Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In 2014

3M (MMM) recently released its second-quarter results. A quick glimpse into the quarterly report reveals this:

Revenue increased marginally compared to the comparable quarter in 2012.GAAP EPS also recorded growth. Overall margins fell across the board.Revenue Details

3M recorded revenues of $7.75 billion. This was lower than the $7.77 billion that was forecast by 11 analysts earlier polled by the S&P Capital IQ. GAAP sales equaled those of Q2 2012.
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EPS details
The EPS for the quarter was $1.71. This was equal to the earnings estimates provided by 16 analysts earlier polled by the S&P Capital IQ. The EPS was 3.0% higher than last year�� comparable quarter��.

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Margin details

Gross margin stood at 48.2%, 40 basis points lower than 2012Q2. The operating margin came in at 22%, 90 basis points lower than Q2 2012.Net margin stood at 15.4%,10 basis points lower than Q2 2012.

3M�� stock is considered a defensive stock that mainly trades on a strong-margins basis. 3M�� repeated margin weakness in the 2nd quarter has begun to become a source of worry for many investors. This does not mean that the stock is an outright loser; quite on the contrary, 3M�� growth measures up quite well when you compare it to its major peers.3M�� stock is not rated as a growth stock capable of huge growth spurts. Nevertheless, 3M shares still look overpriced right now.

Best Oil Service Stocks To Watch Right Now: State Auto Financial Corporation(STFC)

State Auto Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, writes personal and business lines of insurance to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses. The company operates through four segments: Personal insurance, Business insurance, Specialty insurance, and Investment operations. The Personal insurance segment provides personal automobile and homeowners insurance products to the personal insurance market. The Business insurance segment offers commercial automobile, commercial multi-peril, fire and allied lines, and general liability insurance covering small-to-medium sized commercial exposures in the business insurance market. The Specialty insurance segment provides commercial coverages requiring specialized product underwriting, workers? compensation, claims handling, or risk management services. The Investment operations segment offers investment portfolio management services. State Auto Financial Corporation markets its insurance products primarily through independent insurance agencies, which include retail agencies and wholesale brokers in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. State Auto Financial Corporation is a subsidiary of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  State Auto Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:STFC), a super regional property and casualty insurance holding company, will discuss its third quarter 2012 results in a conference call on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, at 10 a.m. ET.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In 2014: FreightCar America Inc (RAIL)

FreightCar America, Inc. (America) is engaged in manufacturing of aluminum-bodied railcars in North America. America is also a manufacturer of coal cars. During the year ended December 31, 2011(2011), the Company was specialized in the production of coal cars, which represented 93% of its deliveries of railcars. The Company also refurbishes and rebuilds railcars and sells forged, cast and fabricated parts for all of the railcars it produces, as well as those manufactured by others. During 2011, its primary customers were railroads, shippers and financial institutions, which represented 83%, 2% and 1%, respectively, of its total sales attributable to each type of customer. During 2011, it delivered 6,188 railcars, including 4,500 aluminum-bodied coal cars. It offers railcar leasing and refurbishment alternatives to its customers. Through its newly formed subsidiary FreightCar Rail Services, LLC (FCRS), it provides railcar repair and maintenance, inspections, and railcar fleet management services for all types of freight railcars. Its railcar manufacturing facilities are located in Danville, Illinois and Roanoke, Virginia.

The Company also leases freight cars through its JAIX Leasing Company subsidiary. In addition, the Company manufactures coal cars for export to Latin America and manufactures intermodal railcars for export to the Middle East. With operations in Colorado, Indiana and Nebraska, it services freight cars and unit coal trains utilizing rail corridors in the Midwest and Western regions of the United States. The Company designs and manufactures aluminum-bodied and steel-bodied railcars that transport a range of various products. It manufactures two primary types of coal cars, such as gondolas and open-top hoppers. The BethGon is the aluminum-bodied coal gondola railcar segment, which is used in North America. Its aluminum bodied open-top hopper railcar, the AutoFlood, is a five-pocket coal car equipped with a bottom discharge gate mechanism. AutoFlood II and AutoFlood III design! incorporates the automatic rapid discharge system, the MegaFlo door system and a mechanism that uses an over-center locking design, enabling the cargo door to close with tension rather than by compression.

The Company also manufactures a range of other types of aluminum and steel-bodied coal cars, including triple hopper, hybrid aluminum/stainless steel hoppers and gondolas and flat bottom gondola railcars. The Company�� portfolio of other railcar types include the AVC Aluminum Vehicle Carrier design, which is used to transport commercial and light vehicles (automobiles and trucks) from assembly plants and ports to rail distribution centers; the Articulated Bulk Container railcar designed to carry dense bulk products, such as waste products in 20 foot containers; Intermodal Double Stack railcars, including a stand-alone, 40 foot well car and the DynaStack articulated, 5-unit, 40 foot and 3-unit, 53 foot well cars for transportation of containers; a Small Cube Covered Hopper railcar, which is used to transport products, such as roofing granules, fly ash, sand and cement; a Mill Gondola Railcar, which is used to transport steel products and scrap; Slab and Coil steel railcars, which is designed for transportation of steel slabs and coil steel products, respectively; Flat Railcars, Bulkhead Flat Railcars and Centerbeam Flat Railcars, which is designed to transport a range of products, including machinery and equipment, steel and structural steel components (including pipe), forest products and other bulky industrial products; a Woodchip Gondola Railcar, which is designed to haul woodchips and municipal waste, and a range of non-coal carrying open top hopper railcars designed to carry aggregates, iron ore, taconite pellets, petroleum coke and other bulk commodities.

The Company has established a licensing arrangement with a railcar manufacturer in Brazil pursuant to which its technology is used to produce various types of railcars in Brazil. In addition, it manufacture coal car! s for exp! ort to Latin America and have manufactured intermodal railcars for export to the Middle East. Railroads outside of North America have a range of track gauges that are sized differently than in North America, which requires it, in some cases, to alter manufacturing specifications for foreign sales. The Company has added 10 new or redesigned products to its portfolio in the last five years, including the AVC, slab and coil steel railcar, triple hopper and hybrid aluminum/stainless steel railcars, ore cars, ballast cars and aggregate cars. The Company�� manufacturing process involves four basic steps: fabrication, assembly, finishing and inspection. In its fabrication processes, it employ standard metal working tools, many of which are computer controlled. Each assembly line typically involves 15 to 20 manufacturing positions, depending on the complexity of the particular railcar design. It uses mechanical fastening in the fitting and assembly of its aluminum-bodied railcar parts, while it uses welding for the assembly of its steel-bodied railcars.

The Company competes with Trinity Industries, Inc., National Steel Car Limited, The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. and American Railcar Industries, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By SA Pro Top Ideas]

  Stock Movers and Great Calls
  Alpha-Rich long and short ideas regularly move stocks and identify stocks that are about to move. Some notable recent calls subscribers had early access to:

  On July 24, Mike Williams explained why FreightCar America's (RAIL) shares could double by 2015 as it returned to historic profitability. Shares are +16.3% to date after a strong earnings report this week. Read article » Vince Martin said on June 17 that Cray's (CRAY) sell-off after Q1 earnings was way overdone, offering investors a great deal. After a strong earnings report last week, shares now stand +45% from where they were before the article. Read article »

  To Come Today
  Don't forget to check your SA Pro dashboard later today for the latest Alpha-Rich ideas. Any thoughts to share on the latest Alpha-Rich ideas? Leave a comment here.
  
  SA Pro Editors
  …............
  
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Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In 2014: Creston PLC (CRE)

Creston Plc is a United Kingdom-based company engaged in insight and communications services. The Company operates in three divisions: Communications division, which offers clients an integrated approach to their marketing and communication strategy, offering a range of services, which include advertising, brand strategy, channel marketing, customer relationship marketing, digital marketing, direct marketing, local marketing, social media marketing and public relations; Health division, which provides an integrated communications solution to the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector and offers services, which include advertising, advocacy, digital and direct marketing, public relations, issues and reputation management and medical education; Insight division, which performs a range of market research services on behalf of its clients, through both qualitative and quantitative means, using face-to-face, telephone and online data collection techniques. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Investment Biker]

  Over the years, WAL has changed its loan origination strategy. Post crisis, WAL's i) loan growth has been driven by commercial real estate (CRE) and Commercial & Industrial loans (C&I), ii) Construction and development share of loans has reduced from 24% in 2005 to 7% in 1Q'2013 and iii) completely cessation of new loan origination in the residential mortgage segment.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In 2014: AutoZone Inc.(AZO)

AutoZone, Inc. retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories. The company?s stores offer various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Its automotive hard parts product line includes A/C compressors, batteries and accessories, belts and hoses, carburetors, chassis, clutches, CV axles, engines, fuel pumps, fuses, ignition, lighting, mufflers, starters and alternators, water pumps, radiators, and thermostats. The company?s maintenance items include antifreeze and windshield washer fluid; brake drums, rotors, shoes, and pads; chemicals, including brake and power; steering fluid, oil, and fuel additives; oil and transmission fluids; oil, air, fuel, and transmission filters; oxygen sensors; paint and accessories; refrigerant and accessories; shock absorbers and struts; spark plugs and wires; and windshield wiper s. Its discretionary product line comprises air fresheners, cell phone accessories, drinks and snacks, floor mats and seat covers, mirrors, performance products, protectants and cleaners, sealants and adhesives, steering wheel covers, stereos and radios, tools, and wash and wax products. The company also offers commercial sales program that provides the delivery of parts and other products to local, regional, and national repair garages, dealers, service stations, and public sector accounts. In addition, it sells the ALLDATA brand automotive diagnostic and repair software through the Website, alldata.com; and automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products through the Website, autozone.com. As of May 7, 2011, the company operated 4,467 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, and 261 stores in Mexico. AutoZone, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] >Dun and Bradstreet (DNB) are examples. All have great track records for business and stock price growth long term so this appears to be a strategic decision to finance through debt rather than equity. My question is at what point can an investor judge that this practice is no longer creating value but adding risk to the investment? There can obviously be too much leverage. However when money is cheap to borrow and ROIC is high this seems like a great way to create value for shareholders, to just borrow at 3% and buy stock with an ROIC over 20%, but how much is too much?

  Thank you,

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  AutoZone (AZO) is firing on all cylinders. It beat earnings forecasts. Its same-store sales were strong. Its gross margins improved. And AutoZone’s stock has dropped nearly 2% today as growing inventories raised concerns among investors.

  Bloomberg

  AutoZone reported a profit of $8.46 a share, beating forecasts for $8.44 a share, on sales of $2.34 billion, in line with the Street consensus. Same-store sales, meanwhile, rose 4%, while inventory rose 12%.

  Raymond James analysts Dan Wewer and Aziz Pirbhoy believe that AutoZone’s “bullish theme remains intact” but worry about the payoff from increasing inventory:

  While AutoZone�� F3Q14 results were of mixed quality, the long-term investment themes underlying our Strong Buy rating remain intact, including a continued gross margin expansion cycle and a shareholder friendly capital allocation policy. AutoZone has now achieved 10%+ EPS growth for a 31st consecutive quarter ��a further testament to our bullish long-term view…

  AutoZone�� gross inventory investment increased 12.0% in F3Q14 (or 8.2% per foot) ��the fourth straight quarter of an 8%+ increase. Unfortunately, inventory yield (amount of gross profit generated from $1 of inventory) declined 1.4% y/y. This could raise concerns of diminishing returns from AutoZone�� latest parts availability initiatives.

  Shares of AutoZone have fallen 1.7% to $531.87 at 11:52 a.m., while Advance Auto Part (AAP) has dropped 1.6% to $121.27 and O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY) has declined 0.9% to $147.25. Pep Boys (PBY), however, has bucked the selling–its shares have gained 1.9% to $10.57.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In 2014: Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp (FSFR)

Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp., incorporated on May 22, 2013, is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Company investment objective is to maximize the Company�� portfolio�� total return by generating income from its debt investments while seeking to preserve its capital. The Company intends to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in senior secured loans, including first lien, unitranche and second lien debt instruments, that pay interest at rates, which are determined periodically on the basis of a floating base lending rate, made to private middle market companies whose debt is rated below investment grade, which the Company refer to collectively as senior loans. The Company�� investment adviser is Fifth Street Management.

The Company may also invest in senior unsecured loans issued by private middle market companies and, to a lesser extent, subordinated loans issued by private middle market companies and senior and subordinated loans issued by public companies. Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes will be invested in floating rate senior loans. Senior loans pay interest at rates, which are determined periodically on the basis of the London-Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus a premium. Senior loans in which the Company expects to invest are made to United States and, to a limited extent, non- United States corporations, partnerships and other business entities which operate in various industries and geographical regions.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Management investment company Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp. (FSFR) raised its quarterly dividend 15% to 23 cents per share, payable April 15 to shareholders of record as of March 31.
  FSFR Stock�Dividend Yield: 6.88%

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In 2014: Wizard World Inc (WIZD)

Wizard World, Inc., incorporated on May 2, 2001, produces pop culture and live multimedia conventions (Comic Cons) across North America that provide a social networking and entertainment venue for fiction enthusiasts of movies, television shows, video games, technology, toys, social networking/gaming platforms, comic books and graphic novels. The Company has two lines of business: live multimedia events, which involves ticket sales and exhibitor booth space, and sponsorships and advertising. On December 7, 2010, the Company acquired Conventions (which collectively refers to Kick The Can Corp. and its predecessors Wizard Conventions, Inc. and Kicking The Can, L.L.C) pursuant to a Share Purchase and Share Exchange Agreement (the Exchange Agreement). As the result of the Share Exchange, Conventions became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The Company, through, Conventions, is a producer of pop culture and live multimedia conventions. On November 13, 2010, the Company acquired the production rights to the Mid-Ohio Comic Con from GCX Holdings.

These Comic Cons provide entertainment companies, toy companies, gaming companies, publishing companies and retailers venues for their sales, marketing, promotions, public relations, advertising and sponsorships efforts. On March 18, 2011, the Company formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Wizard World Digital, Inc. (Digital). Among other things, Digital monitors and sends emails to its fan database; manages its Website www.wizardworld.com and its online accounts, and produces the Company�� online newsletter, Wizard World Digital. The Company also produces Wizard World Digital, an online publication covering new and upcoming products and talents in the pop culture world, which is distributed on a weekly basis to online and iPad users worldwide. Kick The Can Corp. was incorporated in Nevada on September 20, 2010. As of November 17, 2011, the Conventions held the production rights to 11 conventions: Atlanta Comic Con (Atlanta, GA); Big Apple Comic Co! n (New York, NY); Cincinnati Comic Con (Cincinnati, OH); Connecticut Comic Con (Hartford, CT); Nashville Comic Con (Nashville, TN); New England Comic Con (Boston, MA); North Coast Comic Con (Akron, OH); Toronto Comic Con (Toronto, Ontario); Nola Comic Con (New Orleans, LA); Central Canada Comic Con (Winnipeg, Manitoba), and Mid-Ohio Comic Con (Columbus, OH). The Company developed the Comic Cons in Miami, FL, Anaheim, CA, Austin, TX, Philadelphia, PA and Chicago, IL.

The Company competes with Reed Exhibitions Limited and Hobby Star Marketing Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, WIZD remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $.520 thus far (ref. google finance June 20, 2013).

  Wizard World, Inc. previously reported record financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 today.

  Convention revenue was $1,793,476 for the three months ended March 31, 2013, as compared to $520,155 for the comparable period ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $1,273,321. The Company produced two events during the period ended March 31, 2013, as compared to one event during the comparable period ended March 31, 2012. Average revenue generated per event in 2013 was $896,737 as compared to $520,155 during 2012.

Top 10 Defensive Companies To Invest In 2014: Konared Corp (KRED)

KonaRed Corporation., formerly TeamUpSport Inc., incorporated on October 4, 2010, is a development-stage company. The Company is focused to develop and commercialize on its Website www.teamupsport.com. As of May 31, 2011, the Company had not generated revenue. On October 4, 2013, the Company acquired Sandwich Isles Trading Co. Inc. dba KonaRed.

The Company's Website will be designed to integrate into a single online offering people�� interest in sports with the capabilities of online social networking. The Website will become a sports focused social networking Website.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tabitha Jean Naylor]

  Konared (OTCQB: KRED)

  Konared’s mission is to reintroduce the world to coffee. Unlike many other start-ups that focus on providing yet another way to enjoy traditional coffee, which is made from toasted and pulverized coffee beans, Konared actually makes use of the coffee berry in order to produce its beverage.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  If you're only a headline skimmer, it's a detail that would have been easy to overlook. For those who don't miss anything, however, they'll already know that beverage company Konared Corp. (OTCBB:KRED) is about to unveil a product that will put it toe-to-toe with the likes of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP). And, if history is any indication, while PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are apt to maintain their wider distribution, KonaRed is apt to beat them in enough places to carve out a nice piece of the market, and reward KRED shareholders in the process. Meanwhile, there's a good chance that most PEP and KO shareholders know - or even care - that the company they own a stake in is even competing in this arena. That arena? Coconut water.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Two weeks ago, yours truly made the point that all beverage makers ranging from small niche players like National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) to the mega-sized names like The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) that little ol' KonaRed Corp. (OTCBB:KRED) was coming on fast... not just in terms of product innovation, but in terms of its retail footprint. Not that there was any doubt in the meantime, but KRED laid down another piece of evidence to that end today that should have the likes of KO and FIZZ concerned. Simply put, the flagship Konared product (juice from the fruit that surrounds coffee beans) is soon going to found on the shelves of 80 additional Canadian grocery stores.

• [By John Udovich]

  Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), a mid cap marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages, has been a monster of a performer since the end of the financial crisis as the stock is up around 308% over the past five years, but could new or overlooked players like small cap beverage stocks�Jones Soda Co (OTCMKTS: JSDA), Celsius Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: CELH) and Konared Corp (OTCBB: KRED) repeat that performance? A look strictly at the long term performance of all three small caps might have you thinking otherwise. After all, none of these small cap beverage stocks are profitable while�the beverage industry can be a long hard expensive slog just to increase market share by one or two points when you are competing for shelf space with industry giants like Pepsi and Coke. But past performance is just that���the past and only part of the story as there is much more to consider about these small cap beverage stocks which could also make them potential acquisition targets by larger beverage players seeking to expand their product line up with innovative products:

10 Best Services Stocks To Own For 2014

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) just released its latest data today on content removal requests it receives from governments -- and it doesn't look good. It said that such requests have increased from 1,811 requests for 18,070 pieces of content in the first half of 2012 to 2,285 requests on 24,179 pieces of content from July to Dec. 2012.

The company started its Transparency Report three years ago in an effort to show how governments across the globe try to censor data, and this latest release is the seventh.

Google said on its blog that, "As we've gathered and released more data over time, it's become increasingly clear that the scope of government attempts to censor content on Google services has grown. In more places than ever, we've been asked by governments to remove political content that people post on our services."

The company has made the online report available to everyone and said it has improved it to show whether or not YouTube videos were taken down because of community guidelines or local laws. The report now also tracks known disruptions to Google services in specific regions.

5 Best Services Stocks To Own Right Now: Weis Markets Inc.(WMK)

Weis Markets, Inc. engages in the retail sale of food in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Its retail food stores sell groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer and wine, fuel and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care, and household products. The company operates stores primarily under the Weis Markets trade name. As of February 13, 2012, it operated 161 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1912 and is based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Mid-Atlantic grocery store chain�Weis Markets (NYSE: WMK  ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.30 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past six quarters.

10 Best Services Stocks To Own For 2014: ICSGlobal Ltd (ICS)

ICSGlobal Limited is an Australia-based company. The principal activities of the Company during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), were the operations of a holding company in Australia with a 100% owned subsidiary providing medical billing services in the United Kingdom. As of June 30, 2012, the Company owned Medical Billing and Collections (MBC) in the United Kingdom. The Company has owned a number of operating companies in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. As of June 30, 2012, the Company is focused on new business opportunities. As of June 30, 2012, the Company�� subsidiaries included Thelma Pty Ltd, EziBill Pty Ltd and Thelma-EU Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Magic Diligence]

  Far from an electronic document company, PDF Solutions provides software, IP, hardware, and services designed to speed the process and lower the cost of designing and manufacturing custom integrated circuits (ICs), especially in the area of yield improvements. PDFS has booked solid 3-year average revenue growth of 18%, has exploded operating margins from 2% in 2010 to over 35% today, generates free cash flow in excess of net income, and has no debt with a nice cash cushion of $65 million. At under $13, the stock is more than 50% below its 52-week high and carries a bargain 12% earnings yield.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  This week a few companies answered the call and rewarded their shareholders with higher cash dividends:
  
  Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.4% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 12, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.
  
  Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, develops, and manages real estate portfolio, as well as performs certain real estate-related services. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 66.7% to $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable February 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.
  
  Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) generates and distributes electric energy, as well as distributes natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Utility Energy and Non-Utility Energy. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.3900 per share. The dividend is payable March 1, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.
  
  BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.9% to $1.93 per share. The dividend is payable March 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.
  
  ONEOK Inc. (OKE) operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. January 15th the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable February 18, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.5%.
  
  Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) is a real es

10 Best Services Stocks To Own For 2014: StealthGas Inc.(GASS)

StealthGas Inc., a ship-owning company, through its subsidiaries, provides international seaborne transportation services worldwide. The company transports petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene, and vinyl chloride monomer. It also transports refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, crude oil, fuel oil, jet fuel, edible oils, and chemicals. As of January 9, 2012, the company had a fleet of 33 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers with a total capacity of 153,088 cubic meters, 3 medium range product tankers, and 1 Aframax oil tanker. It serves LPG producers comprising national and independent energy companies, energy traders, and industrial users. StealthGas Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Several shipping stocks have already started to move higher this year, but in a fashion that will be typical of the volatility in the sector, we saw an opportunity created this week. StealthGas (GASS) reported earnings that fell well short of analyst expectations, and the stock plummeted by almost 8 percent for the week.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  StealthGas (NASDAQ: GASS  ) has ambitions to raise $100 million from the capital markets. The company put a price tag on its upcoming public share flotation, and upped the volume in the process -- 10 million shares are to be sold, as opposed to the originally planned 8 million, and they will be priced at $10.00 apiece.

10 Best Services Stocks To Own For 2014: CirTran Corp (CIRC)

CirTran Corporation, incorporated on March 23, 1987, manufactures, markets, and distributes internationally an energy drink under a license with Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (Playboy) through its subsidiary, CirTran Beverage Corporation. It operates in Beverage Distribution and Contract Manufacturing segments. In the United States, it provides a mix of high- and medium-volume turnkey manufacturing services and products using various high-tech applications for electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the communications, networking, peripherals, gaming, law enforcement, consumer products, telecommunications, automotive, medical, and semiconductor industries. The Company�� services include pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, and post-manufacturing services.

Beverage Distribution

CirTran Beverage Corporation (CirTran Beverage) manufactures, markets, and distributes Playboy-licensed energy drinks, flavored water beverages, and related merchandise through various distribution channels. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 65 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Australia, the Pacific, and the Middle East.

Contract Marketing

CirTran Products Corp. pursues contract-manufacturing relationships in the domestic consumer products markets, including products in areas, such as home/garden, kitchen, health/beauty, toys, licensed merchandise, and apparel for film, television, sports, and other entertainment properties. The Company concentrates its product development efforts into three areas: home and kitchen appliances, beauty products, and licensed merchandise. Through CirTran - Asia, Inc., the Company designs, manufactures, and supplies products in the international electronics, consumer products, and general merchandise industries for various marketers, distributors, and retailers selling overseas. This subsidiary provides manufacturing services to the direct-response and retail consumer markets.

The Company competes with Hansen�! � Energy, Diet Red, Monster Energy, Lost Energy, Joker Mad Energy, Ace Energy, Unbound Energy, Rumba energy juice, Red Bull, Rockstar, Full Throttle, No Fear, Amp, Adrenaline Rush, 180, Extreme Energy Shot, Red Devil, Rip It, NOS, Boo Koo, and Vitaminenergy.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  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�� sales were again driven by its Playboy Energy Drink line, which has grown to represent nearly 98% of revenues.

  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.

10 Best Services Stocks To Own For 2014: ChinaNet Online Holdings Inc.(CNET)

ChinaNet Online Holdings, Inc. offers business-to-business integrated Internet service provider services for small and medium enterprises? sales networks in the People?s Republic of China. Its multi-platform advertising network consists of the Website 28.com, an Internet advertising portal; ChinaNet TV, a television production and advertising unit; and bank kiosk advertising unit, which is primarily used as an advertising platform for clients in the financial services industry. The company, through its Internet portal 28.com, enables companies and entrepreneurs to advertise their business information, brands, products, services, and business opportunities, as well as to build sales channels and develop relationships directly with franchisees, sales agents, distributors, and/or resellers. The 28.com also offers campaign management tools, including lead generation and capture, advanced tracking, search engine marketing and optimization, resource scheduling, and content man agement for the company?s clients. The company, through its ChinaNet TV, creates and distributes television shows comprising advertisements similar to infomercials, as well as promotions for various clients during the allotted time; and produces Web video advertisements for clients to be placed on 28.com. Its bank kiosks provide advertising services and Internet access to perform non-cash banking functions, such as transferring money, purchasing annuities and/or insurance, and paying bills. In addition, it offers cloud-based management tools. As of December 31, 2010, the company provided advertising, marketing, and lead generation services to approximately 1,200 clients in various consumer focused business categories comprising 883 clients. It serves customers in food and beverage; cosmetics and healthcare; footwear, apparel, and garments; home goods and construction materials; and environmental protection equipment industries. The company was founded in 2003 and is headqua rtered in Beijing, China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  It's fun to be right, but being "right" about entering a stock trade is irrelevant if you're not also going to be right about the exit. With that in mind, though yours truly only suggested Chinanet Online Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CNET) yesterday, it's time to go ahead and lock in your gain - your 140%-ish gain - by selling CNET at whatever price you can get for it now..... like right now.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  If you missed the triple-digit gain on Chinanet Online Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CNET) the first time around, this may be your second chance. While there's sure to be plenty more volatility in the cards for CNET, that volatility so far has been predictable enough to make - and save - some pretty good money.

10 Best Services Stocks To Own For 2014: Groupe Steria SCA (RIA)

Groupe Steria SCA is a France-based holding company engaged in the provision of end-to-end information technology (IT) services. The Company�� business is divided into four segments: Systems Integration, offering design and development of system; Application Management, providing maintenance and supervision of the stages in the life cycle of software applications; Management of IT Infrastructure, providing technical and business assistance, supervision of systems and network infrastructures, administration and operation of systems and network infrastructures, and hosting infrastructures in data centers; and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), providing taking over the operation of part or all of business function on behalf of the customer. The Company is operational mainly in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and other European countries. The Company has subsidiaries in France, Morocco, the United Kingdom, India, Germany, Austria and Poland, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By victorselva]

  The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW) is a savings and loan holding company. The company is engaged, through its subsidiaries, in securities brokerage, banking, money management, and financial advisory services. Its subsidiaries include Charles Schwab & Co. (a leading discount broker-dealer), Charles Schwab Investment Management (a mutual fund investment advisor) and Charles Schwab Bank.In this article, let's take a look at this brokerage firm and try to explain to investors the reasons this is an apparently appealing investment opportunity.The FocusThe company provides financial services to individuals and institutional clients through two segments: Investor Services and Institutional Services. The Investor Services segment provides retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors. The Institutional Services segment provides custodial, trading, and support services to independent investment advisors. The Institutional Services segment also provides retirement plan services, specialty brokerage services, and mutual fund clearing services. The company seeks to meet the financial services needs of investors, advisers and employers. It focuses on building client loyalty with the goal of attracting new clients and serving them. Additionally, Schwab麓s strengths through shared core processes and technology advances which help create services that are scalable and consistent with the business.Interest Rates, Capital Structure and Debt-to-Capital RatioThe results are dependent on short-term interest rates, as 37% of its top line came from net interest income in the first quarter of 2014.The broker has been making significant efforts to become less dependent on interest rates, which we expect Federal Reserve will raise them in late 2014 or 2015. Also, the company麓s plan is to reach a low-cost capital structure and targets a long-term debt-to-total financial capital ratio of less than 30%.Lucrative Derivatives Trading In 2011, the company acquired Compl

10 Best Services Stocks To Own For 2014: Electro Rent Corporation(ELRC)

Electro Rent Corporation engages in the rental, lease, and sale of new and used electronic test and measurement equipment. Its equipment portfolio consists of general purpose test and measurement instruments; personal computers, workstations, and servers; and electrical test equipment and inspection equipment. The company rents or leases its equipment primarily to companies operating in the aerospace, defense, telecommunications, electronics, and semiconductor industries. Electro Rent Corporation serves its customers through sales offices, and calibration and service centers in the United States, Canada, China, and Europe. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Van Nuys, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Electro Rent (Nasdaq: ELRC  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Electro Rent (NASDAQ: ELRC) shares fell 0.77% to reach a new 52-week low of $15.39. Electro Rent's trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 9.24%.

  Posted-In: 52-Week LowsNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets

Hot China Companies To Buy Right Now

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Chinese stocks opened lower Thursday, with banks mostly weaker after a slew of earnings results from the top mainland Chinese lenders. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) fell 0.8% to 23,120.24, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also 0.8% lower, while the Shanghai Composite (CN:SHCOMP) gave up 0.6% in early moves. Mostly disappointing earnings from some of the largest banks helped sink their shares. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (HK:1398) (IDCBF) dropped 1.7%, Bank of China Ltd. (HK:3988) (BACHY) retreated by 0.8%, and Bank of Communications Co. (HK:3328) (BKFCF) dropped 2.6% after all three posted lower profit growth than a year earlier, and with BoCom saying it could raise capital with a preferred-share issue. In other post-earnings reactions, China Minsheng Banking Corp. (HK:1988) (CMAKY) fell 3.2%, but Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (HK:1288) (ACGBF) traded flat. In Shanghai, ICBC (CN:601398) lost 0.5%, Bank of China (CN:601988) fell 0.4%, BoCom (CN:601328) was down 1.6%, China Minsheng (CN:600016) tumbled 3.5%, and AgBank (CN:601288) retreated 0.8%. Among gainers, Lenovo Group Ltd. (HK:992) (LNVGF) rose 1.5% after the company launched its new Yoga tablet, with actor Ashton Kutcher to be involved in the device's marketing.

Hot Healthcare Equipment Companies To Invest In 2015: 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 Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ) got a boost, shooting up 7.63 percent to $10.78 after the company reported Q3 results.

  SINA (NASDAQ: SINA) was also up, gaining 12.98 percent to $85.76 after the company reported a strong rise in its Q3 profit.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 name that's quickly pushing within range of triggering a big breakout trade is E-House China (EJ), which is engaged in providing real estate agency and brokerage services in the primary and secondary markets and real estate consulting and information services in the People's Republic of China. This stock is off to a monster start in 2013, with shares up sharply by 131%.

  If you take a look at the chart for E-House China, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last month and change, with shares moving between $8.35 on the downside and $10.24 on the upside. Shares of EJ are starting to spike sharply higher today right above that $8.35 low, and this stock is now quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent range.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in EJ if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $9.74 to $10.19 a share, and then once it clears its 52-week high at $10.24 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.11 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then EJ will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $10.24, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $13 to $15 a share.

  Traders can look to buy EJ off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support at $8.35 a share, or around its 50-day moving average at $7.96 a share. One can also buy EJ off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Richard Schmidt]

  e-House Holdings Limited (EJ), a Chinese real estate services company, continued its move back up in November. With strong third-quarter earnings, the stock jumped up over 30%.

• [By Richard Schmidt]

  Shares of e-House Holdings Limited (EJ) finally came to life in the last five months of last year. They cooled off in January, but moved back up in February.

Hot China Companies To Buy Right Now: Spreadtrum Communications Inc.(SPRD)

Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops, and markets baseband processor and RF transceiver solutions for wireless communications and mobile television markets. It offers a portfolio of integrated baseband processor solutions that support a range of wireless communications standards, including global system for mobile communication (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), and high speed packet access (HSPA), as well as offer an array of multimedia capabilities, such as MP3 digital audio playback, touch screen, JAVA acceleration, digital camera support, motion JPEG, MPEG4, AVS and H.264 digital video playback, and 64-channel polyphonic ringtone playback. The company also provides single-chip CMOS multi-mode RF transceivers that perform across various standards covering GSM/GP RS, EDGE, wideband code division multiple access, TD-SCDMA, and high speed uplink/downlink packet access. In addition, it designs, develops, and markets a CMMB-based channel demodulator and audio/video decoder processor solution for the mobile television market. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors to brand manufacturers, independent design houses, and original design manufacturers primarily in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Radovsky]

  Chinese semiconductor maker Spreadtrum (NASDAQ: SPRD  ) has received a buyout offer valued at up to $1.5 billion from Tsinghua Unigroup, a subsidiary of Chinese government-owned Tsinghua Holdings, Spreadtrum announced today.

Hot China Companies To Buy Right Now: Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited(YZC)

Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited engages in the underground mining, preparation, and sale of coal. It involves in manufacturing, washing, processing, and selling steam coal used in the electricity power sector; and metallurgical coal used with coking coal in the process of pulverized coal injection, as well as operates six coal mines. The company also engages in the provision of railway transportation services; production and sale of coal chemicals, primarily methanol; and generation of electricity and heat. In addition, it involves in the manufacture and sale of mining machinery and engine products; and development of integrated coal technology. Further, the company engages in the transportation via rivers and lakes; sale of construction materials; and trading and processing of mining machinery. It has operations primarily in China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. The company was founded in 1973 and is based in Zoucheng, the People's Republic of China. Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited is a subsidiary of Yankuang Group Corporation Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Yanzhou Coal Mining (YZC) engages in the underground coal mining, as well as preparation, processing, sale and railway transportation of coal. This stock closed up 7.6% to $7.31 in Thursday's trading session.

  Thursday's Range: $7.14-$7.31
  
  52-Week Range: $6.68-$18.57
  
  Thursday's Volume: 391,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 370,383

  From a technical perspective, YZC bounced sharply higher here right off some near-term support at $6.77 with above-average volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last six months, with shares plunging from its high of over $14 to its recent low of $6.68. During that move, shares of YZC have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of YZC have recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $6.68 to $6.77. This stock now looks ready to reverse that downtrend and possibly trigger a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if YZC manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $7.76 to $8 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in YZC as long as it's trending above its recent low of $6.77 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 370,383 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then YZC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $9 to $10. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give YZC a chance to tag its next major overhead resistance levels at $10.67 to $11.11.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  China dominates global coal production, producing 47% of the world�� coal in 2013 and consuming just over 50%. Even so, Chinese coal companies have not managed to escape the market carnage experienced by major US coal producers like Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) and Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI), which have seen their share prices decline by 80% and 90% respectively since early 2011. For instance, the stock of major Chinese coal producer Yanzhou Coal Mining (NYSE: YZC), has also dropped nearly 80% since 2011.

Hot China Companies To Buy Right Now: LDK Solar Co. Ltd.(LDK)

LDK Solar Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) products; and development of power plant projects. It offers solar-grade and semiconductor-grade polysilicon; and multicrystalline and monocrystalline solar wafers to the manufacturers of solar cells and solar modules. The company also provides wafer processing services to monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cell and module manufacturers; and sells silicon materials, such as ingots and polysilicon scraps. In addition, it engages in the production and sale of solar cells and modules to developers, distributors, and system integrators; and design and development of solar power projects in Europe, the United States, and China, as well as provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. LDK Solar Co., Ltd. operates in Europe, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Xinyu City, t he People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wall Street Sector Selector]

  Previous to last week's solar flare, the sector has suffered through some awful growing pains. The financial crisis resulted in reduced subsidies for development in the rapidly-advancing photovoltaic power industry. Meanwhile, China increased government financing of its solar industry, having already established a strong presence in the sector with such companies as Suntech Power (STP) and LDK Solar (LDK).

• [By Wall Street Strategies]

  Naturally the news is a big positive for the industry, with Chinese solar names like Yingli (YGE), Trina (TSL), Canadian Solar (CSIQ) -- which is actually Chinese despite its name -- JinkoSolar (JKS), JA Solar (JASO), and LDK Solar (LDK) each up more than 10% at midday. The Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN), which tracks several global solar companies, was up 8%, breaking to a new 52-week high.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  China continues to prop up solar
  Suntech Power and LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK  ) have both defaulted on loans, but that doesn't appear to be a clear sign that China is willing to let its solar industry consolidate. These two companies along with countless others would be bankrupt in the U.S. or Europe but investments from state-owned entities and loans from state-owned banks have propped up the entire industry.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Chinese solar companies are a different story. Many manufacture their own silicon wafers and sell silicon to other makers. Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) and Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) all manufacture and sell solar ingots, wafers or cells.

Hot China Companies To Buy Right Now: Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd.(QIHU)

Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. provides Internet and mobile security products in the People's Republic of China. Its principal products include 360 Safe Guard, an Internet security product for Internet security and system optimization; 360 Anti-Virus, an anti-virus application to protect users? computers against trojan horses, viruses, worms, adware, and other forms of malware; and 360 Mobile Safe, a security program for the Google Android, Apple iOS, and Nokia Symbian smartphone operating systems. The company?s platform products comprise 360 Safe Browser, a Web browser; 360 Personal Start-up Page, a default homepage of 360 Safe Browser and a key access point to popular and preferred information and applications; 360 Application Store, a key access point to securely obtain and manage software and applications; and 360 Safebox, a solution that protects users against thefts of personal account information. It also provides online advertising services, including online marketi ng services and search referral services; and Internet value-added services comprising the operation of Web games developed by third-parties, remote technical support, and cloud-based services. The company was formerly known as Qihoo Technology Company Limited and changed its name to Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. in December 2010. Qihoo 360 Technology Co. was founded in 2005 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kevin Chen]

  I don't like Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU  ) , but I do realize when a company is here to stay.

  If you've followed Qihoo over the past year, you may have heard how it seems to be more of a marketing company with inferior products rather than a serious tech competitor. Well, once you read its most recent earnings report, you may change your mind like I did. The fact is, Qihoo seems to be making profitable strides in the search market.

• [By Andrew Tonner]

  Search has long been one of the most profitable businesses in all of tech. This has been fantastic for Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) shareholders who have watched the company effectively dominate the search market in China for some time now. However, all that changed last year as rival Internet power Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU  ) decided it wanted its own piece of this booming market. In fact, Qihoo recently raised the stakes by snapping up another rival in hopes of unseating Baidu from its top spot in this growth market. So how great a threat is this for Baidu? In this video, Fool contributor Andrew Tonner discusses how investors should interpret this very real threat.

Hot China Companies To Buy Right Now: Sina Corporation(SINA)

SINA Corporation provides online media and mobile value-added services (MVAS) in the People?s Republic of China. It provides advertising, non-advertising, and free services through SINA.com, Weibo.com, and SINA Mobile. SINA.com offers free interest-based channels that provide region-focused format and content, including news, sports, automobile-related news, finance, entertainment, luxury, technology, digital, tools, collectibles, video, music, and wireless application protocol, as well as interactive platform for fashion-conscious users to share comments and ideas on a range of topics, such as health, cosmetics, and beauty. The company's microblogging platform, Weibo.com, enables its users to follow the hottest topics being discussed online, as well as discussions related to people they know. Weibo accounts consist of celebrities, commercial enterprises, government entities, and grass root Internet users. Its SINA Mobile service allows users to receive news and informatio n, download ring tones, mobile games and pictures, and participate in dating and friendship communities. The company also offers SINA Game, which serves as an interactive platform that provides users with downloads and gateway access to popular online games; SINA eReading, a shop for book reviews; SINA.net, an enterprise solutions platform to assist businesses and government bodies; and SINA Mall, an online shopping Website. In addition, it provides a platform for Chinese bloggers; photo-sharing platform; free email, VIP mail, and corporate email for enterprise users; audio and video-based instant messaging tools; proprietary search technology; and classified advertising services, as well as hosts topic-specific discussion forums in Chinese language; and creates user-maintained and supported online communities. The company has strategic cooperation agreement with China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. SINA Corporation was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the Peop le?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Rooney]

  Sina Corp. (SINA), which operates the Twitter-like microbloging website Weibo, has gained 63%. In April, online retailer Alibaba, often referred to as China's eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500), took an 18% stake in Weibo. The deal valued Weibo at $3.3 billion. Twitter, by contrast, could have a market value north of $10 billion, according to securities documents filed last week.

• [By Anna Prior]

  Chinese Internet company Sina Corp.(SINA) said it was hit by a $815,000 fine and received notices from the government that certain licenses would be revoked over “unhealthy and indecent content.” The company separately said it expects first-quarter revenue and adjusted per-share earnings that topped analysts’ expectations. Shares fell 3.4% premarket.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  A month ago he was concerned about SINA (NASDAQ: SINA  ) , fearing that Alibaba purchasing an 18% stake in SINA Weibo might lead to problems for Baidu. SINA could potentially limit access to its real-time searches of Weibo content, just as domestic search giants had to shell out for access to Twitter. It would be a pretty big gamble for the popular micro-blogging platform since Baidu still commands the lion's share of China's search requests.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Invest In Right Now

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI) is running red despite an upgrade from Canaccord Genuity. Shares are down more than $4 (3%) on a day when the broader indexes are underwater by less than 1%.

Despite underperforming on the day, Jonathan Dorsheimer says the lighting company is a "Buy" with a price target of $172.00 ��potential upside of 29.2% to target ��not bad.

Acuity Brands designs, produces and distributes lighting solutions, components, and services for commercial, institutional, industrial, infrastructure, and residential applications in North America and internationally.

Dorsheimer tells interested investors, "We are upgrading AYI to BUY from Hold as we believe the 2014 inflection in LED as well as the coming rebound in commercial construction will drive significant top-line growth and leverage for Acuity as the leader in North American lighting."

Top 5 Construction Material Companies To Own For 2015: General American Investors Inc. (GAM)

General American Investors Company, Inc. is a self management investment trust. The firm invests in the public equity markets across the globe. It employs a fundamental analysis with a bottom-up stock picking approach. General American Investors Company, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GuruFocus]

  General American Investors Co. Inc. (GAM): President & CEO Jeffrey W Priest Bought 14,000 Shares

  President & CEO of General American Investors Co. Inc. (GAM) Jeffrey W Priest bought 14,000 shares on 01/29/2014 at an average price of $33.53. General American Investors Co. Inc. has a market cap of $932.500 million.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Invest In Right Now: Rovi Corporation(ROVI)

Rovi Corporation provides digital entertainment technology solutions for the discovery and management of entertainment content. It offers interactive program guides; embedded licensing technologies, such as recommendations and search capability; media recognition technologies; licensing of the company?s database of descriptive information about television, movie, music, books, and game content; and analog content protection technologies and services. The company?s interactive program guides technology is an interactive listing of television or video program information that enables viewers to navigate through, sort, select, and schedule video programming for viewing and recording. The company also provides video delivery solutions, such as compression-decompression technology (codec) to enable distribution of content across the Internet and through recordable media in physical or streamed forms; and media manager, a personal computer application enabling consumers to man age personal media files, including music, photos, and video files. In addition, it offers digital copy solution for consumer electronics devices and PC software applications; the Rovi Entertainment Store video delivery solutions; content authoring solutions; and advertising solutions. Rovi Corporation primarily serves companies in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite, entertainment, and online distribution markets. The company was formerly known as Macrovision Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Rovi Corporation in July 2009. Rovi Corporation was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Rovi (Nasdaq: ROVI  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on May 1. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Rovi's revenues will decrease -12.8% and EPS will wither -17.9%.

• [By Alex Planes]

  What: Shares of Rovi (NASDAQ: ROVI  ) have lost nearly 12% today as a result of the company's disappointing earnings report. Both top and bottom lines missed estimates, and the company is now contemplating divestitures to keep itself afloat.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Invest In Right Now: Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL)

Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) is a bank holding company. The Company provides full-service banking and lending to locally owned businesses, professional firms, real estate developers and investors, local non-profit organizations, high net worth individuals and other consumers through its three wholly owned subsidiary banks (the Banks): Bank of Nevada (BON), operating in Southern Nevada; Western Alliance Bank (WAB), operating in Arizona and Northern Nevada, and Torrey Pines Bank (TPB), operating in California. In addition, the Company�� non-bank subsidiaries, Shine Investment Advisory Services, Inc. (Shine) and Western Alliance Equipment Finance (WAEF), offer an array of financial products and services to small to mid-sized businesses and their proprietors, including financial planning, custody and investments, and equipment leasing nationwide. It operates in four segments: Bank of Nevada, Western Alliance Bank, Torrey Pines Bank and Other.

The Company provides a range of banking services, as well as investment advisory services, through its consolidated subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2011, WAL owned an 80% interest in Shine. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 24.9% interest in Miller/Russell & Associates, Inc. (MRA), an investment advisor. MRA provides investment advisory services to individuals, foundations, retirement plans and corporations.

Lending Activities

Through the Company�� banking segments, the Company provides a variety of financial services to customers, including commercial real estate loans, construction and land development loans, commercial loans, and consumer loans. Loans to businesses consisted 89.2% of the total loan portfolio at December 31, 2011. Loans to finance the purchase or refinancing of commercial real estate (CRE) and loans to finance inventory and working capital that are additionally secured by CRE make up the majority of its loan portfolio. These CRE loans are secured by apartment buildings, professional of! fices, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial properties. As of December 31, 2011, 49% of its CRE loans were owner-occupied. Owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are loans secured by owner-occupied nonfarm nonresidential properties for which the primary source of repayment (more than 50%) is the cash flow from the ongoing operations and activities conducted by the borrower who owns the property. Non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans are commercial real estate loans for which the primary source of repayment is nonaffiliated rental income associated with the collateral property.

Construction and land development loans include multi-family apartment projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers and medical facilities. Commercial and industrial loans include working capital lines of credit, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, equipment loans and leases, and other commercial loans. Commercial loans are primarily originated to small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries. Consumer loans are generally offered at a higher rate and shorter term than residential mortgages. Its consumer loans include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, credit card loans, and personal lines of credit. As of December 31, 2011, its loan portfolio totaled $4.68 billion, or approximately 68.4% of its total assets.

Investment Activities

All of the Company�� investment securities are classified as available-for-sale (AFS) or held-to-maturity (HTM). As of December 31, 2011, the Company had an investment securities portfolio of $1.48 billion, representing approximately 21.7% of its total assets. As of December 31, 2011, its investment securities portfolio consisted of the United States Government sponsored agency securities, Municipal obligations, Adjustable-rate preferred stock, Mutual funds, Corporate bonds, Direct the United States obligation and government-! sponsored! enterprise (GSE) residential mortgage-backed securities, private label residential mortgage-backed securities, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investments, Trust preferred securities, Private label commercial mortgage-backed securities, and Collateralized debt obligations.

Sources of Funds

The Company offers a variety of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and other types of deposit accounts, including fixed-rate, fixed maturity retail certificates of deposit. As of December 31, 2011, the deposit portfolio consisted of 27.5% non-interest bearing deposits and 72.5% interest-bearing deposits. Non-interest bearing deposits consist of non-interest bearing checking account balances. In addition to its deposit base, it has access to other sources of funding, including Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) advances, repurchase agreements and unsecured lines of credit with other financial institutions.

Financial Products and Services

In addition to traditional commercial banking activities, the Company offers other financial services to customers, including Internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box services, courier, and cash management services. Through Shine, a full-service financial advisory firm, the Company offers financial planning and investment management.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Investment Biker]

  Investment Summary: This article is on Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), a growth-oriented commercial lender in the Southwest. The banks looks set to improve profitability supported by economic recovery in Last Vegas, industry-leading revenue performance and operating leverage supported by expense control. The credit profile of the bank looks excellent with limited exposure to residential mortgage and well poised to grow its loan portfolio by 20% annually over the next 3 years. It is also well set on a path to credit recovery with improving fundamentals that justifies premium valuation going forward.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Invest In Right Now: Lydall Inc. (LDL)

Lydall, Inc. designs and manufactures specialty engineered products for the thermal/acoustical, filtration/separation, and bio/medical applications worldwide. The company operates through Performance Materials, Thermal/Acoustical Metals, and Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segments. The Performance Materials Segment offers filtration media solutions for air, fluid power, and industrial applications, such as clean-space, commercial, industrial and residential HVAC, power generation, and industrial processes. This segment also provides industrial thermal insulation media and products for the cryogenic, building products, appliance, and high temperature insulation markets. In addition, it offers life sciences filtration products for life science applications, including biopharmaceutical pre-filtration and clarification, diagnostic and analytical testing, respiratory protection, life protection, medical air filtration, drinking water filtration, and high purity process filtration. T he Thermal/Acoustical Metals segment provides engineered products, such as thermal and acoustical shielding solutions to assist in noise and heat abatement within the transportation sector. The Thermal/Acoustical Fibers segment offers thermal and acoustical insulating solutions comprising organic and inorganic fiber composites for the automotive and truck markets. The company also provides specialty products for blood filtration devices and blood transfusion single-use containers; and designs and manufactures single-use solutions for cell growth, frozen storage, and fluid handling, as well as equipment for bioprocessing applications. Lydall sells its products primarily to original equipment manufacturers and tier-one suppliers. The company was founded in 1913 and is based in Manchester, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Conglomerates: This industry moved up 8.21% by 11:30 am. The top performer in this industry was Lydall (NYSE: LDL), which gained 2%. Lydall is expected to report its Q3 earnings on November 5, 2014.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now

It's no secret that�Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) , like Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) , is in the midst of a transition -- a much-needed one. The PC market in which both industry leaders made their marks is nothing close to what it was, nor is that likely to change. The IT world of the future is all about mobile and cloud computing, and both Microsoft and Intel are making inroads in these explosive areas. And investors are beginning to take notice, too: Microsoft's share price is up 30% for the year, and Intel�'s nearly 20%.

Intel's new CEO, Brian Krzanich, jumped into his new role with both feet. In addition to buying a mobile-related joint venture from STMicroelectronics�and Ericsson, Krzanich is leading a much-needed management restructuring allowing Intel to make, "quick, informed decisions." If the rumors are true, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer is going to take a page from Krzanich's book, which should have Microsoft fans cheering.

The rumors
Ballmer's letter to shareholders last year included the usual CEO-speak, as expected. But there was also interesting verbiage littered throughout the note; words like "fundamental shift in our business," "new experiences," and "move to the cloud," to name a few. As it turns out, the Oct. 9 missive may have been Ballmer's way of laying the foundation for what's coming, as Microsoft, like Intel, transforms its business to keep pace with the market.

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: Logitech international SA (LOGN)

Logitech International S.A. (Logitech) is a holding company. Logitech develops and markets hardware and software products for digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Logitech operates in two segments: peripherals and video conferencing. The Company�� peripherals segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of peripherals for personal computers (PCs) and other digital platforms. Its products for the PC include mice, trackballs, keyboards, interactive gaming controllers, multimedia speakers, headsets, webcams, and lapdesks. Logitech�� Internet communications products include webcams, headsets, video communications services, and digital video security systems for a home or small business. Its digital music products include speakers, earphones, and custom in-ear monitors. On July 6, 2010, Logitech acquired all of the assets of Paradial AS. On March 31, 2011, the Company sold its equity interest in certain 3Dconnexion subsidiaries.

3Dconnexion subsidiaries are the providers of the Company�� 3D controllers, and its intellectual property rights related to the manufacture and sale of certain 3Dconnexion products. Paradial AS provides firewall and network address translation (NAT) traversal solutions for video communications. For home entertainment systems, Logitech offers the Harmony line of advanced remote controls, Squeezebox wireless music solutions and, in the United States, a line of Logitech products for the Google TV platform. For gaming consoles, the Company offers a range of gaming controllers and microphones, as well as other accessories. Logitech�� sells its peripheral products to a network of distributors and resellers and to other equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company�� worldwide retail network includes wholesale distributors, consumer electronics retailers, mass merchandisers, specialty electronics stores, computer and telecomm! unications stores, resellers and online merchants.

The Company�� video conferencing segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of LifeSize video conferencing products, infrastructure and services for the enterprise, public sector and other business markets. LifeSize products include high-definition (HD) video communication endpoints, HD video conferencing systems with integrated monitors, video bridges and other infrastructure software and hardware to support large scale video deployments, and services to support these products. Logitech sells its LifeSize products and services to distributors, resellers, OEMs and direct enterprise customers. Logitech conducts its business through subsidiaries in the Americas, including North and South America; Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific, including, among other countries, China, Taiwan, Japan, India and Australia.

Pointing Devices

Logitech offers a range of computer mice, sold through retail and OEM channels. Its mice products include M215, M310 and M305 wireless mice with advanced 2.4 gigahertz wireless connection and cordless universal serial bus (USB) plug-and-forget nano-receiver; Performance Mouse MX and Anywhere Mouse MX with Logitech Darkfield Laser Tracking; Marathon Mouse 750, and Wireless Trackball M570. Logitech�� mice products also include a line of gaming mice, including the Wireless Gaming Mouse G700, with 13 precisely placed, programmable controls to perform single actions and complex macros, full-speed gaming-grade wireless, and a quick-connect charging cable. In addition, the Company sells both corded and cordless mice designed specifically for OEM customers.

Keyboards and Desktops

Logitech offers a range of corded and cordless keyboards and desktops (keyboard-and-mouse combinations). The Company�� keyboards and desktops include Wireless Solar Keyboard K750; K800 Illuminated Wireless Keyboard; The diNovo Edge keyboard; Wireless Desktop MK320, and G! 19 Keyboa! rd for Gaming.

Audio

Logitech designs and manufactures a range of multimedia speakers, including Wireless Speaker Z515, The Laptop Z305 speaker, and The S-series line of portable iPod/MP3 docks, including the Rechargeable Speaker S715i and the Portable Speaker S135i. It also designs and manufactures The Z-623 2.1 THX certified speakers, the Z-506 5.1 Speakers, and the Z-906 5.1 Surround Sound speakers. Logitech offers a portfolio of network music systems. The Squeezebox Touch, with its 4.3-inch color touch screen, connects to existing stereo system and speakers and supports sampling rates of up to 24 bits at 96 kilohertz. The Squeezebox Radio is a compact network music player and alarm that allows to connect to home network, and access Internet radio, personal music collection or subscription services.

The Ultimate Ears product line offers a range of in-ear consumer or fit earphones for portable music enthusiasts, as well as custom stage earphones for musicians and sound engineers. Its line of earphones include Ultimate Ears 100 and 200 value-priced earphones, with silicone ear cushions in a durable sweat-resistant design; Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 with triple armature speakers, and The Ultimate Ears 600 featuring single armature speakers, the Ultimate Ears 600vi, and the Ultimate Ears 700 featuring dual armature speakers. Its line of Ultimate Ears Custom Stage Earphones include Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors co-designed with Capitol Studios for professional studio engineers and producers for use during recording, mixing and mastering original music content, the UE-18 Pro featuring a six-speaker design, the UE-7 Pro for live performance and stage use, and the UE-4 Pro featuring a dual speaker design for artists and audiophiles.

Logitech offers headsets and microphones designed for applications, such as PC voice communications, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications and online gaming. Its products in this category include the ClearCha! t PC Wire! less headset, the Wireless Headset H760, the USB Headset H530, the G35 Surround Sound Headset for gaming, the Wireless Gaming Headset G930, the USB Desktop Microphone, and the OCS certified Logitech B-530 USB Headset.

Video

Logitech�� webcam offerings include Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910, Logitech Webcam Pro 9000, Logitech HD Webcam C510 and Logitech TV Cam for use with Logitech Revue. Logitech�� webcams works with video messaging applications, and provides up to HD 720p video calling in Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Logitech Vid HD. The Logitech Alert digital video security system is a complete home or small business video security system, with software that provides motion alerts and a live view from an Internet-connected computer, smartphone, tablet or Google TV system, including Logitech Revue.

Gaming

Logitech offers a range of game controllers for PC gamers, including joysticks, steering wheels, gamepads, mice and keyboards, and headsets, as well as gaming products for console platforms, such as PlayStation2, PlayStation3, PSP (PlayStation Portable), Xbox, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. The Company�� gaming products include Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming Mouse; Logitech G13 advanced gameboard with a built-in LCD screen, 25 programmable keys and onboard memory; Logitech G27 Racing Wheel and Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset.

Digital Home

The Company�� line of remotes includes Harmony One remote, Harmony 900 remote and Harmony 650. In October 2010, Logitech introduced its line of products for Google TV in the United States, including Logitech Revue and the Logitech Keyboard Controller; Logitech TV Cam and Vid HD service, and Logitech Mini Controller.

LifeSize Video Conferencing

LifeSize division offers HD video communication solutions, including HD video conferencing products, audio conference telephones, hardware infrastructure solutions, video management software, and services to support ! video and! audio communications and help users connect to any network securely and with ease. The LifeSize product line includes Passport, LifeSize Video Center, Express Series, Team Series, Room Series and LifeSize Bridge.

The Company competes with Microsoft Corporation, Plantronics, Inc., Altec Lansing LLC, Creative Labs, Inc., Bose Corporation, Sony Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics NV, Hewlett-Packard, Intec, Razer USA Ltd., Performance Designed Products, LLC (Pelican Accessories), Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., Universal Remote Control, Inc., Universal Electronics Inc., RCA, Apple Inc., Roku, Inc., Cisco, Radvision Ltd., Vidyo, Inc. and Polycom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, LOGN remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $23.25 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:11AM EDT July 25, 2013).

  Logansport Financial Corp. previously reported net earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 of $462,000 or $.71 per diluted share, compared to earnings in 2012 of $427,000 or $.54 per diluted share. Year to date the company reported net earnings of $936,000 for 2013 compared to $763,000 for 2012. Diluted earnings per share for the six months ended June 30, 2013 were $1.43 compared to $.97 for the six months ended June 30, 2012. Total assets at June 30, 2013 were $165.8 million compared to total assets at December 31, 2012 of $172.9 million. Total shareholder�� equity at December 31, 2013 was $18.6 million compared to $19.0 million at June 30, 2012

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lenovo Group Ltd (LNVGF.PK)

Lenovo Group Limited is principally engaged in investment holding. It is a personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries. The Company is a personal computer (PC) vendor. The Company develops, manufactures and markets technology products and services. Its product lines include Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. It offers a range of commercial desktops and notebooks to businesses of all sizes that feature cutting-edge technology, customer-centric innovation and productivity features. It operates in three segments: China, Emerging Markets (excluding China) and Mature Markets. Lenovo has research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina, the United States. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Investometrica]

  x86: With regards to the specific x86 server business, it seems that IBM is considering the possibility of fully divesting it. According to Morgan Stanley, the server business generated about $4.9 billion of the company's $15.4 billion in server sales last year. This enormous volume is due to the fact that IBM may be producing the overall market's highest volumes, at the lowest profit level; which suggests this segment is doomed. Finally, IBM has a history of aggressive shifts to areas with better growth prospects and margins. For example, the company agreed to sell off the PC business to Lenovo (LNVGF.PK) at a moment where the PC still seemed attractive.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Altec Holdings SA (AXY)

Altec Holdings SA the parent company of Altec Group, is a Greece-based company engaged in the information technology and telecommunications fields. The Company's range of activities includes the manufacture, import, export, trade, distribution, leasing and support of computers and telecommunication materials, as well as the design, production, development, import, export, leasing and trading of software for computers and electronic cash registers. Its hardware products include a range of personal computers, servers and related equipment. Its software products include systems for enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, accounting, human resource management, payroll and data warehousing, insurance brokerage software and equipment for call centers. It operates a retail network under the brand Microland. The Company has established subsidiaries in Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Yesterday, small cap geothermal stock U.S. Geothermal Inc (NYSEMKT: HTM) produced a geyser of a return when it surged 26.79%, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock verses the performance of other geothermal stocks like small cap Ormat Technologies, Inc (NYSE: ORA) and mid cap Calpine Corporation (NYSE: CPN).�First of all, I should mention there are some other geothermal stocks out there like Alterra Power Corp (CVE: AXY) and Ram Power Corp (TSE: RPG) who have their primary listing on Canadian exchanges with secondary ones on the OTC���meaning they may not be a good deal for American investors or easy to invest in. Second, U.S. Geothermal Inc itself is a good geothermal proxy as its�focused on developing, owning, and operating clean, sustainable electric power from geothermal energy resources and its�operating geothermal power projects at Neal Hot Springs, Oregon; San Emidio, Nevada; and Raft River, Idaho plus El Ceibillo, an advanced stage, geothermal prospect located within a 24,710 acre energy rights concession area near Guatemala City, the largest city in Central America.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Diebold Inc (DBD)

Diebold, Incorporated, incorporated in August 1876, is engaged in providing integrated self-service delivery and security systems and services to the financial, commercial, government and retail markets. Sales of systems and equipment are made directly to customers by the Company�� sales personnel, manufacturers��representatives and distributors globally. The sales and support organizations work closely with customers and their consultants to analyze and fulfill the customers��needs. The Company has two lines of business: Self-Service Solutions and Security Solutions. The Company�� segments are consisted of two sales channels: Diebold North America (DNA) and Diebold International (DI). In September 2012, it acquired GAS Tecnologia (GAS).

The DNA segment sells and services financial and retail systems in the United States and Canada. The DI segment sells and services financial and retail systems over the remainder of the globe through wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and independent distributors in countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan and Korea.

Self-Service Solutions

The Company offers an integrated line of self-service technologies and services, including comprehensive automated teller machine (ATM) outsourcing, ATM security, deposit and payment terminals and software. The Company is a global supplier of ATMs and related services. The Company offers a range of self-service solutions. Self-service products include a range of ATMs and teller automation, including deposit automation technology, such as check-cashing machines, bulk cash recyclers and bulk check deposit. The Company offers software solutions consisting of multiple applications, which process events and transactions. These solutions are delivered on the appropriate platform. From analysis and consulting to monitoring and repair, the Company provides value and support to its customers every step of the way. ! Services include installation and ongoing maintenance of its products, OpteView remote services, branch transformation and distribution channel consulting. Outsourced and managed services include remote monitoring, troubleshooting for self-service customers, transaction processing, currency management, maintenance services and full support through person to person or online communication.

Security Solutions

The Company provides its customers with the technological advances to protect their assets. The Company provides physical and electronic security systems, as well as facility transaction products, which integrate security, software and assisted-service transactions, providing total security systems solutions to financial, retail, commercial and government markets. The Company provides security solutions and facility products, including in-store bank branches, pneumatic tube systems for drive-up lanes, vaults, safes, depositories, bullet-resistive items and undercounter equipment. The Company provides a range of electronic security products, including digital surveillance, access control systems, biometric technologies, alarms and remote monitoring and diagnostics. The Company provides security monitoring solutions, including fire, managed access control, energy management, remote video management and storage, as well as logical security.

Integrated Solutions

The Company provides end-to-end outsourcing solutions with a single point of contact for customer�� self-service channel. Its solution includes hardware, software, services or a combination of all three components. The Company provides value to its customers by offering a range of integrated services and support. The Company�� service organization provides analysis and planning of new systems, systems integration, architectural engineering, consulting and project management, which encompass all facets of a financial self-service implementation. The Company also provides design, products, ser! vice, ins! tallation, project management and monitoring of electronic security products to financial, government, retail and commercial customers.

Election Systems

The Company is a provider of voting equipment and related products and services in Brazil. The Company provides elections equipment, networking, tabulation and diagnostic software development, training, support and maintenance.

The Company competes with NCR Corporation, Wincor-Nixdorf, Grg Equipment Co., Nautilus Hyosung, Itautec and Perto.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Ohio-based Diebold (NYSE: DBD  ) scored a win on Wednesday, when the company announced that North Carolina-based State Employees' Credit Union has hired it to upgrade more than 1,100 of SECU's automated teller machines to Diebold's Opteva configuration.

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By Mark Morelli]

  How will the potential disruption impact business and affect investors? Should the executives at ATM manufacturers such as Diebold (NYSE: DBD  ) �be worried? Credit�and debit card processors like MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) and Visa (NYSE: V  ) �are already benefiting from the trend to a cashless society. Could things get even better?

• [By Matthew Frankel]

  This past week at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas, Diebold (NYSE: DBD  ) displayed its concept of what could very well become the bank of the future.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Imation Corp (IMN)

Imation Corp. (Imation) is a global scalable storage and data security company. The Company�� portfolio includes tiered storage and security offerings for business and products designed to manage audio and video information in the home. The Company�� global brand portfolio includes the Imation brand, the Memorex brand, the XtremeMac and MXI Security brands. Imation is also the exclusive licensee of the TDK Life on Record brand. Its three product categories include traditional storage, secure and scalable storage, and audio and video information. It operates in four geographic segments: Americas, Europe, North Asia and South Asia. On February 28, 2011, it acquired all of the assets of Encryptx Corporation. On June 4, 2011, it acquired the assets of MXI Security, from Memory Experts International Inc. On October 4, 2011 it acquired the secure data storage hardware assets of IronKey Systems Inc. In December 2011, it acquired the data deduplication technology from Nine Technology.

The Americas segment includes North America, Central America and South America. The Europe segment includes Europe and parts of Africa. North Asia segment includes Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. The South Asia segment includes Australia, Singapore, India, the Middle East and parts of Africa.

Imation brand products include magnetic tape media, recordable compact discs (CDs), digital versatile Discs (DVDs) and Blu-ray discs, flash products and hard disk drives. The Imation brand includes the DataGuard Data Protection Appliances, InfiniVault Storage appliances and removable disk technology (RDX) removable hard disk storage systems. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. Imation brand products are sold throughout the worldwide and target the commercial user and individual consumer. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. TDK Life on Record brand products include recordable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray d! iscs, flash drives, tape cartridges, headphones and computer speakers which are sold to commercial customers and individual consumers. TDK Life on Record brand products is sold throughout the world.

XtremeMac brand products include cases, chargers and audio solutions to protect, power and play Apple iPad, iPod, iPhone and other devices. XtremeMac products are developed for Apple enthusiasts and are available worldwide. Its MXI Security brand includes secure storage flash drives and external hard drives, as well as software solutions to help manage portable security devices on the network.

Traditional Storage

The Company�� optical media products consist of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray recordable media. It sells Blu-ray discs, which are used primarily for recording high-definition video content. Its recordable optical media products are sold through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels and sourced from manufacturers primarily in Taiwan and India. Optical storage capacities range from 650 megabyte CD-R (recordable) and CD-RW (rewritable) optical discs to 9.4 gigabyte double-sided DVD optical discs and Blu-ray discs with 25 gigabyte to 100 gigabyte of capacity. Its optical media is sold throughout the world under brands it owns or controls, including Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record and under a distribution agreement for the Hewlett Packard brand.

The Company�� magnetic tape media products are used for back-up, business and operational continuity planning, disaster recovery, near-line data storage and retrieval and for mass and archival storage. Other traditional storage products include primarily optical drives and audio and video tape media.

Secure and Scalable Storage

Secure storage products and software include universal serial bus (USB) flash drives and external hard drives designed to meet the security standards to protect data at rest with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) validation, pa! ssword an! d biometric authentication, including biometric USB drives, encrypted and biometric hard disk drives, secure portable desktop solutions and software solutions. It also sells standard USB flash drives and external hard disk drives throughout the world under its Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record brands. It sources these products from manufacturers primarily in Asia and the United States and sell them through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels around the world. Scalable storage products include data protection appliances, such as DataGuard network attached storage backup appliances and InfiniVault active archive appliances.

Audio and Video Information

The Company�� audio and video information products include Apple iPad, iPod and iPhone accessories, headphones, CD players, alarm clocks, portable boom boxes, moving picture experts group layer-3 audio (MP3) players, and speakers sold under the Memorex, TDK Life on Record and XtremeMac brands. It designs products to meet user needs and source these products from manufacturers throughout Asia.

The Company competes with Maxell, JVC, Sony, Verbatim, Fuji, HP, SanDisk, Lexar, PNY and Kingston.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] g>4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
  5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
  6. Maxygen (MAXY)
  7. Westell (WSTL)
  8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
  9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)

  I don�� love that list. I like the 14 past picks in the Ben Graham Net-Net Newsletter�� model portfolio much better. The newsletter only owns 1 of those 9 net-nets. Remember, we have 9 net-nets out of the 14 picked for the newsletter that are trading below where we picked them. So, obviously I like those 9 net-nets a lot better than these 9 net-nets.

  Like I said, I wouldn�� encourage you to buy those nine net-nets shown here ��even if you��e looking to put a lot of money into net-nets. Instead you should look at your favorite net-nets ��or the net-nets in the Ben Graham: Net-Net Newsletter ��and use them as a buy list you are constantly placing orders from month after month.

  Building a diversified collection of net-net through many months of purchasing is a better way to invest a lot of money in net-nets than trying to focus on the biggest net-nets.

  Read Geoff�� Other Articles
  Ask Geoff a Question
  Check out the Buffe

• [By John Udovich]

  As cyber theft and hacking continues to grow, mir or small cap stocks like Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK), Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN) and Staffing 360 Solutions Inc (OTCBB: STAF)�are some overlooked, indirect or just plain interesting plays on cybersecurity that investors might want to take note of:

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Imagination Technologies Group PLC (IGNMF.PK)

Imagination Technologies Group plc is engaged in multimedia and communication technologies. The Company operates in two segments: Technology business and the Pure business. The Company�� Technology business segment is engaged in the development of embedded graphics, video, display and multi-threaded processor and multi-standard broadcast receiver and connectivity technologies for licensing to semiconductor companies for incorporation into silicon devices. The Company�� Pure business segment is engaged in the development and marketing of consumer products to showcase the technologies of the Technology business and to develop markets for such technologies. In March 2012, Toumaz Ltd completed the exchange of Imagination Technologies Group plc's interest in Toumaz Ltd�� Toumaz Microsystems subsidiary. In February 2013, it acquired the operating business and certain patent properties of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ashraf Eassa]

  However, I expect that Intel is at risk of having a significant marketing problem trying to sell a dual core product into a world of quad core phones, even if the dual core part delivers better performance/watt. I further expect that from what is currently known about Bay Trail's GPU (4 EU Gen7 GPU), it is unlikely that -- unless Intel is either using Imagination's (IGNMF.PK) next generation PowerVR 6 or a beefed up Gen7 design for the "Merrifield" SoC -- it will be as competitive with the Snapdragon 800 on the GPU side of things, which could pose as an additional headwind to adoption. I also believe that the Q1 2014 launch curtails any hope that there will be a 14nm smartphone product launched in 2014 (although Mr. Krzanich's comments about "acceleration" could be a source of optimism here), which means that the company's process lead could ultimately prove to be ephemeral in this particular end market. Fortunately, product cycles in this space are short, so it may be okay to have Merrifield be reasonably short lived.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sensio Technologies Inc (PSN)

SENSIO Technologies Inc. (SENSIO) develops and markets stereoscopic technologies for the electronic consumer, digital broadcasting and digital cinema markets. The Company focuses on three dimensional (3D) video, develops and markets stereoscopic (3D) digital compression, decompression, and display-formatting technologies. Its solutions include content creators, games developers, broadcasters, specialty channels and digital cinemas. Its flagship technology, SENSIO 3D, allows distribution of 3D content through conventional two dimensional (2D) broadcast networks (cable, satellite, Internet Protocol) and playback on any 3D display device, as well as home theatre and digital cinema projectors. The Company operates in North America, Europe, Middle East and Oceania. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Countrywide Plc dropped 4.9 percent as Alchemy Partners LLP sold a 5.9 percent stake in the real estate broker. A gauge of London-listed mining stocks fell 1.7 percent, paring its best quarter since 2010. Persimmon Plc (PSN) led housebuilders lower after the U.K. government said it will carry out annual checks on its home-buying-assistance program amid criticism it may lead to excessive real estate prices.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Bovis Homes Group Plc (BVS) climbed 4 percent to 790 pence. Liberum Capital Ltd. raised its rating on the housebuilder to buy from hold. Persimmon Plc (PSN), the U.K.�� largest residential property developer, gained 2.5 percent to 1,255 pence.