Top 5 Freight Companies To Invest In Right Now

For the second time this year The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) announced Friday that it will cut its production rate for the company�� venerable 747-8 jumbo jet. Production will be cut back to 1.5 planes a month from the previously announced cut in April to 1.75 planes a month. At the beginning of the year Boeing had planned production for the 747-8 at 2 planes a month.

Lower market demand for the planes both as passenger and freight carriers is once more the reason Boeing gives for the cutback. The number of orders for the 747-8 has fallen from 110 in April to 107 currently and Boeing has delivered a total of 56 of the planes to date. As of April�� announcement Boeing said it had delivered 46 747-8s.

A company executive said:

This production adjustment better aligns us with near-term demand while stabilizing our production flow, and better positions the program to offer the 747-8′s compelling economics and performance when the market recovers. Although we are making a small adjustment to our production rate, it doesn’t change our confidence in the 747-8 or our commitment to the program.

Top 10 Sliver Companies To Invest In 2015: Echo Global Logistics Inc (ECHO)

Echo Global Logistics, Inc. (Echo) is a provider of technology enabled transportation and supply chain management services. Its Web-based technology platform compiles and analyzes data from its network of over 24,000 transportation providers to serve its clients' shipping and freight management needs. Its technology platform, composed of Web-based software applications and a database, enables it to identify excess transportation capacity, obtain competitive rates, and execute thousands of shipments every day. It focuses on arranging transportation across truckload (TL) and less than truck load (LTL), and it also offers small parcel, inter-modal (which involves moving a shipment by rail and truck), domestic air, expedited and international transportation services. Its logistics services include rate negotiation, shipment execution and tracking, carrier management, routing compliance, freight bill audit and payment and performance management reporting, including executive dashboard tools. Effective January 1, 2011, the Company acquired Nationwide Traffic Services, LLC. (Nationwide) Effective July 1, 2011, the Company acquired Advantage Transport, Inc. (Advantage). Effective December 1, 2011, the Company acquired the stock of Trailer Transport Systems (TTS). In June 2012, the Company acquired Plum Logistics, LLC. In July 2012, it acquired all of the assets of Shipper Direct Logistics, Inc. In October 2012, the Company acquired Sharp Freight Systems, Inc.

The Company�� clients fall into two categories, enterprise and transactional. Its enterprise clients outsource their transportation management function to Echo. It enters into multi-year contracts with its enterprise clients. As part of its value proposition, it also provides core logistics services to these clients, including the management of both freight expenditures and logistical issues surrounding freight to be transported. It provides transportation and logistics services to its transactional clients on a shipment-by-shipment basis.! It is a non-asset-based provider of technology enabled transportation and logistics services. Through its carrier network, it provides transportation services using a range of modes of transportation.

Transportation Services

The Company provides Truckload (TL) services across all TL segments, including dry vans, temperature-controlled units and flatbeds. Using its LaneIQ technology, it provide advanced dispatch, communication and data collection tools and capacity information to its clients on a real-time basis. The Company provides less than truckload (LTL) services involving the shipment of single or multiple pallets of freight. Using its RateIQ 2.0 technology, it obtains real-time pricing and transit time information for every LTL shipment from its database of LTL carriers. It provides small parcel services for packages of all sizes. Using its EchoPak technology, it delivers cost saving opportunities to its clients. Inter-modal transportation is the shipping of freight by multiple modes, using a container that is transferred between ships, railcars or trucks. It offers inter-modal transportation services for its clients, which utilizes both trucks and rail. The Company provides domestic air and expedited shipment services for its clients when traditional LTL services do not meet delivery requirements. It uses ETM track and trace tools for up to date information to its clients through EchoTrak. The Company provides air and ocean transportation services for its clients, offering a comprehensive international delivery option to its clients.

Logistics Services

In addition to arranging for transportation, the Company provides logistics services, either on-site (in the case of some enterprise clients) or off-site, to manage the flow of those goods from origin to destination. Its core logistics services include rate negotiation; procurement of transportation, both contractually and in the spot market; shipment execution and tracking; carrier management, ! reporting! and compliance; executive dashboard presentations and detailed shipment reports; freight bill audit and payment; claims processing and service refund management; design and management of inbound client freight programs; individually configured Web portals and self-service data warehouses; enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration with transactional shipment data, and integration of shipping applications into client e-commerce sites. Customers communicate their freight needs, typically on a shipment-by-shipment basis, to the individual or team responsible for their account. Customers communicate with it by means of telephone, fax, Internet, e-mail, or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

Technology Platform

The Company�� ETM technology platform allows it to analyze its clients' transportation requirements and provide customized shipping recommendations. It collects and store pricing and market capacity data in its ETM database from each interaction with carriers, and its database expands as a result of these interactions. It has also developed data acquisition tools, which retrieve information from both private and public transportation databases, including subscription-based sources and public transportation rate boards, and incorporate that information into the ETM database. Its clients communicate their transportation needs to it electronically through its EchoTrak web portal, other computer protocols, or by phone. ETM generates pricing and carrier information for its clients by accessing pre-negotiated rates with preferred carriers or using present or historical pricing and capacity information contained in its database. If a client enters its own shipment, ETM automatically alerts the appropriate account executive. After the carrier is selected, either by it or the client, its account executives use its ETM technology platform to manage all aspects of the shipping process.

The Company�� FastLane is an Internet-based Web portal, which allows its carriers! to view ! shipments available for tender, update equipment availability and preferred lanes, check on the status of all unpaid invoices, unbilled shipments, shipments in transit and other information used to resolve any billing discrepancies. There is also a mobile FastLane application, which allows carriers to view similar information remotely. eConnect is a set of tools, which allows the Company�� clients and carriers to interact directly with ETM electronically through any of several computer protocols, including EDI, extensible markup language (XML) and file transfer protocol (FTP). The eConnect tools serve as an electronic bridge between the other elements of its ETM technology platform and its clients' enterprise resource planning (ERP), billing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, order management, back office and e-commerce systems. Through eConnect, its clients are able to request shipping services and receive financial and tracking data using their existing systems.

EchoTrak is an Internet-based Web portal, which connects and integrates its clients with ETM. By entering a username and password, its clients are able to enter orders, display historical and active shipments in the ETM system using configurable data entry screens sorted by carrier, price, delivery date, destination and other relevant specifications. EchoTrak also generates automatic alerts to ensure that shipments are moving in accordance with the client specifications and timeline. There is also a mobile EchoTrak application, which allows customers to perform similar functions remotely. RateIQ2.0 is a pricing engine, which manages LTL tariffs and generates rate quotes and transit times for LTL shipments. RateIQ2.0 also provides integrated tools to manage dispatch, communications, data collection and management functions relating to LTL shipments. LaneIQ is a pricing engine, which generates rate quotes for TL shipments. LaneIQ also provides integrated tools to manage dispatch, communications, headhaul and backhaul data col! lection a! nd management functions relating to TL shipments. EchoPak is a small parcel pricing and audit engine. For each small parcel shipped, EchoPak audits carrier compliance with on-time delivery requirements and pricing tariffs. In addition, EchoPak tracks information for each parcel and is able to aggregate and analyze that data for clients. For instance, clients are able to view shipments by date, business unit, product line and location, and clients can access information regarding service levels and pricing.

The Company�� Shipment Tracking stores shipment information en-route and after final delivery. The shipment data is acquired through its carrier EDI integration, allowing its clients to track the location and status of all shipments on one screen, regardless of mode or carrier. Final delivery information is permanently archived, allowing it to provide its clients with carrier performance reporting by comparing actual delivery times with the published transit time standards.

Document Imaging allows the Company to store digital images of all shipping documents, including bills of lading and delivery receipts. CAS (Cost Allocation System) automatically audits carrier invoices against its rating engine and accounts payable accrual system. If the amounts match, the invoice is automatically released for payment. If the amounts do not match, the invoice is sent to various administrative personnel for manual processing and resolution. CAS also integrates to its general ledger, accounts receivable and accounts payable systems. Accounting includes its general ledger, accounts receivable and accounts payable functions. Accounting is integrated with CAS and EchoIQ. EchoIQ stores internally and externally generated data to support its reporting and analytic functions and integrate all of its core applications with ETM. ETM supports its logistics services, which it provides to its clients as part of its value proposition. Its ETM technology platform is able to track individual shipments ! and provi! de customized data and reports throughout the lifecycle of the shipment, allowing it to manage the entire shipping process for its clients. It also market Flex TMS.

The Company competes with C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Total Quality Logistics, UPS, FedEx, Schneider, Conway, JB Hunt and ABF.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By Will Ashworth]

  Without further adieu, here are my five best stocks for the next 20 years:

  Best Stocks #1 (Small Cap): Echo Global Logistics (ECHO)
  

  Echo Global Logistics (ECHO) uses web-based proprietary technology to provide business process outsourcing to the transportation industry. Founded in 2005, ECHO serves more than 28,500 small- and midsize customers who use its technology to access the best shipping prices from a network of 24,000 carriers in a matter of seconds.

Top 5 Freight Companies To Invest In Right Now: Hub Group Inc (HUBG)

Hub Group, Inc., incorporated on March 8, 1995, is an asset-light freight transportation management companies. The Company offers intermodal, truck brokerage and logistics services. The Company operates distinct business segments: Mode, which includes the acquired Mode business acquired by the Company on April 1, 2011, and Hub, which is all business other than Mode. Both segments offer intermodal, truck brokerage and logistics services. Hub operates through a network of operating centers throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Hub services a diversified customer base in a broad range of industries, including consumer products, retail and durable goods. Mode markets and operates its freight transportation services primarily through its network of independent business owners (IBOs) who enter into contracts with Mode. Mode's company managed operation includes a business arranging for the transportation of raw materials and finished products for a food producer and, to a lesser extent, other highway brokerage, intermodal and logistics operations.

Intermodal

As an intermodal marketing company (IMC), the Company arranges for the movement of its customers freight in containers and trailers, typically over long distances of 750 miles or more. The Company contracts with railroads to provide transportation for the long-haul portions of the shipment and with local trucking companies, known as drayage companies, for pickup and delivery. As part of the Company's intermodal services, the Company negotiates rail and drayage rates, electronically tracks shipments in transit, consolidate billing and handle claims for freight loss or damage on behalf of its customers.

The Company uses its network to access containers and trailers owned by leasing companies, railroads and steamship lines. The Company is able to track trailers and containers entering a service area and reuses that equipment to fulfill the customers' outbound shipping requirements. As of December 31, 2012, ! Hub had access to approximately 9,111 rail-owned containers for the Company's dedicated use on the Union Pacific (UP) and the Norfolk Southern (NS) rails. In addition to these rail-owned containers, as of December 31, 2012, the Company had a total of 14,756 53-inch private containers for use on the UP and NS. The Company financed 6,167 of these containers with operating leases and the Company owns 8,589 containers.

As of December 31, 2012, approximately 66% of the Company's drayage needs were met by its subsidiary, Comtrak Logistics, Inc. (Comtrak), which assists its customers. Comtrak has terminals in Atlanta, Birmingham, Charleston, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Dallas, Harrisburg, Huntsville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Memphis, Nashville, Newark, Los Angeles, Perry (FL), Philadelphia, Savannah, Seattle, St. Louis, Stockton, and Titusville (FL). As of December 31, 2012, Comtrak owned 260 tractors, leased or owned 448 trailers, employed 296 drivers and contracted with 2,178 owner-operators.

Truck Brokerage (Highway Services)

The Company is a truck broker in the United States. As part of the truck brokerage services, the Company negotiates rates , track shipments in transit and handle claims for freights loss and damage on behalf of its customers.

Logistics and Other Services

Hub's logistics business operates under the name of Unyson Logistics. Unyson Logistics consists of a network of logistics professionals dedicated to developing, implementing and operating customized logistics solutions. Unyson offers a range of transportation management services and technology solutions, including shipment optimization, load consolidation, mode selection, carrier management, load planning and execution and Web-based shipment visibility. Unyson Logistics operates throughout North America, providing operations through its main operating location in St. Louis with additional support locations in Bosto! n, Chicag! o, Cleveland and Minneapolis. Certain Mode agents provide logistics services. The Company's multi-modal transportation capabilities through both the Hub and Mode segments include small parcel, heavyweight, expedited, less-than-truckload, truckload, intermodal and railcar.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By cody56]

  During the third quarters these holdering were the worse performers for Diamond Hill Small Cap Fund. Rosseta Resources Inc. (ROSE) , TriMas Corp. (TRS) , Tenneco Inc. (TEN) , Popular Inc. (BPOP) and Hub Group (HUBG).

• [By Vera Yuan]

  ��reight transportation management company Hub Group, Inc. (HUBG) rose as investors began to focus on margin improvement opportunities due to indications of improving intermodal pricing as well as company-specific cost improvement initiatives.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Hub Group (NASDAQ: HUBG) surged 3.13% to $44.20. The volume of Hub Group shares traded was 388% higher than normal. Hub Group reported its Q1 earnings of $0.33 per share on revenue of $848.40 million. Longbow Research upgraded Hub Group from Neutral to Buy.

Top 5 Freight Companies To Invest In Right Now: TNT Express NV (TNTE)

TNT Express NV is the Netherlands-based express delivery company. It collects, transports and delivers documents, parcels and freight on a time-certain or day-definite basis. The Company operates worldwide with domestic, regional and intercontinental delivery. It has own operations in more than 60 countries and can deliver to more than 200 countries through own operations, subcontractors and agents. Its customers are international companies, as well as small and medium enterprises. The Company serves industries such as technology, automotive, industrial, healthcare and lifestyle, as well as financial institutions and governments. The Company operates interconnected international air and road networks. The air network consists of a central air hub in Liege, Belgium, and a fleet of more than 50 aircrafts. The road networks are operated in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and South America. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Wall]

  One of the country�� largest employers with more than 150,000 staff, Royal Mail has shifted away from letters to more lucrative package shipping, competing with TNT Express NV (TNTE) of the Netherlands and Deutsche Post AG (DPW)�� DHL Express.

Top 5 Freight Companies To Invest In Right Now: Chalmers Ltd (CHR)

Chalmers Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in transport, logistic services, warehousing and container storage, repairs and sales. The Company operated in three segments: Transport, Containers and Property. Transport consists of road transport, predominantly import/export FCL containers and the interface with logistics/ warehousing/hubbing services. Containers represent the empty container park operations concerned with handling, storage, repairs, upgrades, pretrips and so on of empty containers on behalf of shipping and leasing company customers. Property represents the capital investment Chalmers has in freeholds located in Melbourne. The Company�� subsidiaries include Chalmers Industries Pty Ltd, Chalmers (Australia) Pty Ltd and Chalmers Industries (Brisbane) Pty Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Chr. Hansen A/S (CHR) slid 1.7 percent to 186 kroner after Credit Suisse Group AG cut the stock to neutral, the equivalent of hold, from outperform. The brokerage said that profit from its natural-color business remains under pressure. The world�� biggest maker of dairy enzymes cut its full-year sales forecast on July 3 because of lower prices for the red pigment carmine.

Top 5 Gas Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014

Editors complain. Mostly, in my experience, about writers, often about newsmakers, and frequently about uncooperative celebrities. But more and more, they complain about salesmen. As in, how come they can't sell ads?

For an editor of any stature ��that is, one theoretically above the commercial fray ��ads are like the weather. They affect you mightily, and you worry about them greatly, and, if called upon, you try to dress to sell them appropriately, but you have no control over them, and not much knowledge about why the day is sunny or dark ��and it is only, nowadays, dark.

This past week in New York at Advertising Week, many editors, recruited to perform on various panels, could be found wandering the venues, expressing angst and frustration about advertisers and vast puzzlement about whatever happened to this once-reliable relationship.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Invest In 2015: Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (APAM)

Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc., incorporated on October 25, 2012, is an independent investment management company that provides a range of 12 equity investment strategies spanning different market capitalization segments and investing styles in both United States and non-United States markets. It manages investments primarily through mutual funds and separate accounts. It offers its investment management capabilities primarily to institutions and through intermediaries that operate with institutional-like decision-making processes and have longer-term investment horizons. It manages separate accounts for pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, governmental entities, investment companies and similar pooled investment vehicles, and also provide investment management and administrative services to Artisan Funds, a family of mutual funds. Its operations are based principally in the United States, but it is expanding its operations outside the United States.

As of December 31, 2012, Artisan Funds consisted of 53%, of the Company�� assets under management. It also serves as the investment manager and promoter of Artisan Global Funds. The Company manages separate accounts primarily for institutional clients, such as pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, governmental entities, investment companies and similar pooled investment vehicles. Separate accounts consisted of 47%, of its assets under management as of December 31, 2012. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), fees from separate accounts, including United States -registered mutual funds, non- United States funds and collective investment trusts it sub-advises, represented 33%, of its revenues. The Company derives all of its revenues from investment management fees. The Company�� clients access its investment strategies through mutual funds and separate accounts, which include mutual funds and non-United ! States funds it sub-advises, as well as collective investment trusts that pool retirement plan assets together in a single portfolio maintained by a bank or trust company and are managed by it on a separate account basis.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Will Ashworth]

  WisdomTree�� future appears bright. In the December ETF Deathwatch list, only five of its ETFs appeared out of the total 61. Like all asset managers, it�� not perfect, but it is the only publicly traded ETF pure-play available. So if you believe in ETFs, as I do, this is the bet to make.

  Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM)

  With approximately $97 billion in assets under management,�Artisan Partners Asset Management (APAM) uses a decentralized and autonomous investment style that has made it very successful among asset managers. The stock went public in March 2013 at $30 per share, so investors who still held at the end of December were sitting on unrealized gains of 117% in just 10 months. That�� good in anybody�� book.

Top 5 Gas Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014: Compressco Partners LP (GSJK)

Compressco Partners, L.P. is a provider of wellhead compression-based production enhancement services (production enhancement services). The Company provides its services to a base of natural gas and oil exploration and production companies operating throughout many of the onshore producing regions of the United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Its production enhancement services primarily consist of wellhead compression, related liquids separation, gas metering, and vapor recovery services. It also provides ongoing well monitoring services, and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services in connection with its primary production enhancement services. It design and manufacture most of the compressor units it use to provide its production enhancement services. Compressco Partners GP, Inc. is the general partner of the Company. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Compression assets for gas lift markets as part of its defined strategic growth objectives.

GasJack unit fleet

The Company�� GasJack unit allows it to perform compression, liquids separation and optional gas metering services all from one skid. The Company focuses on the natural gas wells in its operating regions that produce between 30,000 and 300, 000 cubic feet of natural gas per day (Mcf/d) and less than 50 barrels of water per day. The Company primarily utilize its natural gas powered GasJack compressors, or GasJack units, to provide wellhead compression services. Its GasJack units increase gas production by reducing surface pressure, which allows wellbore fluids that would normally block gas flow to produce up the well. The 46-horsepower GasJack unit is an integrated power/compressor unit equipped with an industrial 460-cubic inch, V-8 engine that uses natural gas from the well to power one bank of cylinders that, in turn, powers the other bank of cylinders, which provide compression. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a fleet of 3,145 GasJack units.!

VJack unit fleet

The Company utilizes its electric VJack compressors, or VJack units, to provide its production enhancement services on wells located in larger, mature oil fields, such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, and in environmentally sensitive markets, such as California, when electric power is available at the production site. Its VJack unit is designed for vapor recovery applications (to capture natural gas vapors emitting from closed storage tanks after production and to reduce storage tank pressures) and backside pumping applications on oil wells (to reduce pressures caused by casing head gas in oil wells with pumping units). Based on GasJack unit technology, the VJack unit is capable of full wellbore stream production, and can handle up to 50 barrels per day of liquids on a standard skid package. As of December 31, 2011, it had a fleet of 50 VJack units. Its GasJack and VJack compressor units are mounted on steel skids.

ePumper system

Utilizing its ePumper system, SCADA satellite telemetry-based reporting system, it remotely monitor in real time, whether its services are being continuously provided at each well site. The ePumper system improves the response time of its field personnel.

Well Monitoring and Automated Sand Separation Services

The Company also provides ongoing well monitoring services and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services. Its well monitoring services consist of ongoing testing and evaluation of wells to determine how its wellhead compression services are optimizing the production from a well.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Energy sector gained 0.85 percent in the US market today. Among the energy stocks, McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) was down more than 9.3 percent, while Compressco Partners LP (NASDAQ: GSJK) tumbled around 5.3 percent.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Wellhead compression products manufacturer Compressco Partners (GSJK) raised its quarterly dividend 1.7% to 43.75 cents per share, payable on Feb. 14 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 31.
  GSJK Dividend Yield: 7.60%

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Energy sector gained 0.85 percent in the US market today. Among the energy stocks, McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) was down more than 9.3 percent, while Compressco Partners LP (NASDAQ: GSJK) tumbled around 5.3 percent.

Top 5 Gas Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014: SourcingLink.net Inc (SNET)

SourcingLink.net, Inc., incorporated in 1994, was involved in developing and deploying merchandise-sourcing solutions for the retail industry prior to its operating assets sale in March 2004. The Company's Internet-based, hosted solutions for the pre-order phase of business-to-business merchandise procurement enabled retailers to organize, automate and reduce the cost of their merchandise-sourcing activities by locating and connecting directly with their retail merchandise suppliers around the globe. Its solution, branded MySourcingCenter, provided an online location for search, display and comparison functions, and linked and managed the data and communications between retailers and merchandise suppliers in industry-specific private environments, organizing and automating sourcing or pre-order merchandise procurement activities over the Internet. The majority of the Company's revenue through the fiscal years ended March 31, 2001 (fiscal 2001) to 2003 (fiscal 2003) was generated from a contract entered into, in March 2000, with Carrefour S.A. After completion of the Carrefour agreement, SourcingLink.net, Inc. was unable to procure additional contracts to replace the revenue generated by the Carrefour agreement.

SourcingLink.net sold its operating assets and intellectual property, and its two customer contracts in two separate transactions, in March 2004, (collectively, the operating assets sale), and ceased its operating business at that time. Its fixed assets, software, intellectual property and customer contracts related to Internet-based merchandise sourcing solution were sold to a third party in Europe. The Company's list of potential customers and certain Lotus Notes templates related to its professional services business were sold to a separate foreign company.

Prior to the operating assets sale in March 2004, the Company also performed professional services that accounted for the majority of its revenue since fiscal 2001. Its professional services enabled customers to ! implement Internet-based electronic negotiations (eSourcing) solutions. SourcingLink.net's service offering was buyer auction programs, which encompassed assessment, savings delivery and training aimed at optimizing auction processes within the buying organization.

MySourcingCenter is an online sourcing solution for finding, displaying, comparing and negotiating the purchase of products. The Company provided customers with a turnkey solution, including project management for buyer rollout and both online and global helpdesk support for buyers and suppliers. Reporting and forms were standardized for suppliers and standard forms were also available for retailers. In addition, SourcingLink.net mapped standard supplier data to any forms specification the retailer may have had, providing a customized display to meet retailer requirements. All of the underlying software resided outside of customer firewalls in a third party co-location facility.

The Company's only customer for MySourcingCenter was the international purchasing department of France-based Leroy Merlin. It also signed a contract with a United States-based customer, for which initial planning had occurred prior to the operating assets sale in March 2004.

SourcingLink.net provided professional services in the area of Internet-based, pre-order merchandise procurement. It assisted retailers in the conduct of online real-time negotiation events and trained buying organizations to become autonomous in conducting such events. Related to the Company's Internet solution, it provided project management for retailer implementations of MySourcingCenter. SourcingLink.net provided services to Carrefour, from April 2000, through mid-fiscal 2004, under a three-year contract. This contract provided the majority of the Company's revenues during the prior three fiscal years. It also provided services to the WorldWide Retail Exchange and certain of its members. One such contract provided about one-third of its services revenue ! during fi! scal year 2004. The Company's professional services customers included Carrefour, under the Carrefour contract, and members of several industry exchanges, including the WorldWide Retail Exchange, a retail industry exchange with 60 members around the globe, and CPGmarkets, an exchange for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods, whose members are in Europe.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks IDGlobal Corp (OTCMKTS: IDGC), Embarr Downs Inc (OTCMKTS: EMBR) and SourcingLink.net, Inc (OTCMKTS: SNET) have been getting some extra attention in various investment newsletters or investor alerts lately as at least two of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions or other types of investor relations activities. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions or investor relations activities. But just how hot are these two small cap stocks? Here is a closer look and a quick reality check:

Top 5 Gas Utility Stocks To Buy For 2014: Global Mediacom Tbk PT (BMTR)

PT Global Mediacom Tbk is an Indonesia-based integrated media company. The Company has three business segments: content and advertising-based media, subscribers-based media, and media support and infrastructure. Its operations include content production, content distribution, television and radio broadcasting, newspaper, magazine, tabloids, telecommunication operator, mobile content aggregator, value added services provider and information technology system integrator. The Company has six direct subsidiaries, namely PT. Media Nusantara Citra Tbk, PT. MNC Sky Vision, PT. Sky Vision Networks, PT. Infokom Elektrindo, PT. Citra Kalimantan Energi and Global Mediacom International Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Weiyi Lim]

  The Jakarta Composite Index surged 2.2 percent as Global Mediacom (BMTR) climbed the most since October 2010. The rupiah slumped 5.9 percent in August, the biggest drop since November 2008. Malaysia�� ringgit posted its fourth monthly drop. South Korea�� Kospi Index posted the best week in a year as Samsung rallied a sixth day. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1 percent, adding to a 2 percent gain this week.

Best Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now

Best Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: PDC Energy Inc (PDCE)

PDC Energy, Inc. (PDC), incorporated on March 25, 1955, doing business as PDC Energy, is a domestic independent exploration and production company, which acquires, develops, explores, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil. Its Western Operating Region is focused on development in the Wattenberg Field in Colorado, particularly in the liquid-rich horizontal Niobrara play and on the ongoing development of refractures and recompletions of its Wattenberg wells. In its Eastern Operating Region, it is focused on development activity in the liquid-rich portion of the Utica Shale play in Ohio. The Company owns an interest in approximately 7,200 gross producing wells and maintained an average production rate of 135.6 One million cubic feet of natural gas volume (MMcfe) per day for the year ended December 31, 2012, which was comprised of 65.3% natural gas, 10.2% NGLs and 24.5% crude oil. It divides its operating activities into two segments: Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, and Gas Marketing. It divides its Western Operating Region into two areas: the Wattenberg Field and Piceance Basin. On February 28, 2012, the Company divested its Permian Basin assets. In May 2012, it announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Core Wattenberg assets that contain liquid-rich horizontal drilling opportunities. The effective date of the transaction is April 1, 2012. The assets are located in the Core Wattenberg Field of Weld and Adams Counties, Colorado and are approximately 94%-operated. The acquired assets include an estimated 35,000 net acres prospective for horizontal development of the Niobrara and Codell formations. In July 2012, the Company acquired core Wattenberg assets. In September 2012, Miller Energy Resources, Inc. acquired its Tennessee assets. On June 18, 2013, PDC Energy Inc announced that it has sold its non-core Colorado natural gas assets.

Oil and Gas E! xploration and Production

The Companys Oil and Gas Exploration and Production segment reflects revenues and expenses from the production and sale of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil. It sells its natural gas to marketers, utilities, industrial end-users and other wholesale purchasers. It sells natural gas, which it produces under contracts with indexed or New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) monthly pricing provisions with the remaining production sold under contracts with daily pricing provisions. Its contracts include provisions wherein prices change monthly with changes in the market, for which adjustments may be made based on whether a well delivers to a gathering or transmission line, quality of natural gas and prevailing supply and demand conditions. It does not refine any of its crude oil production. It sells its crude oil to oil marketers and refiners. Its crude oil production is sold to purchasers at or near its wells under both short and long-term purchase contracts with month ly pricing provisions based on an average daily price. Its NGLs are sold to one NGL marketer in the Wattenberg Field. Its NGL production is sold under both short and long-term purchase contracts with monthly pricing provisions based on an average daily price.

The Companys Oil and Gas Exploration and Production segment also reflects revenues and expenses related to well operations and pipeline services. It is paid a monthly operating fee for the portion of each well it operates that is owned by others, including its affiliated partnerships. It constructs, owns and operates gathering systems in its areas of operations. Its natural gas and NGLs are transported through its own and third party gathering systems and pipelines. It enters into firm transportation agreements to provide for pipeline capacity to flow and sell a portion PDC Energy, Inc. (PDC), incorporated on March 25, 1955, doing business as PDC Energy, is a domestic independent exploration and producti on company, which acquires, develop! s, explor! es, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil. Its Western Operating Region is focused on development in the Wattenberg Field in Colorado, particularly in the liquid-rich horizontal Niobrara play and on the ongoing development of refractures and recompletions of its Wattenberg wells. In its Eastern Operating Region, it is focused on development activity in the liquid-rich portion of the Utica Shale play in Ohio. The Company owns an interest in approximately 7,200 gross producing wells and maintained an average production rate of 135.6 One million cubic feet of natural gas volume (MMcfe) per day for the year ended December 31, 2012, which was comprised of 65.3% natural gas, 10.2% NGLs and 24.5% crude oil. It divides its operating activities into two segments: Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, and Gas Marketing. It divides its Western Operating Region into two areas: the Wattenberg Field and Piceance B asin. On February 28, 2012, the Company divested its Permian Basin assets. In May 2012, it announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Core Wattenberg assets that contain liquid-rich horizontal drilling opportunities. The effective date of the transaction is April 1, 2012. The assets are located in the Core Wattenberg Field of Weld and Adams Counties, Colorado and are approximately 94%-operated. The acquired assets include an estimated 35,000 net acres prospective for horizontal development of the Niobrara and Codell formations. In July 2012, the Company acquired core Wattenberg assets. In September 2012, Miller Energy Resources, Inc. acquired its Tennessee assets.

Oil and Gas Exploration and Production

The Companys Oil and Gas Exploration and Production segment reflects revenues and expenses from the production and sale of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil. It sells its natural gas to marketers, utilities, industrial end-users and other wholesale purchasers. It sells natural gas, which it produces under contracts with indexed o! r New Yor! k Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) monthly pricing provisions with the remaining production sold under contracts with daily pricing provisions. Its contracts include provisions wherein prices change monthly with changes in the market, for which adjustments may be made based on whether a well delivers to a gathering or transmission line, quality of natural gas and prevailing supply and demand conditions. It does not refine any of its crude oil production. It sells its crude oil to oil marketers and refiners. Its crude oil production is sold to purchasers at or near its wells under both short and long-term purchase contracts with monthly pricing provisions based on an average daily price. Its NGLs are sold to one NGL marketer in the Wattenberg Field. Its NGL production is sold under both short and long-term purchase contracts with monthly pricing provisions based on an av erage daily price.

The Companys Oil and Gas Exploration and Production segment also reflects revenues and expenses related to well operations and pipeline services. It is paid a monthly operating fee for the portion of each well it operates that is owned by others, including its affiliated partnerships. It constructs, owns and operates gathering systems in its areas of operations. Its natural gas and NGLs are transported through its own and third party gathering systems and pipelines. It enters into firm transportation agreements to provide for pipeline capacity to flow and sell a portion

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Energy shares dropped around 0.22 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), PDC Energy (NASDAQ: PDCE), and YPF SA (NYSE: YPF).

• [By Seth Jayson]

  PDC Energy (Nasdaq: PDCE  ) reported earnings on May 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), PDC Energy whiffed on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

!
• [By Garrett Cook]

  Energy shares dropped around 0.22 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), PDC Energy (NASDAQ: PDCE), and YPF SA (NYSE: YPF).

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/best-electric-utility-companies-to-own-in-right-now.html

Top 10 Safest Companies To Buy For 2015

Top 10 Safest Companies To Buy For 2015: Zhongpin Inc.(HOGS)

Zhongpin Inc. engages in the processing and distribution of meat and food products primarily in the People?s Republic of China. The company provides pork and pork products, such as chilled pork, frozen pork, hog by-products and variety meats, and prepared meats; and vegetable and fruit products, including asparagus, sweet corn, broccoli, mushrooms, lima beans, strawberries, and capsicums. It sells its products fast food companies, processing factories, school cafeterias, factory canteens, hotels, army bases, and government departments, as well as directly to retail outlets, including supermarkets. The company also exports its products to Europe, Hong Kong, and other countries in Asia. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 157 showcase stores, 1,072 branded stores, and 2,097 supermarket counter locations. The company is headquartered in Changge City, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Obviously, the big news for Smithfield during the quarter came from Shuanghui International's offer to buy out the company for $34 per share. The $4.7 billion offer has raised some nationalistic concerns, as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. will have to approve the merger, but Smithfield CEO Larry Pope said last month when the deal was announced that it believes the deal won't have an effect on the company's operations. In fact, the combination of China's largest meat processor and the world's biggest pork producer could produce a formidable opponent to industry rivals. In particular, Chinese pork producer Zhongpin (NASDAQ: HOGS  ) will inevitably find itself under pressure if the deal goes through, as Shuanghui puts itself in a stronger competitive position in the industry.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-safest-companies-to-buy-for-2015-2.html

Best Consumer Stocks For 2015

Best Consumer Stocks For 2015: Sealed Air Corporation(SEE)

Sealed Air Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides food safety and security, facility hygiene, and product protection solutions worldwide. Its Food Packaging segment provides shrink bags and vacuum packaging products; packaging materials for cook-in applications; laminated and coextruded rollstock packaging materials used in thermoforming and form, fill, and seal applications; and associated packaging equipment and systems, including bag loaders, dispensers, and vacuum chamber systems. The company?s Food Solutions segment offers case-ready packaging offerings; ready meals packaging technologies; vertical pouch packaging solutions for packaging flowable food products; foam and plastic trays; absorbent products for food packaging; and related packaging equipment, including vacuum chamber systems. Its Protective Packaging segment provides air cellular packaging materials; polyolefin performance shrink films for product display; shrink packaging equipment systems; pol yurethane foam packaging systems that provide protective packaging; lightweight and tear-resistant mailers and bags; inflatable packaging systems; paper cushioning systems that include recycled paper and automated dispensing equipment; paper packaging products; and suspension and retention packaging products. The company?s Diversey Segment offers a range of products and services, such as kitchen cleaning products; food and beverage and manufacturing and processing products; floor care products and systems; restroom care and other housekeeping products; and laundry products, as well as consulting services. Sealed Air Corporation also provides specialty materials products to fabricators and manufacturers; and medical applications products and solutions to medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. The company markets its products primarily under the Bubble Wrap, Cryovac, and Diversey brands. Sealed Air Corporation was founded in 1960 and is headquarte! red in El mwood Park, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ovenerio]

  The company has a current ROE of 14.5% which is higher than the industry median. Also, it is higher than the ones exhibit by Sealed Air Corp (SEE) and Sonoco Products Co (SON). In general, analysts consider ROE ratios in the 15-20% range as representing attractive levels for investment. So for investors looking at those levels, MeadWestvaco Corp (MWV) and Packaging Corp of America (PKG) could be the options. It is very important to understand this metric before investing, and it is important to look at the trend in ROE over time.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Sealed Air(SEE) has fallen 0.7% to $28.35 after the food-safety company was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight atBarclays.

  Towers Watson(TW) has dropped 0.5% to $102.49 after it was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. It was also upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  On the upside, Sealed Air (SEE) has gained 8.4% to $30.90 after it said it earned 39 cents share, beating forecasts for 34 cents, and offered strong guidance. Gilead Sciences (GILD) has risen 4.3% to $72.50 after it reported a profit of 52 cents, beating forecasts for 48 cents.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/best-consumer-stocks-for-2015-2.html

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Invest In Right Now

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pacific Ethanol Inc.(PEIX)

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. produces and markets low carbon renewable fuels in the United States. It sells ethanol to gasoline refining and distribution companies; provides ethanol transportation, storage, and delivery services in the Western United States, primarily in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, and Washington; and markets ethanol co-products, including wet distiller grains and syrup to dairy operators and animal feed distributors. The company also provides operations, maintenance, and accounting services to a cellulosic integrated bio-refinery in Boardman, Oregon. Pacific Ethanol, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake Mann]

  Energy has been the sector most beaten up in 2014. It has yielded up a number of deeply undervalued companies and it's likely that it enjoys some rebound in 2015. My favorite companies are Adams Resources & Energy Inc (NYSE: AE), VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY), Pacific Ethanol Inc (NASDAQ: PEIX), Statoil ASA (ADR) (NYSE: STO), VOC Energy Trust (NYSE: VOC), Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (NYSE: GTE), Petrobras Argentina SA ADR (NYSE: PZE), and PBF Energy Inc (NYSE: PBF), all of which are cheap on an acquirer's multiple basis.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Energy shares dropped by 0.26 percent in the US market today. Among the sector stocks, Endeavour International (NYSE: END) was down more than 5.6 percent, while Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) tumbled around 2.2 percent.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Have you ever noticed how the worst time to get into a stock is when the buzz is the loudest, while the best time to sneak into a stock is when nobody's talking about it? Yeah, well, you can add Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ:PEIX) to the list of ! names that's pretty much fooled everyone, then, and now. PEIX was all the rage five years ago, and ended up getting trashed between 2007 and 2008. Despite repeated attempts to get, multiple headaches for the ethanol industry just never let the stock pick itself up. Now, a full year after anybody stopped caring about the stock (bearishly or bullishly), and Pacific Ethanol has quietly doled out a huge 200% gain since November.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/10-best-forestry-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now.html

Hot Food Companies To Invest In Right Now

Hot Food Companies To Invest In Right Now: 1-800 FLOWERS.COM Inc.(FLWS)

1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. together with its subsidiaries, operates as a florist and gift retailer in the United States. The company offers a range of products, including fresh-cut flowers, floral arrangements and plants, gifts, popcorn, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates, candy, and wine through its telephonic and online sales channels, company-owned and operated retail floral stores, and franchised stores. It provides gourmet gifts, such as popcorn and specialty treats through thepopcornfactory.com; cookies and baked gifts through cheryls.com; chocolates and confections through fanniemay.com and harrylondon.com; gift baskets and towers through 1800baskets.com; Celebrations brand party ideas and planning tips through celebrations.com; and customizable invitations, announcements, and greeting cards through finestationery.com. As of July 3, 2011, the company operated 2 floral retail stores, 1 fulfillment center, and approximately 100 franchised stores located within the United States. It has strategic online relationships with Facebook, Google, AOL, Yahoo!, and Microsoft. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Carle Place, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on 1-800-Flowers.com (Nasdaq: FLWS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-food-companies-to-invest-in-right-now.html

Top 5 Small Cap Companies To Own For 2015

Top 5 Small Cap Companies To Own For 2015: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is! based in Chennai, India. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY).

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY). Utilities shares dropped by 0.11 percent in the US market today.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-small-cap-companies-to-own-for-2015-2.html

Top 10 Gold Companies For 2014

Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) recently reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.31, falling well short of analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 and the $0.50 EPS the company earned in same period a year ago. Despite the miss, President and CEO Chuck Jeannes confirmed the company's full-year guidance, focusing on positive results, favorable growth prospects, and controlled costs. Goldcorp has faced the same pressures that have plagued the two top gold producers, Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM  ) ��weakening gold prices and escalating costs. Ultimately, Jeannes believes the 12-year bull market remains intact, which, if true, makes recent weakness in the stock a buying opportunity.�

A deeper look at the numbers
For the quarter, Goldcorp had revenues of $1.0 billion leading to net income of $253 million; this is a year-over-year decline from the $404 million earned in the first quarter of 2012. The company reported sales of 595,100 ounces with an all-in sustaining cost of $1,135 per ounce. The average price per ounce received by Goldcorp in the quarter was $1,622, a roughly 5% decline from the $1707 per ounce earned in the same quarter a year earlier. The company also reported $2 billion in cash and $4 billion in liquidity; the latter is an important part of Goldcorp's contingency plan should market condition worsen.

Hot Japanese Stocks To Buy For 2015: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  We've seen the flip side of that trend play out in recent years, as rock-bottom interest rates in the U.S. have encouraged investment in higher-yielding income investments in places like Australia, Brazil, and South Africa. Interest from foreign investors got to be so extensive in Brazil that the federal government imposed a tax on foreign investors in bonds in order to curb demand and slow the pace of the Brazilian real's appreciation. Exchange-rate issues also likely played a role in the health of the commodities markets, as mining giants BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP  ) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO  ) in Australia benefited from increased demand largely for base metals. Similarly, South African gold miners AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU  ) and Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI  ) outperformed rivals from elsewhere in the world, benefiting from strength in the South African rand currency.

• [By Profit Confidential]

  Graham Ehm, Executive Vice President of South African-based AngloGold Ashanti Limited (NYSE: AU), one of the biggest gold producers in the global economy, stated the company is looking to save $500 million over the next 18 months, as capital expenditures will only be going towards their highest-quality assets. (Source: Mining Weekly, August 5, 2013.)

• [By Jim Powell]

  In addition to holding Goldcorp and Barrick Gold, the fund tracks the performance of Newmont Mining (NEM), Newcrest Mining (NCMGY), AngloGold Ashanti (AU), and several other industry leaders.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But even bigger damage came from gold-mining stocks. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU  ) has lost almost 60% of its value in 2013, with the drop in gold prices having an outsized impact on the gold miner's prospects. AngloGold has also suffered from investors moving away from emerging markets like South Africa in favor of U.S. stocks, as fears of the Federal Reserve's exit from its quantitative easing program have reduced overall risk tolerance among many investors.

Top 10 Gold Companies For 2014: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

New Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of mineral properties. The company primarily explore for gold, silver, and copper deposits. Its operating properties include the Mesquite gold mine in the United States; the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in Mexico; and the Peak gold-copper mine in Australia. The company also has development projects, including the New Afton gold, silver, and copper project in Canada; and a 30% interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile. The company was formerly known as DRC Resources Corporation and changed its name to New Gold Inc. in June 2005. New Gold Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Even bad news has failed to dent the rise in gold stocks today. NewGold (NGD), for instance, has gained 1.8% to $7.49 despite the fact that the wall of one of its mines collapsed. The Wall Street Journal has the details:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Bridges favorite stocks include Goldcorp, Newmont, Eldorado Gold (EGO) and New Gold (NGD).

  Note, however, that these recommendations are all qualified in one way or another. Investors should keep that in mind before going all in on the gold miners.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  January is nearing an end, and that means one thing: Gold miners will start announcing earnings. New Gold (NGD) will get things started on Feb 6, followed by Kinross Gold (KGC) on Feb. 12 and Goldcorp (GG) and Barrick Gold (ABX) on Feb. 13.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Hamed singles out Goldcorp (GG) and Yamana Gold (AUY) as two companies that have strong production growth, falling costs, declining capital obligations and less debt than competitors. New Gold (NGD), meanwhile, should have the lowest all-on costs in the group at $731 an ounce, but its capital spending is likely to notes, Hamed says. Hamed rates Goldcorp and Yamana Overweight, while New Gold is rated Equal Weight.

Top 10 Gold Companies For 2014: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Basic materials shares fell 1.04 percent on Friday. Top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), down 5.5 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), off 5.4 percent.

Top 10 Gold Companies For 2014: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: Fossil Group (NASDAQ: FOSL), CST Brands (NYSE: CST), First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG) Economic Releases Expected: US retail sales, US redbook, German ZEW economic sentiment, Chinese retail sales, Chinese industrial production

  Wednesday

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  While many precious-metals companies have been in a slump of late, there is one that belongs perpetually in your portfolio: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) . The company is not like other miners -- including Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) -- in that it has a unique business plan that insulates it against many of the vagaries of the mining business. Moreover, because silver will always have a significant industrial demand component, even with the heightened volatility you see in the silver market, maintaining exposure to silver is appropriate.

• [By Lisa Levin] Related AG Morning Market Losers First Majestic Silver (AG) in Focus: Stock Rises 5.9% - Tale of the Tape Related ARCI Top 4 Stocks In The Electronics Stores Industry With The Highest ROE Morning Market Movers

  The Dow jumped 0.77% to 17,074.40, while the NASDAQ composite index rose 0.47% to 4,436.25. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.53% to 1,978.08.

Top 10 Gold Companies For 2014: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  Other gold miners that have seen intensive insider buying during the past four months include St. Andrew Goldfields (STADF.PK), Continental Gold (CGOOF.PK), Kinross (KGC) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  As a result, Chidley and team upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) and�Yamana Gold (AUY) to Neutral from Underweight, and raised Barrick Gold (ABX), Goldcorp (GG) and Iamgold (IAG) to Overweight from Neutral.�Gold Fields (GFI) was downgraded “due to increased risk and also reduced expectations for the South Deep operation,” Chidley says.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  In the longer term, IAMGOLD could potential challenges from higher taxes on some of its holdings. The Canadian province of Quebec is considering changing the current 16% profit tax either to what amounts to a gross revenue tax or to a more progressive profit tax with higher rates on high-margin mining operations. Under current conditions, those taxes might not have much effect either on IAMGOLD or rivals Agnico-Eagle (NYSE: AEM  ) and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) , both of which also have projects in the province, but it's hard to predict how a changes might affect future results if they take effect.

Top 10 Gold Companies For 2014: Pershing Gold Corp (PGLC)

Pershing Gold Corporation, incorporated on August 2, 2007, is a gold and precious metals exploration company. The Company is pursuing exploration and development opportunities primarily in Nevada. It is focused on exploration at its Relief Canyon properties in Pershing County in northwestern Nevada. None of the Company�� properties contain proven and probable reserves, and all of its activities on all of its properties are exploratory in nature. The Company seeks properties with known mineralization that are in an advanced stage of exploration and have previously undergone some drilling but are under-explored. It is focused on exploration of the Relief Canyon properties, recommissioning the Relief Canyon gold processing facility and, if economically feasible, commencing mining at the Relief Canyon Mine.

Relief Canyon Mine Property

The Company�� Relief Canyon properties totals approximately 25,000 acres and consists of approximately 940 owned unpatented mining claims, 120 owned millsite claims, 170 leased unpatented mining claims, and leased and subleased private lands. The Company drilled 44 holes for approximately 28,500 feet in 2013. This drilling was on land adjacent to the current deposit and focused on extending and upgrading the existing deposit. In January 2013 the Company reported 32,541,000 tons of mineralized material at an average grade of 0.017 ounces of gold per ton and a cut-off grade of 0.0046 ounces of gold per ton.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By ValueInvestor7]

  I listen to investing advice from self-made billionaire investors, and I try to ignore advice from everyone else. I suspect readers on this website will appreciate this, where thankfully the Focus is still Gurus. To this end, I bring you the instructive story of Pershing Gold Corp (PGLC) and Levon Resources (TSE: LVN) (LVNVF).

Top 10 Gold Companies For 2014: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Clash of the titans
  When bears are raging on the gold bullion market, it's not surprising to see gold stocks getting mauled as well. Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  ) was the biggest loser in the sector, losing a quarter of its market cap on no company-specific news, though a report last Friday indicated that a large number of hedge funds had recently dumped their positions in the mid-tier miner. Yet it wasn't all that much better among the majors, either, as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) fell almost 13% and Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC  ) was down 14%.

• [By Patricio Kehoe] some future and gave several reasons for my bearish stance towards the stock. A small market, high geopolitical risk in some of the countries the firm operates, along with overexpansion in times of fluctuating gold prices gave tune to the massive shedding of shares by investment gurus. Five months have past since I last considered Golden Star�� potential, and everything indicates the situation has not changed.

  Guru Activity Shows a Clear Tendency

  Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and Arnold Schneider (Trades, Portfolio), had already sold their entire holdings in the company by October 2013, indicating they had little faith in the gold miner�� recovery. By the end of the year, Jim Simons' (Trades, Portfolio) Renaissance Technologies took a similar decision, reducing its stake in the firm by 32%. This tendency towards the sale of Golden Star stock was duly noted by investors and analysts alike, and concurs with the company�� poor performance.

  A Look at the Numbers

  In an industry plagued by fluctuating metal prices, operating with lofty margins can be quite helpful. Yet Golden Star cannot afford such luxuries. With an operating margin of 0.1% and a net margin of -56.8% the firm is in a tight spot, especially when compared to the industry average. Unlike its industry peers��median, which are of 2.26% and -0.09%, respectively, the Toronto-based gold miner is struggling to generate decent cash flow levels. Further metrics depict a even worse situation for shareholders: return on equity is currently at -370% and revenue growth is estimated to reach a poor 2.5%. Purchasing overpriced assets, relative to current gold prices, is surely one of the reasons for such grim figures, as financial losses have taken their toll on Golden Star.

  The announcement of its 2013 full year, and fourth quarter earnings only helped to add to shareholders��concerns. A 15% decline in revenue was expected by those

• [By Sean Williams]

  Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  )
  It's simple physics: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. When gold prices nosedived earlier this week, gold miners with historically higher operating costs took the brunt of the hit. For the most part, that meant that development-stage miners, and those operating in Africa, where labor and political costs make cost-effective mining a challenge, took it on the chin. Possibly no stock was hammered more than Golden Star Resources, a gold miner in Ghana, which lost about one-quarter of its value on Monday alone.

Top 5 Sliver Companies To Invest In 2015

Top 5 Sliver Companies To Invest In 2015: Blonder Tongue Laboratories Inc. (BDR)

Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc. operates as a technology-development and manufacturing company primarily in the United States. It delivers television (TV) signal encoding, transcoding, digital transport, and broadband product solutions for a range of applications. The company offers analog video headend products, including integrated receiver/decoders, modulators, demodulators, channel combiners, and processors for use by system operators for signal acquisition, processing, and manipulation to create an analog channel lineup for further transmission. It also provides digital video headend products comprising high definition (HD) and standard definition MPEG-2 encoders and multiplexers, as well as quadrature phase shift key to quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) transcoders, digital QAM up-converters, and multiplexers; and digital 8VSB/QAM HDTV processors for the delivery of HDTV programming; and agile QAM Modulators. The company offers its digital video headend product s for use by system operators for the acquisition, processing, and manipulation of digital video signals. In addition, it provides hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) distribution products comprising broadband amplifiers, directional taps, splitters, and wall outlets for coax distribution and fiber optic transmitters, receivers, and couplers. The company offers its HFC distribution products to transport signals from the headend to homes, apartment units, hotel rooms, offices, or other terminal location along a fiber optic, coax, or HFC distribution network. It serves TV broadcasters, cable system operators, and lodging/hospitality video and high-speed Internet system operators, as well as institutional system operators or contractors that serve schools, universities, hospitals, prisons, corporations, sports stadiums, and airports. The company sells its products throu! gh sales force and stocking distributors. Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in O l d Bridge, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Bells should be ringing when you read that. Look at AEY's business versus that of a competitor like Blonder Tongue (BDR). I'm just going to use GuruFocus data here. You can find the 10-year financial data for BDR here and the 10-year financial data for AEY here.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-sliver-companies-to-invest-in-2015-2.html

Best Defense Companies To Own For 2015

Best Defense Companies To Own For 2015: Bombardier Inc (BDRAF)

Bombardier, Inc. is a Canada-based aerospace and transportation company. The Company operates in two segments: aerospace and rail transportation. The aerospace segment is structured by market segment (business aircraft, commercial aircraft and services), which is reflective of its organizational structure. The transportation segment is structured by market segment (rolling stock, services, system and signalling), which is reflective of its organizational structure, and by geographic region (Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and Rest of world). As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 80 production and engineering sites in 26 countries, and a worldwide network of service centre. In May 2012, it launched the Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 aircraft programs. In October 2013, the Company announced that it has opened Bombardier's new wing manufacturing and assembly facility in Belfast. In December 2013, the Company sold Flexjet's activities to Flexjet, LLC. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  Yet there is a fourth major competitor in the commercial aircraft market -- Bombardier (NASDAQOTH: BDRAF  ) -- and it has its own advanced-technology airplane. The company's CSeries plane is expected to make its first flight as early as this week. Yet the CSeries put up a goose egg at the Paris Air Show, failing to notch a single order. While Bombardier has nearly 200 firm orders for the CSeries, the company will rapidly burn through that backlog once it starts CSeries mass production.

• [By Quick Pen]

  Why are there talks about slowing down?
  In one of my previous articles where I was speaking of Bombardiers (BDRAF) troubles because of the drop in oil prices, I had mentioned that analysts are expecting the oil prices to drop as low as $60 a barrel. It seems that time has come as Brent Crude oil price touched $60.79 a barrel according to NASDAQ. The following is chart shows the fl! uctuations in the Brent Crude Oil Spot Price. The latest spot price is as of December 15, 2014.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-defense-companies-to-own-for-2015-3.html

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2014

It seems that every year�AMD (NYSE: AMD  ) makes a pretty large fuss about a next-generation mobile product, but year after year these products don't materialize in many shipping designs. Some argue that the same argument could be applied to larger PC chip rival Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) , but there are numerous quality Windows-based tablets shipping with Intel silicon, even if Intel's Bay Trail on Android continues to be MIA. So a simple question that AMD investors should try to answer is: Where are all of the AMD tablets?

A trip to AMD's website: Trying to buy an AMD tablet
To see what kind of progress AMD has made in securing tablet designs, a trip to AMD's website is in order. Clicking on the "where to buy" button on AMD's tablet page reveals some interesting results. Of the 10 tablets available in total, the breakdown by chip is as follows:

AMD Dual-Core A4 Series: four tablets. AMD Dual-Core Z-Series APU: three tablets. AMD Quad-Core A6-Series: three tablets.

Of the four dual-core A4 based devices, three were 11.6-inch designs and one was a 13.3-inch detachable Windows 8 PC. Not a single one was a "tablet" in the sense of a traditional 10.1-inch or 9.7-inch design. Of the quad-core A6 based devices, all three were 13.3-inch designs from Hewlett-Packard. And naturally, the older Z-series APU based designs weren't anything to write home about, particularly as reviews panned both the performance and battery lives of products based on this chip (since the chip was unsuitable for thin and light tablets).

Top 5 Electric Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Durata Therapeutics Inc (DRTX)

Durata Therapeutics, Inc., incorporated on November 4, 2009, is a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with infectious diseases and acute illnesses. The Company enroll and dose patients in two global Phase III clinical trials with its product candidate, dalbavancin, for the treatment of patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (abSSSI). Dalbavancin is an intravenous antibiotic product candidate designed for once-weekly dosing. In addition to abSSSI, the Company focuses on the development of dalbavancin for additional indications, including osteomyelitis, diabetic foot infection and pneumonia.

As of December 31, 2011, Dalbavancin had already completed three Phase III clinical trials, in which more than 1,000 patients in total received dalbavancin. Dalbavancin achieved its primary efficacy endpoint of non-inferiority in each of these three completed Phase III clinical trials when compared to linezolid, cefazolin or vancomycin, three of the standard-of-care agents for uncomplicated skin and skin structure infections (uSSSI), and complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI). Its two ongoing Phase III clinical trials are designed to compare dalbavancin to vancomycin, with an option to switch to oral linezolid, under the new FDA draft guidance.

The Company competes with Pfizer, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Theravance, Inc., Forest Laboratories, Inc., Sanofi-Aventis Ltd., The Medicines Company, Trius Therapeutics, Inc., Cempra, Inc., Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Nabriva Therapeutics AG, Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bob's Stocks]

  Durata Therapeutics (DRTX) is developing Dalbavancin, a once a week, intravenous antibiotic product candidate, for the treatment of patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, or ABSSSI. The company is expected to file a NDA (New Drug Application) at any moment and MAA (Marketing Authorization Application) at the end of 2013.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Durata Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DRTX) shares climbed 5.30% to $14.18. The volume of Durata Therapeutics shares traded was 861% higher than normal. The FDA Advisory Committee unanimously recommended the approval of Durata's Dalvance.

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2014: Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (CNAT)

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc., incorporated on July 13, 2005, is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of medicines to treat liver disease. The Company is developing its lead compound, emricasan, for the treatment of patients in orphan populations with chronic liver disease and acute exacerbations of chronic liver disease. The Company has designed a clinical program to demonstrate the therapeutic benefit of emricasan across the spectrum of fibrotic liver disease. The Company�� initial development strategy targets indications for emricasan with high unmet clinical need in orphan patient populations, such as patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), chronic liver failure (CLF), and patients who have developed liver fibrosis post-orthotopic liver transplant due to Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV-POLT).

The Company has completed two placebo-controlled Phase II trials in patients with liver disease showing reductions in ALT levels that occur rapidly, within as little as one day after initiation of therapy, and are maintained throughout the treatment period. In the Company�� 204-patient Phase 2b trial, it also measured cCK18, an important biomarker of apoptosis and disease severity. Emricasan has been generally well-tolerated in all of the clinical studies. As of July 23, 2013, the Company had not generated any revenue.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Recent IPO�FibroGen Inc (NASDAQ: FGEN) surged 22.96% today, reportedly after the journal Hepatology published the results of a workshop between the FDA and the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) which laid out criteria for a phase three study of a treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)���meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of potential small cap or mid cap liver disease stock peers like Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: CNAT), Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ICPT) and Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp (NASDAQ: RPTP) which rose 24.35%, 10.98% and 2.02%, respectively. According to Investors Business Daily, NASH (the more serious version of fatty liver disease) is potentially an enormous market with about 6 million�US patients but the�lack of previous treatments had left it unclear how the FDA would measure success against the disease while FibroGen Inc doesn't yet have a NASH human trial in the works, it has said it hopes to start one for its lead candidate FG-3019 (its in mid-stage trials for pulmonary fibrosis and liver fibrosis due to hepatitis B infection).

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s(CNAT) shares jumped 26% to $7.75 premarket after the biotechnology firm said its treatment for chronic liver disease has been granted a status that could mean quicker approval.

• [By John Udovich]

  While Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ICPT) surged earlier this year and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHN) has surged this week after Merck & Co. Inc (NYSE: MRK) agreed to purchase hepatitis stock�Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDIX) at a 239% premium, it seems the herd has realized that small cap Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: CNAT) is also a liver disease stock as shares suddenly surged 56.69% on no apparent company news. But just what is�Conatus Pharmaceuticals and is it worth taking a chance on?

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2014: Kellogg Co (K)

Kellogg Company (Kellogg), incorporated in 1922, is engaged in the manufacture and marketing of ready-to-eat cereal and convenience foods. Kellogg�� principal products are ready-to-eat cereals and convenience foods, such as cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles and veggie foods. As of February 28, 2012, these products were, manufactured by the Company in 17 countries and marketed in more than 180 countries. It also markets cookies, crackers, and other convenience foods, under brands, such as Kellogg��, Keebler, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin and Famous Amos, to supermarkets in the United States. Its cereal products are generally marketed under the Kellogg�� name and are sold principally to the grocery trade through direct sales forces for resale to consumers. Effective June 1, 2012, Procter & Gamble Co announced that it has completed the sale of its Pringles business to Kellogg.

As of February 28, 2012, Kellogg operated manufacturing plants and distribution and warehousing facilities totaling more than 30 million square feet of building area in the United States and other countries. Its manufacturing facilities in the United States include four cereal plants and warehouses located in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee; Omaha, Nebraska and other plants or facilities in San Jose, California; Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, and Rome, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Seelyville, Indiana; Kansas City, Kansas; Florence, Louisville, and Pikeville, Kentucky; Grand Rapids and Wyoming, Michigan; Blue Anchor, New Jersey; Cary and Charlotte, North Carolina; Cincinnati, West Jefferson, and Zanesville, Ohio; Muncy, Pennsylvania; Rossville, Tennessee; Clearfield, Utah; and Allyn, Washington. As of February 28, 2012, outside the United States, the Company had, additional manufacturing locations, some with warehousing facilities, in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, S! outh Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and Venezuela.

The Company�� trademarks include Kellogg�� for cereals, convenience foods and its other products, and the brand names of certain ready-to-eat cereals, including All-Bran, Apple Jacks, Bran Buds, Cinnamon Crunch Crispix, Choco Zucaritas, Cocoa Krispies, Complete, Kellogg�� Corn Flakes, Corn Pops, Cracklin��Oat Bran, Crispix, Cruncheroos, Crunchmania, Crunchy Nut, Eggo, Kellogg�� FiberPlus, Froot Loops, Kellogg�� Frosted Flakes, Kellogg�� Krave, Frosted Krispies, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Fruit Harvest, Just Right, Kellogg�� Low Fat Granola, Mueslix, Pops, Product 19, Kellogg�� Raisin Bran, Raisin Bran Crunch, Rice Krispies, Rice Krispies Treats, Smacks/Honey Smacks, Smart Start, Kellogg�� Smorz, Special K, Special K Red Berries and Zucaritas in the United States and elsewhere; Crusli, Sucrilhos, Vector, Musli, NutriDia, and Choco Krispis for cereals in Latin America. Vive and Vector are brands in Canada; Coco Pops, Chocos, Frosties, Fruit�� Fibre, Kellogg�� Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes, Honey Loops, Kellogg�� Extra, Sustain, Muslix, Country Store, Ricicles, Smacks, Start, Pops, Optima and Tresor for cereals in Europe; and Cerola, Sultana Bran, Chex, Frosties, Goldies, Rice Bubbles, Nutri-Grain, Kellogg�� Iron Man Food, and BeBig for cereals in Asia and Australia. In additional, the Company trademarks are the names of certain combinations of ready-to-eat Kellogg�� cereals, including Fun Pak, Jumbo, and Variety.

Other Company brand names include Kellogg�� Corn Flake Crumbs; All-Bran, Choco Krispis, Froot Loops, Special K, NutriDia, Kuadri-Krispis, Zucaritas and Crusli for cereal bars, Komplete for biscuits; and Kaos for snacks in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America; Pop-Tarts and Pop-Tarts Ice Cream Shoppe for toaster pastries; Pop-Tarts Mini Crisps for crackers; Eggo, Eggo FiberPlus and Nutri-Grain for frozen waffles and pancakes; Rice Krispies Treats for baked snacks and convenience foods; Special K! and Spec! ial K2O for flavored protein water mixes and protein shakes, and Nutri-Grain cereal bars, Nutri-Grain yogurt bars, for convenience foods in the United States and elsewhere. Brands like K-Time, Rice Bubbles, Day Dawn, Be Natural, Sunibrite and LCMs for convenience foods in Asia and Australia; Nutri-Grain Squares, Nutri-Grain Elevenses, and Rice Krispies Squares for convenience foods in Europe; Kashi and GoLean for certain cereals, nutrition bars, and mixes; TLC for granola and cereal bars, crackers and cookies; Special K and Vector for meal replacement products; Bear Naked for granola cereal, bars and trail mix and Morningstar Farms, Loma Linda, Natural Touch, Gardenburger and Worthington for certain meat and egg alternatives. It also markets convenience foods under trademarks and trade names, which include Keebler, Austin, Keebler Baker�� Treasures, Cheez-It, Chips Deluxe, Club, E. L. Fudge, Famous Amos, Fudge Shoppe, Kellogg�� FiberPlus, Gripz, Jack��, Jackson��, Krispy, Mother��, Murray, Murray Sugar Free, Ready Crust, Right Bites, Sandies, Special K, Soft Batch, Stretch Island, Sunshine, Toasteds, Town House, Vienna Creams, Vienna Fingers, Wheatables and Zesta.

The Company�� trademarks also include logos and depictions of certain animated characters in conjunction with its products, including Snap!Crackle!Pop! for Cocoa Krispies and Rice Krispies cereals and Rice Krispies Treats convenience foods; Tony the Tiger for Kellogg�� Frosted Flakes, Zucaritas, Sucrilhos and Frosties cereals and convenience foods, and Ernie Keebler for cookies, convenience foods and other products. It also includes the Hollow Tree logo for certain convenience foods; Toucan Sam for Froot Loops cereal; Dig ��m for Smacks/Honey Smacks cereal; Sunny for Kellogg�� Raisin Bran and Raisin Bran Crunch cereals, Coco the Monkey for Coco Pops cereal; Cornelius for Kellogg�� Corn Flakes; Melvin the Elephant for certain cereal and convenience foods, and Chocos the Bear, Sammy the Seal (aka Smaxey the Seal! ) for cer! tain cereal products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
  
  1. Avg. High Yield Price
  2. 20-Year DCF Price
  3. Avg. P/E Price
  4. Graham Number
  
  GWW is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 10.0% premium to its calculated fair value of $219.95. GWW did not earn any Stars in this section.
  
  Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
  
  1. Free Cash Flow Payout
  2. Debt To Total Capital
  3. Key Metrics
  4. Dividend Growth Rate
  5. Years of Div. Growth
  6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%
  
  GWW earned three Stars in this section for 1.), 2.) and 3.) above. A Star was earned since the Free Cash Flow payout ratio was less than 60% and there were no negative Free Cash Flows over the last 10 years. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. GWW earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured.
  
  Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% means that dividends grew on average in excess of 15% for each consecutive 4 year period over the last 10 years (2003-2006, 2004-2007, 2005-2008, etc.) I consider this a key metric since dividends will double every 5 years if they grow by 15%. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1965 and has increased its dividend payments for 42 consecutive years.
  
  Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked

• [By Terry Savage]

  TERRY SAVAGE:  I am Terry Savage, author of the Savage Truth on Money and a frequent contributor to Money Show.com.  Now I know you come here for investment advice and you get it here from the pros.  Enough advice to maybe make your mind spin.  Well that is what it is all about, sorting out the bulls, the bears and let me add a third category, the bulls, the bears and the chickens.  Let me remind you that everybody should have a little bit of chicken money that is nothing to be ashamed of; it is money you simply cannot afford to lose.  Now, whatever the proportions are depends on your intelligence, your knowledge of the markets, your stage in life and the size of your assets.  Always keep in mind that having a safe bit of money set aside can help you ride through the inevitable volatility, the ups and downs and even big market declines that could take you off your investment path.  If you know you have some money set aside in chicken money investments, you are far more likely to stick to your original plan and that original plan could include contributing $200, $500 or more every month to an index fund, let’s say, in your 401(k) plan.  Remember, there has never been a 20-year period where you would have lost money in a diversified portfolio of large company stocks with dividends reinvested even adjusted for inflation.  Those are the Ibbotson facts.  Over the long run, you should come out ahead in a diversified stock market portfolio reinvesting your dividends.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  We still have many key oil and energy companies reporting in the week ahead but we have now seen the sector leaders report earnings. Earnings previews have been prepared for the following stocks:

  CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) The Wendy’s Company (NYSE: WEN)

  CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) reports earnings on Monday morning. With all of the exchange mergers of the last decade this remains one of the dominant exchanges. Estimates are $0.73 EPS and $713.3 million in revenue. Keep in mind that this exchange is now worth $25 billion. At $74.70, the consensus analyst price target is only just barely higher at almost $75.50.

• [By Jake Zamansky]

  Indeed, the NASDAQ breakdowns follow almost a litany of other technology failures on Wall Street. Those include the recently botched Facebook (FB) IPO, the May 2010 flash crash and, most recently, Goldman Sachs (GS) flooding the U.S. options market with a number of unintended computer-driven trades in companies such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Kellogg (K) Company.

5 Best Shipping Stocks To Buy For 2014: Officemax Incorporated(OMX)

OfficeMax Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, distributes business-to-business and retail office products. Its Contract segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, technology products and solutions, office furniture, and print and document services directly to large corporate and government offices, as well as to small and medium-sized offices through field salespeople, outbound telesales, catalogs, Internet, and office products stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 38 distribution centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; 4 customer service and outbound telesales centers in the United States; and 47 office products stores in Canada, Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. The company?s Retail segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and office furniture to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers through a network of reta il stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 978 stores in the United States and Mexico; 3 large distribution centers in the United States; and 1 small distribution center in Mexico. The company, formerly known as Boise Cascade Corporation, was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Office Depot (NYSE: ODP  ) scored a win in its merger with fellow big-box supply store retailer Office Max (NYSE: OMX  ) , but is the company out of the proverbial weeds? The Depot saw its shares decline more than 6% Wednesday due to an earnings report that came in under estimates and altogether left investors and analysts unimpressed. No one has any delusions as to the intense technology-fueled disruption facing Office Depot and its recently acquired competitor, but there are levers the company can pull to remain relevant in the future.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  For its part, Office Depot says it's a shame it had to waste money going to court to defend against Starboard's action to force an annual meeting. Since they're working on the merger with OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX  ) , it was a process that had to play out. That's why they announced last week they were going to have the meeting on Aug. 21.

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Shares of Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) got a boost, shooting up 3.5 percent to $5.79 after the Federal Trade Commission closed a probe of the company's proposed merger with OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX).