nonexistent 5 years ago. Sales makeup is 50% sportswear and 50% coats. We see this business continuing to grow as the overall popularity of sports teams continues.Dresses from Eliza J continue to be a top seller at Nordstrom's (JWN) and other high-end retailers.Ivanka Trump showrooms will be opening in Q4. The line will be launching dresses, suit separates and swimwear.The biggest business for GIII remains outerwear and the company started shipping product at the end of Q2. GIII has approximately 30 licensed, owned and private label brands and a covers the entire spectrum of retailers from mass market to luxury.Vilebrequin was acquired in August of last year and the addition helped grow non-licensed revenues to $70 million in Q2 compared to $48 million last year without Vilebrequin. Vilebrequin sells swimwear, resort wear and related accessories through a network of company-owned and franchised shops. To grow Vilebrequin, the company will be adding footwear to its shops, in particular flip-flops in all of the stores by November. The company is planning to grow Vilebrequin's presence in the U.S. and has been adding buildouts in key department stores. Furthermore, Vilebrequin's e-commerce site should be live in the next 60 days.

  GIII's entry into the footwear market is well in line with its long-term plans to become a men's and women's head-to-toe apparel maker.

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Then and now
  We won't dwell on the past, since it's not going to help us predict the future, but it would be silly not to hit the highlights. Starting at the top, Macy's has increased its revenue for four years running, and it hit $27 billion in 2012. Earnings per share have kept up as well, rising from $0.78 in 2009 to $3.29 last year. That's a 321% increase over four years. To put some context around that, Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN  ) has grown earnings per share by 78% over the same period.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

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

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Watch For 2014: Crocs Inc.(CROX)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  The next Crocs (CROX) earnings announcement is coming after the market closes Wednesday, Oct. 30, and if this report is anything like most Crocs earnings updates … well, investors have a 50-50 shot at hearing good news.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

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

  CF Industries�(CF) has gained 3.6% to $$217.51 after it sold its phosphate business to�Mosaic�(MOS) for $1.4 billion. Mosaic edged up 0.1% to $45.98.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Waste Management Inc.(WM)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  For example, a company involved in a mundane business like running hair salons ��like Regis (RGS), dentist offices ��like Birner Dental (BDMS), grocery stores ��like Village Supermarket (VLGEA), or garbage dumps ��like Waste Management (WM), may be easy to estimate as essentially a no-growth business.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Nutrisystem have gained 20% to $18.05 at 1:34 p.m., while Weight Watchers (WTW) has risen 3.6% to $39.42. Medifast (MED), however, has dropped 1.9% to $24.94.

• [By Holly LaFon] ast produces, distributes and sells weight and health management products with the brand names Medifast, Take Shape for Life, Hi-Energy Weight Control Centers and Woman�� Wellbeing.

  Its return on assets in the third quarter of 2011 was 19.6%, which has been increasing in the past several years. The average return on assets for the specialty retail industry is 10.48% for the trailing 12 months.

  The company�� total assets amounted to $94 million in 2010, which increased from $62.8 million in 2009. Net income also increased to $19.6 million in 2010 from $12 million in 2009.

  Boston Beer Inc. (SAM)

  Boston Beer Inc. is the largest brewer of handcrafted beers in America. Boston Beer is a growing company that recently saw a large increase in its return on assets. It increased from 19.3% in 2010 to 29.7% in 2011, and was negative as recently as 2008. The average return on assets for the beverages industry in the trailing 12 months is 9.47%.

  In 2011, the company�� total assets increased to $272.5 million from $258.5 million in 2010. Net income increased to $66 million from $50 million.

  Alliances Resources Partners (ARLP)

  Alliance Resources Partners is a coal producer and marketer primarily in the eastern U.S. Its ROA has been increasing since 2008 and increased to 22.5% in 2011 from 21.4% in 2010. The average return on assets for the oil, gas & consumable fuels industry in the trailing 12 months is 24.47%.

  In 2011, its total assets increased to $1.7 billion from $1.1 billion in 2010. Its net income increased to $389 million from $321 million.

  Factset Research Systems Inc. (FDS)

  Factset researches global market trends and develops analytical tools for investors. Of all of GuruFocus��5-star predictable companies, it has the highest return on assets at 27%. ROA has been increasing over the past several years. The average return on assets for the software industry for the trailing 12 m

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Medifast Inc. (NYSE: MED) saw its stock down 5% in evening trading on Tuesday after the weight loss player had soft sales and guided expectations lower. Shares were still indicated down about 5%, but volume has not yet started.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Sara Lee Corporation(SLE)

Sara Lee Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of a range of branded packaged meat, bakery, and beverage products worldwide. Its packaged meat products include hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages, sandwiches and bowls, smoked and dinner sausages, premium deli and luncheon meats, bacon, beef, turkey, and cooked ham. It also offers frozen baked products, which comprise frozen pies, cakes, cheesecakes, pastries, and other desserts. In addition, Sara Lee provides roast, ground, and liquid coffee; cappuccinos; lattes; and hot and iced teas, as well as refrigerated dough products. The company sells its products under Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee, State Fair, Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Maison du Caf

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Williamson]

  Exact Sciences' (NASDAQ: EXAS  ) phase 3 trial for its colon cancer detection test passed, but the stock dropped 20%. What gives? In this video, David Williamson goes into the details of Exact Sciences' DNA-based test. The overall effectiveness of the Cologuard test was 92%. However, the detection rate was 42%, less than colonoscopy, and the 87% overall accuracy rate leads to a higher false positive rate than most doctors would like to see. Is Exact Sciences doomed? Not really -- it has $100 million in the bank. It may be a takeover target, and David sees Intuitive Surgical� (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) as a possible buyer.

Top Growth Companies For 2014: Checkpoint Systms Inc.(CKP)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Three months after settling upon a new chief executive officer, it looks like Thorofare, N. J.-based Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP  ) will soon have itself a new CFO as well.

The RESP Suited Specifically for You

Recently, Brenda Bouw of the Globe and Mail was asked about RESPs (registered education savings plans), and here she breaks down the different types of RESPs and the pros and cons of each, and what it means for your children's future education plans.

I need to open a registered education savings plan (RESP) for my kids. I understand there are a few different types and am trying to figure out which one is best. Can you help?

Considering that tuition fees are rising far faster than inflation, any smart parent who wants to raise even smarter kids needs to start saving as soon as possible.

The RESP is a place where your savings can grow tax-free. On top of the tax break, many parents are lured to RESPs by an additional sweetener: the Canada education savings grant (CESG), which is the amount the federal government will throw in on top of your contribution. Depending on a family's income, the CESG can range up to $600 on an annual contribution of $2,500, and can rise to a lifetime maximum of $7,200 per child. This is free money (assuming you don't have to pay it back if your child decides to join the circus instead of attending university).

There are three different types of RESPs: individual, family and group plans. Which plan is best depends on how much money parents want to set aside and how strict they want to be about making contributions. "One of the first questions I always ask is, 'How many children are you going to have?'" says James Kirk, a certified financial planner with Winnipeg-based Sweatman Insurance & Retirement Services.

The individual plan, as the name implies, pays for the education of one beneficiary, while the family plan allows for multiple children in a family to be named as beneficiaries.

Mr. Kirk sees family RESPs as being more flexible if some, but not all, of your children go to college or university, because the money can be transferred to the other kids in the plan. While it is possible to transfer an individual plan to another beneficiary, Mr. Kirk says the family plans make it easier.

You can open an RESP at a bank, a credit union, a mutual fund company, an investment dealer, or a group-plan dealer. In general, individual and family plans offer you more room to choose your own investments than group plans. Individual and family plans can also be cheaper than group plans if you choose a self-directed plan and tilt your holdings toward low-cost exchange-traded funds.

Group RESPs are offered and administered by companies that offer group scholarship plans. In contrast to individual and family plans, the money in group plans is pooled with the contributions of other investors. Investments are chosen by the fund, not the people contributing to it.

Sellers of group RESPs say these plans are aimed at investors who want a more disciplined form of savings, because people enrolled in the plan are usually required to make regular contributions over a certain period of time.

"The group plan is a very structured program that allows people to save and to achieve a result that they might not otherwise achieve if they were left to their own devices," said Paul Renaud, chair of the RESP Dealers Association of Canada, which includes five member companies that represent approximately 90% of the industry.

According to Statistics Canada, about 27% of RESP assets held by Canadians in 2012 was in group RESP plans, down from 33% of RESP holdings in 2010.

Group RESPs charge fees for enrollment, administration, and processing. There are also penalties for missed payments, as well as pulling out of the plan early. The Investor Education Fund, a non-profit organization established by the Ontario Securities Commission, warns that investors who pull their money from a group plan in the first few years will get back a lot less than they put in because of sales charges.

Group plans have been under increased regulator scrutiny in recent years after complaints about a lack of transparency with some of the investments. The OSC stepped in last year and has forced some of the funds to improve their compliance systems.

Read more from the Globe and Mail here…

"The Best Opportunity of the Decade"

From the Editor: You're receiving special access to Private Briefing today because it contains a crucial conversation between Bill and Dr. Kent Moors, who uncovered the massive new energy demand source you've been hearing about. This particular briefing details one of the longer-term beneficiaries in the natural gas space...

At the end of our October 21 update on Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE: LNG) and the liquefied natural gas revolution, we promised to bring you an additional LNG recommendation.

Today we're keeping that promise.

And the company we're recommending is Cheniere Energy Partners LP (NYSE: CQP).

Before you do a "double-take," that's not a typo: Although the companies share the Cheniere first name, they are wholly separate companies - a pair of fraternal (not identical) twins, or the yin to the other's yang.

There's actually an easy way to differentiate the two.

You see, Cheniere Energy owns the gas.

And Cheniere Energy Partners owns the shipment facilities - the pipelines and LNG terminal facilities.

Here's the most important point of all: Energy Inner Circle Editor Dr. Kent Moors, the resident energy expert here at Money Map Press, views both of these stocks as "core holdings" - foundational plays that make up part of your energy holdings.

"Bill, these are both 'base-builder' holdings," Kent told me. "And they are actually two parts of the same, single initiative - the 'LNG Revolution' that we talked about last week."

And that "revolution" is a stunner - it represents a total potential reversal of the United States' global energy position.

America's New Energy Source

Just seven years ago, the so-called "experts" agreed that the United States would need to use imports to meet 15% of the country's gas needs by 2020.

The bleak story was the same one we'd been hearing for years: Americans are wasteful... the country hasn't made the needed investments in renewable energy technology... and the United States exists at the mercy of OPEC.

But that was before the energy companies discovered a new strategy known as "hydrofracking" - hydraulic fracturing - which gave producers access to vast new deposits of oil and natural gas.

Now the United States is projected to become a hefty LNG exporter.

This will elevate the United States' importance on the global stage, Kent says.

"For a long time now, liquefied natural gas has been a rising factor in the energy sector's global balance of power - becoming, as it has, a main source of fuel in places like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Mainland China," Kent told me.

I've seen the evidence myself.

Back in May 2010, for instance - just days after Real Asset Returns Editor Peter Krauth predicted a global uptick in LNG demand because of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan - I heard Radio Japan International report that LNG imports in that country would increase by a full 50% to help offset the massive energy shortage the country faced as a result of the tragedy.

The Fukushima catastrophe took that power plant out of commission - and turned the country's population against nuclear power - meaning Japan suddenly had a massive hole in its energy supply.

And stepped-up LNG imports (a lot of which would come from Australia) were an immediately available partial solution for Japan.

Now, thanks to the fracking boom, the United States is poised to become a big global LNG supplier.

According to a report by CNBC yesterday, U.S. natural gas production reached the "eye-popping" total of 25 trillion cubic feet in 2012. And new Energy Information Administration statistics show that the United States this year leapfrogged both Russia and Saudi Arabia on the list of top natural-gas producers.

To become a big exporter, however, the United States is going to have to embark on a crash building program to create the "infrastructure" needed to export LNG.

On a global basis, the LNG boom will spark roughly $346 billion in energy-related infrastructure investments by 2025, researcher IHS says.

And that will create profit opportunities that are massive in scale, Alex Choinski, a partner and project finance lawyer at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, told CNBC. "The advantage is the U.S. has a lot of infrastructure and a unique arbitrage opportunity in overseas markets thanks to the [fracking] boom. The economics can work if you can get the timing and deal structure right."

Exporting LNG requires Department of Energy approval. And throughout the United States, work is under way on about 10 projects that will be crucial in transforming the country into an energy-exporting powerhouse.

And one of those is Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana, Kent says.

That facility received approval in September 2012 - two years after Cheniere Energy first petitioned federal energy regulators for a license to export.

Situated on the Gulf coast, Sabine Pass will be able to export 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day - which the American Petroleum Institute says is worth more than $26 million per day.

This is a big, big project: It will cost $5.6 billion to complete, and will create 3,000 jobs when finished, CNBC reports.

But that size also conveys the potential that Sabine Pass holds - which is why Kent likes the yin-and-yang duo of LNG and CQP.

"Both of these firms relate to the Sabine Pass facility on the Gulf Coast and the ramp-up of significant LNG exports from the U.S. to most of the rest of the world," Kent explained.

"Cheniere Energy Partners is the partnership that owns the Sabine Pass terminal. Cheniere Energy, on the other hand, actually runs the liquefied gas exporting business, along with two other smaller terminals and a marketing wing for the distribution of LNG. That gives Cheniere Energy Partners an asset base. As a limited partnership, Cheniere Energy Partners also provides a dividend (currently 5.63% annualized).

"That is another advantage to owning the stock. So far, what Cheniere Energy has in hand are five huge multibillion-dollar, 20-year export contracts with some of the top players in the LNG market.

"There's a lot to like here... for a long time to come."

Ready to Roll

Peter originally recommended Cheniere Energy back on July 10. It's up 35% since then, but we believe there is plenty more to come.

Kent - who has recommended both Cheniere Energy and Cheniere Energy Partners to his Energy Advantage subscribers - re-recommended LNG to Private Briefing subscribers in the Oct. 21 report Are You Missing Out on the LNG Revolution?

Today is his first recommendation of Cheniere Energy Partners to Private Briefing subscribers.

"When you study this, you really have to like the way this whole venture is structured," Kent explained. "Those contracts that I mentioned ... well, they allow for the Sabine Pass facility to be constructed on a 'modular' basis. As a major contract is signed, it is used as collateral for terminal expansion. This structure favors CQP over LNG at this juncture. But once the process starts to move, both Cheniere Energy and Cheniere Energy Partners are going to be hot plays, and will likely balance each other out. At this point, we are in on the cheap and it behooves us to bide our time. One is going to provide us a return from the exports; the other from the facility production. In the long run, they will both pack a big payoff."

LNG closed yesterday at $39.70. Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) recently boosted its near-term target price on the stock from $39 to $47 - a potential gain of 18% from current levels and 59% from where we recommended it.

This is a really big investment story - and we're just at the beginning.

As Kent said, once these projects, production and exports really begin to ramp up, so will the share prices of both of these stocks.

"The bottom line here, Bill, is that the liquefied natural gas revolution is set to hand us one of the best investment opportunities of the decade," Kent said. "Trust me when I say this: As profit opportunities go, this is one you just can't afford to miss out on. These are core holdings. And you have an opportunity to grab them here - before they get away."

See you folks tomorrow...

Don't Miss It

To get Bill's Private Briefing tomorrow, and every day thereafter, click here. This is the best deal he's ever offered...

Mind the Gap: Gap Shares Gap Up as Sales Surprise

The Gap’s (GPS) surprised investors with top-notch results today, resulting in another gap–the one between yesterday’s closing price and where it’s trading now.

Getty Images

The Gap reported said it would earn 71 cents a share, well ahead of analyst forecasts for 66 cents. Even better, so-call same -store sales rose 4%, topping forecasts for a 0.6% increase.

This gap up, however, comes a little less than a month after shares of the Gap gapped down 7% on Oct. 11, following disappointing same-store sales. What will November hold?

Janney’s Adrienne Tennant and Gabriella Carbone urge caution. They write:

We believe merchandise margins will be under pressure for the remainder of the year, as a result of the sector-wide increased promotional activity. For November, we are modeling a +1% comp. We point out several negative factors impacting November: 1) one week later start to retail November, 3) shorter overall holiday season, 3) one week later Thanksgiving, which will shift CyberMonday and some Black Friday DTC sales out of retail November (GPS recognizes e-commerce sales upon estimated receipt by customer)…

…offsetting this, and specific to Old Navy, will be more Thanksgiving Day store openings (900 stores versus 750 last year from 9 am to 4 pm) and most of the stores open from 7 pm Thanksgiving Day through Black Friday (recall last year, Old Navy reopened at midnight missing much of the earlier off-mall traffic).

We continue to believe the global brand management structure of the business will help attain greater speed and efficiencies, as well as fuel future long term global growth; however, in the near-term we remain cautious given challenging mall traffic and aggressive promotions.

Shares of the Gap have jumped 8.9% to $41.12, while L Brands (LTD) has gained 1.6% to $62.77, Urban Outfitters (URBN) has risen 2.1% to $39.27 and Ann (ANN) has advanced 1.5% to $35.47.

Best Safest Companies To Buy For 2014

Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil both recently announced incredibly expensive, incredibly ambitious offshore projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The massive oil reserves that exist beneath the ocean floor are increasingly being targeted by the oil majors in their quest to increase production. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy looks at the company's behind three new offshore innovations that will make big oil's big challenge safer, and more efficient.

National Oilwell Varco is perhaps the safest investment in the energy sector due to its industry-dominating market share. This company is poised to profit in a big way; its customers are both increasing the number of new drilling rigs and updating aging fleets of offshore rigs. To help determine if it could be a good fit for your portfolio, you're invited to check out The Motley Fool's premium research report featuring in-depth analysis on whether NOV is a buy today. For instant access to this valuable investor's resource, simply click here now to claim your copy.

Best Safest Companies To Buy For 2014: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Best Safest Companies To Buy For 2014: Fluor Corporation(FLR)

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management services worldwide. Its Oil & Gas segment offers design, engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to upstream oil and gas production, downstream refining, chemicals, and petrochemicals industries. This segment also provides consulting services comprising feasibility studies, process assessment, and project finance structuring and studies. The company?s Industrial & Infrastructure segment offers design, engineering, procurement, and construction services to the transportation, wind power, mining and metals, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial and institutional, telecommunications, microelectronics, and healthcare sectors. Its Government segment provides engineering, construction, logistics support, contingency response, management, and operations services to the United States government focusing on the Departme nt of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. The company?s Global Services segment offers operations and maintenance, small capital project engineering and execution, site equipment and tool services, industrial fleet services, plant turnaround services, temporary staffing services, and supply chain solutions. Its Power segment provides engineering, procurement, construction, program management, start-up and commissioning, and operations and maintenance services to the gas fueled, solid fueled, plant betterment, renewables, nuclear, and power services markets. The company also offers unionized management and construction services in the United States and Canada. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier]

  If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated ��ell.��The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn�� materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth.

• [By CRWE]

  Fluor Corporation�� (NYSE:FLR) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Seaton, and Chief Financial Officer, Biggs Porter, will give a presentation to investors at the Credit Suisse 2012 Engineering & Construction Conference in New York on Thursday, June 7 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In Right Now: Under Armour Inc.(UA)

Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Friday, Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  But success comes with a target ,and other athletic companies are gunning for Nike's growth. Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) , Oakley, Puma, Adidas, and other brands are trying to play where Nike dominates. Here's how Nike has gotten ahead of the competition, as well as a look at how it can stay ahead.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Dick's interactive "store within a store" concept gives a unique and distinct feel to each department. When you're looking for golf stuff, for example you can visit a dedicated Golf Pro Shop. It's a superior in-store experience compared to big-box competitors, and some of the company's other brand partnerships also provide Dick's with the unique opportunity to offer exclusive product to their customers. Nike (NYSE: NKE  ) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) both take advantage of having their own block of space within Dick's locations. This not only provides customers the opportunity to really evaluate the relative worth of each brand across a wide range of products, but it also gives Dick's a way to upsell its status-conscious buyers on the latest $50 compression shirt or $150 spring-loaded pair of shoes.
  
  Dick's also rose to the top of the sporting-goods list because of its convenient locations, competitive prices and focused approach on reaching out to digital consumers through social media and apps. Dick's app has a built-in GPS that automatically helps consumers find the nearest store. You'd think this would be the first thing built into any retailer's mobile apps, but a surprising number of companies overlook or marginalize such a simple function.

Best Safest Companies To Buy For 2014: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras(PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. primarily engages in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining, trade, and transportation businesses. The company?s Exploration and Production segment involves in the exploration, production, development, and production of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas in Brazil. This segment supplies its products to the refineries in Brazil, as well as sells surplus petroleum and byproducts in domestic and foreign markets. Its Supply segment engages in the refining, logistics, transportation, and trade of oil and oil products; export of ethanol; and extraction and processing of schist, as well as holds interests in companies of the petrochemical sector in Brazil. The Gas and Energy segment involves in the transportation and trade of natural gas produced in or imported into Brazil; transportation and trade of LNG; and generation and trade of electric power. In addition, the segment has interests in natural gas transportation and d istribution companies; and thermoelectric power stations in Brazil, as well engages in fertilizer business. The Distribution segment distributes oil products, ethanol, and compressed natural gas in Brazil. The International segment involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as well as in supplying, gas and energy, and distribution operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Further, the company involves in biofuel production business. Petroleo Brasileiro was founded in 1953 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  Petrobras participates in an area that is essential to many consumers, businesses, and overall global growth. The stock has been in a range this past quarter, but is currently trading at highs slightly below its all time highs. During the last four quarters, the stock has seen decreasing earnings and revenue figures, leaving investors with mixed feelings. Relative to its peers and sector, Petrobras has trailed in performance by a significant margin. STAY AWAY from Petrobras for now.