Top Value Stocks For 2019: December 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

White House: Extend jobless benefits

Job fair: Some 1.3 million unemployed workers will lose federal benefits by Dec. 28, but the White House wants Congress to extend help another year.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) President Obama's newest priority is pushing Congress to extend federal unemployment benefits by another year, and Republicans say they're willing to consider the idea.

Benefits for 1.3 million workers will expire Dec. 28 if Congress fails to extend a recession-era program by the end of this month.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers and Department of Labor issued a joint report touting how jobless benefits buoy the economy, while keeping 2.5 million workers out of poverty each year.

Allowing unemployment benefits to expire "would be harmful to millions of workers and their families," according to the report.

President Obama started using his bully pulpit this week to put more pressure on Congress to extend the program.

"Christmas-time is no time for Congress to tell more than 1 million of these Americans that they have lost this unemployment insurance," Obama said in a speech on Wednesday. "(That's) what will happen if Congress does not act before they leave on their holiday vacation."

The White House points out that if benefits expire, U.S. GDP could fall next year by 0.2 to 0.4 of a percentage point, according to the Congressional Budget Office and a J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) economist.

The report also suggests the economy isn't strong enough to end benefits.

Republicans had been cool to the idea of extending benefits, saying in memos that the program has already cost $252 billion through July.

But, on Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner suggested he was open to an extension.

"If the President has a plan for extending unemployment, I'll take a look at it," Boehner said. !

The program was first signed into law in June 2008 by President George W. Bush, when the unemployment rate was 5.6% and the average duration of jobless insurance was 17.1 weeks.

The unemployment rate climbed to more than 10% at the height of the Great Recession in 2009, and the government extended the federal benefits to jobless Americans whose state unemployment insurance had run out.

However, thanks to a weak recovery, those benefits have been either extended or expanded 11 times, most recently on Jan. 2 . Today, the unemployment rate is at 7.3%, and the average duration of the benefits is 36.1 weeks.

Federal unemployment insurance benefits kick in after a person's state benefits run out, and range between 14 to 47 weeks, depending on the state a person lives.

Only residents in Nevada and Illinois have access to the maximum 47 weeks, according to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group. Most states have cut back unemployment benefits, as the labor market has improved.

"As lawmakers prepare to head home to be with their families during the holiday recess, they must not turn their backs on millions of families struggling with long-term unemployment and a weak labor market," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project in a statement.

Labor Sec. responds to low-wage job growth

The cost to extend the federal benefits by another year is about $26 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

-- CNN's Lisa Desjardins contributed to this report.

3 Stocks Under $10 Triggering Breakout Trades

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

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Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

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With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

MiMedx Group

MiMedx Group (MDXG) is an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of patent protected regenerative biomaterial products and allografts processed from human amniotic membrane. This stock closed up 5.8% to $5.84 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $5.50-$5.98

52-Week Range: $1.81-$7.73

Tuesday's Volume: 928,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 494,935

From a technical perspective, MDXG ripped sharply higher here right off its 200-day moving average of $5.66 with strong upside volume. This move pushed shares of MDXG into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $5.76. Shares of MDXG are now quickly moving within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if MDXG manages to take out Tuesday's high of $5.98 to more resistance at $5.99 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MDXG as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at $5.24 or above its 50-day at $4.92, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 494,935 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then MDXG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6.50 to $6.75.

Superconductor Technologies

Superconductor Technologies (SCON) develops high-temperature superconductor materials and related technologies. This stock closed up 7.4% to $2.02 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $1.79-$2.12

52-Week Range: $1.42-$6.72

Tuesday's Volume: 1.08 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 417,158

From a technical perspective, SCON ripped sharply higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $1.75 with heavy upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of SCON within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if SCON manages to take out Tuesday's high of $2.12 to some more key resistance levels at $2.21 to $2.35 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SCON as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $1.75 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 417,158 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SCON will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day of $2.62 to $2.85. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give SCON a chance to tag $3.25 to $3.50.

Prosensa Holding

Prosensa Holding (RNA) is engaged in the discovery and development of RNA-modulating therapeutics for the treatment of rare genetic disorders. This stock closed up 8.3% to $3.90 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $3.60-$4.08

52-Week Range: $3.43-$34.55

Tuesday's Volume: 229,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 633,977

From a technical perspective, RNA ripped sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $3.46 to $3.43 with lighter-than-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of RNA within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if RNA can manage to take out Tuesday's high of $4.08 to some more near-term overhead resistance at $4.10 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RNA as long as it's trending above $3.46 or above its 52-week low of $3.43 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 633,977 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then RNA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.63 to $4.85. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give RNA a chance to tag $5.50 to $6.

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To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

Monday, December 30, 2013

How Growing Chinese Credit Signals Long-Term Opportunity in Gold

I think it’s interesting how people, including the mainstream media, discuss an issue without truly understanding what it really means. It seems that skimming the surface is good enough these days, as no one seems to want to dig a little deeper.

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One example is the recent reports from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who stated that the Chinese economy must grow at least 7.2% per year in order to limit the unemployment rate at four percent. (Source: “China Premier warns against loose money policies,” Reuters, November 5, 2013.)

As we all know, the Chinese economy is extremely important. As the second-largest nation in the global economy, its ability to manage the Chinese economy and prevent it from weakening further is quite important.

China’s Premier warned against creating even easier monetary conditions within the Chinese economy, as additional money printing could lead to even higher levels of inflation. Currently, the total credit supply is now in excess of $16.4 trillion (or 100 trillion yuan), approximately twice the size of its entire Chinese economy.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Schwab Q3 Results Surprise Analysts; Citi Fails to Hit Estimates

Charles Schwab (SCHW) reported a 17% jump in third-quarter profits to $290 million on Tuesday, while its earnings of $0.22 per share topped Wall Street estimates by $0.02.

Its revenue jump of 15% to nearly $1.4 billion represented a 13-year record for the firm. Plus, the firm says it anticipates sales growth to outpace costs by 3%-5% next year.

The company’s client results “supported double-digit percentage increases in all three of our main revenue sources and 15% overall revenue growth versus the year-ago quarter,” according to CEO Walt Bettinger.

“Even with the continued headwind created by an interest rate environment that remains at historic lows, our third-quarter revenues surpassed all our prior quarterly results save the extraordinary spike we experienced at the height of the Internet bubble,” Bettinger said in a statement.

In the second quarter, the brokerage group saw its sales rise just 4% to $1.34 billion, while expenses jumped 9% in the period.

Schwab has more than $2 trillion in client assets, the CEO notes, and they have been growing at a compound annual rate of 10% over the past five years. Clients that own about half of these assets are enrolled in Schwab programs that include “some form of ongoing advice, reflecting a decades-long evolution at Schwab beyond our discount-brokerage roots,” he added.

Of the $1 trillion, some $890 billion are client assets tied to accounts with independent advisors. The rest are enrolled in one of Schwab’s eight retail advisory offerings.

These two groups of assets each had 17% year-over-year increases.

“Our work on this front continues, as we provide an alternative to the traditional Wall Street model by offering sophisticated, needs-based approaches designed to enable today’s investors to get the help that’s right for them,” the CEO said.

Net new assets in Q3 were close to $43 billion, up 97% from the year-ago period and, Bettinger says, “the highest in Schwab history for a summer quarter.”

The number of active brokerage and banking accounts improved in the latest period, though the figure for corporate retirement plan participants dropped as expected due to Schwab’s consolidation of its plan recordkeeping technology platforms.

Citi's Conundrum

Citigroup (C) said Tuesday that it had a third-quarter profit of $3.23 billion profit in the third quarter, missing analysts’ estimates, but handily topping last year’s net income of $468 million with a nearly 600% increase.

It blamed a 26% decline in bond trading and fallback in U.S. mortgage activity. (In last year’s third quarter, the bank recorded a $2.9 billion loss on its Morgan Stanley Smith Barney joint venture.)

"We performed relatively well in this challenging, uneven macro environment," said CEO Michael Corbat, in a press release. "While many of the factors which influence our revenues are not within our full control, we certainly can control our costs, and I am pleased with our expense discipline and improved efficiency year-to-date.”

Overall, securities and banking sales dropped 2% from the prior-year period to $4.7 billion, while the unit’s net income shrank 16% from last year to $989 million. Private bank revenues, however, improved 1% to $614 million.

“With the environment remaining challenging, we will continue to focus on all aspects of our business to improve client satisfaction and shareholder results consistent with our strategy," Corbat said.

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Check out JPMorgan Reports First Loss Under Dimon; Analysts Say Not to Fear on ThinkAdvisor.

Friday, December 27, 2013

How to Handle Your Noisy Work Neighbors

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Although most of us would love to work in an isolated corner office or at a quiet desk free from distraction, the modern office environment leaves little room for privacy. While open office plans and thin cubicle walls may allow for more camaraderie and collaboration during the workday, it only takes one noisy employee to ruin everyone's focus.

When a loud co-worker is interfering with your capacity to meet deadlines or have a discreet talk with clients, it's time to speak up. Experts weigh in here on the best ways to approach the problem, and how to ensure your working relationship stays strong after things have quieted down.

Start by asking yourself how bad the problem really is, says Robyn Dizes, manager of Career Development Services at Peirce College in Philadelphia. It's important that your managers know you're a team player, and coexisting in the workplace with people who might occasionally be too loud is just part of the job.

"It's the workplace. Not everyone is going to talk and act the way you want them to," Dizes says. "We all have to live together in harmony, and more than likely you're going to have to find a way to compromise." It's important to try to solve the problem yourself before taking your concerns to management, she explains, and how you approach the initial conversation is crucial. It's best to start with a friendly but direct one-on-one chat, says Joe Utecht, crisis response manager with Ceridian LifeWorks. When you start the conversation, Utecht recommends favoring the word "I" over the word "you," so as not to seem accusatory. "Say to them, 'I just want to mention this concern that I have had. I was speaking to someone on the phone the other day, and they could hear some background noise when we were talking, and I think that's coming through in my conversations. I just wanted to let you know." Another way to approach the issue is to ask them if they've noticed your noise level as a problem. Also see: Why It Can Be Good to Take Blame in the Office>>

"You might want to start with something like, 'We're all sitting in this cube environment, and I know there are times when I might be loud and bothering you.' Depending on their response, you can follow that up by letting them know that you've experienced an issue," Utrecht says.

It's important not to focus on the person, Dizes says, because it's the behavior that's really the issue. At no point do you want the conversation to seem like an attack.

"Try letting them know, 'I don't know if you're aware, but your voice really carries, and I have a deadline and I'm having a hard time concentrating.'" While Dizes admits this might hurt the person's feelings for a moment, they may not even be aware that they are being loud and they may be happy to have some constructive criticism. After your chat, if they tone down their noise level, Dizes says it's a good idea to thank them for their effort.

"On your way out of the office or in the next couple of days, just stop and say something like, 'Thank you for your receptiveness to our conversation, it really helped me out," she says. Unfortunately, if your colleague doesn't have that positive reinforcement, they may be more likely to start back up again the next day. If the problem persists or you feel that your co-worker is being intentionally disrespectful, it's time to raise the issue with a manager, Utecht says -- especially if it's not just a loud speaking voice that has you upset. There are lots of things employees can do to make unnecessary noise: grinding coffee, playing music or using an app on their phone that makes sounds. All of those are valid concerns to raise with a supervisor. If you do raise the issue with your supervisor, Dizes says it's a good idea to see if the three of you -- you, your manager, and your noisy colleague -- can meet at the same time to find a solution. "Request a meeting with everyone. It's not a confidential matter," she says. "The manager can mediate a little bit. If it happens behind closed doors people sometimes get upset because they start wondering what was said, but if it's all done together, with everyone on the same page, then it's easier to see that no one is trying to hurt your feelings -- they just have deadlines to meet." Also see: Not Every Office Lets Fans Fly Their Team Colors>>

All managers want to foster a positive and healthy work environment, Utecht says. Because they want their employees to be as productive and stress-free as possible, most will try to deal with the matter in a manner that will be satisfactory to all employees. This is assuming, of course, they have the resources and space to do so.

"It would be ideal if your manager could find your noisy colleague their own little private nook, but most offices don't have extra space for people," Dizes says. "You may find that old-fashioned earplugs might be your best friend, or if you're on deadline for a project that requires total concentration, you may be able to find a conference room and go in there and work."

Companies with deeper pockets may want to look into things such as sound machines -- machines that produce "white noise" that help louder noises blend into the background, Utecht says. Additionally, headsets that are noise canceling can be used when you're making important calls.

At the very least, your manager should be able to send out a generic email to the staff asking people to be mindful of their noise level, Utecht says. Sometimes a broad reminder is all they need, especially if others around them quiet down as a result. Because the vast majority of employees want to have good working relationships with their co-workers, most will make an effort to adjust their noise level when asked, he says. "If they are doing something that is bothering someone else, they will want to deal with that," he says. "When you have your conversation, remind them that your relationship is more valuable to them than your getting your way on this particular issue, and they'll most likely do what they can to keep that rapport at its best."

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Two Firms Raise Price Target on Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS)

On Thursday, two firms raised their price targets on sporting goods retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc (DKS).

Credit Suisse reported that it has increased its price target on DKS to $56. This price target suggests a 4% upside from the stock’s current price of $53.56. The firm has also boosted estimates on the company to reflect its updated outlook. Credit Suisse currently has a “Neutral” rating on DKS.

Citigroup also raised its price target on DKS to $63, suggesting a 15% increase from the stock’s current price. Analysts see higher growth opportunities from new stores and higher margins.

Dick’s Sporting Goods shares were up 71 cents, or 1.35%, during Thursday morning trading. The stock is up 17% YTD.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Twitter may fly on first day, ‘gray market’ shows

Twitter may fly on its first day of trading.

Twitter is scheduled to set a final price for its initial public offering late Wednesday and debut Thursday. The company may end the day with a market value of $25 billion, according IG, which runs a gray market that lets investors bet on such outcomes.

A $25 billion market capitalization implies a share price of about $46 at the end of the first day. That compares to Twitter's current price range for the IPO of $23 to $25 a share, which implies a valuation of about $17 billion.

"It looks exceptionally positive at the moment," said Brenda Kelly, senior market strategist at IG in London.

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Twitter is the most anticipated technology IPO since Facebook's troubled market debut last year. The micro-blogging service has become a media phenomenon, used by presidents, celebrities and kids alike. The company needs to make the platform easier to use and big profits have yet to materialize, but Wall Street is still keen to get involved.

"Twitter is likely to become a core holding for many growth portfolios," said Brad Gastwirth, CEO of ABR Investment Strategy, an independent research firm focused on tech and healthcare.

Twitter raised its IPO price range Monday, suggesting Goldman Sachs and the other banks underwriting the offering are seeing strong demand from investors.

"I would love to invest, but getting stock from Goldman is virtually impossible," said Thomas Wyman, chief investment officer of The Global Internet Fund.

He estimated that the offering is at least ten times over-subscribed, which means that investors have placed orders totaling at least ten times the number of shares that will be sold.

"Even though Facebook's IPO was a disaster at first, this one is set up to perform a lot better," Wyman added.

Facebook priced its IPO at $38 and the stock ended its fir! st day just above that level, then slumped in the weeks following.

IG's gray market initially called for Facebook shares to end their first day of trading at about $30. However, on the last day before the market debut exuberance got the better of IG clients as they bet that the stock would surge to $45 or even $48, according to Kelly.

The opposite has happened with Twitter's IPO. About a month ago, IG clients were betting that Twitter would be valued at about $29 billion at the end of the first day of trading. That dropped to roughly $24 billion about a week ago, Kelly noted.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

OppenheimerFunds shakes up leadership team

oppenheimerFunds, glavin, steinmetz, mutual funds

OppenheimerFunds chief executive officer William Glavin will be stepping down from that role in July, the company announced Tuesday. He will be replaced by chief investment officer Art Steinmetz. Mr. Glavin, who joined OppenheimerFunds in January 2009, will remain chairman.

“Art has been one of the most successful and respected investment managers in the industry for more than 27 years, and I believe it is important that an investor lead this company at this point in its evolution,” Mr. Glavin said in a statement. “We have developed a strategy that will accelerate our growth, and Art and the leadership team are well positioned to lead this change.”

Mr. Steinmetz joined Oppenheimer in 1986, and was named chief investment officer in 2008. He is co-portfolio manager of the $10 billion Oppenheimer International Bond Fund (OIBAX) and the lead manager $7.7 billion Oppenheimer Global Strategic Income Fund (OPSIX).

Mr. Glavin was a co-COO and executive vice president of MassMutual's U.S. insurance group before being named CEO of Oppenheimer in January 2009.

Krishna Memani, chief investment officer of fixed income, has been named Mr. Steinmetz's replacement as chief investment officer.

Kaitlyn Downing, a spokeswoman for OppenheimerFunds, could not be reached for comment.

OppenheimerFunds, the ninth largest mutual fund company, has $15.4 billion of net inflows through the end of November, fifth most among mutual fund companies.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014

With shares of Molycorp (NYSE:MCP) trading around $5, is MCP an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Molycorp engages in the production and sale of rare earth products that include oxides, metals, alloys, and magnets for various inputs in existing and emerging applications comprising clean energy technologies, multiple high-tech uses, defense applications, and water treatment technology. The research and exploration of rare earth products has been a hot trend in recent times. If these products to indeed produce significant results, companies like Molycorp stand to see explosive growth. As these technologies continue to be developed, look for Molycorp to make enormous profits if they become mainstream.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Weak

Molycorp stock has witnessed a fair amount of selling pressure that has taken it to relatively low prices. The stock seems to be stabilizing at these prices but there does not seem to be an indication of a trend. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Molycorp is trading slightly below its key averages which signal neutral to bearish price action in the near-term.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Acacia Research Corporation(ACTG)

Acacia Research Corporation, through its subsidiaries, acquires, develops, licenses, and enforces patented technologies in the United States. It assists patent owners with the prosecution and development of their patent portfolios; protection of their patented inventions from unauthorized use; generation of licensing revenue from users of their patented technologies; and enforcement against unauthorized users of their patented technologies. The company owns or controls the rights to approximately 200 patent portfolios, which include the United State?s patents and foreign counterparts covering technologies used in various industries. Acacia Research Corporation was founded in 1992 and is based in Newport Beach, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Holly LaFon]
Steven Cohen, George Soros and John Paulson are three of the most formidable investors alive today. All three of them added to one of their major holdings so far in 2012. Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors added Dynavax Tech Cp (DVAX), George Soros of Soros Fund Management LLC added Acacia Research (ACTG) and John Paulson of Paulson & Co. added Novagold Resources (NG).
[By Bryan Murphy]
Well, it would be inaccurate to see patent-defense companies like Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNG), InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC), and Acacia Research Corp. (NASDAQ:ACTG) have been forced into going out of business. But, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say some of these so-called patent trolls are now potentially facing a much bigger legal headwind. Investors of companies like IDCC, ACTG, and VRNG may want to reassess the upside of their holdings, now that new laws regarding patent litigation have all but been put into place.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Transcat Inc. (TRNS)

Transcat, Inc. engages in the distribution of handheld test and measurement instruments, as well as provides calibration, repair, and weighing system services. It operates through two segments, Distribution Products and Calibration Services. The Distribution Products segment markets and distributes test and measurement instruments, including calibrators, insulation testers, multi meters, pressure and temperature devices, oscilloscopes, recorders, and related accessories. The Calibration Services segment offers calibration, repair, and weighting system services. It markets and sells its products through direct catalog marketing, e-newsletters, Website, a field sales organization, outbound sales, and an inbound call center in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The company serves pharmaceutical industry; FDA-regulated businesses, such as food and beverage businesses; industrial manufacturing companies; energy industry and power, natural g as, and water utility companies; chemical process industry; and other industries that require accuracy in their processes and confirmation of the capabilities of their equipment. As of March 27, 2010, it operated 12 calibration laboratories in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Transcat, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Rochester, New York.

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: Pfizer Ltd (PFIZER)

Pfizer Limited operates in three segments: Pharmaceuticals, Animal Health and Services. The Pharmaceuticals business consists of manufacturing of drugs and formulations, trading of formulations, and also includes rendering of marketing services. The Animal Health business has a presence primarily in the animal health and poultry market segments and also includes rendering of marketing services. Services segment convicts of clinical development operations primarily include conducting clinical trials, product development and undertaking data management for drug development. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, the Company had launched 26 branded value offerings (BVOs) mainly in the anti-infective, analgesic, central nervous system (CNS), cardiovascular system (CVS) and diabetes segment. The Company incorporated Pfizer Animal Pharma Private Limited (PAPPL), wholly owned subsidiary on February 10, 2012. On April 2, 2012, the Company transferred its Animal Health Business to PAPPL.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Transatlantic Petroleum Corp Co (TNP.TO)

TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd., an international oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties. The company holds interests in developed and undeveloped oil and natural gas properties in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. As of March 1, 2012, it held approximately 5.4 million net onshore acres. The company had interests in 57 onshore exploration licenses and 9 onshore production leases covering 4.3 million net acres in Turkey; 2 onshore exploration permits in Bulgaria; and 1 onshore production license in Romania. TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. was founded in 1985 and is based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Key Technology Inc.(KTEC)

Key Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells process automation systems in the United States and internationally. The company offers automated inspection systems, including Manta, an on-belt sorter; Tegra that inspects products in-air using cameras configured in a tilted-X geometry to look in oblique angles; Optyx; Tobacco Sorters 3 tobacco sorting systems for use in tobacco threshing and processing; ADR automatic defect removal systems for the potato strip industry; and Optyx SG and VeriSym for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, as well as provides various line solutions. It also offers conveying and process systems to move and process product within a production plant. The company?s conveying and process systems comprise Iso-Flo vibratory conveying systems; Impulse, a vibratory conveyor; SmartArm, a wireless performance monitoring system for Iso-Flo vibratory conveyors; horizontal motion conveyors; rotary sizing an d grading systems for food processing and fresh vegetable packing operations; preparation systems to prepare a range of food products prior to cooking, freezing, canning, or other types of processing; fresh-cut systems for the fresh-cut produce industry; and SYMETIX equipment for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. In addition, it provides standard and custom designed equipment that conveys, dewaters, transfers, distributes, aligns, feeds, meters, separates, grades, blanches, cooks, pasteurizes, cools, cleans, washes, dries, polishes, and packages products. Further, the company offers spare parts, and post-sale field and telephone-based repair services; and RemoteMD, a condition analysis tool for G6 optical sorters and G6 ADR automatic defect removal systems, as well as provides online training programs. It sells its products directly, as well as through independent sales representatives. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Sussex Bancorp(SBBX)

Sussex Bancorp operates as the holding company for Sussex Bank that provides commercial banking and related financial services to individual, business, and government customers primarily in the United States. The company?s deposit products include personal and business checking accounts, time deposits, money market accounts, and regular savings accounts. Its loan products portfolio comprises commercial, consumer, mortgage, home equity, and personal loans. The company also operates a general insurance agency, which offers commercial and personal lines of insurance. As of April 27, 2011, Sussex Bancorp operates through 10 offices, including 8 offices located in Sussex County, New Jersey; and 2 in Orange County, New York, as well as serves Pike County, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1975 and is based in Franklin, New Jersey.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: PFB Corporation (PFBOF)

PFB Corporation (PFB) is a Canada-based company. The Company, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the manufacturing of insulating building products made from expanded polystyrene (EPS) materials and marketing these products in North America. Its main brands include PlastiSpan EPS Product Solutions; Advantage ICFS, Insulspan SIPS, Riverbend Timber Framing and Precision Craft. Expandable polystyrene resin is manufactured at PFB�� polymer plant located in Crossfield, Alberta, for use in downstream EPS manufacturing operations. Plasti-Fab EPS Product Solutions supply the EPS foam core material used to manufacture Insulspan SIPS. Riverbend Timber Framing structures are typically sold with an accompanying Insulspan SIPS enclosure package. Advantage ICF Systems are insulating concrete forming systems that are employed to build insulated foundations and walls from concrete in both residential and commercial markets. On February 1, 2011, the Company acquired Precision Craft Group.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc.(UEPS)

Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides payment solutions and transaction processing services primarily in South Africa, Korea, and Europe. It offers universal electronic payment system (UEPS), a smart-card based alternative payment system for the unbanked and underbanked populations of developing economies. The company?s UEPS system uses secure smart cards that operate in real time but offline, which allows users to enter into transactions at any time with other card holders even in the remote areas; and can be used for banking, health care management, international money transfers, voting, and identification. It provides technology that is used in state pension and welfare payments by the South African government; processes debit and credit card payment transactions for retailers, utilities, medical-related claim service customers, and banks, as well as bill payments and prepaid electricity for bill issuers and local councils; and offers mobile telephone top-up transactions for mobile carriers. The company also offers transaction processing, and financial and clinical risk management solutions; an on-line real-time management system for healthcare transactions; smart card accounts, primarily social welfare grant beneficiaries; and short-term loans and life insurance products to card holders through its smart card delivery channel, as well as processes third-party payroll payments for employees. In addition, it markets, sells, and implements the UEPS; and develops and provides Prism secure transaction technology, solutions, and services, as well as involves in hardware sales and license of the DUET system. Further, the company undertakes smart card system implementation projects; offers hardware, SIM cards, point of sale terminals, cryptography services, and SIM card and other software licenses; and rents hardware to merchants. Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Johannes burg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Paul Ausick]
Big earnings movers: Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is down 12.9% at $18.90 after a decent earnings reports was spoiled by a weak outlook<<LINK>>. Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS) is up 46.6% at $10.69 after beating estimates on EPS and revenues, raising its outlook for the third quarter, and posting a new 52-week high of $11.20. Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is down 20.2% at $8.76, following a new 52-week low of $8.66, after a big earnings miss.

Monday, December 16, 2013

The Single Greatest Challenge Apple Investors Face With Earnings on Tuesday

In just a matter of days, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) will report fiscal second-quarter earnings for the March quarter. Last time around, things didn't go so well. This time around, the Mac maker will face one challenge that's nearly insurmountable: guidance for the June quarter.

A new guidance method
This release will be unique on a number of levels when it comes to Apple's guidance. This will be the first earnings report since the company changed its guidance methodology. Investors are literally embarking into uncharted territory. As a reminder, here's how CFO Peter Oppenheimer vaguely described the seemingly subtle change:

In the past we provided a single-point estimate of guidance that was conservative, that we had reasonable confidence in achieving. This quarter and going forward we're going to provide a range of guidance that we believe that we're likely to report within. No guarantee, as forecasting is difficult, but we believe that we will report within that range.

It's a semantic debate, but analysts broadly considered Oppenheimer's comments to mean that Apple would be more forthcoming with its outlook and that the days of lowball forecasts are gone. However, their guess is as good as any linguist's, since Apple has naturally kept mum since January. Here's the official guidance Apple provided a quarter ago.

Metric

Guidance

Revenue	$41 billion to $43 billion
Gross margin	37.5% to 38.5%
Operating expenses	$3.8 billion to $3.9 billion
Other income and expense	$350 million
Tax rate	26%

Source: Apple.

Apple also no longer provides explicit earnings per share guidance, but my calculations put it in the ballpark of $9.18 per share. Even if the results come in line with Apple's outlook, EPS will fluctuate depending on how many shares Apple may have repurchased in the quarter. This factor could potentially be accretive to earnings if shares outstanding decline as they did last quarter, even as the stated goal of Apple's repurchase program is primarily to offset dilution from equity compensation.

Guidance for the June quarter is going to be extremely difficult to read. Numerous key rivals, particularly Samsung, are launching high-end flagships during the quarter at a time when Apple is expected to announce iPhone models as early as June -- which will lead to consumer purchasing delays.

What's even more frustrating for investors is that it almost doesn't matter what Apple reports for the March quarter when trying to understand its June outlook. Regardless of whether Apple posts a blowout, misses, or hits it midpoint on the dot, we're still only talking about a single data point under the new guidance methodology. In any context, a single data point is not statistically significant enough to draw meaningful conclusions. A blowout or miss could still be a fluke either way.

Besides, how many times have you heard of companies posting strong results, only to be overshadowed by soft outlook? June guidance will be the greatest challenge for investors to interpret, even if Apple knocks it out of the park.

Even with the ominous June guide on the horizon, there is a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. The Motley Fool's senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now

One of the most powerful trends in the oil and gas industry is the fundamental shift into unconventional and ultra-deepwater drilling. Exploration and production companies are spending more to access once forbidden reserves with the help of newer and more sophisticated technology. This is a trend that energy investors can't afford to ignore anymore.

Why you can't ignore oilfield services
The era of obtaining easy oil is as good as over. Therefore, it's no surprise that oil and gas companies will be spending an unprecedented $678 billion in 2013, according to Barclays' global E&P spending update. In addition, emerging countries are slated to drive global energy consumption in the next couple of decades.

To this end, E&P companies have already started boosting oil and gas production through technologically advanced drilling methods. And this is why Foolish investors must watch the oilfield services industry closely.

Some solid performance
Oilfield services companies have been performing quite well and I believe will continue to do so. Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ) has been up 23% in the past 12 months. The company's drilling and evaluation and well completion services have seen sustained demand thanks to the various complexities involved in shale oil drilling. National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV ) , on the other hand, is the industry leader when it comes to offshore drilling equipment. This company is a seasoned player in the industry and through its three divisions -- rig technology, petroleum services and supplies, and distribution and transmission. In short, National is a one-stop shop for all oilfield-related services.

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now: Cymer Inc.(CYMI)

Cymer, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of light sources for the manufacturers of photolithography tools in the semiconductor equipment industry. It offers installed base products in support of chipmaker customers used in their advanced wafer patterning production processes. The company also supplies deep ultraviolet light sources to lithography tool manufacturer customers, who integrate the light source into their wafer steppers and scanners, which they then provide to chipmakers. Its products include 193 nanometers (nm) ArF immersion light sources, 193 nm ArF dry light sources, and 248 nm KrF light sources. In addition, the company invests in the development of extreme ultraviolet sources for chip manufacturing. Further, it develops, integrates, markets, and supports silicon crystallization tools used in the manufacture of various types of displays, including high-resolution low temperature poly-silicon liquid c rystal displays and organic light emitting diode displays; and installed base products for use in photolithography systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors. Additionally, the company offers spare and replacement parts for light sources. Cymer, Inc. markets its products in the United States, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and China. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now: Cobar Consolidated Resources Ltd(CCU.AX)

Cobar Consolidated Resources Limited engages in the exploration and development of base and precious metals in Australia. It has 1,371 square kilometers of tenement interests on the western margin of the Cobar basin in western New South Wales. The company primarily focuses on developing the Wonawinta silver project in the Cobar basin in western New South Wales. It also has exploration projects, including the Gundaroo project, the Winduck Super project, the McKinnons gold deposit, and the Goldwing project. The company is based in Melbourne, Australia.

Hot High Tech Companies To Watch For 2014: Niocan Inc Com Npv(NIO.TO)

Niocan Inc. engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in the province of Quebec, Canada. It holds interest in the Niobium mining property consisting of 49 claims covering 1,604 acres and surface rights on 231 acres located in Oka, Quebec. The company also owns a 100% interest in the Great Whale Iron property that includes 71 claims covering 17,098 acres in Hudson Bay and 69 claims. Niocan Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Oka, Canada.

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now: Safeway Inc.(SWY)

Safeway Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and drug retailer in North America. The company operates stores that provide an array of grocery items, food, and general merchandise, as well as features specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral, and pharmacy, as well as coffee shops and fuel centers. It also offers SELECT line of products that include baked goods, sparkling ciders and lemonades, salsas, whole bean coffees, frozen pizzas and entrees, and fresh and dry pastas and sauces, as well as an array of ice creams, hors d'oeuvres, and desserts; O ORGANICS line, which comprises milk, chicken, salads, juices, and entrees; Lucerne line of dairy products; Eating Right line of better-for-you products; Bright Green line of home care products; Total Pet Care line of pet foods and pet care products; and Value Red line of value-priced paper goods. As of December 31, 2009, Safeway operated approximately 1,725 stores in California, Oregon, Wash ington, Alaska, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba/Saskatchewan. In addition, the company owns and operates GroceryWorks.com Operating Company, LLC, an online grocery channel, doing business under the names Safeway.com, Vons.com, and Genuardis.com; and Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., which provides third-party gift cards, prepaid cards, telecom cards, and sports and entertainment cards to North American retailers for sale to retail customers. Additionally, it engages in gift card businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Australia. Further, the company, through a 49% ownership interest in Casa Ley, S.A. de C.V. operates 156 food and general merchandise stores in Western Mexico. The company was formerly known as Safeway Stores, Incorporated and changed its name to Safeway Inc. in February 1990. Safeway was founded in 1915 and is based in Pleasanton, California. Advisors' Opinion:

[By George Acs]
Safeway (SWY) recently announced the divestiture of its Canadian holdings. As it did so, shares surged wildly in the after hours. I remember that because it was one of the stocks that I was planning to recommend for the coming week and then thought that it was a missed opportunity. However, by the time the market opened the next morning, most of the gains evaporated and its shares remained a Double Dip Dividend selection. While its shares are a bit higher than where I most recently had been assigned, it still appears to be a good value proposition.
[By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]
Safeway is a grocery and drug retailer operating mainly in the West and Central United States. A recent earnings report has investors excited about the company. The stock has been surging higher and is now trading near highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been mixed, however, investors have been pleased with what they have heard during earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Safeway has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Safeway to continue to OUTPERFORM.
[By Shauna O'Brien]
On Friday, Credit Suisse announced that it has upgraded food and drug retailer Safeway Inc. (SWY).

The firm has raised its rating on SWY from “Underperform” to “Outperform” due a a valuation call. Analysts currently have a $34 price target on SWY, which suggests a 17% increase from the stock’s current price of $28.20.

Safeway shares were up $1.65, or 6.21%, during Friday morning trading. The stock is up 56% YTD.
[By Teresa Rivas]
Safeway (SWY) was up nearly 4% after an upgrade to Outperform at Credit Suisse, which also upgraded lululemon (LULU), sending shares up 1%, and downgraded Under Armour (UA)��hares were down 1.6%.

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now: Raven Industries Inc.(RAVN)

Raven Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures various products for industrial, agricultural, energy, construction, and military/aerospace markets primarily in North America. It operates in four segments: Applied Technology, Engineered Films, Aerostar, and Electronic Systems. The Applied Technology segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services precision agriculture products and information management tools enabling growers to enhance farm yields. Its products include field computers, application controls, GPS-guidance and assisted-steering systems, automatic boom controls, and yield monitoring planter controls, as well as an integrated real time kinematic and information platform called Slingshot. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, as well as through after market distributors. The Engineered Films segment produces rugged reinforced plastic sheeting for industrial, construction, geomembrane, and agricultural appli cations. It sells plastic sheeting to independent third-party distributors through its sales force. The Aerostar segment sells high-altitude research balloons and tethered aerostats for government and commercial research. It produces military parachutes, uniforms, and protective wear for the U.S. government agencies as a subcontractor; and other sewn and sealed products on a contract basis. The Electronic Systems segment provides electronics manufacturing services for commercial customers. It manufactures assemblies, including avionics, communication, environmental controls, and other products. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dividends4Life]
Memberships and Peers: MMM is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: General Electric Co. (GE) with a 3.1% yield, Raven Industries Inc. (RAVN) with a 1.6% yield and Carlisle Companies Inc. (CSL) with a 1.2% yield.

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now: Solta Medical Inc(SLTM)

Solta Medical, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of energy-based medical device systems for aesthetic applications primarily in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. It offers Fraxel re:pair system for use in dermatological procedures requiring ablation, coagulation, and resurfacing of soft tissue, as well as for rhytides, pigmentation, dyschromia, fine lines, acne, surgical scars, deeper lines, wrinkles, and actinic keratoses; and Clear + Brilliant system for patients who want to take control of their aging process. The company also provides Thermage CPT system that provides non-invasive treatment options for skin tightening; Liposonix system to destroy unwanted fat cells resulting in waist circumference reduction; Isolaz system for the treatment of inflammatory acne, comedonal acne, and mild to moderate inflammatory acne; and the CLARO device, a consumer handheld device for the tre atment of mild-to-moderate inflammatory acne, including pustular acne. Its customers principally include dermatologists, plastic surgeons, general and family practitioners, gynecologists, and ophthalmologists. The company sells its products primarily through a direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors; and CLARO device through retail and associated retailer?s Websites, and television retail networks, as well as through its own website in the United States. The company was formerly known as Thermage, Inc. and changed its name to Solta Medical, Inc. in January 2009. Solta Medical, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Hayward, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Lauren Pollock]
Solta Medical Inc.(SLTM) unveiled restructuring plans to improve its financial performance and has hired an adviser to help evaluate strategic alternatives, including a possible sale or merger of the medical aesthetics device maker. Investors cheered the news, sending shares up 7.7% to $1.97 premarket.
[By John Udovich]
On Tuesday, small cap biotech stock Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: KYTH) surged around 25% after announcing that its ATX-101 REFINE-1 and REFINE-2 Phase III trials met all primary and secondary endpoints for the reduction of so-called double chins; but if investors missed out on that rally, small caps Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc (NASDAQ: ZLTQ), Solta Medical Inc (NASDAQ: SLTM) and Cynosure, Inc (NASDAQ: CYNO) each have a piece of the aesthetic market as well. In the case of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, its ATX-101 can be injected to deal with double chins��meaning its less invasive than liposuction as the drug dissolves fat cells but leaves other tissue alone. JP Morgan has noted:

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now: Hamilton Thorne Ltd (HTL.V)

Hamilton Thorne Ltd., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Hamilton Thorne, Inc., develops, manufactures, and sells precision laser systems and advanced image analysis systems for living cell applications in the fertility, stem cell, and developmental biology research markets. Its product portfolio consists of XYRCOS for clinical laser assisted hatching and biopsy applications in animal and stem cell; XYClone laser system for stem cell research, gene targeting, knock out mouse production, SCNT, ICSI, IVF, and assisted hatching; ZILOS-tk for laser assisted hatching, trophectoderm biopsy, and blastomere biopsy for clinical human applications; LYKOS laser with built-in RED-i target locator for clinical applications; and Stiletto for ablation of unwanted cells. The company also offers IMSI-Strict software solution that offers real-time, automated computer analysis of live sperm morphology under high magnification; and CIVA, a custom software product for the capture of microsco pe images and videos. In addition, it provides computer assisted sperm analyzers, as well as sperm analysis accessories, including Accu-beads for quality control of sperm counting, IDENT fluorescent stain for precise sperm counts, VIADENT fluorescent stains for viability studies, 2X-CEL disposable sperm analysis chambers, and the MiniTherm portable stage warmer. Further, the company offers micromanipulation products, such as XenoWorks Micromanipulator, XenoWorks Digital Microinjector, and XenoWorks Analog Microinjector, as well as micropipette puller, laser based micropipette puller, flaming/brown micropipette puller, and vertical micropipette puller. Hamilton Thorne Ltd. sells its products through its direct sales force and through distributors to fertility clinics, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, educational institutions, and other commercial and academic research establishments worldwide. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Beverl y, Massachusetts.

Top Performing Companies To Buy Right Now: Mediterranean Res Ltd(MNR.TO)

Mediterranean Resources Ltd. engages in locating, acquiring, exploring, and developing mineral resource properties in Turkey. It primarily explores for gold, and base and precious metals. The company, through its subsidiary, Akdeniz Resources Madencilik A.S., owns a 100% interest in the Yusufeli gold properties, including the Tac, Corak, Celtik, and Cevreli properties covering 11,310 hectares located in the province of Artvin. The company was formerly known as Mediterranean Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Mediterranean Resources Ltd. in December 2005. Mediterranean Resources Ltd. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Jim Cramer's 6 Stocks in 60 Seconds: WDC CSX TRLA ADT DSX UTX (Update 1)

Check out Jim Cramer's latest trading recommendations on "Action Alerts Plus".

(Updates with closing information.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here's what Jim Cramer had to say on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Friday.

Of Western Digital (WDC), Cramer said: "Citigroup says buy this. Why? Because of the revival of the PC." WDC rose 19 cents to $79.05.

Cramer said CSX (CSX) is interesting. "There's re-pricing going on," he said of the railroad. "It's a good buy." CSX rose 1.1% to $27.57.

Trulia (TRLA) has been "a disaster of late and that's because of a lot of competition," Cramer said. "It's overvalued." TRLA jumped 8.5% to $31.73.

Credit Suisse put out a positive note on ADT (ADT), but Cramer urged caution. "It's been a horrendous performer," he said. "Stay away." ADT was down 1.2% to $38.80.

Cramer likes Diana Shipping (DSX). "This has been a remarkable performer," he said. "I want to buy as a spec." DSX zoomed 10.1% to $12.27.

Cramer said a lot of people are deserting United Technologies (UTX) today but he thinks it has a "federal government problem that'll be resolved. Buy it, [do] not sell it." UTX fell nearly 1% to $107.35.

To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter, with all of his latest articles and videos, please click here.

-- Written by Carla Baranauckas in New York.

Follow @cabara

Stock quotes in this article: WDC, CSX, TRLA, ADT, DSX, UTX

Thursday, December 12, 2013

5 Big Trades for Year-End Gains

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- After a strong day of selling yesterday, the S&P 500 is down a "whopping" 1.3% in December. Not quite the bloodbath for stocks that it's been made out to be.

So even though stocks are pointed slightly lower this morning, it's a little premature to start panicking about the staying power of this rally.

Despite a fairly flat start to the month, history typically sits on the side of the bulls in December. In fact, it's worth noting that it's been more than five decades since a rally has ended during the final month of the calendar year. And sure enough, we're seeing some big trading opportunities starting to perk up in some of the most actively traded stocks on Wall Street. That's why we're taking a technical look at five big-name trades to take this week.

If you're new to technical analysis, here's the executive summary.

Technicals are a study of the market itself. Since the market is ultimately the only mechanism that determines a stock's price, technical analysis is a valuable tool even in the roughest of trading conditions. Technical charts are used every day by proprietary trading floors, Wall Street's biggest financial firms, and individual investors to get an edge on the market. And research shows that skilled technical traders can bank gains as much as 90% of the time.

Every week, I take an in-depth look at big names that are telling important technical stories. Here's this week's look at five high-volume stocks to trade this week.

PVH

Large-cap apparel stock PVH (PVH) is a perfect case in point. While PVH's 18% rally would be stellar performance during a normal year, 2013 has been anything but normal for stock investors, so shares have actually underperformed the broad market by 8.3% since the calendar flipped over to January. But the price action in PVH points to shares making up the difference.

PVH is currently forming a cup and handle pattern, a classic bullish price setup that's formed by a cup-shaped rounding bottom in shares that's followed up by a short-duration channel down. The buy signal comes on a move through the pattern's price ceiling at $135. Since PVH is testing that $135 resistance level this week, we could see a buy signal in PVH sooner rather than later.

LKQ is currently forming a rectangle pattern, a consolidation setup that's formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares at $34 and horizontal support at $31. The rectangle gets its name because it basically "boxes in" shares of a stock -- the break outside of the box is the trade to take. So if LKQ pushes above $34, then it's time to buy.

Even though consolidation setups -- such as the rectangle in LKQ -- move price action sideways, they come with directional bias in tow. Since LKQ's price action leading up to the rectangle was bullish, it's more likely to break out from the setup to the upside. While it's close now, it doesn't become a high-probability trade until $34 gets taken out.

Discover Financial Services

You don't have to be an expert technical analyst to figure out what's going on in shares of Discover Financial Services (DFS). This payment network is showing off some pretty basic technical price action. DFS is currently trading higher in an uptrending channel, a setup formed by a pair of parallel trend lines. When it comes to price channels, up is good and down is bad; it's as simple as that.

For Discover, trend line support has spurred a price bounce in each of the last seven times it's been tested. With shares coming down for test number eight, it's likely we'll see another trend line bounce in December. That bounce is when you want to be a buyer -- not before.

Buying off a support bounce makes sense for two big reasons: It's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong). Remember, all trend lines do eventually break, but by actually waiting for the bounce to happen first, we're ensuring Discover can actually still catch a bid along that line.

Mylan

We're seeing the exact same price setup in shares of Mylan (MYL) right now. MYL has been one of the best-in-breed pharma stocks over the course of 2013, rallying more than 50% between January's first open and yesterday's close, and with shares approaching trendline support again, this stock looks primed for a bounce.

Mylan's channel has provided a high-probability range for this stock's price action all the way since the summer. In fact, it's been more than high-probability; it's been textbook over that time.

The 50-day moving average has been a stellar proxy for support all the way up Mylan's channel, so it's the perfect place to put a protective stop after the bounce in shares. Relative strength continues to be outsized in MYL right now – that means that this stock is statistically more likely to continue to beat the S&P 500 for the next 10 months. Wait for the bounce off of support before you buy...

Berkshire Hathaway

Not all of the names we're looking at today are bullish. Sorry Warren, but Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) is starting to look toppy right now.

Berkshire has been forming a long-term descending triangle for the last six months now. The descending triangle is formed by a downtrending resistance level above shares and a horizontal support level to the downside. Basically, as Berkshire bounces in between those two technically-important prices, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakdown below support at $111. When that happens, it's time to be a seller.

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

10 Worst Sales Mistakes Advisors Make

Face it: financial advisors have issues — often with themselves. In fact, sometimes they can be their own worst enemy.

ThinkAdvisor asked Darci Hemsley Brown, senior managing partner of the management, sales and psychological training firm Aaron Hemsley & Associates, to identify the 10 worst sales mistakes that advisors make.

Since 2001, Brown has worked with hundreds of financial advisors in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Asia. The financial author-speaker Nick Murray calls Brown’s 10-week coaching program “the single best investment you can make in your career.”

Brown’s father, Aaron Hemsley, is a pioneering performance-psychology researcher and sales-process coach whose philosophy is: “Top producers are not born – they are made.”

[Check out The 6 Cold Calling Skills You Really Need]

Darci joined the company after years as a psychology professor and psychotherapist. She specializes in coaching advisors one-on-one to help overcome sales-related fears and self-sabotaging behaviors. Once completing the “Psychology of Maximum Sales Performance” program, advisors are ready to use the techniques on their own.

Speaking from company headquarters in Las Vegas, Brown revealed financial advisors’ biggest sales mistakes and ways to overcome them. Here is what she said, starting with No. 10 on her list:

Rationalizing, Justifying, Minimizing, Making Excuses for Behavior

10. Rationalizing, Justifying, Minimizing, Making Excuses for Behavior

If you stay up till midnight drinking with your buddies on a Monday night and your head feels like a bowling ball on Tuesday, how can that not affect your performance, sales and prospecting? Thinking that it’s “no big deal” is making an excuse. Mood, energy, productivity, performance are directly affected daily by everything you do. You’re 100% responsible for the things in your life that you have 100% control over. No one would consider putting anything other than premium fuel in a Bugatti. Likewise, if you’re not taking care of yourself, you aren’t able to effectively help people that need your help – who are negatively affected by your bad personal choices too. When you don’t get enough sleep, you might think, “No big thing.” But feeling tired and sluggish the next day will affect your performance and productivity. The human body is so much more valuable than a sports car.

Not Having a Daily Accountability Tracking System

9. Not Having a Daily Accountability Tracking System

You can use a yellow pad to track performance. I don’t care if you use a Post-it! A tracking system is a way to slow down the action so that you can see your reality and fix problems quickly. That allows you to do better in sales and every other area of your business. When you track your performance, you’re able to evaluate it rationally instead of emotionally. Any time you’re trying to improve, grow or overcome a negative habit, or create a new positive one, you need to be accountable and carefully monitor everything you do all day long. If you’re unwilling to do this, you’re putting your head in the sand: “Oh, I’ll just do the same ol’- same ol’.” You don’t need to be held accountable to a branch manager or regional manager; but if you’re serious about growth and change, you must be held accountable to yourself.

Living Life in Your Comfort Zone

8. Living Life in Your Comfort Zone

You feel you’re making enough money; you don’t need a nicer house or car. So you get complacent and stop pushing. Or you’re simply settling for mediocrity. That good-enough attitude, “I’m doing well enough,” or living in your comfort zone are lazy approaches. If you’re grossing $1 million a year but capable of doing four times that and not using all your talents and skills, or if you’re sitting in your office reading the sports page online and not working seven to eight hours a day, you’re choosing to act irresponsibly.

Maybe you have a fear of success because you think that you’re undeserving: “Good grief, I can’t make more than my brother, the doctor. He saves lives. What do I do?” Fear of success usually is quite hidden. When I see advisors clearly sabotaging themselves, I typically spot a red flag: a record of roller-coaster productivity, with their best month frequently followed by two or three bad months. But then they get nervous again: “Oh, I’d better kick it up a notch and have another great month.” Then: “Whoa, I’m getting too big!” This is always absolutely subconscious. If you bring up a fear of success, they’ll immediately be in denial: “That can’t be me!”

Perfectionism

7. Perfectionism

This is a self-defeating behavior that affects financial advisors by sucking all the joy, happiness and peace right out of them. Perfectionism is typically motivated by a fear of failure or a sense of duty. But if you pursue excellence in a healthy, rational way, you find joy in the journey. Perfectionists are so terrified of failure that they try to do everything perfectly. This leads to procrastination because you’re worried that you can’t do it perfectly. Or when you do start a project, you spend way too much time on it. That creates anxiety, making you and everybody around you uncomfortable. The perfectionist is waiting to be happy.

But no matter how great their accomplishments, they’re never really satisfied: “I sure will be happy once I become a million-dollar producer.” But when you get to the million dollar mark, you’re still not happy: “Maybe $2 million is the happy gross-production point.” Perfectionists are striving to accept themselves: If I’m perfect enough, then I’ll be worthy of love. Perfectionism is tied into loving yourself unconditionally and allowing others to love you unconditionally.

Refusing to Create a Daily Plan of Attack

6. Refusing to Create a Daily Plan of Attack

This is a horrendous mistake: Not having an hour-by-hour agenda of how you’re going to use your time every day. A fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach is ineffective at best. A daily plan makes you more organized and gives you flexibility to move things around. In the life of a financial advisor, money is on the line every day – yours and other people’s. If you’re not making a plan of attack that’s specific, immediate and clear, and are passively approaching prospecting and client care, that’s lazy and irresponsible. You aren’t serious. Professional football players always have a plan of attack. The teams are strategizing – just like in war – studying the opponent and how they’re going to beat them.

There’s a proverb associated with King Richard III about the neglect of a simple detail. He [supposedly] was unprepared in a crucial battle because of a missing horseshoe nail, causing him to fall off his horse and his army to scatter. Shakespeare wrote: “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” [Factually, the horse got stuck in mud.]

Focusing on Results vs. Activities Over Which You Have Control

5. Focusing on Results vs. Activities Over Which You Have Control

It’s not just advisors that do this -- it’s branch managers and all the way up the company. They focus their attention on results -- gross production -- instead of rewarding advisors’ good activities that will lead to good results. This can cause advisors to become depressed and discouraged, leading to emotional exhaustion. Many branch managers think concentrating on results will push you harder; but if your focus is on results and you have a fear of success, that can backfire. This destroys your emotional strength, bringing on low self-esteem and all kinds of other negative issues.

If you’re a smart branch manager, you do not want that to happen. If you’re an advisor focusing on the goal to make $1 million in gross production next year and on January 10, you land the largest client of your career and already surpass your goal, you might think, “Guess I’ll take a vacation for the rest of the year.” No! What you earned yesterday is irrelevant. How many people are you going to talk to today? If you want to make your branch manager happy, set a darn goal. But then try forgetting about it and start focusing on the daily activities that you have 100% control over. Focus on what you can control, not on what you can’t.

Neglecting to Effectively Manage Daily Stress and Anxiety

4. Neglecting to Effectively Manage Daily Stress and Anxiety

The higher your stress level, the lower your productivity and the poorer your performance. If you feel stress but are doing nothing about it, you become worn out emotionally and physically. This affects your mood, productivity, sales and ability to prospect. Performance anxiety is about stress; it typically comes from a fear of rejection or looking foolish. Ruminating about the past or worrying about future production is a distraction; it wastes your emotional energy and creates stress. Many advisors self-medicate for stress. The most common way is to surf the Internet.

But this is an avoidance behavior that actually exacerbates stress: you’ve lost an hour or two procrastinating, putting you behind; and now you’re anxious about something that has to be done. Drugs are another way to self-medicate: caffeine or cocaine – both are drugs. Alcohol is the most common self-medicating drug used for stress. But instead of feeling better, you’ve made the problem worse by taking a depressant. Be sensitive to your stress level. When you notice it’s getting out of control, do some deep diaphragmatic breathing, for example, and generate relaxing, peaceful thoughts. This helps keep your motivation, energy and emotional strength at healthy levels.

Pride

3. Pride

A self-defeating behavior, pride negatively affects sales because it prevents learning and growth. Pride is, in this sense, more than conceit or arrogance: it is a state of opposition. If you’re a truly prideful person, you have a very difficult time accepting authority or direction and if you need help, are highly unlikely to seek it. You might not even admit that you have a problem. If you’re capable of but not quadrupling your gross production by using all your talents and time effectively, you’re choosing to act irresponsibly. You have a fear of failure, a fear of success or a fear of rejection. It requires humility to seek out help when you’re struggling, but prideful people are not humble enough to do that. They make everyone their adversary and pit their intellectual ability, talent, wealth – any other worldly measure – against everyone else.

Habitual Distorted Thinking

2. Habitual Distorted Thinking

Negative thinking can be both accurate and true, but distorted thinking is different: there is something wrong with a distorted thought. It is inaccurate and untrue. And it tends to be negative as well. Distorted thinking is the root of all irrational fear. We create our own fear through the distorted thoughts we choose to entertain. “Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda” is a type of distorted thinking. Fantasy daydreaming is self-defeating too because it wastes time: it’s avoidance from work.

One of the most common types of distorted thinking that financial advisors engage in is “mind-reading”: they think they know what another person is thinking and feeling about them. For instance: You have a fear of asking for a referral because you imagine that clients will think you’re rude or offensive. This leads to the belief system that asking for referrals is rude, annoying, makes people angry and that they therefore won’t like you. The big, encompassing fear is the fear of rejection. Advisors need to learn how to control distorted thoughts by using the three C’s: Catch it, Challenge it, Change it – into healthy, rational thoughts.

Fear of Prospecting

1. Fear of Prospecting

This is the most damaging fear – and it’s pretty prevalent.

Prospecting is the one thing that financial advisors, almost without exception, avoid because of fear of rejection, fear of failure or fear of success. Everyone has fears; but if they’re causing you to perform below your potential, hide out in your office and not prospect day after day – and if you aren’t seeking help – that is going to lead to failure in the industry. At a bare minimum, you won’t be as effective. You might be able to somehow get by, but you’ll be performing far below your true potential because you’re not handling your fear. You control your own fear. You exacerbate it. And you can choose to start minimizing it.

If you’re just sitting on your behind waiting for referrals to fall in your lap, you’re rationalizing. That’s a very passive, lazy approach to prospecting. In fact, you’re not prospecting – you’re making excuses for not prospecting. All advisors know they need to prospect to grow their business. So avoiding it creates anxiety, worry, remorse, frustration and self-loathing. You can’t wait for referrals to magically come to you. The biggest problem is choosing not to do something proactive to eliminate any fear that interferes with doing your job effectively.

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Monday, December 9, 2013

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Buy Right Now

Canadian stocks rose, following the third weekly drop for the benchmark index, as a nine-month high in the price of crude boosted oil and gas producers and existing home sales rose in May.

Calfrac Well Services Ltd. and Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (BNK) added at least 4.4 percent to pace gains among energy shares. Talisman Energy (TLM) Inc. increased 1.7 percent after Lundin Petroleum AB began drilling in a field co-owned by the two companies in the North Sea. B2Gold Corp. jumped the most in six weeks, ahead of its inclusion in an index of gold mining stocks. Rogers Communications Inc. rallied 1.3 percent after an analyst with Canaccord Genuity Inc. raised his rating for the stock.

The Standard & Poor��/TSX Composite Index (SPTSX) rose 101.54 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,288.90 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge slipped 1.5 percent last week and has lost 1.2 percent this year, making it the third-worst performing index among developed markets in the world, ahead of Austria and Hong Kong.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Buy Right Now: Euro/Yen(EJ)

E-House (China) Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate services company in China. It provides primary real estate agency services, secondary real estate brokerage services, real estate information and consulting services, real estate advertising services, real estate promotional event services, real estate online services, and real estate investment fund management services. The company offers primary real estate agency services to real estate developers. Its secondary real estate brokerage services include offering advisory services on choices of properties; accompanying potential buyers on house viewing trips; drafting purchase contracts; negotiating price and other terms; and providing preliminary proof of title, as well as coordinating with the notary, the bank, and the title transfer agency. The company also provides real estate information services comprising data subscription services and data integration services; and real estate cons ulting services, including land acquisition consulting, development consulting, marketing consulting, and comprehensive solution consulting. In addition, it offers real estate advertising services consisting of advertising design and sales in print and other media; and real estate promotional event services, including securing venues, hiring caters and other various service providers, formulating event themes, and inviting speakers and guests for real estate promotional events. Further, the company provides real estate online services, including real estate news, information, property data, and access to online communities to real estate consumers and participants through local Web sites; and involves in real estate investment fund management activities that consist of investments in China?s real estate sector. E-House (China) Holdings Limited was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Seth Jayson]
E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ ) reported earnings on May 16. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), E-House (China) Holdings crushed expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Buy Right Now: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a Taiwan-based company principally engaged in the research, development, manufacture and distribution of integrated circuit (IC) related products. The Company operates its businesses through wafer manufacture, mask production, wafer testing and packaging components. The Company also involves in the provision of production management, customer services and design services. Its products and services are applied in the manufacture of personal computers and peripheral products, information related products, wire and wireless communication systems, automobile and industrial equipment, as well as consumer electronic products, such as digital disk players, digital televisions (TVs), game consoles, digital cameras, among others. Its customers include Altera, AMD, Broadcom, Marvell, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Analog Devices, Freescale, NXP and Texas Instruments, among others. In July 2010, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. acquired mechanical and engineering equipment from ASML HONG KONG LTD. In September 2010, the Company acquired a set of equipments from ASML HONG KONG LTD. In December 2010, the Company acquired a set of equipment from TOKYO ELECTRON LTD., KLA-TENCOR CORP. and NOVELLUS SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL,B.V. In January 2011, the Company announced that it had acquired a set of equipment from KLA-TENCOR CORP., a set of equipment and facility, and another set of equipment from VARIAN SEMI. EQUIP. ASSOCIATES GmbH. In March 2011, the Company acquired a set of equipments from Rudolph Technologies, Inc.In March 2011, the Company acquired a set of equipments from Rudolph Technologies, Inc. In May 2011, it acquired a set of equipments form APPLIED MATERIALS SOUTH EAST ASIA PACIFIC LTD., Hamatech APE Gmbh and CO. KG, TOKYO ELECTRON LTD., DAINIPPON SCREEN MFG. CO., LTD., and VARIAN SEMI. EQUIP. ASSOCIATES GMBH.

TSMC's customers include semiconductor companies, ranging from fabless semiconductor and systems companies, such as Advanced Micro Devices, In! c., Altera Corporation, Broadcom Corporation, Marvell Semiconductor Inc., MediaTek Inc., nVidia Corporation and Qualcomm Incorporated, to integrated device manufacturers, such as LSI Corporation, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments Inc. Fabless semiconductor and system companies accounted for approximately 80%, and integrated device manufacturers accounted for approximately 20% of its net sales as of December 31, 2009.

The Company manufactures semiconductors using CMOS and BiCMOS processes. The BiCMOS process combines the speed of the bipolar circuitry and the power consumption and density of the CMOS circuitry. It uses the CMOS process to manufacture logic semiconductors, memory semiconductors, including static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, mixed-signal/ radio frequency (RF) semiconductors, which combine analog and digital circuitry in a single semiconductor, micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS), which combines micrometer featured mechanical parts, analog and digital circuitry in a single semiconductor, and embedded memory semiconductors, which combine logic and memory in a single semiconductor. The BiCMOS process is used to make high-end mixed-signal and other types of semiconductors.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Dividend]
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) has a market capitalization of $85.85 billion. The company employs 39,267 people, generates revenue of $16.931 billion and has a net income of $5.550 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $10.448 billion. The EBITDA margin is 61.71 percent (the operating margin is 34.84 percent and the net profit margin 32.78 percent).

Top 5 Cheap Companies To Buy For 2014: The Spectranetics Corporation (SPNC)

The Spectranetics Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets single use medical devices used in minimally invasive surgical procedures within the cardiovascular system in conjunction with its proprietary excimer laser system, the CVX-300. The company?s excimer laser technology is used to ablate multiple lesion morphology morphologies, such as plaque, moderate calcium, and thrombus. It offers four primary product categories for the Vascular Intervention product line, including peripheral atherectomy, coronary atherectomy, thrombus management, and crossing solutions. The peripheral atherectomy product line consists of a selection of proprietary laser catheters that are indicated for the treatment of infrainguinal (leg) stenoses and occlusions; and the coronary atherectomy product line includes a selection of proprietary laser catheters to be used in various types of coronary artery diseases comprising occluded saphenous vein bypass grafts, ostial lesions, long lesions, m oderately calcified stenoses, total occlusions traversable by guidewire, lesions, and restenosis. The thrombus management product line consists of three thrombus removal devices intended to remove fresh, soft thrombi, and emboli from vessels in the arterial system, as well as to address thrombotic occlusions in dialysis grafts and fistulae; and the crossing solutions product line support guidewires or other devices in facilitating vascular access in the arterial system to enable various types of interventions. The company?s lead management product line comprises excimer laser sheaths, non-laser sheaths, and cardiac lead management accessories for the removal of pacemaker and defibrillator cardiac leads. It sells its products in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Puerto Rico. The company has a strategic alliance with Kensey Nash Corporation. The Spectranetics Corporation was founded in 1984 and is based in Colorado Springs , Colorado.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Buy Right Now: GTSI Corp.(GTSI)

GTSI Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) hardware and solutions to federal, state, and local government customers, as well as to prime contractors in the United States. It offers IT infrastructure solutions, including data center consolidation and optimization solutions, server and desktop virtualization solutions, cloud computing solutions, network modernization solutions, unified communications and collaboration solutions, database and software development solutions, asset management solutions, and financial services solutions. The company also provides various services comprising software development and maintenance, program and project management, database development and maintenance, and legacy systems modernization services. In addition, it offers computer hardware, software, and peripheral products, as well as provides technical support and assistance services. The company markets and sells its computer hardware and software, and solutions through GTSI.com. It has strategic partner relationships with Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Crossmatch Technologies, Microsoft, Dell, Oracle, Net App, and Hitachi. GTSI Corp. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Geoff Gannon]
I would never assume that $1 of retained earnings at GTSI (GTSI) was worth $1. It�� not.
So it would be hard to buy GTSI on an earnings basis. I didn��. I bought it for the Ben Graham: Net-Net Newsletter�� model portfolio simply based on its cash, receivables, and stake in another company. Those 3 things meant the company�� liquidation value was higher than the price I paid for the stock.
[By Geoff Gannon]
Someone who reads my articles sent me this question: My��uestion has to do with the type of investments you tend to put your energy toward. Evaluating a net-net is a whole lot different than evaluating a company that has a competitive advantage and trades at much higher multiples. To me, the net-net evaluation process is a whole lot more straightforward, as there are fewer intangibles (if any) and less prediction about the future involved. I don't have to worry about whether GTSI (GTSI) has any competitive advantage ��I know it doesn't. Then again, I look at a company like Becton Dickenson (BDX) and I see a highly predictable company with a decent moat selling at a reasonable price. I can look at BDX and figure I might earn 10-15% annually over a long time frame. That's really different from thinking about investing in a net-net where I can see how it's 30-50% undervalued now, but it's not something I'm going to hold onto for decades. It's more of a matter of waiting for that one-time "pop" that will happen sometime in the next 1-5 years. How do you decide where to put your energy?
[By Geoff Gannon]
I picked GTSI (GTSI) for the Ben Graham: Net-Net Newsletter.
And that is not a good business. It lost money in about half of the last 10 years. It had no history of earning more than about 6% on equity over time. It was a truly terrible business.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Buy Right Now: Abacus Property Group (ABP.AX)

Abacus Property Group engages in the management and investment of property based assets in Australia. It involves in property investment, funds management, property finance, and projects and investments activities. The company holds a diversified investment portfolio of retail, commercial, industrial properties. In addition, Abacus Property Group develops, originates, and manages off balance sheet funds; engages in mortgage lending and related property financing solutions; and invests in joint venture activities and in securities of other listed and unlisted property trusts. The company is based in Sydney, Australia.