Hot Insurance Stocks To Own For 2015

Hot Insurance Stocks To Own For 2015: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  Many other insurers are trading lower today, chief among them Aflac (AFL), down 3.65%. CNO Financial (CNO) fell 1%. The best performer: life insurance giant Prudential (PRU), whose shares rose more than 1%.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Up first is CNO Financial Group (CNO), a mid-cap financial ! stock that's rocketed close to 60% higher since the calendar flipped over to January. Yup, it's been a great year for the market, but it's been a far better one for investors who own CNO. But that strong performance isn't showing any signs of slowing yet. In fact, CNO looks primed for even more upside in the fourth quarter.

  That's because CNO is currently forming a bullish pattern called an ascending triangle. The ascending triangle pattern is formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares -- in this case at $14.75 -- and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as CNO bounces in between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $14.75 resistance level. When that breakout happens, it's time to become a buyer.

  ACCO's price action isn't exactly textbook. After all, the pattern is coming in at the bottom of a downtrend, not after an uptrend. But ultimately, that doesn't change the trading implications of a move through that $7.50 level.

  Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Ascending triangles and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That $7.50 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant. The move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

  Don't be early on this trade.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-insurance-stocks-to-own-for-2015-3.html

Best Valued Stocks To Buy Right Now

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B) is also an active acquirer, both at the parent company level and through its various subsidiaries. Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) is holding cash reserves of $40-50 billion and has expressed strong interest in making more very large acquisitions. Berkshire recently agreed to swap its long-time holdings of the Washington Post Company (now called Graham Holdings) for a TV station and Berkshire shares held by that company. When completed, this tax-efficient transaction will reduce the number of Berkshire shares outstanding and add another cash generating asset to the fold. Berkshire is constantly growing and evolving as a group of operating businesses but also, in extreme stock market dislocations like 2008, Warren has the courage and capacity to make bold investment moves. Berkshire has been a holding in our stock funds continuously since our firm opened in 1983.

From Wallace Weitz (Trades, Portfolio)'s Q2 Shareholder Letter.

Also check out: Wallace Weitz Undervalued Stocks Wallace Weitz Top Growth Companies Wallace Weitz High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Wallace Weitz keeps buying Currently 0.00/512345

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

Hot Sliver Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Alamy HOUSTON -- Halliburton says it lost $18 million in the first quarter, pulled down by $637 million in charges related to its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But it made money if unusual items are excluded, beating Wall Street expectations. The oil services company's loss amounted to 2 cents a share. That compares with net income of $627 million, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier. Halliburton Co. (HAL), which is in talks to settle claims against it related to the oil spill, said that excluding the charges it posted adjusted earnings of 67 cents a share. That beat the 57 cents that analysts expected. The Houston company, which provides a variety of services for the petroleum industry, is benefiting from a boom in U.S. oil production, which is at the highest level in more than two decades. At the same time, Halliburton's natural gas business has slowed as drillers slowed production due to falling prices for the fuel. Revenue rose slightly to $6.97 billion from $6.87 billion. Analysts expected $6.88 billion. Halliburton shares jumped $1.44, or 3.9 percent, to $38.65 in premarket trading an hour before the market opening. Halliburton is the biggest provider of oil field services in North America, including hydraulic fracturing, a technology that has helped unlock large supplies of oil and natural gas from shale rock formations in the U.S. North American revenue fell 11 percent to $3.71 billion, while operating income tumbled 43 percent to $605 million. Dave Lesar, the company's chairman, president and CEO, said a drop in Halliburton's rig count and pricing pressures in North America were more than offset by the company's growing international business. International revenue increased 21 percent from a year ago. For the full year, Halliburton still expects total international revenue growth in the "low teens," he said. Rival Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), which has a larger international business, said Friday that its revenue climbed in region

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Morgan Stanley’s Ole Slorer and Igor Levi explain why�Schlumberger (SLB) could gain more than 70%:

  Getty Images

  Schlumberger�guided earnings to grow at a 17-20% [compound annual growth rate] to $9-10/sh by 2017, ahead of our current estimate of a 15% [compound annual growth rate]. However, the company�� estimates are based on just a 6% industry spending growth level, which is about in line with our long-term expectations of 4-6%.

  Schlumberger has historically converted 30% of its EBITDA or 75% of [earnings per share] into free cash flow, meaningfully above that of its peers, while trading at a�free cash flow yield of 2-4%.� Currently shares are trading at the high-end of the range making valuation compelling. Applying a conservative 3.5% yield to the company�� 2017 EPS estimate of $9-10/sh, its 75%�free cash flow conversion and discounting it back 2 years at 10%, we arrive at our new $168 PT. If�Schlumberger is able to bring this growth 6-12 months forward and its�free cash flow yield approaches its historical 3% average, we arrive at our $200 bull case.

  While Schlumberger has a free-cash-flow yield of about 3.5%, Cameron International’s (CAM) and Dril-Quip’s (DRQ) are just over 3% and�FMC Technologies‘ (FTI) is just under 3%. Halliburton (HAL) has a free-cash-flow yield of just over 1%.

  Shares of Schlumberger have gained 2.1% to $116.19 at 2:06 p.m., while Cameron has doped 0.78% to $66.71, Dril-Quip has fallen 1.1% to $105.62, FMC Technologies has declined 2.2% to $60.20 and�Halliburton is up 0.2% at $69.57.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Notable earnings released on Friday included:

  Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) reported third quarter EPS of $0.50 on revenue of $8.10 billion, compared to last year�� loss of $0.55 per share on revenue of $5.29 billion. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) reported third quarter EPS of $0.36 on revenue of $35.7 3 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.36 on revenue of $36.35 billion. Ingersol-Rand (NYSE: IR) reported EPS of $0.57 on revenue of $3.75 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $1.07 on revenue of $3.59 billion. Schlumberger N.V. (NYSE: SLB) reported third quarter EPS of $1.29 on revenue of $11.61 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $1.08 on revenue of $10.61 billion. Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) reported EPS of $1.24 on revenue of $9.65 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $1.20 on revenue of $9.34 billion.

  Pre-Market Movers

• [By Jim Jubak]

  The company's January 10 announcement that it was lowering its guidance for the fourth quarter on declines in drilling activity in North America and Europe/Africa/Russia, has certainly contributed to weakness in the oil services sector and in the shares of competitors such as Schlumberger (SLB). With Schlumberger scheduled to report fourth quarter earnings on January 17, and with Baker Hughes scheduled for January 21, the question now is, ��as the lowered guidance from Baker Hughes de-risked the stocks in the sector or will there be enough disappointment in the actual reports to push the sector down farther?��/p>

Best Valued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Investors waiting for Caterpillar (CAT) to turn into a butterfly will have to wait a while longer.

  The maker of heavy machinery said profits fell 44% during the third quarter, while earnings-per share dropped to $1.45, well below forecasts for $1.68. Caterpillar also slashed its guidance for full-year earnings to $5.50, down from $6.50.

  It’s fair to say investors were expecting more. In the days ahead of the report, share of Caterpillar had traded up to the top-end of the range they’d been trading in for the last six months. Instead, Caterpillar’s stock has fallen 6.2% to $83.69 at 12:43 p.m. today, bringing it back towards the low end of the range.

  Caterpillar also had the misfortune to report on a day when investors are concerned that China could take steps tighten credit. And with Caterpillar’s exposure to emerging markets, that’s likely hitting shares as well.

  Caterpillar’s dismal report is weighing on other stocks machinery companies.�Terex�(TEX) has fallen 2.5% to $34.37, Joy Global (JOY) has dropped 1.1% to $53.91 and Manitowoc (MTW) is off 1.9% at $19.36.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) continues to struggle in its sales of heavy equipment. We have now seen the release of its fourth-quarter sales trends, and the trend is not Caterpillar’s friend. About the only good news is that the rate of decline in most instances was a lower one.

Best Valued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Herbalife have gained 0.9% to $79.51 this morning in pre-open trading. Its shares have gained 139% this year, a nice gain, but lagging Nu Skin Enterprises 271% rise. Avon Products�(AVP), another multi-level marketer, has gained 21% so far this year, while Tupperware Brands�(TUP) has risen 49%.

• [By Arie Goren]

  After running this screen on May 21, 2013, before the markets' open, I discovered the following eight stocks: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL), Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG), Copa Holdings SA (CPA), RPC Inc. (RES), Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), Herbalife Ltd. (HLF), John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW.A) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW).

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.03 per share on revenue of $623.34 million.

  Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $779.02 million.

Best Valued Stocks To Buy Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Family Dollar Stores (FDO) rejected a $9 billion buyout offer from Dollar General (DG) and issued a sharp rebuke to accusations its CEO favors a smaller bid from Dollar Tree (DLTR) because it would allow him to keep his job. Family Dollar, the second-largest dollar store in the United States, said it believed a deal with its larger rival would be unlikely to win antitrust approval despite a promise by Dollar General to close up to 700 stores.

  We will not jeopardize the Dollar Tree deal for a transaction with Dollar General that has a high likelihood of not closing due to antitrust considerations.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Richard Levine/Alamy These aren't the best of times for discount retailers, but it certainly seems as if Family Dollar (FDO) has become the belle of the marked-down ball. Two chains catering to thrifty-minded shoppers have entered into an unlikely bidding war for Family Dollar, and it's shaping up to be a bit more interesting than your typical love triangle between three retailers with the name "Dollar" in their monikers. The story began late last month when Family Dollar announced that it would be acquired by Dollar Tree (DLTR) in an $8.5 billion transaction. It seemed like a simple enough transaction. Dollar Tree would be paying a reasonable 22 percent premium for Family Dollar. The deal would create a discounting behemoth with 13,000 stores across North America. The combined companies would eventually result in trimming $300 million in annual overhead. It seemed like a great way out for frustrated Family Dollar shareholders. The deep discounter had missed Wall Street's profit targets for three consecutive quarters. Analysts see declining profitability on flat sales for its fiscal year that ends this week. It seemed as if Dollar Tree would have Family Dollar all to itself, but then it got some unexpected company. Turning Down a Fistful of Dollars Dollar General (DG) stepped into the picture last week, offering to pay even more for Family Dollar. It offered an all-cash deal valued closer to $9 billion. The deal seemed to be clearly superior on the surface, but Family Dollar's board shot it down. This wouldn't be the first time that a board sided with a friendly buyout offer to a higher hostile one. Arranged deals often mean cushier positions for the acquired company. However, there was a method to the board's madness this time. Family Dollar declined Dollar General's offer because it felt that antitrust regulators wouldn't let that particular buyout go through. Dollar General rings up more than twice as much in sales as Dollar Tree. The bigger the riv

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Costly market share gains
  The problem is that Family Dollar has had to pay up for its increasing market share and sales levels. The company's gross profit margin fell by more than a full percentage point, to 34.7% last quarter. In contrast, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) booked an expansion of profits, to 35.2%, continuing a trend that's seen it pull away from Family Dollar.

Best Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now

InterOil (NYSE: IOC) shares reached a new 52-week low of $50.60. InterOil's PEG ratio is -2.01.

Linktone (NASDAQ: LTON) shares touched a new 52-week low of $1.30. Linktone's trailing-twelve-month operating margin is -20.15%.

TOR Minerals International (NASDAQ: TORM) shares touched a new 52-week low of $9.76. TOR Minerals shares have dropped 9.95% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 27.45% in the same period.

Midway Gold (NYSE: MDW) shares fell 3.90% to reach a new 52-week low of $0.74. Midway Gold's trailing-twelve-month ROA is -11.16%.

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

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  Most Popular UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Reiterates on Walgreen Company on Updated Forecasts Following 1QFY14 Results Seven Consumer Goods Stocks Analysts Are Bullish On For 2014

Hot Asian Companies To Watch For 2015: First Cash Financial Services Inc (FCFS)

First Cash Financial Services, Inc., incorporated on April 24, 1994, is an operator of retail-based pawn and consumer finance stores in the United States and Mexico. As of February 18, 2013 , the Company had approximately 829 locations twelve states in United States and 24 states in Mexico. The Company's primary business is the operation of pawn stores, which engage in retail sales, purchasing of secondhand goods and consumer finance activities. The pawn stores generate retail sales from the merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures and over-the-counter purchases from customers. Pawn stores are also a convenient source for small consumer loans to help customers meet their short-term cash needs. Personal property, such as jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods and musical instruments are pledged as collateral for the loans. In addition, some of the Company's pawn stores offer consumer loans or credit services products.

In March 2012, the Company acquired three Dallas-area pawn stores. In June 2012, the Company acquired 24 pawn stores located in the states of Colorado (13), Kentucky (seven), Wyoming (three) and Nebraska (one). In June 2013, First Cash Financial Services Inc announced the acquisition of 19 format U.S. pawn stores located in Texas.

Pawn Merchandise Sales

The Company's pawn merchandise sales are primarily retail sales to the general public from its pawn stores. The items retailed are primarily used consumer electronics, jewelry, household appliances, tools, musical instruments, and sporting goods. The Company also melts down certain quantities of scrap jewelry and sells the gold, silver and diamonds in commodity markets.

The Company acquires pawn merchandise inventory primarily through forfeited pawn collateral and, to a lesser extent, through purchases of used goods directly from the general public. Merchandise acquired by the Company through forfeited pawn collateral is carried in inventory at the amount of the ! related pawn loan, exclusive of any accrued service fees. The Company does not provide financing to customers for the purchase of its merchandise, but does permit its customers to purchase merchandise on an interest-free layaway plan. Should the customer fail to make a required payment, the item is returned to inventory and previous payments are forfeited to the Company. Interim payments from customers on layaway sales are credited to deferred revenue and subsequently recorded as income in which final payment is received or when previous payments are forfeited to the Company.

Pawn Lending Activities

The Company's pawn stores make small loans to their customers in order to help them meet short-term cash needs. All pawn loans are collateralized by personal property such as jewelry, electronic equipment, household appliances, tools, sporting goods and musical instruments. Pawn loans are non-recourse loans and the pledged goods provide the only security to the Company for the repayment of the loan. At the time a pawn transaction is entered into, an agreement, commonly referred to as a pawn ticket, is delivered to the borrower for signature that sets forth, among other items, the name and address of the pawnshop, borrower's name, borrower's identification number from his/her driver's license or other identification, date, identification and description of the pledged goods, including applicable serial numbers, amount financed, pawn service fee, maturity date, total amount that must be paid to redeem the pledged goods on the maturity date, and the annual percentage rate. Pledged property is held through the term of the loan, unless the pawn is paid earlier or renewed. The typical loan term is generally one month plus an additional grace period (typically 30 to 90 days). The Company contracts for pawn loan fees and service charges as compensation for the use of the funds loaned and to cover direct operating expenses related to the transaction and holding the pledged property. These pa! wn loan f! ees and service charges accounted for approximately 26% of the Company's revenue from continuing operations during the year ended December 31, 2012 .

Credit Services and Consumer Loan Activities

The Company has significantly reduced its U.S.-based consumer loan activities, primarily from payday lending, over the past several years. In September 2012, the Company closed seven of its consumer loan stores located in the Texas cities of Austin and Dallas. The Company offers a fee-based credit services organization program (CSO Program) to assist consumers, in Texas markets, in obtaining extensions of credit. The Company's consumer loan and pawn stores in Texas offer the CSO Program, and, in Texas, credit services are also offered via an Internet platform. Under the CSO Program, the Company assists customers in applying for a short-term extension of credit from an independent, non-bank, consumer lending company (the Independent Lender) and issues the Independent Lender a letter of credit to guarantee the repayment of the extension of credit.

The Company subsequently collects a percentage of these bad debts by redepositing the customers' checks, ACH collections or subsequent cash repayments by the customers. The profitability of the Company's credit services operations is dependent upon adequate collection of these returned items. The Company also offers an automobile title lending product under the CSO Program. These credit services fees accounted for approximately 8% of the Company's revenue from continuing operations during 2012 . In Mexico, the Company also offers an installment loan product with a term of 365 days and bears weekly service fees of 7% on the loan amount. These consumer loan fees accounted for less than 1% of the Company's revenue from continuing operations during 2012 .

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  We can appreciate that Capital One麓s ROE is lower than that of American Express, Discover Financial Services, First Cash Financial Services (FCFS) and Nelnet Inc. (NNI).

• [By Eric Volkman]

  First Cash Financial Services (NASDAQ: FCFS  ) is becoming a pawn star. The company announced it has acquired a set of 19 large-format pawn shops in Texas, most of which operate under the Valu + Pawn brand name. The price was around $70 million in cash, funded for the most part under the company's revolving credit facility.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of First Cash Financial Services (NASDAQ: FCFS  ) plunged as low as 14% today after the consumer finance company cut its short-term guidance outlook.

Best Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now: Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. (CVGI)

Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in supplying various cab related products and systems for the commercial vehicle markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. The company provides seats and seating systems, including heavy truck seats, construction and other commercial vehicle seats, and office seating products. It also offers electronic wire harness assemblies that function as current carrying devices used to provide electrical interconnections for gauges, lights, control functions, power circuits, powertrain and transmission sensors, emissions systems, and other electronic applications on a commercial vehicle; and panel assemblies and cabinets. In addition, the company offers trim systems and components for the interior cabs of commercial vehicles comprising A-pillars, B-pillars, door panels, and interior trim panels; instrument panels; body panels; storage systems; floor covering systems; sleeper bunks; gr ab handles and armrests; privacy curtains; and plastics decorating and finishing products. Further, it provides cab structures, sleeper boxes, bumper fascias and fender liners, and structural components; mirrors and related hardware products; windshield wiper systems and components; and controls and control systems for window lifts, door locks, and electric switch products. The company offers its products for original equipment manufacturers for various end market vehicle applications, such as local and long-haul commercial trucking, bus, construction, mining, agricultural, military, general industrial, marine, municipal, recreational, and specialty vehicles. Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in New Albany, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Auto Parts Wholesale: This industry moved up 1.46% by 10:40 am. The top performer in this industry was Commercial Vehicle Group (NASDAQ: CVGI), which gained 2.3%. Commercial Vehicle Group shares have jumped 39.58% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 22.24% in the same period.

Best Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now: Movado Group Inc. (MOV)

Movado Group, Inc. designs, sources, markets, and distributes fine watches. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The company offers its watches under the Coach, Concord, Ebel, ESQ, Scuderia Ferrari, HUGO BOSS, Juicy Couture, Lacoste, Movado, and Tommy Hilfiger brands to jewelry store chains, department stores, independent regional jewelers, licensed partner retail stores, and a network of independent distributors. It is also involved in the after-sales service activities and shipping. In addition, Movado Group, Inc. operates retail outlet stores. As of January 31, 2013, the company operated 34 outlet stores. It operates principally in the United States, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The company was formerly known as North American Watch Corporation and changed its name to Movado Group, Inc. in 1996. Movado Group, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  On Tuesday, small cap watchmaker Movado Group, Inc (NYSE: MOV) surged 10.5% after it reported earnings and it�� the only real pure play watchmaker as�mid cap Fossil Group Inc (NASDAQ: FOSL) has diversified into other accessories and has almost tripled over the past five years. Given the problems many clothing retailers are having, its probably worth taking a closer look whether or not watchmakers or other accessory stocks might make better investments.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Movado Group (NYSE: MOV) was also up, gaining 9.18 percent to $45.89 after the company reported upbeat Q4 earnings and issued a strong FY15 outlook.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Movado Group (MOV) has fallen 4.6% to $42.01 after missing its second quarter earnings estimates.

  InterMune (ITMN) has ticked up 0.2% despite being downgraded by JPMorgan and JMP Securities.

Best Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now: Post Holdings Inc (POST)

Post Holdings, Inc., incorporated on September 22, 2011, is a holding company. The Company is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded ready-to-eat cereals in the United States and Canada. The Company�� portfolio of brands includes Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, Great Grains, Grape-Nuts, Shredded Wheat, Raisin Bran, Golden Crisp, Alpha-Bits and Honeycomb. It markets and sells ready-to-eat cereal products in three different categories: sweetened, balanced and unsweetened. Its sweetened products include Pebbles, Honeycomb, Golden Crisp, Alpha-Bits and Waffle Crisp. Its balanced products include Honey Bunches of Oats, Post Selects, Great Grains and Shreddies. The Company�� unsweetened products include Post Shredded Wheat, Post Raisin Bran and Grape-Nuts. Effective January 1, 2014, the Company announced it has completed the acquisition of private label pasta manufacturer Dakota Growers Pasta Company, Inc. Effective January 2, 2014, Post Holdings Inc acquired Agricore United Holdings Inc from Viterra Inc, a unit of Glencore Xstrata PLC, and the transaction also included Dakota Growers Pasta Company, Inc. Effective January 1, 2014, Post Holdings Inc acquired Dymatize Enterprises LLC, a Farmers Branch-based manufacturer and wholesaler of nutrition supplement. Effective January 1, 2014, it acquired Dymatize Enterprises LLC and Golden Boy Foods Ltd.

Honey Bunches of Oats is in the ready-to-eat cereal market. The Company�� Pebbles brands include Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles. The products are manufactured through a flexible production platform consisting of four owned primary facilities and sold through a variety of channels, such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Will Ashworth]

  No? That’s OK — very few have. It doesn’t exist. At least not in a real investment account. It’s a figment of my imagination created after reading about Bill Stiritz, the current CEO of Post Holdings (POST) and former CEO of Ralston Purina.

• [By Shamus Funk]

  Following the same line of logic, don't be surprised if Post (NYSE: POST  ) Grape-Nuts soon carry the GMO-free label. They are currently marketing Vintage Grape-Nuts which do not contain the likely GMO-laden isolated soy protein that is found in their current formulation of the cereal. Presumably with a little consumer demand, the transition back to the original recipe would be easy and enable the GMO-free label.

• [By Ali Berri]

  Shares of Post Holdings (NYSE: POST) were down 17.52 percent to $36.71 after the company reported a Q3 loss of $0.30 per share on revenue of $633.0 million. The company also announced its plans to acquire American Blanching Company. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey downgraded Post Holdings from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $70.00 to $45.00.
  

• [By cody56]

  The fund took advantage of an opportunity to purchase shares of Post Holding (POST) when stock fell sharply after Post Holdings quarterly earnings came in below Wall Streets analysts estimates and the company lowered its full year earning guidance.

Best Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now: LendingClub Corp (LC)

LendingClub Corporation, incorporated on October 2, 2006, provides online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors. The Company operates an online market that connects borrowers looking for loans with individuals with the money to fund them. It lends money to help consumers pay off credit-card bills, consolidate debt and take vacations. Its platform enables customers in investing in and obtaining personal loans by providing financial data and credit information.

The Company provides search algorithm, credit decisioning, a secondary market, and a choice of loan durations. The Company serves the professional fixed income investors, such as family offices and insurance companies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rana Pritanjali]

  Lending Club's (NYSE: LC  ) stock is up a stellar 66% since the company went public in December. The peer-to-peer lending specialist offers an alternative to the traditional banking system with an online platform for borrowers and lenders. It has a leading 40% share of the�peer-to-peer lending market, far outstripping No. 2 player�Prosper.com and its 8% market share.�

Best Consumer Stocks To Watch Right Now: Dole Food Company Inc(DOLE)

Dole Food Company, Inc. engages in sourcing, growing, processing, marketing, and distributing fresh fruits and vegetables, and food products to wholesale, retail, and institutional customers worldwide. It operates in three segments: Fresh Fruit, Fresh Vegetables, and Packaged Foods. The Fresh Fruit segment involves in growing and selling bananas under the DOLE brand name primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia; ripening and distributing DOLE and non-DOLE branded fresh produce in Europe; growing, sourcing, and selling fresh pineapples under the DOLE TROPICAL GOLD label; and exporting Chilean fruits, including grapes, apples, pears, stone fruits, and kiwifruits primarily to North America, Latin America, and Europe. The Fresh Vegetables segment engages in sourcing, harvesting, cooling, distributing, and marketing various fresh and fresh-cut vegetables, including iceberg lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, c arrots, Brussels sprouts, green onions, asparagus, snow peas, artichokes, and radishes, as well as fresh strawberries and raspberries. This segment also processes and markets value-added vegetable products, such as packaged salads and packaged fresh-cut vegetables. The Packaged Foods segment produces and markets canned pineapples, canned pineapple juice, fruit juice concentrate, fruit parfaits, snack foods, and frozen fruits, as well as fruits in plastic cups, jars, and pouches. Its principal customers include mass merchandisers and supermarkets. Dole Food Company, Inc. was founded in 1851 and is based in Westlake Village, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  That's why seeing Dole Foods (NYSE: DOLE  ) lurch from a stock buyback program one day to suspending it weeks later so it can buy new ships instead, rattled investors and caused its stock to drop 10% so far.

• [By Michael Nau]

  How would you react as a shareholder if the management of a company you owned behaved erratically and consequently pushed down the company's share price? What if after pushing down the share price, management offered to buy you out on the cheap? That is exactly what the Chairman, CEO and 40% owner of Dole (DOLE) David Murdock appears to have done.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Shares of fresh-fruit producer Dole Foods (NYSE: DOLE  ) soared more than 20% in morning trading after the board of directors announced its chairman and CEO had offered to�acquire all of the outstanding shares of company stock he and his family don't already own for $12.00 per share in cash, which values the company at $1.07 billion.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now

The Federal Reserve and Obama administration have pushed trillions of dollars of stimulus into the economic veins of America. For that, the return on the investment has been dismal.

Just take a look at the retail sales reading for August; consumer spending clearly isn’t doing what the government wants it to do and that is to spend and drive gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Retail sales increased a mere and disappointing 0.2% in August, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The reading was well below the Briefing.com estimate of 0.5% and the upwardly revised 0.4% in July. Even on an ex-auto basis, retail sales spurted along at a mere 0.1%.

I’m hearing some economists saying retail sales have been positive for five straight quarters. I say, so what? The reality is that there’s a weak spot in consumer spending. If you want to see strong consumer spending, just look at China, where retail sales surged an impressive 13.4% in August.

Top 5 High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN)

Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates resorts in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates eight ski resort properties, including the Vail Mountain, Breckenridge Ski, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Heavenly Mountain, Northstar, Kirkwood Mountain, and Canyons resorts; and two urban ski areas, such as Afton Alps and Mount Brighton Ski areas, as well as provides ancillary services, primarily ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations. Its resorts offer various recreational activities comprising skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowtubing, sightseeing, mountain biking, guided hiking, children's activities, and other recreational activities, as well as ski and snowboard lessons, equipment rental and retail merchandise services, dining venues, and private club services. This segment also leases its owned and leased commercial space; and provides real estate brokerage services. Th e Lodging segment owns and/or manages a collection of luxury hotels under the RockResorts brand, and other lodging properties; various condominiums located in and around the company�s ski resorts; destination resorts; and golf courses, as well as offers resort ground transportation services. This segment operates approximately 5,100 owned and managed hotel and condominium rooms. The Real Estate segment owns, develops, markets, and sells real estate properties in and around the company�s resort communities. Vail Resorts, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Broomfield, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Notable earnings released on Wednesday included:

  Williams-Sonoma, Inc (NYSE: WSM) reported fourth quarter EPS of $1.38 on revenue of $1.47 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $1.34 on revenue of $1.41 billion. Express, Inc (NYSE: EXPR) �reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.57 on revenue of $715.90 million, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.75 on revenue of $728.71 million. Vail Resorts, Inc.�(NYSE: MTN) reported second quarter EPS of $1.60 on revenue of $452.70 million, compared to last year�� EPS of $1.65 on revenue of $422.45 million. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.�(NYSE: KKD) reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.12 on revenue of $112.70 million, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.09 on revenue of $118.14 million.

  Pre-Market Movers

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
  Slow but steady -- that seems to be the new mantra here on Wall Street. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 plowed further into record territory on Friday. The catalyst for today's advance was the monthly jobs report, which showed the total number of people employed finally topped the 2008 peak it hit just before the Great Recession took hold. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 88 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose 9, and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) gained 25 points. Financial stocks helped lead the advance. Goldman Sachs (GS) and American Express (AXP) both gained more than 2 percent. Bank of America (BAC) rose 1 percent on reports that it's in talks with the Justice Department to settle another set of probes into the bank's handling of mortgages leading up to and during the financial crisis. News reports say the company could pay more than $12 billion, which is more than it earned in all of 2013. But this could allow Bank of America to finally put this long-running problem behind it. Its stock has been virtually flat over the past 6 months. Amazon (AMZN) posted a strong gain for second straight day, rising 2 percent, on indications that it's about to enter the smartphone business. And Sears (SHLD) gained nearly 2 percent on a Reuters report that the company's chairman has held talks with outgoing Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally, sparking rumors that he might head the retailer's turnaround effort. Elsewhere, Hertz (HRZ) drove into a ditch, sliding 9 percent after saying it will restate earnings from 2011 through 2013 because of accounting issues. Diamond Foods (DMND) fell 11 percent. Its quarterly loss widened, due to higher wholesale prices for nuts. But Vail Resorts (MTN), Men's Wearhouse (MW), and VeriFone (PAY) all gained after beating expectations. Vail was up 6 percent; Men's Wearhouse rose 5½ percent; and VeriFone jumped 9 percent. Demand for its merchant payment systems has been helped by growing con
• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Finally, shares of Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN  ) were taking a spill, down 3.4%, as a lack of snow in the Lake Tahoe region put a dent in earnings during the all-important winter ski season. Earnings per share fell from $1.65 to $1.60, missing estimates of $1.88, while revenue increased 7% to $452.7 million, below the consensus at $471.2 million. Separately, Vail announced it was doubling its quarterly dividend to $0.415, giving investors a yield of 2.4%. Considering the unpredictable nature of the weather and therefore earnings for Vail, investors may want to overlook the bottom-line miss for now and take solace in the generous dividend hike.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN  ) will release its quarterly report on Monday, and already, investors are celebrating an early cold snap in the American West by sending the resort company's stock toward yearly highs. To an even greater extent than winter-equipment makers Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII  ) and Arctic Cat (NASDAQ: ACAT  ) , Vail Resorts relies on a solid snow season in order to get visitors to come to its ski properties and stay at its resorts.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Powershares DB Us Dollar Index Bearish Fund (UDN)

PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bearish Fund (the Fund) is a separate series of PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Trust (the Trust). The Fund�� subsidiary is DB US Dollar Index Bearish Master Fund (the Master Fund), which is a separate series of DB US Dollar Index Bearish Master Trust (the Master Trust). The Fund offers common units of beneficial interest (the Shares) only to certain eligible financial institutions (the Authorized Participants) in one or more blocks of 200,000 Shares, called a Basket. The proceeds from the offering of Shares are invested in the Master Fund.

The Master Fund invests in futures contracts (the DX Contracts) with a view to tracking the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the Deutsche Bank US Dollar Index (USDX) Futures Index - Excess Return (Short Index) (referred to as the Short Index or the Index) over time. The Fund earns interest income from the United States Treasury obligations and other high credit quality short-term, fixed-income securities. The Index is calculated to reflect the changes in market value over time, whether positive or negative, of short positions in DX Contracts. DX Contracts are traded through the currency markets of ICE Futures U.S. under the symbol DX. The changes in market value over time, whether positive or negative, of the DX Contracts are related to the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the U.S. Dollar Index (the USDX). The Index provides a general indication of the international value of the United States dollar relative to the six major world currencies (the Index Currencies), which comprise the USDX, including Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Swedish Krona and Swiss Franc.

The Fund, through its Master Fund, establishes short positions in DX Contracts with a view to tracking the changes, whether positive or negative, in the level of the Index. The performance of the Fund also is intended to reflect the excess, if any, of its Master Fund�� interest income f! rom its holdings of the United States Treasury obligations and other high credit quality short-term, fixed-income securities over the expenses of the Fund and the Master Fund. DB Commodity Services LLC serves as the managing owner, commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor of the Fund and the Master Fund. DB Commodity Services LLC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank AG. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the administrator of the Fund and the Master Fund.v

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian O'Connell]

  To make a contrarian play, the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bearish (UDN) works the opposite way: When the dollar declines, the fund fares better.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Diana Shipping inc. (DSX)

Diana Shipping Inc. provides shipping transportation services. It transports dry bulk cargoes that include commodities, such as iron ore, coal, grain, and other materials along worldwide shipping routes. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s fleet consisted of 23 dry bulk carriers, including 14 Panamax, 1 Post-Panamax, and 8 Capesize dry bulk carriers with a combined carrying capacity of approximately 2.5 million deadweight tonnage. Its customers include national, regional, and international companies. The company was formerly known as Diana Shipping Investments Corp. and changed its name to Diana Shipping Inc. in February 2005. Diana Shipping Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  To say the last few weeks have been disappointing ones for shareholders of maritime shipping stocks like NewLead Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NEWL), FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE), or Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX) would be an understatement. After a fantastic second half of 2013 for most shipping stocks, the industry has been submerged (metaphorically) since the beginning of 2014. For perspective, DSX gained 32% over the course of the last six months of 2013, bur has fallen 5% since then. NEWL, though a loser all throughout the latter part of last year, has fallen a whopping 13% since 2014 began. FREE has performed about the same, offering glimmers of hope in the latter part of 2013, but popping that bubble in the meantime.

• [By Terri Stridsberg]

  Not to be outdone, Diana Shipping (DSX) has trekked 67.5% higher so far this year, and sports a 52-week gain of more than 72% to wink at the $12.20 level. Even so, the equity saw a 28.2% rise in short interest during the second half of September, and a 35.1% surge during the past two reporting periods.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Informatica Corporation (INFA)

Informatica Corporation provides enterprise data integration and data quality software and services worldwide. Its software solutions include a set of technologies that enable various enterprise-wide data integration initiatives. The company offers PowerCenter, which integrates data virtually from business systems in various formats and delivers that data throughout the enterprise; PowerExchange that enables IT organizations to access the sources of enterprise data without having to develop custom data access programs; and Informatica Data Services for finding, integrating, and managing data across the enterprise. It also provides Data Quality, which delivers data quality to stakeholders, projects, and data domains; Master Data Management that provides consolidated business-critical data; and B2B Data Exchange software for multi-enterprise data integration. In addition, the company offers application information lifecycle management products to manage various phases of the data lifecycle, from development and testing to archiving and retirement; complex event processing to detect, correlate, analyze, and respond to data-driven events; Ultra Messaging products, which enables ultra low latency messaging; and Cloud that delivers purpose-built data integration cloud applications to allow business users to integrate data across cloud-based applications, and on-premise systems and databases. Further, it offers product-related customer support, consulting, and education services. Informatica Corporation serves aerospace, automotive, energy and utilities, entertainment/media, financial services, healthcare/life sciences, high technology, insurance, manufacturing, public sector, retail, services, telecommunications, and travel/transportation industries through its direct sales force, as well as through systems integrators, resellers, distributors, and original equipment manufacturer partners. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Red wood City, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By gurujx]

  Informatica Corporation (INFA): CFO, CAO, EVP-GCS, Secretary Earl Fry Sold 110,000 Shares

  CFO Earl Fry sold 110,000 shares of INFA stock on Oct. 31 at the average price of $38.68. Earl Fry owns at least 261,767 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 1.45% since.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, technology shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.80 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ: SLAB), down 13.7 percent, and Informatica (NASDAQ: INFA), off 13.4 percent.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Titan International Inc (TWI)

Titan International, Inc. (Titan), incorporated on March 21, 1983, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in the manufacturing of wheels and tires. The Company operates in three segments: agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer. Titan produces a range of specialty products to meet the specifications of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket customers in the agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer markets. Titan�� earthmoving/ construction market includes wheels and tires supplied to the mining industry, while the consumer market includes products for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and recreational/utility trailers. The Company�� customers include AGCO Corporation, CNH Global N.V., Deere & Company and Kubota Corporation.

In August 2012, it acquired Planet Corporation Group (Planet). Titan acquired 56% of the Corporation. In December 2012, Titan acquired 100% (Titan Europe).

Agricultural market

Titan�� agricultural rims, wheels and tires are manufactured for use on various agricultural and forestry equipment, including tractors, combines, skidders, plows, planters and irrigation equipment, and are sold directly to OEMs and to the aftermarket through independent distributors, equipment dealers and Titan�� own distribution centers. The wheels and rims range in diameter from 9 to 54 inches. Titan�� agricultural tires range from approximately 1 foot to approximately 7 foot in outside diameter and from 5 to 49 inches in width. The Company offers the added value of delivering a complete wheel and tire assembly to customers.

Earthmoving/construction market

The Company manufactures rims, wheels and tires for various types of off-the-road (OTR) earthmoving, mining, military and construction equipment, including skid steers, aerial lifts, cranes, graders and levelers, scrapers, self-propelled shovel loaders, articulated dump trucks, load transporters, haul trucks and backhoe loaders. The earthmoving/c! onstruction market is often referred to as OTR, an acronym for off-the-road. The Company provides OEM and aftermarket customers with a range of earthmoving/construction wheels ranging in diameter from 20 to 63 inches and in weight from 125 pounds to 7,000 pounds. The 63-inch diameter wheel is the manufactured in North America for the earthmoving/construction market. Titan�� earthmoving/construction tires range from approximately 3 feet to approximately 13 feet in outside diameter and in weight from 50 pounds to 12,500 pounds. The Company offers the added value of wheel and tire assembly for certain applications in the earthmoving/construction market.

Consumer market

Titan manufactures bias truck tires in Latin America, provides wheels and tires and assembles brakes, actuators and components for the domestic boat, recreational and utility trailer markets. Titan also offers select products for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), turf, and golf car applications. Titan produces a variety of tires for the consumer market.

The Company competes with Carlisle Companies Incorporated, GKN Wheels, Ltd., Topy Industries, Ltd, Bridgestone/Firestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Berco and Caterpillar.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vera Yuan]

  Among a few stocks that had negative returns in the quarter, Veeco Instruments (VECO) and Titan International (TWI) are also among the smaller positions in the portfolio. VECO declined 11.1% in the June quarter, but not enough for us to add to the position.From FPA Capital Fund (Trades, Portfolio)�� Second Quarter 2014 Commentary.Also check out: FPA Capital Fund Undervalued Stocks FPA Capital Fund Top Growth Companies FPA Capital Fund High Yield stocks, and Stocks that FPA Capital Fund keeps buying Currently 0.00/512345

  Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and Ron Gross explain why they're keeping a close watch on shares of Titan International (NYSE: TWI  ) and Joy Global (NYSE: JOY  ) .

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of giant tire manufacturer Titan International (NYSE: TWI  ) fell 13% today after being downgraded by analysts.

  So what: Jefferies downgraded the stock from buy to hold, citing the probability of profit and sales pressure. William Blair also downgraded the stock to market perform and lowered its price target to $21. �

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Neustar Inc (NSR)

NeuStar, Inc., incorporated on December 8, 1998, is a provider of real-time information and analysis. The Company operates in three segments: carrier services, enterprise services and information services. The Company combines data sets to develop algorithms, models, point solutions and complete work flow solutions. The Company provides services, such as database services (telephone number databases, domain names, short-codes and fixed Internet protocol (IP) addresses), analytics platforms used for Internet security services, caller identification services, Web performance monitoring services and real-time information and analytics services. In October 2013, Neustar, Inc acquired Aggregate Knowledge, Inc.

Carrier Services

The Company�� carrier services include numbering services, order management services and IP services. Its numbering services enable the dynamic routing of calls and text messages. In particular, the Company provides near real-time updates to the North American telephone numbering system that is essential for the accurate routing of telephone calls and text messages. In addition, it also facilitates order management and work-flow processing among carriers, including telephone number inventory management, and allow carriers to manage and optimize the addressing and routing of IP communications. The numbering services the Company provides to its carrier customers using these databases include number portability administration center services (NPAC Services), in the United States and Canada and local number portability (LNP), services in Taiwan and Brazil, or international LNP solutions, and number inventory and allocation management. The Company�� order management services permit its carrier customers to exchange essential operating information with multiple carriers in order to provision and manage services. The Company provides these services through a single interface or on-premise installations. In addition, it offers inventory management services that! allow its carrier customers to manage their assigned telephone numbers and associated resources. The Company provides scalable IP services to global carriers and service providers that allow them to manage access for the routing of IP communications, such as multimedia messaging service. Its solutions also provide accurate and reliable routing of text messages and voice calls by identifying terminating service provider networks. In addition, it provides a solution for carriers to migrate from the public switched telephone network to IP Interconnect through mapping a phone number to an IP address for accurate and reliable routing to a carrier�� network.

Enterprise Services

The Company�� Enterprise Services include Internet infrastructure services and registry services. It provides Internet infrastructure services that its customers use in order to direct, prioritize and manage Internet traffic. In addition, enterprise customers rely on its services to optimize their Website performance, including protecting against malicious traffic. Enterprises use its infrastructure and its datasets to identify the location of their online customers for a variety of purposes, including fraud prevention and marketing. It also operates the authoritative common short codes registry on behalf of the United States wireless industry. The Company provides a suite of domain name systems (DNS) services to its enterprise customers built on a global directory platform. These services play a key role in directing and managing Internet traffic flow, resolving Internet queries, providing security protection against distributed denial of service attacks, providing geolocation services used to enhance fraud prevention and online marketing, and monitoring, testing and measuring the performance of Websites and networks. The Company operates the authoritative registries of Internet domain names for the .biz, .us, .co, .tel and .travel top-level domains. It also provides international registry gateways for! China�� s .cn and Taiwan�� .tw country-code top-level domains. All Internet communications routed to any of these domains must query a copy of its directory to ensure that the communication is routed to the appropriate destination. The Company also operates the authoritative common short codes registry on behalf of the United States wireless industry. In addition, it operates the user authentication and rights management system, which supports the UltraViolet digital content locker that consumers use to access their entertainment content.

Information Services

The Company�� Information Services include identification services, verification and analytics services, and local search and licensed data services. It utilizes databases and solutions to inform real-time decisions on customer initiated interactions over the telephone, Internet and at points of sale. Its services correlate attributes, such as demographic information, projected buying behaviors and location. Its business listings identity management services manage the placement of its customers��online local business listings on search engines, improving brand awareness and targeted advertising. The Company provides Caller ID services to carriers in the United States and real-time identification and location services to over 1,000 businesses in the United States across multiple industries. Its location service enables clients to match a 10-digit phone number to a latitude and longitude, and is used for a number of applications, including intelligent site planning, market scoring, and Web-based location lookup. In addition, it provides services that enable clients to remarket to non-converting prospects and to help identify whether an inbound inquiry is coming from an existing customer or a prospect. The Company provides lead verification services that allow clients to validate customer data, enhance leads and assign a lead quality rating to each lead to provide a client the ability to contact a customer. The Company provide! s an onli! ne local business listing identity management solution that serves local search platforms, national brands, authorized channel partners and local businesses. This service provides businesses and channel partners the essential tools to verify, enhance and manage the identity of local listings on local search platforms across the Web, and offers local search platforms an accurate, complete and up-to-date database of local business listings for online publishing.

The Company competes with Accenture plc, Computer Sciences Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation, Noblis, Inc., Nortel Networks Corporation, Pearson Education, Inc., Perot Systems Corporation, Telcordia Technologies, Inc., VeriSign, Inc., Afilias Limited, Oracle Corporation, Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., Syniverse Technologies, Inc., Akamai Technologies, Inc., F5 Networks, Inc., Keynote Systems, Inc., Compuware Corporation, TNS, Inc., eBureau, LLC, Acxiom, Nielsen Holdings N.V., DataLogix International Inc. and infoGROUP Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  The company�� revenues come from the fees charged for operating different domain names. Most domain names��fees are charged as per agreement terms with ICANN; however, fees received for operating the .gov registry are based on the terms of agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). As of September 2013, revenues of $125.9 million came from active domain names ending with .com and .net. Even though the company has presence all over the globe, the U.S. contributes 64.8% of revenues, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) contribute 15.5%, Australia, China, India and other Asia Pacific countries (APAC), 15.0%, and other countries such as Canada or Latin American countries, contribute 4.7%. Competition is increasing, especially with Latin script ccTLD registries and IDN ccTLD registries, as well as with other name service providers such as Neustar Inc. (NSR) or ARI Registry Services, and search engine providers such as Google Inc. (GOOG) Microsoft, Corp. (MSFT).

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  According to Reuters, several private equity firms have expressed interest in acquiring Neustrar. (NYSE: NSR) The company has hired financial advisers to help explore its options. shares gained 2.26 percent, closing at $29.36.

• [By Rex Moore]

  You may not have heard of NeuStar (NYSE: NSR  ) , but the services it provides can affect you greatly. This $3 billion company is also handily beating the market as it shifts its focus to move deeper into the information and analytics industry.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Atech Holdings Ltd (ATH)

ATech Holdings Limited is an Australia-based company. As of June 30, 2010, the Company was engaged in the investment of its cash reserves. The Company�� controlled entities include SEAA (151 Sturt St, South Melbourne) Pty Limited and SEAA (Boronia) Pty Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  Athabasca Oil Corp. (ATH), which is seeking a joint-venture partner for its Duvernay holdings, jumped 9.3 percent to C$7.97, the most in seven weeks.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own For 2014

Since online travel giant Expedia spun off TripAdvisor (TRIP) two years ago, TripAdvisor�� stock has soared about 170%. With TRIP�� shares selling at 33 times estimated earnings for the next 12 months, I don�� know that you�� want to buy them now. But TripAdvisor�� success is hardly unique. Spinoffs often turn out to be superb investments.

Here are four reasons to consider spinoffs, plus an exchange-traded fund that invests in them.

Returns have been high. CreditSuisse tracked spinoffs from the start of 1995 through July 2012. The results: Spinoffs beat Standard & Poor�� 500-stock index by an average of 13 percentage points per year. Other studies over different time periods have produced similar results.

See Also: Cash in on Stock Splits

10 Best Semiconductor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Energy and Minerals Australia Ltd (EMA)

Energy & Minerals Australia Limited is an Australia-based uranium exploration and development company. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company continued with exploration and development of its tenement package and progression of development studies on the Mulga Rock project. The Company operates one business segment: exploration. The activities undertaken by the exploration segment includes the exploration on tenements in Western Australia and scoping study activities on the Mulga Rock project. The Mulga Rock project is located about 250 Kilometer northeast of Kalgoorlie. The Mulga Rock Deposits (MRD) comprises four separate deposits being: Ambassador, Emperor ,Shogun and the Princess Deposit, The Company holds over 900 square kilometers of land surrounding the MRD. Narnoo Mining Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company , is the registered holder of exploration licenses numbered E39/876 and E39/877. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray, Senior Editor, MoneyShow.com]

  To calculate the Mass Index:

  Calculate a nine-day exponential moving average (EMA) of the difference between the high and low prices. Calculate a nine-day exponential moving average of the moving average calculated in Step 1. Divide the moving average calculated in Step 1 by the moving average calculated in Step 2. Total the values in Step 3 for the number of periods in the Mass Index (e.g., 25 days).

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Alstom SA (AOMFF)

Alstom SA is a France-based company that specializes in the manufacture of transport and energy infrastructure. The Company divides its activity into three sectors. The Power Sector offers a range of power generation solutions from integrated power plants for all types of fuel to a range of services, including plant modernization, maintenance and operational support. The Transport Sector serves the rail passenger travel and freight markets with rail transport products, systems and services. Alstom SA designs, develops and manufactures trains, and develops and implements system solutions for rail control. It also designs and manages the creation of new railway lines, and offers maintenance and renovation programs. The Grid Sector designs and manufactures equipment and engineered turnkey solutions to manage power grids and transmit electricity from the power plant to the user. In January 2013, the Company acquired Tidal Generation Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By reports.droy]

  Investors need to take note of GE�� expectations from the industrial segment. The company hopes that industrial segment would comprise 75% of its earnings by 2017. GE is also working on the approval process to acquire Alstom (AOMFF) Power and Grid businesses for about $16 billion. The deal would possibly add close to $0.06 to $0.09 per share in 2016, since it�� expected to close by end of next year.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Orange County Business Bank (OCBB)

Orange County Business Bank is Orange County's elite full-service commercial bank. The Company is a capitalized bank in Southern California.

The Company is serving the needs of businesses and professionals throughout Orange County. It offers relationship banking services for locally owned and operated businesses, professional practices, and commercial/industrial companies in Orange County and adjacent markets.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, OCBB remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $7.15 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 2:07PM EDT August 1, 2013).

  Orange County Business Bank previously reported financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013.

  The Bank�� net income for the three months ended June 30, 2013 was $204 thousand versus a net loss of $47 thousand for the same period in 2012. The Bank reported net income for the first six months of 2013 of $649 thousand versus a net loss of $126 thousand for the same period in 2012.

  The Bank�� net interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2013 was $1.4 million versus $1.1 million a year ago. The difference of $300 thousand in net interest income was primarily driven by an increase in the total loans outstanding. Net interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2013 was $2.6 million versus $2.4 million for the same period in 2012. The difference of $200 thousand was due to an increase in the total loans outstanding. The Bank continues to aggressively push into established and successful markets to develop profitable relationships. This push has resulted in the growth of loans, deposits and net interest income

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Fair Isaac Corp (FICO)

Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), incorporated on May 15, 1987, provides products and services that enable businesses to automate, improve and connect decisions to enhance business performance. The Company operates in three segments: Applications, which include pre-configured Decision Management applications designed for a specific type of business problem or process; Scores, which includes the Company's business-to-business scoring solutions and services, its myFICO solutions for consumers, and associated professional services, and Tools segment, which include software tools that clients can use to create their own custom Decision Management applications, as well as associated professional services. In May 2012, the Company acquired Entiera Inc. In September 2012, it acquired Adeptra Ltd. On April 1, 2013, FICO acquired Infoglide Software Corp.

Applications

The Company develops industry-tailored Decision Management applications, categorized as Applications, which apply analytics, data management and Decision Management software to specific business challenges and processes. These include credit offer prescreening, insurance claims management and others. The Company's Applications primarily serve clients in the banking, insurance, healthcare, and retail sectors. The chief offerings for marketing are the Company's FICO Analytic Offer Manager and FICO Customer Dialogue Manager. These solutions offer a suite of products, capabilities and services designed to integrate the technology and analytic services needed to perform context-sensitive customer acquisition, cross-selling and retention programs and deliver mathematically optimized offers.

The Company provides solutions that enable banks, credit unions, finance companies, installment lenders and other companies to automates and improve the processing of requests for credit or service. The Company provides customer management solutions for banking, where it�� account and customer management product is the FICO TRIAD! Customer Manager. The Company markets and sells TRIAD end-user software licenses, maintenance, consulting services, and strategy designs and evaluation. The Company's fraud management products improve the Company's clients' profitability by predicting the likelihood that a given transaction or customer account is experiencing fraud.

The Company's solutions are designed to detect and prevent a range of fraud and risk types across multiple industries, including credit and debit payment card fraud; e-payment fraud; deposit account fraud; technical fraud and bad debt; healthcare fraud; Medicaid and Medicare fraud, and property and casualty insurance claims fraud, including workers' compensation fraud. FICO fraud solutions protect financial institutions, insurance companies and government agencies from losses and damaged customer relationships caused by fraud and related criminal behavior.

FICO Fraud Predictor with Merchant Profiles is used in conjunction with Falcon Fraud Manager on payment card monitoring for credit and debit to improve fraud detection rates through the inclusion of merchant profiles. In addition to the Falcon products, the Company offers FICO Card Alert Service. Card Alert Service is a solution for fighting ATM debit fraud. The Card Alert Service identifies counterfeit payment cards and reports them to issuers. The Company offers FICO Economic Impact Service, which uses time series modeling of the macro economy to allow lenders to forecast future credit risk performance based on their views of the economy. Adeptra's software as a service (SaaS) platform enables financial services institutions and other businesses to take advantage of the explosion in mobile communication in order to manage risk, fight fraud and improve the customer experience, all in real time.

The Company competes with Acxiom, Epsilon, Equifax, Experian, Harte-Hanks, InfoUSA, KnowledgeBase, Merkle, TargetBase, CGI, NICE Systems, BAE, SAS, ACI Worldwide, Emdeon, Ingenix, ViPS, MedSt! at, Veris! k Analytics and IBM.

Scores

The Company develops credit scores based on third-party data. The Company's FICO Scores are used in most United States credit decisions, by the banks and credit card organizations, as well as by mortgage and auto loan originators. These scores provide a consistent and objective measure of an individual's credit risk. Credit grantors use the FICO Scores to prescreen candidates for solicitation, to evaluate applicants for new credit and to review existing accounts. The FICO Scores are calculated based on scoring models and implemented on third-party data. The version of the FICO Score for United States and Canadian lenders is the FICO 8 Score. The Company's other solutions include The FICO Credit Capacity Index and The FICO Economic Impact Index.

The Company competes with Experian and Experian-Scorex (U.S. partner), TransUnion and TransUnion International, Equifax, VantageScore, CRIF, LexisNexis and ChoicePoint.

Tools

The Company provides software products that businesses use to build their own tailored Decision Management applications. In contrast to its packaged Applications developed for specific industry applications, the Company�� Tools support the addition of Decision Management capabilities to virtually any application or operational system. These tools are sold as licensed software, and can be used by themselves or together to advance a client�� Decision Management initiatives. The Company uses these tools as common software components for its own Decision Management applications. The principal products offered are software tools include Rules Management, Predictive Modeling and Optimization.

The Company competes with IBM, SAS, Pegasystems and Angoss.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Alamy You've probably heard by now that in some vague way, your credit rating has something to do with the premiums your auto insurance company charges you for coverage. But if you're like me, you've probably never quite understood the details of how this work. Fortunately, the good folks at InsuranceQuotes.com -- a subsidiary of Bankrate (RATE) -- recently published a report that draws back the curtain on this little-understood quirk of the insurance industry. Blame it on FICO Used to be, the rate you paid for insuring your car was tied primarily to demographic and personal factors that were clearly connected to the risk that you'd damage your car and ask the insurance company to pay for it: things like your age, sex, marital status, and driving history. It won't surprise anyone that younger, unmarried men are more likely to be risky drivers than soccer moms, and should therefore pay higher premiums. But about 20 years ago, the folks at Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) found a correlation between low credit scores and a higher risk of filing an insurance claim. That's not causation, of course -- having bad credit doesn't somehow cause you to crash your car. But according to FICO, "people who choose to effectively manage their finances are also less likely to have future insurance losses." Conversely, there is a "statistical correlation between a person's credit score and the likelihood that he or she will file an auto insurance claim in the future." Suddenly, FICO had a new way to hawk its credit histories to insurance companies -- and insurance companies had a new excuse to raise your rates. News Flash: Everybody Does It Ever since, insurance companies have used this finding to tweak the rates they charge you for insurance. Today, says InsuranceQuotes, "about 97 percent of U.S. insurance companies" do it. But how do they do it, exactly?

• [By Chris Neiger]

  The world of personal finance, debt and credit scores can be a scary and confusing place. While there's a lot of helpful information about there to be found, there are also piles of misinformation as well. To help you navigate through the personal finance trenches, let's take a look at three big myths for how to improve your�Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FICO  ) score, as well as some solid steps that will actually help you improve your score.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  But there are some companies like Fair Isaac (FICO) where it�� different. FICO can actually grow earnings faster than assets. As a result, you are probably getting something like a 3% annual kicker beyond ROA * Assets/Market Cap when you invest in Fair Isaac. They throw in a little ��ree��growth.

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Communications Systems Inc.(JCS)

Communications Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells modular connecting and wiring devices, digital subscriber line filters, structured wiring systems, and media and rate conversion products primarily in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company?s Suttle segment manufactures and markets copper and fiber connectivity systems, enclosure systems, XDSL filters and splitters, and active technologies for voice, data, and video communications under the Suttle brand name; and residential structured wiring products under the SOHO Access brand name. This segment offers its products directly and through distributors to communication companies, smaller telephone companies, electrical/low voltage contractors, home builders, cable customers, and original equipment manufacturers. Its Transition Networks segment designs, assembles, and markets network interface devices, media converters, network interface cards, Ethernet switches, sma ll form factor pluggable modules, and other connectivity products under the Transition Networks and MILAN brand names. This segment sells its products through distributors, resellers, integrators, and original equipment manufacturers. The company?s JDL Technologies segment offers information technology (IT) solutions, including network design and integration IT service management, network security, desktop virtualization, and managed network operation center services. This segment serves educational clients, IT value added resellers, and managed service providers, as well as healthcare, enterprise, and government markets. Its Austin Taylor segment provides telephony and data networking products to telecommunications companies, distributors, and installers. This segment designs and manufactures external metal cabinets and internal metal boxes to industry standards and to customer specifications. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  On Dec.24, Mario Gabelli, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GAMCO Investors, Inc. added Communications Systems Inc. (JCS) at an average price of $11.05 and currently holds 330,172 shares of the stock. It was the 5th time he added the stock during this year, which makes me feel that he is betting in favor of a positive future for the consumption of network capacity.
  Recommendations of the Board
  Communications Systems is engaged in the manufacture and sale of modular connecting and wiring devices for voice and data communications, digital subscriber line filters, and structured wiring systems, and through its Transition Networks business unit in the manufacture of media and rate conversion products for telecommunications networks.
  Few months ago the firm announced�a series of actions to increase revenues and improve profitability. The first change was to operate as a holding company, monitoring and supporting all the business units: Suttle, Transition Networks (TN) unit and JDL Technologies. With this ��ew format�� each unit will operate with a high degree of autonomy. This will result in the reduction of labor costs, the emphasizing of accountability in the units as well as better recognition of performance. "While difficult decisions for the Board, we believe the changes we have taken to restructure our parent company as a holding company and to focus on individual business unit performance is in the best interest of our shareholders and will increase shareholder value" said Curtis A. Sampson, the Company's Board Chair and Interim CEO. Furthermore, strategic investments in the TN unit such as marketing, sales and product development will boost revenues in the future.
  Severe Warning Signs
  Not all are good news, we found three severe warning signs issued by GuruFocus: Piotroski F-Score of 2 is low, which usually implies poor business operation; revenue has been in decline over the past 3 years and operating margin has been in 5-year

Top Integrated Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Beamz Interactive Inc (BZIC)

Beamz Interactive, Inc., incorporated on May 25, 2001, develops an interactive laser controller technology that can be used in a range of music, game, therapy, education, senior care, lighting and consumer applications. The Company�� commercial products include Beamz Player and Beamz Pro. By connecting the Beamz Player to a personal computer (PC) and installing the included software, the user can play a range of digitized musical instruments by simply interrupting one or more laser beams with their hands, thereby creating great music in conjunction with a background rhythm track of original, popular, disc jockey (DJ) and children�� songs across numerous music genres (including Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Rock, Classical, Latin). In each song the user can select up to 12 different instruments, music clips and sound effects that are paired with a background rhythm track, amounting to hundreds of instruments to choose from across all songs in the Beamz music library.

BeamzPlayer software makes it easy to make great sounding music in minutes by following the diagram of the Beamz Player on the screen of the attached computer, which allows the user to identify which laser beam controls different instruments. Beamz songs are set up to be regardless of how they are played and the music samples assigned to a laser beam offer more complexity, often with several notes, chords and/or series of music samples controlled by touching one of the laser beams. The Company has commercialized several products that use the Beamz interactive laser controller technology for music making and music-controller related products. These products are interactive music systems that combine laser controller hardware and various versions of interactive music software, including mapping software applications that enable the Beamz laser controller hardware to be used with software applications offered by other companies relating to mixing/DJ, lighting controls and music creation/production applications.

The Com! pany�� hardware product offering consists of three product lines: the Beamz Player consumer product family, the Beamz DJ and Beamz Pro product family, and the Beamz Education, Special Needs, and Physical Rehabilitation product family (Beamz Products). The Beamz Player and Beamz Pro hardware may also be used as a general laser controller for many other purposes, such as lighting, games, music production, and other applications.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech or media stocks Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS), Beamz Interactive Inc (OTCBB: BZIC) and Hannover House Inc (OTCMKTS: HHSE) have been getting some extra attention lately, but it appears that only one of these stocks has been the subject of a paid promotion. Nevertheless, all three stocks have been busy with press releases trying to get the attention of investors or traders. So are these three small cap tech or media stocks worth your attention? Here is a closer look along with a reality check:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Beamz Interactive Inc (OTCBB: BZIC), EHouse Global (OTCBB: EHOS) and Winning Brands Corporation (OTCMKTS: WNBD) were all heading in different directions at the end of last week with the first small cap surging 49.94% while the other two sank 31.28% and 25.32%, respectively, on Friday. Moreover, all three small cap stocks are already heading in different directions again this morning. So where should investors and traders place their bets? Here is a closer look at all three small cap stocks:

Best Oil Service Companies To Watch In Right Now

Best Oil Service Companies To Watch In Right Now: National Bank Holdings Corp (NBHC)

National Bank Holdings Corporation (NBH), incorporated in June 2009, is a bank holding company. Through Bank Midwest, N.A. (Bank Midwest), NBH's primary business is to offer a range of traditional banking products and financial services to both its commercial and consumer customers, located in Kansas, Missouri and Colorado. The Company offers an array of lending products to cater to the customers' needs, including, but not limited to, small business loans, equipment loans, term loans, asset-backed loans, letters of credit, commercial lines of credit, residential mortgage loans, home equity and consumer loans. It also offers traditional depository products, including commercial and consumer checking accounts, non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts and time deposit accounts and cash management services. As of December 31, 2011, it operated a network of 103 full-service banking centers, with the majority of those banking cent ers located in the Kansas City region and Colorado. On October 21, 2011, the Company acquired selected assets and assumed selected liabilities of Community Banks of Colorado, a state chartered bank based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, from the FDIC, which included 36 full-service banking centers in Colorado and four in California.

Lending Activities

NBH's loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, consumer loans, commercial real estate loans, residential real estate loans and agricultural loans. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 61.5% of the Company's total portfolio was variable rate loans, approximately 38.5% of the total loan portfolio was fixed rate loans and less than 1.6% of its total loan portfolio was unsecured. As of December 31, 2011, of the loans it had originated, approximately 3! 5.1% were variable rate loans and approximately 64.9% were fixed rate loans.

The Company originates commercial and indust rial loans and leases, including working capital loans, equi! pment loans and other commercial loans and leases. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 98.2% of its commercial and industrial loans were secured. As of December 31, 2011, it had $372.0 million in commercial and industrial loans and leases outstanding, comprising approximately 16.3% of its total loan portfolio. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it originated and closed $26.7 million of commercial and industrial loans, which was approximately 18.8% of total loans originated for portfolio investment during that period.

The Company offers a range of consumer loans, including loans to banking center customers for consumer and business purposes, to meet customer demand and to increase the yield on its loan portfolio. As of December 31, 2011, it had $74.3 million in consumer loans outstanding, comprising 3.3% of its total loan portfolio. Its real estate loans consist of commercial real estate loans and residential real estate loans. Commercial real estate loa ns (CRE) loans, consist of loans to finance the purchase of commercial real estate, loans to finance inventory and working capital that are secured by commercial real estate and construction and development loans. Its CRE loans include loans on 1-4 family construction properties, commercial properties such as office buildings, strip malls, or free standing commercial properties, multi-family and investor properties and raw land development loans.

Residential real estate loans consist of loans secured by the primary or secondary residence of the borrower. These loans consist of closed loans, which are typically amortizing over a 10 to 30 year term. It also offers open-ended home equity loans, which loans are secured by secondary financing on residential real estate. As of December 31, 2011, it had a total of $522.4 million ! in outsta! nding residential real estate loans, comprising 22.9% of its total loan portfolio. Agricultural loans consist of loans to farmers and other agricultural businesses to finance agricultural produ! ction.

Source of Fund

NBH's offers a range of deposit products to the customers, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate, fixed maturity retail time deposits ranging in terms from 30 days to five years, individual retirement accounts, and non-retail time deposits consisting of jumbo certificates greater than or equal to $100,000. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's deposit portfolio was comprised of 13.4% non-interest bearing deposits and 55.0% time deposits. Its deposits are primarily obtained from areas surrounding its banking centers.

Financial Products and Services

In addition to traditional banking activities, the Company provides other financial services to the customers. It includes Internet banking, wire transfers, automated clearing house services, electronic bill payment, lock box services, remote deposit capture services, courier servic es, merchant processing services, cash vault, controlled disbursements, positive pay and cash management services (including account reconciliation, collections and sweep accounts).

The Company competes with UMB, Commerce, US Bank, Bank of America, Valley View, Capitol Federal, Central Bancompany, CCB Financial Corp, Enterprise Financial Services Corp, Wells Fargo, FirstBank, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Bank of the West, KeyBank, Alpine Bank, Compass Bank, Vectra Bank, First National Bank of Colorado and Zions Bank.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs reported that it has downgraded National Bank Holdings Corp (NBHC) to “Sell.”

  The firm has cut its rating on NBHC from “Neutral” to “Sell,” and has given the company ! a $21 pri! ce target. This price target suggests that the stock will remain flat at its current price of $20.94.

  An analyst from the firm commented: “While we believe that NBHC can grow EPS longer term as it leverages its $400mn of excess capital (above 10% tier 1 leverage), with shares trading at 1.1x TBV, we see limited upside in the near-term without any strategic M&A.”

  Looking ahead, the firm has maintained its FY2013 EPS estimate of 26 cents. For FY2014 and FY2015, estimates have been maintained at 57 cents and $1.88.

  National Bank Holdings shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Tuesday. The stock is up 10% YTD.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-oil-service-companies-to-watch-in-right-now-3.html