Best Construction Material Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Best Construction Material Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Holcim Ltd (HOLN)

Holcim Ltd (Holcim) is a Switzerland-based holding company that specializes in the manufacture, distribution and marketing of building materials. The Company operates four business segments, including Cement, Aggregates, Other construction materials and services, and Corporate. The Cement segment is engaged in the development of cement and comprises clinker and other cementitious materials, among others. The Aggregates business segment includes crushed stone, gravel and sand. The Other construction materials and services business segment comprises ready-mix concrete, concrete products, asphalt, construction and paving, and trading, among others. Additionally, other construction materials and services segment provides environmental services, including waste management, among others. The Corporate segment is engaged in holding activities and general management. It operates through subsidiaries in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa and Middle East regions . Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Holcim Ltd. (HOLN) lost 0.9 percent to 68.15 francs in Zurich. Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch unit cut its rating on the world's largest cement maker to underperform, similar to a sell recommendation, from neutral. Merrill Lynch cited the company's exposure to emerging markets.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-construction-material-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-3.html

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now

YouTube.com Kmart (SHLD) just came out of nowhere with one of the funniest commercials we've seen in a long time. The discount retailer is touting the fact that in-store shoppers who can't find what they're looking for are now able to order the item online right in the store, with free delivery. In its latest commercial, released Wednesday, shoppers react with amazement at the fact they can ship their pants right there in the store. Take a look: The uncharacteristically off-color ad is meeting with universal acclaim on YouTube: The video has received more than 160,000 views, and 98.6% of those voting on the video gave it a thumbs-up. "I think Walmart (WMT) just shipped itself," notes one top commenter. As for Kmart, the ad serves a real purpose: emphasizing to consumers that Kmart stores and Kmart.com operate as a cohesive unit, allowing shoppers to buy merchandise via either channel as they see fit. This so-called omnichannel approach to retailing has been a major focus of bricks-and-mortar retail chains over the last few years. But it hasn't always come easy, even for Kmart. I recently recounted an experience I had at my local Kmart, when I discovered via a smartphone app that a product was available on Kmart.com for 50% cheaper than it was in the store. As one retail analyst told me at the time, inconsistent pricing across channels and locations has been an issue for retailers, and Kmart is no exception. With that said, I was able to navigate around the price differential rather smoothly by ordering on my smartphone and then picking it up from the customer service desk an hour later. And as I later learned, Kmart's price-matching policy does indeed apply to its own website, which isn't always the case in the retail world. In other words, Kmart seems to be figuring out this whole omninchannel thing. And it certainly seems to know what it's doing on the advertising front. UPDATED (6 p.m. ET Friday): While the commercial is only viewable online for the moment, a spokesperson for Kmart tells us that it will start airing on select cable TV channels later this month.

Best Clean Energy Stocks For 2016: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alyce Lomax]

  So far in the voting tallies this proxy season, majority approval is nowhere to be found for these proposals agitating for independent chairs. However, at some companies, the votes in favor are creeping closer. A few of the impressive favorable tallies this year: IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) (44%), Honeywell (NYSE: HON  ) �(43%), and Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) (42%). Venturing that close to the 50% mark is a big deal when shareholder votes on topics like these hardly added up to a blip on the radar years ago.

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. I like this global technology juggernaut, the ability to consistently repurchase shares, raise dividends for 16 years and its vision to earn $20/share by 2015. The company has increased dividends for 18 years in a row, and has managed to boost them by 18.80%/year over the past decade. Currently, the stock trades at 14 times earnings and yields 1.90%. Check my analysis of IBM.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: USG Corporation(USG)

USG Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of building materials worldwide. The company offers gypsum and related products, including gypsum wallboard, joint compounds used for finishing wallboard joints, cement boards, glass mat sheathing, gypsum fiber panels, poured gypsum underlayments, ultra light panels, and various construction plaster products. Its gypsum products are used in various building applications to finish the interior walls, ceilings, and floors in residential, commercial, and institutional constructions, and repair and remodel constructions. The company also produces gypsum-based products for agricultural and industrial customers to use in various applications, including soil conditioning, road repair, fireproofing, and ceramics. In addition, it manufactures ceiling grid and acoustical ceiling tile for electrical and mechanical systems, and air distribution and maintenance applications. USG Corporation distribut es its gypsum products through specialty wallboard distributors, building materials dealers, home improvement centers and other retailers, contractors, and a network of distributors. Further, it distributes other manufacturers? gypsum wallboard, joint compound and other gypsum products, as well as drywall metal, insulation, and roofing products and accessories. The company sells its products under SHEETROCK, DUROCK, FIBEROCK, SECUROCK, LEVELROCK, RED TOP, IMPERIAL, DIAMOND, SUPREMO, AURATONE, ACOUSTONE, DONN, DX, FINELINE, CENTRICITEE, CURVATURA, and COMPASSO brands. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Jarzemsky]

  While economists attributed some of the downtick to cold and snowy weather, some are wondering if the Federal Reserve�� plan to dial back its stimulus program this year could lead to a rise in interest rates, putting the brakes on the housing recovery. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders exchange-traded fund��hich tracks a broad basket of housing-related stocks from builders to Sheetrock maker USG Corp.(USG)��s down about 3.6% year-to-date.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  USG (NYSE: USG  ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), USG missed estimates on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Pimco managing director Mark Kiesel mentions Whirlpool (WHR), Weyerhaeuser (WY), USG (USG), Toll Brothers (TOLL) and KB Home (KBH) as good plays on housing:�

• [By Eric Volkman]

  She also serves as chairman of the United States Steel and Carnegie Pension Fund, and on that organization's investment committee. Outside of U.S. Steel, she sits on the board of directors of USG (NYSE: USG  ) and the Pennsylvania Business Council, among other entities.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: The Travelers Companies Inc.(TRV)

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Business Insurance; Financial, Professional, and International Insurance; and Personal Insurance. The Business Insurance segment offers property and casualty products and services, such as commercial multi-peril, property, general liability, commercial auto, and workers? compensation insurance. It operates in six groups: Select Accounts, which serves small businesses; Commercial Accounts that serves mid-sized businesses; National Accounts, which serves large companies; Industry-Focused Underwriting that serves targeted industries; Target Risk Underwriting, which serves commercial businesses requiring specialized product underwriting, claims handling, and risk management services; and Special ized Distribution that offers products to customers through licensed wholesale, general, and program agents. The Financial, Professional, and International Insurance segment provides surety and financial liability coverage, which uses a credit-based underwriting process; and property and casualty products primarily in the United States., the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance to individuals. It distributes its products through independent agents, sponsoring organizations, joint marketing arrangements with other insurers, and direct marketing. The company was founded in 1853 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  The first thing you'll notice here is that the widest cash margins don't always go hand in hand with strong earnings performances. Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) and GE (NYSE: GE  ) both rank in the bottom half if you rank the Dow by net income margins, and the situation isn't much improved by switching to operating profits or EBIT income margins. Both companies operate much like big banks, which goes a long way toward explaining the spread between their cash flows and net margins.

Best Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was shown by Deutsche Bank with a $40 price target and the Thomson/First call estimate was at $38. that 4.5% dividend stood out at the time. At the time its stock was at $27.30 and shares are up 13% now that the stock is up at $30.85. The stock’s 52-week range is $26.37 to $43.65 and the current consensus price target is $36.06 rather than $38 when Deutsche bank nailed it.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX  )
  Copper and gold miner Freeport McMoRan has endured a difficult year. It had to work hard to close its massive oil and gas acquisitions while also dealing with falling gold and copper prices. The only real solace for investors has been the company's 4.05% dividend. The good thing here for Freeport investors is that the oil and gas acquisitions take some risk out of its business as it reduces the company's exposure to mining from 100% down to 74%. The company believes it has the assets in place to maintain a strong balance sheet and continue its current dividend while also growing its business. �

Hot Bank Stocks To Buy For 2016

Hot Bank Stocks To Buy For 2016: Barclays PLC (SGG)

Barclays PLC (Barclays) is a global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. The Company's operations include its overseas offices, subsidiaries and associates. The Company operates in eight segments: UK Retail and Business Banking (UK RBB), Europe Retail and Business Banking (Europe RBB), Africa Retail and Business Banking (Africa RBB), Barclaycard, Barclays Investment Bank, Barclays Corporate Banking, Wealth and Investment Management, and Head Office and Other Operations. In April 2011, Carlyle Group sold The Mill to the Company's Barclays Private Equity. In August 2014, Barclays completed sale of its UAE Retail Banking business to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake Mann]

  I will be looking for a 20-30 percent correction in the S&P 500, and I expect the commodity iPath Bloomberg Sugar Subindex Total Return Sm Index ETN (NYSE: SGG) to bottom and start to head much higher. Expect gold, silver and miners to bottom then flat line for a few years...

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-bank-stocks-to-buy-for-2016.html

Top 5 Specialty Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now

Top 5 Specialty Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS)

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (Barnes & Noble), incorporated on November 19, 1986, is a bookseller. The Company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides customers access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 27, 2013, it operated 1,361 bookstores in 50 states, 686 bookstores on college campuses, and operates one of the Web eCommerce sites, and develops digital content products and software. Barnes & Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. The Companys principal business is the sale of trade books (generally hardcover and paperback consumer titles), mass market paperbacks (such as mystery, romance, science fiction and other popular fiction), childrens books, eBooks and other digital content, NOOK and related accessories, bargain books, magazines, gifts, cafe products and services, educational toys & games, music and movies direct to customers through its books tores or on barnesandnoble.com.

Of the Companys 1,361 bookstores, 675 operate primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC (B&N College), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, operates 686 college bookstores at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble Retail (B&N Retail) operates the 675 retail bookstores. Retail also includes the Companys eCommerce site and Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. (Sterling or Sterling Publishing), a leader in general trade book publishing.

B&N Retail

This segment includes 675 bookstores as of April 27, 2013, primarily under the Barnes & Noble Booksellers trade name. These stores generally offer a dedicated NOOK area, a comprehensive trade book title base, a cafe, and departments dedicated to Juvenile, Toys & Games, DVDs, Music, Gift, Magazine and Bargain products. The stores also offer a calendar of! ongoing events, incl uding author appearances and childrens activities. The B&N Retail segment also includes the Companys eCommerce website, barnesandnoble.com, and its publishing operation, Sterling Publishing. Barnes & Noble stores range in size from 3,000 to 60,000 square feet depending upon market size, with an overall average store size of 26,000 square feet. During the fiscal year ended April 27, 2013 (fiscal), the Company reduced the Barnes & Noble store base by 0.3 million square feet, bringing the total square footage to 17.7 million square feet. The Companys B&N Retail segment purchases physical books on a regular basis from over 800 publishers and over 50 wholesalers or distributors. As of April 27, 2013, Barnes & Noble had stores in 162 of the total 210 Designated Market Area markets.

Sterling Publishing is a publisher of non-fiction trade titles. It is a range of non-fiction and illustrated books and kits across a range of imprints, in categories, such as health and wellness, music and culture, food and wine, crafts and photography, puzzles and games, history and current affairs, as well as a childrens books.

B&N College

B&N College sells new and used textbooks in campus bookstores and online. As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operated 686 stores nationwide. The Companys customer base, which is mainly consisted of students and faculty, can purchase various items from their campus stores, including textbooks and course-related materials, emblematic apparel and gifts, trade books, computer products, NOOK products and related accessories, school and dorm supplies, convenience and cafe items.

As of April 27, 2013, B&N College operates 651 traditional college bookstores and 35 academic superstores, which are generally larger in size, offer cafes and provide a sense of community that engages the surrounding campus and local communities in college activities and culture. The traditional bookstores r ange in size from 500 to 48,000 square feet. The! academic! superstores range in size from 8,000 to 75,000 square feet. B&N Colleges three customer constituencies are students, faculty members and campus administrators.

NOOK

This segment includes the Companys digital business, which includes the Companys eBookstore, digital newsstand and sales of NOOK devices and accessories to third party distribution partners, as well as to B&N Retail and B&N College. Barnes & Nobles NOOK digital bookstore and Reading Apps provide customers the ability to purchase and read their digital content and access to their Lifetime Library on a range of digital platforms, including Windows 8 PCs and tablets, iPad, iPhone , Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac. Barnes & Noble has implemented features on its digital platform to ensure that customers can access their NOOK content from almost all of todays most popular devices.

The Company com petes with Target, Books-A-Million, Waldenbooks, Amazon.com, Apple, Wal-Mart and Costco.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  AP/Dave Martin The last week of February was a redemptive week for three fading retailers, but it's hard to argue that any of them will remain market darlings for long. J.C. Penney (JCP) was one of the market's biggest winners, soaring 29 percent after posting improving quarterly results. The struggling department store chain posted a narrower loss than analysts were forecasting, posting positive comparable-store sales during the holiday period for the first time in a couple of years. Barnes & Noble (BKS) also moved higher by 8 percent last week on strong financial results. The bookseller that outlasted Borders came through with a quarterly profit of $0.86 a share, blowing past the $0.61 a share that Wall Street pros were targeting. Its Nook business is still suffering from sharp declines, but its actual superstores are holding up surprisingly well. An analyst at Maxim Group boosted his price target on the shares from $20 to $32.! Best! Buy (BBY) also got a boost from a better than expected report during the holiday quarter. Best Buy's profit for the holiday period declined to $1.24 a share, but that was well ahead of the $1.01 a share that analysts were expecting. Shares of Best Buy also rose 8 percent on the week. These chains seemed to be on the way out last year, and all of them have brought in new CEOs over the past two years. Seeing the stocks move at least 8 percent higher and as much as 29 percent higher last week may suggest that reports of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated, but let's not assume that the storm clouds have cleared at any of them. Penney Arcade The troubled Ron Johnson era ended at J.C. Penney last year. The retail guru -- who had been instrumental in turning Target (TGT) from "cheap" into "cheap chic" before heading to Apple (AAPL) in time to start rolling out the wildly successful Apple Store chain -- flopped at the meandering department store chain. Investors cheered when Johnson arrived at J.C. Penney in late 201

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-specialty-retail-companies-to-watch-in-right-now-2.html

10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015

The casino industry can be one of the most rewarding business segments for investors seeking high returns on capital and long-term profits. Investment gurus Andreas Halvorsen (Trades, Portfolio) and Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) recently bought fair amounts of Las Vegas Sand Corp (LVS)�shares, probably due to the company�� strong performance in the past years. Sand Corp is the world�� largest operator of integrated resorts, with a blend of casino, hotel, entertainment, food, beverage, retail and convention centre operations. Some of the most famous company-owned venues include Sands Macao, Venetian Macao, Sands Cotai Central and Four Seasons Hotel Macao in China, as well as the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore and the Palazzo Las Vegas in the U.S.

The Asian Treasure Hunt

One of Sand Corp�� key growth catalysts is and continues to be its presence in the Asian market, which generates 85% of the company�� total revenue. China�� Macao Cotai Strip has been the firm�� focus for several years now, and given it�� the only place in China where gambling is legal, holding a market position is crucial. Today, Sands is one of six companies licensed casino operators, and owns 50% of all gambling tables on the Strip. Furthermore, the mass market growth is significant for the company�� profitability, as Sands China receives 75% of its cash flow from this segment. Projections for the future years are bright, as 2013 marked a 30% growth of the mass market, compared to the VIP market, which only registered 5% to 10% growth. Also, the company�� 25% market share of the Macao Strip will grow even more after 2015, when the Parisian resort opens its doors.

Top Long Term Stocks To Own Right Now: MGM Resorts International(MGM)

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, primarily owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. The company?s resorts offer gaming, hotel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities. It also owns and operates golf courses and a golf club. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned and operated 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan; and has 50% investments in 4 other casino resorts in Nevada, Illinois, and Macau. In addition, MGM Resorts International has an agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates a casino resort in Connecticut, to carry the ?MGM Grand? brand name. The company was formerly known as MGM MIRAGE and changed its name to MGM Resorts International in June 2010. MGM Resorts International was founded in 1986 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  On Friday, Amazon announced that its European LOVEFiLM subsidiary is teaming up with MGM (NYSE: MGM  ) Television to bring the hit new History Channel television show VIKINGS to viewers in the U.K., and Germany as well. Beginning May 24, LOVEFiLM will be the only service offering streaming video of all nine episodes of Vikings' first season to viewers in the U.K. and Germany. (Season 2 is scheduled to arrive in 2014). Additionally, Amazon points out that it will be streaming the show through LOVEFiLM before Vikings even goes into broadcast in Europe.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Now what: Online gaming is slowly being legalized across the U.S., with Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware being the first to allow it. Boyd has a potentially lucrative partnership with bwin.party and MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) , which could lead to huge profit growth, as I pointed out over a year ago. I wouldn't buy on this analyst upgrade alone, but the potential for online gaming is too big to ignore. I've built some estimates before (which can be seen here) and there's huge upside for both Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts, but only if its legalized nationally. Until then, the potential for online gaming is minimal for Boyd.
  
  Interested in more info on Boyd Gaming? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  But there's still evidence that it exists, even if authorities don't push hard for information. MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) was forced to divest its New Jersey properties because of the company's relationship with Pansy Ho, whose father had ties to triads in Macau. Las Vegas Sands is under investigation by the U.S. attorney's office for possibly violating money laundering laws in Macau last year.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Any thought that the Las Vegas gaming market would recover quickly after the recession has long since been lost, but there is a slow and steady recovery taking place in Sin City. High-end operators Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS  ) and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) have been seeing improved results as wealthy customers return to the casinos, but the lower end of the market, where MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) play, has been choppy to say the least.

10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015: Boyd Gaming Corporation(BYD)

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 1,042,787 square feet of casino space, containing approximately 25,973 slot machines, 655 table games, and 11,418 hotel rooms. It also owned and operated 16 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and New Jersey. In addition, the company owns and operates a pari-mutuel jai-alai facility located in Dania Beach, Florida, as well as a travel agency in Hawaii. Further, it holds a 50% controlling interest in the limited liability company that operates Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boyd Gaming Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Boyd Gaming Corp. (BYD) �rose 8% to $12.75 on moderate volume after hedge fund Elliot Associates L.P. disclosed in a regulatory filing it had acquired a 4.99% stake in the casino operator.

10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015: Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc (DDE)

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., incorporated in December of 2001, is a premier gaming and entertainment resorts. The Company�� operations consist of: Dover Downs Casino, a 165,000-square foot casino complex featuring table games, including craps, roulette and card games, such as blackjack, Spanish 21, baccarat, 3-card and pai gow poker, the latest in slot machine offerings, multi-player electronic table games, the Crown Royal poker room, a Race & Sports Book operation, the Dover Downs' Fire & Ice Lounge, the Festival Buffet, Doc Magrogan's Oyster House, Frankie's Italian restaurant, as well as several bars, restaurants and four retail outlets; Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, a 500 room AAA Four Diamond hotel with a full-service spa/salon, conference, banquet, ballroom and concert hall facilities, and Dover Downs Raceway, a harness racing track with pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. All of its operations are located at its entertainment complex in Dover. Its two wholly owned subsidiaries include Dover Downs, Inc. and Dover Downs Gaming Management Corp.

Dover Downs Casino

The Company's casino had approximately 2,539 slot machines as of December 31, 2011. It is open for business around the clock. During the year ended December 31, 2011, that the facility was visited by approximately 2.6 million patrons. Its slot machines range from penny machines to $100 machines in the Premium Slots area and include games found in the country's major gaming jurisdictions. The Company operates with 40 tables, including blackjack, craps and roulette tables. The Crown Royal poker room has 12 poker tables. It has its Race and Sports Book operation featuring parlay sports wagering on NFL games and pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. Dover Downs, Inc. is authorized to conduct video lottery, sports wagering and table game operations. The Company's Capital Club, a slots players club and tracking system, allows it to identify customers and t! o reward their level of play through various marketing programs.

Dover Downs Hotel

The Company's luxury hotel facility, the Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, connects to the Company's casino. The facility includes 500 rooms, including 11 luxury spa suites, a multi-purpose ballroom/concert hall, a fine dining restaurant, swimming pool and a luxurious 6,000 square-foot full-service spa. It offers a range of entertainment options to its patrons, including concerts featuring prominent entertainers, live boxing, gourmet dining, spa facilities, trade shows and conferences. During 2011, hotel occupancy averaged 90%.

Dover Downs Raceway

The Company�� Dover Downs Raceway conducts live harness races from November until April and is simulcast to more than 300 tracks and other off-track betting locations across North America on each of the Company's more than 120 live race dates. The Company's harness racing track is a 5/8-mile track that is located on DVD's property and is on the inside of its one-mile motorsports superspeedway. Additional amenities include the Winners Circle Restaurant overlooking the horse racing track. Within the Company's Race & Sports Book operation is the simulcast parlor where the patrons can wager on harness and thoroughbred races received by satellite into its facility year round from numerous tracks across North America. Television monitors throughout the area provide views of all races simultaneously and the betting windows are connected to a central computer allowing bets to be received on all races from all tracks.

The Company has an agreement with the Delaware Standardbred Owner's Association, Inc. (DSOA) effective September 1, 2010 and continuing through August 31, 2014. DSOA's membership consists of owners, trainers and drivers of harness horses participating in harness race meetings at its facilities and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. Under the DSOA agreement, the Company is required to distrib! ute as pu! rses for races conducted at its facilities a percentage of its retained share of pari-mutuel revenues.

The Company competes with Harrington Raceway and Delaware Park.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The REIT is expected to spend as much as $500 million in acquisitions in 2014, according to Barron��, and some potential acquisition targets include Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) which has a market cap of around $323 million or Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) with a market cap of around $47 million.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the move: Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) is up 8.1% at $31.80 on reports of discussions with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) that would result in the sale of Vodafone�� 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to the controlling shareholder. Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) is up 10.8% at $1.54 after Wednesday�� launch of its online casino games that will soon be available to state residents to play for real money.

10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015: Tropicana Entertainment Inc (TPCA)

Tropicana Entertainment Inc. (TEI) is an owner and operator of regional casino and entertainment properties located in the United States and one casino resort development located on the island of Aruba. TEI�� United States properties include three casinos in Nevada, three casinos in Mississippi, and one casino in each of Indiana, Louisiana and New Jersey. Its properties offer a range of gaming options. TEI�� properties include Tropicana AC in the East; Casino Aztar in Central; Tropicana Laughlin, River Palms and MontBleu in the West; Lighthouse Point, Jubilee, Belle of Baton Rouge, Horizon Vicksburg and Tropicana Aruba in the South and Other.

Tropicana AC

Tropicana Casino and Resort, Atlantic City (Tropicana AC) is situated on a 14-acre site with approximately 660 feet of ocean frontage in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In addition to gaming facilities, the property features The Quarter, a Havana-themed, Las Vegas-style, approximately 200,000 square-foot indoor entertainment and retail center, hosting several restaurants, shops and an IMAX theatre. Other amenities include a 2,000-seat showroom, a full service spa and salon, a health club and indoor pool, a beach and pool bar and approximately 99,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

Casino Aztar

Casino Aztar Evansville (Casino Aztar) is a casino hotel and entertainment complex in the state of Indiana. Over 60% of Casino Aztar's revenues come from customers within a 50-mile radius. The property's casino operations are located dockside on the three-deck City of Evansville riverboat. Located adjacent to the casino, the Company owns two distinctive hotels: the Casino Aztar Hotel, a 251-room hotel that offers guests a restaurant, conference rooms and banquet facilities; and Le Merigot Hotel, a luxurious 96-room boutique hotel with an upscale martini lounge. A 44,000-square-foot pavilion adjacent to the riverboat features three restaurants, an entertainment lounge, gift shop, coffee shop, pla! yers club and VIP lounge. The District at Casino Aztar includes two restaurants and the Le Merigot Hotel. Casino Aztar also includes a seven-story parking garage, as well as surface parking.

Tropicana Laughlin

Tropicana Laughlin Hotel and Casino (Tropicana Laughlin) is located on an approximately 31-acre site on Casino Drive, Laughlin. The casino at Tropicana Laughlin features a gaming floor. Non-gaming amenities include a heated outdoor swimming pool, seven restaurants, three full service bars, an entertainment lounge with live music, a lounge for high-end players, an 800-seat multi-purpose showroom and concert hall, meeting space, retail stores, an arcade and a covered parking structure. The property features 1,495 hotel rooms.

River Palms

River Palms Hotel and Casino (River Palms) is located on an approximately 35-acre site also on Casino Drive, with approximately 1,300 feet of frontage on the Colorado River. Non-gaming amenities include 1,001 hotel rooms, 10,500 square feet of meeting and convention space, an outdoor pool, fitness center, three restaurants, three full service bars, a showroom, two entertainment lounges with live music and a covered parking structure.

MontBleu

MontBleu Casino Resort & Spa (MontBleu) is situated on approximately 21 acres in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In addition to the casino, the property offers guests a choice of three restaurants and various non-gaming amenities, including retail shops, two nightclubs, a 1,500-seat showroom, approximately 14,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, a parking garage, a full service health spa and workout area, an indoor heated lagoon style pool with whirlpool and a 120-seat wedding chapel.

Lighthouse Point

Lighthouse Point Casino (Lighthouse Point) is a 210-foot, three-deck, dockside riverboat located in Greenville, Mississippi. In addition to slot machines, the riverboat inc! ludes a d! eli and bars on each floor while the dockside facility includes a buffet, a bar and 386 onsite surface parking spaces.

Jubilee

Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino (Jubilee), a 240-foot dockside riverboat, is located in Greenville. In addition to the casino facilities, the property includes a bar on each floor, a deli and approximately 700 parking spaces. The property also owns and operates the Greenville Inn & Suites, a 41-room suite hotel located less than a mile away, which offers free shuttle service to and from Jubilee and Lighthouse Point.

Belle of Baton Rouge

Belle of Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel (Belle of Baton Rouge) is a dockside riverboat situated on approximately 23 acres on the Mississippi River in the downtown historic district of Baton Rouge, across from the River Center, a 70,000-square-foot convention center. The three-deck, dockside riverboat casino is one of two casino facilities in the Baton Rouge market. Baton Rouge is located 75 miles north of New Orleans. Non-gaming amenities include 300 hotel rooms, 25,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, two restaurants, a deli, and an entertainment venue inside a 50,000-square-foot glass atrium that also encloses a tropical lobby.

Horizon Vicksburg

Horizon Vicksburg Casino (Horizon Vicksburg) is a dockside riverboat situated on approximately six acres in downtown Vicksburg, Mississippi. The property features a 297-foot multi-level, antebellum style, dockside riverboat casino housing. Additional amenities include 117 hotel rooms, a restaurant, two covered parking garages as well as additional surface parking. In December 2010, the Company entered into an agreement to sell all of the assets and certain liabilities associated with the operation of Horizon Vicksburg.

Tropicana Aruba

The Company operates timeshare and rental units at Tropicana Aruba Resort & Casino (Tropicana Aruba), a casino resort und! er develo! pment in Noord, Aruba. This resort will have approximately 361 timeshare and rental units, an approximately 16,000 square foot permanent casino, two pools, a swim-up bar & grill, a fitness center and tennis courts, which will be located on approximately 14 acres near Eagle Beach.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Igor Greenwald]

  A majority stake in casino operator Tropicana Entertainment (TPCA) also began with a Chapter 11 restructuring.

  From January 1, 2000 to June 10, 2013, Icahn Enterprises has averaged a 20% annual return, multiplying investors' money nearly 12-fold. Berkshire-Hathaway (BRK-B) has managed only a triple over the same span.

10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015: Monarch Casino & Resort Inc (MCRI)

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (Monarch), incorporated in 1993, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc. (Golden Road), owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa(the Atlantis), a hotel/casino facility in Reno, Nevada. Monarch�� other wholly owned subsidiaries, High Desert Sunshine, Inc. (High Desert) and Golden North, Inc. (Golden North), each own separate parcels of land located adjacent to the Atlantis. The Company owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, which is located approximately three miles south of downtown in the area of Reno, Nevada. The Atlantis features approximately 61,000 square feet of casino space; a hotel with 824 guest rooms and suites; ten food outlets; an enclosed year-round pool with waterfall; an outdoor pool; a health spa; two retail outlets offering clothing and resort gift shop merchandise; a full service salon for men and women; an 8,000 square-foot family entertainment center; and approximately 52,000 square feet of banquet, convention and meeting room space. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired 1.5 acre parcel of developable land contiguous to the Riviera Black Hawk Casino.

In April 2012, it acquired Riviera Black Hawk, Inc.

The Atlantis Casino offers approximately 1,450 slot and video poker machines; approximately 39 table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette and others; a race and sports book; keno and a poker room. The Atlantis includes three contiguous high-rise hotel towers with 824 rooms and suites. The Atlantis includes three contiguous high-rise hotel towers with a total of 824 rooms and suites. The first of the three hotel towers contains 160 rooms and suites in 13 stories. The 19-story second hotel tower contains 278 rooms and suites. The third tower contains 386 rooms and suites in 28 stories.

The Atlantis hotel rooms feature designs and furnishings consistent with the Northern Nevada market, as well as nine-foot ceilings (most standard hotel rooms have eig! ht-foot ceilings), which create an open and spacious feel. The third hotel tower features a four-story waterfall with an adjacent year-round swimming pool in a climate controlled, five-story glass enclosure, which shares an outdoor third floor pool deck with a seasonal outdoor swimming pool and year round whirlpool. A full-service salon (the Salon at Atlantis) overlooks the third floor sundeck and outdoor seasonal swimming pool and offers salon-grade products and treatments for hair, nails, skincare and body services for both men and women. A health spa is located adjacent to the swimming areas, which offers treatments and amenities. The hotel rooms on the spa floor are designated as spa rooms and feature decor that is themed consistent with the spa. Certain spa treatments are also available in spa floor hotel rooms. The hotel also features glass elevators rising the full 19 and 28 stories, of the respective towers providing views of the Reno area and the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

The Atlantis has eight restaurants, two gourmet coffee bars and one snack bar. It includes 160-seat Atlantis Steakhouse gourmet restaurant; the 200-seat upscale Bistro Napa featuring a centrally located wine cellar; the Oyster Bar restaurant in the Sky Terrace offering fresh seafood, soups and bisques made to order; the Sushi Bar, also in the Sky Terrace, offering a variety of fresh raw and cooked sushi specialties, including all-you-can-eat lunch and dinner selections. The Oyster Bar and Sushi Bar can accommodate up to 139 guests; The 178-seat 24-hour Purple Parrot coffee shop; the 122-seat Cafe Alfresco restaurant serving a full menu, pizzas prepared in a wood-fired, brick oven and a variety of gelato deserts; the 170-seat Manhattan Deli restaurant specializing in piled-high sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts; two gourmet coffee bars, offering specialty coffee drinks, pastries and desserts made fresh daily in the Atlantis bakery; a snack bar and soda fountain serving ice cream and arcade-style refreshmen! ts.

The Sky Terrace is a structure with a diamond-shaped, blue glass body suspended approximately 55 feet, and spanning 160 feet across, South Virginia Street. The Sky Terrace connects the Atlantis with additional parking on its 16-acre site across South Virginia Street from the Atlantis. The structure rests at each end on two 100-foot tall Grecian columns with no intermediate support pillars. The interior of the Sky Terrace contains the Oyster Bar, the Sushi Bar, a video poker bar, banks of slot machines and a lounge area with oversized leather sofas and chairs.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ: MCRI  ) were cooling off today, falling as much as 20% after the company's earnings report failed to impress.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Monarch Casino & Resort (MCRI) fell 15% to $18.71 after revenue missed forecasts today.

  Stamps.com (STMP) fell 6.2% today ahead of its earnings results. It beat earnings after the close today.

10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015: PhilWeb Corp (WEB)

PhilWeb Corporation is a Philippines-based Internet gaming company. The Company focused its activities on building its Internet-based products and services. The Company is engaged in providing products and services within a particular economic environment. It operates in two geographical segments: domestic operations and foreign operations. Its subsidiaries include BigGame, Inc., operates Internet casino station operations; Premayo sa Resibo, Inc., develops and markets computer systems, applications, programs and operates gaming platforms; PhilWeb Casino Corporation, develops, engages and maintains gaming systems and applications for all types of casino operations; e-Magine Gaming Corporation, develops technology, and PhilWeb Leisure & Tourism Corporation, establishes, operates and maintains leisure and tourism-oriented activities. Effective December 13, 2013, ePLDT Inc, a wholly owned unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co acquired a 27.283% interest in Philweb Corp. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Always touchable money is cash. For individuals, there's little reason for it not to be a simple bank account, money market fund, etc. For most investors, you can just let this stock sit in your brokerage account. Many brokers will sweep unused cash into a money market account ��or other form of savings ��where it can earn a tiny amount of interest for you while staying totally liquid. One advantage of keeping cash in this form is that you can look at your cash and stock positions on the same (web)page any time you want. So, for example, if you know you want to keep 10% of your portfolio in cash ��you can see that you have $12,000 in cash as part of your $120,000 brokerage account and that means you are right on target with your liquidity goal.

10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015: Caribbean International Holdings Inc (CIHN)

Caribbean International Holdings Inc., formerly Caribbean Casino and Gaming Corporation, incorporated on February 12, 2009, is focused in the gaming and entertainment company. The Company has a gaming casino, located in the city of Sousa, in the Dominican Republic. In April 2012, it acquired exclusive rights to distribute Bionic Products' Energy Drinks throughout the Caribbean, South and Central America.

The Sosua Bay Grand Casino provides the gaming and entertainment experience to the Domincan Republic. It is equipped with a state of the art lighting and sound system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Caribbean International Holdings (OTCMKTS: CIHN), Blue Water Global Group Inc (OTCBB: BLUU) and Metrospaces Inc (OTCMKTS: MSPC) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters and all three have focused their activities in the Caribbean or South America. However, all three have been the subject of paid promotions which have helped to get them mentions in various investment newsletters. With that in mind, will bets on the Caribbean or South America pay off big for these three small cap stocks and their investors? Here is a quick reality check:

  Caribbean International Holdings (OTCMKTS: CIHN) is All About Wings, Mechanical Bulls and Stem Cells

  Formerly known as Caribbean Casino & Gaming Corp, small cap Caribbean International Holdings operates as a holding company. On Friday, Caribbean International Holdings rose 8.39% to $0.0369 for a market cap of $315,400 plus CIHN is up 985.3% over the past year and up 7,280% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Top Oil Service Stocks To Watch For 2016

Top Oil Service Stocks To Watch For 2016: Resolute Energy Corporation(REN)

Resolute Energy Corporation, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Aneth Field properties that cover approximately 43,000 gross acres on the Navajo Reservation in southeast Utah. The company? producing properties are located in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming; the Bakken shale trend of the Williston Basin in North Dakota; and the Permian Basin of Texas It also owns exploration properties in the Permian Basin of Texas; and the Big Horn and Powder River Basins of Wyoming. As of December 31, 2011, the company had estimated net proved reserves of approximately 64.8 million equivalent barrels of oil. Resolute Energy Corporation is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Resolute Energy (NYSE: REN) shares fell 1.63% to reach a new 52-week low of $7.25. Resolute Energy shares have dropped 33.84% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 20.12% in the same period.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-oil-service-stocks-to-watch-for-2016.html

Best Financial Stocks To Buy Right Now

Best Financial Stocks To Buy Right Now: Prosperity Bancshares Inc (PB)

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc., incorporated on December 22, 1983, is a financial holding company. The Company operates through its bank subsidiary, Prosperity Bank (the Bank). The Bank provides a broad line of financial products and services to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers. As of December 31, 2012, the Bank operated 213 full service banking locations; 59 in the Houston area; 20 in the South Texas area including Corpus Christi and Victoria; 35 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area; 21 in the East Texas area; thirty-four 34 in the Central Texas area including Austin and San Antonio; 34 in the West Texas area including Lubbock, Midland-Odessa and Abilene; and 10 in the Bryan/College Station area. The Company added a net of two banking centers in Tyler, TX in connection with its acquisition of East Texas Financial Services (East Texas) on January 1, 2013, after consolidations. In November 2013, the Company announced that the completion of the merger of FVNB Corp.

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On January 1, 2012, the Company acquired Texas Bankers, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Bank of Texas, Austin, Texas. On April 1, 2012, it acquired The Bank Arlington. Effective July 1, 2012, the Company announced the completion of the merger with American State Financial Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary American State Bank (collectively referred to as ASB) whereby American State Bank was merged with and into Prosperity Bank. In October 2012, the Company announced the completion of the merger with Community National Bank, Bellaire, Texas. On January 1, 2013, the Company announced the completion of the merger with East Texas Financial Services, Inc. (ETFS) and wholly owned subsidiary First Federal Bank Texas. Effective April 1, 2013, Prosperity Bancshares Inc announced the completion of the merger with Coppermark Bancshares, Inc. and wholly o! wned subsidiary Coppermark Bank, whereby Coppermark merged with and into Prosperity and Coppermark Bank merged with and into Prosperity Bank.

The Company pr! ovides medical and hospitalization insurance to its full-time associates. The Company considers its relations with associates to be good. Neither the Company nor the Bank is a party to any collective bargaining agreement. In 2012, the Company added additional products and services including trust services, credit card, mortgage lending and independent sales organization (ISO) sponsorship operations.

Lending Activities

The Company, through the Bank, offers a variety of traditional loan and deposit products to its customers, which consist primarily of consumers and small and medium-sized businesses. At December 31, 2012, total loans were $5.18 billion. Loans at December 31, 2012, included $10.4 million of loans held for sale and consisted of residential mortgage loans that were acquired as part of the acquisition of ASB in 2012. As reflected in the table below, loan growth was also impacted by the acquisition of Texas Bankers, Inc., The Bank Arlington , ASB and Community National Bank. Excluding loans acquired in these acquisitions and new production at the acquired banking centers since their respective acquisition dates, loans held for investment grew approximately $234.9 million, or 6.2%. The Company offers a variety of commercial lending products including term loans and lines of credit. The Company offers a broad range of short to medium-term commercial loans, primarily collateralized, to businesses for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion (including acquisitions of real estate and improvements) and the purchase of equipment and machinery.

The Company makes commercial real estate loans collateralized by owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied real estate to finance the purchase of real estate. The Company's commercial real estate loans are collateraliz! ed by lie! ns on real estate, typically have variable interest rates (or five year or less fixed rates) and amortize ov er a 15 to 20 year period. Company's lending activities al! so includ! es the origination of 1-4 family residential mortgage loans collateralized by owner-occupied residential properties located in the Company's market areas. The Company offers a variety of mortgage loan products which generally are amortized over five to 25 years. Loans collateralized by 1-4 family residential real estate generally have been originated in amounts of no more than 89% of appraised value or have mortgage insurance. The Company requires mortgage title insurance and hazard insurance. Other than with respect to mortgage banking activities acquired in the ASB acquisition, the Company has elected to keep all 1-4 family residential loans for its own account rather than selling such loans into the secondary market. By doing so, the Company is able to realize a higher yield on these loans; however, the Company also incurs interest rate risk as well as the risks associated with nonpayments on such loans. The Company makes loans to finance the construction of residential and, to a lesser extent, nonresidential properties. Construction loans generally are collateralized by first liens on real estate and have floating interest rates. The Company provides agriculture loans for short-term crop production, including rice, cotton, milo and corn, farm equipment financing and agriculture real estate financing.

Investment Activities

The Company uses its securities portfolio to manage interest rate risk and as a source of income and liquidity for cash requirements. At December 31, 2012, the carrying amount of investment securities totaled $7.44 billion. At December 31, 2012, securities represented 51.0% of total assets. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company did not own securities of any one issuer (other than the U.S. government and its agencies) for which aggregate adjusted cost exceede! d 10% of ! the consolidated shareholders equity .

Sources of Funds

The Company offers a variety of deposit accounts having a wide range of interest rates an! d terms i! ncluding demand, savings, money market and time accounts. The Company relies primarily on competitive pricing policies and customer service to attract and retain these deposits. The Company does not have or accept any brokered deposits. Total deposits at December 31, 2012, were $11.64 billion. Noninterest-bearing deposits at December 31, 2012, were $3.02 billion. The Company utilizes borrowings to supplement deposits to fund its lending and investment activities. Borrowings consist of funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) and securities sold under repurchase agreements.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By mitu77]

  Various chip manufacturers are now focused on their flash drive storage portfolio to leverage their top and bottom lines. EMC (EMC) is one such company that is a market leader in storage solution providers with global foot prints. Not just the storage, but EMC also provides various solutions like security, big data and hybrid cloud solution. The company's emerging business is its storage business with high end solutions and performance. The size of data has been exponentially growing and this growth has enabled companies like EMC to flourish. IDC ( Market research company) and EMC had jointly estimated global data size to be around 2,837 Exabytes (EB) in 2012, and it is estimated to reach 40,000 EB by 2020. As the digital world continues to expand it is further anticipated that by 2020, average storage requirement would be around 5200 Gigabytes (GB) per person. 1 Exabytes (EB) = 1000 Petabytes (PB) = 1 million Terabytes (TB) =1 billion Gigabytes (GB)

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Next, I run graphs on liquidity ratios and additional data on various valuation ratios to include price to book value (pb), price to cash flow (pcfl), price to free cash flow (pfcfl) a! nd others! that can be seen as options on the navigation bar to the left of the sample graph which only plots the current ratio (cr), a quick ratio (qr) and for those diehards concerned with volatility [size=11.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">—

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Houston-based bank holding company Prosperity Bancshares  (NYSE: PB  )  announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.215 per share, the same rate it paid the last two quarters after raising the payout 10% from $0.195 per share.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-financial-stocks-to-buy-right-now-6.html

Hot Quality Companies To Buy Right Now

The ECB is currently in the process of designing a fresh ��00bn securities purchase program. There are multiple options on the table and the central bank is having staff run through a number of scenarios. Asset classes and asset quality scenarios run the gamut - from AAA assets only to everything from BBB- and up. The possibilities include government bonds only as well as a mix that also contains private credit. This is all in addition to the ABS and covered bond buying programs already in place.

But here comes the tough part - risk sharing. The ECB is looking at three possibilities:

Method-1. The full amount of securities purchased is shared based on each member-state ownership of the ECB (capital subscriptions). This is how risk has been shared so far on purchases by the central bank. It would be similar to the so-called Securities Market Program (SMP), which is how the ECB originally got stuck with defaulted Greek debt. Of course the Germans, with their 26% exposure to the ECB, are quite unhappy about this.

Hot Computer Hardware Companies To Invest In 2016: Volcano Corporation(VOLC)

Volcano Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and commercializes intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) products used in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular and structural heart disease. It offers multi-modality consoles, which are marketed as stand-alone units that can be integrated into hospital-based interventional surgical suites, such as catheterization laboratories. The company provides IVUS products, including single-procedure disposable phased array and rotational IVUS imaging catheters; and additional functionality options comprising virtual histology tissue characterization, and ChromaFlo stent apposition analysis. It also offers FFR products, such as pressure and flow consoles, and single-procedure disposable pressure and flow guide wires used to measure the pressure and flow characteristics of blood around plaque enabling physicians to gauge the plaque?s physiological impact on blood flow and pressure. In addition, the com pany develops and manufactures optical monitors for the telecommunication industry; laser and non-laser light sources; optical engines used in the medical OCT imaging systems and advanced photonic components; and sub-systems used in spectroscopy and other industrial applications. Its products under development include image-guided therapy device and micro and thrombectomy catheters. The company?s ongoing clinical studies comprise assessment of dual anti-platelet therapy with drug-eluting stents; vascular evaluation for revascularization; fractional flow reserve and intravascular ultrasound relationship study; adensonine vasodilation independent stenosis evaluation; and evaluation of XIENCE PRIME. It sells its products through direct sales force and distributors, as well as through third parties supply and distribution agreements primarily in the United States, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered i n San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Instead of an eruption, Volcano (VOLC) got an earnings-induced collapse instead.

  Associated Press

  Medical-device maker Volcano said its third quarter profit would miss Wall Street forecasts, and 2013 sales would also disappoint. And 2014? Well, that didn’t look too exciting other.

  JPMOrgan analyst Christopher Pasquale and team have had enough:

  We are downgrading VOLC shares to Neutral from Overweight following the company�� negative 3Q preannouncement and disappointing initial 2014 growth outlook Monday after the close. While we continue to see significant long-term potential for Volcano�� technologies, we are concerned by persistent headwinds to its core IVUS franchise and slowing FFR growth. With our conviction in a pipeline-driven reacceleration reduced and visibility into meaningful new growth drivers unlikely for several quarters, we are moving to the sidelines.

  Canaccord Genuity’s Jason Mills and Jeffrey Chu also cut Volcano to Hold–just a quarter after upgrading it–and even today’s drop might not make it worth buying. They explain why:

  Our upgrade of VOLC last quarter was predicated on the improving trends in the core IVUS business, FFR continuing as a long-term growth engine, and the potential material gross margin expansion. While Q3 results included pockets of good news, adverse trends predominated.
  While US IVUS rebounded modestly, driven by peripheral IVUS (+40% Y/Y), IVUS and FM results in Japan were very disconcerting to us (-19%, +8%, respectively), and portend share loss, in our estimation. Also, while we still expect significant gross margin expansion long term, it seems we may have to wait longer than expected.

  In sum, we would not aggressively buy weakness unless the stock is over-penalized on these results – i.e. below $20.

  While shares of Volcano have dropped 15% to $20.74, large-cap medical device companies are having a solid day. Boston Scienti

• [By Ali Berri]

  Volcano (NASDAQ: VOLC) shares tumbled 23.57 percent to $12.06 on Q2 results. The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.01 per share on revenue of $102.60 million. Volcano announced its plans to divest its Axsun Technologies subsidiary and also announced the litigation settlement agreement with St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ). Oppenheimer downgraded Volcano from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the price target from $22.00 to $15.00.

Hot Quality Companies To Buy Right Now: Regal Beloit Corporation(RBC)

Regal Beloit Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells electric motors and controls, electric generators and controls, and mechanical motion control products primarily in the United States and Asia. The company operates in two segments, Electrical and Mechanical. The Electrical segment manufactures and markets AC and DC commercial, industrial, and commercial refrigeration electric motors and blowers, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) electric motors and blowers. It also provides precision servo motors, electric generators, automatic transfer switches and paralleling switchgear, and control electric power generation equipment; AC and DC variable speed drives and controllers, and other accessories for industrial and commercial applications; and capacitors for use in HVAC systems, high intensity lighting, and other applications. The Mechanical segment manufactures and markets a range of mechanical motion control products, i ncluding worm gears, bevel gears, helical gears, and concentric shaft gearboxes; marine transmissions; after-market automotive transmissions, and ring and pinions; custom gearing; gearmotors; electrical connecting devices; and manual valve actuators, which are used in oil and gas, water distribution and treatment, and chemical processing applications. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and end users through its direct sales people and manufacturer?s representative organizations. Regal Beloit Corporation was founded in 1955 and is based in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  This industry moved down 1.34% by 11:30 am, with Regal Beloit (NYSE: RBC) moving down 9.1%. Regal Beloit reported Q2 earnings of $1.27 per share on revenue of $850.40 million.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) Merrill Lynch division and Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RBC  ) have provided HBC with fully committed credit facilities, which, together with the equity commitment provided by the pension plan, is sufficient to close the transaction.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of electric motor manufacturer Regal Beloit (NYSE: RBC  ) plummeted 19% today after its quarterly results and guidance missed Wall Street expectations.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Electric motor manufacturer�Regal Beloit� (NYSE: RBC  ) �will pay a�regular quarterly dividend�of $0.30 on July 12 to the holders of record at the close of business on June 28.

Hot Quality Companies To Buy Right Now: Gevo Inc (GEVO)

Gevo, Inc., incorporated in June 2005, is a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company. The Company is focused on the development and commercialization of alternatives to petroleum-based products. The Company operates in two segments: Gevo, Inc. Segment and Gevo Development/Agri-Energy Segment. Gevo, Inc. Segment is responsible for all research and development activities related to the future production of isobutanol, maintaining and protecting its intellectual property portfolio, developing future markets for its isobutanol and providing corporate oversight services. Its Gevo Development/Agri-Energy Segment is responsible for the production of ethanol and related products. In September 2010, the Company acquired a 22 MGPY ethanol production facility in Luverne, Minnesota that the Company intends to retrofit to produce isobutanol.

The Company�� isobutanol can also be converted by its customers into a range of hydrocarbons, which form the basis for the production of many products, including plastics, fibers, rubber and other polymers and hydrocarbon fuels, including jet and diesel fuel. Its technology platform consists of biocatalysts and a isobutanol separation unit. Together these technologies form the Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology (GIFT). GIFT is designed to allow relatively low capital expenditure retrofits of existing ethanol facilities, enabling isobutanol production from a range of renewable feedstocks. The Company�� biocatalysts are microorganisms that have been designed to metabolize sugars to produce isobutanol.

GIFT consists of two components, biocatalysts which convert sugars derived from multiple renewable feedstocks into isobutanol through fermentation, and a separation unit which is designed to continuously separate isobutanol from water during the fermentation process. The Company developed its technology platform to be compatible with the existing approximately 20 BGPY of global operating ethanol production capacity, as estimated by the R! enewable Fuels Association (RFA).

The Company competes with Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC (Butamax), BP p.l.c. (BP), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Butalco GmbH, Cathay Industrial Biotech Ltd., METabolic EXplorer S.A., TetraVitae Bioscience, Inc., Cobalt Technologies, Inc., Green Biologics Ltd. Shell Oil Products US (Shell Oil), BP, DuPont-Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC, Abengoa Bioenergy, S.A., POET, LLC, ICM, Mascoma, Range Fuels, Inbicon A/S, INEOS New Planet BioEnergy LLC, Coskata, Archer Daniels Midland Company, BlueFire Ethanol, Inc., KL Energy Corporation, ZeaChem Inc., Iogen Corporation, Qteros, Inc., and AE Biofuels, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  The so-called fundamentals, frankly, don't really matter for Entest BioMedical Inc. (OTCMKTS:ENTB) or Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO). Oh, both GEVO and ENTB are generating sales, but both are consistently taking losses. That's ok though, as for both companies right now, profits aren't really the point - it's the pipeline that matters.

Hot Quality Companies To Buy Right Now: Hardinge Inc.(HDNG)

Hardinge Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and distributes machine tools in North America, Europe, Asia, internationally. It offers high-precision computer-numerically controlled cutting lathes, machining centers, grinding machines, collets, chucks, index fixtures, and other industrial products, as well as related accessories, including work holding, tool holding, and other industrial support products for companies making parts from hard to machine materials, and small and medium-sized independent job shops. The company also offers post-sale support services, including operation and maintenance training, in-field maintenance, and in-field repair. Its metal-cutting turning machines or lathes are used to remove materials from bar stock or a rough-formed part by moving multiple cutting tools against the surface of a part rotating at high speeds in a spindle mechanism; grinding machines are used to finish parts of various shapes and sizes; and machin ing centers are used to remove materials from stationary, prismatic, or box-like parts of various shapes. Hardinge Inc. serves aerospace, automotive, communications, computer, construction equipment, defense, energy, farm equipment, medical equipment, recreational equipment, and transportation industries. It sells its products through distributors, agents, and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Elmira, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Emerson]

  Hardinge (HDNG) the Perfect Fit to the Investment Puzzle
  
  Several years earlier I had started following the machine tool sector and I became quite familiar with Hardinge. Although I never invested in the stock (I had opted for Hurco), I had noted that Jeffrey Gendell had been purchasing shares the company. Hurco (HURC) had much higher margins and it was my belief that the superior quality of their computerized machine tools and their accompanying software were reflected in their earnings. Hurco also held a vastly superior balance sheet at the time I made my investment.

Hot Quality Companies To Buy Right Now: Briggs & Stratton Corporation (BGG)

Briggs & Stratton Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, and services air cooled gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. It operates in two segments, Engines and Products. The Engines segment offers four-cycle aluminum alloy gasoline engines that are used primarily by the lawn and garden equipment industry. Its products are used in various lawn and garden equipment applications, including walk-behind lawn mowers, riding lawn mowers, garden tillers, and snow throwers, as well as on products for industrial, construction, agricultural, and other consumer applications that include portable and standby generators, pumps, and pressure washers. This segment also manufactures and sells replacement engines and service parts to sales and service distributors. The Products segment offers portable and standby generators, pressure washers, snow throwers, and lawn and garden powered equipment. This segment sells its products through various channels of retail distribution, in cluding consumer home centers, warehouse clubs, mass merchants, and independent dealers under its brands, which include Briggs & Stratton, Snapper, Simplicity, Ferris, Snapper Pro, Murray, and Victa, as well as other brands, such as Craftsman, John Deere, GE, and Troy-Bilt. The company serves original equipment manufacturers worldwide. Briggs & Stratton Corporation was founded in 1908 and is based in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Small-engine maker�Briggs & Stratton� (NYSE: BGG  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.12 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past four quarters after raising the payout 9% from $0.11 per share.

Hot Quality Companies To Buy Right Now: Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP)

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Consumer Staples Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index (the Index). The Index includes companies that are primarily involved in the development and production of consumer products that cover food and drug retailing, beverages, food products, tobacco, household products and personal products.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing investment approach to invest in a portfolio of stocks that seek to replicate the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The exception to the strong defensive performance: consumer staples. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) has dropped 2.9% this year, making it the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500. Barclays’ Barry Knappexplains what’s gone wrong:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) has gained 1.5% to $82.34 today, by far the best performance of any sector in the S&P 500. It’s lost 0.1% in August, but that too counts as a victory when every other sector has lost between the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLB) 0.2% loss and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR’s (XLP) 5% drop. The S&P 500 has fallen 2.9%.

Hot Income Companies To Invest In Right Now

Hot Income Companies To Invest In Right Now: Franklin Covey Company (FC)

Franklin Covey Co. provides training and consulting solutions to address leadership, execution, productivity, trust, customer loyalty, sales performance, and education problems worldwide. The company also offers clients with training in management skills, relationship skills, and individual effectiveness, as well as personal-effectiveness literature and electronic educational solutions. In addition, it sells a suite of individual-effectiveness and leadership-development training products; and books, e-books, audio media, downloadable and paper-based tools, content-rich software applications for smart phones and other handheld devices, training accessories, and other related products. The company delivers its products and services through onsite presentations, facilitators, international licensees, e-learning, public workshops, custom solutions, intellectual property licenses, and media publishing methods to organizational clients, including corporations, governmental agenc ies, educational institutions, and other organizations, as well as individual clients. Franklin Covey Co. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: A. Schulman (NASDAQ: SHLM), Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI), Franklin Covey (NYSE: FC) and Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) Economic Releases Expected: US ISM manufacturing PMI, US redbook, British manufacturing PMI, German unemployment rate, French manufacturing PMI, Italian manufacturing PMI, Spanish manufacturing PMI and Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision

  Wednesday

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC), Franklin Covey Company (NYSE: FC), Micron Technology! , Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), Apollo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) Economic Releases Expected: French consumer confidence, German unemployment rate, Brazilian CPI, Canadian trade balance

  Wednesday

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-income-companies-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Don't get fooled by the flash of new all-time highs in the big stock indices; if you're not buying dividend names, you're missing out on a big chunk of total returns in 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a perfect example right now: Factoring in dividends means 44% higher total returns year-to-date than capital gains alone.

Read More: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend Stocks

That's right -- dividends have added nearly half again to Wall Street's biggest stock returns this year. And a funny thing has been happening in the last few sessions too. New highs have been propelled by high-yielding blue chips, not momentum stocks.

Turn your focus long-term, and the importance of owning dividend stocks becomes even more jarring. According to research from Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel, reinvested dividends account for as much as 97% of total long-term market performance. Better yet, dividends even impact how big your capital gains are. Data from Ned Davis Research reveals that, over the last 36 years, dividend stocks have outperformed the rest of the S&P 500 by 2.5% annually, and they outperformed nonpayers by nearly 8% every year, all while paying out cash to their shareholders.

Top Quality Stocks To Invest In 2016: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Chevron is an oil and gas bellwether that provides essential energy products and services to consumers and companies worldwide. The company�released its earnings update for the first two months of the fourth-quarter in 2014, which showed results the company noted were comparable to the the third-quarter of last year. The stock has been moving higher, but is now pulling back. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been decreasing while revenues have been increasing, which has produced conflicting feelings about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Chevron has been a poor year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what Chevron does this coming quarter.

• [By David Smith]

  Chevron's new baby
  Operations in the deepwater will also benefit as time passes from a technological development called dual-gradient drilling, or DGD. The new advancement is largely the child of Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , and it clearly will benefit the second-biggest U.S.-based oil and gas major.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Another top stock today was Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , which saw its shares rise 1.09%. One likely catalyst for the rise was the recent Morgan Stanley report that claimed Chevron would outperform its fellow Dow component and competitor ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) by 55% over the next few years. Morgan Stanley believes Chevron could experience higher production growth and realize better returns in the coming years. The firm also raised Chevron's price target to $135 per share, while reducing Exxon's to $85 per share. �

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The market’s weak start to the year is slowly becoming a memory as investors used Janet Yellen’s testimony as an excuse to push up economically sensitive stocks like Boeing (BA), Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Chevron (CVX) and International Business Machines (IBM).

Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Trustamind]

  Warren Buffett surprised everyone when he announced that Berkshire (BRK.A) (BRK.B) bought 5.5% shares of IBM (IBM) last November. No matter how bizarre it looks, there was sound logic behind Buffett�� decision, as he explained in his interview with CNN.

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  This week promises to be a big week in the technology sector. Some of the biggest and most influential companies are reporting. Tuesday will see Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO  ) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) report earnings results, while Thursday is the big day with Nokia, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) , IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) , and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) reporting. Many of these results will set the tone for the rest of the year in the sector and have far-reaching ramifications.

• [By Robert Abbott]

  OpenText Corporation (OTEX) fits within the latter group. Since its inception as a search engine-type company in 1991, it has become something of a giant itself. It operates in the Enterprise Information Management industry, with annual revenue of more than $1.6 billion and capable of going head-to-head with names such as IBM�(IBM) and Hewlett Packard�(HPQ).

• [By Travis Hoium]

  All but six of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) �components are higher today, but a quirk in the way the index is calculated has it slightly in the red. The Dow is a price-weighted index, which means that expensive stocks like IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) have an especially large impact on the index as a whole, so the stock's 8.1% loss today has cost the Dow more than 100 points. A broader look at stocks via the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) shows the market making significant gains today: The index is up 0.75% near the end of trading.

Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  In a previous article, I outlined that it is getting more difficult to find quality dividend paying stocks to buy. Most of the usual suspects like Kimberly-Clark (KMB) or Colgate-Palmolive (CL) are very overvalued today, which prevents me from adding to my positions there. Other companies like Chevron (CVX) are attractively valued today, but unfortunately my portfolio is overweight in them. Currently I find the oil sector to be cheap and have some of the lowest P/E ratios in the market. However, I would hate to be concentrated in one sector which is exposed to the fluctuating prices in its commodity products.

Top 5 Blue Chip Companies To Buy For 2015: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  The restaurant industry has not been easy these days, as many setbacks seem to have interfered with companies��performance. Holiday seasons, bad weather and other challenges lead to under top-line results for many. Firms such as Chili�� of Brinker International (EAT) or McDonald's (MCD) have complained about the hostile weather conditions striking their business.

• [By Alyce Lomax]

  Fast food's identity crisis
  We can blame McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) recent weakness in stock price and business on all kinds of theories. Maybe it's tough comparisons to all those years when the fast-food giant was absolutely on fire. Maybe it's a difficult transition from now-retired turnaround pro, former CEO Jim Skinner, to his successor, Donald Thompson.

Hot European Stocks To Own Right Now

Hot European Stocks To Own Right Now: Aercap Holdings N.V. (AER)

AerCap Holdings N.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated aviation company worldwide. It engages in leasing and trading aircraft and engines; and selling parts. The company also provides aircraft management services, as well as aircraft and limited engine MRO services, and aircraft disassembly services through its repair stations. In addition, it offers aircraft services, including remarketing aircraft; collecting rental and maintenance payments, monitoring aircraft maintenance, monitoring and enforcing contract compliance, and accepting delivery and redelivery of aircraft; conducting ongoing lessee financial performance reviews; inspecting the leased aircraft; coordinating technical modifications to aircraft to meet new lessee requirements; conducting restructurings negotiations in connection with lease defaults; repossessing aircraft; arranging and monitoring insurance coverage; registering and de-registering aircraft; arranging for aircraft and aircraft engine valuations; and providing market research. The company?s management services include leasing and remarketing, cash management and treasury, technical advisory, and accounting and administrative services. As of March 31, 2011, it owned 272 aircraft and 95 engines, which it leased under operating leases to 118 lessees in 53 countries. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Schiphol, the Netherlands.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Analysts at Barclays maintained an Equal-weight rating on Aercap Holdings (NYSE: AER) with a price target raised to $53 from a previous $24. Shares lost 1.32 percent, closing at $47.06.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Finally. Finally American International Group (AIG) has disposed of its ILFC unit by selling it to AerCap Holdings (AER).

  Bloomberg News

  The Wall! Street Journal has the details on the deal:

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-european-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

Top 5 Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now

WASHINGTON (AP) ��Should shoppers turn off their smartphones when they hit the mall? Or does having them on lead to better sales or shorter lines at the cash register?

Retailers are using mobile-based technology to track shoppers' movements at some malls and stores. The companies collecting the information say it's anonymous, can't be traced to a specific person and no one should worry about invasion of privacy. But consumer advocates aren't convinced. It's spying, they say, and shoppers should be informed their phones are being observed and then be able to choose whether to allow it.

The Federal Trade Commission held a workshop recently on the issue, part of a series of privacy seminars looking at emerging technologies and the impact on consumers. FTC attorney Amanda Koulousias says the commission wants to better understand how companies are using phone-location technology, how robust privacy controls are and whether shoppers are notified in advance.

Best Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Fossil Inc.(FOSL)

Fossil, Inc. designs, develops, markets, and distributes fashion accessories worldwide. It offers a line of fashion watches under its proprietary brands, such as FOSSIL, MICHELE, RELIC, and ZODIAC; and through licensed brands, including ADIDAS, BURBERRY, DIESEL, DKNY, EMPORIO ARMANI, MARC BY MARC JACOBS, and MICHAEL KORS. The company designs, markets, and arranges for the manufacture of watches and accessories on behalf of certain mass market retailers, companies, and organizations as private label products or as premium and incentive items for use in various corporate events. It also provides various fashion accessories for men and women, including handbags, belts, small leather goods, jewelry, and sunglasses through company owned retail stores, department stores, and specialty retail stores, as well as over the Internet and through catalogs. In addition, the company sells a line of soft accessories, such as hats, gloves, and scarves, as well as a handbag collection. Furt her, it offers apparel comprising jeans, outerwear, fashion tops and bottoms, and tee shirts for men and women through company-owned stores, as well as over the Internet and through catalogs. Additionally, the company provides footwear products, including sport court sneakers, authentic casuals, dress classics, and boots for men, as well as fashionable flats, heels, wedges, and boots for women. Fossil, Inc., through a license agreement with the Safilo Group, manufactures, markets, and sells optical frames under the FOSSIL and RELIC brand names in the United States and Canada. As of August 9, 2011, it had approximately 360 company-owned and operated retail stores. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Richardson, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Fossil (FOSL) �fell 5.3% to $105.50 on moderate volume after the company forecast second-quarter earnings of 90 cents to 97 cents a share, while analysts surveyed by FactSet expect $1.16 a share.

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  Lest we forget, Macy�� (M) cut its outlook on disappointing third-quarter sales earlier today, but beat estimates and shares are up 4.4% in trading. Watch and accessories maker Fossil (FOSL) rose 8.3% after reporting a better-than-expected third quarter yesterday, and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is up 9.1% after boosting its earnings guidance and posting better-than-expected sales in August.

• [By Teresa Rivas]

  Big gainers today included Fossil (FOSL) and Michael Kors (KORS), which both bounced on better-than-expected earnings reports. Valero Energy (VLO) and other refiners jumped after the Environmental Protection Agency released its final targets for required renewable fuel use.

Top 5 Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT)

Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (Kraft Foods Group), incorporated on March 16, 2012, operates food and beverage businesses in North America. The Company manufactures and markets food and beverage products, including convenient meals, refreshment beverages and coffee, cheese and other grocery products, in the United States and Canada, under a stable of iconic brands. Its product categories span breakfast, lunch and dinner meal occasions, both at home and in foodservice locations. The Company sells its products to supermarket chains, wholesalers, supercenters, club stores, mass merchandisers, distributors, convenience stores, drug stores, gasoline stations, value stores and other retail food outlets in the United States and Canada. On September 14, 2012, the Company�� parent company, Kraft Foods Inc. (Kraft ParentCo), issued a press release relating to the anticipated trading markets for Kraft Foods Inc. and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. common stock through the completion of its spin-off from Kraft Foods Inc. In October 2012, Mondelez International, Inc. completed the spin-off of North American grocery business, Kraft Foods Group. In June 2013, Kraft Foods Group Inc announced plans to create two new, standalone business units: Meals and Desserts, and Enhancers and Snack Nuts.

The Company�� brand portfolio consists of food brands in North America, including three brands: Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; Oscar Mayer meats, and Maxwell House coffees- plus over 20 brands. It manufactures and sells food and beverage products in 50 categories. The Company operates in five segments: U.S. Beverages, which manufactures packaged juice drinks, powdered beverages and coffee; U.S. Cheese, which manufactures processed, natural and cream cheeses; U.S. Convenient Meals, which manufactures processed meats and lunch combinations; U.S. Grocery, which manufactures spoonable and pourable dressings, condiments, desserts, packaged dinners and snack nuts, and Canada & N.A. Foodservice, which sells products that span ! all of its segments and includes the Canadian and Puerto Rico grocery business, the North American foodservice operations and the North American Grocery Export Business.

U.S. Beverages

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company�� U.S. Beverages segment contributed 16% of its combined net revenues. This segment manufactures refreshment beverages, including Capri Sun (under license) and Kool-Aid packaged juice drinks, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light and Country Timepowdered beverages and MiO liquid concentrate, and coffee products, including Maxwell House, Gevalia and Yuban coffees, Maxwell House Internationalbeverage mixers and Tassimo (under license) hot beverage system.

U.S. Cheese

During 2011, U.S. Cheese segment had contributed 20% of the Company�� combined net revenues. This segment manufactures processed cheese, including Velveeta and Cheez Whiz processed cheeses, Kraft and Deli Deluxe processed cheese slices, Kraft grated cheeses and Polly-O and Athenos hummus and cheeses; natural cheese, including Kraft and Cracker Barrel natural cheeses, and cream cheese, including Philadelphia cream cheese and cooking creme.

U.S. Convenient Meals

During 2011, the Company�� U.S. Convenient Meals segment contributed 18% of its combined net revenues. This segment�� principal brands and products include Oscar Mayer lunch meats, hot dogs and bacon, Lunchables lunch combinations, Boca soy-based meat alternatives, and Claussen pickles.

U.S. Grocery

During 2011, the Company�� U.S. Grocery segment contributed 25% of its combined net revenues. This segment�� principal brands and products include Kraft and Kraft Deluxe macaroni & cheese dinners, Planters nuts, trail mixes and peanut butter, Corn Nuts corn snacks, Jell-O dry packaged desserts and refrigerated gelatin and pudding snacks, Cool Whip whipped topping, Jet-Puffed marshmallows, Baker�� chocolate and baking ingredients, Kraft and Miracle Whip sp! oonable d! ressings, Kraft and Good Seasons salad dressings, A.1. steak sauce, Kraft and Bull��-Eye barbecue sauces, Grey Poupon mustards, Shake N��Bake coatings, Stove Top stuffing mix, Taco Bell Home Originals (under license) meal kits, Velveeta shells and cheese dinners, and Velveeta Skillets meal kits.

Canada & N.A. Foodservice

During 2011, the Company�� Canada & N.A. Foodservice segment contributed 21% of its combined net revenues. The principal products and brands in this segment span all of its segments. Canadian grocery offerings include Nabob coffee and Kraft peanut butter, as well as a range of products in the Grocery Business Lines. The North American foodservice business sells branded products, including Maxwell House coffee, A.1. steak sauce and a range of Kraft sauces, dressings and cheeses, and serves the needs of restaurants and other foodservice operations. Puerto Rico grocery offerings include all grocery business lines, except for powdered and liquid concentrate beverages, such as Crystal Light, Tang and MiO. The North American Grocery Export Business products and brands span all grocery business lines, except for powdered and liquid concentrate beverages and certain products sold under brands, such as Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraftmayonnaise, which marketed and sold locally by Kraft ParentCo in countries outside the United States and Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

   

  Kraft Foods Group (KRFT) is a consumer packaged food and beverage company. This stock closed up 1.1% at $53.85 in Monday's trading session.

   

  Monday's Volume: 8.60 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 2.75 million
  
  Volume % Change: 186%

   

   

  From a technical perspective, KRFT jumped modestly higher here right above its 200-day moving average of $51.99 with strong upside volume. This move briefly pushed shares of KRFT back above its 50-day moving average at $53.95, before the stock closed just below that level at $53.85. Shares of KRFT are now starting to trend within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if KRFT manages to take out Monday's high of $54.36 and then once it clears some near-term overhead resistance at $55.65 with high volume.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in KRFT as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $51.99 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 2.75 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then KRFT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $57.75 to its 52-week high at $58.75.

   

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  That's a huge issue for Kraft Foods Group (NASDAQ: KRFT  ) and Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ  ) . After its October 2012 split from Mondelez, Kraft retained the vast smorgasbord of salad dressing brands. But even aside from dressings, many categories in which Kraft competes already face commoditization and serious private-label threats. Another drawback for Kraft is that it's confined to mature North American markets, a factor limiting its long-term growth potential.

Top 5 Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Stoneridge Inc.(SRI)

Stoneridge, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design and manufacture of engineered electrical and electronic components, modules, and systems for the medium and heavy-duty truck, automotive, agricultural, and off-highway vehicle markets primarily in North America and Europe. The company operates in two segments, Electronics and Control Devices. The Electronics segment produces electronic instrument clusters, electronic control units, and driver information systems, as well as electrical distribution systems, principally wiring harnesses and connectors for electrical power and signal distribution. Its products collect, store, and display vehicle information, such as speed, pressure, maintenance data, trip information, operator performance, temperature, distance traveled, and driver messages related to vehicle performance. In addition, this segment?s power distribution systems regulate, coordinate, and direct the operation of the electrical system within a vehicle. The Control Devices segment designs and manufactures products that monitor, measure, or activate a specific function within the vehicle. This segment?s product lines include sensors, which are employed in a range of vehicle systems, such as the emissions, safety, power train, braking, climate control, steering, and suspension systems; switches that transmit signal to activate or deactivate selected functions; and electromechanical actuator products, which enable original equipment manufacturers to deploy power functions in a vehicle. Stoneridge, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Warren, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  As the U.S. automobile industry recovers, auto parts suppliers are expecting to see increasing sales volumes. Particularly firms such as Delphi Automotive (DLPH) and Stoneridge Inc. (SRI), which specialize in electronic components, expect to make large profits. Increasingly electrified vehicles, higher demand for hybrid and electric powertrain vehicles and stricter governmental emissions regulations should drive revenue growth for these firms in coming years.

Top 5 Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Primo Water Corporation(PRMW)

Primo Water Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides three- and five-gallon purified bottled water, self-serve filtered drinking water, water dispensers, and carbonating beverage appliances in the United States and Canada. The company?s Primo Water segment sells multi-gallon purified bottled water and self-serve filtered drinking water vending service through retailers in the United States and Canada. It offers its services through point of purchase display racks or self-serve filtered water vending displays, and recycling centers. Its Primo Dispensers segment sells water dispensers that are designed to dispense Primo and other dispenser-compatible bottled water. This segment engages in dispensers sales primarily through retailers. The company also offers home beverage appliances, flavor concentrates, carbon dioxide cylinders, and accessories used with the appliances to make various cold beverages. As of December 31, 2011, its exchange and refill services wer e offered in each of the contiguous United States and in Canada at approximately 23,600 combined retail locations. Primo Water Corporation was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap water stocks Primo Water Corporation (NASDAQ: PRMW), Arrowhead Water Products Ltd. (CVE: AWA) and Alkaline Water Company Inc (OTCBB: WTER) might be the last place you expect to see much action, but these stocks have been boiling lately for investors���either with news or they have been producing profits: