Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2018: March 2014

Sunday, March 30, 2014

T-Mobile Throws MetroPCS Shareholders a Bone

With a vote on its acquisition of MetroPCS (NYSE: TMUS ) imminent, T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT ) is trying to mollify angry shareholders by throwing them a bone. It's offered to reduce the debt the new company will carry, reduce the interest rate on the debt, and triple the amount of time it must hold onto the new stock before it can sell it.

Despite having passed all the necessary regulatory hurdles, the merger is in danger of falling apart as major shareholders and institutional services alike say the deal is not favorable to MetroPCS stockholders.

While there's been a war of words going on between the major participants, T-Mobile's CEO certainly won himself no fans after calling hedge fund operator John Paulson "greedy." Particularly after Institutional Shareholder Services came out blasting the deal as well, backing the contention of Paulson and P. Schoenfeld Asset Management that because T-Mobile has so underwhelmed the markets, MetroPCS shareholders need to be better compensated for the risk of turning control over to Deutsche Telekom.

Top 10 Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now

Under the original proposal, MetroPCS shareholders would be paid about $4.09 a share and receive a 26% stake in the new company.

With the merger unraveling, DT decided it needed to salve the wounds it created. It offered to reduce the debt burden of the combined company by $3.8 billion and said it would cut the interest rate it charged by half a percentage point. Additionally, it would increase from six months to 18 months the amount of time it would have to hang onto the new company's stock, but the rest of the terms apparently will remain unchanged.

While the original deal was scheduled to be voted on by MetroPCS shareholders tomorrow, that has now been pushed back to April 24 to give more time to review the deal. And while not giving any indication of which way it would fall on the new offer, at least the asset management firm has said it appreciated the olive branch.

Yet Deutsche Telekom needs this deal to go through if it ever wants to get out of the U.S. market. It previously tried by selling T-Mobile to AT&T for $39 billion, but regulators quashed it over anti-competitive concerns. Now with the proposed combined company being publicly traded, DT will finally get its exit strategy, even if it takes a year and a half to leave instead of the six months it previously envisioned.

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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Restoration Hardware closes up 13%; Red Hat falls

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Restoration Hardware Holdings Ltd. shares rallied by nearly 13% on Friday after the high-end home furnishings store reported fourth-quarter results that topped Wall Street's estimates.

Red Hat Inc. (RHT) meanwhile, saw its stock close 7% lower after the company's financial guidance for the current fiscal year came in short of analysts' expectations.

Bloomberg

Enlarge Image Restoration Hardware announces quarterly earnings that topped market expectations.

Restoration Hardware (RH) reported fourth-quarter earnings of 83 cents a share on revenue of $471.7 million. The company beat analyst expectations and also reported increasing sales growth. Forward looking statements were also positive as the firm looks to expand and transform its retail stores in 2014, according to Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Friedman.

Gainers

Shares in CBS Outdoor Americas Inc. (CBSO) climbed more than 5% in their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading started at $28 a share. The billboard company is getting split from media giant CBS Corp. (CBS) .

Shares of 2U Inc. (TWOU) added nearly 8% Friday. The cloud-based education platform geared toward nonprofit universities had priced its initial public offering at $13 a share, the high end of its range of $11 to $13, according to data from Renaissance Capital.

U.S.-traded shares of 58.com Inc. (WUBA) climbed 3%. They were trading lower earlier Friday after the company announced the pricing of its secondary public offering of American Depositary Shares and reduced the size of that offering, according to an article from TheStreet . 58.com provides online market place services to local merchants and consumers in China.

Shares of H&R Block Inc. (HRB) rose more than 6%, with the tax preparation and banking services provider getting a boost ahead of the April 15 U.S. tax filing deadline.

Decliners

Red Hat shares fell after the open-source software provider offered disappointing guidance for fiscal year 2015. But it also said late Thursday that fourth-quarter profit climbed 4.9%.

BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY) shares declined 7% by the close after spending part of the session trading higher. The company reported a much smaller operating loss than analysts expected.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. (CZR) saw its stock fall over 7% Friday. The casino company late Thursday announced plans for an underwritten public offering of 7 million shares of its common stock.

Everyday Health Inc. (EVDY) fell by almost 4%. The online health-care firm made its debut as a public company Friday with shares priced at $14.50.

Tickers to watch

WMT and V: Retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is suing credit card company Visa Inc. (V) for $5 billion over "swipe fees." Wal-Mart is accusing Visa of charging the retailer unreasonable fees each time customers use credit cards in their stores. The lawsuit follows a ruling this week by an appeal courts which upheld a 21-cent cap on debit card swipe fees, despite opposition from retailers.

AMZN: Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) shares closed slightly lower after reports that the company plans to offer free streaming television and music videos to its customers. The firm had previously planned to charge for the members-only service, reported The Wall Street Journal. Amazon has denied the reports.

PCG: PG&E Corp. (PCG) shares lost 4%. The utility said late Thursday that it expects the federal government to bring criminal charges against it over the fatal 2010 San Bruno, Calif. natural-gas transmission pipeline blast.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now

Japanese stocks are poised to surpass this year�� high set in May as a stronger U.S. economy weakens the yen and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe�� reflation policy leads to wage increases, according to BNP Paribas Investment Partners SA and SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.

Japan�� Nikkei 225 Stock Average capped a 7.7 percent jump last week, the steepest rally in almost four years, after Janet Yellen, the nominee to succeed Ben S. Bernanke as Fed chairman, said she will ensure bond-buying isn�� ended until she sees a robust recovery. A 3.1 percent gain would take the equity gauge past a 5 1/2-year high reached May 22. The yen dropped past 100 versus the dollar last week for the first time in two months.

��.S. quantitative easing will be reduced eventually, but that won�� have much of a negative impact because it happens on the back of the strong economic recovery,��said Gentoku Kiyokawa, Tokyo-based head of the Japanese investment management department at BNP Paribas. ��apanese stocks will keep climbing toward their May high and pass that level by the end of this year.��

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd.(HSOL)

Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of silicon ingots, silicon wafers, and PV cells and modules. The company also offers mono crystalline and multi crystalline silicon cells; and provides PV module processing services. It sells its products to solar power system integrators and distributors primarily in Germany, Italy, Australia, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, and China. The company was formerly known as Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. in December 2010. Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Qidong, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Sean Williams]
Lights out, China
China may have its fair share of struggles -- which has caused its strong economy to back off its 30-year average growth rate of 10% -- but when push comes to shove, plenty of investors are still paying close attention to multinational companies making investments in China. However, if there were one sector with a gigantic "beware" stamp attached to it, it would be Chinese solar panel producers like Hanwha SolarOne (NASDAQ: HSOL ) .
[By Paul Ausick]
Stocks on the move: Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up 31.5% at $5.13 on the announcement that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) will acquire the Finnish firm�� mobile phone business for $7.2 billion. Chinese solar energy stocks are getting a boost again today, with Hanwha SolarOne Co. (NASDAQ: HSOL) up more than 15.9% and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) up 14.9%.
[By Travis Hoium]
News and notes
Hanwha SolarOne (NASDAQ: HSOL ) announced another $100 million in financing this week, this time a term loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea. �
[By Rebecca McClay]
The tech market's news today includes a plunge in Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: HSOL) shares, which are down 5% in morning trade after its second-quarter loss narrowed to $0.32 per share from a loss of $0.43 in Q1.

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Alleghany Corporation(Y)

Alleghany Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the property and casualty, and surety insurance business in the United States. It underwrites specialty insurance coverages in the property, umbrella/excess, general liability, directors and officers liability, professional liability lines of business, and homeowners insurance. The company also writes surety products, such as commercial surety bonds and contract surety bonds. In addition, Alleghany Corporation owns and manages improved and unimproved commercial land, and residential lots in the Sacramento, California. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned approximately 320 acres of property in various land use categories. Further, it engages in the oil and gas exploration and production business. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Damian Illia]
The firm is currently Zacks Rank # 2 - Buy, and it also has a longer-term recommendation of ��utPerform�� For investors looking for a Zacks Rank # 1 ��Strong Buy, Alleghany Corp. (Y), Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.B) and Fidelity (FNF) could be the options.
[By Matthew Argersinger]
Matching a stable of strong insurance businesses with intelligent investing is one of the key formulas Warren Buffett used to turn Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ) into one of the greatest investments of the past half-century. Fortunately for investors who weren't able to ride Buffett's market-crushing train, there are several smaller companies that have embraced Berkshire's formula with great success. One of those is Alleghany (NYSE: Y ) , a multi-line insurance company whose objective�is "to create value through owning and managing operating subsidiaries and investments, anchored by a core position in property and casualty reinsurance and insurance." Sound familiar?
[By Chris Hill]
Which investors are worth following? In this installment of MarketFoolery, our analysts talk about why they're following Cook and Bynum's Richard Cook and Dowe Bynum, Martin Capital's Frank Martin, Alleghany's (NYSE: Y ) CEO Weston Hicks, and T. Rowe Price's (NASDAQ: TROW ) �Preston Athey.�

Top Casino Stocks For 2014: iShares MSCI Chile Capped ETF (ECH)

iShares MSCI Chile Index Fund (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index (the Index). The Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure broad based equity market performance in Chile. The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Santiago Stock Exchange.

The Fund will seek to track the performance of the Index by investing at least 90% of its assets in component securities and in depositary receipts representing such securities. It may invest up to 10% of its assets in certain futures, options, swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents (including money market funds), and other exchange-traded funds, including other iShares funds. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors. The index provider of the Fund is Morgan Stanley Capital International.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jim Powell]
And at their current prices, the most attractive emerging nations available now are in Latin America. And our latest new recommendation is iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund (ECH).

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Euro FX(P)

Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated oil company in Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas. As of December 31, 2010, its proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas consisted of 1,714.0 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company also transports crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, as well as mixture of diesel and palm oil. It owns transportation network consisting of 3,003 kilometers of crude oil pipeline directly, as well as an additional 2,178 kilometers of crude oil pipeline with its business partners; and 3,017 kilometers of multi-purpose pipelines for transportation of refined products from refinery to wholesale distribution points. As of the above date, Ecopetrol S.A. owned 58 stations with a nominal storage capacity of 19 million barrels of crude oil and 6 million barrels of refined products. In addition, the company owns and o perates refineries that produce a range of refined products, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, aviation fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, sulfur, heavy fuel oils, motor fuels, and petrochemicals, including paraffin waxes, lube base oils, low-density polyethylene, aromatics, asphalts, alkylates, cyclohexane and aliphatic solvents, and refinery grade propylene, as well as provides industrial services to third parties. Further, it markets various refined and feed stock products, including regular and high octane gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, natural gas, and petrochemical products. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was founded in 1948 and is based in Bogota, Colombia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Caroline Bennett]
Streaming music service Pandora (NYSE: P ) today released tv.pandora.com, a personalized integration of radio for television.

The new service allows users to play music directly to television through browsers on Xbox 360 game consoles, and the company plans to expand its reach to other televisions, set-top setups, and game consoles as it begins work with additional vendors.
[By Chris Neiger]
Living the stream
Take a quick look at these stats showing the popularity of digital music and online streaming:
64% of teenagers prefer listening to music on Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG ) YouTube than from any other service. 53% of teens prefer Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL ) iTunes to other music destinations. Pandora (NYSE: P ) streamed 13 billion hours of music in 2012. That's right, billions. SiriusXM (NASDAQ: SIRI ) has more than 25 million subscribers. Warner Music Group received 25% of its digital revenue from music streaming last year. According to NPD, online radio services make up 23% of music listening for people ages 13 to 35, compared to 24% for AM/FM radio.
But those are a just a few simple statistics -- the overall streaming market is about to get much more complicated.

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Federated National Holding Co (FNHC)

Federated National Holding Company (Federated National), formerly 21st Century Holding Company, is an insurance holding company, which through its subsidiaries and its contractual relationships with its independent agents and general agents, controls all aspects of the insurance underwriting, distribution and claims processes. Federated National is authorized to underwrite homeowners��multi-peril (homeowners), personal umbrella, commercial general liability, following form commercial excess liability, personal and commercial automobile, fire, allied lines, workers��compensation, business personal property and commercial inland marine insurance. On January 26, 2011, Federated National merged into the Company�� other wholly owned subsidiary, American Vehicle Insurance Company (American Vehicle), with resulting entity being Federated National.

Federated National markets and distributes its own and third-party insurers��products and its other services through a network of independent agents. The Company also utilize a select number of general agents for the same purpose. During 2010, the Company processed property and liability claims stemming from its homeowners�� commercial general liability and private passenger automobile lines of business. Through contractual relationships with a network of approximately 4,200 independent agents, of which approximately 400 sell and service its products, Federated National is authorized to underwrite homeowners�� fire, allied lines and personal automobile insurance in Florida.

American Vehicle is licensed as an admitted carrier in Florida, and underwrites commercial general liability, and personal and commercial automobile insurance. American Vehicle is also licensed as an admitted carrier in Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Texas, and underwrites commercial general liability insurance in those states. American Vehicle operates as a non-admitted carrier in Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South ! Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and can underwrite commercial general liability insurance in all of these states. During 2010, 79.7%, 12.3%, 4.1% and 3.9% of the premiums the Company underwrote were for homeowners�� commercial general liability, federal flood, and personal automobile insurance, respectively. Federated National internally processes claims made by its insured through its wholly owned claims adjusting company, Superior Adjusting, Inc. (Superior). It also offers premium financing to its own and third-party insured through its wholly owned subsidiary, Federated Premium Finance, Inc. (Federated Premium).

Homeowners��Property and Casualty Insurance

Federated National underwrites homeowners��insurance primarily in the South, West and Central Florida regions. Homeowners��insurance protects an owner of real and personal property against covered causes of loss to that property. The Company�� homeowner insurance products provide maximum dwelling coverage in the amount of approximately $0.8 million, with the aggregate maximum policy limit being approximately $1.5 million. Premium rates are regulated and approved by the Florida OIR.

Commercial Residential Property Insurance

The Florida OIR has granted Federated National the authority to write commercial residential property insurance under the fire line of business. This class of business affords property coverage primarily to associations with property commonly owned by the tenants of the association. Aggregate policy limits ranged between $1.0 million and $20 million. Additionally, Federated National has secured automatic facultative reinsurance for insured values up to $10 million with permission to individually submit attractive risks greater than $10 million to its reinsurers for quote and binding authority.

Commercial General Liability and Inland Marine

The Company underwrite commercial general liability insurance for approximately 350 classes of artisan ! (excludin! g home-builders and developers) and mercantile trades (such as owners, landlords and tenants). The limits of liability range from $100,000 per occurrence with a $200,000 policy aggregate to $1 million per occurrence with a $2 million policy aggregate. The Company markets the commercial general liability insurance products through independent agents and a limited number of general agencies unaffiliated with the Company.

Personal Automobile

Personal automobile insurance markets can be divided into two categories: standard automobile and nonstandard automobile. Standard personal automobile insurance is provided to insureds who present an average risk profile in terms of driving record, vehicle type and other factors. Nonstandard personal automobile insurance is provided to insureds that are unable to obtain standard insurance coverage because of their driving record, age, vehicle type or other factors, including market conditions. During 2010, the average annual premium on policies was approximately $1,325, and the nonstandard personal automobile insurance lines represented 100% of its written premiums for personal automobile insurance. Federated National underwrites new and renewal policies for this coverage on primarily an annual basis and to a much lesser extent, on a semi-annual basis. American Vehicle underwrites standard personal automobile insurance policies.

Flood

Federated National writes flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Company writes the policy for the NFIP, which assumes 100% of the flood risk while it retains a commission for its service. The average flood policy premium is approximately $570 with limits up to $250,000.

Assurance MGA

Assurance MGA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Federated National, acts as Federated National�� and American Vehicle�� exclusive managing general agent in the state of Florida and is also licensed as a managing general agent in the states of Al! abama, Ar! kansas, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Assurance MGA has contracted with several unaffiliated insurance companies to sell commercial general liability, workers compensation, personal umbrella and inland marine insurance through Assurance MGA�� existing network of agents. Assurance MGA earns commissions and fees for providing policy administration, marketing, accounting and analytical services, and for participating in the negotiation of reinsurance contracts. The homeowner policy provides Assurance MGA the right to cancel any policy within a period of 90 days from the policy's inception with 25 days��notice, or after 90 days from policy inception with 95 days��notice, even if the risk falls within its underwriting criteria.

Superior

Superior processes claims made by insured from Federated National and American Vehicle. Its agents have no authority to settle claims or otherwise exercise control over the claims process. Federated National also employs an in-house legal department to manage claims-related litigation and to monitor its claims handling practices for compliance.

Federated Premium

Federated Premium provides premium financing to Federated National's, American Vehicle�� and third-party�� insureds. Premium financing has been marketed through the Company�� distribution network of general agents and independent agents. Premiums for property and casualty insurance, in certain circumstances, are payable at the time a policy is placed in- force or renewed. Federated Premium's services allow the insured to pay a portion of the premium when the policy is placed in-force and the balance in monthly installments over a specified term, between six and nine months.

Insure-Link, Inc. (Insure-Link)

Insure-Link serves as an independent insurance agency. The insurance agency markets direct to the public to provide a variety of in! surance p! roducts and services to individual clients, as well as business clients, by offering a line of insurance products, including, but not limited to, homeowners�� personal and commercial automobile, commercial general liability and workers��compensation insurance through their agency appointments with over fifty different carriers. There were no other agency relationships with affiliated captive or franchised agents during 2010.

The Company competes with Castle Key (formerly Allstate Floridian) Indemnity Insurance Company, Fidelity National Insurance Company, Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Royal Palm Insurance Company, St. Johns Insurance Company, Cypress Property and Casualty Insurance Company, American Strategic Insurance Company, Century Surety Insurance Company, Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company, Colony Insurance Company, Burlington/First Financial Insurance Companies, Kingsway Amigo Insurance Company, United Automobile Insurance Company, Direct General Insurance Company, Ocean Harbor Insurance Company, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, and GEICO.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Damian Illia]
As we can see, the firm ratio is higher than the ones shown by Alleghany, Fidelity, Federated National Holding Co. (FNHC) and Global Indemnity Plc (GBLI).

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Ingram Micro Inc. (IM)

Ingram Micro Inc. distributes information technology (IT) products; and provides supply chain solutions, mobile device lifecycle services, and logistics solutions worldwide. The company�s IT peripherals include printers, scanners, displays, projectors, monitors, panels, mass storage, and tape; large format LCD and plasma displays, enclosures, mounts, media players, content software, and content creation and hosting; mobile phones, digital cameras and video disc players, game consoles, televisions, audio, media management, and home control products; barcode/card printers, AIDC scanners and software, and wireless infrastructure products; IP video surveillance, security and fire alarm systems, and access control smart cards; processors, motherboards, hard drives, and memory products; and ink and toner supplies, paper, carrying cases, and anti-glare screens. It also provides various systems, including rack, tower, and blade servers; desktops; portable personal computers and t ablets; and software products, such as business application, operating system, entertainment, security, storage, and virtualization software products, as well as middleware and developer software tools. The company�s networking products comprise switches, hubs, routers, wireless local area networks, wireless wide area networks, network interface cards, cellular data cards, network-attached storage, and storage area networks; voice over Internet protocol, communications, modems, phone systems, and video/audio conferencing; and firewalls, virtual private networks, intrusion detection, and authentication devices and appliances. In addition, it provides integration, technical support, training, financial and credit, marketing, predictive analytics, eCommerce, reseller community hosting, managed, cloud, managed print, and professional services. The company sells its products to resellers through sales representatives. Ingram Micro Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Geoff Gannon]
A huge net-net like Ingram Micro (IM) with nine out of ten years of profits in the last decade is pretty unusual. And Ingram operates on a razor-thin margin. It usually makes about one cent in profit for every dollar of sales.

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (WIP)

SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the DB Global Government ex-US Inflation-Linked Bond Capped Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the inflation-linked government bond markets of developed and emerging market countries outside of the United States. Inflation protected public obligations of the inflation-linked government bond markets of developed and emerging market countries, commonly known in the United States as treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS), are securities issued by such governments that are designed to provide inflation protection to investors. The Fund uses a passive management strategy to track the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Richard Stavros]
With respect to inflation protected bonds, though TIPS should be a part of every portfolio. However, we believe the SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond (WIP) offers greater protection than TIPS.

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Kid Brands Inc (KID)

Kid Brands, Inc., incorporated on June 1966, is a designer, importer, marketer and distributor of branded infant and juvenile consumer products. The Company through its wholly owned operating subsidiaries: Kids Line, LLC (Kids Line); LaJobi, Inc. (LaJobi); Sassy, Inc. (Sassy), and CoCaLo, Inc. (CoCaLo) designs and markets branded infant and juvenile products in a number of categories, including, among others: infant bedding and related nursery accessories and decor, nursery appliances, bath/spa products and diaper bags (Kids Line and CoCaLo); nursery furniture and related products (LaJobi), and developmental toys and feeding, bath and baby care items with features that address the various stages of an infant�� early years, including Kokopax line of baby gear (Sassy). In addition to its branded products, it also markets certain categories of products under various licenses, including Carter��, Disney, Graco and Serta.

The Company�� products are sold primarily to large, national retail accounts and independent retailers (including toy, specialty, food, drug, apparel and other retailers). The Company maintains relationships with international distributors to service certain retail customers in several foreign countries, as well as with several independent representatives to service select domestic and foreign retail customers. The Company�� infant and juvenile product line consists of approximately 7,400 products that principally focus on newborn to three year old children. It also caters to the age range between three through seven, including toddler bedding and beds, as well as kitchen products. Kids Line products, which are marketed primarily under the Kids Line, Carter�� and Disney brands, and CoCaLo products, which are marketed primarily under the CoCaLo Baby, CoCaLo Couture, and CoCaLo Naturals brands, each consist primarily of infant bedding and related nursery accessories and decor, such as blankets, rugs, mobiles, nightlights, hampers, lamps and wall art, as well as nurser! y appliances, diaper bags and spa/bath products. LaJobi products, which are marketed primarily under the Babi Italia, Europa Baby, Bonavita, Graco and Serta brands, consist primarily of cribs, mattresses and other nursery furniture. Sassy products, which are marketed primarily under the Sassy, Carter��, Garanimals and Kokopax brands, consist primarily of developmental toys and feeding, bath and baby care items and baby gear with features that address the various stages of an infant�� early years. The Company has five product categories: Hard Good Basics, Soft Good Basics, Toys and Entertainment, Accessories and Decor, and Other. Hard Good Basics includes cribs and other nursery furniture, feeding, food preparation and kitchen products, baby gear and organizers. Soft Good Basics includes bedding, blankets and mattresses. Toys and Entertainment includes developmental toys, bath toys and mobiles. Accessories and Decor includes hampers, lamps, rugs and decor. Other includes all other products that do not fit in the above four categories.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Eric Volkman]
Kid Brands (NYSE: KID ) has put a new individual in the CEO chair. The man formerly occupying that position, Guy Paglinco, will depart in order to, as the company put it, "pursue other activities." His replacement is James Christl, who will also serve as senior vice president. The transition is effective immediately, although Paglinco will remain a full-time employee of Kid Brands until July 5. Following that, he will make himself available in an advisory capacity for a further six months.

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Soul And Vibe Interactive Inc (SOUL)

Soul and Vibe Interactive, Inc., incorporated on 5, 2011, is a video and computer games company. The Company develops, publishes and digitally distributes interactive entertainment for video game consoles, mobile devices, and personal computers. It focuses on the development of its products for a variety of hardware platforms: video game consoles (for example: Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3), mobile (for example: Apple iOS and Android devices, and Windows Phones), and personal computers (for example: PC and Mac). The Company has five games, which consists of The Wheaties Challenge, Bugaboo, Grimwhiskers, a virtual-pet game that may bear a licensed-brand, and The Dragon Wars.

The Wheaties Challenge is an adrenaline-charged arcade sports compilation for console, mobile, and personal computer (PC)/Mac. The game promotes family health and wellness, is sponsored by General Mills, and features Wheaties as its signature brand. Bugaboo is an action-puzzle game for consoles, mobile devices and PCs. The core play mechanic is Shadow Weaving. Grimwhiskers is a side scrolling action game for consoles, mobile devices and PCs.

The Company competes with Zynga, Electronic Arts, Activision, Playdom, Ubisoft and Majesco.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Peter Graham]
Small cap entertainment or gaming stocks Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc (OTCBB: SOUL), Elray Resources Inc (OTCMKTS: ELRA) and Players Network (OTCMKTS: PNTV) focus on entertaining consumers. However, its important to remember that consumers can be very fickle when it comes to entertainment or games. So should you be entertaining any of these small caps? Here is a closer look and a reality check:
[By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc (OTCBB: SOUL), Globalstar, Inc (OTCMKTS: GSAT) and Poly Shield Technologies Inc (OTCBB: SHPR) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or investor alerts with at least two of these stocks being the subject of some sort of paid stock promotional or investor relations type of activities. With that in mind, just how hot are these three small cap stocks for investors or traders? Here is a quick reality check:

Top 10 Japanese Stocks To Watch Right Now: Gladstone Land Corp (LAND)

Gladstone Land Corporation, incorporated on March 24, 2011, is an externally-managed real estate company formed to invest in farmland located in agricultural markets throughout the United States. The Company�� farmland is concentrated in locations where tenants are able to grow annual row crops, such as berries, lettuce and melons, among others, which are planted and harvested annually or more frequently. The Company also leases a small parcel on its Oxnard farm to an oil company. In January 2014, the Company acquired a 1,895-acre farm in the Columbia Basin of the Pacific Northwest. On December 27, 2013, the Company acquired a 1,760-acre farm in Willcox, Cochise County, Arizona. Effective January 2, 2014, Gladstone Land Corp acquired an undisclosed farmland located in Oregon.

As of December 27, 2012, the Company�� portfolio of properties consisted of the San Andreas Farm in Watsonville, California; West Gonzales Farm in Oxnard, California; West Beach Farms in Watsonville, California; Dalton Lane Farm in Watsonville, California; Keysville Road Farms in Plant City, Florida; Colding Loop Farm in Wimauma, Florida, and Trapnell Road Farms in Plant City, Florida. As of December 27, 2012, the Company extended the Dalton Lane Farm lease for three years. As of December 27, 2012, the Company in addition to acquiring properties, planned to acquire farmland in exchange for limited partnership units, or units, of Gladstone Land Limited Partnership.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Cameron Swinehart]
Gladstone Land Corp (LAND) -
A U.S. based farmland investment company that currently offers a plus 9% annual distribution. It owns and leases farmland in Florida, California, Michigan and Oregon with appraised land value of $79 million. The distribution is paid monthly which should attract income investors.
[By Sarah Jones]
Land Securities (LAND) Group Plc, Britain�� largest real estate investment trust, and Persimmon Plc both climbed at least 1.5 percent. Glencore Xstrata Plc led a rally in commodity producers as base metals climbed. HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) led declining shares, falling 1.5 percent.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Market Will Rise and Then Crash - Jeremy Grantham

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014

A few weeks ago, Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio), the co-founder of money management firm GMO, called newly appointed Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen "ignorant" in the New York Times. He also said the reason for the slow recovery was not the severe financial crisis, continued high unemployment, or the many standoffs in Washington. Instead, he blamed the Fed for ruining the recovery it was supposed to stimulate. To someone who believes in the laws of economics, it's hard to overstate how odd that claim is. It's positively bonkers.Low interest rates stimulate the economy. The Fed has done everything in its power to keep interest rates down, lower and longer than anyone can remember. That should have helped the economy. And yet the recovery has been just meh. So, either Grantham is bonkers, or he is onto something. Fortune recently caught up with him to find out.Fortune: You believe the Fed's policies, particularly quantitative easing, have slowed the recovery. What's your proof?Grantham: It's quite likely that the recovery has been slowed down because of the Fed's actions. Of course, we're dealing with anecdotal evidence here because there is no control. But go back to the 1980s and the U.S. had an aggregate debt level of about 1.3 times GDP. Then we had a massive spike over the next two decades to about 3.3 times debt. And GDP over that time period has been slowed. There isn't any room in that data for the belief that more debt creates growth.In the economic crisis after World War I, there was no attempt at intervention or bailouts, and the economy came roaring back. In the S&L crisis, we liquidated the bad banks and their bad real estate bets. Property prices fell, capitalist juices started to flow, and the economy came roaring back. This time around, we did not liquidate the guys who made the bad bets.Read more here.
Also check out: Jeremy Grantham Unde! rvalued Stocks Jeremy Grantham Top Growth Companies Jeremy Grantham High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Jeremy Grantham keeps buying

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

In China, Bad News Could Mean Good News

Today, MoneyShow's Jim Jubak discusses China in regards to the adage "Bad News is Good News," because bad news about China's economy might hasten the start of some kind of Chinese government—or financial—stimulus.

You're familiar with 'Bad news is good news" markets from the behavior of US stocks during the last year on negative news about US economic growth. The market's rallied on many bad news days, on the theory that weaker than expected US economic growth would keep the Federal Reserve from cutting back its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, and put off any increase in short-term interest rates.

It looks like China is headed into that same kind of "bad news is good news" direction. I think it's a little early to proclaim that this logic is in the ascendant, but I do think traders are starting to think that more bad news about China's economy is a good thing, because it pushes up the start of stimulus from the Chinese government and the People's Bank.

The latest evidence is in the reaction to a weaker-than-expected Purchasing Managers' Index for the manufacturing sector from HSBC and Markit Economics. The survey, which precedes the official government data, dropped to 48.1 for March. That's below the 48.5 reading for February and below the 48.7 consensus, among economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It also marked the fifth straight monthly decline. (In this survey, any reading above 50 indicates expansion and anything below 50 indicates contraction.)

Stocks in Shanghai initially fell 0.2% on the news but then rebounded to close up 0.9% for the day.

The official purchasing managers index from the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federal of Logistics and Purchasing is due on April 1. In February, the official index came in at 50.2, still on the side of expansion, but also, an eight-month low.

According to a Bloomberg survey, the consensus growth forecast for China's economy for the first quarter of 2014, among economists, fell to 7.4% in March, from 7.6% in February.

So far, whatever the market might be starting to anticipate, the Beijing government isn't talking stimulus. Earlier this month, the State Council said that new spending wasn't in the cards, but that the government might front-load existing spending programs.

I still think it's likely to be June or July before the government and the People's Bank actually announce any new concrete stimulus programs.

But it sure looks like the market will anticipate those moves long before they actually materialize.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Sleep Well with Mattress Firm

Top 10 Small Cap Stocks To Buy For 2014

Our latest featured breakout stock recommendation is a Houston, Texas retailer of mattresses, with annual revenues of $1.2 billion, notes technical analyst Leo Fasciocco, editor of Ticker Tape Digest.

Mattress Firm Holding (MFRM) offers both traditional and specialty mattresses, bedding accessories, and related products. MFRM also offers bed frames, pillows, tempurpedic pillows, headboards, and memory foam mattresses.

The stock has broken out from an 11-week, cup-and-handle base. The move was triggered by the company upping its earnings forecast for the year.

MFRM reported earnings for the fourth quarter increased to 25 cents a share from 22 cents a year ago. The reported earnings topped the consensus estimate by one cent a share.

Analysts are forecasting 14% increase in MFRM's earnings for the fiscal year ending in January of 2015. They look for net of $1.90 a share, up from $1.66 in fiscal 2014. Going out to fiscal 2016, profits are expected to climb 19% to $2.25 a share.

The stock came public back in late 2011, trading around $22. It soared to a peak of $48 in 2012, before falling back sharply to $22. Since then, the stock has worked higher to get close to its prior peak.

We are targeting MFRM for a move to $54 off this breakout. A protective stop can be placed near $44.50.

A key fund buyer recently was the 4-star rated Wasatch Small-Cap Growth Fund which purchased 405,738 shares. That gave it a 1.2% stake in MFRM. The largest fund holder is Baron Small-Cap Retail Fund, 4-star rated, with a 4.4% stake.

Subscribe to Ticker Tape Digest here…

Monday, March 24, 2014

How to Profit From Rising Gold Prices

On December 18, the Federal Reserve announced that it was slowing down quantitative easing and would buy less Treasury and agency securities. This was the start of the much awaited "taper" that the markets had been expecting for a good portion of last year. Since that time, gold has significantly outperformed the S&P 500 index, a reversal from previous months in which the index outperformed gold.

GLD Chart

GLD data by YCharts

Why gold?
Gold's outperformance almost seems counter-intuitive. After all, one of the biggest arguments that gold bugs have presented is that the Fed's quantitative easing program is resulting in more fiat money circulating throughout the economy, leading to inflation. Gold is often used as a hedge against inflation.

Therefore, we would expect the price of gold to fall as quantitative easing comes to a close. But, that hasn't happened. Instead, the fundamentals for the yellow metal have taken over as demand for it has surged.

Gold trusts and ETFs
One of the easiest ways to profit off of a rising gold price is to buy shares in one of the various exchange-traded gold trusts. These are essentially closed-end funds that own physical gold bullion located in a vault. Each share of the trust represents a fractional ownership share of the physical bullion in the vault. Thus, these trusts could be an easy way to purchase gold exposure directly on an exchange. One example of a trust like this is the Sprott Physical Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: PHYS ) .

There are also ETFs available that track the price of gold. These differ from the pure gold trusts because they are open-ended. What this means is that the custodian stands ready to both issue and redeem new shares as market demand dictates. ETFs such as SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD ) also consist of physical gold bullion stored in a vault. However, it is not a fixed quantity. Instead, the fund buys more physical gold whenever the demand for its shares increases and it sells off some of this physical gold whenever demand for its shares decreases.

Senior gold miners
Another way to profit from rising gold prices is to invest in the producers. One advantage that investing in mining companies can have over the purchase of physical gold is the ability to derive cash flow from your investment. The only way to profit off of an investment in physical gold is to sell it for a higher price than what you bought it for. Mining companies, however, do generate cash, and in many cases the mining company returns some of this cash to investors in the form of a dividend. For example, Goldcorp (NYSE: GG ) , one of the largest gold miners in the world, pays a trailing dividend of $0.60 per share. This is a 2.10% yield at the current stock price.

For an investor looking to primarily bet on gold prices, it may make more sense to make a broader bet and invest in an ETF that owns shares in all the gold mining companies rather than trying to pick and choose between them. One ETF that does this is the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX ) . This ETF owns shares in the largest gold mining companies in the world, weighted by market cap.

Source: Yahoo Finance

The price of GDX tends to move with the price of gold. However, the ETF tends to make moves of a much greater magnitude, allowing the equivalent of leveraged exposure to gold prices without actually using leverage.

GLD Chart

GLD data by YCharts

Junior gold miners
It may be possible to profit further from a rising gold price by purchasing shares in smaller gold mining companies, termed junior gold miners. These mining companies are much smaller than the majors and many are much weaker financially. Therefore, junior gold miners are much riskier than the larger companies that make up GDX, so when gold prices fall, these companies tend to make a much larger downward move than in their larger peers.

GLD Chart

GLD data by YCharts

However, should gold continue to move upward then junior gold miners should deliver much greater returns than either physical gold or senior gold miners. This can be seen in the above price chart of the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDXJ ) , which has outperformed any of the other gold investments discussed in this article.

A good investment vs. a game-changing investment
There's a huge difference between a good stock and a stock that can make you rich. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for 2014, and it's one of those stocks that could make you rich. You can find out which stock it is in the special free report "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Euro Strength Could Spell Trouble For Struggling Economies

Related EWI Euro Moves As Investors Reevaluate ECB's Policy Decision Euro Gains Momentum

The euro pushed above $1.39, riding on a wave of momentum generated by last week's European Central Bank meeting. The common currency traded at $1.3938 at 5:50 GMT on Thursday morning as investors braced for what was likely to be disappointing data from China.

Recently, eurozone economic indicators have been good enough to keep the currency buoyant despite the weight of worries about a slowdown in China. Last week, ECB President Mario Draghi helped the currency improve after he reassured investors that the bloc's economic conditions did not warrant a policy change. Since that press conference, the euro has been trading near a two and a half year high against the dollar.

See also: #PreMarket Primer: Thursday, March 13: Chinese Data Misses The Mark

However, recent comments from several of the bloc's finance ministers show that the bank's decision was far from unanimous. The Wall Street Journal reported that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said that in his view, the region's interest rates are already too low. Schauble noted that this was a German perspective, where the nation's economy is ticking along at a steady pace. For some other eurozone nations, this may not be the case.

The bloc has long struggled with how to ensure that policy decisions trickle down to the economies that need them most.

Central Bank Governors in both France and Spain have said that the ECB may be forced to make a policy change at April's policy meeting. Both central bankers noted that the euro's current strength makes it difficult for struggling economies to remain competitive while also increasing the chances of dropping inflation.

Posted-In: European Central Bank Mario Draghi Wolfgang SchaeubleNews Eurozone Commodities Forex Global Federal Reserve Pre-Market Outlook Markets Best of Benzinga

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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Walmart Now Has 6 Types Of Stores

With the launch last week of a gas station/convenience store, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) now offers customers six different store formats to choose from, ranging from the Supercenters of up to 260,000 square feet to the 15,000 square-foot Walmart Express stores. The enormous big-box stores still dominate the landscape, but over the past several years the company has been looking at smaller formats, as a way to extend Walmart's brand footprint, pick up sales it is losing to smaller stores, and gain entry to markets in which they have previously been shut out.

In its annual report filed on March 21 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Walmart said that 56% of the company's total sales in 2014 came from grocery sales. Walmart U.S. President Bill Simon told an investor conference in early March that the weekly consumer trip to a supermarket to stock-up for the coming week is a $585 billion business in the U.S., and Walmart gets a 25% share of that business.

The quick-trip to a convenience store for a quart or milk or a six-pack of your favorite beverage is a $415 billion business in the U.S., and Walmart gets just 10% of those sales. That's a number the retailer would like to grow.

The backbone of the Walmart empire is the Supercenter. In its annual report, the company reported that it has 3,288 Supercenters in the U.S, an increase of 130 in the last year. The average size of a Supercenter is 179,000 square feet, and the stores offer both merchandise and groceries. Nearly all of these giant stores are open 24-hours a day.

The original big-box Walmart store is now called a Discount Store, and the company has been closing these stores or converting them to Supercenters for at least the last 5 years. In 2010, the company had 810 Discount Store; the number has shrunk to 508 in 2014. The average size is 105,000 square feet. The stores typically don't offer groceries and are open 14 or 15 hours a day every day of the week.

Walmart lumps its Neighborhood Markets and Walmart Express stores under a single category. The company has been opening these stores at about the same rate as it is opening Supercenters. The company claimed 190 stores in this category in 2010 and 407 in 2014. The average size is 40,000 square feet, and these stores carry a smaller selection of groceries and merchandise. The 20 U.S. Walmart Express stores average about 15,000 square feet. Hours are the same as the Discount Stores.

The company's Sam's Club warehouse stores are membership operations, and the stores average about 134,000 square feet. The numbers are growing, but very modestly from 605 in 2010 to 632 this year. The stores are open for 11 or 12 hours a day with additional hours for business members.

The gas station/convenience store is the sixth format, and a company executive has said that Walmart has no plans to roll-out the format further. That may well be true now, but never say never.

Walmart is also testing a drive-through pick-up option in some of its Denver-area stores. Customers can place an order online and pick it up later the same day. The company is even considering drive-in pick-up centers that are not attached to its Supercenters.

Another format being tested is 2,500-square foot Walmart on Campus convenience stores located on or near college campuses.

Selling groceries is what made Walmart's Supercenters both different and profitable. The lesson Walmart learned is that food sells better than anything else. If the company can sell food in small stores at the same price point as it sells food in its giant stores, it will have a price advantage over its competitors. The downside is that Walmart will probably need to open four or five of the small format stores for every Supercenter or Sam's Club it opens just to keep the volume up and make the small format stores worth the trouble.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Best Undervalued Companies To Own In Right Now

Best Undervalued Companies To Own In Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Lawrence Meyers]
This isn't some growing new industry set to take the world further into the 21st century. It's an old concept that hasn't innovated, won't innovate, and will slowly but surely die out over this century. When I walk into a Walgreens, I see a miniature Target (TGT), a more expensive Dollar Tree (DLTR), and a provider of prescriptions in a world where everything is becoming mail order.
[By Paul Ausick]
The other stock the firm likes is Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR). The company's shares have lost about 4.6% since reporting an earnings per share (EPS) miss for the third quarter and the Sterne Agee analysts see the lower price as a "great entry point" for buying the stock. Dollar Tree raised fiscal year 2013 EPS guidance from a range of $2.66 to $2.77 to a new range of $2.72 to $2.78, effectively raising the mid-point by $0.04. Sterne Agee reit! erated its Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $63. Dollar Tree's shares are trading down nearly 0.4% at $55.99 in a 52-week range of $37.47 to $60.19.
[By Ben Eisen]
Perpetually struggling department store J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) said it expects a sales boost this holiday season as it returns to a promotional strategy. But for the most part, retailers including Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR) , GameStop Corp. (GME) and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) gave dour outlooks in their earnings reports.
[By Paul Ausick]
Big Earnings Movers: Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is down 3.5% at $64.19. Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down 2.9% at $59.93 on a wider loss and tepid outlook. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up 14.1% at $70.57 indicating that investors liked the results posted after markets closed on Wednesday. Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is down 4.5% at $56.28. Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. (NYSE: ANF) is down 0.1% at $34.97.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-undervalued-companies-to-own-in-right-now.html

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Starbucks, Oprah team up for tea venture

First there was Oprah, the show. Then, O, the network. And now -- with an assist from Starbucks -- here comes Oprah, the tea.

Starbucks, in an unusual collaboration of mega-brand meets mega-star, is teaming up with the former talk show host turned global media baron to create Teavana Oprah Chai tea. The venture was announced on Wednesday at the coffee giant's annual meeting in Seattle.

Schultz shocked the Starbucks annual meeting audience -- a group that's quite accustomed through the years to seeing or listening to celebrity entertainers at its annual meetings -- by introducing Winfrey, then embracing her when she took the stage. The two proceeded to hold hands for several minutes while explaining why Winfrey chose Teavana as the first brand, product or company with which she's aligned herself.

"Starbucks is about nurturing the human spirit," said Winfrey to an admiring Schultz. "That is my goal in life and what my brand has become." Winfrey said that she's previously received -- and turned down -- opportunities to promote everything from cars to cosmetics to clothing. "None of that felt organic," she said. But, she added, the Starbucks Teavana brand did.

Schultz was no less enthusiastic. "With the introduction of Teavana Oprah Chai, we are going to elevate the tea experience in the same way we did for coffee."

Tea is a $90 billion global tea market. The only thing that people globally drink more of than tea is water. Even as Starbucks puts the brakes on new, domestic coffee shops, it can accelerate on teahouses. Starbucks hopes to open at least 1,000 more of its own Teavana bars (different than the retail shops currently open in many shopping malls) in North America and many more outside the U.S.

Last year, the company opened its first Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar in Manhattan. The store has museum-esque lighting and a huge "Wall of Tea" featuring a range of loose-leaf teas and tea blends. Another has since opened in Seattle -- and more are on tap in Chicago ! and Los Angeles, Schultz said.

Winfrey, who professes to be a tea-lover, personally developed the tea along with Teavana. The tea features an infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves. It will be available shortly before Mother's Day at Starbucks and Teavana stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Technically, it's not an endorsement deal. All proceeds that Winfrey makes will be given to youth education charities, she said.

Before leaving the stage, Schultz announced that all shareholders in the audience would go home with a sample of Oprah Chai.

Anybody can pitch perfume, Winfrey told the audience. But who else, she asked, can pitch Oprah Chai?

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Best Dow Dividend Stocks For 2014

Best Dow Dividend Stocks For 2014: Morgan Stanley (INR)

Morgan Stanley, incorporated on January 10, 1981, is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. The Company is a financial holding company. The Company operates in three segments: Institutional Securities, Global Wealth Management Group and Asset Management. The Company provides financial advisory and capital-raising services to a group of corporate and other institutional clients worldwide. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's Global Wealth Management Group had $1,649 billion in client assets. The Company's Asset Management business segment offers clients an array of equity, fixed income and alternative investments and merchant banking services. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has sold the majority of its global physical oil trading operations to Rosneft' NK OAO.

Institutional Securities

The Company provides financial advisory and capital-raising services primarily through wholly owned subsidiaries that include Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (MS&Co.), Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, and certain joint venture entities that include Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., Ltd. (MSMS) and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd. (MUMSS). The Company, primarily through these entities, also conducts sales and trading activities worldwide, as principal and agent, and provides related financing services on behalf of institutional investors. The Company manages and participates in public offerings and private placements of debt, equity and other securities worldwide. The Company is an underwriter of common stock, preferred stock and other equity-related securities, including convertible secur! ities and American depositary receipts (ADRs). The Company is also an underwriter of fix ed income securities, including investment-grade debt, non-i! nvestment-grade instruments, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, tax-exempt securities and commercial paper and other short-term securities.

The Company provides corporate and other institutional clients worldwide with advisory services on matters, such as mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, recapitalizations, spin-offs, exchange offers and leveraged buyouts and takeover defenses, as well as shareholder relations. The Company also provides advice concerning rights offerings, dividend policy, valuations, foreign exchange exposure, financial risk management strategies and financial planning. In addition, the Company provides advice and services regarding project financings and provides advisory services in connection with the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of real estate. The Company provides loans or lending commitments, including bridge financing, to selected corporate clients through its subsi diaries, including Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A (MSBNA).

The Company conducts sales, trading, financing and market-making activities on securities and futures exchanges and in over-the-counter (OTC) markets worldwide. The Company's Institutional Securities sales and trading activities consists of Equity Trading; Fixed Income and Commodities; Clients and Services; Research, and Investments. The Company acts as principal (including as a market-maker) and agent in executing transactions worldwide in equity and equity-related products, including common stock, ADRs, global depositary receipts and exchange-traded funds. The Company's equity derivatives sales, trading and market-making activities cover equity-related products worldwide, including equity swaps, options, warrants and futures overlying individual securities, indices and baskets of securities and other equity-re! lated pro! ducts. The Company also issues and makes a principal market in equity-linked products to institutional and individual investors.

The ! Company t! rades, invests and makes markets in fixed income securities and related products globally, including, among other products, investment and non-investment grade corporate debt, distressed debt, bank loans, the United States and other sovereign securities, emerging market bonds and loans, convertible bonds, collateralized debt obligations, credit, currency, interest rate and other fixed income-linked notes, securities issued by structured investment vehicles, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities and real estate-loan products, municipal securities, preferred stock and commercial paper, money-market and other short-term securities. The Company is a dealer of the United States federal government securities and a member of the selling groups that distribute various the United States agency and other debt securities. The Company is also a dealer or market-maker of government securities in European, Asian and emerging market countries.

The Company trades, invests and makes markets globally in listed futures and OTC swaps, forwards, options and other derivatives referencing, among other things, interest rates, currencies, investment grade and non-investment grade corporate credits, loans, bonds, the United States and other sovereign securities, emerging market bonds and loans, credit indexes, asset-backed security indexes, property indexes, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities and real estate loan products. The Company trades, invests and makes markets in foreign currencies, such as the British pound, Canadian dollar, euro, Japanese yen and Swiss franc, as well as in emerging markets currencies. The Company trades these currencies on a principal basis in the spot, forward, option and futures markets.

The Company advises on investment and liability strategies and assists corporations in their debt ! repurchas! es and tax planning. The Company invests and makes markets in the spot, forward, physical deriva tives and futures markets in several commodities, including ! metals (b! ase and precious), agricultural products, crude oil, oil products, natural gas, electric power, emission credits, coal, freight, liquefied natural gas and related products and indices. The Company is a market-maker in exchange-traded options and futures and OTC options and swaps on commodities, and offers counterparties hedging programs relating to production, consumption, reserve/inventory management and structured transactions, including energy-contract securitizations and monetization. The Company is an electricity power marketer in the United States and owns electricity-generating facilities in the United States and Europe.

The Company owns TransMontaigne Inc. and its subsidiaries, a group of companies operating in the refined petroleum products marketing and distribution business, and owns a minority interest in Heidmar Holdings LLC, which owns a group of companies that provide international marine transportation and the United States marine logistics servi ces. The Company provides financing services, including prime brokerage, which offers, among other services, consolidated clearance, settlement, custody, financing and portfolio reporting services to clients trading multiple asset classes. In addition, the Company's institutional distribution and sales activities are overseen and coordinated through Clients and Services.

The Company's research department (Research) coordinates worldwide across all of the Company's businesses and consists of economists, strategists and industry analysts who engage in equity and fixed income research activities and produce reports and studies on the United States and global economy, financial markets, portfolio strategy, technical market analyses, individual companies and industry developments. The Company from time to time makes investments that represent busin! ess facil! itation or other investing activities. From time to time, the Company may also make investments and capita l commitments to public and private companies, funds and oth! er entiti! es. The Company's Operations and Information Technology departments provide the process and technology platform that supports Institutional Securities sales and trading activity, including post-execution trade processing and related internal controls over activity from trade entry through settlement and custody, such as asset servicing.

Global Wealth Management Group

The Company's Global Wealth Management Group, which includes the Company's 51% interest in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Holdings LLC (MSSB), provides financial services to clients. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company had a network of more than 17,500 global representatives in approximately 765 locations. Global Wealth Management Group professionals serve individual investors and small-to-medium sized businesses and institutions with focus on ultra-high-net-worth, high-net-worth and affluent investors. Global representatives are located in branches across the United States. Outside the United States, Global Wealth Management Group offers financial services to clients in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Canada and Latin America.

The Company's Global Wealth Management Group provides clients with an array of financial solutions, including products and services from the Company, Citigroup Inc. (Citi) and third-party providers, such as insurance companies and mutual fund families. Global Wealth Management Group provides brokerage and investment advisory services covering various types of investments, including equities, options, futures, foreign currencies, precious metals, fixed income securities, mutual funds, structured products, alternative investments, unit investment trusts, managed futures, separately managed accounts and mutual fund asset allocation programs. Global Wealth Management Gr! oup also ! engages in fixed income principal trading, which primarily facilitates clients' trading or investments in such sec urities. In addition, Global Wealth Management Group offers ! education! savings programs, financial and wealth planning services, and annuity and other insurance products.

Global Wealth Management Group offers its clients access to several cash management services through various banks and other third parties, including deposits, debit cards, electronic bill payments and check writing, as well as lending products through affiliates, such as Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association (MS Private Bank) and MSBNA, including securities-based lending, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit. Global Wealth Management Group also provides trust and fiduciary services, offers access to cash management and commercial credit solutions to qualified small- and medium-sized businesses in the United States, and provides individual and corporate retirement solutions, including individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans and the United States and global stock plan services to corporate executives and businesses. Global Wealth Mana gement Group provides clients a variety of ways to establish a relationship and conduct business, including brokerage accounts with transaction-based pricing and investment advisory accounts with asset-based fee pricing.

Asset Management

The Company's portfolio managers located in the United States, Europe and Asia manage investment products ranging from money market funds to equity and fixed income strategies, alternative investment and merchant banking products in developed and emerging markets across geographies and market cap ranges. The Company offers a range of alternative investment, real estate investing and merchant banking products for institutional investors and high net worth individuals. The Company's alternative investments platform includes funds of hedge funds, funds of private equity funds and por! table alp! ha strategies. The Company's alternative investments platform also includes minority interest in Lansdowne Partners, Avenue Capital Group and Traxis Partners LP. The Company's real e! state and! merchant banking businesses include its real estate investing business, private equity funds, corporate mezzanine debt investing group and infrastructure investing group.

The Company acts as general partner of, and investment adviser to, its alternative investment, real estate and merchant banking funds. The Company provides investment management strategies and products to institutional investors worldwide, including corporations, pension plans, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and banks through a range of pooled vehicles and separate accounts. It also provides sub-advisory services to various unaffiliated financial institutions and intermediaries. The Company offers open-end and alternative investment funds and separately managed accounts to individual investors through affiliated and unaffiliated broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies, financial planners and other intermediaries. Closed-end funds managed by the Company are available to individual investors through affiliated and unaffiliated broker-dealers. The Company also distributes mutual funds through a range of retirement plan platforms. Internationally, the Company distributes traditional investment products to individuals outside the United States through distributors and distributes alternative investment products through affiliated broker-dealers and banks. The Company's Operations and Information Technology departments provide or oversee the process and technology platform required to support its asset management business. Support activities include transfer agency, mutual fund accounting and administration, transaction processing and certain fiduciary services on behalf of institutional, intermediary and high net worth clients.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jon C. Ogg! ] Market Vectors Indian Rupee/USD ETN (NYSEMKT: INR) and WisdomTree Indian Rupee (NYSEMKT: ICN) are both performing poorly as well in the currency exchange traded note (ETN) world, although their trading volume is too thin to monitor.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-dow-dividend-stocks-for-2014.html

Monday, March 17, 2014

Best Stocks For 2014

Best Stocks For 2014: Cencosud SA (CNCO)

Cencosud SA (Cencosud) is a Chile-based holding company primarily engaged in the retail sector. The Company's activities include the management and operation of a network of supermarkets, home centers, department stores and shopping malls, which operate under such names as Jumbo, Disco & Vea, Santa Isabel, Easy, Paris, Blaisten and GBarbosa, among others. The Company's business also comprises the provision of consumer financial services and insurance brokerage, as well as it operates family entertainment centers and a travel agency. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company has operations established in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. As of December 31, 2010, the Company was a 25.74%-owned affiliate of Inversiones Quinchamali Limitada.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Will Ashworth]
In terms of growth, Asia is where the company is achieving its greatest success. Operating joint ventures in China, India and Japan, Aegon’s gross deposits in new markets grew 31% in fiscal 2013 to $19.8 billion. Its underlying earnings before tax have grown 28% over the last two fiscal years, with fee-based earnings representing a much bigger part of its business than in the past. That's a good thing, because fee-based earnings don't have nearly the same bite if things go south than assets on your own balance sheet. Its operations outside of Europe are getting stronger, providing the diversification necessary to survive financial hiccups. As far as insurers go, AEG is one of the best cheap stocks worth owning.
Cheap Stocks to Buy: Cencosud S.A. (CNCO)
Cencosud is one of the largest retailers in Latin America. It operates grocery stores, home improvement stores and department stores in five countries including Chile, its home base. Its stock is down 51% over the past year for several reasons, including a deal falling through that would hav! e seen it sell 51% of its credit card operations in Chile and Argentina to Itau Unibanco (ITUB) and using the proceeds to reduce its heavy debt load. Add to that a major devaluation of the peso in Argentina, where it generates a quarter of its overall revenue, and you have investors in a full-on panic.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-stocks-for-2014-2.html

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Hot Value Stocks To Buy Right Now

Hot Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory m! anagement services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas .

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jim Jubak]
But it just doesn't seem to matter for Schlumberger (SLB). Schlumberger is a member of my Jubak's Picks portfolio.

On January 17, the oil services and technology company reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.35 a share, beating Wall Street estimates by two cents a share. Earnings grew by 29.8% year over year.
[By Editor , DividendChannel.com]
ENB operates in the Oil & Gas Equipment & Services sector, among companies like Schlumberger (SLB), and Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD).

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-value-stocks-to-buy-right-now-2.html