Top 10 Dow Dividend Stocks for April

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Sixteen weeks into 2014, the Dow, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 are all down year-to-date, while the S&P 500 is only ahead by about 1.5%. The market is dealing with some genuine obstacles that weren’t prevalent at the end of 2013, as worries over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine, slowing in China’s economy, Japan’s anemic exports, deflationary pressure in Europe and Fed tapering are weighing on investor sentiment.

If these issues weren’t enough, the “great rotation” out of the New America stocks — Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), 3D Systems (NASDAQ:DDD), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Yelp (NYSE:YELP) and too many biotech stocks to list — sent shivers through the market that are just now starting to abate. The mid-April rebound saw the bloodletting in high-beta stocks somewhat cease, while capital flows into dividend-paying stocks and high-yield assets remained strong.

Corrections come when markets least expect them, and high-valuation stocks have clearly undergone a fierce re-pricing of what investors believe to be growth at a reasonable price. So utilities, defensive blue-chip stocks and high-yield assets have been the tortoises that are winning the year-to-date race so far amid little fanfare. As such, it's a great time to consider taking a stake in the highest-yielding dividend stocks of the Dow Jones Industrials. These well-known, best-of-breed companies have a long history of solid, dependable dividends.

These top 10 highest-yielding Dow dividend stocks, or "Dogs of the Dow," pay out sizable yields ranging from 3.10% to 5.25%, and they're often less susceptible to market downtrends, which makes them ideal holdings when so many traders are confused about which sectors of the market can still produce a return on investment.

Here are the top 10 Dow dividend stocks by yield for April. (Note: All yields and returns are as of 4/28.)

Top Dividend Stocks #10: Procter & Gamble (PG)

Dividend Yield: 3.10%
YTD Performance: +1.88%
52-Week Return: +7.57%

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) beat earnings-per-share estimates when it announced its third-quarter results last week, but the rest of the report was essentially in line with analysts' expectations. The EPS reading marked an increase of about 5% from a year earlier, and organic sales rose by 3%, but revenue and gross profits both fell year-over-year. The stock gapped lower on its report day, but has since made up all of the losses and now trades just under the $83 level.

There are a number of other reasons why PG made it back onto our list in April after being knocked off by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last month. First, the company increased its cash dividend from 60.15 cents to 64.36 cents for the current quarter — an increase of 7%, which makes for a current dividend yield of 3.1%.

Second, the company only pays out about 65% of its earnings to shareholders, so there is the chance that its $2.57 annual dividend could be increased in the future. Finally, PG maintains a 57-year track record of dividend increases, which qualifies the stock as one of the S&P 500's Dividend Aristocrats.

The company's CEO also remains committed to keeping investors happy with steady quarterly distributions, and will continue to implement cost-cutting measures that should save billions of dollars over the next several years.

Top Dividend Stocks #9: Merck (MRK)

Dividend Yield: 3.11%
YTD Performance: +13.25%
52-Week Return: +18.40%

Merck (NYSE:MRK), the $167 billion global provider of health care products and services, leads our list of Dow dividend stocks in capital appreciation in 2014. However, even after gaining more than 13% this year, MRK still offers a 3.22% dividend yield.

The run-up in the share price can also be seen in its 38.9 P/E ratio, which is higher than most of its peers. Still, MRK's new immuno-oncology drug and foray into the Hepatitis C treatment area represent a promising pipeline that could reward long-term investors.

Merck is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on April 29, and analysts are looking for EPS of 79 cents on revenue of $10.44 billion, both of which are lower than the levels reported a year ago. Part of the reason for the Street's lowered expectations is that generic competition may be cutting into MRK's top line, though a strong showing from several other segments of its business could help the stock when the numbers are released.

Top Dividend Stocks #8: Chevron (CVX)

Dividend Yield: 3.18%
YTD Performance: +0.66%
52-Week Return: +4.74%

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) is one of the largest and most well-known integrated energy companies on the planet and boasts a record of consecutive dividend increases over the last 25 years. On top of the dividend, the biggest factor that makes CVX a smart investment at this time is its future growth prospects.

The company expects to increase its capacity by 20% over the next four years, and while it has been primarily centered on exploring for and producing oil, it's now branching out into the natural gas space and is either involved in or planning liquefied natural gas drilling operations outside of the U.S. in places like China and Australia. CVX also plans to increase revenues by drilling in the U.S. Permian Basin region (production in the region is expected to double over the course of the decade) and through its Texas-New Mexico project.

Even with such strong growth prospects, CVX trades with a reasonable valuation compared to other energy stocks. With a P/E ratio of 11.2 — compared to Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) 13.6, its valuation is very enticing. CVX also bests XOM in earnings growth, profitability and dividend growth and dividend yield, which are the metrics that investors will consider when determining which stock is the better buy.

As other countries warm up to the idea of hydraulic fracturing and natural gas in general, Chevron is prepared to move in and accelerate the process, and you should be prepared to profit from the natural gas revolution as well.

Top Dividend Stocks #7: McDonald's (MCD)

Dividend Yield: 3.23%
YTD Performance: +3.38%
52-Week Return: -0.57%

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) certainly struggled over the last year, but the stock has actually come into favor in the last few months as capital rotates into names that trade at low valuations. MCD carries a P/E ratio of 18.1 compared to the 28.1 industry average, and investors have taken notice.

MCD reported earnings last week with mixed results. First-quarter revenue came in as expected, at $6.7 billion, but the company missed EPS estimates of $1.24 by three cents. While McDonald's leads its peers in terms of revenue, its long-term growth prospects lag significantly against Burger King (NYSE:BKW) and Chipotle (NYSE:CMG).

The company is also experiencing pressure from competitor and owner of Taco Bell, Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM), which is trying to lure in more customers with its new "Waffle Taco." Approximately 25% of MCD's sales derive from its breakfast menu, a number that YUM is actively trying to decrease.

It's unlikely that MCD will see the same kinds of growth rates as its newer rivals, but you can earn a solid 3.23% yield from this fairly valued, blue-chip dividend stock if your portfolio can stomach the recent setbacks.

Top Dividend Stocks #6: Pfizer (PFE)

Dividend Yield: 3.25%
YTD Performance: +4.60%
52-Week Return: +6.48%

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), the world's biggest pharmaceutical company with a market capitalization of almost $205 billion, has moved up two spots since our last edition of the top Dow dividend stocks.

PFE has garnered a lot of attention from the investment community lately after proposing a $100 billion dollar takeover of London-based biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN). AZN rejected the offer at first, but PFE is still in pursuit of a deal. If completed, it would be the largest takeover of its kind in history.

The takeover would be advantageous to PFE for several reasons. The company would be able to significantly increase its product line in the areas of oncology and diabetes treatment, and it would also benefit via the distribution channels that AZN already has set up overseas.

Perhaps even more compelling for Pfizer, the proposed deal would enable PFE to put use the approximately $70 billion in overseas cash that would otherwise be subject to exorbitant corporate taxes if it was returned to the United States. Incorporating in the U.K. would ultimately lead to a more competitive tax rate for PFE, even if the company keeps in headquarters in the U.S.

PFE is up about 4.6% for the year to the $32 level, and just last week declared another dividend payout of 26 cents for the current quarter. That makes for an attractive dividend yield of 3.25% on a stock that trades with a P/E ratio of 18.6, which is right in line with its industry peers.

Top Dividend Stock #5: General Electric (GE)

Dividend Yield: 3.29%
YTD Performance: -4.46%
52-Week Return: +20.58%

General Electric (NYSE:GE) is down almost 5% in 2014, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Since hitting a low near the $24 level back in February, the stock has rallied approximately 6.6% as the rotation into blue-chip names with yield has gained strength.

Earlier in April, GE reported its first-quarter results, in which the company posted disappointing revenue that declined 2% to $34.2 billion and net income that fell 15% to $3 billion. That sounds negative on the surface, but there were several positive factors that pushed the stock over $26.50 on its report day.

First, GE's industrial profit and revenue grew 12% and 8%, respectively. Its oil and gas segment enjoyed a 37% increase in profit, and its aviation unit boosted profits by 19% to $1.1 billion thanks to increased engine demand.

Investors often look to GE to provide some insight into the state of the underlying economy, and the numbers are indicating that the U.S. may be in for a slow-but-steady 2014 in terms of economic growth. At the same time, GE has steadily increased its dividend over the past five years, and now pays out more than twice what it did back in 2009. With a handsome 3.3% dividend yield, GE will pay you 88 cents per year while you wait for the economy to pick up speed.

Top Dividend Stock #4: Cisco (CSCO)

Dividend Yield: 3.30%
YTD Performance: +2.63% 
52-Week Return: +11.37%

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), the information technology and Internet protocol giant, is up about 7% from its recent bottom in March, and its latest cash dividend of 19 cents per share for the current quarter represented an increase of 11.8% from the previous 17 cents-per-share dividend.

CSCO endured some setbacks after posting less-than-stellar results and unimpressive forecasts, but is now making plans to transition its core business in order to move into more profitable endeavors. For example, the company is planning to make a switch from its traditional hardware-based model to one that focuses on the growing areas of cloud computing, mobility, security and the Internet of everything (the term used to describe the phenomenon of the increasing connection between technology and the ordinary items we used in our everyday lives).

The company is in the beginning stages of its transition, which presents investors with the opportunity to take advantage of this long-term growth story in the early going. With a P/E ratio of just 15.2, CSCO trades at a great bargain against its peer group, which carries a P/E ratio of 33.8, and the company is ready to reward patient investors with an annual dividend of 76 cents per share.

Top Dividend Stock #3: Intel (INTC)

Dividend Yield: 3.42%
YTD Performance: +1.44%
52-Week Return: +12.52%

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), which designs and manufactures computer processors and chips for personal electronic devices such as computers, phones, tablets and medical devices, has maintained the No. 3 spot on our list of dividend stocks again in April.

Earlier this month, the company announced its first-quarter earnings, including EPS that beat estimates by a penny. Although it beat the Street, the EPS reading of 38 cents per share was 5% lower than it was a year earlier. Net income came in at just $1.9 billion, which was also down 5% from the previous year.

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Positive highlights include a 1% year-over-year increase in PC Client Group revenue, and an 11% year-over-year increase in revenue from its Data Center Group. INTC reported overall revenue of $12.8 billion for the quarter, and returned $1.1 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends.

The company declared another 22.5-cent quarterly dividend payout in March, which equates to a current dividend yield of 3.42%. Furthermore, the stock trades with a P/E ratio of just 13.9 versus the industry average of 22.7, which should make this a go-to name in the current value-investing landscape.

Top Dividend Stock #2: Verizon (VZ)

Dividend Yield: 4.55%
YTD Performance: -5.17%
52-Week Return: -13.11%

Shares of Verizon (NYSE:VZ) have struggled recently, but the company continues to pay out a hefty quarterly dividend of 53 cents, keeping VZ firmly in the second-place spot in the list of highest-yielding Dow dividend stocks. Corrections come and go, but Verizon has been steadily growing its annual payout for the last seven years, and the company has made some key moves lately that should grab investors' attention.

About a month after completing the deal to retake Vodafone's (NASDAQ:VOD) stake in Verizon Wireless, for which the company raised a record-high $49 billion in bonds, Verizon announced a debt offer to raise another $4.5 billion, which it intends to use to repurchase five tranches of company debt. Like the Vodafone deal, this move should help boost Verizon's bottom line. And in fact, EPS did enjoy a year-over-year gain in the first quarter, from 68 cents to 84 cents in non-GAAP earnings. VZ stock took a hit on that news, though, because analysts' consensus forecast was for EPS of 87 cents.

However, a closer look at the earnings release reveals some good news for Verizon Wireless. Service revenues gained 7.5% year-over-year for the wireless segment, and since the buyback deal with Vodafone just closed on Feb. 21, that figure only includes five weeks' worth of full results.

The company's wireless segment gained 539,000 net retail postpaid customers for the quarter. Interestingly, the increase came not from cell phone customers, but from tablet users and even home phone users. As Verizon works on upgrading its landline network, more and more home phones are now connecting to the wireless network, which may account for the decrease in landline users. It's a brave new world for telecom, and investors who buy VZ now can benefit from the continued shift while earning a steady 4.55% on their money.

Top Dividend Stock #1: AT&T (T)

Dividend Yield: 5.25%
YTD Performance: -0.23%
52-Week Return: -5.29%

Rival wireless providers like T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS) might be trying to elbow in on its market share, but AT&T (NYSE:T) is still the biggest telecommunications provider in the United States. It also has strong fundamentals, contrary to what investors may expect of a stock with such a high yield.

On April 22, AT&T released its first-quarter earnings report, which showed a 10.9% increase in earnings per share (EPS) over the same quarter a year earlier, from 64 cents to 71 cents, beating the Street's expectations by a penny. What's more, the company took a big step towards closing the gap between its customer base and that of Verizon. In the first quarter, AT&T added 625,000 postpaid customers, noting that these were the "best first-quarter net adds in five years."

Unfortunately, none of this kept the shares from suffering a 3.4% selloff the following morning. The sticking point seemed to be forward guidance: Analysts had anticipated an 8% earnings-growth forecast, but AT&T's actual forecast was for 4% or greater.

The company did maintain the same hefty payout of 46 cents as in the prior quarter, however, so income investors should consider using the dip as an opportunity to buy the highest-yielding Dow dividend stock at a discount and take advantage of the 5.25% current yield.

Bryan Perry is the editor of Cash Machine, a newsletter focused on high-yield income investing with the goal of maintaining a blended total yield of 10% across two portfolios. Bryan is also the editor of Extreme Income, which uses the power of historically cheap money to create a leveraged "baby hedge fund" strategy that paves the way to massive profits and 4x greater income.

Target to reissue cards as Mastercard chip-and-pin

Starting next year, Target will issue its branded credit and debit cards as Mastercard chip-and-pin cards, the company said Tuesday.

The retailer's portfolio of cards include a Target-branded debit card, REDcard credit card, and co-branded credit card with Visa. All three will be reissued with Mastercard's chip-and-pin technology.

The announcement comes as Target is already in the process of replacing its store registers to accept chip-and-pin cards as the company brings a renewed commitment to information security after suffering one of the largest data breaches in retail last year. Sixty to 70 stores a week being are updated with new registers, with 12,000 total updated so far, says spokesperson Molly Snyder. Target plans to have all stores updated with the registers by September.

Snyder says Target chose Mastercard over its existing agreement with Visa because "Mastercard technology will be able to be used across all three types of cards."

USA TODAY has reached out to Visa for comment.

Target also announced that it hired a new chief information officer. Bob DeRodes, who comes to Target from the payment processing company First Data, will take over as CIO next week. Former CIO Beth Jacob resigned in March.

"Establishing a clear path forward for Target following the data breach has been my top priority," CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a company statement. "I believe Target has a tremendous opportunity to take the lessons learned from this incident and enhance our overall approach to data security and information technology. Bob's history of leading transformational change positions him well to lead our continued breach responses and guide our long-term digital strategy."

DeRodes also previously worked as CIO at The Home Depot and served as a government adviser in information technology.

Is Amazon Losing Momentum?

With shares of Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) trading at around $248.23, is AMZN an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

Reading this article requires a little imagination. If you lack imagination, don't worry, here's some inspiration…

Great song, but this isn't going the political or religious route. We're going a much different route. Imagine you're trapped inside a Men in Black movie and a neuralyzer has been used on you. For those not familiar with the Men in Black franchise, this means that your recent memories (and sometimes not so recent memories) have been erased. With that in mind, imagine that you have never heard of Amazon. The only thing you now know is that this is a company with weak margins, poor valuation, high sensitivity to market corrections, and it has difficulty showing profits. Would you feel comfortable investing in this company?

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Passionate Amazon longs are likely angrier than a pack of unfed and caged wolves right now. Then again, Amazon longs have seen this argument so many times that they're probably immune to it.

On the bullish side, Amazon has shown consistent revenue improvements on an annual basis, it has superb customer service, and analysts love the stock (18 Buy, 12 Hold, 1 Sell). Amazon Instant Video also has potential. It's cheaper than Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), but Netflix offers more content and better quality.

Amazon.com's traffic has steadily increased over the past two years. On the other hand, the past three months has seen a 22 percent decline in time-on-site and a 20 percent increase in bounce rate. These aren't necessarily bad signs, but they're not good signs.

According to Glassdoor.com, employees rate Amazon a 3.4 of 5, which is very high. A somewhat impressive 66 percent of employees would recommend the company to a friend, and an impressive 87 percent of employees approve of CEO Jeff Bezos. It's evident that the company culture is strong, which is a great sign as it increases productivity.

Now let's take a look at some comparative numbers. The chart below compares fundamentals for Amazon, Netflix, and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY). Amazon has a market cap of $112.59 billion, Netflix has a market cap of $11.94 billion, and eBay has a market cap of $67.93 billion.

	AMZN	NFLX	EBAY
Trailing   P/E	N/A	515.01	25.40
Forward   P/E	70.28	69.06	16.25
Profit   Margin	-0.14%	0.65%	18.68%
ROE	-1.11%	3.31%	13.64%
Operating   Cash Flow	$4.25 Billion	-$8.51 Million	$4.24 Billion
Dividend   Yield	N/A	N/A	N/A
Short   Position	1.80%	N/A	1.30%

 

Let's take a look at some more important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

E = Equity to Debt Ratio Is Normal         

The debt-to-equity ratio for Amazon is close to the industry average of 0.36.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
AMZN	0.36	$7.90 Billion	$3.04 Billion
NFLX	0.62	$1.03 Billion	$500.00 Million
EBAY	0.21	$9.40 Billion	$4.52 Billion

 

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T = Technicals Have Weakened  

Amazon has been a big winner over a three-year time frame, but the year-to-date performance has been subpar.

	Top 10 Retail Stocks To Buy Right Now 1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
AMZN	-6.96%	-1.17%	6.92%	80.85%
NFLX	12.53%	130.00%	165.80%	115.40%
EBAY	-3.36%	2.75%	27.74%	120.40%

 

At $248.23, Amazon is trading below all its averages.

50-Day   SMA	264.34
100-Day   SMA	263.03
200-Day   SMA	251.73

 

E = Earnings Have Been Weak                              

Earnings have declined over the past two years. However, revenue growth has been steady. This is impressive considering many companies throughout the broader market have seen revenue declines in 2012.

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue   ($)in   billions	19.17	24.51	34.20	48.08	61.09
Diluted   EPS ($)	1.49	2.04	2.53	1.37	-0.09

 

When we look at the previous quarter on a year-over-year basis, we see an increase in revenue and a decline in earnings. Both revenue and earnings have declined on a sequential basis.

	3/2012	6/2012	9/2012	12/2012	3/2013
Revenue   ($)in   billions	13.18	12.83	13.81	21.27	16.07
Diluted   EPS ($)	0.28	0.01	-0.60	0.21	0.18

 

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Trends and Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

T = Trends Do Not Support the Industry

For companies like Amazon, it's all about the consumer. That's bad news for Amazon. The best shot Amazon has at maintaining its current growth rate is through innovation, and it's certainly doing a good job in that area. However, economic headwinds are nearing hurricane force. They include the potential for massive federal spending cuts, higher taxes, a continuously weakening Europe, and a weak U.S. consumer.

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Conclusion

Amazon is a great company with a superb leader, but it's simply a dangerous investment in this economic environment. The stock has lost momentum in a strong market. What would happen in a weak market? Savvy investors certainly wouldn't choose to hold onto expensive technology stocks over their safer investments.

Why FAZ Is Poised to Keep Falling

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: FAZ) have received the dreaded one-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at FAZ and see what CAPS investors are saying about the ETF right now.

FAZ facts

Inception	November 2008
Total Net Assets	$551.5 million
Investment Approach	The investment seeks daily investment results of 300% of the inverse (or opposite) of the performance of the Russell 1000 Financial Services Index. The fund, under normal circumstances, creates short positions by investing at least 80% of its assets in financial instruments that, in combination, provide leveraged and unleveraged exposure to the index.
Expense Ratio	0.95%
Year-to-Date / 1-Year / 3-Year Return	(53.4%) / (69.4%) / (53.1%)
Alternatives	ProShares Short S&P 500  ProShares UltraShort QQQ  ProShares UltraShort MSCI Europe

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 85% of the 410 All-Star members who have rated FAZ believe the ETF will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last week, one of those Fools, TerryHogan, touched on the trends working against FAZ:

I like the financials in the US right now. There's going to be some consolidation until you end up with your few big nationwide guys, similar to the situation in Canada. It just makes sense from a business standpoint and a consumer standpoint. If I move from Flint Michigan to Austin Texas, it's nice if I don't have to switch banks. And if you're a bank, it's nice not to only be operating in Flint.

 

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to protect your portfolio from any undue risk. Luckily, our special report on ETFs highlights three funds that are poised to soar in the next recovery. It's 100% free, but won't last forever, so click here to access it now.

Supervalu Should Now Look Valuable Enough

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The growing popularity of dollar stores and mass market retailers has affected the existence of traditional grocery stores. For example, dollar stores such as Dollar General provided most of the products at the lowest possible prices, which forced cash strapped customers to move from other grocers to such dollar stores. In fact, strategies such as providing items for $1 or less have been significant to its growth.

However, grocer Supervalu (SVU) made significant efforts to combat competition and stage a comeback. Its recently reported fourth quarter results surprised the investors as it beat analysts' expectations.

The earnings beat

Revenue climbed 1.4% to $3.95 billion, over year-ago quarter. The top line was driven by higher demand for its products as well as a rise in store traffic. In fact, Supervalu's same store sales grew 2.1% during the quarter for its Save-A-Lot store network. Also, corporate stores witnessed identical store sales growth of 3.5%.

The retailer performed well not only on the top line, but also on the bottom line. Its earnings jumped to $0.18 per share, as against loss in the prior year's quarter. This increase in bottom line came in mainly due to cost reduction strategies undertaken by the company.

Existing strengths

The grocer's biggest strength is its network of Save-a-Lot stores which concentrates on providing competitive prices to entice customers. It adopted the "fair price promotion strategy" last year which is helping the retailer to overcome competitive pressures.

Also, "fresh from farm" department is doing well since customers have become health conscious and look for fresh products instead of stored ones.

Moreover, Supervalu's restructuring efforts have been commendable. It discontinued five of its business units last year in order to remain focussed on its profitable Save-A-Lot segment. Additionally, the company cut 1,100 jobs last year, which helped in controlling costs and increase profits.

The future

Since Supervalu has been able to revive its business, it now plans to expand its presence. It plans to open 65 new stores during this year. Hence, Supervalu stores will be available for customers' every need.

The grocer has changed store layouts as well as improved its merchandise sets at its Save-A-Lot stores. It has adopted horizontal merchandising sets and has displayed value investments in such a way that it is noticeable to customers.

Further, the company plans to introduce the new coupon-to-card program which enables Supervalu customers to download and get access to their coupons through their phones. Therefore, it makes it easier for customers to access digital coupons as well as link it to their card.

Conclusion

Customers will always be calculative about their spending. Hence, offering lower price for basic goods is a good strategy to attract customers. Supervalu has been able to implement this strategy at the right time, enabling it to stage a comeback. With the efforts of reducing costs and attracting people through various promotional efforts, the grocer should be able to fare well. Moreover, it plans to expand its store network in the current year. However, it faces stiff competition from dollar stores and other big box retailers. Therefore, one should wait till the time is right to get into this growing company.

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Retirement Account Contribution Limits for 2014

How much money will I be able to contribute to my 401(k) and IRA in 2014?

SEE ALSO: Are You Saving Enough for Retirement?

The 2014 contribution limits will remain the same as they are for 2013. You can contribute as much as $17,500 to a 401(k), 403(b), 457 or the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan, plus as much as $5,500 more in catch-up contributions if you're 50 or older in 2014. And the annual contribution limit for traditional and Roth IRAs remains at $5,500 in 2014, plus as much as $1,000 more if you're 50 or older.

The income limits determining who can contribute to Roth IRAs are increasing very slightly. You can contribute to a Roth IRA in 2014 only if your adjusted gross income is less than $129,000 if single or $191,000 if married filing jointly. (The amount that you can contribute starts to decline -- or phase out -- for singles earning more than $114,000 and couples earning more than $181,000. )

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The income limit defining who can claim the savers' tax credit (officially called the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit) is also increasing slightly. To qualify for the credit, your 2014 adjusted gross income must be less than $60,000 for married couples filing jointly, less than $45,000 for heads of household, and less than $30,000 for singles or married individuals filing separately. See Take Advantage of the Retirement Savers' Tax Credit for more information about the rules.

2014 Benefits Adjustments for Retirees

A few other inflation adjustments were announced recently: Social Security benefits will increase by 1.5% in 2014, boosting the average monthly benefit from $1,259 to $1,294. See 2014 Social Security Changes for details.

Also, Medicare Part B premiums will remain at $104.90 per month for most people in 2014, and the high-income surcharge for Part B and Part D will increase slightly. See Medicare Part B and Part D Premiums for 2014 for more information.

Got a question? Ask Kim at askkim@kiplinger.com.

Small Cap Winnebago Industries (WGO): Time to Bet on Recovery With This RV Stock? DW, SKY & THO

The CEO of recreation vehicle (RV) stock Winnebago Industries, Inc (NYSE: WGO) recently appeared on CNBC to say that the economy is improving for RV makers, meaning its time to take a closer look at the stock plus take a look at the performance of other small cap RV stocks like Drew Industries, Inc (NYSE: DW), Skyline Corporation (NYSEMKT: SKY) and Thor Industries, Inc (NYSE: THO).

What is Winnebago Industries, Inc?

Incorporated under the laws of the state of Iowa on February 12, 1958, small cap Winnebago Industries is a manufacturer of RVs, which are used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. Specifically, the company builds motor homes, travel trailers and fifth wheel products under the Winnebago®, Itasca®, Winnebago Touring Coach™, SunnyBrook®, and Metro™ brand names and then markets these recreational vehicles on a wholesale basis to a diversified dealer organization located throughout the US and Canada. Other products manufactured by the company consists of original equipment manufacturing (OEM) parts, including extruded aluminum and other component products for other manufacturers and commercial vehicles.

As for potential small cap RV peers, Drew Industries is a leading supplier to the recreational vehicle and manufactured homes industries, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Lippert Components, Inc and Kinro, Inc; Skyline Corporation is a manufacturer of manufactured and modular housing along with travel trailers, ultra lite trailers and recreational vehicles; and Thor Industries which divested its bus business in 2013 to focus on its core RV business, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of recreational vehicles.

What You Need to Know or Be Warned About Winnebago Industries

During last Wednesday's CNBC interview, Winnebago Industries' CEO Randy Potts commented how the financial crisis and subsequent recession had been a train wreck for the RV industry – which went from record setting high sales to record setting low sales. Potts believes the RV industry is in a recovery phase now that will continue for four good reasons:

Energy prices plus energy availability are favorable. Interest rates are attractive. Housing market is healing. Demographics are favorable.

When asked about the practicality of powering RVs in the future with increasingly plentiful natural gas, Potts commented that it would require too much space on the vehicle due to the relative lack of a natural gas for vehicle infrastructure and that lack of infrastructure is also a problem because the RV lifestyle not about being tied down. He then noted how Winnebago is a premium iconic brand that sells at a higher price and that margins have grown quarter over quarter for the last year. Potts ended the interview by saying:

"Naturally during the recession it was -- again, it was very hard, but we survived that. We're one of some companies that didn't survive, and, you know, we're coming back with a vengeance and we're hitting it very hard and very successful with it."

In late March, Winnebago Industries reported earnings for the second quarter of Fiscal 2014 ended March 1, 2014 with revenues rising 29% to $228.8 million for a a better-than-expected 53% jump in net income to $9.6 million as the company sold more motorhomes to dealers in a quarter otherwise impacted by storm-related disruptions. CEO Potts commented:

"We achieved strong results for the quarter, notwithstanding challenges associated with the severe winter weather.  Although we scheduled four additional production days to satisfy motorized backlog, the severe weather conditions caused numerous work delays and closures at both our Iowa and Indiana facilities, which led to the loss of multiple production days, and contributed to increased expenses due to inefficiencies that limited margin expansion and earnings growth."

Winnebago Industries had also recently announced a large incremental rental order from Apollo Motorhome Holidays, an RV rental company, to be delivered during the company's Fiscal 2014 third quarter.  The order is for approximately 500 units with Winnebago Industries having contractually agreed to repurchase up to two thirds of the units at specified prices after one season of rental use.  

Otherwise, it should be mentioned that Winnebago Industries has a trailing P/E of 18.35 and a forward P/E of 13.72.

Share Performance: Winnebago Industries vs DW, SKY & THO

On Monday, small cap Winnebago Industries fell 1.39% to $25.51 (WGO has a 52 week trading range of $16.72 to $32.41 a share) for a market cap of $694.87 million plus the stock is down 5.45% since the start of the year, up 43.7% over the past year and up 266.5% over the past five years. Here is a look at the performance of RV stock Winnebago Industries verses Drew Industries, Skyline Corporation and Thor Industries:

As you can see from the above performance chart, RV stocks Winnebago Industries, Drew Industries and Thor Industries have given investors roughly the same performance while Skyline Corporation has been a disappointment.

Finally, here is a look at the latest technical charts for all four RV stocks:

The Bottom Line. Small cap Winnebago Industries looks like its in solid shape but investors may also want to take a closer look at Drew Industries and Thor Industries given their similar performance to WGO.

Why Is Chesapeake Selling Oil-Heavy Assets?

In the following video, Motley Fool energy analysts Joel South and Taylor Muckerman discuss a new deal by Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) to sell off some acreage in two solid shale plays. Joel breaks the deal down for investors and talks about the production the company will be losing, as it moves toward its goal of selling off between $6 billion and $7 billion in assets this year. He also explains to investors why the company needs that funding at the moment, and what its development plans are for the future.

One home-run investing opportunity has been slipping under Wall Street's radar for months. But it won't stay hidden much longer. Forward-thinking energy players such as General Electric and Ford have already plowed sizable amounts of research capital into this little-known stock, because they know it holds the key to the explosive profit power of the coming "no choice fuel revolution." Luckily, there's still time for you to get on board if you act quickly. All the details are inside an exclusive report from The Motley Fool. Click here for the full story!

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Will Soaring Mortgage Rates Kill the Housing Recovery?

For years, the housing market kept sinking as homeowners struggled under the burden of mortgage debt. Yet over the past year, home prices have finally started to rise. Now that housing appears to be on more even footing, though, a big jump in mortgage rates threatens to cut off the recovery before it can run its full course.

In the following video, Fool contributor Dan Caplinger takes a look at the impact that rising mortgage rates could have on home prices. Dan notes that until now, investors have been upbeat about the prospects for homebuilder stocks, with favorable signs of a recovery in demand and building activity pushing those stocks up substantially. Now, though, mortgage rates have risen more than a full percentage point in less than two months, and that could keep marginal mortgage borrowers from being able to get financing for home purchases. Dan concludes that the unanswered question is whether high levels of activity among all-cash buyers will keep prices on the rise, or whether less affordable monthly payments will have a larger impact on home demand and therefore long-term price trends.

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Many investors are scared about investing in big banking stocks after the crash, but the sector has one notable standout. In a sea of mismanaged and dangerous peers, it stands out as The Only Big Bank Built to Last. You can uncover the top pick that Warren Buffett loves in The Motley Fool's new report. It's free, so click here to access it now.

Prospect Capital Sets 4 Months of Dividends

Business development company Prospect Capital (NASDAQ: PSEC  ) announced today that based on its earnings expectations for the rest of the year it set dividends for the following four months:

September: $0.110225 per share, payable on Oct. 24 for holders of record on Sept. 30. October: $0.110250 per share, payable on Nov. 21 for holders of record on Oct. 31. November: $0.110275 per share, payable on Dec. 19 to holders of record Nov. 29. December: $0.110300 per share, payable on Jan. 23, 2014, to holders of record on Dec. 31.

The four payouts mark Prospect's 62nd, 63rd, 64th, and 65th consecutive cash dividends to shareholders. Based on Prospect's closing stock price as of June 14, its payouts to shareholders offer a12.7% dividend yield, according to the company.

Prospect Capital Chairman and CEO John F. Barry III said: "Given the stable and predictable profitability of our business, our board has declared monthly shareholder dividends through the end of 2013 to enhance visibility and planning for investors who might otherwise be concerned by recent interest rate volatility."

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Based on past dividends and assuming its current share count for upcoming dividends, Prospect says that since its inception through December 2013, the business development company will have distributed approximately $12 per share to shareholders and approximately $900 million in cumulative dividends.

PSEC Dividend data by YCharts. Chart does not reflect current dividend announcement.

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Harsh Weather Hurt DuPont’s Q1

DuPont (DD) slipped on Thursday after its first quarter missed analysts' estimates.

The conglomerate said it earned $1.44 billion or $1.54 a share; excluding one-time items, per-share earnings were $1.58 a share, up two cents from the year-ago period but a penny below the $1.59 consensus.

Revenue slipped 2.7% to $10.1 billion, also below the $10.45 analysts were expecting.

The company noted that the extraordinarily harsh winter in many parts of the country hurt the results, to the tune of seven cents a share, as farmers delayed buying seeds and other agricultural products. Political uncertainty also disrupted sales in Ukraine, one of the world's largest corn and wheat exporters.

S&P Capital IQ's Christopher Muir was downbeat about the prospect of DuPont's outlook improving in the near term, lowering his rating on the stock to Sell from Hold, and lowered his target price by $1 to $64. "We negatively view the 3.4% year-over-year drop in sales, though the drop was more than offset by strong cost control efforts. Q1 recurring EPS of $1.58, vs. $1.56, missed our $1.76 estimate and the $1.59 Capital IQ consensus. The shares are yielding 2.7%.

By contrast, Citigroup's P.J. Juvekar reiterated a Buy rating and $78 price target, noting that the company executes as well as could be expected in poor weather conditions, and that its full-year guidance and share repurchase plan are positives: "DD reported 1Q14 EPS of $1.58 vs. our $1.56 and consensus of $1.58. The company explicitly called out a 7c/share impact from adverse weather conditions in 1Q, reflecting a combination of higher operating costs and lost sales. 2014 EPS guidance of $4.20-$4.45 was reaffirmed, with an estimated 70% of FY14 EPS expected in 1H. DD repurchased ~$1B of stock in 1Q, more than we anticipated, and is well-positioned to complete the targeted $2B of stock this year. The Perf Chemicals separation is on track for mid-2015, with physical separation of manufacturing sites underway and initial regulatory filings expected in 4Q14."

Look beyond financial planning schools to find the next superstar

Bloomberg News

Advisory firms committed to hiring the next generation of financial advisers aren't limiting themselves to the narrow pool of financial planning degree candidates.

ClearPath Capital Partners, which recently hired five soon-to-be college graduates, talks to anyone who is curious about the industry. One hire last year was a philosophy major who speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English. Two new hires are earning degrees in economics.

"Some of the best financial advisers are those who didn't think of this as a career path," said Paul Boyd, managing partner of ClearPath. "Our clients are typically entrepreneurs and innovators, and we look for people who are passionate."

In fact, several financial advice industry leaders emerged from other fields. For example, Michael Kitces, partner and director of research for Pinnacle Advisory Group and publisher of The Kitces Report and his own blog, Nerd's Eye View, was a psychology major and theater minor in his undergraduate years. Wade Pfau, professor of retirement income at the American College of Financial Services, received his doctorate in economics from Princeton University before realizing the effect he could have on the financial advice field.

Mr. Boyd himself was headed toward a degree in planetary science before he switched course toward a business degree.

Troy Larson, a co-founder of ClearPath, and the firm's human resource coordinator, said he looks for people who have experience doing something over a period of time, be that athletics, playing a musical instrument or something else. That helps the firm avoid people who may seek instant gratification and leads to people who understand the need to work hard over a period of time, Mr. Larson said.

Dynamic communication skills also are very important, he said.

Additionally, candidates whose parents are entrepreneurs get a bump-up because they are more likely to understand the motivations of the firm's many entrepreneurial clients, Mr. Larson said.

Caleb Brown, co-founder of New Planner Recruiting, said it's smart for advisers to open up their minds to candidates outside of more-traditional financial planning graduates, especially since the total number of students graduating from such programs doesn't seem to be growing.

Although more financial planning programs are starting at different universities and colleges, most are not getting a critical mass of students, with about 100 students enrolled in an average-size program, he said. By contrast, hundreds of students graduate from each school each semester in accounting, economics and finance programs.

Mr. Brown, whose firm finds entry-level hires for registered investment adviser firms, acknowledges t! hat hiring financial planning majors does probably lower the risk of a new employee not understanding or even liking the financial advice business.

"But that doesn't mean the candidate will be better skill-wise," he said.

Mr. Brown has helped advisory firms hire graduates with degrees in engineering, accounting, psychology, general business, marketing and finance.

While successful advisers certainly need to know a certain amount of industry-specific information, it's even more important for an adviser to have strong communications and relationship skills, he said.

Cheryl Holland, president of Abacus Planning Group, said she doesn't want to hire only financial planning students, even though she believes they are the most likely candidates to remain with the firm long term. She values the diversity "of training, thought and background" that graduates of other disciplines add to the firm.

Columbia, S.C.-based Abacus Planning also doesn't have a financial planning program located nearby to draw from, so it needs to "be more creative," she said. It's also important to look for candidates who have a reason to want a job in your particular city and who fit the culture of the firm, she said.

A math major from Bangladesh who is graduating from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania is one of her firm's most recent hires, she said.

"We are trying to create superstars, as opposed to attract superstars," Ms. Holland said. "The key to all of them is that they have a passion for financial planning, because if you have that joy, you just can't teach that."

Ford's Mustang Made It To The Top Of Empire State Building

Disclosure: I own F shares

Fifty years after Ford's (NYSE:F) first Mustang model made its debut at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City, the new 2015 model has made it to the top of the Empire Empire State Building.

No, it didn't climb the walls like King Kong. It wasn't airlifted up there either. Engineers cut up one of the cars and took the pieces to  to the top of the Empire State Building where it was reassembled for the buzz.

Yes, the buzz.

Ford chose the right place and the right time to launch their message about  the new Mustang, in our opinion.

Buzz is very important for helping a new product succeed. Especially when it comes to consumer products like automobiles whereby buzz brings the traffic into showrooms.

But buzz doesn't usually happen by accident. It is the result of a well-orchestrated marketing campaign that follows several steps: Begin with the consumer; be innovative; target the right group; create the right message; and find the right social context to launch the message.

The right social context is the set of conditions and the circumstances that make it more likely for the product message to reach quickly a critical mass of consumers. It is like the magnifying lenses that lets consumers zoom in on something, seeing it in ways they never saw it before, or paid attention to it before. Consumers can imagine things they never imagined before, stirring up emotions and schemes of action that create a passion for the product.

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The same message can make different impressions in different times and places, i.e, Conditions. These are the specific socio-geographic characteristics of a place that make it ideal for promoting product awareness and igniting WOM and buzz–which feed into a "contagion," the copying and mimicking of the behavior of others. Among the characteristics that come to play are reputation, visibility, population density, frequency of interaction, social structure, and geography.

Circumstances is about the prevailing ideology at the time the marketing campaign is launched, the prevailing trends and controversies that stir interest and desire in a product, seducing the fantasy of a critical mass of consumers and fueling a contagion, the herd-like mentality that has consumers rushing to get a hold of the product.

Obviously, New York City–and the Empire State, in particular–meets all the characteristics of the condition of spreading the message about the new Mustang model, especially, geography, visibility, and population density. And April 16, in the the middle of  the NYC World Fair, is the ideal circumstance.

We predict it will stir vivid memories of the first launch of the iconic brand.

Will the campaign work?

It remains to be seen.

A Fresh Way to Play the Convergence of Healthcare and Digital (FMI, DGX, CLRX, WBMD)

If you were lucky enough to own WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) before the end of last week, then congratulations - you're up 20% today. And if you didn't get into WBMD before the close of business on Friday, well, it may be too late to step into it now (unless you like buying overextended stocks), but if you believe in the ongoing convergence of healthcare and digital information though - which is what put WebMD on the map - then you may want to take a closer look at CollabRx Inc. (NASDAQ:CLRX).

Don't sweat it if you've never heard of it; most investors haven't. That's because it's a relatively new operation, only launching a revenue bearing product a couple of quarters ago. The interest has been solid so far, however, and there's a revenue projection that not only makes sense, but makes CollabRx a compelling investment opportunity.

But what is it exactly? Think of is as a WebMD Health specifically for doctors, and specifically not for the average consumer. It's a web portal, of sorts, that helps oncologists narrow down treatment options and alternatives with respect to relatively new genome testing of certain variants of certain cancers.

The amount of information that doctors can work through now that simply didn't exist before (as in less than ten years ago) is staggering, thanks to the advent of genomic testing. In fact, there's more data than even the most knowledgeable of doctors can keep tabs on anymore, and many of them need help interpreting it and then turning that data into a treatment regimen. That's what the CollabRx web-based tool does, including pointing out drug trials that a patient and doctor may want to consider if it doesn't appear the standard treatment approach is going to be effective in a particular case.

It wouldn't be fair to say there's nothing like it "out there", because there is. A company called Foundation Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ:FMI) has developed a similar/comparable app. The CLRX version of the solution appears superior in most ways, however, if for no other reason than because of the projected revenue growth the company is apt to see.

While there's apt to be something of a slow ramp-up period into high gear, once CollabRx gets there, it will be worth the wait. Research firm Taglich Brothers expects CLRX to ramp up revenue from $600,000 this year to $2.6 million in 2016 to $16.5 million by 2020.

That's big growth for a $6.2 million outfit, though not an unbelievable projection given the nature of the company's business model. Access to the portal is rented - on a monthly basis - which means revenue is recurring for as long as users remain on board. To grow the top line, CollabRx simply needs to add clients over time; it can do so at almost any pace, as operational costs are relatively flat now that the site is built and a means of populating it and updating it are in place.

And make no mistake - organizations are getting on board. Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) agreed to lease access to the tool back in November of last year for an undisclosed, but multi-year, term. CellNetix Pathology & Laboratories as well as Cynvenio Biosystems are also now renters of access to the specialized site.

The bottom line is, while WebMD Health is a big hit today based on the traction it's been getting with laypeople and typical patients, CLRX is equipped to produce similar success be melding a deluge of digital data with healthcare delivery services for the caregiver community. With no real direct competition on the horizon and a commanding lead any anybody who dares to enter the space now, CollabRx makes for an interesting opportunity that few others have uncovered yet.

For more on CollabRx, visit its corporate website here. Or, you can read the SCN research report here, or the SCN recommendation here.

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Top Low Price Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Synopsys Inc (SNPS)

Synopsys, Inc., incorporated in 1986, is engaged in providing technology solutions used to develop electronics and electronic systems. It supplies the electronic design automation (EDA) software that engineers use to design, create prototypes for and test integrated circuits, also known as chips. It also supplies software and hardware used to develop the systems that incorporate integrated circuits and the software that runs on those integrated circuits. Its intellectual property (IP) products are pre-designed circuits that engineers use as components of larger chip designs rather than redesigning those circuits themselves. It also provides technical services to support its solutions and it help its customers develop chips and electronic systems. Its products and services are organized into four groups: Core EDA (which includes the Galaxy Design Platform, the Discovery Verification Platform and its Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) design products); IP and System-Level Solutions; Manufacturing Solutions and Professional Services. In July 2012, it acquired Ciranova. In October 2012, it acquired EVE. On November 30, 2012, the Company acquired SpringSoft. In February 2014, Synopsys Inc completed the acquisition of Target Compiler Technologies.

On September 2, 2010, the Company acquired Virage Logic Corporation. In October 2010, the Company acquired Optical Research Associates. In September 2011, the Company acquired nSys Design Systems Private Limited (nSys). In October 2011, the Company acquired Extreme DA. In January 2012, the Company acquired ExpertIO, Inc. In February 2012, the Company acquired Magma Design Automation Inc.

Core EDA products

The Company offers a number of Core EDA products to address the process. Its Core EDA products fall into the suites, which included the Galaxy Desi! gn Platform, which includes tools to design an integrated circuit; the Discovery Verification Platform, which includes tools to verify that an integrated circuit behaves! as intended, and the FPGA design products. Its Galaxy Design Platform provides its customers with a single, integrated chip design solution, which includes individual products and incorporates common libraries and consistent timing, delay calculation and constraints throughout the design process. The platform allows designers the flexibility to integrate internally-developed and third-party tools. With this advanced functionality, common foundation and flexibility, its Galaxy Design Platform reduces design times; decrease integration costs and minimize the risks inherent in advanced, integrated circuit designs. Its products span both digital and analog/mixed-signal designs.

The products included in the Galaxy Design Platform are the IC Compiler physical design solution, Design Compiler logic synthesis product, Galaxy Custom Designer physical design solution for analog/mixed-signal designs, PrimeTime/PrimeTime SI timing analysis products, StarRC product for ext raction, and the Hercules and IC Validator physical verification product family. The Lynx Design System is a production-ready chip implementation environment that combines a Galaxy-based design flow, graphical user interface (GUI)-based runtime automation, design metrics capture and reporting, and utilities that automate the configuration of pre-validated foundry data. The Lynx Design System helps customers improve their productivity and optimally deploy Synopsys tools and methodologies.

The Company's Discovery Verification Platform is an integrated portfolio of functional, analog/mixed-signal, formal and low-power verification products. The platform includes its simulation and verification products and design-for-verification methodologies, and provides a consistent control environment to help improve the speed, breadth and accuracy of its cust! omers' ! verification efforts. The Discovery Verification Platform's components support industry standards and spa n both digital and analog/mixed-signal designs. The principa! l product! s included in the Discovery Verification Platform are the VCS comprehensive RTL verification solution, Formality formal verification sign-off solution, NanoSim FastSPICE circuit simulation and analysis product, high-speed interface module (HSIM) hierarchical FastSPICE circuit simulation and analysis product, HSPICE circuit simulator, and CustomSim circuit simulation solution. FPGAs are chips that can be customized or programmed to perform a specific function after they are manufactured.

Intellectual Property (IP) and System-Level Solutions

Synopsys is a provider of high-quality, silicon-proven IP solutions for system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The broad DesignWare IP portfolio includes high quality solutions for widely used interfaces such as universal serial bus (USB), PCI Express, double data rate (DDR), Ethernet, serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) and high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI). In addition, Synopsys offers analog IP for h igh-definition video, analog-to-digital data conversion and audio. With its recent acquisition of Virage Logic Corporation, we added embedded memories, including static random access memory (SRAMs) and non-volatile memory, logic libraries, embedded test and repair IP and configurable processor cores, to its IP portfolio.

Synopsys has a portfolio of tools, models and services for the system-level design of SoCs. Primary system-level products include Platform Architect for architectural optimization, SPW and System Studio for algorithm design, Processor Designer for custom processor design, and Synphony Model and C Compiler for High Level Synthesis. In addition to these tools for the system-level design of SoCs, its portfolio includes prototyping tools for hardware verification, software development and hardware-software integration. With ! FPGA-base! d prototyping systems (HAPS), designers can speed embedded software development by three to six months with near real runtime speeds and real world interfaces, such as its pre-t! ested Des! ignWare IP components. The HAPS hardware systems are a modular, scalable and accurate way to model a chip. Its virtual prototyping solutions enable software engineers to start SoC and application software up to twelve months before traditional methods.

Manufacturing Solutions

The Company's Manufacturing Solutions products and technologies address this problem by introducing manufacturability and yield considerations early in the design process, thereby improving yields. Some of its Manufacturing Solutions address mask-making and yield enhancement of very small-geometry integrated circuits, as well as high-level modeling of physical effects within the integrated circuit. Its Manufacturing Solutions include the Technology-CAD (TCAD) device modeling products, Proteus OPC optical proximity correction (OPC) products, CATS mask data preparation product and yield management solutions, including odyssey and recipe manager and editor (RME), and yield exp lorer.

Professional Services and Training

Synopsys provides consulting and design services that address all phases of the SoC development process. These services assist Synopsys customers with new tool and methodology adoption, chip architecture and specification development, functional and low power design and verification, and physical implementation and signoff. It also provides a range of expert training and workshops on its latest tools and methodologies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Synopsys Inc.'s(SNPS) fiscal fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled on a top-line increase driven by growth in the company’s time-based license revenue. However, the company’s guidance for the current quarter came in below Wall Street expectations.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Ca! lling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-low-price-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

'CHiPs' Erik Estrada on motorcycles: Don't look…

The next time you see see actor Ed Harris cruising down the highway on a motorcycle, know that he learned the art of looking good on a motorcycle from the best.

CHiPs star Erik Estrada gave Harris a personal training lesson on the motorcycle in the late 70s when a struggling actor Harris made a guest appearance on the show.

The unlikely screen duo now voice helicopters in the Disney animated film Planes, which dropped a new trailer on Tuesday.

But it's not the first time they have worked toget

her. Estrada couldn't help but to talk about schooling the now four-time Oscar nominee when Harris was on the CHiPs set. Harris was playing a one-off bad guy on the supremely popular California cop show.

Estrada, of course, was at the height of his Hollywood power playing highway patrol man Ponch on the series.

"I remember he didn't know how to ride a bike at the time," says Estrada. "(Harris) asked me, 'How do I ride this?' I told him it was easy, that I had never ridden a bike before until I came onto CHiPs."

His advice to Harris: "Don't look down and stay in first gear or second gear. Just go slow," Estrada recalls. "He did really well. He rode that bike. And he's gone onto a great career."

Estrada's other rules of the road: "Sit up straight, don't slouch and smile." These are words we can work into all aspects of our life really.

Naturally, Estrada also recommends keeping the best equipment such as gloves, boots and and a helmet.

"There's only two kinds of motorcycle riders," Estrada says. "Those who have been down and those who are going down."

Estrada still rides his Harley-Davidson Road King with the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club. He no longer cruises on his CHiPs mobile. But he does have one of the originals from the show, a gift from the Teamsters as a parting show of thanks. The bike sits in a place of honor in Estrada's guest house, right next to the pool table.

Estrada himself is looking good in uniform ! as the 1980s RadioShack commercial proved during the Super Bowl. He keeps in shape with 45 minutes of treadmill work daily. But he admits it's not the same motorcycle cop uniform.

"I had to let it out a bit," says Estrada, who just turned 65.

Even his aging secrets speak like a man who still knows how to ride on the road. Take note Ed Harris: "I'm Latin, I'm well-lubed," says Estrada. "And I color my hair."

CBS CEO latest entertainment exec to score big

The king of broadcast TV's most popular network received compensation befitting the throne.

CBS CEO Leslie Moonves got compensation valued at $65.6 million in 2013, up 8% from 2012, CBS says in a Friday proxy filing. That included a $28.5 million bonus, stock valued at $26.5 million, stock options worth $1.3 million and $1.2 million in perks, including personal use of corporate aircraft and security services.

Moonves was awarded another $3.5 million this year as part of his 2013 bonus that wasn't included in last year's compensation summary. He gained another $47.3 million exercising previously awarded stock options and from vested shares.

CBS says Moonves and other execs exceeded financial and operational performance goals and cited Moonves for creating significant shareholder value. About $14.5 million of his compensation was tied to an extended employment contract.

CBS had nine of the top 20 regularly scheduled programs in 2013 and closed the TV viewing season as the top ranked network in viewers and households for the tenth time in 11 years. The company also operates 30 local TV stations, cable TV's Showtime and Smithsonian channels, CBS Radio and publisher Simon & Schuster.

Moonves, 64, has been CEO since 2006. He's the latest entertainment industry exec to post impressive 2013 pay packages and compensation.

Walt Disney valued CEO Robert Iger's compensation at $34.3 million. He gained another $72.4 million from vested shares and exercising previously awarded stock options.

Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav received compensation valued at $33.3 million, gained $58.7 million exercising previously awarded stock options, plus $26.6 million from vested shares.

Follow Strauss on twitter @gbstrauss.

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In 2014

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In 2014: Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund (EVV)

Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Eaton Vance Management. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in the securities of companies operating across the diversified sectors. The fund invests in senior, secured floating-rate loans, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate bonds that are rated below investment grade quality, known as junk bonds with an average duration of 3.47 years and average quality BBB/BBB-. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index, the Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Index, and the Barclays Capital U.S. Intermediate Government Bond Index. Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund was formed on May 30, 2003 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Aloisi]

  The following chart takes a comparative look at some widely held ETFs/CEFs holding different types of bonds. The objective is to visualize not only how much these products cost, but also to break down the percent of total yield depleted by management fees. I define total yield as current annualized yield plus net fees - in other words the yield of the fund if there were no management fees attached. The funds we will examine are aforementioned BND, iShares 20+ Treasury Bond (TLT), iShares High-Yield Corporate (HYG), Nuveen Municipal Value (NUV), Eaton Vance Limited Duration (EVV) and Alliance Bernstein Global High-Yield (AWF).

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-trucking-stocks-to-invest-in-2014.html

LinkAmerica: The 18th time was the charm

LinkAmerica founder Andrés Ruzo

(Fortune) Andrés Ruzo isn't your average immigrant entrepreneur. The son of a culinary TV personage in Peru, he came to the U.S. as a college student in 1980 and says he attempted 17 startups before creating his big success: LinkAmerica, which provides logistical and service support to tech and telecom companies. LinkAmerica is actually in its second incarnation; the first, which sold refurbished telecom equipment, nearly went under after the dotcom bust and 9/11. Last year the company generated $180 million in revenues, and Ruzo, 53, has become a classic example of entrepreneurial invention and reinvention ... and reinvention. He says he still views himself as an immigrant -- always hungry and never taking anything for granted. His story:

I grew up in Lima, Peru, and come from a well-known family. My mother [Teresa Ocampo] had a cooking show on TV. She was the Julia Child of Peru. When I was 7, a military coup caused great instability in the country. So when it was time for college, in 1980, I came to the U.S. to study industrial engineering at Texas A&M University. I came with two bags and a dream -- to have a future with stability, security, and success in America.

I had $10,000, enough for the first year's tuition, and received scholarships. I became a carpenter, building houses, and did odd jobs to support myself. If you scratch and keep working, you can make it happen. At A&M, I learned how to understand processes, innovation, and the need to do things faster, cheaper, better. It gave me the tools to be a successful entrepreneur.

I graduated with a BS in industrial engineering in 1983 and got a practical-training visa for six months. The short-term visa meant I couldn't get a job, so I sold my car and bought a partnership in a startup called Sabwor International, whi! ch did oil exploration in Honduras. I am bilingual, so I helped in negotiations with the Honduras government. I was paid $50 a week, and I was able to get an H-1B visa, which gave me a path to work legally in the U.S.

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In 1985 I married my wife, Ana Callejas, who had come from Nicaragua, fleeing the Sandinista revolution. When Sabwor failed, I became a partner in a new venture called Southern Brokers International, which imported food from Central and South America, then went on my own and started Sinpar Trading. But I needed additional income, so I became a licensed real estate agent.

The real estate business was good in summer and fall months, but not in the winter and spring, which were the perfect seasons to export perishable food from the Southern Hemisphere to the north. So I leased a little office with two phone lines from my broker in Houston. One line was ERA Tu Casa, and the other was Sinpar Trading. When I wasn't selling real estate, I sold asparagus and fruit from Peru, Argentina, and Chile. I was making about $300,000 a year then, killing two birds with one stone to maximize revenue.

About the same time, I started a nonprofit called Help Ayacucho 1985 Foundation, and ran it for five years, along with my companies, because terrorism was rampant in the Andean region of Ayacucho, Peru. We helped the children whose parents were killed by Shining Path terrorists. I try to follow the Catholic social teachings and am driven to help others.

MORE: Planting the seeds for 1-800-Flowers.com

In 1992 we moved to Dallas, and I started to look at the telecommunications industry. When I went to school, no one had cellphones. But telecommunications was constantly changing, and it clicked for me. I saw no competition for refurbished products, so in 1994, I started LinkAmerica. I funded it with $5,000 and a credit card.

Basically, we refurbished products and upgraded large switching sy! stems for! small, independent phone companies in rural areas. We'd take used equipment, test it to make sure it worked, and sell it at 60% of the price of new equipment. The business went from zero to $12 million in seven years. I call that my seven years of fat cows. It was simple to make money. The technology was opening up, and the margins were huge.

In January 2001, I bought the Siemens (SI) transmission product line and started doing manufacturing work. But then we had the dotcom bust and 9/11. A lot of my customers who sold long-distance merged, went bankrupt, or disappeared. I changed my business model several times, trying to diversify the business and customer base.

MORE: The sweet smell of Jo Malone's success

We went from a company of 100 employees to five. In 2007, I went without pay for six months so that I could pay the others and keep the lights on. I used a little credit and sold properties I'd purchased with money I'd made in the fat-cow years to live. Manufacturing was going to China, Korea, and Taiwan, so I sold all the Siemens assets to CTDI [a telecom engineering and logistics company] at a loss. From 2001 to 2008, I had seven years of skinny cows.

But I'm resilient and tenacious. I prayed for guidance, and received that I had to give up my company as it was and move on. Products in today's technology will last nine months, then become obsolete. But you need people to manage products and systems. So I decided to change the business model again and move from product sales to being a service company.

In 2008, I dreamed about contacting a guy who worked for a wireless distribution firm that I shall not name. So I followed that dream and told the guy about my idea to become a full-service company for the telecom industry. His company gave me a letter of intent to buy and fund my business plan. Due to this letter, I then went back to CTDI to pay off money I owed from the closing of the asset sale in 2007. When they asked why I was paying them off early, ! I told th! em about my business plan and the letter of intent. CTDI immediately wanted to invest as well.

MORE: The rise of the Tweezerman

The guy at the wireless distribution company just disappeared, and the letter of intent never turned into a firm offer. Thirty days later CTDI became my business partner in LinkAmerica. In July 2008 it gave me $1 million cash and a $15 million letter of credit, which I used to turn LinkAmerica into what it is today.

I thought, "For the next seven years I want to be a lean bull," but we grew so fast that two years later I went to holy cows. The market was there. Today we provide warehouse-management solutions, help first responders like the police, fire, and EMS build their private radio networks, and provide service support for large clients. For example, we do engineering work in Latin American countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia for U.S. telecom and tech companies like Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) and AT&T (T, Fortune 500). Last year we made $180 million.

It took me 18 startups to get where I am today. I'm a serial entrepreneur. When I came here, I didn't know how anything worked in America. When you come to the States, you become a Social Security number and lose your sense of identity. It was slippery, dark, and scary at times. But it's been a journey of faith. My faith is my shield and my sword.

I've kept my immigrant hat. I'm always hungry and never take things for granted. I think all entrepreneurs are similar in many ways, but we start from different points. Latinos are more family-oriented, and as entrepreneurs, we are often underestimated. I ask people to judge me by my actions, not my accent.

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Since I didn't have contacts, I got involved in the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to meet people and prove my leadership skills. I went from the local organization to state to national, and now I'm in the global arena with the World Economic Forum. You ha! ve to be ! invited to join the forum and must have a minimum of $100 million in sales for three years to be considered a global growth company.

What drives me is the creation of value, bringing growth to everyone we touch, not just our stakeholders. That's what it means to be an agent of change in the world. My proudest achievement is my family. My kids give me faith in the future and power in the present.

I came here with nothing. But this is a nation where immigrants -- in one generation -- can have the same opportunity anyone else has. It takes time. But I went from bad to not so bad to good to better to great. I feel truly blessed.

My advice

Get involved in your community. Serve on boards and commissions. You must strive for continuous improvement. Learn to become the best person you can be and to make your company the best it can be.

Give your employees incentives to make the company profitable. At LinkAmerica everybody receives a bonus each quarter the company reaches profit goals. If the company wins, every employee wins.

Hire people who live and breathe your vision. I believe that the more you give, the more the universe gives back to you. If you keep your antenna on, you'll attract people who want to be on the same channel as you.

This story is from the April 28, 2014 issue of Fortune.