AP With no end in sight to the government shutdown, Hyundai is stepping up to provide a little relief to government employees victimized by Washington's partisan gridlock. The Korean automaker said Tuesday that it's implementing a plan that will let Hyundai owners defer payments on their cars if they've been put out of work by the government shutdown. Under the plan, current Hyundai owners who have been furloughed may defer payments for the duration of the shutdown. And any furloughed government worker who buys or leases a new Hyundai this month won't have to make any payments until January. Obviously, this will only be an option if you've financed your car through Hyundai Finance America; if you financed your car through another bank, Hyundai has no say in when you make payments. The furlough relief is an extension of the Hyundai Assurance program, which was implemented four years ago and gave Hyundai owners the option of returning their car for a refund if they lost their job during the recession. About 800,000 federal workers are currently out of work and without pay while House Republicans hold the budget hostage. And while Hyundai's promotion is, by and large, a publicity stunt, it will certainly come as a relief to any of those 800,000 who were looking at an impending car payment on a Hyundai and wondering how they were going to cover it. Hyundai is only deferring the payments, not canceling them, so once the government reopens for business, the workers will need to make the payments they missed. That shouldn't be a problem if they wind up getting retroactive pay for their time out of work, which was the case after the last government shutdown. However, that isn't assured this time around. While nine House Democrats and three House Republicans have already put a bill on the table to guarantee those workers get their back pay, some congressional Republicans who lean further to the right don't seem convinced that it's a good idea.
10 Best Semiconductor Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Atmos Energy Corporation(ATO)
Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages primarily in the distribution, transmission, and storage of natural gas in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Natural Gas Distribution; Regulated Transmission and Storage; Natural Gas Marketing; and Pipeline, Storage, and Other. The Natural Gas Distribution segment involves in regulated natural gas distribution business and related sales operations. It distributes natural gas through regulated sales and transportation arrangements to approximately 3 million residential, commercial, public authority, and industrial customers in 12 states located primarily in the southern United States. As of September 30, 2009, this segment owned approximately 70,879 miles of underground distribution and transmission mains. The Regulated Transmission and Storage segment transports natural gas for third parties and manages five underground storage reservoirs in Texas. It owned 5,950 miles of gas transmis sion and gathering lines. The Natural Gas Marketing segment provides various natural gas management and marketing services to municipalities, other local gas distribution companies, and industrial customers. The Pipeline, Storage, and Other segment offers natural gas gathering, transmission, and storage services. It owned 113 miles of gas transmission and gathering lines. Atmos Energy Corporation was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Utilities shares dropped by 0.04 percent in the US market on Wednesday. Top losers in the sector included National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG), down 1.1 percent, and Atmos Energy (NYSE: ATO), off 0.7 percent.
- [By Garrett Cook]
Utilities shares fell around 0.23 percent in trading on Wednesday. Top losers in the sector included Vectren (NYSE: VVC), down 1.47 percent, and Atmos Energy (NYSE: ATO), off 0.80 percent.
- [By Marc Courtenay]
Another lesser-known possibility is Atmos Energy (ATO), the $3.93 billion (market cap) company that engages in the distribution, transmission, and storage of natural gas in the United States. As of the last quarter of 2012, its year-over-year EPS growth was 17.5%.
Top 5 Forestry Companies To Invest In 2014: Liberte Investors Inc. (FAC)
First Acceptance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in retailing, servicing, and underwriting non-standard personal automobile insurance and related products. Its primary business involves issuing automobile insurance policies to individuals who are categorized as non-standard based primarily on their inability or unwillingness to obtain insurance coverage from standard carriers due to various factors, including their payment history or need for monthly payment plans, and failure to maintain continuous insurance coverage or driving record. The company also offers optional products that provide ancillary reimbursements and benefits in the event of an automobile accident; and underwrites a tenant homeowner policy that provides contents and liability coverage to renters. In addition, it engages in activities related to the disposition of real estate held for sale. The company distributes its products through retail locations. As of March 31, 2012, it leased and op erated 378 retail locations. First Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1969 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Auto sales continue to rise and that is good news for small cap auto insurers Infinity Property and Casualty Corp (NASDAQ: IPCC), First Acceptance Corporation (NYSE: FAC) and Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFH) which are focused on niche auto insurance markets.�A Yahoo! Autos blog post�recently noted that in August, automakers sold 1.5 million new vehicles for the highest rate in years. Moreover,�most industry forecasters expect sales to�return to the level they hit before the 2008 recession of 16 million vehicles a year. The blog post then went on to note the three forces driving auto sales:
Top 5 Forestry Companies To Invest In 2014: First Trust Exchange Traded Fund (FVL)
First Trust Value Line 100 Fund (the Fund) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund seeks to outperform the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index (the S&P 500 Index) by adhering to a strategy of investing in a diversified portfolio of the 100 common stocks ranked number 1 in Value Line's Timeliness Ranking System. The Fund invests 80% of its net assets in the stocks that are ranked number one in the Value Line Timeliness Ranking System. As of March 31, 2006, the Fund had invested in sectors, such as household durables, metals and mining, specialty retail, oil and gas, software, machinery, hotels, restaurants and leisure, computers and peripherals, biotechnology, information technology services, and textiles, apparel and luxury goods.
As of March 31, 2006, the Fund's top 10 holdings were Palm, Inc., United INDL Corp., AAR Corp., Accenture LTD, Citrix Systems, Inc., Cymer Inc., Guess, Inc., Henry Jack & Assoc., Inc., Micrel Inc. and Molecular Devices Corp. The Fund had a large capitalization orientation to its portfolio holdings as of December 31, 2005. As of December 31, 2005, the 100 stocks in the portfolio consisted of large-cap stocks (34), mid-cap stocks (35) and small-cap stocks (31). During the year ended December 31, 2005, the Fund posted a net asset value (NAV) total return of 11.9% and a market value total return of 7.5%. This compared to a gain of 4.8% for the S&P 500 Index. The Fund's investment advisor is First Trust Advisors, L.P.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By David Trainer]
First Trust Value Line 100 ETF (FVL) is my worst-rated All Cap Blend ETF and Clarity Fund (CLRTX) is my worst-rated All Cap Blend mutual fund. FVL earns my Dangerous rating, while CLRTX gets my Very Dangerous rating.
- [By David Trainer]
First Trust Value Line 100 ETF (FVL) is in the Danger Zone this week. FVL is another example of a supposedly "passive" ETF that purportedly tracks an index but actually resembles an actively managed portfolio. FVL's methodology tracks an index, but it is an index in name only.
Top 5 Forestry Companies To Invest In 2014: Cheniere Energy Inc.(LNG)
Cheniere Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership and operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals and natural gas pipelines in the Gulf Coast of the United States. The company develops LNG receiving terminal projects on Sabine Pass LNG in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana on the Sabine Pass Channel; Corpus Christi LNG near Corpus Christi, Texas; and Creole Trail LNG at the mouth of the Calcasieu Channel in central Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It also involves in the oil and natural gas exploration and development activities; and LNG and natural gas marketing business. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By David Smith]
He'd better hustle, however. Houston-based Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG) has been permitted to build the first LNG plant at Sabine Pass, Texas. And Golden Pass LNG, 70% owned by state-run Qatar Petroleum International and 30% by ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM ) , also has received permission to export LNG from the United States. Several other export permit applications are pending.
- [By Matt DiLallo]
LNG exports
One of the most hotly contested future demand drivers is LNG exports. Currently, just Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG ) is approved to export gas to countries that are not free trade agreement members. However, many companies would like to join Cheniere in this very lucrative market. In fact, there are currently plans for up to 30 Bcfd of additional export terminals. However, it's very unlikely that all will be built given that the global LNG market is currently just 30 Bcfd. Enterprise sees a sustainable market potential that's probably limited to 4 Bcfd-6 Bcfd, maybe as high as 8 Bcfd.
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