Best Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now

The fallout from Detroit's bankruptcy filing has investors - and even ratings agencies - questioning the validity of the bond rating system.

Now investors need to know if it can be fixed in a way that actually helps those investing in general obligation (GO) bonds.

In June, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr sent the financial equivalent of a nuclear blast through the muni bond markets when he stated that holders of Detroit's GO bonds - whose holdings total roughly $600 million - will be lumped together with other unsecured creditors who collectively account for $11 billion in city obligations.

Historically, GO bonds were seen as the safest form of municipal debt. That's because historically municipalities would raise taxes, cut services - do anything - rather than force losses on bondholders.

"The bottom line is, Orr said that these bonds are unsecured, which potentially forces a loss on these investments," explains Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald. "If that's the case, then here we go: those formerly secured debts are in fact no safer than junk bonds. Which means, all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, all the ratings on municipalities everywhere are suspect."

Best Blue Chip Companies To Watch In Right Now: Web.com Group Inc(WWWW)

Web.com Group, Inc. provides Internet services for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in North America, South America, and the United Kingdom. It provides .com, .net, .co, .org, and .info domains, as well as domain services, including domain name registration, domain name transfers, domain name renewal, domain expiration protection, and domain privacy services; develops and supports a subscription Web service package that includes the tools and functionality necessary for a business to create and maintain online presence, as well as provide tutorials and tools for customers to edit and manage their sites. The company?s primary Do It For Me subscription offering comprise eWorks! XL, which provides domain name registration, initial site design, technical support, Webmail, online Web tools, and Internet scorecard; custom Website design services comprising map and directions pages, external links pages, Website statistics, database applications, password security, and e mail services; and social media and call center services. It also provides various Do-It-Yourself Website building and marketing solutions for SMBs, such as hosting services, Website design tools, email marketing tools, and LogoYes design and brand building tools. In addition, the company offers online marketing services, including search engine optimization, local and national search engine marketing, subscription-based services, budget-based search engine marketing, and click search engine marketing services; lead generation services consisting of Leads by Web.com to contractors, homebuilders, and remodeling professionals; and eCommerce merchant services. Web.com Group, Inc. markets its products and services through outbound and inbound telesales, online channel, affiliate network and private label partners, distribution partners, resellers, and direct sales. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Web.com Group (NASDAQ: WWWW) shares tumbled 21.63 percent to $15.87 after the company reported Q3 earnings of $0.63 per share on revenue of $143.80 million and announced a $100 million stock repurchase authorization. JP Morgan downgraded Web.com Group from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $35.00 to $20.00.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Worldwide bargain?
  Lower and lower it goes; where Web.com Group's (NASDAQ: WWWW  ) bottom is, nobody knows.

  Shares of Web.com Group, a supplier of Internet-based solutions such as hosting, website design and management, and search engine optimization for small businesses, have gone cliff diving following the company's last two earnings reports and are off about 50% from their all-time high set in March.

Best Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now: 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 Canadian Value]

  Financials were hit extremely hard during the 2008��009 financial crisis, and US and European bank valuations plunged to levels only seen twice before in the past 120 years, notably during the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Inflation Crisis of the 1970s. Over the past few years, many banks have rebuilt their balance sheets, altered their business mixes and cut costs. Financial valuations have tracked returns very closely, and both have recovered from the lows reached in mid-2011. We do not believe return on equity (ROE) will likely recover to prior peaks, but our analysis shows that bank holdings have potential to improve further, particularly as business conditions begin to normalize and lending activities (at some point in the cycle) resume.

Best Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MTU)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFJ), incorporated on April 2, 2001, is a holding company for The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUTB), Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co., Ltd. (MUSHD), Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd.( MUMSS), Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS Co., Ltd. (Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS) and other companies engaged in a range of financial businesses. Its services include commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, leasing and fields of financial services. In May 2010, the Company and Morgan Stanley formed two joint ventures in Japan by integrating our respective Japanese securities companies engaged in investment banking and securities businesses. The Company converted the wholesale and retail securities businesses conducted in Japan by the former MUS into one of the joint venture entities, which is named MUMSS. Morgan Stanley contributed the investment banking operations conducted in Japan by its formerly wholly owned subsidiary, Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (MSJS) into MUMSS and converted the sales and trading and capital markets businesses conducted in Japan by MSJS into a second joint venture entity called Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, Co., Ltd.

Integrated Retail Banking Business Group

The Integrated Retail Banking Business Group covers all domestic retail businesses, including commercial banking, trust banking and securities businesses, and enables the Company to offer a range of banking products and services, including financial consulting services, to retail customers in Japan. This business group integrates the retail business of BTMU, MUTB and MUMSS, as well as retail product development, promotion and marketing in a single management structure. Many of its retail services are offered through its network of MUFG Plazas providing individual customers with access to its financial product offerings of integrated commercial b! anking, trust banking and securities services.

The Company offers a range of bank deposit products, including a non-interest-bearing deposit account that is redeemable on demand and intended for payment and settlement functions, and is insured without a maximum amount limitation. It also offers a variety of asset management and asset administration services to individuals, including savings instruments, such as current accounts, ordinary deposits, time deposits, deposits at notice and other deposit facilities. MUFJ also offers trust products, such as loan trusts and money trusts, and other investment products, such as investment trusts, performance-based money trusts and foreign currency deposits.

The Company creates portfolios by combining savings instruments and investment products. It also provide a range of asset management and asset administration products, as well as customized trust products for high-net-worth individuals, as well as advisory services relating to the purchase and disposal of real estate and effective land utilization, and testamentary trusts. The Company provides a varied line up of investment trust products allowing its customers to choose products according to their investment needs through BTMU, MUTB and MUMSS, as well as kabu.com Securities, which specializes in online financial services. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, BTMU offered a total of five investment trusts. As of the end of March 2010, BTMU offered its clients a total of 73 investment trusts.

The Company offers securities, including publicly offered stocks, foreign and domestic investment trusts, Japanese government bonds, foreign bonds and various other products. The Company offers housing loans, card loans and other loans to individuals. With respect to housing loans, in addition to housing loans incorporating health insurance for seven major illnesses, BTMU began offering in June 2009 preferential interest rates under its Environmentally Friendly Support program ! to custom! ers who purchase environment-conscious houses (like houses with solar electric systems), which meet specific criteria in response to increasing public interest in environmental issues. In September 2009, BTMU launched housing loans with home mortgage insurance, which BTMU jointly developed with the Japan Housing Finance Agency, a governmental agency under the Japanese government�� economic stimulus measures, under which the agency indemnifies BTMU for losses from housing loans.

The Company offers products and services through a range of channels, including branches, automated teller machines (ATMs) (including convenience store ATMs shared by multiple banks), Mitsubishi-Tokyo UFJ Direct (telephone, Internet and mobile phone banking), the Video Counter and postal mail. It offers integrated financial services combining its banking, trust banking and securities services at MUFG Plazas. These Plazas provide retail customers with integrated and flexible suite of services at one-stop outlets. As of March 31 2010, the Company provided those services through 47 MUFG Plazas. The Company offers MUTB�� trust related products and advisory services through its trust agency system not only for MUTB customers but also for BTMU and MUMSS customers. As of March 31, 2010, BTMU engaged in eight businesses as the trust banking agent for MUTB: testamentary trusts, inheritance management, asset succession planning, inheritance management agency operations, business management financial consulting, lifetime gift trusts, share disposal trusts, and marketable securities administration trusts.

Integrated Corporate Banking Business Group

The Integrated Corporate Banking Business Group covers all domestic and overseas corporate businesses, including commercial banking, investment banking, trust banking and securities businesses, as well as UnionBanCal Corporation (UNBC). UNBC is a wholly owned subsidiary of BTMU and a US bank holding company with Union Bank being its primary subsidiary. T! he Compan! y provides various financial solutions, such as loans and fund management, remittance and foreign exchange services. It also helps its customers develop business strategies, such as inheritance-related business transfers and stock listings.

It offers advanced financial solutions to companies through corporate and investment banking services. Product specialists globally provide derivatives, securitization, syndicated loans, structured finance and other services. It also provides investment banking services, such as merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory, bond and equity underwriting. It provides online banking services that allow customers to make domestic and overseas remittances electronically. It also provides a global cash pooling/netting service, and the Treasury Station, a fund management system for a multi-company group. The Company�� global Corporate and Investment Banking business (Global CIB), primarily serves companies, financial institutions, and sovereign and multinational organizations with a set of solutions for their financing needs.

Integrated Trust Assets Business Group

The Integrated Trust Assets Business Group covers asset management and administration services for products, such as pension trusts and security trusts by integrating the trust banking expertise of MUTB and the international strengths of BTMU. The business group provides a range of services to corporate and pension funds, including stable and secure pension fund management and administration, advice on pension schemes, and payment of benefits to scheme members. Its Integrated Trust Assets Business Group combines MUTB�� trust assets business, comprising trust assets management services, asset administration and custodial services, and the businesses of Mitsubishi UFJ Global Custody S.A., Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., Ltd. and KOKUSAI Asset Management Co., Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Japan climbed at the start of trade Tuesday, as U.S. dollar strength against the yen aided the export-oriented market. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) advanced 1% to 14,431.03, and the broader Topix rose 1.5% to 1,201.63, with the greenback moving back above the 楼102 level versus Japan's currency. Among exporters, stock in Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) rose 1.6%, Mazda Motor Corp. (JP:7261) (MZDAF) tacked on 1.5%, and Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) gained 1.4%. Banking stocks were higher ahead of the conclusion of the Bank of Japan's meeting later Tuesday, and officials are not expected to announce any changes in monetary policy. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (JP:8306) (MTU) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (JP:8316) (SMFG) were each up by 1.7%.

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  And though Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) has already tacked on an impressive 55% return since last November, there is still upside as Japan squeezes out a bit more growth and as the yen continues to trade at deep discounts to the Euro or the U.S. dollar.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306:JP) in Japan or (MTU) in New York, kept on tumbling yesterday, despite unexpectedly positive earnings for the third quarter. Net income climbed to 255 billion yen ($2.5 billion) in the three months ended on December 31. That was a 5.4% increase from the December quarter of 2012, and beat the average estimate of 200 billion yen, by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The bank is now 86% of the way to its profit target for fiscal year that ends on March 31, 2014.

• [By Jim Jubak, Senior Markets Editor, MoneyShow.com]

  The one currency that is running against the weak dollar tide is the Japanese yen. The yen initially climbed on the Fed's no taper decision—rising to 97.75 on the news—but then fell all the way back to 99 yen to the dollar and finished yesterday at 99.42. (Remember that since the yen is quoted in yen to the dollar, a higher number is a sign of a weak yen and a smaller number means the yen is getting stronger.) The thinking seems to be that the recent Japanese trade deficit will push the Bank of Japan to further weaken the yen, in order to boost Japanese exports. I continue to think that the yen will finish 2013 at weaker levels than current trading, and that leads me to continue to hold positions in Japanese stocks such as Toyota Motor (TM) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MTU). Both stocks are members of my Jubaks Picks portfolio.

Best Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now: SunCoke Energy Inc (SXC)

SunCoke Energy, Inc. (SunCoke), incorporated on December 8, 2010, is an independent producer of coke, a principal raw material in the integrated steelmaking process. The Company has United States cokemaking operations in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. Outside the United States, SunCoke has cokemaking operations in Vitoria, Brazil and Odisha, India. The Company�� coal mining operations, which have more than 110 million tons of proven and probable reserves, are located in Virginia and West Virginia. In January 2012, SunCoke Energy, Inc. was spun off from Sunoco, Inc.

The Company has designed, developed and built, and owned and operated five cokemaking facilities in the United States (U.S.) and designed and operate one cokemaking facility in Brazil under licensing and operating agreements on behalf of its customer. The cokemaking facility operated in Brazil has cokemaking capacity of approximately 1.7 million tons of coke per year. As of December 31, 2012, its mining area consisted of 13 active underground mines and two active surface and highwall mine in Russell and Buchanan Counties in Virginia and McDowell County, West Virginia. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� coal mining production was 1.5 million ton.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned approximately 66 acres in Vansant (Buchanan County), Virginia, on which the Jewell coke making facility is located, along with an additional 2,550 acres. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned approximately 250 acres in Russell County, Virginia owned by the HKCC Companies. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned approximately 400 acres in Franklin Furnace (Scioto County), Ohio. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned approximately 41 acres in Granite City (Madison County), Illinois, adjacent to the U.S. Steel Granite City Works facility. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned approximately 250 acres in Middletown (Butler County), Ohio near AK Steel�� Middletown Works facility. The Company leas! ed approximately 88 acres of land located in East Chicago (Lake County), Indiana. As of December 31, 2012, the Company leased approximately 22 acres of land located in Buchanan County, Virginia The Company owns and operates coal mining operations in Virginia and West Virginia that sold approximately 1.3 million tons of metallurgical coal (including internal sales to its cokemaking operations) and 0.2 million tons of thermal coal in 2012. During the year ended December 31, 2012, 69% of the coal the Company sold was used at its Jewell cokemaking facility and 8% was used at its other domestic cokemaking facilities. In addition, through its Jewell coal affiliates and the HKCC Companies, the Company lease small parcels of land, mineral rights and coal mining rights for approximately 127 thousand acres of land in Buchanan and Russell Counties, Virginia and McDowell County, West Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Buy restructuring stories, including Buy-rated [SunCoke Energy (SXC)]. We see high potential that SXC drops down coke-making assets from the parent to its MLP in 1Q2014, as suggested by management commentary.

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  In a note published Friday, Goldman analysts Neil Mehta and Vinit Joshi issued a mix of outlooks for the batter coal sector, among them Buy ratings on CONSOL Energy (CNX) and SunCoke Energy (SXC) and a Sell on Arch Coal (ACI).