Although the deal has not yet been formally announced, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) is still expected to acquire Beats Electronics at some point in the near future. Much has already been written about the purchase -- its potential to bring a level of fashion to Apple's future wearables, Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine's music industry experience -- but what I find most interesting is what it says about Apple's iTunes business.
Apple's total iTunes revenue is growing, and at a rapid pace, but the model on which the business was built -- music downloads -- could slow. Streaming services are clearly the future, and though acquiring Beats should help Apple break into that business, it still poses a major challenge.
Downloads give way to subscriptions
Industry music downloads slipped 5.7% on an annual basis last year, according to Nielsen. Consistent with those figures, Asymco estimated that Apple's iTunes Music sales declined about 14% in 2013.
It's possible that a lack of quality music may have weighed on iTunes' sales last year (arguably, fewer must-have songs were released in 2013), but the growth of music subscription services cannot be discounted. Spotify, the leader in that business, now has 10 million paying subscribers, up from just 5 million 17 months ago.
Best Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF (EWP)
iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Spanish market, as measured by the MSCI Spain Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Spanish equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.
The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Versace]
As the outlook in the Spanish economy continues to improve, let's be sure to participate by buying shares of iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF (EWP), which tracks the Spanish equity markets.
- [By Tom Aspray]
Even more surprising is Spain whose unemployment rate is over 26%. The iShares MSCI Spain (EWP) was down 6% for the year in late June, but is now up over 11%. All three look positive technically but are closing the week above their starc+ bands indicating that we should get a better entry point in the next few weeks.
- [By Matthew McCall]
iShares MSCI Spain Index ETF (NYSE: EWP)
Overnight, a surprise fall in the inflation number out of Spain had a ripple affect across the region. The 0.2 percent annual rate decline in consumer prices was the weakest number since October 2009 and well below expectations. Borrowing costs for Spain and Italy fell to their lowest levels in three years and stocks were trading higher.
Best US Stocks To Invest In 2014: Dean Foods Company(DF)
Dean Foods Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Fresh Dairy Direct-Morningstar and WhiteWave-Alpro. The Fresh Dairy Direct-Morningstar segment manufactures, markets, and distributes various branded and private label dairy case products, including cream, ice cream mix, and ice cream novelties; creamers and other extended shelf life fluids; yogurt, cottage cheeses, sour creams, and dairy-based dips; fruit juices, fruit-flavored drinks, iced teas, and water; half-and-half and whipping creams; and items for resale, such as butter, cheese, eggs, and milk shakes. This segment sells its dairy case products to retailers, distributors, foodservice outlets, educational institutions, and governmental entities. The WhiteWave-Alpro segment manufactures, develops, markets, and sells various branded dairy and dairy-related products, such as milk and other dairy products; organic dairy products; plant-based beverages, such as soy, almond, and coconut milks; and soy food products, coffee creamers, and creamers and fluid dairy products. It also provides branded soy-based beverages and food products in Europe under the Alpro and Provamel brands. This segment sells its products to various customers, including grocery stores, club stores, natural foods stores, mass merchandisers, convenience stores, drug stores, and foodservice outlets. The company was formerly known as Suiza Foods Corporation and changed its name to Dean Foods Company on December 21, 2001 as a result of merger between the former Dean Foods Company and Suiza Foods Corporation. Dean Foods Company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sara Murphy]
But what does "organic" really mean, and does the label meet consumers' expectations? Do shoppers know that the Horizon Organics brand -- darling of the urban food co-op -- belongs to decidedly conventional Dean Foods (NYSE: DF ) ? Or that Hain Celestial (NASDAQ: HAIN ) has been dogged recently by accusations of false organic labeling, leading to a class action lawsuit?
- [By John Maxfield]
Meanwhile, the worst-performing stock on the index was Dean Foods (NYSE: DF ) , which lost more than half of its value. This otherwise disturbing performance followed the company's spinoff of its organic-foods division, WhiteWave Foods (NYSE: WWAV ) . As fellow Fool Rich Duprey covered here, each Dean Foods shareholder received 0.25544448 shares of WhiteWave class A stock and 0.36380189 shares of its class B stock for every share of Dean Foods.
Best US Stocks To Invest In 2014: MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc (MSM)
MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSC), incorporated on October 25, 1995, is direct marketers and distributors of a range of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products to customers throughout the United States. The Company operates primarily in the United States, with customers in all 50 states, through a network of five customer fulfillment centers (four customer fulfillment centers are located within the United States and one is located in the United Kingdom and 106 branch offices (104 branches are located within the United States, one is located in the United Kingdom and the other is located in Mexico). The Company offers approximately 600,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs) through its master catalogs, weekly, monthly and quarterly specialty and promotional catalogs, brochures and the Internet, including its Websites, mscdirect.com, mscmetalworking.com and use-enco.com (MSC Websites). In April 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the North American distribution business (BDNA or the Business) of Barnes Group Inc.
The Company's customers include a range of purchasers of industrial supply products, from individual machine shops to Fortune 1000 companies, to government agencies, such as the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense. The Company uses its database of companies and contacts, and the Company also purchases information on prospective customers in the form of databases, mailing lists, and email lists to target the distribution of these various publications and other marketing vehicles to specific individuals within an organization whose purchasing history or other criteria suggest receptiveness to specific publication titles and promotions. The Company also provides electronic ordering capabilities (EDI and XML) to support its customers' purchase order processing.
The Company's products represent a range of MRO products that include cutting tools; measuring instruments; tooling component! s; metalworking products; fasteners; flat stock; raw materials; abrasives; machinery hand and power tools; safety and janitorial supplies; plumbing supplies; materials handling products; power transmission components; and electrical supplies. The Company provides product information and ordering capabilities on the Internet. The Company also maintains a hardware and software platform in support of its VMI program, which allows customers to integrate scanner-accumulated orders directly into its Sales Order Entry system.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
Worse than that news is the fact that some of Fastenal's competitors have held up somewhat better. MSC Industrial (NYSE: MSM ) encountered much of the same sales weakness from the metalworking industry that Fastenal saw in its overall results, and both stocks have performed in line with each other over the past quarter. But W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW ) soared after its earnings in April, as it saw its earnings rise more than 14% and boosted its guidance for full-year 2013 revenue and earnings.
Best US Stocks To Invest In 2014: Halliburton Company(HAL)
Halliburton Company provides various products and services to the energy industry for the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas worldwide. It operates in two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services, completion tools and services, cementing services, and Boots & Coots. Its production enhancement services include stimulation and sand control services; completion tools and services comprise subsurface safety valves and flow control equipment, surface safety systems, packers and specialty completion equipment, intelligent completion systems, expandable liner hanger systems, sand control systems, well servicing tools, and reservoir performance services; cementing services consist of bonding the well and well casing, while isolating fluid zones and maximizing wellbore stability, and casing equipment; and Boots & Coots include well intervention services , pressure control, equipment rental tools and services, and pipeline and process services. The Drilling and Evaluation segment provides field and reservoir modeling, drilling, evaluation, and wellbore placement solutions that enable customers to model, measure, and optimize their well construction activities. Its services comprise fluid services, drilling services, drill bits, wireline and perforating services, testing and subsea services, software and asset solutions, and integrated project management and consulting services. The company serves independent, integrated, and national oil companies. Halliburton Company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Arjun Sreekumar]
For instance, though oilfield services firms Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB ) and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ) have shown a keen interest in developing China's shale resources, the absence of clearly defined and enforceable patent and property protection laws has given them reason to pause. �
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