Thursday, October 31, 2013

No End to Boeing Dreamliner Worries - Analyst Blog

The share price of The Boeing Company (BA) plummeted as the company's next-generation 787 Dreamliner was once again in the news for the wrong reason. The Dreamliner operated by Ethiopian Airlines caught fire while it was parked at London's Heathrow Airport. Meanwhile another 787 operated by Thomson Airways on way to Orlando, Fla., had to return to Manchester after unspecified malfunctions.

Fortunately, both the incidents did not cause any injuries. The only casualty it seems was Boeing's stock price which suffered the biggest drop in two years.

The much-hyped 787 Dreamliner was marred by glitches from the very beginning. First, its delayed launch and then the two battery overheating incidents in Jan 2013 that grounded the entire fleet of 50 Boeing 787 airplanes. However, in Apr 2013, The Boeing Company received the green light from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for the 787 Dreamliner's redesigned battery.

One can relate the current fire to Boeing 787's previous battery issues. However, the location of the fire proves that this incident is no way interlinked to the previous series of glitches and small technical problems.

The fire issue is being investigated by the U.K. aviation officials and Boeing engineers. If the 787 fleet needs to be grounded yet again, subject to investigations and regulatory decisions, it will be a huge blow to investor confidence. And if it finally boils down to a much graver manufacturing fault, the stock price of this premier airplane manufacturer and defense prime will likely be crushed.

Currently, the company builds Dreamliners at the rate of 7 per month and expects to increase the rate to 10 per month by 2013 end. However, with the increasing demand for Boeing Dreamliner, this rate of production does not seem to be enough. With approximately 900 orders in hand, the company would take more than a decade to deliver all these planes. We note that sales are only recorded once the delivery is made and not earlier. So, a g! rowing order book does not necessarily translate into near-term revenues. Indeed, the company recently indicated that its South Carolina plant that builds Dreamliners would half the production rate per month, thereby not being able to meet its 2013 target.

Despite the untoward incident, Ethiopian Airlines continues to trust its contractor. It plans to continue to operate the other three 787s in its stable. Moreover, other airline customers including United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL) and All Nippon Airways have confirmed that their own 787 fleet would remain in operation and do not believe that these malfunctions are big enough to ground the fleet. The company presently retains a short-term Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other stocks to look out for in the space are Embraer SA (ERJ), and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC), both with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

New retirement Income designation attracts thousands of advisers

american college, designations, retirement, retirement income

One of the first blogs I ever wrote for InvestmentNews back in early 2012 discussed the need for a retirement income designation (http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20120210/BLOG05/120219990). As many of my readers know, I firmly believe that retirement income planning requires different skills and tools than those used in the accumulation phase.

Many financial advisers obviously agree given the numbers who are enrolling in retirement income designation programs.

The American College of Financial Services announced this week that its Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designation is the fastest-growing financial adviser credential ever launched in the nonprofit college's 87 year history.

Since the RICP was launched a year ago, more than 3,000 licensed advisers and insurance agents have registered for the online program which includes three college-level courses and subsequent exams.

The RICP program includes textbooks for self-study, online lectures and video interviews with leaders in the retirement income planning field. The curriculum explores questions such as:

&bull:What is the best strategy for meeting a client's income needs in retirement?

&bull:What is the safe withdrawal rate from a portfolio?

&bull:How should portfolios be managed differently during the course of retirement?

&bull:How can clients maximize income in a low-interest-rate environment?

&bull:What is the most tax-efficient withdrawal strategy?

&bull:How can clients choose the best Social Security claiming strategy?

&bull:How do income annuities and employer-sponsored benefits fit into the mix?

“The main feedback we get from program participants is praise for the practical nature of the coursework,” RICP Program Director David Littell told me. “They can watch a video and use the information in their practice the next day.”

Advisers can learn more about the RICP program by visiting TheAmericanCollege.edu/RICP. Much of the video content is free to anyone at the site's New York Life Center for Retirement Income.

Although the RICP designation is the fastest growing credential in the retirement income field, it is certainly not the only one.

This summer, retirement income professor and researcher Wade Pfau shared his perspectives on the three leading retirement income designations in a guest post on Michael Kitces Nerd's Eye View blog.

Mr. Pfau created a side-by-side table comparing what he called ”the three most promising designations”, including : the International Foundation for Retirement Education's (InFRE) Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC); the Retirement Income Industry's Association's (RIIA) Retirement Income Management Analyst (RMA) and the ! American College's RICP.

Top 5 Stocks To Buy Right Now

The CRC is the oldest and most established with more than 1,800 current designee holders. The RICP is the newest and fastest growing designation, awarding its first 247 designations in 2013.The RMA certification, first awarded in 2010, has 74 designees so far.

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now

It might not be obvious to the casual observer, but right now,�Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) stock offers one of the best values available in the entire aerospace and defense industry. Why?

Three reasons.

Boeing is a contender
At first glance, Boeing stock looks firmly in the running as a good investment idea for defense investors. Stacked up against comparable players in this industry, Boeing's 17 price-to-earnings ratio ranks between the pricier 17.6 P/E at United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) , and the cheaper 11.4 P/E at Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) . So the stock's neither outrageously expensive nor suspiciously cheap.

Boeing has the best prospects
Boeing stock also looks likely to prosper to a greater extent than its rivals. If United Tech is in the midst of a corporate restructuring that may or may not pay off, and Lockheed Martin is dogged by continuing difficulties with its F-35 fighter jet and the cancellation of its F-22 stealth fighter, all systems look like a go for Boeing as it sells cheaper F-15s and F/A-18s to the Pentagon, while the popular Boeing 737 continues to rack up record sales and works to get the kinks out of its popular 787 Dreamliner.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ford Motor Credit Company(F)

Ford Motor Company primarily develops, manufactures, distributes, and services vehicles and parts worldwide. It operates in two sectors, Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive sector offers vehicles primarily under the Ford and Lincoln brand names. This sector markets cars, trucks, and parts through retail dealers in North America, and through distributors and dealers outside of North America. It also sells cars and trucks to dealers for sale to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. In addition, this sector provides retail customers with a range of after-sale vehicle services and products in the areas, such as maintenance and light repair, heavy repair, collision repair, vehicle accessories, and extended service contracts under the Ford Service, Lincoln Service, Ford Custom Accessories, Ford Extended Service Plan, and Motorcraft brand names. The Financial Services sector offers vari ous automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers. It offers retail financing, which includes retail installment contracts for new and used vehicles; direct financing leases; wholesale financing products that comprise loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; loans to dealers to finance working capital, purchase real estate dealership, and/or make improvements to dealership facilities; and other financing products, as well as provides insurance services. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Rosevear]

    Ford (NYSE: F  ) , which has America's best-selling pickup line, is set to benefit in a big way from this trend. In this video, Fool.com contributor John Rosevear looks at why pickups are selling so well���and how Ford is already moving to take even better advantage of this new trend.

  • [By Katie Spence]

    Tesla, this is bad for you, too
    Right now, Tesla is the cr猫me-de-la-cr猫me of EVs. But it's competing against all-electric EVs like Nissan Motors' (NASDAQOTH: NSANY  ) Leaf, and Ford's (NYSE: F  ) Focus Electric. To put it simply, Tesla's Model S can drive circles around these cars. Yes, it's more expensive, but the technology, range, and precision of the Model S makes anything else seem almost silly in comparison. BMW, however, is a luxury brand with renowned German engineering, and its new i3, and the future i8 model, presents a new challenge for Tesla.

  • [By Daniel Miller]

    Warren Buffet's quote, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful", seems to fit our current situation quite well. With the market sitting near record highs it has some investors so nervous about a potential pullback that it's making them cautious to invest in the market ��and that's understandable. But there are always values to be found, and profits to be had. Ford (NYSE: F  ) and General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) are two stocks that have a sustainable and profitable future, and could be two of the best stocks to invest in right now.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: S&P GSCI(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides business aviation; combat vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions; military and commercial shipbuilding; and communications and information technology products and services worldwide. Its Aerospace group designs, manufactures, and outfits various large and mid-cabin business-jet aircraft; provides maintenance, repair work, fixed-based operations, and aircraft management services; and performs aircraft completions for aircraft. The company?s Combat Systems group offers tracked and wheeled military vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions. Its product lines include wheeled combat and tactical vehicles; battle tanks and infantry vehicles; munitions and propellant; rockets and gun systems; and axle and drivetrain components and aftermarket parts. This group also manufactures and supplies engineered axles, suspensions, and brakes for heavy-load vehicles for military and commercial customers. The company Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Eric Volkman]

    General Dynamics (NYSE: GD  ) is electing to keep its dividend level for the time being. The company has declared a quarterly disbursement of $0.56 per share of its common stock, to be paid on Aug. 9 to shareholders of record as of July 5.

  • [By Katie Spence]

    Who builds what
    Both General Dynamics' (NYSE: GD  ) Bath Iron Works shipbuilding company and Huntington Ingalls Industries' (NYSE: HII  ) Ingalls Shipbuilding build the DDG 51 Aegis Destroyer, with the Navy typically buying ships from each builder.

Top Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Hewlett-Packard Company(HPQ)

Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. Its Personal Systems Group segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services for the commercial and consumer markets. The company?s Services segment provides consulting, outsourcing, and technology services to infrastructure, applications, and business process domains. Its Imaging and Printing Group segment provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, media, and scanning devices, such as inkjet and Web solutions, laser jet and enterprise solutions, managed enterprise solutions, graphics solutions, and printer supplies. The company?s Enterprise Servers, Storage, and Networking segment offers industry standard s ervers, business critical systems, storage platforms, and networking products, including switches, routers, wireless LAN, and TippingPoint network security products. Its HP Software segment provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions, and security intelligence/risk management solutions. The company?s HP Financial Services segment offers leasing, financing, utility programs, and asset recovery services; and financial asset management services for enterprise customers, as well as specialized financial services to SMBs, and educational and governmental entities. Hewlett-Packard Company also provides business intelligence solutions that enable businesses to standardize on consistent data management schemes, connect and share data across the enterprise, and apply analytics, as well as licenses its specific technology to third parties. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Travis Hoium]

    Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) rose 1.3% after an analyst from Wells Fargo said worries about PC sales are overblown. The company's PC unit only accounts for 10% of the company's profit, so falling sales won't be devastating. However, keep in mind that none of the company's operating segments is growing, and management is cutting workers to save costs. The stock may be a value trap already.

  • [By Dan Dzombak]

    Today's Dow leaders
    Today's Dow leaders are all from the technology sector. Near the top is Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) , up 2%. HP hit a high of $25.40 last month as investors grew confident in HP's turnaround. The stock got ahead of itself, however, and has since come back down after the worst drop in PC sales ever was reported by market research firm IDC.

  • [By M. Joy Hayes]

    In contrast, Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) responded to majority support for proxy access in 2013 by sponsoring its own proxy access proposal in its 2013 proxy, while Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) sponsored its own proxy access proposal in its 2013 proxy in response to shareholder demands, and Western Union (NYSE: WU  ) responded to shareholder pressure by granting some shareholders the right to post director nominees on the ballot.

  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    There's no denying that the Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) - largely under the initially-shaky guidance of CEO Meg Whitman, though former CEO's Leo Apotheker and Mark Hurd didn't exactly help - has been a train wreck of a company of late. What was once the world's second-most popular name in the personal computer industry completely whiffed when it tried to throw its hat into the smartphone and tablet ring, then decided to get out of the PC business and focus on more lucrative cloud industries, and then just a few months later decided to stay in the personal computer business after all. As it turns out, HP did neither very well in the meantime. Hewlett-Packard investors have watched revenue fall from 2011's peak of $126.8 billion to what will likely be a top line of $108.9 billion next year, and worse, shareholders have watched HPQ shares tumble from a price of $54 in early 2010 to a low of $11.35 late last year. There's no way of sugar-coating it: That's an investment disaster. Yet...

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CVS Corporation(CVS)

CVS Caremark Corporation operates as a pharmacy services company in the United States. The company?s Pharmacy Services segment provides a range of pharmacy benefit management services, including mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy services, plan design and administration, formulary management, and claims processing; and drug benefits to eligible beneficiaries under the Federal Government?s Medicare Part D program. This segment primarily serves employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, managed care organizations and other sponsors of health benefit plans, and individuals. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 44 retail specialty pharmacy stores, 18 specialty mail order pharmacies, and 4 mail service pharmacies located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. This segment operates business under the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services, Caremark, CVS Caremark, CarePlus CVS/pharmacy, CarePlus, RxAmerica, Accordant, and TheraCom names. The company?s Retail Pharmacy segment sells prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards, and convenience foods through its pharmacy retail stores and online, as well as offers film and photo finishing, and health care services. This segment operated 7,182 retail drugstores located in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and 560 retail health care clinics in 26 states and the District of Columbia under the MinuteClinic name. It has a strategic alliance with Alere, L.L.C. for the management of disease management program offerings that cover chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. CVS Caremark Corporation was founded in 1892 and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Kelley Wright]

    Based on this criteria, here are our current Timely Ten selections:

    Chevron Corp. (CVX)��ielding 3.3%

    CVS Caremark (CVS)��ielding 1.6%

    Coca-Cola (KO)��ielding 2.9%

    Baxter International (BAX)��ielding 3.0%

    Walgreen (WAG)��ielding 2.3%

    McDonalds Corp. (MCD)��ielding 3.3%

    PepsiCo (PEP)��ielding 2.8%

    ExxonMobil (XOM)��ielding 2.9%

    Occidental Petroleum (OXY)��ielding 2.7%

    Wal-Mart Stores (WMT)��ielding 2.5%

    Subscribe to Investment Quality Trends here��/P>

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    Consumer Staples: CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS)�surprised by a small 1%. However on almost every metric that stock is extremely cheap and continues to gain share across the United States. The forward five-year price-to-earnings/growth (PEG) ratio is an extremely low 1.05, which bodes well for patient investors. The consensus price target is $66. Shareholders�are paid a 1.6% dividend.

  • [By Brad Thomas]

    Like many of the other Triple-Net REITs, Agree operates its investment platform with a variety of free-standing net lease tenants including many household names such as Walgreens (WAG), CVS (CVS), Staples, Chase Bank, AutoZone (AZO), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Lowe's (LOW), McDonald's (MCD), Family Dollar (FDO), Harris Teeter, Dollar General (DG), and Wawa. As shown below, Agree has a majority (88%) of nationally-recognized tenants, including many investment grade retailers (62.6%).

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Amanda Alix]

    He has also famously put his money where his mouth is, investing $5 billion in Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS  ) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) when times were tough, and those banks were in need of both a cash and moral boost. In yet another glowing endorsement�of Dimon on Monday, Buffett also noted that he personally invests in JPMorgan, though not through Berkshire Hathaway.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MetroPCS Communications Inc.(PCS)

MetroPCS Communications, Inc., a wireless telecommunications carrier, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless broadband mobile services in the United States. Its services include voice services, such as local, domestic long distance, and international call services; and data services, including domestic and international text messaging, multimedia messaging, mobile Internet access, mobile instant messaging, location based services, social networking services, push e-mail, and multimedia streaming and downloads, as well as services provided through the binary runtime environment for wireless (BREW), Blackberry, Windows, and the Android platforms, including ringtones, ring back tones, games, and content applications. The company also offers custom calling features consisting of caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling, and voicemail services. In addition, it sells mobile handsets. The company offers its products and services under the MetroPCS brand name, directl y through the company-operated retail stores and indirectly through independent retail outlets, as well as through Internet. As of December 31, 2010, it served approximately 8.1 million subscribers, as well as operated 159 retail stores primarily in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando/Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Tampa/Sarasota. The company is headquartered in Richardson, Texas.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Majesco Entertainment Company(COOL)

Majesco Entertainment Company develops and markets video game products primarily for family oriented mass-market consumers. The company publishes video games for various interactive entertainment hardware platforms, including Nintendo?s DS, DSi, and Wii; Sony?s PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable; Microsoft?s Xbox 360; and personal computers. It also publishes games for various digital platforms consisting of mobile platforms comprising iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, as well as online platforms, including Facebook. The company sells its products primarily to retail chains, specialty retail stores, video game rental outlets, and distributors. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Edison, New Jersey.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cloud Peak Energy Inc(CLD)

Cloud Peak Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in coal mining operations in the Powder River Basin of the United States. It produces sub-bituminous steam coal with low sulfur content for electric utilities and industrial customers. The company owns and operates Antelope surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; the Cordero Rojo surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; and the Spring Creek surface coal mine located in Montana. It also owns a 50% interest in the Decker surface coal mine located in Montana. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 970 million tons of proven and probable reserves. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Gillette, Wyoming.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    The price of natural gas, however, has dropped 0.4% today, and wouldn’t you know it, coal stocks are weak. Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) has dropped 4.2% to $16.15, while Peabody Energy (BTU) has fallen 2.9% to $17.27. Arch Coal (ACI) is off 1.3% at $4.45, Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) has declined 1.4% to $5.76 and Consol Energy (CNX) has dipped 0.7% to $31.35.

  • [By Dimitra DeFotis]

    Consol Energy (CNX), �which also produces natural gas, was up more than 3%, as was Cloud Peak Energy (CLD).

    The Moody’s press release, here. Coal insiders were active earlier this year, we noted here.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) has gained 3.1% to %15.03 after it was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel.

    Novatris (NVS) has dropped 1.2% to $74.48 after it was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In 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 Tim Travis]

    AIG ended the 1st quarter with 1.4767 billion diluted shares outstanding, so at a recent price of $44.52, the company has a market capitalization of $65.74 billion. When you look at in excess of $15 billion in parent holding cash that will be bolstered with the sale of ILFC, the undervaluation becomes even more apparent. AIG will not be paying taxes in the United States for quite some time due to its huge net operating loss carry-forwards, so pretax earnings will largely equate to cash. There is no reason AIG can't execute like Travelers (TRV) or Berkshire's insurance operations, but only time will tell. The truth is that at current prices, the company only needs to be average to produce solid returns for stockholders because the price is so low relative to intrinsic value. This strong margin of safety, fantastic upside potential and management that I trust and admire is what has made AIG my biggest investment, and I'm excited to see where that leads in the future.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: WebMediaBrands Inc(WEBM)

WebMediaBrands Inc., an Internet media company, provides content, education, and career services to media and creative professionals through a portfolio of vertical online properties, communities, and trade shows. The company operates mediabistro.com, a blog network that provides content, education, community, and career resources about media industry verticals, including new media, social media, Facebook, TV news, sports news, advertising, public relations, publishing, design, mobile, and the semantic Web. Its mediabistro.com also includes a job board for media and business professionals focusing on various job categories, such as social media, online/new media, publishing, public relations/marketing, advertising, sales, design, and television. The company also operates a network of online properties, including AdsoftheWorld, DynamicGraphics, LiquidTreat, BrandsoftheWorld, Graphics.com, StepInsideDesign, Creativebits, and GraphicsDesignForum that provide content, educatio n, community, career, and other resources for creative and design professionals. In addition, it offers community, membership, and e-commerce offerings comprising a freelance listing service, a marketplace for designing and purchasing logos, and premium membership services. Further, the company provides online and in-person courses, panels, certificate programs, and video subscription libraries for media and creative professionals. Additionally, it organizes various trade shows that include Semantic Technology Conference, Monetizing Social Media, Social Media Optimization Conference, Social Gaming Summit, and Virtual Goods Summit. The company was formerly known as Jupitermedia Corporation and changed its name to WebMediaBrands Inc. in February 2009. WebMediaBrands Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in New York, New York.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Bad crash test scores sink 3 Toyota vehicles

Consumer Reports has dumped three of Toyota's best-known important models from its "recommended" list because of bad crash test scores.

The Camry, RAV4 and the Prius V all lost CR "recommended" status after scoring "poor" in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's new tough narrow-offset front crash test. The score also dropped the Audi A4 off CR's list. The "poor" score in the test equates with a strong likelihood of severe or life-threatening injury.

Word that the three Toyotas were off the much-watched CR list came the same day Toyota overall was being lauded by CR for its lineup's reliability. Ten of the highest-scoring models for predicted reliability were Toyotas, and the brand rated second overall.

RELIABILITY : Lexus is the most reliable car brand, according to Consumer Reports

The IIHS narrow-offset crash test that doomed the three models simulates a car hitting a pole or another vehicle with 25% of the front area on the driver side. IIHS says the test reflects many real-world accidents.

CRASH TEST: Watching Acura MDX smashed in brutal 'small overlap' test

CR says it tried to be fair before taking the models off the "recommended" list. When IIHS first began doing the test last year, many models failed, but now there are only a handful, says Jake Fisher, who heads CR's auto testing. "Every other family sedan has done better" than Camry, he says.

Toyota is making improvements to the Camry, and it is likely to be retested soon, so it has fair shot to regain "recommended" status.

The test has tripped up a number of automakers because unlike front, rear and rollover crash tests, they haven't had many years to design cars to specifically pass it.

"This is a tricky situation because when Consumer Reports pulls its recommendation it gives the appearance that these models are suddenly 'less safe' than they used to be. That's not true at all," says Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "What the new IIHS test has uncovered is the next! area for automakers to focus on based on crash test statistics."

Sunday, October 27, 2013

5 Tips to Help 20-Somethings Pay Off Their Student Loan Debt

Alamy If you're in your 20s, you're probably going through one of the toughest financial periods of your life -- especially if you went to college. Increasingly, recent grads have had to prioritize paying off student loan debt over other important milestones, according to a recent survey from the American Institute of CPAs. Among those responding, 40 percent have put off a car purchase, 29 percent have delayed buying a home, and 15 percent say that they've even pushed back marriage plans because of their debt. It's a tough balancing act -- starting a life, and perhaps a family, while at the same time paying back heavy student loans in one of the most challenging job environments in decades. Yet many young adults are finishing their undergraduate studies only to go on to pursue graduate and professional degrees, generally adding to debt levels. Let's take a look at five things you can do to balance all the competing demands on your money and still find a solution for your educational debt. 1. Know What You Owe -- and How You Owe It There are many kinds of student loans, and you may have taken out more than one. You need to know the terms under which you'll have to pay your loans back. Some loans offer payment deferment options or interest subsidies, while others start the finance-charge clock running as soon as you graduate or require immediate monthly payments. Ideally, you want to prioritize high-interest-rate loans first, which typically means focusing on private loans ahead of government loans. But you should also take grace periods into account, as they aren't all the same length of time. Contact your lenders to find out all the important facts as well as to confirm your mailing address so that you won't be out of touch and end up late on payments. 2. Find Out About Forgiveness One great way of handling student loan debt is to have it written off once and for all. Thanks to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and similar options, many borrowers can have student loan debt forgiven if they qualify by working in certain professions, including teaching, public-interest law or medicine, or the military. Volunteers for AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps also can receive funds earmarked to pay off student debt, or have loans partially cancelled. Check out this list of resources for more information. 3. Get Your Money's Worth From Graduate School If you're considering a graduate degree, be sure to closely consider the extra costs of years of additional education and compare them against the potential benefits. In many cases, graduate degrees can be far more expensive than undergraduate tuition, yet the job prospects for graduates are still far from certain. For instance, the legal profession is expected to see a drop of 7.3 percent in employment this year, according to hiring solutions and research group Bright.com. Meanwhile, according to one survey, almost 90 percent of law students borrow an average $80,000 to pay for their law degrees, before joining a glutted job market with an average starting salary of just $62,000 a year. So be smart about whether to go to grad school and which school you choose. 4. Be Careful With Consolidation Consolidating your loans can reduce your monthly payment, which is attractive to cash-strapped 20-somethings. But it also extends the period over which you're repaying those loans, potentially leaving you saddled with debt for decades. That might sound like a reasonable trade-off now, but one reason that so many borrowers have put off car and home purchases is that their credit isn't strong enough to handle car loans or mortgage debt. Also, watch carefully to make sure you preserve options like deferment or forbearance on loans after you consolidate in order to avoid losing some repayment flexibility. 5. Help Your Own Kids Out Early If you've started a family, get an early start on helping your children avoid the troubles you might have suffered by saving for their college education while they are young. With tax-advantaged 529 plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, you can put money aside and have it grow tax-free for use on educational expenses. The earlier you start, the more time you'll have to watch that money grow, allowing even modest savings to turn into meaningful resources that will help them avoid taking out so much student loan debt of their own.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Frontier Airlines to be sold to private-equity …

Frontier Airlines is getting a new owner.

Republic Airways Holdings said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell Frontier to an affiliate of the private-equity firm, Indigo Partners, a key early investor in ultra-low cost carrier Spirit Airlines.

Indigo's affiliate will pay $36 million in cash, and assume roughly $109 million in Frontier's debt.

Officials at Republic and Indigo said that once the sale is completed, the plan is to continue trying to position Frontier, a small carrier possibly best known for the colorful animals on its fleet's tails and its devoted customer base in Denver, as an ultra-low cost carrier in the same vein as Spirit or Allegiant.

TODAY IN THE SKY: Frontier sale to benefit United, Southwest?

"We endorse and will support continued efforts to build Frontier into a leading nationwide ultra-low cost carrier," Indigo Partners' managing partner William Franke, said in a statement announcing the agreement. "As airline fares continue to move up, passengers need affordable travel alternatives."

William Swelbar, research engineer with Massachusetts Institute of Technology 's International Center for Air Transportation, says Franke's interest is not surprising.

"This fits Franke's mold,'' he said, "and I think he believes that there's some magic here that he can perform with this airline . . . that through consolidation of the industry, there are opportunities for another ultra low cost carrier.''

Swelbar says that passengers who want the lowest fare possible, and don't fret much about frills, may welcome yet another ultra low cost airline. But to truly meet that need, Frontier may have to abandon Denver as a primary base.

"I'm not so sure that an ultra low cost carrier will continue to choose Denver,'' he says. "Hubs add costs.''

More likely, he says, is "a lot of one off flying. I think this is going to look a lot like Spirit, and less like Allegiant, where they're finding some holes in the schedule out there that they can take! advantage of, and move into some markets that tend to be higher priced.''

Before Frontier's sale can be finalized, there needs to be an agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants and others. If those hurdles are cleared, Republic says the deal should close in December.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Costco Has Room For Growth In Mexico

Costco (COST) is the largest warehouse retailer in the U.S. with over 530 stores in North America and around 100 stores in international markets such as Mexico, the U.K., Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Australia. In terms of store count, Mexico is the third most important market for the company with 33 stores operational at the end of September 2013. Costco started its operations in Mexico through a 50% owned joint venture, and its store count had been stagnant for the past four-five years. However, the warehouse retailer acquired the remaining 50% stake from its partner last year and has opened one store since. Costco plans to add another store in the current quarter and we expect it to continue expanding in Mexico in the future. The retailer has seen robust comparable store sales growth in its Mexican operations and the region's retail market holds tremendous potential. [1]

Mexico is the second largest economy in Latin America and the 11th most populous country in the world. Over the past few years, Mexico has seen strong growth in its retail industry with a stable economic environment, controlled inflation and increase in credit facilities. The market potential is clearly visible from the fact that the retail giant Wal-Mart (WMT) operates close to 2,500 stores in the region. Although the economic growth has suffered in the recent past, lower interest rates and diluted tax reform should have a positive impact on consumer confidence going forward. Even the prevailing economic weakness bodes well for Costco's growth since the retailer provides its customers with a valuable cost saving shopping option.

Our price estimate for Costco stands at around $125, implying a premium of about 5% to the market price.

Mexican Retail Market Holds Good Potential

Historically, Mexico's retail industry has remained strong as the region has sustained its economic growth and kept inflation under control. What's promising is that the retail market growth exceeded the country's GDP growth last ye! ar. [2]

Financing and consumer credits have emerged as important retailing tools in Mexico. Several retailers are evolving into financing bodies by providing the options of deferred payments at a cash price. "Meses sin intereses" or monthly payments with no interest has become a common practice in the market. Moreover, as the competition is rising and consumer demands are increasing, a number of department stores and grocery retailers are expanding their product portfolio. Since Costco already offers a wide variety of products, it is likely to benefit from this trend.

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The retailers are also looking to expand throughout the country while specifically targeting regions with heavy footfall, which has bolstered the popularity of smaller format and quick-stop stores. [2] This might prove to be a roadblock for Costco's expansion since its stores are usually large in size (140 k). However, Costco relies less on the convenient location of its store (unlike Wal-Mart Express and Target's (TGT) CityTarget stores) and more on its business model to attract customers. Moreover, with rising competition a number of Mexican retailers are switching to Internet retailing. In response to this trend, Costco plans to launch an exclusive e-commerce website for Mexico this fall. [1]

Current State Of Mexican Economy Might Favor Costco's Growth

Although Mexico's retail sales have grown in the last few years, they declined unexpectedly during the initial period of 2013. [3] [4] This is attributable to weak consumer confidence and a slowdown in the overall economy. Mexico's economy shrank by 0.74% in the second quarter due to lower government spending, weak demand for exports and sluggish consumption. This marked the first decline in the country's economy in the last four years. [5]

Mexico's strong ties with the U.S. economy seem to be preventing it! from enj! oying strong economic growth that its emerging market peers such as Brazil have. [5] Due to weakness in the economy, the largest retailer in the region Walmex (Wal-Mart Mexico) witnessed sales declines in consecutive months of July and August. Comparable store sales for other Mexican retailers also fell by 2.3% in July. [6] However, policy makers are likely to cut interest rates in order to stabilize the economic growth. [4] Also, the Mexican government did not include sales tax on essential items such as food and medicine in the latest tax reforms. [6] This should positively impact consumer spending on groceries, which will assist Costco's growth since it earns more than 50% of its revenues from this category. Even the weak economic environment bodes well for Costco's growth as it serves as a viable shopping destination for buyers looking to save money. This is evident from the fact that Costco's sales have remained resilient in the U.S. despite the retail market slump arising from cautious consumer spending.

Disclosure: No positions.

Source: Costco Has Room For Growth In Mexico

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Zynga Loses Less, Books More

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) reported third quarter 2013 results after markets closed on Thursday. The social media game company posted an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.02 and revenues of $202.58 million. In the same period a year ago, Zynga reported an EPS loss of zero on revenues of $316.64 million. Bookings totaled $152 million in the quarter compared with $255.61 million in the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for an EPS loss of $0.04 and $142.67 billion in revenues. In Zynga's case, revenue estimates are compared with the company's reported bookings, which represent the total of revenues and deferred revenues.

Online game revenue was down 39% year-over-year and 14% sequentially. Advertising revenue was down 9% from last year, but up 3% sequentially. Deferred revenue totaled $50.47 million in the quarter, somewhat better than the $61.03 million in the same period a year ago.

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For the fourth quarter, Zynga forecast revenue in the range of $175 to $185 million. Adjusted EPS loss is projected at $0.04 to $0.05, worse than the consensus estimate of $0.03. Bookings are projected at $130 to $140 million, which is below the consensus estimate for revenues of $147.85 million.

The company's new CEO, Don Mattick, said:

I am pleased with our Q3 performance which exceeded our guidance both in terms of bookings and adjusted EBITDA. We are encouraged to see sightlines to growth and expect to be profitable for the full year on an adjusted EBITDA basis

The huge change in Zynga's performance was its net loss of just $68,000 in the third quarter compared with a net loss of $52.73 million in the third quarter of 2012. User counts are mostly lower although the users that stick around are spending more. Zynga reported that average daily bookings per average daily active user rose 17% year-over-year and 4% sequentially. The number is still quite small, just $0.055, and it is multiplied by a daily active user base of 30 million, half the size of the base a year ago.

The better-than-expected EPS performance and the rise in bookings will push Zynga's shares higher as investors finally have something to cheer about.

After closing down about 3% at $3.54 against a 52-week trading range of $2.09 to $4.03, shares have added 13.7% in after-hours trading and the share price is up to the 52-week high. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $3.20 before today's report.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Jim Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: A Topsy-Turvy Market

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's never too late to be more diversified, Jim Cramer told his "Mad Money" TV show viewers Wednesday as the markets seemed to turn on a dime, liking the stocks it previously hated while falling head over heels for the laggards it eschewed just a few days ago.

Cramer said the parts of the three-legged stool of the U.S., Europe and China are all showing signs of weakness. While he doesn't think we're headed towards another global recession, the weakness is causing investors to think twice about which stocks they own.

That's why the red-hot oil stocks have cooled and why some technology stocks such as Altera (ALTR) have been offering up disappointments. Earnings from Caterpillar (CAT) were a disaster, noted Cramer, but that doesn't mean there aren't stocks that are working. With commodity prices falling, companies that use commodities are coming back into favor. That means packaged goods companies such as Coca-Cola (KO) and Hain Celestial (HAIN) are good bets, along with secular growth names like Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL), a stock Cramer owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS. Boeing (BA) still has a good story to tell, said Cramer, as do the utilities American Electric Power (AEP) and ConEd (ED). Investors with diversified portfolios that include some of these names may not have even noticed the shift in the market's sentiment but those who have only been following the hot money got a rude wake-up call in today's trading, Cramer concluded. Executive Decision: Mark McLaughlin In the "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Mark McLaughlin, chairman, president and CEO of Palo Alto Networks (PANW), the network security firm that roared into the markets last July with an IPO that rose 26% on its first day of trading. McLaughlin said Palo Alto continues to deliver a next-generation security platform for enterprise networks that protects companies all the way down to the individual application level, something that no other company can provide. He said that applications are the new preferred way for bad guys to access corporate networks, which is why their technology is so crucial.

When asked about its client base, McLaughlin noted that no one vertical market represents more than 14% of Palo Alto's sales, which has kept it well-diversified and not reliant on government spending. He said corporate capital expenditures do tend to ebb and flow, but with security a top-of-mind issue at most companies, Palo Alto expects its growth to continue.

Finally, asked about the company's current litigation with Juniper Networks (JNPR), McLaughlin said that while he cannot comment on the specifics of the case, he doesn't expect it to be a major factor for Palo Alto. Executive Decision: Howard Schultz

In the "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer sat down with Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO of Starbucks (SBUX), a stock that's up 21% since Cramer last spoke with Schultz in June. Starbucks is preparing to open its first Teavana tea bar in New York City tomorrow.

Schultz said Starbucks has actually been in the tea business since 1971, but with its acquisition of Teavana last year the $90 billion global market for tea is now right for innovation. He said the new Teavana locations will be a place to buy and sample teas and will bring all the romance and theater that Starbucks brought to coffee. Schultz continued that Teavana is "not your mother's Lipton tea" as the shops will offer fine, exotic teas and the art of blending teas for that perfect cup. Schultz expects Teavana to become a new morning ritual for tea lovers, but unlike Starbucks, the chain will likely have fewer transactions with higher average ticket prices. Also unlike Starbucks, which grew up as a U.S.-based franchise, Teavana will be global from the start and will feature international locations long before the U.S. market becomes saturated. Schultz also went on the defensive, responding to allegations that Starbucks charges higher prices in countries like China. He said that while it's true the cost of a latte in China is more than in other markets, it's still comparable to others offering premium coffee in China. The cost reflects the investment Starbucks is making in its stores, people and supply chain as it gains a foothold in this new market.

Lightning Round

In the Lightning Round, Cramer was bullish on Opko Health (OPK) and Groupon (GRPN).

Cramer was bearish on Omeros (OMER) and Molycorp (MCP). No Huddle Offense

In his "No Huddle Offense" segment, Cramer celebrated one of America's favorite stocks, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), a stock Cramer owns for his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS. Cramer said that after years of being poorly managed, J&J has turned itself around under its new leadership and is really three great companies all merged into one. J&J includes a terrific consumer products company, a medical device company and a pharmaceutical company with a biotech kicker. J&J gives investors a world-class balance sheet, a hoard of cash, brand names galore and a great CEO, all working to reward shareholders. Cramer said that Johnson & Johnson is a real gift to the markets. Off the Tape In his "Off The Tape" segment, Cramer sat down with Lou D'Ambrosio, chairman of the privately held Sensus, a leading provider of "smart grid" technologies that allow two-way communication between customers and their utilities in an effort to provide better service and conserve energy. D'Ambrosio said very little government money is currently flowing towards smart grid initiatives, but that's OK because there's plenty of justification for smart technologies. He said utilities that have smart grids can save more and grow revenue, all while providing great benefits to society. D'Ambrosio continued that smart grids mean no more trucks need to be rolling in order to read meters. When a line is down, the system can make repairs all by itself. It just makes sense, D'Ambrosio said -- that's why a smart grid initiative in the U.K. expects to save $10 billion a year. When asked about his competitors, D'Ambrosio said that only Sensus has the combination of utility expertise and technology, which is why it's a leader in its field. To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC. To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here. -- Written by Scott Rutt in Washington, D.C. To email Scott about this article, click here: Scott Rutt Follow Scott on Twitter @ScottRutt or get updates on Facebook, ScottRuttDC

At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had a position in AAPL and JNJ. Jim Cramer, host of the CNBC television program "Mad Money," is a Markets Commentator for TheStreet.com, Inc., and CNBC, and a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. All opinions expressed by Mr. Cramer on "Mad Money" are his own and do not reflect the opinions of TheStreet.com or its affiliates, or CNBC, NBC Universal or their parent company or affiliates. Mr. Cramer's opinions are based upon information he considers to be reliable, but neither TheStreet.com, nor CNBC, nor either of their affiliates and/or subsidiaries warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. Mr. Cramer's statements are based on his opinions at the time statements are made, and are subject to change without notice. No part of Mr. Cramer's compensation from CNBC or TheStreet.com is related to the specific opinions expressed by him on "Mad Money." None of the information contained in "Mad Money" constitutes a recommendation by Mr. Cramer, TheStreet.com or CNBC that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You must make your own independent decisions regarding any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy mentioned on the program. Mr. Cramer's past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. Neither Mr. Cramer, nor TheStreet.com, nor CNBC guarantees any specific outcome or profit, and you should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investments discussed on the program. The strategy or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value and you may get back less than you invested. Before acting on any information contained in the program, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser. Some of the stocks mentioned by Mr. Cramer on "Mad Money" are held in Mr. Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio. When that is the case, appropriate disclosure is made on the program and in the "Mad Money" recap available on TheStreet.com. The Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio contains all of Mr. Cramer's personal investments in publicly-traded equity securities only, and does not include any mutual fund holdings or other institutionally managed assets, private equity investments, or his holdings in TheStreet.com, Inc. Since March 2005, the Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio has been held by a Trust, the realized profits from which have been pledged to charity. Mr. Cramer retains full investment discretion with respect to all securities contained in the Trust. Mr. Cramer is subject to certain trading restrictions, and must hold all securities in the Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio for at least one month, and is not permitted to buy or sell any security he has spoken about on television or on his radio program for five days following the broadcast.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Daniel Kahneman: Making Sense of a Senseless World

Dr. Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in economics for his work in prospect theory, joins us to discuss his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. 

In this segment, Kahneman discusses how we think about the past. We love to look back and explain the past, but are we just creating the illusion that the world is understandable? The full version of the interview can be viewed here. A full transcript follows the video.

Morgan Housel: What are some other examples of how I fool myself when I remember the past?

Daniel Kahneman: I think that's the main one, but there are others. Let's not spend too much time on colonoscopies; let's discuss investing.

In the context of investing, people don't know how well they have done. There is just a lot of self-delusion that goes on when people evaluate their performance. That's an example, and an important example.

Then, in just about everything, how well the story ends is the key to how it's evaluated in the past. It's true, by the way, in presidential politics. In presidential politics, what happened in the first three years has very little impact on election results. It's really what happens, and how well the economy is doing and whether it's improving during the last year, that determines elections.

In a lot of places, our memory just doesn't correspond to the facts.

Housel: Is that why we remember Nixon differently than Clinton?

Kahneman: Well, I think there are many reasons we remember Nixon, but yeah.

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Housel: If I have problems remembering the past, and I'm fooling myself, how does that shape my view of the future?

Kahneman: The main thing, the main mistake that people make, it's not so much in remembering the past. It's in thinking about the past. That I spent a lot of time on, in the book.

Whenever something happens and we feel we understand it, mostly ... we're surprised occasionally, but by and large, the world makes a lot of sense to us. It makes a lot of sense, because when things happen we find their causes, and it's OK.

Except that, if you compare our ability to explain the past with our ability to forecast the future, the difference is really quite dramatic. We explain the past with the greatest of ease, and we're really crummy at forecasting the future.

What happens here is hindsight, the ability to explain the past, gives us the illusion that the world is understandable. It gives us the illusion that the world makes sense, even when it doesn't make sense. That's a big deal in producing mistakes in many fields.

A Formula That Predicts Your 401(k) Earnings

How much can you pile up in your retirement account, if you start contributing when you're young? I have a formula that will give you a pretty good idea of likely returns over a long period. The answer: Compound growth delivers nice results, but maybe not as nice as you were counting on.

Here's the formula for the expected annual return, in percentage points, from a collection of stocks and bonds:

r = 5*S + 2*B – E

The return r is a real return, which is to say, the return net of inflation. S is the fraction of your portfolio in stocks, B the fraction in bonds, E the expenses taken off the top.

Example: You invest in a typical 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds, and the funds you are invested in have an average expense ratio of 0.8%. Then you can look forward to a 3% compound return, over a long period: 3 = 5*0.6 + 2*0.4 – 0.8.

Perhaps you were thinking of something a little richer than that? More like 7%? The promoters of retirement saving like to provide wondrous illustrations of the power of compound interest. Put away a buck when you're 27, let it sit for four decades, and a 7% return will turn it into $15. With compounding like that, you could amass upwards of $1 million for retirement from just four years of maximum 401(k) contributions at $17,500 per year.

Numbers like those are misleading, even if offered in the good cause of motivating workers to save. There are three things wrong with a 7% return assumption.

The first is that not many people can afford to take the risk of an all-stock, all-the-time portfolio. Stocks are likely to beat bonds over any long period, but it is not certain that they will. Stocks could have a 40-year bad patch. Japan is in the middle of one of those; its stocks are off sharply from their 1989 highs, and a young Japanese saver who ventured into the market 24 years ago will be lucky to have broken even over the period 1989-2029.

The second source of disillusionment for someone expecting 7% is inflation. If you retire in 2053, you will be buying things at 2053 prices with your savings. I think 2% is a reasonable forecast for inflation. Prices have gone up a bit less than that in the past year but surely the day will come when we pay for the Federal Reserve's money printing habits.

Subtract 2% from a nominal 7% total return (dividends plus appreciation) on stocks and you get the 5% real return used in the formula for stocks.

Bonds are in the formula with an expected 2% real return. Can you get that from fixed income? Maybe, provided that you include riskier bonds in the mix. If you stick to safe Treasury bonds you'll get less: The 20-year TIPS (inflation-adjusted security) has a real yield to maturity of 1%. High-grade corporates yield close to 4% these days in nominal terms and might net you close to 2% after inflation. Junk bonds and convertible bonds, at the risky end of fixed income, could give you a 3% real return.

Item three on the bad news agenda is fees. An annual cost of 0.8% is par for the course in retirement plans. If you work for a small company that doesn't pay attention to costs you might lose twice that to fees. A big 401(k) plan run by frugal managers might have average expenses around 0.3%.

You can do still better than that, if you have a plan with a brokerage window. Use it to buy cheap ETFs. For U.S. stocks, broad-market funds from Vanguard and Schwab (tickers: VTI and SCHB) are bargains. For foreign stocks, these same vendors offer VEA and SCHF. In fixed income, the iShares and Vanguard products are cheap (AGG and BND). Usually, it doesn't make sense to do a trade unless you're moving at least $20,000, so use other options, like  no-load mutual funds, while smaller sums accumulate.

What about cash? Historically it has had a real return of zero, meaning that the yield on Treasury bills just about ties the inflation rate. At the moment cash has a negative real return. My formula assumes, charitably, that it will claw its way back up to zero fairly soon. Over the long term your cash position will do you little harm and little good. You shouldn't have any of your retirement account sitting idle.

Consider a hypothetical saver named Sally, with a 401(k) invested 50% in stocks, 30% in bonds and 20% in cash. The cash can be ignored. The other two components together yield her an expected real return of 5*0.5 plus 2*0.3 percentage points. That's before expenses. If Sally is coughing up 0.5% of invested assets per year to the fund managers—which comes out to 0.4% of her total account assets—then she can look forward to a 2.7% annual growth.

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Over 40 years, her $17,500 of postponed consumption will not quite triple in spending power to the equivalent of $50,800 of today's money. That's good, but nothing like the 15-fold gain she might be dreaming of if she looked at some projection using a 7% return.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Apple's Plan to Disrupt Cable Is Also Netflix's Nightmare

For Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) , cable companies are more "frenemy" than enemy. New deals bring HBO GO and WatchESPN to all Apple TV users who have cable plans that include access to those channels.

Viewers also gain access to SkyNews for coverage of breaking news in the U.K. and Ireland, Crunchyroll for Japanese Anime, and Qello for on-demand streaming for concerts and music documentaries.

Promotional video for HBO GO on Apple TV. Sources: HBO, YouTube.

"HBO GO and WatchESPN are some of the most popular iOS apps and are sure to be huge hits on Apple TV," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, in a press release.  

Viewers benefit by getting access to a better interface for live sports programming and HBO's full library of content, while cable companies preserve their connections to subscribers. Everyone wins, right? For now, yes. Just don't mistake Apple for anything other than a disruptor.

Apple says customers are downloading 800,000 TV episodes and 350,000 movies per day from an iTunes Store library that includes 60,000 movies and 230,000 TV episodes. All told, more than 1 billion TV episodes and 380 million movies have been downloaded so far.

Mix in iCloud syncing and precisely the sort of HBO integration I suggested in April, and you've the makings of a compelling "TV Everywhere" platform that could make both Apple TV and the iPad hot commodities among cord cutters.

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Meanwhile, the lines between Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) and HBO, its primary rival, are blurring. Adding HBO GO to Apple TV suggests parent Time Warner is interested in expanding the service beyond a handful of other devices. Doing so would blunt Netflix's distribution advantage.

Could Netflix win a battle waged just over great content? Founder Reed Hastings expressed some concerns in a recently posted manifesto covering the company's long-term strategy:

While we are passing HBO in domestic members in 2013, it will be several years before we are peers with them in terms of Original programming, Emmy awards, and international members. It wouldn't be surprising to us if HBO does their best work and achieves their highest growth over the next decade, spurred on by the Netflix competition and the Internet TV opportunity.

Translation: It's early. But not so early that Netflix can sit idle as Apple revs its iTunes engine. Investors need to see Hastings and team not only funding originals but also exploring cheaper expansion options, such as rescuing cult hits that may have been canceled too early.

Do you agree? Are you more likely to buy an Apple TV as a result of HBO GO? Let us know what you think of Apple, HBO, and Netflix in the comments box below.

Go ahead, touch that dial
The television landscape is changing quickly, with new entrants such as Netflix and Amazon.com disrupting traditional networks. The Motley Fool's new free report "Who Will Own the Future of Television?" details the risks and opportunities in TV. Click here to read the full report!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Are "Cov-Lite" Loans Bad for Investors' Financial Health?

Investors want yield, and banks want to give it to them. There's nothing wrong with that, usually -- except when investor demand begins to sway lenders into making riskier loans to bundle and sell as securities. This is exactly what seems to be happening, as commercial lending is hitting the big time, even to the extent of basing several investment instruments on a single commercial loan.

Similarly, leveraged loans are hot these days, as well. As in the days before the crisis, the riskiest loans create the highest yield, and competition spawns a reduction in the protections, or covenants, that are customarily placed on these loans to protect the lender -- and, by extension, the investor.

Should the return of these covenant-lite loans be a red flag for investors, or, as some say, are they actually much safer than they are made out to be?

Moody's sounds the alarm
Last month, Moody's released a report that purported that cov-lite loans might cause investors distress in the event of an economic downturn, primarily because of the lender's inability to prod distressed companies into restructuring in the absence of such a covenant. This coincides with a rash of cov-lite loans being extended to companies in dubious financial health, which could be adversely affected by higher interest rates.

There's no doubt that the volume of these loans has risen dramatically. The highest recorded was in 2007, with volume of $96.6 billion; in April, Forbes noted that this year's volume had already reached $93.5 billion. While this high-speed production is eye-popping, does it really translate into higher risk?

Recovery rates are historically high
While you might assume that a clause giving a lender the right to step in and force changes to a floundering company would be protective, some analysts disagree. Felix Salmon does a dandy job of explaining how these loans outgrew the small-town banker and business-owner handshake deals of yesteryear and developed into the high-flying financial instruments they are today. But, while covenants evolved to supplant the earlier word-of-honor method of loaning money, Salmon argues that forcing a company to restructure when it is unnecessary is not helpful. In fact, doing so could ostensibly push a borrower into default, when butting out would have allowed the company to right itself in its own time.

This may sound counterintuitive, but as Salmon shows using Moody's own data, both default rates and recovery rates are quite stellar for these loans -- with banks being able to recover nearly 90% of value from those loans that did default. This, Salmon asserts, is because of subordination of the debt, which protects the cov-lite loan against severe losses.

Are they safe?
All the foregoing seems to make arguing about safety akin to picking nits, but at least some commenters are sounding the alarm about the escalating issuance of these kinds of leveraged loans. At the recent Milken Institute Global Conference, The CEO of Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL  ) noted that investors should remember how, during the financial crisis, a good number of these loans went belly-up.

Also, while the debt of healthy companies is less onerous, those on shakier ground will obviously carry more risk. Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) has been active in originating collateralized debt obligations backed by subprime auto loans, and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS  ) has been selling the debt of companies with ratings of CCC -- or lower. Many of these loans were covenant lite, and according to analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS  )  -- also a player in the CLO market -- sales of these instruments have been brisk.

While the low default rate on these loans is encouraging, it is notable that Fitch Ratings recently commented on the growth of this market and the fact that the caution of the post-crisis era appears to be diminishing. Importantly, Fitch pointed out that at the same time as profits are flagging, corporate debt is rising. That last part alone sounds like a warning bell to me.

Citigroup's stock looks tantalizingly cheap. Yet the bank's balance sheet is still in need of more repair, and CEO Michael Corbat still needs to prove himself. Should investors be treading carefully, or jumping on an opportunity to buy? To help figure out whether Citigroup deserves a spot in your portfolio, I invite you to read our premium research report on the bank today. We'll fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Citigroup, and what areas Citigroup investors need to watch going forward. Click here now for instant access to our best expert's take on Citigroup.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Watch For 2014

Friday, October 18, 2013

No, Verizon Doesn't Want to Ditch Contracts

There were recent reports that Verizon  (NYSE: VZ  ) CEO Lowell McAdam would be interested in ditching service contracts. However, this isn't likely to be the case, since the major carriers -- Verizon, AT&T  (NYSE: T  ) , and Sprint Nextel  (NYSE: S  ) -- have spent years building fortresses around subsidies and contracts to reduce the risk of becoming commoditized service providers. Big Red is certainly watching how T-Mobile's big move away from contracts works out, and could adapt if need be.

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In the following video, Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, explains why Verizon definitely doesn't want to get rid of contracts.

If you're on the lookout for high-yielding stocks, The Motley Fool has compiled a special free report outlining our nine top dependable dividend-paying stocks. It's called "Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks." You can access your copy today at no cost! Just click here.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Is Excel Maritime Bankrupt?

Excel Maritime Carriers (NASDAQOTH: EXMCQ  ) may be nearing bankruptcy. That was the upshot of a report in Friday's Wall Street Journal, citing "a person familiar with the matter," who said that the struggling bulk shipper is trying to restructure its $1.4 billion "syndicated credit facility" to avoid insolvency, and may have to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings if it fails -- or even if it succeeds.

The news prompted a sharp spike in trading of Excel shares Friday, and an even sharper decline in the share price, which plummeted 45% to close at just $0.43 per share.

5 Best Dividend Stocks For 2014

For its part, Excel issued a terse press release Friday acknowledging that "it has been contacted by the New York Stock Exchange concerning certain press reports and the high volume of trading in the Company's common shares."

The press release did not mention the bankruptcy issue at all, but simply stated, "The Company's policy is not to comment on market rumors or press reports."

link

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now

IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) will help welcome the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to the 21st century as it has been awarded a contract to upgrade the agency's human resources system that was designed back in the early 1960s.

The technology specialist has been given a 10-year, $123 million contract�to replace the agency's 50-year-old application with a new system delivered in a software-as-a-service model.�IBM will build, operate, and maintain the system that will be deployed across the department for its�more than 300,000 employees.

IBM's U.S. federal general manager�Anne Altman said: "The VA's Human Resources system will provide a more flexible, stable, and capable system to meet the evolving needs of the agency and its thousands of employees. The VA's greatest asset is its people, and this new HR system will bolster the agency's mission to provide care and benefits for our nation's veterans and their families."

After a phase-in period expected to commence next January, IBM expects the new HR system will be implemented by the end of 2015. IBM will provide implementation services, as well as management and maintenance services for the new system over the course of the contract.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Konami Corporation (KNM)

Konami Corporation develops, publishes, markets, and distributes video game software products for stationary and portable consoles, and personal computers worldwide. It operates in four segments: Digital Entertainment, Health and Fitness, Gaming and Systems, and Pachinko and Pachinko Slot Machines. The Digital Entertainment segment plans, produces, manufactures, and sells social content for social networks, content for mobile phones, online games, music and video package products, video game software, video games for amusement facilities, content for token-operated games, and card games, as well as electronic toys, figures, and character goods. This segment also builds computer systems related to online games; maintains and operates online servers; and purchases and distributes video game software for home use. The Health and Fitness segment operates health and fitness clubs. As of March 31, 2012, this segment owned and operated 205 fitness clubs; and provided outsourced s ervices at 161 clubs. The Gaming and Systems segment develops and sells content, hardware, and casino management systems for gaming machines for casinos. The Pachinko and Pachinko Slot Machines segment is involved in the production, manufacture, and sale of pachinko slot machines and liquid crystal displays for pachinko machines. In addition, Konami Corporation provides real estate management services; and operates portal sites. The company was formerly known as Konami Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Konami Corporation in 2000. Konami Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: CSG Systems International Inc.(CSGS)

CSG Systems International, Inc. provides business support solutions primarily to the communications industry. Its suite of solutions comprises Advanced Convergent Platform, a billing and customer care, and business optimization platform; Singleview suite, an integrated customer care, billing, and real-time rating and charging solution; Total Service Mediation (TSM) framework supports offline, and real-time mediation requirements, as well as service activation; and Wholesale Business Management (WBM) solution, a wholesale settlement and routing solution that handles various types of traffic consisting of voice, data, and content. The company?s solutions also include customer interaction management solutions that deliver interactive voice, SMS/text, print, email, Web, and fax messages on behalf of clients; analytics and intelligence services suite delivers an approach for enhancing the customer experience, increasing sales opportunities, and optimizing business; and Content Direct solutions, which enable content providers to manage subscriber preferences and offer digital content. It also licenses software products, such as WBM solution, TSM, and Singleview products; and offers professional services to implement these software products. The company also provides its services to financial services, healthcare, utilities, entertainment, and content distribution industries. It operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Telecom industry services provider�CSG Systems (NASDAQ: CSGS  ) announced today�that it would initiate the payment of a quarterly dividend to investors, marking the first time in company history it has done so.

Top 10 Safest Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Internap Network Services Corporation(INAP)

Internap Network Services Corporation provides information technology (IT) infrastructure services. The company operates through two segments, Data Center Services and IP Services. The Data Center Services segment provides colocation services, which include physical space for hosting customers? IT infrastructure network and other equipment, as well as offers associated services, such as redundant power and network connectivity, environmental controls, and security. This segment also offers managed hosting services that enable its customers to own and manage the software applications and content, as well as provides and maintains the hardware, operating system, collocation, and bandwidth. The IP services segment provides patented performance Internet protocol (IP) service; XIP acceleration-as-a-service solution; and flow control platform, a premise-based intelligent routing hardware product for customers, who run their own multiple network architectures, known as multi-homi ng. In addition, this segment offers content delivery network services that enable its customers to stream and distribute media and content, such as video, audio software, and applications to audiences through points of presence, as well as offers capacity-on-demand services to handle events and unanticipated traffic spikes. Internap Network Services Corporation provides its services and products through 76 IP service points, which include 20 CDN POPs and 1 standalone CDN POP, as well as through 37 data centers across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It serves the entertainment and media, financial services, business services, software, hosting and information technology infrastructure, and telecommunications industries. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Intensity Company Inc(ITT.V)

Intensity Company Inc. sells computer hardware and software products in Canada. The company was formerly known as Flukong Enterprise Inc. and changed its name to Intensity Company Inc. in January 2010. Intensity Company Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Monolithic Power Systems Inc.(MPWR)

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, designs, develops, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. It offers direct current (DC) to DC converter integrated circuits (IC) that are used to convert and control voltages of various electronic systems, such as portable electronic devices, wireless LAN access points, computers, set top boxes, televisions and monitors, automobiles, and medical equipments. The company also provides lighting control ICs for use in systems that offer the light source for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in notebook computers, LCD monitors, car navigational systems, and LCD televisions. In addition, it provides audio amplifier ICs to amplify sound produced by audio processors; and Class-D audio amplifiers for plasma televisions, LCD televisions, and digital versatile disk players. The company serves consumer electronics, communications, and computing markets. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. sells its products thr ough third party distributors and value-added resellers, as well as directly to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, and electronic manufacturing service providers. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    McDonald is a veteran CFO, having served in that position for a number of tech companies including eASIC, Advanced Analogic Technologies, and Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ: MPWR  ) .

  • [By Seth Jayson]

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

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: MPWR) has a diverse market that includes communications, gaming and computing to continue to drive its growth, all markets that will pay a premium for its technology. The list of tech companies that use its chips is impressive. Deutsche Bank has a $30 target, the same as the consensus target.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Hewlett-Packard Company(HPQ)

Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. Its Personal Systems Group segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services for the commercial and consumer markets. The company?s Services segment provides consulting, outsourcing, and technology services to infrastructure, applications, and business process domains. Its Imaging and Printing Group segment provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, media, and scanning devices, such as inkjet and Web solutions, laser jet and enterprise solutions, managed enterprise solutions, graphics solutions, and printer supplies. The company?s Enterprise Servers, Storage, and Networking segment offers industry standard s ervers, business critical systems, storage platforms, and networking products, including switches, routers, wireless LAN, and TippingPoint network security products. Its HP Software segment provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions, and security intelligence/risk management solutions. The company?s HP Financial Services segment offers leasing, financing, utility programs, and asset recovery services; and financial asset management services for enterprise customers, as well as specialized financial services to SMBs, and educational and governmental entities. Hewlett-Packard Company also provides business intelligence solutions that enable businesses to standardize on consistent data management schemes, connect and share data across the enterprise, and apply analytics, as well as licenses its specific technology to third parties. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Dzombak]

    Today's Dow leader
    Today's Dow leader is Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) , up 13.5% after it reported second-quarter earnings last night. The PC manufacturer reported earnings per share of $0.87 and revenue of $27.6 billion, whereas analysts had expected EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $28 billion. HP has been weighed down by a declining PC market, as well as terrible capital-allocation decisions on its part. These combined last year to send Hewlett-Packard stock down to just $11.35. But the stock has roared back this year, up 70% year to date to $24.11 after the sell-off went too far.

  • [By Holly LaFon]

    How do you think about Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)?

    I think Meg Whitman is very capable of doing the necessary management 101. The decision to hang on to the PC business was ultimately the rational one.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Diodes Incorporated(DIOD)

Diodes Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies application specific standard products within the broad discrete, logic, and analog semiconductor markets primarily in Asia, North America, and Europe. Its products portfolio consist of diodes, rectifiers, transistors, MOSFETs, protection devices, functional specific arrays, single gate logic, amplifiers and comparators, transient voltage suppressors, silicon wafers, drain inverters, and Hall-effect and temperature sensors. The company also provides power management devices, including LED drivers, and DC-DC switching and linear voltage regulators; and special function devices comprising USB power switches, load switches, voltage supervisors, and motor controllers. It sells its products to consumer electronics, computing, communications, industrial, and automotive industries through direct sales and marketing personnel, independent sales representatives, and distributors. The company wa s founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Zebra Technologies Corporation(ZBRA)

Zebra Technologies Corporation offers products and solutions that assist in identifying, authenticating, and tracking assets, people, and transactions. The company?s products include direct thermal and thermal transfer label and receipt printers, radio frequency identification printer/encoders, dye sublimation card printers, real-time location solutions, and related accessories and support software. It also designs, manufactures, and sells specialty printing devices that print variable information on demand at the point of issuance. The company offers its printers to print bar code labels, receipts, plastic identification cards, wristbands, and tags, as well as to encode passive RFID smart labels and cards. In addition, it provides printer management, label design, and driver solutions under the ZebraNet brand name. The company?s printer supplies consist of stock and customized thermal labels, wristbands, plastic cards, card laminates, and thermal transfer ribbons. Its p roducts have applications in inventory control, small package delivery, baggage handling, automated warehousing, just-in-time manufacturing, employee time and attendance records, file management systems, patient barcode wrist banding, medical specimen labeling, shop floor control, in-store product labeling, employee ID cards, driver?s licenses, and access control systems. The company sells its products worldwide through distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers. Zebra Technologies Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Andy Obermueller]

    I first told StreetAuthority readers about this game-changing technology in an article about another stock in this sector I like: payment processing firm Zebra (Nasdaq: ZBRA).

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Stocks to Watch for October 14, 2013

( click to enlarge )

Arotech Corporation (NASDAQ: ARTX) is looking to get back over $2 based on the chart above. After days of trading sideways in a relatively narrow range, this stock is finally on the move again. The volume is starting to pick up and there could be a decent short squeeze (short float 15%) if the stock breaks above this range. Resistance levels to watch will be 1.98, 2.24 and 2.71 with support levels at 1.83 and 1.66. The technical indicators paint a BULLISH picture. The stock is rising above all major EMAs. The MACD has just entered the positive zone and above the signal line. The Slow stochastic and the RSI are both above their 50% levels. Next week will be for sure a key week for ARTX technically !!! Be prepared for a Big run !!! Stay invested w/ a stop-loss at 1.66 ( click to enlarge )

China BAK Battery Inc. (NASDAQ: CBAK) still looks pretty good on the technical daily chart with volume expanding as it moves higher, MACD crossover too. CBAK continues to look bullish and had a decent day Friday. ( click to enlarge )

Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA) closed last week above the 200-day EMA and is registering a Bullish signal. Let's see whether the stock can gather enough momentum to break through 8.42. If the Bulls are able to push through this level, there will be another rally towards 8.68. Technical indicators have turned bullish. ( click to enlarge )

SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) continues to trades within a steady uptrend channel. Next buy point will be on the day it blows through $6.25 on heavy volume. ( click to enlarge )

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) Near-term outlook appears positive. A move above the key resistance level of $32.9 would help the stock touch the immediate PT of $33.98-34.21. Only a drop below $31.02 would negate the positive outlook for ZTS. ( click to enlarge )

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is setting up nicely in a small base for a potential breakout, so keep an eye on it for a possible breakout over $498 on a close basis. Technical chart shows bullish sign with %K line on top of %D line and MACD on top of signal line. Only a close below $476.47 would negate the short-term bullish outlook for the stock. ( click to enlarge )

Arca Biopharma Inc (NASDAQ: ABIO) OBV Indicator continues its uptrend showing investor interest. A restest of 1.8 seems very likely. Last week, Dawson James initiated coverage on shares with a buy rating and a $3.75 target price.

During the day I tweet many times to my readers. I encourage everybody to subscribe AC Investor Blog twitter and newsletter, so you can receive my trade ideas and stock news in real time.



Disclaimer : This is not an investment advisory, and should not be used to make investment decisions. Information in AC Investor Blog is often opinionated and should be considered for information purposes only. No stock exchange anywhere has approved or disapproved of the information contained herein. There is no express or implied solicitation to buy or sell securities. The charts provided here are not meant for investment purposes and only serve as technical examples. Don't consider buying or selling any stock without conducting your own due diligence.



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AC

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Technicals Markets Trading Ideas

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