Top Promising Companies To Buy Right Now

The Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) have continued their string of recent gains this morning, up more than 150 points as of 10:55 a.m. EDT. Much of the enthusiasm among investors came from some promising economic reports, including weekly jobless-claim numbers that fell by 9,000 to 346,000, as well as a 0.5% gain in personal income that beat out a 0.3% jump in personal spending. In addition, strength on the housing front continued to bolster the economy, with the National Association of Realtors reporting that pending home sales jumped to six-and-a-half-year highs after a 6.7% increase in May.

Clearly, the financial health of consumers in general is of paramount importance to stocks throughout the economy, as consumer spending drives the majority of economic activity and can therefore make or break an economic recovery. But as for the housing-specific data, investors should be cautious before reading too much into this month's favorable data.

The specific danger to the housing market's recovery comes from mortgage rates, which have surged in the past two months by more than a full percentage point. The NAR noted in its report that in the short run, higher mortgage rates might have prompted greater numbers of contract signings as buyers rushed to take advantage of previously locked-in rates or sought to get financing before rates could rise even further. Big banks JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) , which have risen 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively, likely owe at least some of their gains to optimism among investors that mortgage-lending activity can survive the recent rate increases.

Top 10 Asian Companies To Own In Right Now: Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) is an Austria-based bank that focuses on corporate and retail banking sector. The Bank offers a range of products and consulting services, as well as market knowledge. The Bank�� products and solutions include financing, leasing, investing, hedging, trade & export finance, investment banking, cash management, payment services, custody & fund services, and cards, among others. RBI is organized into seven segments: the Central Europe segment encompassed the banking markets in the European Union countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region; the Southeastern Europe segment comprises Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Croatia, among others; the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) other segment comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine; the Group Corporates segment covers business with corporate customers of the Bank; the Group Markets segment covers capital market customers and business; Corporate Center, and Russia. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rebecca Bundhun]

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently banned banks from issuing loans under the ��0:20 scheme�� which, through a three-way agreement between the lender, the developer, and the homebuyer, allowed the customer to pay 20% upfront, while the remainder of the loan would be issued to the developer, regardless of the stage of construction.

Top Promising Companies To Buy Right Now: Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NVMI)

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, produces, and sells integrated process control metrology systems and stand-alone metrology solutions used in the manufacturing process of semiconductors. Its metrology systems measure various thin film properties and critical circuit dimensions during various steps in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The company provides metrology systems for thin film measurement that is used in chemical mechanical polishing and chemical vapor deposition applications; optical CD and metal line thickness systems for use in post-copper chemical mechanical polishing applications; and optical critical dimension systems for lithography and etches applications. It also offers integrated thickness monitoring systems for chemical mechanical polishing process control that enable wafer-to-wafer closed loop control. The company serves various sectors of the integrated circuit manufacturing industry, including logic, ASIC, foundries, and memory manufactures, as well as process equipment manufacturers. Instruments Ltd. sells its products in the United States, Europe, Japan, and rest of the Asia Pacific region. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

Top Promising Companies To Buy Right Now: Heico Corporation (HEI)

HEICO Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells aerospace, defense, and electronic related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company�s Flight Support Group segment provides jet engine and aircraft component replacement parts; thermal insulation blankets and parts; and specialty components for aerospace and industrial original equipment manufacturers, and the United States government. This segment also distributes hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, and electro-mechanical components for the commercial, regional, and general aviation markets; and offers repair and overhaul services for jet engine and aircraft component parts, avionics, instruments, composites, and flight surfaces of commercial airlines, as well as for avionics and navigation systems, subcomponents, and other instruments utilized on military aircrafts. Its Electronic Technologies Group segment provides a range of electronic, microwave, and electro -optical products, including infrared simulation and test equipment, laser rangefinder receivers, electrical and back-up power supplies, power conversion products, underwater locator beacons, electromagnetic and radio frequency interference shielding, capacitor charging power supplies, amplifiers, traveling wave tube amplifiers, photo detectors, amplifier modules, and microwave power modules. This segment also offers flash lamp and laser diode drivers, arc lamp power supplies, cable assemblies, high voltage power supplies, high voltage interconnection devices and wires, high voltage energy generators, and high frequency power delivery systems. Its products link devices, such as telemetry receivers, digital cameras, high resolution scanners, simulation systems, and test systems to computer for the U.S. and foreign military agencies, prime defense contractors, and commercial and defense satellite and spacecraft manufacturers. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartere d in Hollywood, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Heico Corp (HEI) announced on Thursday that it has agreed to purchase Lucix Corp, a manufacturer of military satellite, airborne, and ground systems.

  The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but HEI revealed that the acquisition could be completed within 60 days. The deal is expected to impact HEI’s earnings within the first year.

  Heico shares were up 67 cents, or 1.04%, during Thursday morning trading. The stock is up 46% YTD.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, jet engine replacement parts manufacturer HEICO (NYSE: HEI  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  HeidelbergCement AG (HEI) added 3.2 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the shares. Puma SE (PUM) slipped 1.6 percent after Europe�� second-largest sporting-goods maker reported earnings before interest and taxes for the second quarter that missed analysts��estimates.

Top Promising Companies To Buy Right Now: Ishares S&P 500 (IVV)

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, formerly iShares S&P 500 Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of United States large-cap stocks, as represented by the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The Index serves as the underlying index for the S&P 500/Citigroup Growth and Value Index series.

The Index is a capitalization-weighted index from a range of industries chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. The component stocks are weighted according to the total float-adjusted market value of their outstanding shares. The Index is adjusted to reflect changes in capitalization resulting from mergers, acquisitions, stock rights, substitutions and other capital events. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  ETFs require no investment minimum beyond the price of one share. iShares Core S&P 500 (IVV) charges 0.07%, while the largest S&P 500 Index fund, SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), charges 0.09%. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) charges 0.05% and is technically a separate share class of the Vanguard 500 Index mutual fund.

• [By John Udovich]

  One of the most famous scenes in the cult classic, the Graduate, was when Mr. McGuire�took Dustin Hoffman�� character aside and said�"Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics"; but what about the Berry Plastics Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) and its performance verses that of the�iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV), iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: IWR) and iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IJR)? I should mention that plastics and the Berry Plastics Group was not the place to be yesterday as the stock took a tumble on reduced guidance.

• [By John Udovich]

  Moreover,�my guess is that the switch will be a wash for investors as funds and ETFs that track the S&P 500 will dump their positions in Advanced Micro Devices and SAIC Inc while those that track the S&P Mid Cap 400 will be obligated to take up positions in both. A quick look at the performance of the iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV) verses the iShares Core S&P Mid Cap ETF (NYSEARCA: IJH) reveals the following:

Top Promising Companies To Buy Right Now: Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (GEX)

Market Vectors-Global Alternative Energy ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible the price and yield performance of the Ardour Global Index (Extra Liquid) (the Index). The Index, published by Ardour Global Indexes, LLC and calculated by Dow Jones Indexes, is a benchmark for the global alternative energy industry. The Index is a rules-based index that seeks to track the overall performance of a global universe of listed companies engaged in the alternative energy industry. As of April 2007, the Index consisted of publicly traded stocks of 30 of the largest, most actively traded alternative energy companies from worldwide. Companies included in the Index generate over 50% of their revenues from alternative energy and/or related technologies, and are engaged in five core industry sectors: alternative energy resources (solar, wind, bio-fuels, water and geothermal), which constitute approximately 70% of the Index; distributed generation, which constitutes approximately 3% of the Index; environmental technologies related to alternative energy, which constitutes approximately 9% of the Index; energy efficiency, which constitutes approximately 4% of the Index, and enabling technologies, which constitutes approximately 14% of the Index.

The Index consists of the 30 stocks in the Ardour Global Index (Composite) with the highest average of daily trading volume and market capitalization. The Ardour Global Index (Composite) is a modified capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted index comprising publicly traded companies engaged in the production of alternative fuels and/or technologies related to the production of alternative energy power. The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in stocks of companies primarily engaged in the business of alternative energy. The Fund, utilizing a passive or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicate the Index. The ! Fund will hold all of the securities, which comprise the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 95% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Index. Van Eck Associates Corporation serves as the investment advisor of the Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  The news was predictably good for a pair of ETFs that should be known as "Tesla ETFs." The Market Vectors Global Alternatve Energy ETF (NYSE: GEX) and the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ: QCLN) both traded higher on a down day for U.S. stocks, rising to within pennies of their previous 52-week highs.

Top Promising Companies To Buy Right Now: Deutsche Bank AG (LBND)

Deutsche Bank AG is a global investment bank. The Company offers a variety of investment, financial and related products and services to private individuals, corporate entities and institutional clients around the world. The Company operates through such divisions as: Private and Business Clients, Asset and Wealth Management, Corporate Banking and Securities, Global Transaction Banking and Non-Core Operations Unit. Deutsche Bank AG is active domestically and in various countries, through the network of numerous branches. In February 2014, the Company and its related bodies corporate ceases to a share holder in the capital of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Donald van Deventer]

  Long-duration Treasury Exchange-Traded Funds: (TLH), , (IEF), (DTYL), (DLBL), (ILTB), (TENZ), (ITE), (TLO), (EDV), (VGIT), (VGLT), (TMF), (TYD), (LBND), (UBT), (UST), (TMV), (TYO), (DSTJ), (DSXJ), (SBND), (PST), (DTYS), (DLBS), (TBF), (TTT), (TYNS), (TYBS), (TBX).