What Is Your Spending Personality?

micro10x/Shutterstock Just as your personality influences the way you act, your spending personality can tell you a lot about why your finances are in their current state. Below, you'll find four major spending personality types that can get you into trouble. Which best describes you? And how can you use your spending attitude to your advantage? Spending Personality Test Shop Till You Drop: You've turned shopping into an art form, a sport and a recreational hobby. You head to the mall whether you particularly need anything or not. You never return home empty-handed. The thrill of the hunt sustains you, as does examining all your spoils and basking in your savvy shopping when you get home. Impulse Buyer: You never mean to spend all that money; it just happens. You fall in love with things the instant you see them. You are highly susceptible to "limited time only" ploys. You obsess over your latest "gotta have it" item until you have it, and then you wonder what the fuss was about. You've found yourself regretting a purchase the instant you've made it or wondering where all your money went to at the end of the month. Extreme Cheapskate: You cannot resist the lure of a good bargain. You love scanning your receipt to see your savings. Sale signs make your heart race. When someone compliments your new shoes, the first thing you say isn't "Thanks, aren't they cute?" but "I got them on sale." Sometimes, the price you paid more than the item itself. Convenience Buyer: All those pricey travel-sized items in the checkout line were invented for you. You think it's worth paying more for something just to make life easier. You eat out constantly because you don't feel like making something for yourself. You buy a daily latte because it's easier than making your own coffee at home. You're always running to the corner store when you run out of things. Scanning a store circular or clipping coupons seems like a waste of time. You don't get what all the fuss is about. Make Your Type Work for You Each attitude has its own strengths and weaknesses. Shop Till You Drop: Using shopping as therapy can lead to rampant spending that depletes your budget or lands you in a pile of credit card debt. Use hobbies to take up your time and channel your emotions. Working out could be a great way to relieve some stress; joining a sports league could harness that competitive thrill you love to get from snagging a great deal. The good news? Since shopping is a fine art for you, when you do have a goal to your shopping -- like snagging the perfect gift for your niece's birthday -- you know how to rock it. Just make sure you don't spend aimlessly. Impulse Buyer: You're enthusiastic. When you see something you like, you instantly fall in love with it -- but your passion can run away with you. So, learn to take a step back and evaluate an item objectively. Ask yourself if you really need it now. Ask yourself if you can't find it somewhere else for cheaper. Consider putting it on layaway or your own 30-day list. If, after 30 days, you still really want it, then you can consider buying it. You'll be surprised how many things you forget about. Extreme Cheapskate: Contrary to your best intentions, being a bargain-hunter can lead you to spend more than you need. If you've ever stockpiled cream of chicken soup because it was cheap, only to acknowledge later that you don't like cream of chicken soup, you know what I mean. Learn to harness your discount drive by examining store circulars and making detailed lists before you head out. Don't grab something just because it's on sale; make sure it's something you'll use and that the sale isn't misleading. Half off a brand-name item could be more expensive than the store brand. Convenience Buyer: The only way to get around being lazy about your money is to learn to put forth a little more effort. It's time to start thinking about the consequences of your throwaway spending. Making a regular budget and tracking your spending can help you realize just how much you're losing by being careless with your cash. Sure, it's a lot easier to grab a cup of coffee on the go each morning, but if you woke up an extra 15 minutes early and made it at home, think of how much less money you'd spend per month. Then think of all the other things you could spend that money on. Doesn't that make it seem a little more worth it?

Top 5 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Kroton Educacional SA (KROT3)

Kroton Educacional SA (Kroton), formerly Opportunity Officepar Participacoes SA, is a Brazil-based company active in the private education sector. The Company and its subsidiaries are engaged in the management of preschool, elementary, secondary and college preparatory schools, as well as higher, professional and post-graduation education, courses and other related educational activities. In addition, it is involved in the wholesale, retail, distribution, import and export of textbooks, course books, magazines and other publications related to preschool, elementary, secondary and adult education, as well as higher, professional and post-graduation education. Kroton operates in both the On-Campus and Distance Learning business, primarily through its 53 Postsecondary units and 447 active Undergraduate Distance Learning centers, as well as cooperates with approximately 800 Associated Schools in basic education. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ney Hayashi]

  Anhanguera Educacional Participacoes SA (AEDU3) tumbled after Brazils antitrust regulator signaled it may limit the education companys merger with competitor Kroton Educacional SA. (KROT3) Lojas Renner SA (LREN3) led retailers higher after a report showed Brazils industrial production expanded faster than expected in October, easing concern that growth is faltering.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-5-electric-utility-stocks-to-buy-right-now-3.html

Top 10 Transportation Stocks To Invest In 2016

Top 10 Transportation Stocks To Invest In 2016: Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NAT)

Nordic American Tankers Limited is an international tanker company. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 20 Suezmax tankers. The Company's vessels include Nordic Harrier, Nordic Hawk, Nordic Hunter, Nordic Voyager, Nordic Freedom, Nordic Fighter, Nordic Discovery, Nordic Saturn, Nordic Jupiter, Nordic Apollo and Nordic Moon. Its vessels also include Nordic Cosmos, Nordic Sprite, Nordic Grace, Nordic Mistral, Nordic Passat, Nordic Vega, Nordic Breeze, Nordic Aurora and Nordic Zenith. In September 2011, the Company acquired the vessel, Nordic Aurora. It chartered all of its vessels in the spot market pursuant to a cooperative arrangement with Gemini Tankers LLC until November 24, 2011. In November 2011, the Orion Tankers pool was established with Orion Tankers Ltd. as pool manager and its vessels were transferred from the Gemini Tankers LLC arrangement to the Orion Tankers pool. On December 17, 2012, the Company acquired 100% interest in Scandic American Shipping Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Nordic American Tanker (NYSE: NAT) is a Bermuda-based tanker company that acquires and charters double-hull tankers. Its fleet consists of 20 double-hull Suezmax tankers. Besides the factor you mention about more ships coming onto the market, NAT has underperformed — period. Shares have lost two-thirds of their value over the past five years, and the dividend has been cut multiple times.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT) were down 10.08 percent to $7.98 after the company announced the pricing of follow-on offering.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-transportation-stocks-to-invest-in-2016.html

Top 5 Recreation Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Recreation Companies To Buy Right Now: Biglari Holdings Inc (BH)

Biglari Holdings Inc. is a holding company engaged in a range of diverse business activities. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in investment management and the franchising/operating of restaurants. The Company's wholly owned subsidiaries include Steak n Shake Operations, Inc. (Steak n Shake), Western Sizzlin Corporation (Western) and Biglari Capital Corp. (Biglari Capital). Biglari Holdings, as a capital allocating vehicle, is also in the business of owning other businesses in whole and in part. In February 2014, Biglari Holdings Inc and Alpha Media Group announced that the wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings has acquired MAXIM.

On April 30, 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of Biglari Capital Corp. (Biglari Capital). On March 30, 2010, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Grill Acquisition Corporation, completed the acquisition of Western.

Steak n Shake

The Company is engaged in t he ownership, operation, and franchising of Steak n Shake restaurants. Steak n Shake is a American brand serving burgers and milk shakes. Steak n Shake offers its patrons full-service dining with counter and dining room seating, as well as drive-thru and carry-out service. During the fiscal year ended September 29, 2010 (fiscal 2010), counter and dining room sales represented approximately 60% of the sales mix, while sales for off-premises dining represent approximately 40% of the sales mix.

Western Sizzlin

The Company is engaged in the franchising of restaurants. Western Sizzlin offers full service dining of signature steak dishes, as well as other classic American menu items. Western Sizzlin also operates other concepts, Great American Steak & Buffet, and Wood Grill Buffet consisting of hot and cold food buffet style dining.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  As in past years, most of the at! tention around Cracker Barrel's stock lately has come from the ongoing battle between the company and Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH  ) , which owns roughly 20% of Cracker Barrel's shares. Back in February, the company offered to buy back Biglari's stock in hopes that it could avoid a third consecutive proxy fight to try to get Biglari CEO Sardar Biglari onto the board of directors. But Biglari rejected Cracker Barrel's offer.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-recreation-companies-to-buy-right-now-4.html

10 Best International Stocks To Buy For 2016

10 Best International Stocks To Buy For 2016: Penford Corporation(PENX)

Penford Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of specialty natural-based ingredient systems for food and industrial ingredient applications primarily in the United States. It develops and manufactures ingredients with starch as a base. The starch products are manufactured primarily from corn and potatoes, and are used as binders and coatings in paper and food production, as well as an ingredient in fuel. The company?s Industrial Ingredients segment provides specialty starches to the paper and packaging industries in ethylated, oxidized, and cationic forms. Its ethylated and oxidized starches are used in coatings and as binders, providing printability to fine white, magazine, and catalog paper; and cationic and other liquid starches are used in the paper forming process in paper production, providing the bonding of paper fibers and other ingredients. This segment also produces and sells fuel grade ethanol. The company?s Food Ingredients segmen t offers specialty starches and dextrins to the food manufacturing and food service industries. Its specialty starches are used in coatings for various products, such as French fries sold in restaurants, as well as used as moisture binders in a range of foods, including canned products, sauces, whole and processed meats, dry powdered mixes, and other food and bakery products. Penford Corporation sells its products through a direct sales force, as well as through distributor agreements to manufacturers and processors. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Murray Close, Warner Bros./AP From a major banking institution kicking off the new earnings season to the most-anticipated theme park debut of the year staging its grand opening, here are some things that will help shape the week that lies ! ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Food for Thought The market's going to get off to a slow start on the news front. That's not a surprise given that it was closed Friday for Independence Day. One company that will be in the news on Monday is food and industrial products maker Penford (PENX). Penford's wide range of products include food ingredients, pet and animal products, sustainable bioproducts, starches for paper and packaging products and biofuels. Analysts see Penford earning 21 cents a share, but keep in mind that it has come up short against Wall Street expectations in each of the three previous quarters. Tuesday -- Harry Potter Central Florida will be a bit busier than usual on Tuesday when Comcast's (CMCSK) Universal Orlando has its grand opening of the new Diagon Alley expansion to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It's been a rough start. July 8 wasn't the opening date that the park originally wanted, judging by the fact that it had "The Tonight Show" and "Today" run weeklong tie-ins a few weeks ago. Conveniently for Comcast, it owns both the Universal theme parks and NBC. However, with the expansion's indoor coaster proving unreliable -- and even Universal pass holders being denied early access to attractions outside of the new Hogwarts Express train ride -- it could be an interesting debut. The crowds should be huge, the expectations lofty. Wednesday -- Mopping Up WD-40 (WDFC) reports on Wednesday afternoon. This is the company behind the multi-use lubricant. It also offers industrial cleaners, toilet sanitizers and other compounds. WD-40 didn't work out for its shareholders last time out. It posted better than expected 9 percent growth in revenue, but earnings fell just short of expectations. WD-4

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/10-best-international-stocks-to-buy-for-2016.html

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015

In this video, tech and telecom analyst Andrew Tonner talks about Apple� (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and tells us why the company's stock is underpriced. Aggregating analyst estimates gives a price of around $584, which shows a 45% increase from Apple's current share price of below $400. Apple's operations are valued at 6 times its cash flow, and analysts are predicting a 15% long-term growth rate for the company.

Andrew also mentions two of Apple's biggest strengths: brand name and ecosystem. The company's reputation creates brand loyalty, which is why the company sees repeat customers.

Meanwhile, as investors hope for a dividend increase, Andrew looks ahead to Apple's future areas for growth in creating a new customer product category with the upcoming iWatch or the iTV.

There's no doubt that Apple is at the center of technology's largest revolution ever and that longtime shareholders have been handsomely rewarded, with more than 1,000% gains. However, there is a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. The Motley Fool's senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

Best Cheapest Companies To Watch In Right Now: National CineMedia Inc.(NCMI)

National CineMedia, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates a digital in-theatre network in North America. It develops, produces, sells, and distributes various versions of a branded, pre-feature entertainment, and advertising program called ?FirstLook? on theatre screens and advertising programming on its lobby entertainment network; and sells various forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies. The company distributes Fathom business and consumer entertainment events through digital content network and live digital broadcast network utilizing its proprietary digital content software. It also facilitates business meetings, church services, and corporate marketing/communication events in the movie theatres throughout its theatre network; and distributes entertainment programming products, which include live and pre-recorded concerts, opera, symphony, concert and DVD product releases, theatrical premieres, Broadway plays, and other music events, as well as live sports and other special events. In addition, the company provides its services to third-party theatre circuits through network affiliate agreements. As of August 4, 2011, its advertising network had approximately 18,100 digital screens. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  National CineMedia (NASDAQ: NCMI) shares climbed 7.15% to $13.33. The volume of National CineMedia shares traded was 1705% higher than normal. National CineMedia reported Q3 net income of $4.8 million on revenue of $100.8 million. MKM Partners downgraded National CineMedia from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $20.00 to $13.00.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: Hickory Tech Corporation (HTCO)

Hickory Tech Corporation provides integrated communications services to business and residential customers in the Midwest. The company operates in two segments, Business Sector and Telecom Sector. The Business Sector segment offers integrated data services, such as fiber, data and Internet, voice and voice over Internet protocol, managed and hosted, data center, equipment, and total care support services. This segment also distributes telecommunications and data processing equipment, as well as provides network and equipment monitoring, maintenance, and equipment consulting services; and offers fiber-based transport for regional and national telecommunications carriers, wireless carriers, and other providers. It serves businesses primarily in the upper Midwest. The Telecom Sector segment offers network access services; and broadband services, such as residential and business DSL access, high-speed Internet, digital TV, and business Ethernet services. It also provides local telephone, long distance, and calling features services; and directory assistance, operator service, and long distance private lines. In addition, this segment offers directory publishing, customer premise equipment sales, bill processing, and add/move/change services. It owns and operates approximately 900 mile fiber optic network and facilities in Minnesota. Hickory Tech Corporation was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Hickory Tech (HTCO), a communications provider in several Midwest states, announced a 3% dividend increase to 15 cents per share, payable Dec. 5 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 15.
  HTCO Dividend Yield: 5.5%

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: Nucor Corporation(NUE)

Nucor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products in North America and internationally. It operates through three segments: Steel Mills, Steel Products, and Raw Materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot and cold-rolled sheet steel; plate steel; structural steel comprising wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and sheet piling; and bar steel, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing bar, merchant bar, and special bar quality products. The Steel Products segment offers steel joists and joist girders, steel deck, fabricated concrete reinforcing steel, cold finished steel, steel fasteners, metal building systems, light gauge steel framing, steel grating and expanded metal, and wire and wire mesh products. The Raw Materials segment produces direct reduced iron (DRI); brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron, hot briquetted iron, and DRI; supplies ferro-alloys; and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal products. The company?s operations also include various international trading companies that buy and sell steel and steel products. It sells its hot-rolled steel and cold-rolled steel to steel service centers, fabricators, and manufacturers; steel joists and joist girders, and steel deck to general contractors and fabricators; and cold finished steel and steel fasteners to distributors and manufacturers. The company?s products are used by contractors in constructing highways, bridges, reservoirs, utilities, hospitals, schools, airports, stadiums, and high-rise buildings. Nucor Corporation was founded in 1940 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Nucor Corporation (NUE). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:
  
  Company Description: Nucor Corporation is the largest minimill steelmaker in the U.S., Nucor has one of the most diverse product lines of any steelmaker in the Americas.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Wells Fargo downgraded two steel stocks this morning due to increasing amounts of cheaper imports that have been flooding the market. U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) were downgraded to a $17 to $21 range and a $50 to $55 range respectively. U.S. Steel lost 2.98 percent for the day closing at $26.34 while Nucor lost 2.05 percent, closing at $51.96.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  US Steel has dropped 2.4% to $24.24 at 2:50 p.m., while AK Steel has fallen 0.9% to $6.26, Steel Dynamics has declined 3.4% to $17.11, and Nucor (NUE) is off 1.1% at $49.58.�And yes, it’s for the same reason that iron miners are getting pounded: China.

• [By Rustic Nomad]

  Steelmaker Nucor (NUE) presents a good investment opportunity for investors to initiate a position as its shares have displayed some weakness of late. Nucor was able to report profitability in a sluggish steel market that is gradually working in its favor and the company expects a turnaround in the current fiscal year.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: Linear Technology Corporation(LLTC)

Linear Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets a line of linear integrated circuits. The company's products include amplifiers, comparators, voltage regulators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, power over Ethernet controllers, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC) is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.46 per share on revenue of $339.26 million.

  Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.23 per share on revenue of $168.28 million.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: Himax Technologies Inc.(HIMX)

Himax Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets semiconductors for flat panel displays. Its products include display drivers and timing controllers for various thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) panels, which are used in desktop monitors, notebook computers, televisions, and mobile handsets, as well as consumer electronics products comprising netbook computers, digital cameras, mobile gaming devices, portable DVD players, digital photo frame, and car navigation displays; and TFT-LCD television and monitor semiconductor solutions. The company also provides liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) products for palm-size mobile projectors; power management integrated circuits, which include drivers, amplifiers, DC to DC converters and other semiconductors; complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensors for camera-equipped mobile devices, such as mobile phones and notebook computers with a focus on lowlight image and video quality; and wafer level optics products. It serves TFT-LCD panel manufacturers, mobile device module manufacturers, and television makers. Himax Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) is taking steps to prove its glasses are more than a gimmick. Taiwanese chip maker Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX  ) announced today that Google has agreed to invest in Himax's display subsidiary to finance production of liquid crystal on silicon chips (LCOS), the same type used in Google Glass.

• [By Ali Berri]

  Technology shares gained 0.14 percent in trading on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) and Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX).
  In trading on Friday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.77 percent.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: CPFL Energia S.A.(CPL)

CPFL Energia S.A., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, distribution, and sale of electricity in Brazil. It generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, biomass, and wind power plants. The company also involves in the provision of energy commercialization, consultancy, and advisory services to agents in the energy sector; manufacture, commercialization, rental, and maintenance of electromechanical equipment; and provision of administrative services, as well as telephone answering services. It has an installed generating capacity of 2,309 MW. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.06 percent. Top losers in the sector included CPFL Energia S.A. (NYSE: CPL), down 3.3 percent, and Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (NYSE: SBS), off 2.4 percent.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  This industry declined 0.89% by 11:05 am, with CPFL Energia S.A. (NYSE: CPL) moving down 4.1%. CPFL Energia's PEG ratio is 2.53.

  Posted-In: Worst Performing IndustriesNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Utilities sector gained 1.12 percent, with Companhia Paranaense de Energia (NYSE: ELP) moving up 4.3 percent to gain the top spot. Among leading sector stocks, gains came from Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (NYSE: SBS), CPFL Energia SA (NYSE: CPL) and Companhia Energ茅tica de Minas Gerais SA (NYSE: CIG).

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch For 2015: The Cushing MLP Total Return Fund(SRV)

Cushing MLP Total Return Fund is a closed-end mutual fund launched by Swank Capital, LLC. The fund is managed by Swank Energy Income Advisors L.P. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe with a focus in United States. The fund typically invests in MLPs, Other Natural Resource Companies, and global commodities. It primarily invests in the securities of MLPs, other equity securities, debt securities, and securities of non-U.S. issuers employing a fundamental analysis. Cushing MLP Total Return Fund was formed on May 23, 2007 and is domiciled in Dallas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  As I write this, Tortoise Pipeline and Energy (NYSE: TTP) trades at a discount of 15.1 percent to its underlying assets, while at the other end of the spectrum Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE: SRV) trades at a 17.4 percent premium. The average MLP closed-end fund listed trades at a 4.9 percent discount, which is perhaps reasonable given the loss of certain tax advantages and the fact that management fees will eat into returns.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  As I write this, Tortoise Pipeline and Energy (NYSE: TTP) trades at a discount of 15.1 percent to its underlying assets, while at the other end of the spectrum Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE: SRV) trades at a 17.4 percent premium. The average MLP closed-end fund listed trades at a 4.9 percent discount, which is perhaps reasonable given the loss of certain tax advantages and the fact that management fees will eat into returns.

5 Best Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now

5 Best Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now: QUALCOMM Incorporated(QCOM)

QUALCOMM Incorporated engages in the development, design, manufacture, and marketing of digital wireless telecommunications products and services. The company operates in four segments: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), Qualcomm Wireless and Internet (QWI), and Qualcomm Strategic Initiatives (QSI). The QCT segment develops and supplies code division multiple access (CDMA)-based integrated circuits and system software for wireless voice and data communications, multimedia functions and global positioning system products. The QTL segment grants licenses to use portions of its intellectual property portfolio comprising patent rights useful in the manufacture and sale of wireless products, such as products implementing cdmaOne, CDMA2000, WCDMA, CDMA TDD, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and/or OFDMA standards and their derivatives The QWI segment consists of Qualcomm Internet Services that provides content enablement services for the wireless industry and pu sh-to-talk and other products and services for wireless network operators; Qualcomm Government Technologies, which offers development, hardware, and analytical services to the United States government agencies involving wireless communications technologies; Qualcomm Enterprise Services that provides satellite and terrestrial-based two-way data messaging, position reporting, wireless application services, and managed data services to transportation and logistics companies and other enterprise companies; and Firethorn, which builds and manages software applications that enable mobile commerce services. The QSI segment makes strategic investments to support the worldwide adoption of CDMA- and OFDMA-based technologies and services. QUALCOMM Incorporated primarily operates in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By P! aul Ausick]

  We have tracked the key short interest changes as of September 30 in the following semiconductor leaders: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT). We also chose to look at how the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEMKT: SMH) has held up.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/5-best-telecom-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Top Healthcare Technology Stocks To Own Right Now

Top Healthcare Technology Stocks To Own Right Now: Societe B I C SA (BB)

Societe B I C SA is a France-based company specialized in the manufacturing of stationery products, lighters and shavers. The Company's portfolio of trademark brands belong: BIC, Sheaffer, BIC Kids, Wite-out, Pimaco and Tipp-ex, among others. Channels of distribution include stationery stores, office product companies, mass-merchandisers, convenience stores, wholesalers and cash and carry outlets. It operates worldwide through numerous subsidiaries in Europe, Middle East, Africa Northern America, Latin America, Asia and Oceania. In addition, the Company provides, via BIC Graphic and Norwood PP, advertising and promotional products for marketing purposes to companies around the world, as well as a range of windsurfing boards, kayaks and others, under the brand BIC Sport. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  Trilogy Energy Corp. soared 11 percent after providing an update on its operations in Alberta. Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI/B) slipped at least 1 percent after an analyst with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered his price targets for the nations largest wireless carriers due to regulatory risks. BlackBerry (BB) Ltd. increased 0.7 percent to snap three days of losses after reporting second-quarter earnings.

• [By Eric Lam]

  Canadian stocks fell, sending the benchmark index to a three-week low, as BlackBerry Ltd. (BB) slumped and the U.S. government shutdown extended to a third day.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-healthcare-technology-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Senators push for tighter expungement rules for brokers

A bipartisan duo of U.S. senators Monday pushed Finra to provide new details on a process that allows brokers to sanitize their disciplinary records.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also said Wall Street's industry-funded securities regulator should respond to criticisms that whitewashed BrokerCheck reports could mislead investors.

“We believe that meaningful investor protection includes the disclosure of whether a customer dispute was settled,” the senators wrote. “Not just for transparency sake, but also to help prospective investors make informed decisions about which individuals or firms with whom to do business.”

The letter reignited a debate over the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. system that allows brokers to petition to clean their public disciplinary reports, which was catalyzed most recently by a group of lawyers that represent investors. An October report by the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, found that Finra arbitrators granted “expungement” at least 90% of the time in the 1,625 cases in which the term was mentioned between 2007 and 2011.

PIABA recommended that Finra itself review requests to clean brokers' records and improve its training of the corps of volunteer arbitrators who currently decide when to grant such requests. PIABA also said Finra should ban settlements containing requirements that investors who file complaints agree to not oppose the expunging of brokers' records.

Touting their letter as being in the interest of “fair financial markets and transparency,” the senators asked Finra to respond by Jan. 6 to PIABA's recommendations. They proposed draft legislation to empower Finra to ensure that slate-swiping is limited and also asked for details on when and why brokers' records are expunged.

Finra previously has said it shares PIABA's concerns and is providing additional guidance t

False alarm over Social Security rules for divorced spouses

I received a panicked e-mail from a reader recently, asking if Social Security had changed the claiming rules for ex-spouses.

"A good friend of mine was just told by her local Social Security office that she cannot file for her ex-spouse's benefit when she turns 66," Joanne Busso wrote, explaining that her friend wanted to hold off filing for her own benefit until she is older, thereby allowing her individual benefit to increase for a few years.

"The Social Security representative told her that this is no longer allowed because 'things have changed,'" Ms. Busso wrote.

"But the [Social Security Administration] website still states that this is allowed," she wrote. "Are you aware of new laws that have eliminated the option of filing on an ex-spouse's earnings record at 66 to allow our own benefit to grow?"

I wasn't aware of any changes, but I said I would check with the SSA.

Nope. No changes.

"I'm not sure what happened at the local office, but we have not made any changes to this,” said SSA spokeswoman Kia Anderson.

She sent me a link on the ssa.gov website confirming that ex-spouses who were married for at least 10 years and who are unmarried can restrict their claim to spousal benefits if they wait until full retirement age to claim benefits. That allows their own retirement benefits to accrue delayed retirement credits up to 70.

Although the reader was relieved that no rules had been changed, the situation prompts a bigger question: What do you do when you get a wrong answer from an SSA representative?

Ms. Anderson suggests that you ask to speak to a supervisor.

You can also consult the SSA.gov website, which includes a treasure trove of information, including this page on benefits for divorced spouses (socialsecurity.gov/retire2/divspouse.htm).

The questions about rights of divorced spouses didn't stop there.

Tom, a financial adviser in Virginia, asked: "Can an ex who has remarried file for Social Security benefits on an ex-spouse's earning record?"

No, I replied. To collect on an ex-spouse you must be currently unmarried.

But, I added, if you are a surviving divorced spouse, you are still entitled to collect survivor benefits on your deceased former spouse's earnings record, as long as you wait until 60 or later to remarry.

Another reader asked what happens if you were married twice but are currently unmarried?

"Can you claim on either ex-spouse's Social Security or do you lose the ability to draw off the first spouse because you remarried, even though you divorced again?" Jeff asked.

You can use the earnings record of eith! er ex-spouse as long as each marriage lasted at least 10 years and you are currently unmarried, I responded.

When it comes to claiming Social Security benefits, divorced spouses not only have all the rights of currently married couples, they have an additional benefit. You can claim benefits based on your ex-spouse's earning record even if he or she hasn't yet claimed benefits.

Top 5 Performing Companies For 2016

As long as you and your ex are at least 62, you can claim retirement benefits on the other's earnings record. But if you want to restrict your claim to spousal benefits only, you must wai

Top 10 Services Companies To Buy Right Now

Financial professionals should be pushing the compliance envelope with social media, because by the time regulators ultimately establish how advisers and brokers should be operating, it will be too late for those unfamiliar with the platforms, an entrepreneur and marketing expert said today.

"We need to figure this out fast because the consumer doesn't care about compliance," said Gary Vaynerchuk, who used social media to build his family's liquor business from $3 million to $45 million in five years. He was the keynote speaker today at a LIMRA social media conference in Boston.

Within three years, there will be "an exponential change in how we reach customers" in every industry, including financial services, he said.

Top 5 Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Wynn Resorts Limited(WYNN)

Wynn Resorts, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, ownership, and operation of destination casino resorts. The company owns and operates Wynn Las Vegas casino resort in Las Vegas, which includes approximately 22 food and beverage outlets comprising 5 dining restaurants; 2 nightclubs; 1 spa and salon; 1 Ferrari and Maserati automobile dealership; wedding chapels; an 18-hole golf course; meeting space; and foot retail promenade featuring boutiques. Wynn Las Vegas casino resort also features approximately 147 table games, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, 1 poker room, 1,842 slot machines, and 1 race and sports book. It also owns and operates an Encore at Wynn Las Vegas resort, a destination casino resort located adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas that features a 2,034 all-suite hotel, as well as a casino with 95 table games, 1 sky casino, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, and 778 slot machines. In addition, the company operates Wyn n Macau casino resort located in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People?s Republic of China. Wynn Macau casino resort features approximately 595 hotel rooms and suites, 410 table games, 935 slot machines, 1 poker room, 1 sky casino, 6 restaurants, 1 spa and salon, lounges, meeting facilities, and retail space featuring boutiques. Further, it operates Encore at Wynn Macau resort located adjacent to Wynn Macau. Encore at Wynn Macau resort features approximately 410 luxury suites and 4 villas, as well as casino gaming space, including a sky casino consisting of 60 table games and 80 slot machines, 2 restaurants, 1 luxury spa, and retail space. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  Shares of casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) increased as revenue trends in the company's key Macau market were quite positive in the quarter. The company has commenced construction of a large additional casino in Macau, the $4 billon Wynn Palace, which is scheduled to open in 2016. We believe that this casino ev entually will generate a substantial positive return for Wynn. In addition, there is increased speculation that the Japanese government will legalize casino gaming in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Wynn is seen by many as a strong contender for a possible gaming license.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  His largest new buys in the first quarter are: Penn Virginia Group Holdings LP (PVG), Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN), Methanex Corp. (MEOH), Solutia Inc. (SOA) and Georgia Gulf (GGC). Of his top eight stocks, five are from the chemicals industry.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  There's a lot of uncertainty in the industry right now, especially for those with exposure to Macau, the world's largest gaming market. Gambling by high rollers has fallen off a cliff in the past six months due in part to a crackdown on corruption within Mainland China, and partly due to a general slowing of Asia's economic growth. As a result, gaming companies like Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) , Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS  ) , and Melco Crown (NASDAQ: MPEL  ) , who get most or all of their revenue from Macau have seen their stocks drop.

Top 10 Services Companies To Buy Right Now: Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings(LH)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as an independent clinical laboratory company in the United States. The company offers a range of testing services used by the medical profession in routine testing, patient diagnosis, and in the monitoring and treatment of disease, as well as specialty testing services. Its routine tests include blood chemistry analyses, urinalyses, blood cell counts, thyroid tests, Pap tests, HIV tests, microbiology cultures and procedures, and alcohol and other substance-abuse tests. The company?s specialty tests and related services comprise viral load measurements, genotyping and phenotyping, and host genetic factors for managing and treating HIV infections; cytogenetic, molecular cytogenetic, biochemical, and molecular genetic tests for diagnostic genetics; oncology tests for diagnosing and monitoring certain cancers and treatments; clinical trials testing for pharmaceutical companies, which conducts clinical research trials on diag nostic assays; forensic identity testing used in criminal proceedings and parentage evaluation services, as well as testing services in reconstruction cases; allergy testing; and occupational testing for the detection of drug and alcohol abuse. Its customers include independent physicians and physician groups, hospitals, managed care organizations, governmental agencies, employers, pharmaceutical companies, and other independent clinical laboratories. The company operates a network of 51 primary laboratories and approximately 1,700 patient service centers. In addition, it delivers a co-branded electronic health records Lite solution for physician practices. The company works with university, hospital, and academic institutions, such as Duke University, The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Minnesota, and Yale University to license and commercialize new diagnostic tests. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Burlingto n, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  LabCorp (NYSE: LH) has agreed to acquire Covance (NYSE: CVD) for $5.6 billion in cash and stock. Shares of LabCorp lost 7.37 percent, closing at $101.23 while shares of Covance surged 25.87 percent, closing at $100.57.

Top 10 Services Companies To Buy Right Now: Snam SpA (SRG)

Snam SpA is an Italy-based company engaged in the management of natural gas services. The Company is diversified into four operating segments. The Transportation segment covers transportation-related gas services, including capacity management and transportation of the gas at the entry points of the gas network to the redelivery points. It owns transportation infrastructures of gas pipelines. The Regasification segment is focused on extraction activities of natural gas, its liquefaction for transport by ship and subsequent regasification. The Storage segment covers deposits, gas treatment plants, compression plants and the operational dispatching system. The Distribution segment engages gas distribution through local transportation networks from delivery points at the metering and reduction stations to the gas distribution network redelivery points at the end customers. Additionally, Snam SpA as the parent company, focuses on planning, management, coordination and control of the group. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  The Specialty Restaurant Group (SRG), which includes Bahama Breeze and The Capital Grille, has grown over the last couple of quarters. Eddie V's Restaurants and Yard House might be meaningful long-term drivers, as we think most of the growth in the next years will come from the acquisition of those restaurants.

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Snam SpA (SRG) dropped the most in almost a year as Eni SpA sold an 11.7 percent stake in the owner of Italy�� biggest natural-gas network. Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc tumbled the most in more than 14 months. Experian Plc jumped to a record after the world�� largest credit-checking company raised its dividend and announced a share buyback.

Top 10 Services Companies To Buy Right Now: Alternative Energy Partners Inc (AEGY)

Alternative Energy Partners, Inc. (AEGY), incorporated on April 28, 2008, is engaged in providing support services for medical marijuana. In May, 2013, the Company acquired the PharmaJanes. In May, 2013, it also acquired Simple Prepay merchant payment solution from iEquity Corp.

The Simple Prepay system was developed to offer dispensaries, collectives, and delivery services for medical cannabis. Combined with the PharmaJanes on-line and smart phone ordering platform, medical marijuana patients will be able to order, process and pay for their authorized needs.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  On Monday, small cap marijuana stocks Alternative Energy Partners Inc (OTCBB: AEGY) and Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTCMKTS: REFG) surged 117.86% and 17.95%, respectively, while tech stock Portlogic Systems Inc (OTCMKTS: PGSY) sank 20%. However, it appears that only one of these small cap stocks has been the subject of disclosed paid promotions or investor relation activities. So what will these three small caps do today and the rest of the week? Here is a quick look to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

Top 10 Services Companies To Buy Right Now: Quad Graphics Inc(QUAD)

Quad/Graphics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of print and related products and services in North America, Latin America, and Europe. It offers print solutions, including catalogs, consumer magazines, special interest publications, direct mail, packaging and other commercial and specialty printed products, retail inserts, books, and directories. The company also provides media solutions comprising creative, digital imaging, video, photography, workflow solutions, mobile and social media, and response data analytics services. In addition, it offers logistics services, such as mailing, distribution, logistics, and data optimization and hygiene services; and printing-related auxiliary equipment for original equipment manufacturers and printing companies, as well as provides ink. The company markets its products and services to various companies that operate in a range of industries and serve businesses and consumers consisting of retailers, pub lishers, and direct marketers. Quad/Graphics, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's starting to trend within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Quad/Graphics (QUAD), which provides print and related services in the U.S., Europe and South America. This stock has is down notably over the last three months, with shares off by 12.2%.

  If you look at the chart for Quad/Graphics, you'll notice that this gapped down sharply last November from $36.45 to under $29 with heavy downside volume. Following that gap down, shares of QUAD continued to trend lower, and the stock hit a new low at $23.48 a share a few trading sessions later. That said, shares of QUAD have now started to uptrend since printing that low, with shares moving higher from $23.48 to its recent high of $27.67 a share. During that uptrend, shares of QUAD have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of QUAD within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in QUAD if it manages to break out above its 50-day moving average of $27.29 a share to more near-term overhead resistance at $27.67 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 185,427 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then QUAD will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone that started at $36.45 a share.

  Traders can look to buy QUAD off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits just below more near-term support at $25 to $24.50 a share. One can also buy QUAD off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  My first earnings short-squeeze play is commercial printing services player Quad/Graphics (QUAD), which is set to release numbers on Tuesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Quad/Graphics to report revenue of $1.32 billion on earnings of 92 cents per share.

  The current short interest as a percentage of the float Quad/Graphics is very high at 17.1%. That means that out of the 26.02 million shares in the tradable float, 5.18 million shares are sold short by the bears. This is a high short interest on a stock with a relatively low tradable float. Any bullish earnings news could easily set off a monster short-squeeze for shares of QUAD post-earnings.

  From a technical perspective, QUAD is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $28.44 to its intraday high of $35.99 a share. During that uptrend, shares of QUAD have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action.

  If you're bullish on QUAD, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above its 52-week high at $35.99 a share (or Tuesday's intraday high if higher) with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 149,155 shares. If that breakout hits, then QUAD will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $45 to $50 a share.

  I would simply avoid QUAD or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout, and then drops back below some near-term support levels at $34 to $33 a share with high volume. If we get that move, then QUAD will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major support areas at its 50-day moving average o

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Quad/Graphics (NYSE: QUAD  )
  This Wisconsin-based company has contracts to print magazines for many of the country's biggest customers -- including magazines from Hearst (Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, etc.) and Meredith (Better Homes and Gardens) -- as well as for clothiers such as J.Crew, L.L. Bean, and American Eagle Outfitters.

Top 10 Services Companies To Buy Right Now: SLM Corp (ISM)

SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae), incorporated on February 3, 1997, is a holding company. It operates in three business segments: Consumer Lending, Business Services and FFELP Loans. The fourth segment includes Other. The Company�� primary business is to originate, service and collect loans it makes to students and their families to finance the cost of their education. It uses Private Education Loans to mean education loans to students or their families that are non-federal loans and loans not insured or guaranteed under the previously existing Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). It also provides servicing, loan default aversion and defaulted loan collection services for loans owned by other institutions, including the United States Department of Education (ED), as well as processing capabilities to educational institutions and 529 college-savings plan programs. It also operates a consumer savings network that provides financial rewards on everyday purchases to help families save for college. On May 7, 2013, Higher One Holdings, Inc. acquired Sallie Mae�� Campus Solutions business.

The Company is a holder, servicer and collector of loans made under the previously existing FFELP. The majority of its income continues to be derived, directly or indirectly, from its portfolio of FFELP Loans and servicing it provides for FFELP Loans.

Consumer Lending Segment

The Company originates, acquires, finances and services Private Education Loans. In this segment, the Company earns net interest income on the Private Education Loan portfolio, as well as servicing fees, consisting primarily of late fees. The Bank is also a key component of its Upromise Rewards and college-savings product businesses.

Business Services Segment

The Company�� Business Services segment generates the majority of its revenue from servicing its FFELP Loan portfolio and from performing servicing, default aversion and contingency collections work on behalf of Guaranto! rs of FFELP Loans and other institutions. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its FFELP-related revenues accounted for 76% of total Business Services segment revenues. Since 1997, the Company has provided collection services on defaulted student loans to ED. Upromise generates revenue by providing program management services for 529 college-savings plans with assets in 31 college-savings plans in 16 states, as of December 31, 2012. It also generates transaction fees through its Upromise consumer savings network; through December 31, 2012, members have earned rewards by purchasing products at hundreds of online retailers, booking travel, purchasing a home, dining out, buying gas and groceries, using the Upromise World MasterCard, or completing other qualified transactions. It earns a fee for the marketing and administrative services it provides to companies that participate in the Upromise savings network.

FFELP Loans Segment

The Company�� FFELP Loans segment consists of its FFELP Loan portfolio and the underlying debt and capital funding the loans. It seeks to acquire FFELP Loan portfolios.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Much like the first three months of the year, the second quarter served up a mixture of good and bad economic news. On April 3, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) announced its nonmanufacturing index fell to 54.4, a seven month low. Higher taxes and federal budget cuts were purported to blame for the slowdown. Two days later on the first Friday of the month, the Labor Department released disappointing March employment numbers: Employers added only 88,000 new jobs, fewer than any month in the past year (though the number was later revised up to 142,000). The unemployment rate dropped to 7.6%, but only because an estimated almost half million people left the workforce in March. On a more encouraging note, housing starts in March rose 7.0% to an annual rate of 1,036,000 (later revised to 1,005,000) and new home sales climbed 1.5% (revised to 1.3%) to 417,000 annualized (revised to 451,000), the second highest jump in three years. Despite the mixed signals, the U.S. equity market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, rose a modest 1.9% in April.

Top 10 Services Companies To Buy Right Now: Profire Energy Inc (PFIE)

Profire Energy, Inc., incorporated on May 5, 2003, is engaged in the business of developing combustion management technologies for the oil and gases industry. The Company manufactures, install and service oilfield combustion management technologies and related products, such as train components and secondary airplates. The Company's primary products are burner management systems. The Company�� Profire 2100 burner management system allows the end-user to manage a variety of combustion vessels. Its Profire 1300 is a flare-ignition system that provides fundamental ignition capabilities for combustor and open-flare vessels, and can relay flame-status. Its Profire 1800 is a mid-range burner management system option that provides fundamental burner management functionality, such as burner re-ignition and temperature management.

The Company also manufactures other technologies and products for sale, including specialized burner management systems intended for use in specific firetube vessels (e.g. incinerators), valve train products, including valves, gauges, and installation products, and miscellaneous componentry, such as solar-power generation kits, add-on cards to expand the functionality of a given system, and a airplate that meters secondary airflow to the burner, allowing for more optimized combustion and reduced emissions.

The Company competes with SureFire, Platinum, ACL and TitanLogix.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap green stocks Eco Depot Inc (OTCMKTS: ECDP), Eco Building Products Inc (OTCMKTS: ECOB) and Profire Energy, Inc (OTCBB: PFIE) has been getting some extra attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to paid promotions or investor relation campaigns. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions and investor relations campaigns, but small cap green stocks tend to be extra volatile when compared with other stocks. So how in greenbacks will these three small cap green stocks produce for investors? Here is a quick reality check:

Small businesses worry about shutdown impact

Q: Will the government shutdown (if it happens) have an effect on my business? — Taylor

A: The short answer is that the only effect any shutdown may have is if your business does direct business with the government. If you contract with the government, or get payments from them, then yes, a shutdown would have a negative affect on your business.

More broadly, it's hard to imagine a group less effective, less professional or more shortsighted than these elected "leaders."

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: What to know

If any of us ran our businesses the way they run the country, we would be bankrupt.

Can you imagine running a business this way? Lurching from crisis to crisis, not paying your bills, verging on defaulting on your creditors, threatening to default on your creditors — it is business (and political) malpractice.

The first and foremost agenda of any business is to do the thing it is hired to do. If you own a law firm, then you need to provide competent legal services. If you own a restaurant, then your job is to provide customers with decent food at a fair price.

The job of our elected officials is to run the country for the common good. Yet, they have proven themselves to be utterly incapable of doing this most basic of functions. If they worked for you, or for me, the whole lot of them would be fired, not just because they are incompetent, but for a myriad of other reasons:

• They damage the brand. The people who work with and for you are your brand ambassadors. If they don't get what your business is about, if they care more about their own plan than the good of the whole, they will not portray you in the best light possible and will, in the process, undoubtedly hurt your name and reputation.

When you put your own private agenda ahead of the good of the group, you risk ruining what has taken years to build up — the good name of the entity for which you work, be that a business or a country.

• They lack vision. This is especially t! rue of the president and congressional leaders. His (or her) job is to lead, not unlike a CEO. But if the CEO leads from behind, or doesn't lay out a clear vision of where the business is headed, it's tough to blame the staff when it seems like they don't know where they are going.

If you are elected to be a leader, then lead.

• They are bad for morale. Has there ever been a more depressing time to watch national politics? Has their ever been a Congress less competent than this one? Not in my lifetime. The constant bickering, the inability to work together, the blaming of one another — again, if your staff acted like this, you would clean house. Employees who spend more time fighting than working are bad for morale, bad for business, and yes, bad for the country.

• They are bad with money. When I practiced law,I once had a client who had turned over his business finances to an outside bookkeeper. She ended up robbing him of more than $100,000, and he had to file for bankruptcy. Yes, he was very bad with money, but his crooked bookkeeper wasn't much better.

If a main aspect of your job is to deal with money and create and pass budgets, and you can't even do that, what are you doing in a position of authority?

• They are selfish. Sure, people look out for themselves, but exceptional businesses and countries have people who see the bigger picture and are willing to sacrifice their own short-term agendas for long-term gains by the whole, knowing that a rising tide lifts all boats.

When you risk defaulting the country for short-term political gain, you have proven that you are not fit for the job.

They are bad at their jobs: The leader can't lead. The staff can't think straight. And they barely speak to one another.

It's a recipe for disaster, whether you are a business or a country.

Steve Strauss is a lawyer specializing in small business and entrepreneurship. His column appears Mondays. E-mail Steve at: sstrauss@mrallbiz.com. An archive of his ! columns i! s here. His website isTheSelfEmployed.

10 Best Transportation Stocks For 2016

10 Best Transportation Stocks For 2016: Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP)

Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (the Partnership) owns and operates crude oil and liquid petroleum transportation and storage assets, and natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and marketing assets in the United States. The Company was formed by its Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. (General Partner), to own and operate the Lakehead system, which is the United States portion of a crude oil and liquid petroleum pipeline system extending from western Canada through the upper and lower Great Lakes region of the United States to eastern Canada. A subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge), owns the Canadian portion of the Mainline system. Enbridge, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a provider of energy transportation, distribution and related services in North America and internationally. Enbridge is the ultimate parent of its General Partner. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio of assets included the approximately 6,500 miles of crude oil gathering and transportation lines and 32 million barrels of crude oil storage and terminaling capacity; natural gas gathering and transportation lines totaling approximately 11,500 miles; nine natural gas treating and 25 natural gas processing facilities with an aggregate capacity of approximately 3,255 million cubic feet per day, including plants; trucks, trailers and railcars for transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and carbon dioxide, and marketing assets, which provide natural gas supply, transmission, storage and sales services. The Company conducts its business through three business segments: Liquids, Natural Gas and Marketing.

Liquids Segment

The Company's Lakehead system consists of crude oil and liquid petroleum common carrier pipelines and terminal assets in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States. The M! ainline system serves refining centers in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States and the Provin ce of Ontario, Canada. Its Lakehead system spans a distance ! of approximately 1,900 miles, and consists of approximately 5,100 miles of pipe with diameters ranging from 12 inches to 48 inches, and is transporter of crude oil and liquid petroleum from Western Canada to the United States. In addition, the system has 61 pump station locations with a total of approximately 900,000 installed horsepower and 72 crude oil storage tanks with capacity of approximately 13.9 million barrels. The Mainline system operates in a segregation, or batch mode, allowing the transport in excess of 50 crude oil commodities, including light, medium and heavy crude oil, condensate and NGLs.

The Company's Mid-Continent system is located within PADD II and is consisted of its Ozark pipeline and storage terminals at Cushing and El Dorado, Kansas. Its Mid-Continent system includes over 430 miles of crude oil pipelines and 17.3 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity. Its Ozark pipeline transports crude oil from Cushing to Wood River where it delivers to ConocoPhillips' Wood River refinery and interconnects with the Woodpat Pipeline and the Wood River Pipeline. The storage terminals consist of 91 individual storage tanks ranging in size from 58,000 to 575,000 barrels. Of the 17.3 million barrels of storage capacity on its Mid-Continent system, the Cushing terminal accounts for 16.1 million barrels. A portion of the storage facilities are used for operational purposes, while it contracts the remainder of the facilities with various crude oil market participants for their term storage requirements. Contract fees include fixed monthly capacity fees, as well as utilization fees, which it charges for injecting crude oil into and withdrawing crude oil from the storage facilities.

The Company's Mid-Continent system operates under month-to-month transportation arrangements and both lon! g-term an! d short-term storage arrangements with its shippers. Its North Dakota system is a crude oil gathering and inter state transportation system servicing the Williston basin in! North Da! kota and Montana, which includes the Bakken and Three Forks formations. The crude oil gathering pipelines of its North Dakota system collect crude oil from points near producing wells in approximately 22 oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. Its North Dakota system is made at Clearbrook to its Lakehead system and to a third-party pipeline system. As of December 31, 2011, its North Dakota system included approximately 240 miles of crude oil gathering lines connected to a transportation line, which is approximately 730 miles long, with a capacity of approximately 210,000 barrels per day. Its North Dakota system also has 21 pump stations, one delivery station and 11 storage facilities with an aggregate working storage capacity of approximately 870,000 barrels. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it added 25,000 barrels per day of capacity from Berthold, North Dakota to the international border near Lignite, North Dakota.

Natural Gas Segment

The Company owns and operates natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation systems, as well as trucking, rail and liquids marketing operations. It purchases and gathers natural gas from the wellhead and delivers it to plants for treating and/or processing and to intrastate or interstate pipelines for transmission to wholesale customers, such as power plants, industrial customers and local distribution companies. As of December 31, 2011, it had nine active treating plants and 25 active processing plants, including two hydrocarbon dewpoint control facilities (HCDP) plants. Its treating facilities have a combined capacity, which approximates 1,240 million cubic feet per day while the combined capacity of its processing facilities approximates 2,015 million cubic feet per day, including 350 million cubic feet per day provided by the HCD! P plants.!

The Company's natural gas business consists of East Texas system, Anadarko system and North Texas system. East Texas system includes approximately 3,900 miles of nat! ural gas ! gathering and transportation pipelines, eight natural gas treating plants and five natural gas processing plants, including two HCDP plants. Anadarko system consists of approximately 2,900 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines in southwest Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, one natural gas treating plant and 11 natural gas processing plants. North Texas system includes approximately 4,700 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and nine natural gas processing plants located in the Fort Worth basin. Its East Texas system is located in the East Texas basin. Natural gas on its North Texas system is produced in the Barnett shale area within the Fort Worth basin conglomerate. Its Anadarko system is located within the Anadarko basin.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company's Elk City system includes one carbon dioxide treating plant and three cryogenic processing plants with a total capacity of 370 million cubic feet per day, and a NGL production capability of 20,000 barrels per day. It also includes its trucking and NGL marketing operations in its Natural Gas segment. These operations include the transportation of NGLs, crude oil and other products by truck and railcar from wellheads and treating, processing and fractionation facilities to wholesale customers, such as distributors, refiners and chemical facilities. In addition, its trucking and NGL marketing operations resells these products. Its services are provided using trucks, trailers and rail cars, pipeline capacity, fractionation agreements, product treating and handling equipment. Its trucking operations transport NGLs, condensate and crude oil from its processing facilities and from third party producers to its United States Gulf Coast customers. As of December 31, 2011, its fleet consisted of approximately 220 trucks ! and 375 t! railers. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations are wholesale customers, such as refineries and propane distributors. Its trucki ng and NGL marketing operations also market products to whol! esale cus! tomers, such as petrochemical plants.

Marketing Segment

The Company's Marketing segment transacts with various counterparties to provide natural gas supply, transportation, balancing, storage and sales services. Its Marketing business uses third-party storage capacity to balance supply and demand factors within its portfolio. Its Marketing business pays third-party storage facilities and pipelines for the right to store gas for various periods of time. These contracts may be denoted as firm storage, interruptible storage or parking and lending services. Its Marketing business leases third-party pipeline capacity downstream from its Natural Gas assets under firm transportation contracts. This capacity is leased for various lengths of time and at rates.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Last week, TC PipeLines (NYSE: TCP) outperformed all other MLPs, rising more than 20%. Another partnership sponsored by a Canadian midstream giant, Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP), rallied 10%.

• [By David Dittman]

  Question: What are the differences among Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc (TSX: ENF, OTC: EBGUF), Enbridge Energy Partners LP (NYSE: EEP), Enbridge Inc (TSX: ENB, NYSE: ENB) and Enbridge Energy Management LLC (NYSE: EEQ)?

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Enbridge Inc.(ENB.T) and Enbridge Energy Partners L.P (EEP). said their mainline replacement program will cost an estimated $7.5 billion. The project, the largest in Enbridge’s history, includes the replacement of pipe in Enbridge’s Canadian and U.S. mainline system running from Edmonton, Alberta, to Superior, Wis.

• [By Daniel Gibbs] !

  One i! nvestment vehicle that any investor interested in income should be familiar with is the master limited partnership, or MLP, as they are some of the best income investments available today. Most master limited partnerships are in the business of owning and operating oil and gas pipelines such as Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP  ) or Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP  ) . However, there are some MLPs that actually operate oil and gas wells such as Breitburn Energy Partners (NASDAQ: BBEP  ) and Mid-Con Energy Partners (NASDAQ: MCEP  ) . In this article, we will discuss how these investments work and why they deserve a place in your income portfolio.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/10-best-transportation-stocks-for-2016.html

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014

MARKET SNAP: At 6:00 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures down 0.1%. Treasury yields higher, at just below 3%. Nymex down 2 cents at $99.53. Gold $1.70 higher at $1211.60. In Europe, FTSE 100 up 0.6%, DAX up 0.7% and CAC 40 up 1%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 up 0.03% and Hang Seng up 0.3%.

WATCH FOR:�No major earnings or economic data are on tap.

THE BREAKFAST BRIEFING

The Santa rally is on cruise control heading into 2014.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 122 points Thursday, its sixth straight day of gains and its 50th record close of the year. The blue-chip average has risen every day since the Fed�� taper announcement last week.

Stock investors have brushed aside the reality that the central bank dialing back its monthly bond-buying program will lead to a market pullback. Even rising interest rates, a phenomenon that many are forecasting for 2014, has yet to take a toll on U.S. stocks.

Top Supermarket Stocks To Watch Right Now: Goldcorp Incorporated(GG)

Goldcorp Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  The Fund's top detractors were Gold bullion, Newcrest Mining (NCM), Goldcorp (GG), Penn West Petroleum and Fresnillo PLC (FRES). Newcrest, Goldcorp and Fresnillo all suffered along with other gold miners as a result of the decline in the gold price during the year. Bangkok Bank (BKK:BBL)'s performance reflected the decline in the Thai SET Index which fell 11% during the quarter in dollar terms as a result of political issues in Thailand.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mark Hulbert]

  If you prefer the shares of individual gold-mining companies, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) �is currently the one most recommended by the Hulbert Financial Digest-monitored advisers who have beaten the S&P 500 over the past 15 years. Also popular are Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) , Barrick Gold (ABX) , AngloGold Ashanti (AU) �and Newmont Mining (NEM) .

• [By Sally Jones]

  The once-troubled Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) is hitting a new record for gold production in the third quarter at 315,828 ounces, according to the Financial Post, and the company�� executives are buying. Here�� a third quarter company update and a look at billionaire stakeholders of AEM, a stock that spiked 23.66% over the past five days.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  Despite the weakness seen in precious metals a few weeks ago, silver has been relatively stable ever since mid-April, with the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV  ) trading in a dollar-wide range ever since. With the presidents of the Chicago and Philadelphia Federal Reserve banks��releasing conflicting statements, turmoil may be just around the corner. Miners like Pan American (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) are still facing operating challenges, while silver streaming darling Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) struggles as well.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On that theory, hard-hit energy stocks that have suffered from the crash in oil prices could stand to benefit. Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR  ) , for instance, lost more than half its value in the last four months of 2014 as the exploration and production company with a huge stake in the Bakken shale play in North Dakota suffered from worries about the sustainability of its long-term growth in light of falling oil. Similarly, many small-cap gold and silver miners struggled through a poor 2014, and so companies like First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG  ) and IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) arguably have more to gain from a January bounce.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG) is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.10 per share on revenue of $63.35 million.

  Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.52 per share.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Profit Confidential]

  Graham Ehm, Executive Vice President of South African-based AngloGold Ashanti Limited (NYSE: AU), one of the biggest gold producers in the global economy, stated the company is looking to save $500 million over the next 18 months, as capital expenditures will only be going towards their highest-quality assets. (Source: Mining Weekly, August 5, 2013.)

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: Pershing Gold Corp (PGLC)

Pershing Gold Corporation, incorporated on August 2, 2007, is a gold and precious metals exploration company. The Company is pursuing exploration and development opportunities primarily in Nevada. It is focused on exploration at its Relief Canyon properties in Pershing County in northwestern Nevada. None of the Company�� properties contain proven and probable reserves, and all of its activities on all of its properties are exploratory in nature. The Company seeks properties with known mineralization that are in an advanced stage of exploration and have previously undergone some drilling but are under-explored. It is focused on exploration of the Relief Canyon properties, recommissioning the Relief Canyon gold processing facility and, if economically feasible, commencing mining at the Relief Canyon Mine.

Relief Canyon Mine Property

The Company�� Relief Canyon properties totals approximately 25,000 acres and consists of approximately 940 owned unpatented mining claims, 120 owned millsite claims, 170 leased unpatented mining claims, and leased and subleased private lands. The Company drilled 44 holes for approximately 28,500 feet in 2013. This drilling was on land adjacent to the current deposit and focused on extending and upgrading the existing deposit. In January 2013 the Company reported 32,541,000 tons of mineralized material at an average grade of 0.017 ounces of gold per ton and a cut-off grade of 0.0046 ounces of gold per ton.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ValueInvestor7]

  I listen to investing advice from self-made billionaire investors, and I try to ignore advice from everyone else. I suspect readers on this website will appreciate this, where thankfully the Focus is still Gurus. To this end, I bring you the instructive story of Pershing Gold Corp (PGLC) and Levon Resources (TSE: LVN) (LVNVF).

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: Sibanye Gold Ltd (SBGL)

Sibanye Gold Limited (Sibanye Gold), formerly GFI Mining South Africa (Pty) Limited, incorporated on December 12, 2002, is a producer of gold in South Africa. Sibanye Gold is primarily engaged in underground and surface gold mining and related activities, including extraction, and processing. Sibanye Gold�� operations are located in South Africa. Its principal mining operations include Kloof-Driefontein Complex (KDC) and Beatrix. Exploration activities are focused on the extension of existing ore bodies and identification of new ore bodies at existing sites. As of January 10, 2013, Sibanye Gold mined only gold, with silver as a by-product.

KDC Operation

The KDC mine is located in the Gauteng Province of South Africa in the Far West Rand mining district, some 60 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg. KDC consists of the Driefontein and Kloof mines. As of January 10, 2013, KDC is consisted of 13 producing shaft systems that mine different contributions from pillars and open ground and five gold plants of which two process mainly underground ore and three process mainly surface material. Driefontein is situated some 70 kilometers west of Johannesburg. Kloof is situated in the Magisterial District of Westonaria, some 60 kilometers west of Johannesburg.

Beatrix Operation

The Beatrix operation is located in the Free State Province of South Africa, some 240 kilometers southwest of Johannesburg, near Welkom and Virginia, and consists of the Beatrix mine. Beatrix operates under mining rights covering a total area of approximately 16 800 hectares. As of January 10, 2013, Beatrix had four shaft systems, with five ventilation shafts to provide additional up-cast and down-cast ventilation capacity and is serviced by two metallurgical plants. It is a shallow to intermediate-depth mining operation, at depths between 700 meters and 2 200 meters below surface. The mine has a refrigeration and cooling infrastructure in both its North and West Sections. Beatrix is man! aged as three operational sections: the North Section (consists of Shaft No. 3), the South Section (consists of Shaft No. 2 and Shaft No. 1) and the West Section (consists of Shaft No. 4).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Gold: This industry jumped 1.20% by 11:40 am. The top performer in this industry was Sibanye Gold (NYSE: SBGL), which rose 3.2%. Gold futures gained 0.44% to trade at $1,281.00 an ounce.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Gold: This industry rose 0.65% by 10:25 am ET. The top performer in this industry was Sibanye Gold (NYSE: SBGL), which gained 4.9%. Gold futures fell 0.17% to trade at $1,216.70 an ounce.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: Renaissance Oil Corp (ROE)

Renaissance Oil Corp, formerly San Antonio Ventures Inc., is developing a diversified shale and mature fields portfolio for development in Mexico and Spain. The Company is partnered with Grupo SAMCA, a diverse industrial with operations in energy, mining, industrial minerals, agriculture, environmental and various other business lines in Spain. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ovenerio]

  In this article, let麓s see one of the most important financial ratios applying to stockholders, the best measure of performance for a firm's management: the Return on Equity (ROE), and we are going to analyze it in the case of Oracle Corporation (ORCL), the leading provider of enterprise technology solutions, offering software, services and hardware.ROE is calculated as net income applicable to common shares divided by the average book value of common equity: ROE = Net Income / Av. Book ValueA higher ROE is viewed as a positive aspect for the company, but the reason behind it should be examine. From the equation above, we can see that if book value is decreasing more rapidly than net income, the ratio will increase, but this is not good for the firm.Dupont AnalysisThis approach can be used to analyze the ROE. With some algebra we can break down ROE into a function of different ratios. Firstly, we are going to consider the original approach:Original Dupont Equation: Three-Part DupontTaking the ROE equation: ROE = net income / shareholder's equity and multiplying ROE by (revenue / revenue), and rearranging terms we get:ROE = (net income / revenue) * (revenue / shareholder's equity)We now have ROE broken into two parts, the first is net profit margin, and the second is the equity turnover ratio. Now we can expand this by multiplying these terms by (assets / assets), and rearranging we end up with the three-step DuPont equation.ROE = (Net Income / Revenue) * (Revenue / Assets) * (Assets / Shareholder's Equity)This equation for ROE breaks it into three widely used and studied components:ROE = (Net profit margin)* (Asset Turnover) * (Leverage ratio)The first term is what we called previously net profit margin, the second term is asset turnover and the third tem is a financial leverage ratio. If we have a low ROE, one of the following must be true:The firm has a poor profit marginThe firm has a poor asset turnoverThe firm has a little leverageROE (%) 3 StepMay-05May-0

• [By Mark Skousen]

  The company has more than $1 billion in cash to expand with, or pay off its debts (it does not pay a dividend—yet). Return on equity (ROE) is an outstanding 16.5%.

Hot Income Companies To Watch For 2015

Hot Income Companies To Watch For 2015: Actuate Corp (BIRT)

Actuate Corporation (Actuate), incorporated in November 1993, provides software and services to develop and deploy custom Business Intelligence and information applications. Actuate offers ActuateOne to develop and deploy Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT)-based custom Business Intelligence and information applications focusing on browsers and mobile devices that deliver content hosted in cloud, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and on premises deployments. Its products and services are used by its customers to develop and deploy applications across a range of business functions, including financial management, sales management, account management, and customer self-service. Xenos solutions, based on Xenos Enterprise Server, loads, transforms and presents high volumes of data and documents across multiple channels. Actuate's BIRT Spreadsheet products are Excel-based. In February 2014, Actuate Corporation announced the acquisition of legodo ag.

Actua teOne-Business Intelligence, Analytics and Reporting

Actuate offers a range of BIRT-based Business Intelligence (BI), analytics and reporting features within the integrated ActuateOne platform, providing 64-bit, in-memory analytics, user configurable dashboards, ad-hoc query, interactive mobile and Web content, brochure-quality reporting, and spreadsheet analysis. ActuateOne provides a platform upon which Global 9000 and packaged application software vendors develop and deploy BI and information applications. Such applications retrieve business information from databases, as well as print streams and deliver it as dashboards, interactive Web pages, spreadsheets, mobile content and analytic cubes to customers, partners and employees worldwide.

Xenos Enterprise Server Framework

Xenos Enterprise Server (ES) is an application that captures, i! dentifies, routes, stores and retrieves structured and unstructured documents and data. Xenos ES su pports the processing, extraction, transformation, repurposi! ng and personalization of structured and unstructured data in both legacy and SOA environments. Xenos ES distributes documents across multiple channels, such as Web, mobile and tablet devices in addition to providing interactivity and document analytics through its integration with ActuateOne.

Performance Analytics

Actuate BIRT Performance Analytics provides interactive dashboards, analytics, and scorecards. With Web interface, users across the enterprise can monitor operations, identify and analyze performance issues and enact initiatives.

BIRT Spreadsheet

Actuate's BIRT Spreadsheet products deliver Excel-like reporting, formatting and calculation functionality within Java applications. Actuate BIRT Spreadsheet products can also leverage all the Actuate deployment options-embedded in applications or deployed cloud or on-premise enterprise environments.

The Company competes with Information Builders, Qlik Te ch, Pentaho, Jaspersoft, MicroStrategy, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Actuate (BIRT) provides software solutions and services to corporate and government customers worldwide. This stock closed up 1.7% to $4.54 in Tuesday's trading session.

  Tuesday's Range: $4.43-$4.57
  52-Week Range: $3.41-$8.23
  Tuesday's Volume: 213,000
  Three-Month Average Volume: 319,262

  From a technical perspective, BIRT trended modestly higher here back above its 50-day moving average of $4.51 with lighter-than-average volume. This move to the upside on Tuesday is starting to push shares of BIRT within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit trigger if BIRT manages to take out some key overhead resistance levels at $4.60 to $4.75 and then above more resistance at $4.85 with high! volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in BIRT as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $4.30 to $4.25 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 319,262 shares. If that breakout starts soon, then BIRT will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from May that started near $6.

• [By John Udovich]

  Yesterday, small cap business intelligence stock MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR) surged 18.44% after reporting better-than-expected third quarter earnings – meaning it might be a good idea to take a closer look at it along with small cap peers Actuate Corporation (NASDAQ: BIRT) and Qlik Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: QLIK) to see what they might offer small cap investors. After all, everyone is being inundated with huge amounts of data from multiple sources, but its the following small cap stocks that provide software platforms to help customers try to make sense of it all: 

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-income-companies-to-watch-for-2015-2.html

Best Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now

Best Up And Coming Companies To Watch In Right Now: Ishares Msci Korea (EWY)

iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the South Korean market. The Fund's performance is measured by the MSCI Korea Index (the Index).

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Shepherd]

  The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) seems to have halted its slide. The index bottomed out year-to-date on February 3, when it was down 11.2 percent. Since then, it has gained 1.5 percent, but bargains in the emerging markets still abound.
  
  As I discussed in A Plan, Not a Panic two weeks ago, emerging markets are in much better economic shape today than they were even just a few years ago, much less during the currency crisis that peaked in 1998. Foreign exchange reserves are generally much more robust, budget deficits are narrower if they exist at all and, so far at least, the full-blown currency war that many were predicting last year isnt likely to breakout.
  
  With rationality finally setting in, this is a terrific time to do a little bargain hunting in the emerging markets.
  
  The most obvious play here is the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index itself. Covering China (18.8 percent of assets), South Korea (16 percent), Taiwan ( 12 percent) and Brazil (10.2 percent) with smaller positions spanning Asia and Europe, the fund is most exposed to any shift in sentiment.
  
  The fund is currently trading at just 10.2 times forward one-year earnings, well below its average of about 18 times over the past two decades. On a price-to-sales basis it is even more attractive valued at just 1.03 times; the las! t time the index was this cheap on a sales basis was early 2009.
  
  So while there are always dangers in trying to call a bottom to any market move, valuations alone are attractive enough to start pulling bargain hunters back in.
  
  A broadly diversified play on an emerging market turnaround, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a great buy up to 45, which leaves plenty of room to run back to the average.
  
  For those who can tolerate a bit more risk, you can also drill down and make more country-specific bets.
  
  At this point my favorite would be iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund (NY SE: EWY).
  
  Sout

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Of course, Samsungs massive presence has weighed on the region lately. In the last 12 months, the iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund (EWY) has declined about 4%, pretty much the same performance as Samsungs stock.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-up-and-coming-companies-to-watch-in-right-now-2.html