Time to Get Offensive on Consumer Staples

It may be time to go on the offensive on the defensive consumer staples sector, as the charts suggest a minimum upside target that’s 5% above current levels, and potentially a lot more.

Robert Sluymer, managing director of U.S. technical research at RBC Capital Markets, recommends investors “increase exposure” to the sector, because the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector exchange-traded fund (XLP) has produced bullish breakouts on multiple technical fronts.

1) The XLP has broken through the top of a “rectangle” consolidation pattern. The XLP had been stuck within a range of $39 to $42 since April, with multiple tests of the upper and lower boundaries. The XLP was up 0.7% at $42.85 midday Tuesday, after running up 1.3% on Monday.

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Mr. Sluymer said he’s also encouraged that the XLP’s rally started from the 200-day moving average, after multiple failures earlier in the month to get below that longer-term trend proxy.

2) The weekly Moving Average Convergence/Divergence indicator, or MACD, produced a bullish crossover this week, which Sluymer said suggests “weekly momentum [is] bottoming.”

The last time the MACD produced a bullish crossover was late January, just as the XLP was breaking out of a five-month consolidation range. The XLP rose 14% over the next four months.

Analyzing Blue-Chip Stocks

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Some investors love nothing more than finding up-and-coming stocks that might make them a fortune overnight. Others are more interested in steady growth and the ability to sleep soundly at night. For those who fall into the more cautious group, blue-chip stocks hold special appeal. They probably won't soar in value, but they boast a solid track record and tend to carry less risk than other equities.

So what are blue chips, exactly? Exact definitions vary, but the term generally applies to large, established corporations with a strong management team and consistent earnings growth. Think McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), Coca Cola (NYSE:KO) and technology giant IBM (NYSE:IBM), just to name a few.

Many of these firms have paid a dividend for decades, which is an enticing feature for investors seeking a more immediate return on their investment. And while these payouts aren't always huge, they tend to be more predictable than increases in share price.

Here are some tips for evaluating a blue-chip stock and finding out whether it's a good addition to your portfolio.

The Fundamentals

Blue chips by definition have a strong reputation, but that doesn't mean they're all created equal. Often, the first thing seasoned investors will do is look at the company's fundamentals to figure out whether it's on solid footing. Are corporate profits growing consistently? Is it valued fairly? Does the business rely heavily on debt to fuel its operations? These are some of the basic questions you'll want to figure out before making a purchase.

A typical starting point is the organization's earnings per share, or EPS. While present-day performance isn't always a great measure of value – consider a promising young tech company, for example – blue chip businesses should ordinarily record a healthy profit. Of particular importance is whe! ther the company is finding a way to increase profits over time and therefore boost shareholder value. Some financial news sources report the EPS growth rate over a set number of years, which helps uncover the firm's overall trajectory. Such data is most useful when compared to other Fortune 500 businesses, particularly those in the same sector. This allows for a true apples-to-apples comparison.

Investors can use this earnings information to help determine whether the current per-share price represents a good deal. The most common way to do so is by finding the price-to-earnings ratio, which is readily available online. A lower P/E ratio is better, as it indicates an attractive share price in relation to corporate earnings.

While the P/E ratio can be helpful, there are dangers to over-emphasizing it, too. Here's why: The earnings figure reported at the bottom of the income statement reflects cash transactions (e.g. labor and raw material costs) as well as accounting maneuvers like depreciation expenses. It also factors in one-time expenses, such as the sale of a major asset. These can obscure the broader picture of the enterprise.

The company's actual cash flow numbers are harder to manipulate, making them an important tool for the discriminating investor. Businesses with more "free cash flow" – what's left after paying operating and capital expenses – have more flexibility to market their products and invest in key projects. Fortunately, you don't have to scour the cash flow statement to find what you need. Many websites publish the price-to-free cash flow ratio, which can be used along with the P/E ratio to get a handle on pricing. The higher the price-to-free cash flow ratio, the more expensive the company is considered.

Too Much Debt?

When it comes to blue-chip stocks, perhaps the biggest draw is the sense of security that they offer investors. Naturally, the last thing anyone wants to do is put their money into an established, big-name firm, onl! y to lear! n that the company is drowning in debt. To minimize your risk, it's always a good idea to look at the corporation's overall capital structure. Doing so will help you determine whether the company is fueling its growth through earnings, or growing mainly through borrowing.

There are several useful formulas to help determine how much the company has borrowed relative to its size. One of the best is the long-term debt-to-equity ratio. Lower numbers represent less dependence on borrowing, indicating a smaller barrier to profit growth moving forward. Again, figures can vary from one industry to the next, so comparing similar businesses will bring the most accurate results.

Just as significant as the amount of borrowing is the company's ability to actually service its debt. After all, how the debt is structured has a big impact on the company's financials. The debt-service coverage ratio is a handy tool for figuring out how the business handles its payments. Simply take net operating income and divide by the total debt service (interest plus principal payments for the period). Anything under "1" indicates a negative cash flow, which is usually a warning sign of potential trouble ahead.

Sizing Up P&G

Let's look at a well-known consumer products company, Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), whose numerous brands include Tide, Oral-B and Bounty. As of October 22, 2013, the firm offers a more attractive P/E ratio than two of its main competitors, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB). At just over 20, it's hard to call P&G a "steal." Still, the figure is in line with many other blue chips.

P&G's slightly higher price-to-free cash flow number is of some concern, although it's certainly within the same ballpark as the other two firms. It's also worth noting that the company is projected to offer a stronger dividend yield than Colgate-Palmolive, which means that more of P&G's cash is being handed back to investors, which ac! tually in! flates the price-to-free cash ratio somewhat.

Another factor in Procter & Gamble's favor is its low level of long-term debt. While too little borrowing can in some cases actually hinder a company, maintaining a modest debt load will help the company retain more of its operating income going forward.

Based on this information, the consensus among securities analysts leaned slightly toward the 'buy' side of the spectrum.

Table 1

A look at Procter & Gamble and two of its competitors in the consumer staples category, Colgate-Palmolive and Kimberly-Clark, as of October 22, 2013.

	Procter & Gamble	Colgate-Palmolive	Kimberly-Clark
EPS 5-year growth rate	2.54	10.02	1.58
P/E ratio	20.44	26.02	21.04
Price-to-free cash flow ratio	49.76	41.26	44.07
Dividend yield	3.05	2.18	3.28
Long term debt-to-equity ratio	28.08	328.67	135.74

The Intangibles

Of course, financial statements only reveal part of a company's story. They can't tell you whether the company has a sustainable competitive advantage in a particular area or if it's about to unveil a game-changing new technology (consider how the introduction of the iPhone changed Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL) value in the blink of an eye).

Investors who want to find a good stock should spend just as much time reading company news as they do looking at regulatory documents. What is the business doing to gain market share? How responsive is it to changing customer needs? How is it positioned for future business cycles?

One of the characteristics of P&G, and the consumer staples segment as a whole, is the reputation for being a "defensive" industry. This means that it tends to be relatively safe during economic downturns due to consistent demand for household products. However, it also has less growth potential when the economy surges.

The company's management team plays a big role in shaping the future of the organization. Knowing who the key players are and what their vision is can be valuable. The market had an instant reaction, for example, when P&G said it was bringing back its one-time CEO, A.G. Lafley, on May 24, 2013. The executive, who led the company into emerging markets in Asia and Latin America and invested in new high-margin products during his original tenure, carries a reputation for innovation that investors clearly desired. By the end of trading on the day of the announcement, shares had increased 4%.

The Bottom Line

Blue chip companies receive more attention than other businesses, so it's hard to find one that's extremely undervalued. But doing a little homework will help you identify well-priced stocks that will provide steady growth and peace of mind over a long period of time.

MAKO Surgical - Rebuilding Credibility, But They Need To Rebuild More Knees

When I last wrote on MAKO Surgical (MAKO), I thought investors would be well-served by slowly building a multi-part position. With the stock up 38% since that piece (and 43% over the last three months), I'm feeling relatively good about that call. What's more, MAKO management has helped itself and rebuilt some credibility with the Street when it comes to guidance and financial performance. With the shares back in the mid-teens, it's going to take better utilization numbers for me to get more excited about the shares, and the trend there is not nearly so positive.

Doing What It Needed To In Q2

MAKO's fiscal second quarter was what I'd call "workmanlike" - the company's procedure count and system placement guidance were enough to cheer the Street immediately afterwards, and the company's cash burn seems to be on a reasonable trajectory.

Revenue rose 19% as reported, with system revenue basically flat (about 30% of the total) and procedure revenue up 26%. Although these numbers were below the average estimates, it wasn't a particularly large miss.

On the margin side, gross margin fell about 14 points as reported, but an inventory charge tied to the company's hip business was largely responsible. Net of the charge, gross margin would have been around 74%, slightly higher than a year ago. Although the company posted a larger operating loss for the quarter, it looks like here too the company would have been flat if not for the impact of the excise tax and inventory write-down. I'm normally pretty harsh with companies that indulge in a lot of "well, if you exclude, this, this, and that..." massaging, but in this case I think it's relevant as the company actually is doing a pretty good job of controlling underlying voluntary expenses.

But Utilization Is Still Troubling...

The financials are as far as I go in making excuses for MAKO, as I think the company's utilization experience is still worrisome.

MAKO saw 26% more procedures than last ! year and 10% more than in the first quarter, which absolutely blows away the "flat to up a little" growth reported by major ortho recon companies like Biomet, Stryker (SYK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Zimmer (ZMH). Unfortunately, utilization was still down year-on-year, and that continues a troubling trend.

By my calculations (which are different than the company's reported numbers, but directionally similar), overall utilization declined 9% from last year and rose 5% sequentially. Knee utilization continues to decline, dropping another 14% and marking six straight negative/non-positive quarters. On a brighter note, hip procedures more than doubled from the year-ago period (and rose almost one-quarter sequentially), with utilization jumping about 50%.

All told, my calculations suggest that MAKO's system is used less than seven times per month per user (MAKO's own numbers say 7.0 times per month). Clearly that's not enough utilization to drive additional system sales to existing clients, something that has very definitely benefited Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) over the years. Moreover, my due diligence with docs suggests that there's still a significant "feast or famine" lumpiness to the utilization - some facilities/docs use it often, others use it only in cases where the doctor believes that there are other factors in play that would make a partial knee replacement or hip procedure too risky without the system.

… Despite Good Data

What makes the MAKO experience more frustrating is that the data on the system are good for both knees and hips. The "MAKO vs. Oxford" study showed statistically significant improvements in accuracy, alignment, and post-op pain, as well as a significant increase in the number of patients achieving a functional score of 160 or better (57% versus 31%). Given that the inclusion criteria for the study didn't seem all that unusual, it's disappointing that MAKO's own installed base doesn't use the system more than they! do.

In any case, the data are good for both knees and hips, as a recent hip study showed the outcome benefits for avoiding cup misalignment in hip procedures. The key now is marketing that data and selling the physicians on it. Although hospitals have been pushing back hard on implant and instrument prices, MAKO's per-procedure cost is not uncompetitive, so it really should come down to simply convincing doctors that the procedure is worth doing.

That's not necessarily the simplest task when companies like Zimmer, Biomet, JNJ, and Stryker (SYK)

continue to push hard with their own tools and cutting guides (which are, for the most part, more familiar to docs and less challenging to their egos). What's more, many orthos prefer to stick with the hip and knee implants that they're familiar with, and that can be an obstacle to adoption. Likewise, unicondylar knee implants are still a "niche" procedure for many facilities and physicians.

Absent Better Usage, This Is Far Enough For Now

MAKO's performance since January has led me to raise my fair value estimate, but not by a very significant amount. I'm still looking for 18-19% long-term revenue growth, which is a bit below the implied growth (21%) if MAKO can get 20% share of its addressable markets. Likewise, I still look for MAKO to deliver a mid-teens free cash flow margin in 2017 and move into the low 20%'s a few years after that.

All told, and including the full impact of options in the sharecount, I think MAKO's fair value is a bit above $14 today. Likewise, the company's 4.6x multiple to 2014 revenue is already in the range that growth med-tech stories get these days, though clearly names like Heartware (HTWR) and Novadaq (NVDQ) show that there's plenty of upside there if MAKO can reach that next level of growth.

The Bottom Line

At this point, I'm not too worried about competitors like BlueBelt's Navio, though I can see how/why that company's open system (which allows doctors to use the implant of their ! choice) w! ould unnerve some investors. Instead, I think there's still work to be done in convincing doctors (and marketing to patients) that partial knee replacements and robot-assisted hip procedures are worthwhile.

Given the rebound in the shares already seen so far, I'm not inclined to jump in here, but I wouldn't rule out a run into the high teens if those knee utilization figures can beat estimates and turn around over the next few quarters.

Source: MAKO Surgical - Rebuilding Credibility, But They Need To Rebuild More Knees

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

6 Billion Reasons Vodafone Connects

The recent investments made by the world's second-largest mobile telecommunications company have caused a swell of investor excitement. Royston Wild of The Motley Fool UK shares several reasons he feels this stock is set to skyrocket well into the long-term.

Project Spring program boosts earnings prospects

Vodafone's (LSS:VOD) (NQ:VOD) recent purchase of Kabel Deutschland (LES:0MPU) (OP:KBDHF) has caused a ripple of excitement among investors, the firm's maiden foray into the lucrative multi-services entertainment sphere, providing bubbly earnings potential. This has seen news of Vodafone's Project Spring organic investment program take the back seat, but I believe that the gigantic 6bnp scheme also has the potential to turbocharge revenues in coming years.

Vodafone announced the massive investment scheme after agreeing to offload its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications (VZ) for USD130bn in September. The three-year plan will enable the company "to strengthen and accelerate our existing Vodafone 2015 strategy," the company said, "enabling us to take even greater advantage of the growing global demand for ubiquitous high-speed data."

Specifically, the firm plans to plow these vast sums into 4G, 3G, fiber, and broadband services, clearly massive growth areas for communications specialists across the globe.

Vodafone's operations in these areas continue to pull up trees, particularly in respect of rolling out its 4G technology across the UK. The business has signed up 100,000 customers since rollout in August, as of the start of the month, and is stepping up the number of cities which can access its new technology. Vodafone is also boosting its 4G services on the continent, and increased the speed of its LTE network in various cities in Germany to an industry-busting 150Mbps in recent months.

Vodafone's excellent growth potential has seen takeover speculation ratchet up in recent months, and I expect chatter to provide an extra catalyst to share prices sooner rather than later. Recently, broker Credit Suisse said that Vodafone has a 50% chance of being acquired by US telecoms giant AT&T (T). And the broker attached a 280p price target should a bid materialize, providing a 22% premium to current levels.

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Now that Vodafone has unattached itself from its Verizon Wireless venture in North America, the telecoms company has become a prime target in, what is becoming, an increasingly frantic industry on the M&A front. But whether or not a takeover approach actually materializes, I believe that Vodafone offers enough growth potential to send shares rocketing higher.

Royston does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has recommended shares in Vodaphone.

Read more from The Motley Fool UK here...

Electronic Arts Stock: Here's What EA Needs to Thrive

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA  ) has announced notable third-party content deals over the past two months, including contracts with Disney (NYSE: DIS  ) for developing Star Wars games, and with Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS  ) to bring popular board games to mobile platforms.

But Electronic Arts needs to focus more on developing fresh original content to change its reputation as a company that puts out less-than-polished, uninspired titles and sequels, says Fool contributor Steve Symington in the following interview with the Fool's Alison Southwick.

What do you think? Is EA's current title lineup enough to revitalize Electronic Arts' stock, or are there better investment options out there? Please watch the full video below to get Steve's take, and then weigh in using the comments section below.

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Scramble seen for Apple’s latest iPad mini

Get ready to line up again if you want one of the new iPads that Apple is expected to unveil Oct. 22.

CEO Tim Cook and his lieutenants will be in San Francisco that day to announce a slew of refreshed gadgets before the crucial holiday shopping season gets underway. Top billing is expected to be a new iPad mini with the crisper "Retina" display that is already on the bigger tablets.

However, Apple manufacturers have reportedly struggled to make a lot of the smaller Retina displays, so supplies of the new tablet may be limited. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek reckons there may be as few as two to five million new iPad minis available when they hit stores, likely in early November. That could produce another scramble as Apple fans try to get one before they sell out.

"It's not a bad thing for Apple to have people lined up at their stores and have products in short supply," said Van Baker, lead Apple analyst at research firm Gartner. "It can damage the business if it persists, but for a short period of time limited supply creates more excitement and buzz and more people want the product."

Apple needs all the excitement it can muster because the company's share of the tablet market has been sliding as cheaper tablets running Google's Android operating system become more popular.

Android will have 49.6% of the worldwide tablet sector this year, while Apple will have 48.6% -- making 2013 the first year Android will lead, according to Gartner estimates. In 2011, Apple's share was almost two-thirds and Android was below 30%.

A revived iPad line is crucial for Apple because Wall Street has begun to think of the company as a "one product" story again, Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes, wrote in a recent note to investors.

Apple seemed to address this issue in the invitation it sent out for the Oct. 22 event, saying "We still have a lot to cover." That was interpreted as either a hint that a new type of iPad cover is coming, or that the company will unveil lots of new products.

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"It may be more the latter," Baker said. "There are more things to talk about."

In addition to the new iPad mini, Apple is likely to release a new version of its larger iPad. Misek expects this to be about 20% thinner and 30% to 50% lighter.

Apple may also unveil a new line of MacBook Pro laptops that will have Intel's Haswell chips inside to help increase battery life.

The company may also release details of its new OS X Mavericks operating system and roll out a new Mac Pro desktop computer.

Misek also said Apple might unveil a software developer kit, or SDK, for its Apple TV set-top box. This would let developers write applications for the platform, possibly as a stepping-stone to an eventually iTV product from the company.

Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Capital spending across the oil and gas industry varies tremendously depending on how aggressively a company is targeting production growth. Exploration companies can easily outspend cash flow to grow production which requires them to consistently access the capital markets to bridge the gap. The need to spend aggressively isn't surprising when you consider the vast sums of capital required to develop shale plays. As you can see on the chart below, onshore oil and gas companies will need to spend an average of $70 billion per year for the next 30 years just on the top nine plays.

Source: Vanguard Natural Resources Investor Presentation (link opens a PDF)

This has resources E&P companies like SandRidge Energy (NYSE: SD  ) and Oasis Petroleum (NYSE: OAS  ) spending aggressively to grow production in emerging resource plays like the Mississippi Lime and Bakken Shale. Both companies outspent cash flow as measured by adjusted EBITDA on capital projects by nearly two times last year. That's actually fairly in line with a lot of the industry's junior oil and gas resources players, as you can see on the following slide:

Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: New Energy Technologies Inc (NENE.PK)

New Energy Technologies, Inc., incorporated on May 5, 1998, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in renewable and alternative energy business. The Company conducts its operations through two wholly owned subsidiaries: Kinetic Energy Corporation (KEC), Sungen Energy, Inc. and New Energy Solar Corporation (New Energy Solar). The Company focuses on the development of two technologies: MotionPower Technology for capturing the kinetic energy of moving vehicles to generate electricity, and SolarWindow Technology, which enables see-through glass windows to generate electricity by spraying glass surfaces with its electricity-generating coatings to their glass surface. It has filed 10 patent applications for inventions related to its MotionPower Technology and one for its SolarWindow Technology. As of June 21, 2012, it had no commercial products. As of June 21, 2012, the Company had no revenues.

SolarWindow

The Company�� SolarWindow products in development are designed to generate electricity on glass while remaining see-through. It has six product development goals for its SolarWindow technology: SolarWindow - Commercial, which is a flat glass product for installation in new commercial towers under construction and replacement windows; SolarWindow - Structural Glass, which is a structural glass walls and curtains for tall structures; SolarWindow - Architectural Glass, which is a textured and decorative interior glass walls and room dividers; SolarWindow - Residential, which is a window glass for installation in residential homes under construction and replacement windows; SolarWindow - Flex , which is a film which may be applied directly onto glass, similar to aftermarket window tint films, for retrofit to existing commercial towers, buildings, and residential homes; and SolarWindow - BIPV, which is a building product components associated with building-integrated-photovoltaic (BIPV) applications in h omes, buildings, and office towers.

MotionPowe! r!

MotionPower products are designed to generate electricity from the capture and conversion of available kinetic energy into electricity, which is present in vehicles which are slowing down before stopping. It is developing three MotionPower products: MotionPower - Heavy, which is a fluid-driven, system with limited moving mechanical components for installation at sites where big rigs, such as tractor trailers, buses, and commercial vehicles are traveling at below 15 miles per hour and are in the process of slowing down; MotionPower - Auto, which is a fluid-driven, system similar to MotionPower - Heavy for installation at sites where cars and light-duty trucks, such as sport utility vehicles and automobiles, are traveling at below 15 miles per hour and are in the process of slowing down; and MotionPower - Express, which is a mechanical system for installation at sites where all cars, light-duty trucks, motor homes, buses, big rigs, and commercial vehicles are tra veling faster than 15 miles per hour and are in the process of slowing down.

The Company competes with Konarka Technologies, Inc., XsunX, Inc. and Sharp Corporation.

Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: WaterFurnace Renewable Energy Inc (WFIFF)

WaterFurnace Renewable Energy, Inc. specializes in the design, manufacture and distribution of geothermal and water-source systems. It�� the United States subsidiary companies are WaterFurnace International, Inc. (WaterFurnace) and LoopMaster International, Inc. (LoopMaster). In December 2010, it incorporated two Australian subsidiaries: WaterFurnace International Asia Pacific Pty. Ltd. (WaterFurnace Asia Pacific) and Hyper WFI Pty. Ltd. (Hyper WFI). WaterFurnace designs, manufactures and distributes geothermal water source heating and cooling systems for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. LoopMaster installs geothermal loops for residential applications, does commercial conductivity testing and provides design and installation assistance. Hyper WFI designs, develops and builds devices that limit the inrush current, which electric motors draw upon start up. On January 21, 2011, the Company acquired inventory and fixed assets from Binary Engineering Pty. Ltd.

Best Casino Companies For 2014: WaterFurnace Renewable Energy Inc (WFIFF.PK)

WaterFurnace Renewable Energy, Inc. specializes in the design, manufacture and distribution of geothermal and water-source systems. It�� the United States subsidiary companies are WaterFurnace International, Inc. (WaterFurnace) and LoopMaster International, Inc. (LoopMaster). In December 2010, it incorporated two Australian subsidiaries: WaterFurnace International Asia Pacific Pty. Ltd. (WaterFurnace Asia Pacific) and Hyper WFI Pty. Ltd. (Hyper WFI). WaterFurnace designs, manufactures and distributes geothermal water source heating and cooling systems for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. LoopMaster installs geothermal loops for residential applications, does commercial conductivity testing and provides design and installation assistance. Hyper WFI designs, develops and builds devices that limit the inrush current, which electric motors draw upon start up. On January 21, 2011, the Company acquired inventory and fixed assets from Binary Engineering Pty. Ltd.

Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PetroChina Company Limited(PTR)

PetroChina Company Limited produces and distributes oil and gas in the People?s Republic of China. It operates in four segments: Exploration and Production, Refining and Chemicals, Marketing, and Natural Gas and Pipeline. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, produces, and markets crude oil and natural gas, oilsands, and coalbed methane. As of December 31, 2010, it had 11,278 million barrels of proved reserves of crude oil; and 65,503 billion cubic feet of proved reserves of natural gas. The Refining and Chemicals segment engages in the refining of crude oil and petroleum products; and production and marketing of petrochemical products, derivative petrochemical products, and other chemical products. This segment?s product line comprises processed crude oil, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, ethylene, synthetic resins, synthetic fiber materials, polymers, synthetic rubber, and urea. The Marketing segment involves in the marketing of refined products and tradi ng businesses. It operated 17,996 service stations. The Natural Gas and Pipeline segment engages in the transmission of natural gas, crude oil, and refined products; and the sale of natural gas. It had a total length of 56,840 kilometers (km) of oil and gas pipelines, including 32,801 km of natural gas pipelines, 14,782 km of crude oil pipelines, and 9,257 km of refined product pipelines. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China. PetroChina Company Limited is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Surprisingly, our energy boom could help China, but not in the way you might think. The energy sector in the U.S. has been an incubator for innovative drilling techniques and technologies over the past few years. Now we have a near monopoly on the technology. Like the U.S., China has massive shale gas deposits, and the technology we possess could help them develop domestic sources and allow them to become more energy self-sufficient. We're starting to see it happen. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) has signed a deal with PetroChina (NYSE: PTR  ) to spend $1 billion a year to develop shale resources there. Also, fracking�specialists�Haliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) are partnering with various Chinese companies to supply the country with hydraulic fracturing equipment and specialty fluids.�

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  2. Russia: 6041.28 quadrillion BTU
  Russia is a giant of natural gas, the national gas company Gazprom and Norway's Statoil (NYSE: STO  ) represent 40% of total natural gas imports in Europe, and that is just half of it. Back in March, Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PetroChina's (NYSE: PTR  ) �state-owned parent company to deliver 1.34 trillion cubic feet per year starting in 2018. The MOU is a long time coming -- the two countries have been working on this deal for more 15 years.

Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ENSCO plc(ESV)

Ensco plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry. The company engages in the drilling of offshore oil and natural gas wells by providing its drilling rigs and crews under contracts with international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas companies. As of February 15, 2010, it owned and operated 42 jackup rigs, 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs, and 1 barge rig. The company also has 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs under construction. It operates in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. The company was formerly known as Ensco International plc and changed its name to Ensco plc in March 2010. Ensco plc was founded in 1975 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Noble isn't the only company betting big on new ultra-deepwater rigs for growth. Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) has seven rigs under construction, Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) has four, and SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) has a whopping nine new ultra-deepwater rigs being built. If dayrates of $600,000 per day can be maintained despite the increased supply, these companies could see $219 million in additional revenue for each new rig.�

• [By John Buckingham, Chief Investment Officer, Al Frank Asset Management, Inc. (AFAM)]

  Ensco PLC (ESV) is the world's second largest offshore driller. The firm operates across six continents with one of the newest jackup and deepwater fleets in the contract drilling industry.

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this segment, Jason and Taylor tell investors why they'll be watching shares of Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) , Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) this week.

• [By David Smith]

  Or there's Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) , owner of the world's second-largest drilling fleet, which earlier this week reported a surprisingly high 20% year-over-year growth in earnings. That's what happens when dayrates climb by 15%. Despite that, the company's forward P/E sits near a paltry 7.4 times. That, despite a forward indicted dividend yield of 3.60%.

Hot Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Samson Oil and Gas Ltd (SSN)

Samson Oil & Gas Limited (Samson), incorporated on April 6, 1979, is engaged in exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. Samson owns a working interest in each of its three material producing properties, through which it has entered into operating agreements with third parties under which the oil and gas are produced and sold. The Company also has 100% working interest in one exploration property and 50% to 100% in a second property. As of June 30, 2012, the Company�� properties included North Stockyard Project; State GC Oil and Gas Field, New Mexico; Davis Bintliff (Sabretooth Prospect), Brazoria County, Texas; Hawk Springs Project, Goshen County, Wyoming, and Roosevelt Project, Roosevelt County, Montana. As of June 30, 2012, the Company along with its subsidiaries produced approximately 87,956 barrels of oil and 214,463 thousand cubic feet of gas.

North Stockyard Project -Williston Basin, North Dakota

Samson has 34.5% working interest in 3,303 acres adjacent to the North Stockyard Oil Field, which is located in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and is operated by Zavanna LLC. Together with the Company�� working interest owners, it has drilled seven wells in this field, six in the Bakken formation and one in the Mission Canyon formation. During July 2012, the Harstad #1-15H well averaged 15 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). The Leonard-23H (10% working interest, 37.5% after non-consent penalty) is a Mississippian Middle Bakken Formation. In July 2011, this well averaged 46 barrels of oil per day. The Company drilled its third Bakken well in the North Stockyard Field, the Gary-24H (37% working interest). During July 2012, this well averaged 75 BOPD. It drilled its fourth Bakken well in the North Stockyard Field, the Rodney-14H (27% working interest). In July 2011, this well averaged 92 BOPD. It drilled its fifth Bakken well in the North Stockyard Field in Williams County, North Dakota, the Earl 1-13H (32% working interest). In Jul! y 2011, the well averaged 193 BOPD. In June 2011, it drilled its sixth Mississippian Bakken well in the North Stockyard field in Williams County, North Dakota, the Everett 1-15H (26% working interest). As of June 30, 2012, the North Stockyard project had net proved reserves of 598,500 barrels of oil and 757,800 thousand cubic feet (of natural gas).

State GC Oil and Gas Field, New Mexico

The State GC oil and gas field is located in Lea County, New Mexico, and covers approximately 600 acres. As of June 30, 2012, the field had two wells, the State GC#1 and State GC#2. Average daily production during the year ended June 30, 2012 from the State GC oil and gas field was approximately 43 BOPD and 37 million standard cubic feet per day. As of June 30, 2012, the State GC oil and gas field had net proved reserves of 65,500 barrels of oil and 87,300 thousand cubic feet (of natural gas).

Davis Bintliff #1 Well (Sabretooth Prospect), Brazoria County, Texas

The Davis Bintliff #1 well is operated by Davis Holdings. During the year ended June 30, 2012, this well averaged 29 BOPD and 2.61million cubic feet per day. As of June 30, 2012, the Davis Bintliff well had net proved reserves of 700 barrels of oil and 66,400 Thousand cubic feet (of natural gas).

Hawk Springs Project, Goshen County, Wyoming

The Company has 37.5%-100% working interest in Hawk Springs Project. The Spirit of America 1 replacement well, Spirit of America 2, was successfully drilled to a total depth of 10,634 feet during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012).

Roosevelt Project, Roosevelt County, Montana

The well was drilled to a total measured depth of 14,972 feet with the horizontal lateral remaining within the target zone for the entire lateral length. approximately 3,425 barrels of oil have been produced.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Had Samson Oil & Gas Limited (NYSEMKT:SSN) made the late-July surge and subsequent early-August pullback and then gotten stuck in the mud again, I might not even bother taking a look at it. That's not how it happened though. Since the pullback, SSN has perked up again, perhaps not as hot as it was with the initial rally at the end of last month, but more than hot enough to get my attention. I suspect another surge - perhaps a longer-lasting surge - is in the cards.

Rieder: Philly newspaper stars in ugly drama

The messy soap opera playing out at The Philadelphia Inquirer reads like a Harvard Business School case study of how not to run a company.

Consider:

• The only two members of the management committee that runs the newspaper's parent company — two of its six wealthy owners — are at war.

• The paper's publisher and editor were at war until the publisher abruptly fired the editor last week, triggering a firestorm. Actually, they still are at war.

• The Inquirer and the Daily News, its sister paper, are at war with the company's dominant website, philly.com.

• The daughter of one of those dueling management committee members runs that website.

• The longtime companion of the other management committee member is the city editor of the Inquirer and a staunch ally of the now-fired editor.

• One of the management committee members and another of the owners have filed a suit seeking to reinstate the editor and kick the publisher to the curb.

• A petition to bring back the editor has been signed by scores of distinguished journalists. On Tuesday, Teamsters who work for the paper picketed their employer.

• And the company's human resources department has directed the staff not to talk about all of this astonishing turmoil. That's right: A newspaper company is telling its staff to stiff-arm reporters.

It's not so long ago that this battlefield, the Inquirer, was one of the nation's very top newspapers. But newspapers everywhere have been buffeted by the digital era, and the Inquirer has taken more than its share of hits.

It has had five owners over the past seven years. Circulation and advertising revenue have plummeted. The staff has been severely cut. Yet it's still a vital force in its hometown, a vibrant city confronting a daunting array of social problems. Philly needs a strong Inky.

And hopes were high when the latest owner, Interstate General Media, purchased the Inquirer, the Daily News and philly.com in April 201! 2 and installed Bill Marimow as editor of the Inquirer.

Marimow, a highly respected journalist, won a couple of Pulitzer Prizes at the Inquirer and, after stops at the Baltimore Sun and NPR, returned to the Inquirer in the top newsroom spot in 2006. But when the papers were sold yet again four years later, the new owners demoted Marimow, explaining they wanted someone with more digital chops.

Marimow is known as a rigorous traditional journalist with a commitment to hard-edged watchdog reporting. And, yes, it's true that he has rarely been confused with Steve Jobs. Rather than stay at the paper as a reporter, he decamped to teach journalism at Arizona State University. (Disclosure: Marimow is a friend of mine and a fellow Philly guy.)

But then the paper was sold again. And when management committee members Lewis Katz, a parking magnate and former owner of the New Jersey Nets, and George Norcross, a South Jersey businessman and political power, asked him to once again run his hometown paper, Marimow said yes.

But there were signs of trouble right away. Robert Hall, then COO of the Inky's parent company but soon to become CEO and the paper's publisher, unleashed a torrent of "scathingly critical" comments at Marimow and warned he would "watch over" him, according to the lawsuit filed by Katz and fellow owner H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest seeking to restore Marimow to the helm. (Hall says the suit doesn't capture the conversation accurately.)

To no one's surprise, Marimow and Hall had their differences. Hall was pushing for a lot of changes that Marimow didn't want to make (he did make some of them). But according to one knowledgeable source, trouble began in earnest when Marimow met with Norcross early this year. Norcross presented the editor with some research strongly suggesting that The Inquirer sharply cut back on editorials, perhaps running them just once or twice a week, and reduce its roster of local columnists. Marimow said no.

Norcross isn't a guy who likes to be told! no. Afte! r that, the source said, Marimow found himself under unrelenting pressure from Hall.

The Norcross-Marimow relationship certainly didn't improve last May after philly.com enlisted the state's governor, Tom Corbett, to write a column. Marimow hated the idea. But the paper has no control over the site, which leans toward linkbait rather than news. So he had the paper do a story about Corbett's column that contained this embarrassing quote from website chief Lexie Norcross: "Considering that the Inquirer and Daily News slam (Corbett) every day, I think it's actually equal, giving him a chance to speak."

Endgame arrived on Monday, Oct. 7, when Hall abruptly fired Marimow. The final straw, apparently was Marimow's refusal to fire five editors Hall ordered him to get rid of. In an ugly, widely leaked e-mail to the owners justifying his action, Hall was brutally critical of Marimow and the editors he wouldn't sack.

In an interview, Hall said he and the owners had been pushing Marimow for months to move more rapidly on, among other things, a redesign of the paper and implementing new approaches suggested by research. "It was time to make a change," he said. "We need to move a lot quicker."

For his part, Marimow says, "It's heartening to me to have two people with the integrity and public commitment of Gerry Lenfest and Lewis Katz working to assure the integrity of the Inquirer and the Daily News are preserved. I think it's tragic for the Philadelphia community that this has resulted in open warfare."

And so the paper is in limbo — one reporter says the newsroom feels like a rebel province that needed to be put down. And while the whole sorry scenario is terrible for the journalists, it's even worse for the Philadelphia region, which desperately needs a news outlet relentlessly reporting on its pressing problems, not one transfixed by its own melodrama.

Royce Funds Commentary - A Theme-Based Approach to Small-Cap Investing

Portfolio Manager Bill Hench talks about what he looks for in potential investments, how the recent housing recovery exemplifies some of his investment themes, and why he sees potential in retail as year-end approaches.

See the video here.

"What we like to do is get very good companies at very, very good prices," says Portfolio Manager Bill Hench. "In order to do that, the companies that we buy usually have a problem. Usually it's a short-term problem that we hope will get addressed over a year-and-a-half to two-year period."
Exemplifying some of Bill's opportunistic investment themes—which in addition to turnarounds include emerging growth companies with interrupted earnings patterns, companies with unrecognized asset values, and undervalued growth companies—is the recent housing market.

"A lot of [housing related companies] turned out to be asset plays where we thought that the land on the books and the cash were being undervalued by the market," says Bill. "We had builders, we had financing companies, we had software companies, and, to a large extent, they all had the same characteristics: they had very, very low valuations and very, very low expectations going forward," He adds.

Bill also believes that the recent story regarding retail stocks presents compelling opportunities. Because of earnings disappointments from some of the bigger U.S. retailers, valuations have become attractive.

"We think if you're very selective, and you can find companies that have very good characteristicsas far as what they have to carry through the end of the year… it could be a very good area to invest for the year-end."

Bill Hench joined the firm in 2002 and became assistant portfolio manager to Buzz Zaino onRoyce Opportunity Fund in 2004 before becoming manager of Royce Opportunity Select Fund in 2010.

Like Buzz, Bill's stock selection process focuses more on a company's ability to turnaround—from earnings misses, cost pressures, or! industry- or company-specific issues—than it does on its balance sheet strength.

Important Performance and Expense Information

All performance information reflects past performance, is presented on a total return basis, reflects the reinvestment of distributions, and does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate, so that shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when redeemed. Shares redeemed within 180 days of purchase may be subject to a 1% redemption fee, payable to the Fund, which is not reflected in the performance shown above; if it were, performance would be lower. Current month-end performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted and may be obtained at here. Gross operating expenses for Royce Opportunity Select Fund reflect total gross annual operating expenses and include management fees, dividends on securities sold short, other expenses, and acquired fund fees and expenses. Net operating expenses reflect contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. All expense information is reported as of the Fund's most currentprospectus. Royce & Associates has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses to the extent necessary to maintain the Fund's net annual operating expenses, other than dividends on securities sold short and interest expense on borrowing, at or below 1.24% through April 30, 2015 and at or below 1.99% through April 30, 2023. Operating expenses for Royce Opportunity Fund reflect total annual operating expenses for the Investment Class as of the Fund's most current prospectus and include management fees, other expenses, and acquired fun fees and expenses. Acquired fund fees and expenses reflect the estimated amount of the fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund through its investments in mutual fun! ds, hedge! funds, private equity funds, and other investment companies.

Important Disclosure Information

The thoughts and opinions expressed in the video are solely those of the person speaking, and may differ from those of other Royce investment professionals, or the firm as a whole. There can be no assurance with regard to future market movements.

This material is not authorized for distribution unless preceded or accompanied by a currentprospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. Royce Opportunity Select Fund and Royce Opportunity Fund invest primarily in small-cap and micro-cap companies, which may involve considerably more risk than investing in larger-cap stocks. (Please see "Primary Risks for Fund Investors" in the prospectus.) Royce Opportunity Select Fund invests primarily in a limited number of stocks, which may involve considerably more risk than a less concentrated portfolio because a decline in the value o these stocks would cause the Fund's overall value to decline to a greater degree. (Please see "Primary Risks for Fund Investors" in theprospectus.) The Fund may sell securities short which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the security's price will decline. Short sales present unlimited risk on an individual stock basis since the Fund may be required to buy the security sold short at a time when the security has appreciated in value. The fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in foreign securities, which may involve political, economic, currency, and other risks not encountered in U.S. investments. (Please see "Investing in Foreign Securities" in the prospectus.) Royce Opportunity Fund's broadly diversified portfolio does not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss. Russell Investment Group is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Russell Investment Group. The Russell 2000 is an unmanaged,! capitali! zation-weighted index of domestic small-cap stocks. It measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest publicly traded U.S. companies in the Russell 3000 index. The performance of an index does not represent exactly any particular investment, as you cannot invest directly in an index.

Paying more for chocolate? You will be

High-end dark chocolates could face the steepest price increases over the next few months.

LONDON (CNNMoney) Chocolate lovers beware! The price of your favorite treat is on the rise.

Growing demand in emerging markets and bad weather in major cocoa producing countries is pushing up the cost of key ingredients, leaving manufacturers little choice but to pass on some of that pain to consumers.

The price of cocoa butter, for example, stands at a four-year high, having risen by 70% over the past 12 months, according to Mintec commodity consultant Liliana Gonzalez.

And the production cost of an average milk chocolate bar has surged by 25% over the same period, she wrote in a report for British trade magazine The Grocer.

"If manufacturers are bearing an increased cost over an extended period of time, it's no surprise they'll have to pass that cost along," said Peter Greweling, an artisan chocolatier and professor of baking and pastry arts at the Culinary Institute of America.

But don't expect jaw-dropping surprises when you next visit the vending machine or grocery store. Manufacturers don't want to scare away loyal customers.

"What the industry usually does is either increase the price, reduce the cocoa content or reduce the size of their products," explained Laurent Pipitone, a director at the International Cocoa Organization.

Susan Smith, a spokesperson for the Chocolate Council at the National Confectioners' Association in Washington, acknowledged that ingredient costs have been rising but manufacturers have been doing their best to spare their consumers.

"Chocolates are supposed to be an affordable treat," she said. "They do what they can to not increase the prices -- but if their costs go up over time, they do have to make some adjustments."

O! ver the past 12 months, retail chocolate prices in the U.S. have risen by 7%, Smith said. That compares with annual consumer price inflation of about 1.5%.

Those who crave high-end dark chocolate, with a higher cocoa content, are likely to be hit hardest.

"Those [chocolates] are made by smaller manufacturers and they're less able to absorb extra costs compared to the bigger manufacturers," said Greweling.

The global chocolate confectionery market, already worth $110 billion, is growing by more than 6% per year, according to Euromonitor. Demand in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa is expanding at an even faster pace.

And as demand rises, cocoa shortages due to bad weather in major producing countries such as the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia, are squeezing suppliers.

Cocoa has been the best performing agricultural commodity so far this year, according to Macquarie agricultural commodities analyst Kona Haque. Prices have risen by nearly 20% since hitting a low point in March 2013, and Haque expects further gains in 2014.

ETF Categories That Just Keep Winning

NEW YORK (ETF Expert) -- Stocks as an asset class have shrugged off a wide variety of risks throughout the year. Sequestration failed to derail equity enthusiasm. The May-June interest rate spike did little to deter dip-buyers.

I suspect that any actual downside for the markets in October, whether caused by political strife or disappointing economic data, will ultimately be viewed as yet another buying opportunity. Indeed, investors are confident that the Federal Reserve is looking out for them.

The general trend notwithstanding, several ETFs categories defy a simplistic tip of the hat to the Fed's zero-interest rate policy or its quantitative easing (QE) experiment. In essence, some areas have been rocketing on an entirely different kind of fuel.

So what kind of energy can spark faster price growth than a speeding bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco? What sort of propellant might ignite an ETF industry group to leap gargantuan debt ceilings in a single trading session? The answer is "perceived demand." Not actual demand necessarily but a demographic-based perception about future mega-trends. For example, advertisers on both radio and television covet the all-important 25-54 adult demographic. Someone, somewhere, determined that this classification represents the most important group of consumers. By the same token, these adults with money and jobs are increasingly using social media and/or going online. It follows that, regardless if the valuations of online/net-oriented companies make sense today, the demographic-based perception of social media demand and online activity bolsters Internet ETFs.

Internet ETFs and Social Media ETFs Are Soaring
				1 Month %		3 Month %		1 Year %
PowerShares NASDAQ Internet (PNQI)				9.8%		25.7%		50.4%
Global X Social Media (SOCL)				11.2%		31.9%		46.4%
First Trust DJ Internet (FDN)				8.2%		17.2%		43.8%
S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY)				2.9%		4.7%		19.9%

I am not suggesting that the perception will last indefinitely. Alan Greenspan, the previous chairman of the Fed, discussed the "irrational exuberance" of market-based securities in 1996. Yet, the dot-com bubble did not burst until 2000. In other words, "new tech" ETF investing may continue winning for a whole lot longer than fundamental value folks would have you believe. In a similar vein (pun definitely intended), there are plenty of reasons to eschew biotechnology ETFs. Price-to-fair value estimates are unfavorable. Legislative uncertainty presents hazards for pharmaceutical research and development. The current price on many biotech stocks, as well as biotech funds like BBH, are more than 20% above a 200-day moving average; a tendency for stocks to revert to their trendlines would certainly be painful.

Courtesy of StockCharts.com

Whereas the Internet ETFs benefit from a younger demographic (25-54), biotech ETFs benefit from increasing longevity. Not only is most of the wealth in the U.S. controlled by folks who are 55+, but investors perceive those individuals as having the capacity and desire to spend money to prolong/enhance their lives. Here again, a demographic-based perception is fueling investor demand beyond levels that normal valuations might justify.

Biotechnology ETFs Keep Surging
				1 Month %		3 Month %		1 Year %
Market Vectors Biotech (BBH)				5.6%		25.7%		55.5%
iShares NASDAQ Biotech (IBB)				7.1%		29.2%		49.6%
SPDR Biotech (XBI)				7.0%		29.8%		40.3%
S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY)				2.9%		4.7%		19.9%

Hot China Companies For 2014

For my own clients, I have been far more conservative over the last year. I have maintained an overweight towards technology and health care, though I have primarily done so with exchanged-traded funds like Vanguard Information Technology (VGT), First Trust Technology Dividend (TDIV), SPDR Health Care (XLV) and PowerShares Pharmaceuticals (PJP). Moreover, it would be awfully difficult for me to recommend the sexier funds in the tables above without a substantive price pullback as well as a rationale beyond the demographic-based theme. Granted, momentum investors may like biotech and "new tech" right now. As long as those who choose to ride a wave today know exactly when to hop off a surfboard, I see nothing wrong with the initial buy decision. Just make certain to implement a plan for leaving, whether your plan involves hedges, options or trailing stop limit orders. Follow @etfexpert This article was written by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.

Disclosure Statement: ETF Expert is a website that makes the world of ETFs easier to understand. Gary Gordon, Pacific Park Financial and/or its clients may hold positions in ETFs, mutual funds and investment assets mentioned. The commentary does not constitute individualized investment advice. The opinions offered are not personalized recommendations to buy, sell or hold securities. At times, issuers of exchange-traded products compensate Pacific Park Financial or its subsidiaries for advertising at the ETF Expert website. ETF Expert content is created independently of any advertising relationships. You may review additional ETF Expert at the site. Gary Gordon reads: Real Clear Markets Jeff Miller indexuniverse Charles Kirk On Twitter, Gary Gordon follows: Jonathan Hoenig Doug Kass Hard Assets Investor

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) subsidiary Brooks Sports is drawing quite a bit of attention from Buffett devotees these days. The running shoe maker has sprinted to 34% volume growth in both 2011 and 2012, with U.S. sales growth hitting the tape at 43% by the end of last year.

Our roving reporter Rex Moore caught up with Brooks CEO Jim Weber at the recent Berkshire shareholder meeting in Omaha. In this segment of a multipart series, Jim says working under the Berkshire umbrella has taught him a lot about the power of the brand.

Is Berkshire for you?
Thanks to the savvy of investing legend Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's book value per share has grown a mind-blowing 586,817% over the past 48 years. But with Buffett aging and Berkshire rapidly evolving, is this insurance conglomerate still a buy today? In The Motley Fool's premium report on the company, Berkshire expert Joe Magyer provides investors with key reasons to buy as well as important risks to watch out for. Click here now for instant access to Joe's take on Berkshire!

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: BG Medicine Inc.(BGMD)

BG Medicine, Inc., a life sciences company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic tests based on biomarkers in the United States. Its product pipeline includes BGM Galectin-3, a diagnostic test for heart failure that measures galectin-3 levels in blood plasma or serum; AMIPredict, a multivariate biomarker blood-based test for atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease; and LipidDx, a blood-based protein assay for the management of patients with lipid disorders. The company also offers TNF alpha blockers comprising Enbrel, Remicade and Humira, which are treatments indicated for autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and Crohn?s disease. It has strategic collaborations and initiatives with pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare organizations, including Abbott Laboratories; ACS Biomarker B.V.; Humana Inc.; Merck & Co., Inc.; and Laboratory Corporation of America. The company was formerly known as Beyond Genomics, Inc. and changed its name to BG Medicine, Inc. in October 2004. BG Medicine, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: Central Bancorp Inc(CEBK)

Central Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Central Co-operative Bank, which provides a range of banking products and services in the northwestern suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. The company offers various deposit products, including demand deposit accounts, NOW accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, term deposit accounts, and retirement savings plans. Its loan portfolio comprises residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate and construction loans, home equity lines of credit, commercial and industrial loans, and consumer and other loans. The company also provides automated teller machines, Internet banking, preauthorized payment and withdrawal systems, tax-deferred retirement programs, and other miscellaneous services, such as money orders, travelers? checks, and safe deposit boxes. Central Bancorp operates nine full-service office facilities in Somerville, Arlington, Burlington, Chestnut Hill, Medford, Melrose, and Wobur n, Massachusetts; and a limited service high school branch in Woburn, Massachusetts. It also operated an automated teller machine in Somerville, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Ultratech Inc.(UTEK)

Ultratech, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets photolithography and laser thermal processing equipment. It supplies step-and-repeat photolithography systems based on one-to-one imaging technology to semiconductor device manufacturers for applications involving line geometries of 0.75 microns or greater and to nanotechnology manufacturers. The company?s steppers are also used to manufacture semiconductors that are used in various applications, such as telecommunications, automotive control systems, power systems, and consumer electronics. It also supplies 1X photolithography systems to thin film head manufacturers; and offers LSA100, a laser-based thermal annealing tool used by the semiconductor industry for various process steps, including activation of implanted impurities, dielectric film formation, formation of silicides, and stabilization of copper grain structures. Ultratech, Inc. sells its systems to semiconductor, advanced packaging, high-brightness light emit ting diodes, thin film head, and various other nanotechnology manufacturers in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Ultratech (NASDAQ: UTEK  ) dropped today by as much as 13% after the company reported earnings that fell short of expectations.

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  Fellow Seeking Alpha contributor Ashraf Eassa and I have both written previously about Ultratech (UTEK), a semiconductor equipment company that we both like for its innovative positions in laser spike annealing (LSA) and advanced packaging lithography ("flip chips"), as well as the potential of its steppers in LED manufacturing. In particular, we have both made the case that advanced annealing technologies are likely to be a critical factor in the move to sub-20nm processes.

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: Tumi Resources Limited(TM.V)

Tumi Resources Limited, a junior mineral exploration company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of precious metals on mineral properties located in Mexico and Sweden. It primarily explores for silver, as well as gold, tungsten, and base metal deposits. The company was formerly known as Planex Ventures Ltd. and changed its name to Tumi Resources Limited in May 2002. Tumi Resources Limited was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: China Hongcheng Holdings Ltd (C0Z.SI)

China Hongcheng Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of household textile products primarily in the People�s Republic of China, the United States, and Europe. The company�s products include cotton yarn, grey and dyed cotton fabrics, jacquard cotton fabrics, and bed linen sets. It sells fabrics under the Beiyang, as well as bed linen sets under the HongchengYika brand. The company principally offers its products to OEM customers. China Hongcheng Holdings Limited was founded in 1977 and is based in Zouping, the People�s Republic of China.

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: VeriSign Inc.(VRSN)

VeriSign, Inc. provides Internet infrastructure services to various networks worldwide. The company provides domain name registry services and infrastructure assurance services. It offers registry services that operate the authoritative directory of various .com, .net, .cc, .tv, and .name domain names, as well as the back-end systems for various .jobs and .edu domain names; and network intelligence and availability services that provide infrastructure assurance to organizations comprising Verisign iDefense security intelligence services, managed domain name system services, and distributed denial of service mitigation. VeriSign, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  "Why are you still here?" we asked Verisign (VRSN)'s wealthy founder, an individual who had returned to lead his business after prior management "had mortgaged the golden egg to buy other businesses not as good as this Internet domain registry��nstead of investing in a fertility drug so the goose that laid the golden egg could produce more eggs!"

• [By Monica Gerson]

  VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) shares rose 0.50% to touch a new 52-week high of $50.69. VeriSign's PEG ratio is 1.60.

  Zix (NASDAQ: ZIXI) shares reached a new 52-week high of $4.82. ZixCorp's trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 18.08%.

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: Challenger Diversified Property Group(CDI.AX)

Challenger Diversified Property Group invests in office, retail, and industrial properties in Australia and France. It also engages in property development activities and invests in a car park operating business. The company is based in Sydney, Australia. Challenger Diversified Property Group operates as a subsidiary of Challenger Limited.

Best Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: Swift Transportation Company(SWFT)

Swift Transportation Company, through its subsidiary, Swift Transportation Co., LLC, operates as a multi-faceted transportation services company and truckload carrier in North America. The company offers its truckload services through dry van, temperature-controlled, flatbed, and specialized trailers; and rail intermodal services. It also provides freight brokerage and logistics management services to other trucking companies, as well as leases tractors and offers repair services. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated a tractor fleet of approximately 15,900 units, including 11,900 tractors driven by company drivers and 4,000 owner-operator tractors; 50,600 trailers; and 6,200 intermodal containers in the United States and Mexico. It serves various industries, such as retail, discount retail, consumer products, food and beverage, manufacturing, and transportation and logistics industries. The company, formerly known Swift Holdings Corp., and was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  For this week's round of "Better Know a Stock," I'm going to take a closer look at Swift Transportation (NYSE: SWFT  ) .

  What Swift Transportation does
  Swift is a transportation services trucking and intermodal company in North America. The company primarily transports discounted consumer goods, perishable and non-perishable foods, and manufactured goods. As of the end of 2012 Swift operated 15,300 tractors, 52,800 trailers, and had 8,700 intermodal containers.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Swift Transportation (NYSE: SWFT  ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Swift Transportation met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

A Money-Savvy Daughter Looks Back on the Lessons That Stuck

Top Companies To Buy For 2014

Alamy When I was growing up, no one ever called me a princess. My parents told me I was smart, funny, powerful and kind, but never "princess." Mom handed me a Nerf gun and dad taught me how to shoot a layup. I'd wander into my parent's room to see my father ironing his suit pants for work while my mother sat at her desk paying the bills. There were no bedtime stories about helpless girls who needed to be rescued. Instead, there were lessons about how I could rescue myself through education and financial literacy. The first lesson came in the summer of 1996, when my father took money right out of my 7-year-old hands. My jaw dropped in indignation and my Pocahontas sneakers stamped the ground. I demanded he hand over my fairly earned cash. After all, I had been the one who woke up at 6 a.m. to set up my Fisher-Price table to sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Embracing the entrepreneurial spirit young, I had seized upon my mother's yard sale as the perfect opportunity to venture into the business world and hone my sales technique. My 4-year-old sister and I sold doughnuts at the marked-up price of 50 cents apiece to the bargain hunters while my mom peddled our old goods. I felt I'd earned my $18. With a chuckle over my childish rage, my dad told me I owed my sister $2 in wages for helping me sell those doughnuts. Then, he took his cut. As he counted out the quarters I owed him, he explained that he had staked me the money to buy the doughnuts. Because he made the initial investment, I owed him his money back, but I could keep the rest. This, he explained, was my "net profit." That simple lesson become the cornerstone of my relationship with money -- though it was hardly the last. My father continued my fiscal education with various "sneak attacks," notably requiring me to pay for 50 percent of my college education, which cultivated in me a deep appreciation of the value of money. But it worked: When I graduated college, I felt empowered instead of intimidated at the prospect of handling my own financial affairs. At no point did I feel I needed to get married in order to stay afloat financially. Never did I wish for a Prince Charming to ride up on horseback to my little New York City apartment and whisk me away. (OK, so maybe that would be nice -- but I don't Prince Charming.) Unfortunately, my story is far from the norm. Around the world, young women (and men) are being raised without much financial education, and only realizing how badly they need it after they've accumulated crushing debt, taken out too many loans, misused credit cards or missed paying bills. And even in our modern, egalitarian era, some young women are still being raised with the idea that they should rely on a husband to provide them with a financially sound future. According to Plan's International's "Because I am a Girl" campaign, each extra year a girl spends in secondary education increases her salary by between 15 percent and 25 percent. But encouraging girls to finish high school, go to college, and find good jobs is not enough. It's equally important that they gain a level of fiscal understanding. These young women need to feel confident handling their paychecks, saving for their futures, and stepping into the role of breadwinner for their families. It's time parents and educators placed the same level of importance on financial literacy as we do an understanding of literature, math and science. Both boys and girls should be raised to feel comfortable asking questions about money, beyond "how much is allowance?" Just as we're now coming around to teaching young men that the tasks of raising children aren't "women's work," we need to be sure we're not teaching girls to, one day, just rely on their husbands to handle the money. Just imagine: We could live in a society where teens made informed decisions about student loans, young adults used their credit cards for responsible purchases they could pay off, and the awful cycle of unnecessary debt was just a parable told to children at bedtime.

United Technologies Corporation (UTX): CCS Order Trends Should Provide Some Relief

United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) organic growth drivers remain intact in the form of the Climate, Controls, & Security (CCS)  unit despite the temporary roadblocks due to the ongoing government shutdown.

The company warned that its aerospace businesses could be forced to furlough thousands of workers due to the absence of Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) inspectors who audit and approve operations throughout the manufacturing process for military products.

Without the required DCMA inspectors, who were deemed non-essential federal employees, certain defense manufacturing work must be halted, which will result in employee furloughs. United Technologies gets about 18 percent of its revenue from the government as it makes Black Hawk helicopters and engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Hot Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now

If the shutdown continues through next week, company-wide furloughs are expected to double to include 4,000 workers. This number could exceed 5,000 employees if the government shutdown continues into next month.

However, the company's orders have picked up momentum and organic growth across the company seems to be on the right path as Climate, Controls, & Security (CCS) looks as if it will come in at the high end of the segment range (along with Pratt and UTAS).

The company's CCS segment provides heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration solutions, such as controls for residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation applications. It also offers electronic security products, including intruder alarms, access control systems, and video surveillance systems; and monitoring, response, and security personnel services, as well as designs and manufactures a range of fire safety products.

For the second quarter, CCS equipment orders increased 6 percent organically and accounted for 28 percent of total rev! enue.

"We estimate CCS sales of $16.7B in 2013 which on a reported basis is down slightly from 2012," Deutsche bank analyst Myles Walton wrote in a note to clients.

Organic growth should still be positive for the year, but it'll be just 1 percent versus the 4-5 percent targeted at the start of the year as European markets in particular showed worse than expected; in addition to slower commercial market sales.

Management has aspirations for organic growth to trend in the 5 percent range with a potential sales target for CCS of $25 billion in 2020.

"While we aren't ready to sign up to a 5% CAGR through 2020, we do see the potential for the 3% y/y growth in 2H13 to trend modestly higher in 2014, and beyond (depending on a European recovery)," Walton said.

Meanwhile, CCS margins continue to show strength. Margins have been a success story over the last several years as consolidation, portfolio transformation, productivity and restructuring alongside modest top-line increases have driven solid results.

Since 2009, the company sights $1 billion in incremental organic EBIT on $1.8 billion of organic sales. The estimated mid-50 percent implied incremental margins reflect both the benefits of price, commodity, restructuring savings, and volume driven increments that would be in the mid-20 percent range.

"Assuming volumes come, we think a 50bps/yr improvement in CCS is a baseline with upside from there on price/restructuring benefits," the analyst added.

Looking to 2014, buy-side investors are hoping for $7 EPS in 2014 while management is more likely to offer up guidance in $6.80 range towards year-end. The difference will depend on how the year ends on pension, defense spending, and Europe, in particular.

Importantly, order trends remain healthy across the company's commercial businesses, and investors will remain engaged on the confidence of renewed organic growth in the mid-single digit range for the next 4 quarters.

10 Best Value Stocks To Watch For 2014

After consulting with outside financial advisors, in conjunction with the Elan (NYSE: ELN  ) board of directors and executive management team, the Ireland-based biotechnology company has determined the recent $12.50-a-share buyout offer from Royalty Pharma undervalues select Elan assets by as much as $4.3 billion, the company announced Wednesday.

According to Elan, its multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri has an underlying value of approximately $11.85 a share, and possibly as much as $17.15 a share, based on Berenberg Bank estimates of global Tysabri sales. Tysabri values do not take into account operating expenses, and include sales estimates through 2016.

In addition to the Tysabri value calculations, Elan's press release suggests the value of its cash position is equal to $3.65 a share based on its pro forma net cash position of approximately $2 billion, as of March 31. The combination of cash per share and its Tysabri asset that the company has put forward values Elan between $15.50 and $20.80 a share.

10 Best Value Stocks To Watch For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By E. Michael Greenberg]

  Blue Sphere has other major partners on these projects as well.� They have brought in a hedge fund that specializes in Cleantech investing as an equity partner.� This equity partner has committed to up to $7.5 million for the Charlotte project and $5 million for the smaller Johnson plant.� Caterpillar Financial Services, a division of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is providing almost $18 million in debt for the construction of the Charlotte project.� Both groups are expected to fund upon their respective commitments to the Charlotte project by the end of August, which will allow Blue Sphere and Biogas Nord to begin construction of the facility in September of this year.� Blue Sphere�� management has stated that they expect the Charlotte project to be complete and producing with in 12 months of the beginning of construction.�

• [By Matt Thalman]

  The big losers
  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) was the worst Dow component of the week, down 4.19% after the company reported earnings on Wednesday and missed expectations. Earnings per share came in at $1.45, down 43% from $2.54 from the second quarter last year and much worse than the $1.69 Wall Street wanted to see. Revenue came in at $14.6 billion, which was also lower than the $15.1 billion analysts wanted to see. Furthermore, the company cut its full-year forecast and told investors it will begin cutting costs as a way to deal with lower sales. �

• [By ANUP SINGH]

  Coal consumption growth in China is estimated to have slowed down to 4% year on year in 2012, down from 10% in 2011. An economic slowdown in�the country�has affected demand, and this has been one of headwinds for Joy because it has substantial exposure to China. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) , one Joy's competitors, is also facing trouble in China of late.

10 Best Value Stocks To Watch For 2014: 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 management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  A few of the compelling companies
  From my perspective, the message to be taken away from Stuart's presentation is simply that, even in the face of potential U.S. economic distress, a well-structured portfolio will contain at least a modicum of energy of names. For starters I'd look to Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , the world's leading oilfield services company and energy's technology major domo. Given its operations in about 85 countries, a worldwide energy cataclysm would seemingly be required for the big company to face a significant slowdown.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Along with announcing earnings, both Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) announced multi-billion-dollar stock buybacks. With so much money on the line, investors have to ask if this is the right move for these two oil-field service giants. Are these stocks cheap enough to warrant the buybacks or should these companies consider other options for those funds?

• [By Isac Simon]

  Is the stock looking cheap?
  To me, Halliburton currently looks cheaper that its bigger cousin Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) . While Halliburton is trading at 21 times its earnings, and Schlumberger's trading at only 18 times earnings, the reason I'm not too interested in the P/E multiple is that Halliburton's bottom line doesn't reveal its actual profits. Since April 2010, the company has been making provisions for its part in the Macondo oil spill disaster. This has distorted Halliburton's actual earnings considerably.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Last year, CARBO made almost half of its total revenue from just two customers: Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) . A dependence on major players can be part of the game in this energy niche, as much of the onshore drilling services industry is in fact dominated by Halliburton and Schlumberger. However, CARBO's deepwater proppant could help it diversify in a big way, provided the company can handle what are sure to be more bothersome logistics problems than already exist with its land-based delivery network. Creating more distribution hubs closer to oil fields can help CARBO reduce its transportation costs and further reduce its dependence on the big two's infrastructure.

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Own 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 ANUP SINGH]

  Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) is among the most successful single-price-point retailers in the U.S. It operates more than 4,842 stores across 48 states in the U.S. and five Provinces in Canada. The chart below shows that the company has been performing consistently well over the past five years.

• [By Mani]

  Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) is one of the companies that are set to exploit the ongoing trend of consumers' increasing focus on value with significant opportunity to grow its store base, and expand margins.

10 Best Value Stocks To Watch For 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Oliver Pursche]

  European large-cap pharmaceuticals like Novartis (NVS) �and Bristol Meyers Squibb (BMY) �count amongst some of our favorite stocks right now, as do U.S. multinationals that are growing revenue and margins in Asia ��Tupperware (TUP) �is a shining example. Stay away from utilities and energy stocks, as they are likely to be the laggards over the next year.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Where growth will come from
  One area that Newell Rubbermaid still has to tap fully is emerging markets. The company has done a good job of expanding overseas, with 17% annual growth in Latin America. But with barely a quarter of its sales coming from outside the U.S. and Canada, the company has a lot further to go. Storage rival Tupperware (NYSE: TUP  ) gets fully 60% of its total revenue from emerging markets, and it too has seen impressive gains in South America as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, household products company Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

• [By John Udovich]

  Everyone is familiar with�the Tupperware brand from�consumer products stock Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) and you are probably familiar with the brands�of mid cap stock Jarden Corp (NYSE: JAH) along with small cap stocks Libbey Inc (NYSEMKT: LBY) and Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ: LCUT); but what about the stocks themselves? Chances are, their brands or products are right under your nose at home and you probably don�� know anything about the mid cap or small cap stock behind them.