Canada Stocks Rise to 2-Week High as Gold Surges on Yellen Talk

Canadian stocks rose to a two-week high, as precious metals producers rallied after U.S. labor data and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman nominee Janet Yellen signaled further stimulus.

B2Gold Corp. climbed 5.1 percent as the price of the metal halted a five-day losing streak. Pan American Silver Corp. jumped 7.8 percent as silver rallied. CGI Group Inc. (GIB/A), the company that has come under scrutiny for its work on the Obamacare health exchange, surged 4.3 percent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index (SPTSX) climbed 60.72 points, or 0.5 percent, to 13,431.38 at 4 p.m. in Toronto, the highest since Oct. 30. The benchmark Canadian equity gauge has advanced 8 percent this year, the third-worst performance among global developed markets, ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore.

"It's a green light, as that was the biggest fear, that the Fed would take away the punch bowl," said Ian Nakamoto, director of research with MacDougall MacDougall & MacTier Inc. in Toronto. The firm manages about C$4 billion ($3.8 billion). "Definitely, the testimony is positive for the markets. She does have to contend with some hawks, and we'll see whether she's a compromiser, but right now it looks like no tapering until March."

Best China Stocks To Own Right Now

The U.S. economy and the job market are performing "far short of their potential" and a strong recovery will ultimately enable the Fed to reduce its stimulus, Yellen said in testimony at her nomination hearing today.

Investors have been watching for signals on whether the Fed will taper its $85 billion a month in bond purchases. The stimulus has fueled a rally in equities this year.

Gold Rally

Raw-materials stocks rallied 1 percent to pace gains in the S&P/TSX, as eight of 10 industries advanced. Trading volume was 11 percent higher than the 30-day average.

B2Gold gained 5.1 percent to C$2.46 and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. increased 4.5 percent to C$30.74. Gold surged 1.4 percent to settle at $1,286.30 an ounce in New York, halting a five-day slump that was its longest since August. The S&P/TSX Gold Index climbed 2 percent as 22 of 24 members advanced.

Pan American Silver jumped 7.8 percent to C$11.59 and Silvercorp Metals Inc. added 3.5 percent to C$2.99 as silver futures for December delivery increased 1.4 percent.

Health Exchange

CGI Group climbed 4.3 percent to C$39.24, a record high after rising for a ninth time in 10 sessions. The company's merger with Logica Plc and the resulting contracts have fueled profit and sales. Its contract developing the U.S. federal government's health-insurance exchange is a small part of CGI's revenue.

Linamar Corp. (LNR) soared 14 percent to a record C$40.72 for the biggest gain in the S&P/TSX. The Guelph, Ontario-based auto parts maker reported third-quarter adjusted profit of 80 Canadian cents a share, topping analysts' projections for 66 cents.

Tourmaline Oil Corp. increased 5.4 percent to C$42.62 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ) rose 2.6 percent to C$33.11 as crude fluctuated after touching a five-month low in New York. Encana Corp. climbed 2.3 percent to C$19.02 to snap a three-day slide.

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. slumped 7.8 percent to C$4.27, for a sixth day of declines. The miner disclosed it was unable to obtain project financing for its Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia. Potential investors balked at uncertainty over when the company will be able to resolve "issues" with the government.

Average rate on 30-year mortgage at 4.1%

WASHINGTON — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages fell for the second straight week and are at their lowest levels in four months.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year loan declined to 4.10 percent from 4.13 percent last week. The average on the 15-year fixed loan eased to 3.20 percent from 3.24 percent.

Rates have been falling since September when the Federal Reserve surprised investors by continuing to buy $85 billion a month in bonds. The purchases are intended to keep long-term interest rates low.

Rates had spiked over the summer when the Fed indicated it might reduce those purchases later this year. But hiring has slowed since then. Many now expect the Fed won't taper until next year.

The average on the 30-year loan has now fallen about half a percentage point since a hitting two-year high over the summer. The lower rates appear to be sparking a surge in activity by prospective homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance.

Mortgage applications jumped 6.4 percent in the week ended Oct. 25 from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for purchases rose 2 percent from a week earlier, while refinance applications soared nearly 9 percent.

U.S. home prices rose in August from a year earlier at the fastest pace since February 2006, according to the latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index. But the price gains slowed in many cities from July, a sign that the spike in prices over the past year may have peaked.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage declined to 0.7 point from 0.8 point. The fee for a 15-year loan rose to 0.7 point from 0.6 point.

The average rate on a o! ne-year adjustable-rate mortgage increased to 2.64 percent from 2.60 percent. The fee eased to 0.4 point from 0.5 point.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable mortgage dipped to 2.96 percent from 3.00 percent. The fee was unchanged at 0.4 point.

3 Phases of Successful Retirement Planning

Getty Images Successful retirement planning is not one size fits all. Retirement planning for a millennial just doesn't fit retirement planning for a baby boomer who is nearing retirement. There are several reasons planning should be custom fit. First, there are several economic unknowns for those many years away from retirement. From market returns to inflation and Social Security to Medicare, it's simply not possible to make reliable predictions decades into the future. Second, personal circumstances that affect retirement planning are impossible to predict. Whether a couple will remain married and whether the mortgage will be paid in full at retirement are just two examples of unknown outcomes for those just starting out. And that says nothing of an individual's career path. However, these uncertainties should not prevent successful retirement planning. Instead, we should adapt retirement planning to our stages of life. Early birds. For those just starting out, retirement planning is generally the easiest. There's no need to evaluate whether you are on track to meet your retirement goals because you are just starting. While assumptions can be made about future inflation, market returns and expenses in retirement, such guesswork 40 years or more into the future is of limited value. Further, it's nearly impossible to make reliable predictions about whether your home will be paid off before retirement or what other debt you may have in 2050. While these unknowns may make retirement planning seem harder, the opposite is true. The one thing millennials do know for certain is how much money they are making today. With that number, it's easy to follow what I call the 10-15-20 rule. Saving 10 percent of gross income for retirement is the minimum, saving 15 percent is the sweet spot and saving 20 percent is a home run. Mid-lifers. For those in their late 30s to early 50s, retirement planning takes on a few added dimensions. While it may still be difficult to reliably estimate retirement expenses a couple decades into the future, mid-lifers now have more information to evaluate. For starters, we can now assess whether an individual is on track with their retirement savings. My favorite tool for this exercise is investment adviser Charles Farrell's money ratios. To replace 80 percent of pre-retirement income, Farrell believes one needs to have amassed 12 times annual income in savings by retirement. While we should not accept a financial rule of thumb uncritically, the 12 times your income objective seems reasonable. To reach the 12 times income goal at retirement, Farrell calculates that one should have saved 1.4 times their annual salary by age 35, 2.4 times by age 40, 3.7 times by age 45 and 5.2 times by age 50. With this information in hand, one can make mid-course corrections in their retirement savings. In addition, mid-lifers know more about their debt. They may be able to estimate if they will have paid off the mortgage and other debt by retirement. They likely have a better idea of the trajectory of their career and income. Mid-lifers also know how they handle finances and investing, both key factors in successful retirement planning. In addition, personal circumstances such as divorce or health issues may have a significant influence on retirement planning. While this information may not fit nicely into a retirement calculator, it can significantly shape planning for your golden years. Near retirees. For those within 10 years of retiring, planning should get far more detailed. Unlike retirement planning 20 to 50 years earlier, near retirees should begin to focus on actual expenses in retirement rather than using income as a proxy. Depending on circumstances, retirement expenses may be significantly less than what a near retiree is earning. For starters, there is no need to save for retirement during retirement. In addition, many people will have paid off their mortgage and other debts. Other expenses such as commuting costs and raising a family typically vanish during retirement. Those nearing retirement should be armed with the information necessary to finely tune exactly what they will need when they accept the golden watch and punch the clock for the last time. Those nearing retirement also have a clearer picture of their savings. Whether they have fallen behind or have more than they will need, they can begin to make the necessary decisions in light of their savings. Finally, those nearing retirement have a clear picture of their Social Security and Medicare benefits. While these benefits may change in the future, they are unlikely to change for those in or near retirement. Retirement planning is not an exact science. However, we can use the information available to us in each stage of life to make reasonable assumptions and choices to better prepare us for our golden years.

Four Ways to Profit from America's Wealthiest Citizens

By John Whitefoot

Half of the U.S. workforce is partying like its 1998—and not in a good way. According to the Social Security Administration, the median wage in the U.S. in 2012 was $27,519.10, marginally better than 2011’s median wage of $26,965.43.

That said, the median wage remains virtually unchanged since 1998, when the median wage was $27,519.55 when adjusted for inflation. So actually, you made $0.40 less in 2012 than you did in 1998. But I digress.

The report shows that more than half of Americans earned less than $30,000 in 2012. Incredibly, 15% of working Americans took home less than $5,000, with an average amount of just $2,024.79. During 2012, the S&P 500 climbed 13%, illustrating that the majority of Americans are not benefiting from the so-called recovery we call the U.S. economy.

Fear not, for there is hope. Stagnant wages are not hindering everyone: the number of Americans pulling in more than $5.0 million a year in 2012 increased by 26.8% year-over-year to 8,982. In 2011, just 7,082 Americans earned more than $5.0 million.

These stratospheric numbers only take net earnings into consideration; they do not account for capital gains made on the stock market, dividend growth, etc. Whereas America’s wealthiest citizens turn to the stock market to pad their retirement savings, the majority of Americans rely on increasing property values, income vehicles, and pension funds to pave their way to retirement.

Thanks to a record run on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average, America’s wealthiest have been seeing their holdings increase significantly since the Great Recession ended in 2007. On the other hand, thanks to the artificially low interest rate environment, fixed income investors (the vast majority of Americans) have seen their retirement savings decimated.

What has this economic divergence done to America? The widening gap means the majority of Americans are being forced to change the way they save, spend, and invest. Those looking to add value to their retirement portfolio this holiday season might want to consider taking advantage of the spending habits of the wealthy and luxury brand stocks.

When it comes to the playgrounds of the rich and famous, few are as glittery as the New York City fall auction season. Over the next couple of weeks, deep pockets are expected to help a large number of blue-chip artists like Warhol, Giacometti, and Rothko set new records. As a result, luxury brand stock Sotheby’s, (NYSE/BID), the only publicly traded auction house, continues to be bullish and is currently up more than 50% year-to-date.

Hot High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014

Strong luxury spending has been keeping luxury brand stock Michael Kors Holdings Limited (NYSE: KORS) on the radar. Since debuting on the NYSE in December 2011, Michael Kors’ share price has climbed roughly 220% and is up 52% year-to-date.

Investors interested in diversifying their holdings and gaining greater access to a variety of luxury brand stocks might want to consider an exchange-traded fund (ETF) with exposure to a large number of luxury brand stocks.

The SPDR S&P International Consumer Discretionary Sector (NYSE: IPD) is an ETF that tracks the consumer discretionary sector of developed global markets. Holdings include luxury brand stock juggernaut LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SA and Swedish luxury brand stock multinational retail clothing company H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB.

A brand-new luxury brand ETF worth keeping your eye on is the Renaissance IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO). Tracking the Renaissance IPO Index, one of the top holdings in the index is a 9.8% position in luxury brand stock Michael Kors Holdings.

Despite an anemic U.S. and global economy, the luxury brand stock market has been incredibly resilient. And as long as the stock market and wealth creation continues unabated, the luxury brand stock sector will continue to be bullish.

This article Four Ways to Profit from America’s Wealthiest Citizens was originally published at Daily Gains Letter

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Markets Trading Ideas

  Around the Web, We're Loving... Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular Did Twitter Make a Huge Mistake Pricing Shares at $26? Groupon Earnings Preview: In-Line Results Expected, US Booking Progress 3 Reasons to be Bullish about Gold Why an Apple iWatch Has Better Chances Than Google Glass Twitter Prices at $26; First Day's Trading Could Be Volatile Hold Off On Twitter Investment? Related Articles (IPD + KORS) Four Ways to Profit from America's Wealthiest Citizens Michael Kors Reports Solid Earnings As Stores Continue To Pop Up Mid-Day Market Update: BroadSoft Drops On Q3 Results; Endo Health Shares Spike Higher Citigroup Reiterates on Michael Kors on Market Leader Position Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; CVS Caremark Lifts Outlook Earnings Scheduled For November 5, 2013 View the discussion thread. Partner Network #marketfy-ae-block { display: none; border: 2px solid #0a3f75; overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 125px; text-align: center; background-color: #45719E; position: relative; z-index: 1; } #marketfy-ae-block a { display: block; width: 300px; height: 125px; position: relative; z-index: 2; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text { color: #f9fc99; padding: 0px 0 0 0; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text-start { font-size: 12px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown { padding: 5px 0 5px 0; font-size: 26px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup { padding: 5px 47px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup:hover { background-color: #457a1a; } #marketfy-ae-block #marketfy-ae-block-logo { display: block; padding: 3px 0 0 0; margin: 0; } #marketfy-ae-block-logo { text-indent: -9999px; } #marketfy-ae-block-free { display: block; position: absolute; top: 7px; right: -23px; width: 80px; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; opacity: 1; -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg); -moz-transform: rotate(45deg); -ms-transform: rotate(45deg); transform: rotate(45deg); font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: #333333; background-color: yellow; z-index: 500; text-shadow: 1px 1px #999999; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow { position: relative; width: 60px; height: 60px; z-index: 10; margin: -80px 0 13px -21px; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow img { height: 60px; width: auto; } Marketfy's International
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Morgan Stanley suffers big client asset loss in 3Q as advisers split

Bloomberg

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the nation's largest brokerage by adviser head count, lost $8.4 billion in client assets during the third quarter, as some of its major producers took their business to competing firms.

In the three-month period ended Sept. 30, the average assets under management of advisers who moved also jumped nearly 25% from the previous year, to $402.2 million, according to preliminary data from InvestmentNews' Advisers on the Move database.

10 Best Gold Stocks To Own Right Now

The breakdown of Morgan Stanley's reported 3Q adviser exits.

The IN database on adviser movement is not exhaustive, as firms only report a portion of the advisers they recruit and none disclose advisers who leave. Generally speaking, the moves of advisers with small books of businesses are not tracked by the data, and advisers do not necessarily take all of their business to the new firm.

But the data indicate continued recruiting challenges for Morgan Stanley, which completed its acquisition of Citigroup Inc.'s Smith Barney unit earlier this year. Morgan's wealth management division lost a net 11 adviser teams in the third quarter, the most of any firm tracked by IN.

Four of the 10 largest departures from Morgan Stanley in the third quarter were to other wirehouses. Three teams managing $7.9 billion in assets moved to UBS Financial Services Inc., while a $1 billion team in the New York area switched to Wells Fargo Advisors LLC.

Morgan Stanley had 16,321 advisers and $1.8 trillion in assets at the end of the second quarter, according to the company's regulatory filings, making it the largest wirehouse by advisers and the second largest by assets.

“In my case, it was a personal choice,” said Elaina S. Spilove, who oversaw $2.5 billion in assets at Morgan before moving to UBS. “I'd rather be one of 7,000 than one of 17,000; much more hands-on management.”

Christine Jockle, a spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said the firm's attrition is at a near-historic lows and average revenue at an all-time high. She said the IN data does not include the number of advisers who joined the firm who did not want to disclose their data publicly. She declined to elaborate on how the firm calculates attrition or to provide an overall number of unreported assets that have come into the firm.

Morgan did add some major advisers last quarter. Robert Finan and Anthony LaFonte, who managed $400 million, left Bank of America Merrill Lynch to join the firm in Red Bank, N.J., and Scott Siegel moved his New York City-based SKOC team, which! managed $1.5 billion, from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.

But high-profile losses, particularly $4.8 billion adviser John F. Rasweiler's moving to UBS in Florham Park, N.J., appeared to offset Morgan's recruitment successes last quarter.

“They are a firm under siege,” said Danny Sarch, an industry recruiter who has been critical of Morgan Stanley. “The smaller, non-wirehouses have preyed on them very successfully.”

Danny Sarch asks where is the next generation of adviser going to come from?

Robert Alpert moved his namesake firm, which includes three other advisers, to a Woodbury, N.Y., branch of Wells Fargo Advisors last week after being affiliated with Morgan Stanley since its 2009 merger with his previous firm, Smith Barney.

He said Morgan's increased fees were a burden for his smaller and intermediate-sized clients.

“We felt that, philosophically, the client was not being put first,” Mr. Alpert said.

In a statement, Ms. Jockle said Morgan Stanley's former advisers, “who always forget to mention the big checks they took to leave,” will put their spin on events.

Morgan Stanley on Oct. 18 will announce its third-quarter earnings, which will give a broader picture of their overall recruitment levels.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the nation's largest wirehouse by assets, gained seven large teams last quarter, but the size of the four teams who left the firm in the same quarter caused a net loss of some $555 million in client assets, according to the data.

In one major deal, the $500 million Guth-Fordyce team in New Haven, Conn., left Merrill for Snowden Capital Advisors LLC, a firm launched last year by two former Merrill executives.

Wells Fargo, the third largest brokerage, netted three advisers and $1.5 billion in new assets.

UBS, the smallest of the four wirehouses by assets and advisers, gained $6.8 billion in assets despite adviser head counts remaining stable. Those gains were driven by attracting three big teams from Morgan St! anley: Mr! . Rasweiler; Ms. Spilove, in Princeton, N.J., who focuses on institutional clients; and the husband-and-wife duo of Bruce and Bernadette Lanser, who managed $600 million in Milwaukee. The total between those three teams is $7.9 billion.

The strong asset totals are based on a strategic choice by UBS to focus its recruitment efforts on wealthier advisers, an executive from the brokerage said.

“One of the criteria that we look at is that the [financial adviser] has a significant portion of their book in high-net-worth and ultrahigh-net-worth clients,” said Paul Santucci, head of national sales for UBS. “We focus on the best [financial advisers] in their respective marketplaces.”

UBS is the fourth-largest wirehouse

Seven major risks every investor needs to know

5 Best Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now

Investing your money and dealing with the associated risks is a great challenge that every investor must accept in order to reap higher returns.
Market investments are subject to risk (though the intensity differs from product to product).

Business supplements and magazines generally print the stories of hapless investors who either lost their money in shares, bonds or mutual funds or whose fund is stuck in the fraudulent moneymaking schemes. It is important for investors to identify the risk and take essential steps to minimize it.

In order to key out and minimize the risks it is vital to know the type of risks applicable to investments. For better understanding, here is the list of different investment risk types. Take a glance:

Market Risk This risk is associated with the movement in the prices of stock that commonly affects the market as a whole. There are many factors that cause market fluctuation, and natural calamity is one of them. Other factors are the phase of the market bull or bear.

The rising and falling prices of the stocks and bonds determine profit and loss of the investors. If the market is in its bear phase, the downside risk is comparatively low and on the contrary if it is in bull phase the downside risk is more as the market can crash anytime.

Socio Political Risk Change in government policy, political unrest, international issues (war), elections and change of the government are some of the important elements that affect the market stability. This instability may impose a huge risk on your money/investment.

Liquidity Risk According to a well-known fact, money has bounded or no value if it is not available when you need it. The ready availability of money is known as liquidity.

A successful investment is one that is not only profitable, but also readily liquid. For instance: If you have cash, you can buy anything anytime. But if you have an asset, which cannot be sold in the market due to a justified reason, it is of no use.

Remember, an asset is of a great value only if it can be converted into cash quickly, with little loss. It is good to invest in assets that are reasonably liquid. Otherwise your investment is at a huge risk.

Business Risk The market value of your shares depends upon the performance of that stock in the market. If you have invested in the company that unfortunately isn't doing well, the market value of that investment will rapidly go down.

When you invest in any company or enterprise, there are chances you may suffer loss or face bankruptcy. The risk associated with such investments may be little or in some cases very high. One common way to avoid such risks is to create a diversified portfolio.

Default Risk The father of all, this risk refers to non-payment of interest and principal amount. This risk is particularly very high because of the investment in unsecured product, therefore no security is attached. In this case you can do nothing but end up filing a court case. It is good to refer the credit rating of a company before investing in it rather than regretting later.

Interest Rate Risk Fluctuation in interest rate affects the fixed-rate securities and largely affects the value and returns of your investment. Whenever investors are buying a fixed-rate debt instrument they are exposing themselves to interest rate risk. For better understanding, listed below is an example.

If you have invested in a fixed-rate instrument for 5 years with the interest rate of 9 percent annually, and if the interest rate goes up to 10 percent the value of your security won't go up. Because of the lower yield of the earlier instrument, the value of security comes down and trades at a discount in the market.

Therefore, interest rate fluctuations impose huge risk on the investor.

Exchange Rate Risk It arises due to the change in the price of one currency against another. These risks are mainly faced by companies that have exposure abroad or involved in international dealings. Currently, India is under huge exchange rate risk.

How to Handle Risks?

When it comes to tackling the investment risks, it is important to make note of two things:

1. Not all risks may be applied to a single investment product

2. At times different types of risks are interlinked.

Gold carries exchange rate risk, government bonds are default risk-free but the returns are low, real estate carries highest liquidity risk therefore decent returns can be expected.

The presence of all these risks should not demotivate you from investing. Also, the presence of risk does not mean an investment is bad. In fact, investments with higher risk generally fetch good returns. No risk, no returns!

The author is Ramalingam K, CFP CM is the Chief Financial Planner at holisticinvestment.in, a leading Financial Planning and Wealth Management company.

Taper Talk and Safety Plays

Top Casino Stocks For 2014

Keith Fitz-Gerald was one of the few market gurus to accurately predict that the Fed would not begin tapering at its latest meeting. Here, he updates his forecast for Fed action and what that portends for the markets.

Steve Halpern: We are here today with Keith Fitz-Gerald, editor of Money Morning and Strike Force. How are you doing, Keith?

Keith Fitz-Gerald: I'm doing great. Thanks for having me back.

Steve Halpern: No topic has received more attention recently than the Federal Reserve and expectations for tapering, yet across the board, the financial media and Wall Street analysts were in agreement the tapering would begin last week.

The only real contention was how much tapering would occur, yet you stood alone in your forecast in June, July, and August. You consistently said that this thing would not ease. What led you to be right, when everybody else was so wrong?

Keith Fitz-Gerald: Well, you know, thanks for pointing that out. It's tough to be right all the time, so really what I tried to do was just apply the benefit of common sense. The Fed is busy chasing its tail. It's using antiquated statistics that are badly out of touch with the markets that we live with today.

Investors have become dulled to the concept of cheap money, and the importance of actual earnings and profits, which is something that we talk about incessantly in the Money Map Report.

Because, good earnings lead inevitably to good prices, and there's a linkage that is absolutely immutable and cannot be broken no matter how hard the Fed actually tries.

I simply took a look around Steven, and said, this is not going to change. The Fed cannot take its foot off the gas, because the market is addicted to cheap money.

Steve Halpern: Now, at some point, the Fed is going to begin tapering. Where on the horizon do you see that occurring?

Keith Fitz-Gerald: Well, there's no question they're going to, and in my mind, all they've done is delayed the inevitable. Whether that inevitable is next month, next year, five years from now, we don't know. They're going to play the music for as long as they can to keep the party going.

The sad thing about this is that the next opportunity we're going to have to look at is, I think, the December meeting, which puts this into whole life. I think we're going to see, perhaps a rally into fall.

It depends on now, the budget battle and some other things going on in the Middle East, obviously, but I think, my take on it is, the Fed is going to have to pick up the pieces and they're going to view further quantitative easing as the only means available for them to do it.

Steve Halpern: Now fast forward to the point where the Fed does begin tapering; whether or not that's at the next meeting or a following meeting. What impact do you think will that have on the stock market and are these delays going to even change that impact when it does occur?

Keith Fitz-Gerald: Well, let's tackle the second question first. I think the delays are actually going to make the impact of it worse when it does happen. I think what is going to happen is we're going to get the equivalent of a two-year-old temper tantrum, only it's going to be a taper tantrum.

We got a little taste of that in, I think it was April or May of this year, when Bernanke floated a trial balloon out there, mentioning that he was even thinking about doing tapering.

The markets really didn't like that. All we have to do is look to Japan as to an example as to what is actually going to happen, and I think there's going to be a sharp violent correction when that happens.

Steve Halpern: Now, are there any investment strategies that you could recommend, or that you put in place for your readers to help counter that, or to help add a level of safety to overall portfolio planning?

Keith Fitz-Gerald: You bet. In particular right now, you've got to think like a boxer. You've got to be the old Mohammed Ali; look like a butterfly and sting like a bee, or whatever that saying was that he used to use. He always thought in terms of one-two combinations.

Short-term/long-term is how I see that playing out for investors. To me, the fact that Bernanke blinked, points out two opportunities for investors right now. It made it clear that every central banker on the planet is guilty and has his hands into this quantitative easing.

I like the PIMCO Strategic Global Government Fund. The ticker is (RCS). The reason I like that, is it pays a hefty income; it's a bet on increased stability through further quantitative easing.

On the other hand, I think longer-term, it is very clear to me that Bernanke is in the early stages of losing control of the bond market.

What that says is that rates are ultimately going to rise, and I think they're going to rise for a very long time to come, once they gain that momentum. My favorite investment to play, that is the ProShares 20+ Year Short ETF. The ticker is (TBF).

Again, these are short-term/long-term, fake-left and hit-right combinations of things. I don't believe investors need to make an all or nothing decision right now.

There's plenty of time for this to play out, but it is going to be a monster move once it gets started. I certainly want people to take advantage of it, rather than be taken advantage of.

Steve Halpern: Well, we really appreciate your insights. Thank you for joining us today.

Keith Fitz-Gerald: It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me, Steven.

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The expert featured in this column, Keith Fitz-Gerald, may or may not own positions in any investment vehicle mentioned here. The views and opinions expressed are his or her own.

5 Stocks Under $10 Poised for Big Moves

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

>>5 Big Trades to Take as the Fed Hits the Gas

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.

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

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.

Diana Containerships

Diana Containerships (DCIX) owns and operates containerships. This stock closed up 2.9% to $3.82 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $3.69-$3.88

52-Week Range: $3.57-$7.13

Thursday's Volume: 363,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 349,152

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

From a technical perspective, DCIX trended higher here right above some near-term support at $3.61 with above-average volume. This stock recently formed a tipple bottom at $3.53, $3.57 and $3.61. Shares of DCIX have now started to rebound off those support levels and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if DCIX manages to clear its 50-day moving average at $3.95 and then once it takes out more resistance levels at $4 to $4.09 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in DCIX as long as it's trending above support at $3.61 to $3.53 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 349,152 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then DCIX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.61 to $4.82.

Orion Marine Group

Orion Marine Group (ORN) provides a range of marine construction services on, over and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard and the Caribbean Basin. This stock closed up 1.7% to $9.89 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $9.67-$9.90

52-Week Range: $6.05-$13.52

Thursday's Volume: 209,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 154,841

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From a technical perspective, ORN rose modestly higher here with above-average volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last month and change, with shares dropping sharply from its high of $13.52 to its recent low of $9.19. During that downtrend, shares of ORN have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of ORN could be ready to put an end to its downside volatility on the short-term and possible enter a new uptrend.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ORN as long as it's trending above $9.50, and then once it sustains a move or close above its 200-day moving average at $9.89 and above some near-term overhead resistance $10 with volume that hits near or above 154,841 shares. If we get that move soon, then ORN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $10.74 to its 50-day moving average at $10.92. Any high-volume move above $10.92 will then give ORN a chance to tag $12.

Clear Channel Outdoor

Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) provides clients with advertising opportunities through billboards, street furniture displays, transit displays and other out-of-home advertising displays. This stock closed up 2.7% to $7.98 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $7.76-$8.00

52-Week Range: $5.29-$8.75

Thursday's Volume: 87,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 88,141

From a technical perspective, CCO trended notably higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $7.65 with decent upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $7.19 to its recent high of $8.10. During that uptrend, shares of CCO have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of CCO within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if CCO manages to take out Thursday's high of $8 and then once it clears some more near-term overhead resistance at $8.10 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CCO as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $7.65 or its 200-day at $7.53 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 88,141 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then CCO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $8.75.

Alliance One International

Alliance One International (AOI) is a supplier of quality tobacco products and solutions to the manufacturers and marketers of tobacco products. This stock closed up 1% to $2.93 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $2.88-$2.93

52-Week Range: $2.79-$4.23

Thursday's Volume: 242,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 408,884

From a technical perspective, AOI rose modestly higher here right above some near-term support at $2.82 with lighter-than-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways inside of a consolidation pattern for the last month, with shares moving between $2.79 on the downside and $2.98 on the upside. Shares of AOI are now starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern. That trade will hit if AOI manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.98 to $3 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AOI as long as it's trending above its 52-week low at $2.79 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 408,884 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then AOI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $3.20 to its 50-day at $3.36. Any high-volume move above $3.36 will then give AOI a chance to tag its 200-day at $3.62.

Willbros Group

Willbros Group (WG) provides construction and engineering services in the U.S. and overseas. The company constructs oil- and natural-gas-production facilities, piers, docks, bridges, pump stations and pipelines. This stock closed up 4.4% to $9.61 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $9.13-$9.63

52-Week Range: $4.07-$10.45

Thursday's Volume: 339,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 407,922

From a technical perspective, WG bounced sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $9 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of WG within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if WG manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10.19 to $10.21 and then once it clears its 52-week high at $10.45 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in WG as long as it's trending above support at $9 or above its 50-day at $8.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 407,922 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then WG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $12 or $13.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014

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.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

>>Beat the S&P With These 5 Shareholder Yield Champs

>>5 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Bill Ackman bets big on Fannie and Freddie

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been hot stocks this year. They just got hotter after Bill Ackman took a stake. Click the chart to track shares of Fannie Mae.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Bailed-out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are apparently all the rage. Activist investor Bill Ackman disclosed Friday that his firm Pershing Square has taken just under a 10% stake in each of the government-sponsored mortgage giants.

Pershing Square owns more than 115 million common shares of Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA, Fortune 500) and over 63 million common shares of Federal Home Loan Mortgage (FMCC, Fortune 500) Corp, according to government filings.

The stocks surged on the news and based on where they were trading Friday, his investment in Fannie Mae is worth more than $380 million, while his bet on Freddie Mac is worth about $200 million.

Fannie and Freddie have been overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency since their $187 billion bailout in 2008, prompted by massive losses on mortgage securities. They have since returned to profitability, paying substantial dividends to the Treasury Department, and have caught the eye of investors, particularly hedge funds including Bruce Berkowitz's Fairholme Capital.

Both stocks were delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2010 and their shares were moved to what's known as the over-the-counter bulletin board, or pink sheets. The two stocks each trade for a little more than $3 apiece. But shares of both companies are up more than 1,000% so far this year, and gained almost 10% Friday on the news of Ackman's stake.

During an interview on CNBC Thursday, Berkowitz, who is also the biggest shareholder of bailed-out insurer AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), said he wants to buy the insurance components of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae from the government. Berkowitz said "there are no other group of assets that can perform the job necessary for American housing."

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"We have the infrastructure. We could have the money. We can make a reasonable return. We don't have to be greedy. We don't need federal support," he added.

  Is there a housing bubble in California?

In the SEC filings, Ackman said the shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are undervalued and attractive, and he ! also cited Fairholme's proposal as a reason for his purchase.

Ackman is well-known on Wall Street for investing in companies with the hopes of convincing management to make big changes. This year, his bet on struggling retailer J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) flopped. Ackman sold his stake at a loss after CEO Ron Johnson -- who Ackman helped lure from Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) -- was fired.

Ackman also is sitting on a huge loss on paper with his short against nutritional supplement maker Herbalife (HLF). Shares of Herbalife have more than doubled this year even though Ackman has claimed on numerous occasions that he thinks the company is a pyramid scheme that has no value.

Making matter worse, rival activist investor Carl Icahn has a big stake in Herbalife and has profited handsomely from the stock's rise. The two even exchanged testy words about Herbalife in a CNBC appearance earlier this year.

But Ackman has had one notable win this year. His stake in Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) has been a winning investment. CEO Bob McDonald resigned earlier this year, a move that was largely attributed to pressure from Ackman. P&G shares are up 25% this year and the stock is at an all-time high.

10 Worst “Strong Sell” Stocks This Week — RBY EGO MCP and more

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This week, these ten stocks have the worst year-to-date performance. Each of these also rates an “F” (“strong sell”) on Portfolio Grader. Since the beginning of the year, the Nasdaq increased 10.9%, the Dow increased 13.2%, and the S&P has increased 12.1%.

Shares of Rubicon Minerals Corporation (AMEX:) have fallen 48% since January 1. Rubicon Minerals explores for gold deposits in the Red Lake gold camp of Canada, as well as Nevada and Alaska. .

Shares of Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE:) have slumped 48.8% since the first of the year. Eldorado Gold acquires, explores, and develops mineral properties. The stock’s trailing PE Ratio is 31.00. .

Shares of Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE:) have dipped 50.5% since the first of the year. Molycorp produces rare earth products, including oxides, metals, alloys and magnets for a variety of applications including clean energy technologies, technology, and defense applications. As of Nov. 14, 2013, 20.6% of outstanding Molycorp, Inc. shares were held short. .

The price of Mechel OAO Sponsored ADR (NYSE:) is down 53% since the first of the year. Mechel is a Russian metals and mining company, uniting producers of steel, rolled products, hardware, coal, iron ore concentrate, and nickel. .

Since the first of the year, the price of NovaGold Resources (AMEX:) is down 53.3%. NovaGold Resources explores and develops mineral properties in North America. .

Since January 1, NII Holdings, Inc. Class B (NASDAQ:) has fallen 56.8%. NII Holdings provides mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. As of Nov. 14, 2013, 34.6% of outstanding NII Holdings, Inc. Class B shares were held short. .

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Since January 1, J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:) has plunged 58.2%. J. C. Penney operates department stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. As of Nov. 14, 2013, 26% of outstanding J. C. Penney Company, Inc. shares were held short. .

Since the first of the year, IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:) has tumbled 58.9%. Iamgold is involved in the exploration for, and development and production of mineral resource properties throughout the world. .

The price of Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:) has fallen 60.2% since the first of the year. Harmony Gold Mining is a mining company which produces gold from its operations in the district of Virginia, Orange Free State. .

Since the first of the year, Gold Fields Limited Sponsored ADR (NYSE:) has dipped 62.2%. Gold Fields is engaged in the mining, exploration, extraction, processing, and smelting of gold. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Warren Buffett Likely Owns More DaVita, GE, IBM, Suncor, and Wells Fargo

This is the week that we will get to see 13-D and 13-F filings from investment firms, and one notable one is always that of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A). Investors love Warren Buffett and they often copy his moves. It is presumed that General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) and DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) will be larger holdings. There might even be more International Business machine Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU) as well.  Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) seems a shoe-in to be a larger equity stake yet again.

Before getting too excited or too demanding about what to expect, be advised that this cut-off date shown this week will be for holdings as of September 30, 2013. Warren Buffett and his team at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) are not obligated at all to show any purchase or sale transactions during October or November.

Warren Buffett sometimes makes many purchases and many sales of companies in a quarter. Sometimes these are just adjustments higher or lower, and sometimes they are new positions or outright eliminations.

Read Also: Berkshire Hathaway & Buffett’s Full Stock Portfolio

DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) is the leader in kidney dialysis centers. Buffett likes steady businesses with predictable cash flows and limited competitions. Owning a stake in the leading dialysis specialty fits that bill. We would also point out that Buffett did reach the equivalent of a stand-still agreement, whereby Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is not to take more than a 25% stake of the company and the last stake was around 17%. The recent pullback suggests that Buffett’s portfolio managers would have bought, and the SEC filings confirmed that even if it was after the cut-off date of September 30.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is one that is almost certainly a larger stake than the piddly 588,900 shares that Berkshire Hathaway has disclosed for some time. An SEC filing in October referred back to the warrants from the old preferred stock bailout from during the meltdown. This filing said, “On October 16, 2013, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. exercised in full their warrants to purchase shares of GE common stock. GE will deliver 10.7 million shares to Berkshire Hathaway on October 17, 2013.” Notice that October date, so the shares cannot be expected to show up in the coming filing this week.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is a company that Buffett praised before, and he even signaled that he had bought more despite the filing last quarter showing that the IBM stake was static. Presumably, if Buffett signaled he was a buyer then we would expect to see it in the numbers. The only wild card here is that the big drop in shares came after earnings in October. Even if Mr. Buffett does own more shares, he might be losing money in those too. Whether Buffett bought more or not, he needs to consider the gutting that has taken place here just to meet that $20 in earnings per share by 2015.

Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU) was a new position listed as 17,769,457 shares, worth more than $524 million as of June 30. This stake as of today would be worth almost $620 million. The reason we think this stake will be larger is in part because we flagged it as such at the last report, showing that there may be a hidden message. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates looked at buying into the Canadian Oil Sands before, but did not do much. This was a signal to us that Buffett thinks the Keystone XL pipeline could get built, and that would likely put pressure on the huge increase that BNSF has seen from hauling oil around on rails.

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Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a banking giant that Team Buffett owns a huge stake in and they keep owning more and more. It seems as though Buffett gets his dividends reinvested as shares and/or that he writes put options hoping that he gets put the stock at lower prices. This stake was listed as roughly 463.1 million shares at the last report and Buffett has consistently added and added to the position here. Why should this last quarter be any different?

CirTran Again Reports Jumps in Sales and Operating Results in 2nd Quarter Filing (OTCMKTS:CIRC)

CirTran Corporation (CIRC)

Last Friday, CIRC remained (0.00%) +0.000 at $.0005 at the close (ref. google finance August 30, 2013 – Close).

CirTran Corporation has recently filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2013, showing continued growth in sales and a dramatic improvement in profits. CirTran's sales were again driven by its Playboy Energy Drink line, which has grown to represent nearly 98% of revenues.

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For the quarter, CirTran previously reported sales of $1,096,691, a 247% increase over the $315,755 reported for the same period a year ago. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, CirTran reported sales of 1,964,843, a 110% improvement over the $934,455 reported for the first half of 2012.

CirTran Corporation (CIRC) 5 day chart:

Sprint Corporation (S): Flexing Spectrum Muscle Amid Network Evolution

Sprint Corporation (NYSE: S) is leveraging its industry leading spectrum position to deliver unmatched network speeds. The carrier intends to leverage its 2.5 GHz spectrum portfolio (120+ MHz) and various technologies (8T8R, MIMO, carrier aggregation, TDD) to deliver industry leading data speeds.

In addition to having the most spectrum for LTE, Sprint has the largest holdings of high frequency spectrum. Historically, higher frequency bands, such as Sprint's 2.5 GHz licenses, have been viewed as less attractive due to their limited propagation characteristics, which made them inefficient for establishing wireless coverage.

[Related -T MOBILE US INC (TMUS): Did This CEO Accidentally Signal A Blowout Quarter?]

However, Sprint has more spectrum free-and-clear to deploy. While most of this is 2.5 GHz, the value of higher frequencies will increase materially because they enable carriers to build denser LTE networks capable of delivering higher speeds.

Sprint's network is expected to evolve over the next 2 years. With Clearwire, Sprint now has 55k macro cells.

"Over the next 2 years, the emphasis will mostly be on upgrading these sites to support its tri-band (800 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2500 MHz) LTE configuration with a growing emphasis on densification and small cells in 2016+," Deutsche Bank analyst Brett Feldman said in a client note.

Th key technologies that will support its tri-band network include 8T8R radio and antenna configurations, MIMO antennas, carrier aggregation, TDD LTE and HD voice. The tri-band platform is branded Sprint Spark.

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Sprint recently launched its first 5 Spark markets which are LA, Chicago, NYC, Tampa and Miami. These and future Spark market launches will occur when Sprint has deployed substantial LTE coverage using its 1900 MHz and 800 MHz licenses and at least 25% of POPs with its 2.5 GHz licenses.

At a recent demo, Sprint showed a video ! game played over the cloud via Sprint's commercial LTE network. The demo achieved 8 Mbps and low latency (40-50 Msecs), which Sprint expects to tighten over time. Four simultaneous 4k HD video streams supported by a single sector of a cell site that delivered 1 Gbps over Sprint's 2.5 GHz spectrum.

Various macro sites are supporting 2.5 MHz. In order to upgrade an existing site to support 2.5 GHz TDD LTE, Sprint simply needs to add an antenna, a remote radio head on the top of the tower and a small amount of equipment in the cabinet.

"Sprint's existing master lease agreements with the tower companies already outline pricing for this gear, so while Sprint will need to pay more add it upgrades its sides, there is no need to have additional discussion on lease amendments," Feldman noted.

Sprint demonstrated that it was able to deliver 1.3 Gbps of capacity to a single sector using 60 MHz of its 2.5 GHz spectrum. In a loaded network, this should yield average speeds of 12-15 Mbps per sub with peak speeds of 50-60 Mbps. These speeds increase in proportion to how much additional spectrum Sprint uses.

Meanwhile, six tri-band smartphones are launching this quarter. There are 3 OEM partners using multiple chipsets and various tiers/price points. Sprint already sells 3 data-only tri-band devices.

Post paid trends should remain unchanged until network performance improves in mid-14. At that point, better gross adds and churn should drive a return to post paid sub growth, although this will likely be supported by increased marketing spend.

"For 4Q13, we estimate net post paid losses on the Sprint platform of 276k and total post paid losses of 426k (mostly due to Clearwire churn). The projected Q/Q improvement in Sprint brand losses mostly reflects an outlook for seasonal uplift in gross adds as we see Sprint churn remaining elevated at 2% as the carrier works through its network rebuild," Feldman added.

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As a result, investors could expect a turnaround in the second half of 2014 as Sprint expands the tri-band LTE network.

European Stocks Drop From Five-Year High as BMW, RSA Fall

European stocks fell from a five-year high as the European Commission cut its growth forecast for the euro area and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG retreated after reporting results.

BMW, the world's largest maker of luxury vehicles, slid the most in two months as profit declined. RSA Insurance Group Plc sank 6.3 percent as the U.K.'s biggest non-life insurer by market value said it will miss its profitability target after last week's storms. Beiersdorf AG rose the most in a year after the maker of Nivea hand cream increased its sales forecast.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent to 321.89 at the close of trading. The benchmark gauge has still soared 15 percent in 2013 as the Federal Reserve maintained stimulus measures and the European Central Bank cut interest rates to a record low. The ECB will make its next announcement on monetary policy on Nov. 7.

"We have got some blurred economic signals here: not cold, not hot, but lukewarm," Witold Bahrke, who helps oversee $55 billion as a senior strategist at PFA Asset Management in Copenhagen, said by phone. "This together with a backdrop of strong performance in equities over the past two weeks and year is not enough to support the liquidity-on rally."

Bank of America Corp., UBS AG and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc forecast the ECB will cut its benchmark interest rate this week, according to a Bloomberg survey of 70 economists. The rest predict no change.

European Economy

The executive arm of the European Union trimmed its forecast for euro-area growth next year as the economy struggles to gain momentum with the debt crisis dragging into a fifth year and unemployment at a record. Gross domestic product in the 17-nation currency bloc will rise by 1.1 percent in 2014, less than the 1.2 percent forecast in May.

The commission forecast that France's budget deficit will be 3.7 percent of GDP in 2015, which would mean it misses a deadline to reduce the shortfall to 3 percent by then.

A U.S. government release on Thursday is forecast to show the world's largest economy grew at a 2 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, compared with a 2.5 percent increase in the previous three months. Economists predict a report the next day will show U.S. payrolls climbed by 120,000 in October, according to a separate survey.

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"The U.S. non-farm payrolls at the end of the week will bring economic matters back in focus, following interest-rate decisions from the Bank of England and ECB where no changes are expected," Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Plc in London, wrote in an e-mail.

Benchmark Indexes

National benchmark indexes fell in 14 of the 18 western European markets. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 (UKX) and Germany's DAX lost 0.3 percent, while France's CAC 40 retreated 0.8 percent.

BMW slid 2.9 percent to 81.20 euros, its biggest drop since Aug. 27. The automaker reported a 3.7 percent decline in third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes as spending on expansion offset stronger demand for the 3-Series sedan.

RSA plunged 6.3 percent to 121 pence, the largest slide in eight months, after saying wind damage in Europe and adverse weather in Canada will push return on equity below 10 percent for the year. That compares with a previous target range in August of 10 percent to 12 percent.

Orange SA (ORA), the phone company formerly known as France Telecom, retreated 3.9 percent to 9.75 euros as Bouygues SA unveiled a new Internet and calls package for 15.99 euros a month. The price is "particularly aggressive," Jacques de Greling, an analyst at Natixis SA, wrote in a report.

Bouygues declined 3 percent to 28.24 euros, the largest retreat in two months. Orange said it has no plans to change its pricing structure.

Beiersdorf Advances

Beiersdorf climbed 5.3 percent to 73.44 euros after saying sales will rise 6 percent to 7 percent this year. The Hamburg-based company had previously forecast revenue would increase 5 percent to 6 percent.

Marks & Spencer Group Plc (MKS), the U.K.'s largest clothing retailer, advanced 4.5 percent to 509 pence after reporting the smallest decline in general-merchandise sales in more than two years. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.3 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 28, M&S said. That beat the median estimate of 17 analysts for a 1.5 percent drop.

A gauge of mining companies rose the most among the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. Anglo American Plc, owner of the world's biggest platinum mine, gained 2.8 percent to 1,536 pence and Glencore Xstrata Plc, the world's fourth-largest commodity producer, advanced 1.9 percent to 341.8 pence.

Cisco's Good Valuation Earns the Company a Long Term "BUY"

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the leading manufacturer of networking equipment. Well-known for its innovative technology products and networking services Cisco stays ahead of competition. In spite of the slow growth in Japan and China, the company reported $2.3 billion net income in Q4 2013, increased by 21.05% compared to Q4 2012. Yet, the stock declined by almost 7% due to major layoffs (4,000 employees, nearly 5% of its workforce). However, Cisco still remains an attractive long-term investment opportunity.

The king of mobile data traffic business

Mobile data traffic business is growing rapidly. According to Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, the global mobile data traffic grew 70% in 2012, reaching almost 12 times the size of the entire global Internet of 2000 (from 75 petabytes per month to 885 petabytes per month). Similarly, mobile video traffic grew 51%, while smartphones and tablets became the main devices for web browsing.By 2015, tablets are expected to grow over 10% of global mobile data traffic, while monthly global mobile data traffic is estimated to exceed 10 exabytes in 2017.

Cisco Expressway is Cisco’s ambitious project in the mobile data traffic business to capitalize on the latest trend towards the mobile Internet. With a focus on the protection of sensitive communications, Cisco has developed a new mobile data-centric gateway to enable secure collaboration using the office security framework on mobile devices.The Vice President of Marketing for the Cisco Collaboration Technology Group, PederUlander explains that with the increasing number of freelancing and contracting business, more and more corporate professionals need to communicate safely and accurately outside the office. This simply means that Android, iOS and BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) devices can instantly connect with the use of TelePresence, Jaber and Jabber Guest, which run on mobile devices, without requiring passwords and log-in protocols.

The hugeadvantage of Cisco Expressway is that it flawlessly extends security policies to anyone accessing the network. Especially, after Cisco’s much-anticipated integration between WebEx and TelePresence videoconferencing last October, Cisco Systems is more involved in cloud computing by operating in a highly integrated collaboration environment. Gartner estimates that, up to 2015, the cloud market will exceed $177 billion. In my view, Cisco’s newly introduced network will gain confidenceby allowing professionals to safely communicate with each other and their customers using a reliable network. This will, ultimately, lead to an enhanced set of integrated communications services.

Cisco outperforms the industry

Direct Competitor Comparison
	CSCO	ALU	HPQ	JNPR	Industry
Market Cap:	120.98B	8.84B	49.81B	9.27B	3.00B
Employees:	75,049	72,344	331,800	9,234	1.15K
Qtrly Rev Growth (yoy):	0.06	0.02	-0.08	0.06	0
Revenue (ttm):	48.61B	18.90B	113.13B	4.54B	396.11M
Gross Margin (ttm):	0.61	0.31	0.24	0.64	0.72
EBITDA (ttm):	13.86B	1.43B	13.58B	781.30M	-5.13M
Operating Margin (ttm):	0.24	0.04	0.08	0.13	-0.03
Net Income (ttm):	9.98B	-3.04B	-3.16B	383.70M	N/A
EPS (ttm):	1.86	-1.34	-1.63	0.74	-0.43
P/E (ttm):	12.13	N/A	N/A	24.87	N/A
PEG (5 yr expected):	1.18	0.28	-1.51	1.07	3.11
P/S (ttm):	2.49	0.46	0.41	2.06	7.59

Source: Yahoo Finance

Cisco Systems is expected to report Q1 2014 earnings on 11/13/2013. Cisco has the largest market cap of all competitors, nearly $121 billion and greatly outperforms the industry. The company does also great in terms of operating margin with 0.24, outperforming all its peers. Yet, the most important indicator is Cisco’s 5-year projected PEG. Currently, it is estimated at 1.18 with an industry average of 3.11, which shows that the company has a great equity investment potential. Investor confidence is high, Cisco is expected to grow further in the future and this is very positive for the technology sector as a whole.

Cisco’s main competitors are Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR). With FlexCampus, HP Networking qualifies as one of the leading companies of LAN portfolio, gaining an increasing market share in building integrated data centers. Jupiter’s enterprise initiatives have placed the company as one of the leaders in the service provider routing space.

As forAlcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), itstruggles to survive in the competitive landscape through massive job cuts. This allows Cisco to focus on expanding its customer base with clients that would probably leave Alcatel’s unstable environment for Cisco’s stable network infrastructure.

The bottom line

Cisco is transforming on multiple levels. In my view, Cisco will continue to grow and sell high margin products and services. On a year-to-year basis, the company has enjoyed a remarkable 32.76% increase in its share price (from $17 to $22.57). The consensus EPS forecast for Q1 2014 is expected $0.47, increased by 6.8% from the reported EPS $0.44 of Q1 2013. Higher earnings indicate higher cash flows, and this will allow Cisco to enter more strategic deals.

As the technology sector grows fast, Cisco becomes more and more attractive. In spite of massive layoffs CEO John Chambers thinks that jobs cuts are necessary as "realigning resources to look where our growth opportunities would be. The move was made because the market is moving so fast."

In conclusion, Cisco invests in the future and tries to stay ahead of competition by capitalizing on changing market realities and new opportunities before they actually become sector breaks. This is why Cisco earns a “buy” recommendation.

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

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Are Global Banks in Trouble?

In a matter of just a few days, there were reports on bad bank loans in two of two key global economies and MoneyShow's Jim Jubak explains why he is concerned.

It's just a coincidence, but we're getting a lot of bank bad loan data, first from Europe and then from China, separated by a couple of days. First, we got a report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the big accounting agency that looked at all of the European Banks, and basically, what it said, is that, well, you know, bad loans at Eurozone banks have doubled in the last four years and they look like they're continuing to rise, and said Coopers, a lot of banks are sitting on a lot of assets they're calling non-core and they're going to sell those off, about 1.2 trillion euros worth of those to be sold off over the next two, three, four years. Banks have already started, said Pricewaterhouse Coopers. They sold out about 48 billion of those loans in the first six months of 2013. That's more than all of 2012.

What's the point of this exercise for me? Two things; one is that when banks are getting rid of assets, whether they call them core or non-core, it means they're not taking on as much in the way of new loans, so this is a damper on growth. Banks that are worried about their bad loan ratios also don't do a lot of new lending. They want to see those ratios go down, so they're trying to work through those loans without taking on new ones. It's a damper on a fragile European economy. The other part of this is that the European Central Bank is in the process of doing its own audit of European Banks, and their asset positions, and some stress tests, before they take over as regulator for a group of about 200, 250 of the largest banks. The question then is, "So, if we take the Pricewaterhouse Coopers study for face value, saying there are a lot of bad loans, what's the ECB going to do about that?" If they deliver a report that no one believes, it will destroy the credibility even more after the last stress test, so they don't have a whole lot left, so they don't really want to do that. On the other hand, they don't want to make the picture seem so dire that it really slows down growth in the Eurozone. Okay, that was on Monday.

On Wednesday, we had stories about the level of bad loans in Chinese banks--that we've seen enough earnings reports from these banks to be able to put some kind of numbers on it, and what we're seeing is bad loans rise at the industrial and commercial Bank of China, which is the largest bank in the world by market cap. We saw bad loans rise in September at an annualized rate of 30%. Not a pretty picture. What we're also seeing is at some banks we're seeing loans, this is at Bank of Communications for example, we're seeing bad loans rise so fast so they're not making up a huge percentage of assets, but they're rising faster than provisions, so that we saw bad loans at the Bank of Communications rise and provisions for loans as a percentage go down.

These are not good pictures and what's interesting, and sort of a parallel to Europe, is that the Chinese government is in the process of doing an audit, not of the banks, but of local governments and their balance sheets. The local government's got into a lot of lending through affiliated organizations. Unlike the banks, they don't have loan loss provisions. The Beijing central government's budget is their one and only backstop, so this will be very interesting to see how deeply in the hole local governments are. The consensus is that the hole is going to be very, very deep indeed and this, rather than the rising problem of bad loans at banks, is the big problem in China.

This is Jim Jubak for the Moneyshow.com Video Network.

Big Dividends From Big Data

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Buy For 2014

As we continue to live more digital and technological advanced lives, the amount of sheer data we create is staggering. And it's not just consumers. Businesses, governments and other organizations are churning out trillions of bytes worth of information daily. From picture and music files to credit card transaction info, data is ruling our lives.

Perhaps more importantly, most of that data is being stored in far off locals. The internet and cloud computing are now standard pieces of the modern world. Everything is done from a computer these days. Which means there are some pretty big bucks for those firms who operate all of those data centers. Not to mention their investors.

Big Time Growth

Anybody who has ever used Gmail or uploaded photos to Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) Flickr has used cloud computing. Retail consumers continue to adopt smartphones at a rapid pace and use apps for everything from music-sharing to finances. Meanwhile, various businesses and governments continue to focus on cost controls and efficiency. All of these factors push towards significant growth in cloud computing and internet usage.

That growth is spurring profits at the operators of various data centers.

So far, the companies that operate the various infrastructure making this of these apps and websites possible have seen their revenue more than double since 2008. The good times are expected to continue as analysts predict that these firms will see average revenue growth of 10% every year for at least the next four years.

The reason? Demand for data centers is still outpacing supplies of the critical tech infrastructure.

According to a paper by GE Capital (NYSE:GE), the total number of devices worldwide that are connected to the Internet is estimated to increase at a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the current decade. That's a ! big problem considering that the number of data center capacity is only scheduled to grow at a 3.6% CAGR between 2012 and 2016. That will help drive "rents" at the various firms that operate the warehouses of server computers and related-tech equipment.

Who To Bet On

While companies like Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX) or funds like iShares North American Tech-Multimedia Networking (NYSE:IGN) have surged on the promise of the cloud computing and the internet of everything, the data center real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been hit hard on Fed's taper worries. Mostly, because of investor abandoning risk and high yielding assets. However, given the longer term growth in the sector, now could be a great time to strike.

A prime player could be Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR). The firm has seen its share price halved over the last 52 weeks as earnings haven't matched its previously high multiple. Yet, today investors can get access to 127 properties with 23.7 million square feet worldwide. DLR continues to expand its reach via buyouts and deals. Shares of the data center operator yield a hefty 5.4%. That's more than smaller rivals like CyrusOne (NASDAQ: CONE).

Investors looking for dividends can also check out both CoreSite Realty (NYSE:COR) and DuPont Fabros Technology (NYSE:DFT). The pair are smaller than DLR, but seem to growing at a quicker pace as utilization rates continue to rise. Both COR and DFT pay above 3% in annual dividends.

For those looking for the most growth from their data center investment, both QTS Realty Trust (NYSE:QTS) and Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) could be buys. QTS is a recent spin-off/IPO and debut as a public company. That provides investors with a ground floor opportunity. Meanwhile, EQIX is a monster data center operator who is in the process of converting to a REIT and will have status for the taxable year beginning Jan. 1, 2015. That'll mean some hefty dividends once it full converts.

The Bottom Line

As internet traffic continues to skyrocket, the datacenter operators are poised to be a backdoor player in the growth of cloud computing and our data creation. Investor's looking for both growth and dividend, should give the operators of such facilities a serious consideration i! n their portfolios.

Disclosure - At the time of writing, the author did not own shares of any company mentioned in this article.

How Healthy (For Investors) Are These Small Cap Health Care or Personal Car Stocks? AXXE, RCGP & TAUG

Small cap health care or personal care stocks Axxess Pharma Inc (OTCMKTS: AXXE), Radiant Creations Group Inc (OTCBB: RCGP) and Tauriga Sciences Inc (OTCMKTS: TAUG) have recently been attracting attention in various investment newsletters or in investor alerts. Some of the attention may have to do with paid promotions that two of these small caps have been the subject of. So how healthy are these three small cap health care or personal care orientated stocks? Here is a checkup:

Axxess Pharma Inc (OTCMKTS: AXXE) Has Been Busy Announcing Deals

Small cap Axxess Pharma Inc's wholly-owned Canadian Subsidiary, Axxess Pharma Canada Inc., is a specialty Health Care Products Company dedicated to improving health and quality of life by offering select medicines, nutritional supplements and over the counter remedies all across the Americas. On Friday, Axxess Pharma Inc fell 2.44% to $0.20 for a market cap of $8.01 million plus AXXE is down 92.4% over the past year and down 99.9% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Axxess Pharma Inc? According to various disclosures, transactions of $2.5k, $3k, $4k, $14k, $25k, $50k and $85k have or will occur to mention Axxess Pharma Inc in various investment newsletters plus the company has been busy announcing new deals. Last Wednesday, Axxess Pharma Inc announced it had signed term sheet from TCA Global Credit Masters Fund to secure a $4 million revolving line of credit which was expected to close within 14 days pending final due diligence. The press release stated the revolving line of credit would enable Axxess Pharma to "generate significant revenue in the near-term with high gross profit margins" plus the deal was expected to be the beginning of a long-term long-term partnership between the two companies. Last Monday, Axxess Pharma Inc also announced an exclusive agreement providing them the world-wide exclusive rights to develop, market and sell a line of pain relief and muscle recovery products, as well as develop and market a vitamins and minerals line under the TapouT brand name; while back in September, the company announced an agreement for the acquisition of the assets of Revive Bioscience Inc. - a leading Canadian OTC healthcare company. However, a quick look at both Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance reveals no financials for Axxess Pharma Inc – meaning its investor beware.

Radiant Creations Group Inc (OTCBB: RCGP) Is Launching Its Direct to Consumer Sales Model

Small cap Radiant Creations Group Inc says it has achieved exciting breakthroughs creating remarkable products in skin protection and hydration, anti-aging, liver health and weight balance by combining DNA technologies developed in the Western World and naturally acting traditional Chinese medicine ingredients believed to be never before used in western culture by any bioscience company. On Friday, Radiant Creations Group Inc fell 9.1% to $0.20 for a market cap of $6 million plus RCGP is up 53.85 over the past year and down 60% since November 2011 according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Radiant Creations Group Inc? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention the Radiant Creations Group in various investment newsletters. Last Friday, Radiant Creations Group Inc announced the launch of its direct to consumer sales model by mid November 2013 with the company conservatively targeting about 100 units per day for the first 60 days and then ramping up to 150 sales per day by the end of the fiscal year ending February 28, 2014 for gross monthly revenues in excess of $300,000. Last Thursday, Radiant Creations Group Inc announced its second quarter financials for the period ending August 31, 2013, where initial revenue of $37,672 (the first revenue achieved following the change in control of the company) was reported along with a net loss of was $1,031,484 (which included $795,489 of one-time cost and accounting adjustments related to the asset purchase dated June 27, 2013). Not mentioned in the press release are the latest balance sheet figures from Yahoo! Finance which showed the company had $14k in cash to cover $1,746k in current liabilities and another $100k in long term debt at the end of August. So maybe investors should wait for those who now control Radiant Creations Group Inc to launch and ramp up operations.

Tauriga Sciences Inc (OTCMKTS: TAUG) Gets Closer to Producing Revenues…

Small cap Tauriga Sciences is a diversified company focused on generating profitable revenues through license agreements and the development of a proprietary technology platform in the nano-robotics space. On Friday, Tauriga Sciences fell 0.90% to $0.022 for a market cap of $6.10 million plus TAUG is down 91.5% over the past year and down 93.7% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now

What's the Catch With Tauriga Sciences Inc? According to various disclosures, a transaction or transactions of $15k has or will occur to mention Tauriga Sciences in various investment newsletters. Tauriga Sciences was busy issuing four press releases last week with the last press release on Friday announcing the receipt of SPEC sheets covering the full suite of 100% Tree-Free Bamboo products pursuant to the exclusive license agreement signed between the company and Green Hygienics, Inc on June 1, 2013. With the SPEC sheets, Tauriga Sciences can provide potential customers with the requisite paperwork to complete purchase orders and eventually generate profitable revenues. Tauriga Sciences also announced earlier in the week that it had a comprehensive Strategic Alliance Agreement with Cincinnati, Ohio-based synthetic biology pioneer Bacterial Robotics, LLC to jointly develop a nuclear industry-specific Bacterial Robot (which are genetically enhanced bacteria that conduct specific functions and are applicable to therapeutics, wastewater and chemicals). Apparently, Bacterial Robotics intends to grant a 10-year, fully paid, worldwide exclusive license agreement to Tauriga Sciences for the Bacterial Robotics technology. However, a quick look at Tauriga Sciences' financials reveals no revenues; net losses of $2,451k (most recent reported quarter), $2,939k, $5,468k and $4,595k for the past four reported quarters; and $91k in cash to cover $1,595k in current liabilities at the end of last June. So perhaps investors should wai for those SPEC sheets to start generating some revenues.