Top 10 Value Companies To Own For 2014

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Yahoo Finance�� Jeff Macke appeared on Breakout on Thursday afternoon before the release of JCPenney earnings to suggest that Mike Ullman has bought the company a little extra time, but that�� about it.

Best Managed Healthcare Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  2013 has been a stellar year for shares of oil service giant Schlumberger (SLB). Since the calendar flipped over to January, SLB has rallied more than 25%, beating the broad market's impressive pace by double digits. As oil prices linger on the high end of their historic range, SLB is well positioned to keep ticking higher.

  Schlumberger provides must-have services to national and supermajor oil firms as well as smaller E&Ps, offering up niche services like seismic surveys and well drilling and positioning. In a nutshell, SLB's job is to pull oil out of the ground as efficiently as possible. Oil firms turn to Schlumberger because the tasks they need to accomplish are too nuanced or proprietary to pull off in-house. So as long as the company continues to pour cash into R&D for drilling technology and software, the firm should continue to score lucrative contracts.

  Some of Schlumberger's most attractive opportunities right now come from overseas. The firm is one of the largest oil servicers in Russia, a key growth market in the years ahead. It's also got an important presence in smaller oil markets, where it's a big fish in a small pond. A big scale and stellar reputation should guarantee Schlumberger an attractive piece of the oil pie for years to come.

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Schlumberger NV (SLB)

  Manning & Napier Advisors��largest position is in Schlumberger where they maintain 8,882,428 shares. Their position in Schlumberger represents 3.6% of their total portfolio and 0.67% of the company�� shares outstanding. During the first quarter the fund made a reduction of -3.32% by selling 305,133 shares of the company�� stock. They sold these shares in the first quarter price range of $86.16 to $97.96, with an estimated quarterly price of $90.27. Since then the price per share is up approximately 13.1%. Manning & Napier�� historical holding history:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $11.58 billion.

  Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.24 per share on revenue of $9.92 billion.

• [By David Smith]

  It's now two to one among the big oil-field services companies regarding the North American oil and gas markets. Through Monday, Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , the largest company in the sector had expressed concern about the market and its short-term prospects, while Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) , the second-biggest member of the group, joined Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI  ) in assessing our continent's activity levels more positively.

Top 10 Value Companies To Own For 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Dow Chemical Co.(DOW), Tupperware Brands Corp.(TUP) and Yahoo Inc.(YHOO)

• [By Arie Goren]

  After running this screen on May 21, 2013, before the markets' open, I discovered the following eight stocks: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL), Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG), Copa Holdings SA (CPA), RPC Inc. (RES), Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), Herbalife Ltd. (HLF), John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW.A) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW).

Top 10 Value Companies To Own For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Finally, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) continued its poor performance, falling another 1.5% and coming closer to flirting with a new multi-year low. A minor bounce in precious metals prices has helped to reverse a small part of gold's big decline from earlier this year, bringing some hope that mining activity might rise and increase demand for Caterpillar's mining equipment. Yet, even amid signs of relative strength in the U.S., the economies of the rest of the world don't look nearly as perky, and that should keep a lid over Caterpillar's prospects until the trend reverses itself.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Not surprisingly, commodity makers and related stocks were the worst performers among the blue chips. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) fell the most, dropping 3.2%. The earthmoving-equipment company is highly dependent on demand in China, and slowing growth will weigh on the stock. Alcoa (NYSE: AA  ) was down 2.2% for a similar reason as it needs a strong construction market and demand for aluminum in China to boost prices for the metal. Alcoa already reported earnings to a tepid response from the market last week, while Caterpillar will report next Monday. Analysts expect EPS of $1.44 on revenue of $13.81. Both figures are significantly down from a year ago.

Top 10 Value Companies To Own For 2014: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was maintained as a Buy but was removed from the prized Conviction Buy list at Goldman Sachs.

  Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $79 price target at Argus.

• [By Nickey Friedman]

  Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) continues to impress each quarter with robust sales, same-store sales growth, and diluted earnings-per-share increases. This dollar chain credits in large part a budget-conscious and cash-strapped consumer filling up its stores looking for bargains. Further growth seems like a no-brainer, but there are two things to watch for that could become speed bumps on its road to further riches.

Top Airline Stocks For 2014

On Monday, United Continental (UAL) announced that Cleveland would no longer be used as a hub. Imperial Capital’s Bob McAdoo and Scott Buck�explain what United Continental stands to gain–and why it could be good news for American Airlines (AAL) and Delta Air Lines (DAL), too:

Associated Press

We view the reduction in service at Cleveland as an important step in closing [United Continental's] performance gap with industry leader Delta Air Lines. While there remains significant work to do, we believe the 4Q13 results highlighted the progress that United has already made…

We believe both American Airlines Group and Delta Air Lines will also be beneficiaries of this change in Cleveland. Passengers from cities that are losing regional connecting service through Cleveland will now be required to connect through other airports including hubs operated by both American Airlines and Delta. These connections could include Atlanta and Charlotte to the south, Chicago or Minneapolis to the west and Philadelphia to the east. As a result, we expect both American Airlines and Delta to benefit somewhat from incremental traffic driven by United�� Cleveland reduction.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Air France KLM SA (AFLYY.PK)

Air France-KLM SA (Air France-KLM), incorporated on April 23, 1947, is an airline engaged in the business of passenger transportation. It has four segments: Passenger, Cargo, Maintenance and Other. The Company�� primary business is to hold direct or indirect interests in the capital of air transport companies and, more generally, in any companies in France or elsewhere whose purpose is related to the air transport business. Air France-KLM activities also include cargo, aeronautics maintenance and other air-transport related activities including, principally, catering and charter services. At March 31, 2011, the Air France-KLM group fleet consists of 609 aircraft, of which 593 were operational. At March 31, 2011, 274 aircraft were fully owned (45% of the fleet), 117 aircraft were under finance lease representing 19% of the fleet and 218 under operating lease representing 36% of the fleet.

Passenger

Passenger operating revenues primarily come from passenger transportation services on scheduled flights with the Company�� airline code, including flights operated by other airlines under code-sharing agreements. They also include commissions paid by SkyTeam alliance partners, code-sharing revenues, revenues from excess baggage and airport services supplied by the Company�� to third party airlines and services linked to information technology (IT) systems.

Cargo

Cargo operating revenues come from freight transport on flights under the companies��codes, including flights operated by other partner airlines under code-sharing agreements. Other cargo revenues are derived principally from sales of cargo capacity to third parties. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, the Company transported more than 1.5 million tons of cargo, of which 66% in the bellies of passenger aircraft and 33% in the cargo fleet, to a network of approximately 254 destinations in approximately 111 countries. Air France-KLM Cargo has a product range organized around four prod! uct families, Equation, Cohesion, Variation and Dimension.

Maintenance

Maintenance operating revenues are generated through maintenance services provided to other airlines and customers globally. The Company�� two engine shops are located in Amsterdam and Paris. CFM56 engine shops support the fleet of CFM56-5 power plants in the world, with nearly 400 engines operated by numerous airlines. CF6-80E1 provides full-service maintenance. KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) provides an alternative to the manufacturer�� services in terms of overhaul and services on this engine with its offering supported by technological infrastructure.

Other

The revenues from this segment come primarily from catering supplied by the Company to third-party airlines and to charter flights operated primarily by Transavia. The catering business is regrouped around Servair, an Air France subsidiary which generates more than 90% of the revenues of this activity, and KLM Catering Services, a subsidiary of KLM.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By El Torero]

  The airline will undoubtedly pounce on the likely failings of rival companies, though this is also an area where easyJet will be eager to move in. Spanair is gone as is Malev Zrt, two former Ryanair rivals. Air France-KLM (AFLYY.PK) and Iberia are in trouble, among other European airlines. Ryanair will take advantage of such weaknesses in its aim of becoming Europe's out-and-out dominant short-haul carrier. As other airlines cut routes, airports are now looking to Ryanair to take up the newly available airport space. As a result of this, with "opportunities opening up in Germany, Scandinavia and Central Europe" in particular, Ryanair's deputy chief executive, Howard Millar sees the Irish company increase its market share from 15 percent to 20 percent before the end of the decade.

Top Airline Stocks For 2014: Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV (VLRS)

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV (Volaris Aviation Holding Company) is a Mexico-based company principally engaged in the airline passenger transportation industry. The Company is a law-cost carrier airline. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB de CV offers direct, point-to-point flights. The Company serves through secondary, lower cost airports and provides a single class of service. The Company utilizes such aircraft as the Airbus A319 and A320 families, among others. The Company has such subsidiaries as Comercializadora Volaris SA de CV, Servicios Corporativos Volaris SA de CV, Concesionaria Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAPI de CV, Deutsche Bank Mexico SA Trust 1484, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  When most American investors think of discount airline stocks, they probably think of relatively large capped Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV)�or sort of small cap�JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) rather than�small cap Controladora Vuela Co Avcn SA CV (NYSE: VLRS) which owns Volaris���a discount airline serving the�Mexican market. However, any investor who has read Benjamin Graham�� Intelligent Investor might want to remember his sage advice about avoiding airline stocks���mainly because airlines were such a new and unproven sector that had yet to make money. But could Controladora Vuela Co Avcn SA CV actually be an airline stock worth owning?

Top Airline Stocks For 2014: Global Eagle Entertainment Inc (ENT)

Global Eagle Entertainment Inc., formerly Global Eagle Acquisition Corp., incorporated on February 2, 2011, is the full service platform offering both content and connectivity for the worldwide airline industry. Through its combined content, distribution and technology platforms, the Company provides airlines and the millions of travelers they serve with the offering of in-flight video content, e-commerce and information services. Through its Row 44 subsidiary, the Company utilizes Ku-band satellite technology to provide airline passengers with Internet access, live television, shopping and travel-related information. As of February 1, 2013, the Company installed on more than 450 aircraft, Row 44 has the fleet of connected entertainment platforms operating over land and sea globally. In addition, through its AIA division, the Company provides film and television content, games and applications to more than 130 airlines worldwide. In July 2013, the Company announced the acquisition of Post Modern Group, LLC. In October 2013, Global Eagle Entertainment Inc announced that it has acquired Travel Entertainment Group Equity Limited, the United Kingdom-based parent company of IFE Services Limited (IFE Services) from GCP Capital Partners LLP.

The Company�� Row 44 subsidiary provides satellite-based broadband service to the global airline industry. The Company�� Advanced Inflight Alliance (AIA) business is the provider of content services, products and solutions for the global inflight entertainment market. AIA also serves as the exclusive representative in sourcing Hollywood content for 60 airline customers and is the exclusive distributor of content from select Hollywood studios and independent producers to the airline market. In addition, AIA is the airline distributor of Asian, Bollywood, European, Latin American and Middle Eastern content.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  What:�Shares of Global Eagle Entertainment� (NASDAQ: ENT  ) �rose 12% early Friday, then settled close up around 7% after the in-flight content and connectivity specialist released solid first-quarter results.

• [By Richard Stavros]

  This was particularly the view of Leo Denault, CEO of Entergy Corp (NYSE: ENT). Mr. Denault and his fellow panelist, James Robo, CEO of NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE: NEE), offered rather refreshing perspectives on the industry’s challenges, as they are pursuing strategies that are directionally opposed.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Shares of Global Eagle Entertainment (NASDAQ: ENT) got a boost, shooting up 10.38 percent to $12.12 after the company and Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced a satellite connectivity partnership.

Top Airline Stocks For 2014: AMR Corp (AAMRQ)

AMR Corporation (AMR), incorporated in October 1982, operates in the airline industry. The Company�� principal subsidiary is American Airlines, Inc. (American). As of December 31, 2011, American provided scheduled jet service to approximately 160 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. AMR Eagle Holding Corporation (AMR Eagle), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR, owns two regional airlines, which do business as American Eagle - American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines, Inc. (collectively, the American Eagle carriers). American also contracts with an independently owned regional airline, which does business as AmericanConnection (the AmericanConnection carrier). As of December 31, 2011, AMR Eagle operated approximately 1,500 daily departures, offering scheduled passenger service to over 175 destinations in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

American, AMR Eagle and the AmericanConnection airline served more than 250 cities in approximately 50 countries with, on average, 3,400 daily flights and the combined network fleet numbered approximately 900 aircraft as of December 31, 2011. American Airlines is also a founding member of the oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LAN Airlines, Iberia, Qantas, JAL, Malev Hungarian, Mexicana, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. Together, oneworld members serve 750 destinations in approximately 150 countries, with about 8,500 daily departures. American is also one of the scheduled air freight carriers in the world, providing a range of freight and mail services to shippers throughout its system onboard American�� passenger fleet.

To improve access to each other�� markets, American has established marketing relationships with other airlines and rail companies. As of December 31, 2011, American had marketing relationships with Air Berlin, Air Pacific, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cape Air, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern Airl! ines, Dragonair, Deutsche Bahn German Rail, EL AL, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, GOL, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jet Airways, JetStar Airways, LAN (includes LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru), Niki Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.

American has established the AAdvantage frequent flyer program (AAdvantage). AAdvantage members earn mileage credits by flying on American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection carrier or by using services of other participants in the AAdvantage program. Mileage credits can be redeemed for free, discounted or upgraded travel on American, American Eagle or other participating airlines, or for other awards. American sells mileage credits and related services to other participants in the AAdvantage program. There are over 1,000 program participants, including a credit card issuer, hotels, car rental companies, and other products and services companies in the AAdvantage program. As of December 31, 2011, AAdvantage had approximately 69 million total members.

The Company competes with Alaska Airlines (Alaska), Delta Air Lines (Delta), Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways (JetBlue), Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines (Southwest) and AirTran Airways (Air Tran), Spirit Airlines, United Airlines (United) and Continental Airlines (Continental), US Airways and Virgin America Airlines.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  The move away from fuel hedging has worked out well for US Airways -- despite the fact that oil prices have risen dramatically from 2009 to today. Since 2010, US Airways has paid a lower average fuel price compared to each of the four largest airlines in the country -- AMR (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ  ) , Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL  ) , Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) , and United Continental (NYSE: UAL  ) -- all of which use fuel hedges extensively.

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  On the other hand, investors who expect United Continental (NYSE: UAL  ) or American Airlines -- the product of an upcoming merger between US Airways (NYSE: LCC  ) and AMR (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ  ) -- to follow suit are probably mistaken. Whereas Delta has achieved predictable positive free cash flow through disciplined capital allocation, United and the new American are poised to spend heavily on capex. This may prevent them from reliably generating free cash flow.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Earlier, the Justice Department said it would sue AMR Corp. (AAMRQ) and U.S. Airways (LCC) to block their merger, citing competitive concerns. AMR has dropped 48% to $2.99 on the news, while U.S. Airways has fallen 10% to $13.38.

  Associated Press

  The losses for AMR are enormous and its not too difficult to see why. The company is emerging from bankruptcy and this deal was a big part of the plan. Cowen’s Helane Becker and Conor Cunningham consider the implications:

  AMR Corp’s POR focused on merging with US Airways. With the DoJ blocking the merger, AMR will need to go back to the drawing board. In our opinion, if the US Airways/AMR deal were to be permanently blocked, AMR would need to address its issues on the standalone basis, likely through capacity and headcount reductions. AMR needs to address its operations in LA and the overall network, which would result in capacity reductions and higher ticket fares. Worst case scenario, AMR would need to liquidate, resulting in significant capacity and headcount reduction. In any scenario, we believe the capacity reductions would benefit the entire industry and result in improved supply/demand environment and PRASM trends.

  Becker and Cunningham, however, believe that the selloff in other airlines on the news is “overdone.” They recommend focusing on Delta Air Lines (DAL), which has dropped 9.2% to $19.09, and United Airlines (UAL), which has fallen 6.5% to $31.06.

  UPDATE:

  S&P Capital IQ analyst Jim Corridore says he’s surprised by the suit. He writes:

  We are surprised by the suit, as regulators allowed several other airline combinations over the past few years. We think the planned merger would provide major benefits to LCC, as it would greatly improve what we see as an inferior foreign route network, but we also think LCC is a low-cost carrier with a favorable valuation. Our target price stays $26.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  American Airlines (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ  ) led the way in the fourth quarter of 2012, reporting net income of $270.8 million, followed by Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) , which earned $78.3 million. For the year, Delta (NYSE: DAL  ) topped the list of large airlines, with $1.18 billion in net income, according to the BTS.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014

Six years ago, William Reed was a Nevada businessman listed as the corporate officer for more than 1,000 companies purportedly headquartered in a lone Las Vegas office suite.

Now he has a new title: federal prison inmate, sentenced to nine years behind bars.

Nevada Senior U.S. District Judge Philip Pro imposed the sentence Tuesday after Reed pleaded guilty to tax conspiracy, attempted tax evasion and aggravated identity theft in a case involving his part in a thriving mini-industry that helps an untold number of clients attempt to hide financial assets from the IRS and other government agencies, creditors and courts.

Pro also ordered Reed, 63, to pay nearly $4.2 million in restitution as part of the sentence.

A Feb. 2007 USA TODAY report showed that Reed and his company, Asset Protection Group, took advantage of gaps in domestic incorporation laws and virtually non-existent government oversight to promote some U.S. states as secrecy rivals of traditional offshore tax havens.

Top 5 Undervalued Stocks For 2015: Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais Cemig (CIG)

Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (CEMIG), incorporated on May 22, 1952, is a Brazil-based holding company mainly engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. In the generation segment, CEMIG operates through hydroelectric plants, thermoelectric plants and wind farms. In the transmission segment, as of December 31, 2008, CEMIG�� transmission network was comprised of 38 substations with a total of 94 transformers and an aggregate transformation capacity of 15,583 Megavolt amperes. In the distribution business, as of December 31, 2008, the Company owned and operated 451,539 kilometers of distribution lines, supplying electricity to approximately 10 million customers. CEMIG is also engaged in the natural gas distribution business in Minas Gerais, through its subsidiary Companhia de Gas de Minas Gerais - GASMIG, as well as in the telecommunications business, through its subsidiary Cemig Telecomunicacoes SA - Cemig Telecom, which provides optical fiber and coaxial cable network.

Power Generation and Trading

As of December 31, 2009, the Company generated electricity at 54 hydroelectric plants, three thermoelectric plants and two wind farms, and had a total installed capacity of 6,624 megawatts. As of December 31, 2009, it owned and operated 3,085 miles of transmission lines and 281,756 miles of distribution lines. It holds concessions to distribute electricity in 96.7% of the territory of Minas Gerais. Eight of CEMIG�� hydroelectric plants accounted for approximately 81% of its installed electric generation capacity during the year ended December 31, 2009. CEMIG operates the Ipatinga thermoelectric plant, through its subsidiary Usina Termica Ipatinga S.A. The plant has an installed capacity of 40 megawatts, generated by two units and that uses blast furnace gas as fuel. The Company operates the Sa Carvalho hydroelectric power plant, located on the Piracicaba River in the municipality of Antonio Dias in the State of Minas Gerais, through its subsid! iary Sa Carvalho S.A. The Company�� Rosal hydroelectric plant has an installed capacity of 55 megawatts. The Rosal plant is located on the Itabapoana River, which runs along the border between the states of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro.

Cemig Capim Branco Energia S.A. is engaged in developing the Capim Branco Generating Complex in partnership with Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), a mining company, Comercial e Agricola Paineiras, an agricultural company, and Companhia Mineira de Metais (CMM) a metallurgical company. Horizontes Energia S.A. was formed by the Company to generate and trade electricity, through the commercial operation of its hydroelectric plants: the Machado Mineiro Power Plant (located on the Pardo River in the municipality of Ninheira in the State of Minas Gerais with an installed capacity of 1.72 megawatts); the Salto do Paraopeba Power Plant (located on the Paraopeba River in the town of Jeceaba in the State of Minas Gerais with an installed capacity of 2.37 megawatts); the Salto Voltao Power Plant (located on the Chapecozinho River in the town of Xanxere in the State of Santa Catarina with an installed capacity of 8.2 megawatts), and the Salto do Passo Velho Power Plant (located on the Chapecozinho River in the town of Xanxere in the State of Santa Catarina with an installed capacity of 1.8 megawatts), as well as other generating projects.

Usina Termeletrica Barreiro S.A. holds the assets of the Barreiro thermoelectric power plant. The Irape Hydroelectric Power Plant, which has an installed capacity of 360 megawatts, is located on the Jequitinhonha River, in northern Minas Gerais. The Company�� wind farm, Morro do Camelinho is located in Gouveia, a municipality in northern Minas Gerais. It has a total generation capacity of 1 megawatt, powered by four turbines with a capacity of 250 kilowatts each. Central Eolica Praia do Morgado S.A is located in the county of Acarau, in the State of Ceara. Central Eolica Volta do Rio S.A is located in the county ! of Acarau! , in the State of Ceara.

Transmission

The Company�� transmission business consists of the bulk transfer of electricity from the power plants where it is generated to the distribution system, which carries the electricity to final consumers, and others consumer agents connected directly in the transmission grid. Its transmission system comprises transmission lines and step-down substations with voltages ranging from 230 kilovolt to 500 kilovolt. As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� transmission network in Minas Gerais consisted of 1,352 miles of 500 kilovolt lines, 1,244 miles of 345 kilovolt lines and 485 miles of 230 kilovolt lines, as well as 35 substations with a total of 94 transformers and an aggregate transformation capacity of 15,506 megavolt ampere. The Company transmits the energy that it generates and the energy that it purchases from Itaipu and other sources, as well as the energy for the interconnected power system. On December 31, 2009, the Company also had 13 industrial consumers, to whom it transported 4,103 gigawatt hour directly with high voltage energy, through their connections to its transmission lines. Nine of these industrial consumers accounted for approximately 66.9% of the transported total volume of electricity. The Company also transmits energy to distribution systems, through the south/southeast-linked system of the grid.

Distribution and Purchase of Electric Power

The Company�� distribution operation consists of electricity transfers from distribution substations to final consumers. Its distribution network consists of a network of overhead and underground lines and substations with voltages lower than 230 kilovolts. The Company supplies electricity to industrial consumers at the higher end of the voltage range and residential and commercial consumers at the lower end of the range.

Other Businesses

The Company holds approximately 55% of Gasmig and Petrobras, through its subsidiary, Gaspet! ro-Petrob! ras Gas S.A., holds 40%. In 2009, Gasmig supplied approximately 1.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day to 276 consumers, including 175 industrial and commercial clients, 93 retail distribution stations for natural gas vehicles, two thermal power plants and six distributors of compressed natural gas (CNG). Gasmig supplied 0.2 million cubic meters of gas per day to thermal power plants and 1.3 million cubic meters of gas per day to retail consumers. In addition to, Gasmig also supplied eight customers with re-gasified liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 2009, Gasmig distributed approximately 4.1% of all natural gas distributed in Brazil.

The Company�� owns a 99.9% interest in Cemig Telecomunicacoes S.A., which has an optical fiber-based long-distance communications backbone installed along the Company�� power grid using optical ground wire cables. This communications backbone is connected to an access network that is based on hybrid fiber-coaxial cable technology and is deployed along its power grid. The telecommunication services provided by Cemig Telecomunicacoes S.A., through its network are signal transportation and access, both for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint applications, delivered to telecommunications operators and Internet service providers on a channel basis. Cemig Telecomunicacoes S.A. also provides intra-company data transmission services to the Company. CEMIG provides consulting services to governments and public utility companies in the electricity industry. The Company has a 100% interest in Efficientia S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Companhia Energ茅tica de Minas Gerais S.A. (NYSE: CIG) is a top utility in Brazil. It even trades over 3 million shares on average in New York. At $5.70, the 52-week range is $5.48 to $8.89. This ADR is down about 4% so far in 2014.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014: Full House Resorts Inc.(FLL)

Full House Resorts, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manages, invests in, and owns gaming-related enterprises. The company holds interest in Gaming Entertainment (Delaware), LLC, a joint venture with Harrington Raceway, Inc., which has a management contract with Harrington Raceway and Casino that has approximately 1,800 slot machines and 40 table games, a 450-seat buffet, a dining restaurant, a 50-seat diner, and an entertainment lounge area located in Harrington, Delaware. It also owns and operates Stockman?s Casino, which has approximately 264 slot machines, 4 table games, and keno, as well as a bar, a dining restaurant, and a coffee shop situated in Fallon, Nevada. In addition, the company holds interests in Gaming Entertainment Michigan, LLC that has a joint venture with RAM Entertainment, LLC, which has a management agreement with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians for the development and management of the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Cre ek, Michigan. Full House Resorts, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Full House Resorts (NASDAQ: FLL) is estimated to post a Q4 loss at $0.06 per share on revenue of $33.24 million.

  Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $927.86 million.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014: Aristocrat Group Corp (ASCC)

ARISTOCRAT GROUP CORP. (AGC), incorporated on July 20, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company has limited business operations. The development of its business has been limited to organizational matters, the preparation of its business plan, and the preparation of the financial statements and other information. Through Prenatal-Postpartum Supercare Centers, the Company is focused on to provide education services, health and fitness services, and emotional well-being spa services with the ability to purchase products designed especially for women who are in any phase of the childbearing process from planning a family through the newborn�� first year of life. As of July 25, 2011, the Company had not generated revenue.

The Company focused to engage certified childbirth educators and lactation consultants to provide on-site instructional services and educational expertise. Yoga Masters, licensed professional masseuses, nutritionists, licensed estheticians, as well as licensed professional therapists and certified fitness instructors will be engaged to provide their specific services. The Company is focused to offer a variety of educational and fitness and spa services with varying fees. The Company is focused to sell products designed for the expecting or new mother, as well as infant/toddler items. These products are focused to be sold through the Prenatal-Postpartum Supercare Center and on its Website, including maternity and infant products, nutritional, health and beauty products, and items regarding fitness and physical and emotional well-being. The Website focused to offer Education, Ask An Expert and On-line Communities (Chat Rooms)

The Company competes with R��Us, Toys R��Us, Wal-Mart, Curves for Women and Shapes for Women.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, ASCC surged (+11.11%) up +0.060 at $.600 with 83,411 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:23PM EDT June 27, 2013).

  As part of the big promotional push planned for the upcoming release of RWB Ultra-Premium Handcrafted Vodka, Luxuria Brands��he brand management division of the Aristocrat Group Corp. is investigating high-profile sponsorship opportunities in professional sports.

  The company is gearing up to compete in the $21 billion U.S. spirits industry, in which many top brands grow their consumer loyalty with sports sponsorships.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014: CenturyLink Inc.(CTL)

CenturyLink, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated communications company. The company provides a range of communications services, including voice, Internet, data, and video services in the continental United States. Its services include local exchange and long distance voice telephone services, as well as enhanced voice services, such as call forwarding, caller identification, conference calling, voicemail, selective call ringing, and call waiting; wholesale local network access services; and data services, including high-speed Internet access services, data transmission services over special circuits and private lines, and switched digital television services, as well as special access and private line services. The company also offers fiber transport, competitive local exchange carrier, security monitoring, and other communications, as well as professional and business information services. In addition, it provides other related services, such as leasing, selling, installing, and maintaining customer premise telecommunications equipment and wiring; payphone services; and network database services, as well as participates in the publication of local telephone directories. Further, the company offers printing, direct mail services, and cable television services; and wireless broadband Internet access services and satellite television services. As of December 31, 2010, it operated approximately 6.5 million telephone access lines. CenturyLink, Inc was founded in 1968 and is based in Monroe, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ong Kang Wei]

  For example, Digital Realty (DLR) is the undoubted leader in the data storage industry, with a market cap of $8.3B. Its other three competitors, DuPont Fabros (DFT), CoreSite Realty (COR) and CyrusOne (CONE), have market caps of $1.5B, $930M and $430M respectively. In addition, with the level of complexity involving Digital's business making it immensely difficult for companies to operate data centre facilities, the company is in a good position for future growth. The company also has a wide network of 595 tenants (significantly more than other competitors), including CenturyLink (CTL), AT&T and Morgan Stanley (MS). This further secures its long term business prospects and also its dominance over its competitors.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) shares touched a new 52-week low of $29.37. CenturyLink shares have dropped 26.43% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 23.42% in the same period.

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

  Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. Avg. High Yield Price 2. 20-Year DCF Price 3. Avg. P/E Price 4. Graham Number T is trading at a discount to only 3.) above. Since T's tangible book value is not meaningful, a Graham number can not be calculated. The stock is trading at a 11.6% premium to its calculated fair value of $28.64. T did not earn any Stars in this section. Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. Free Cash Flow Payout 2. Debt To Total Capital 3. Key Metrics 4. Dividend Growth Rate 5. Years of Div. Growth 6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% T earned one Star in this section for 3.) above and earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1984 and has increased its dividend payments for 31 consecutive years. Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description: 1. NPV MMA Diff. 2. Years to > MMA T earned a Star in this section for its NPV MMA Diff. of the $1,161. This amount is in excess of the $500 target I look for in a stock that has increased dividends as long as T has. The stock's current yield of 5.76% exceeds the 3.68% estimated 20-year average MMA rate. Memberships and Peers: T is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: CenturyLink, I

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014: TransAlta Corporation (TAC)

TransAlta Corporation operates as a non-regulated electricity generation and energy marketing company. The company engages in the production and sale of electric energy through its diversified portfolio of facilities fuelled by coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, and biomass resources in Canada, the United States, and Australia. It has an aggregate net ownership interest of approximately 8,025 megawatts of generating capacity in operation. The company was founded in 1911 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By alicet236]

  TransAlta Corporation (TAC) Reached the Five-Year Low of $12.78

  The prices of TransAlta Corporation (TAC) shares have declined to close to the five-year low of $12.78, which is 47.9% off the five-year high of $23.30. TransAlta Corp. is owned by one Guru we are tracking. Among them, zero have added to their positions during the past quarter. One reduced their position. TransAlta Corp. was incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act in March 1985. TransAlta Corp. has a market cap of $3.43 billion; its shares were traded at around $12.78 with a P/E ratio of 96.80 and P/S ratio of 1.46. The dividend yield of TransAlta Corp. stocks is 8.71%. TransAlta Corp. had an annual average earnings growth of 0.20% over the past 10 years.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014: Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN)

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (the Bank) is a Turkey-based financial services company. The Bank provides retail, commercial, corporate and small and medium size enterprises (SME) banking, leasing, insurance, asset management and factoring services. Other operation heading under the banking segment include mainly treasury and investment banking activities as well as unallocated income and expense items. It has a network of 822 domestic branches, seven foreign branches, three representative offices abroad and 104 offices. In addition to its branches, the Bank has 100% ownership in three banks each of which is located in Amsterdam, Bucharest and Moscow. The Bank and its affiliates operate principally in Turkey, but also have operations in the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg and Germany. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Julia Leite]

  The Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange National 100 Index climbed from a six-month low. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was ready to listen to the demands of anti-government protesters. The lira strengthened for the first time in three days and bonds gained. Lenders Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN) and Akbank T.A.S. added at least 3.2 percent.

• [By Halia Pavliva]

  Turkiye Garanti (GARAN) Bankasi AS, the largest Turkish lender by market value, led gains on the Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index, which rose 1.5 percent. Garanti climbed 1.3 percent after slumping 4.1 percent to the lowest level since Sept. 13 yesterday. The government is selling $1.25 billion of five-year Islamic bonds today, according to a person with direct knowledge of the transaction, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014: Basic Energy Services Inc. (BAS)

Basic Energy Services, Inc. provides various well site services to oil and natural gas drilling and producing companies in the United States. Its Completion and Remedial Services segment provides pumping services, such as cementing, acidizing, fracturing, coiled tubing, nitrogen, and pressure testing; rental and fishing tools; snubbing services; thru-tubing; cased-hole wireline services; and underbalanced drilling in low pressure and fluid sensitive reservoirs. This segment operates 228 pressure pumping units. It also operates 14 coiled tubing units; 49 air compressor packages; 12 wireline units; and 34 snubbing units. The company�s Fluid Services segment offers oilfield fluid supply, transportation, storage, and construction services, which comprise the transportation of fluids and salt water; sale and transportation of fresh and brine water; rental of portable frac tanks and test tanks; operation of company-owned fresh water and brine source wells and non-hazardous wast ewater disposal wells; and preparation, construction, and maintenance of access roads, drilling locations, and production facilities. This segment owns and operates 955 fluid services trucks with a fluid hauling capacity of up to 150 barrels apiece. Its Well Servicing segment provides various services performed with a mobile well servicing rig and ancillary equipment, such as maintenance work, hoisting tools and equipment required by the operation, and plugging and abandonment services, as well as manufactures and sells workover rigs. It operates a fleet of 425 well servicing rigs. The company�s Contract Drilling segment employs drilling rigs and related equipment to penetrate the earth to a desired depth and initiate production. This segment owns and operates 12 land drilling rigs. The company was formerly known as Sierra Well Service, Inc. and changed its name to Basic Energy Services, Inc. in 2000. Basic Energy Services, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is based in Fort Wort h, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Simon Casey]

  Dow is investing $4 billion to expand production in the U.S., where an abundance of natural gas from drilling in shale formations has made U.S. plastics production competitive with the Middle East. The company, founded in 1897 as a bleach maker, is the world�� biggest producer of chlorine, epoxy resins and polyethylene plastic. It�� the world�� second-biggest chemical maker after Germany�� BASF SE. (BAS)

• [By Sara Murphy]

  Basic Energy Services (NYSE: BAS  ) derived more than a quarter of 2012 revenues from its fluid services unit. Its operations rely heavily on the legacy model of hauling water. Superior Energy Services (NYSE: SPN  ) counts on its traditional fluid services offerings for about 20% of revenues.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  For investors, the choice is clear — you need to focus globally when it comes to oil stocks. North American-focused oil stocks like C&J Energy (CJES) and Basic Energy Services (BAS) might not be up to snuff in such a highly challenging pricing environment.

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  German stocks declined the most in more than two months as a report showed that Germany�� auto market plummeted last month, while Bayer AG (BAYN) and BASF SE (BAS) fell.

Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014

Quick: If asked to name "the most profitable food producers in America," who would you think would win the title?

Based on the prices at Whole Foods Market -- where a recent shopping expedition revealed that a pound of nuts can easily cost you as much as buying a pound of Angus steak -- you you'd probably guess that organic foods are the most profitable. Or if you don't shop there, you might guess it's the companies that grow the expensive fruits and vegetables in your supermarket grocery section.

But a new report out of industry research firm IBISWorld shows that's not the case at all.

Turns out, many of the most profitable food producers in America are candy companies.

Sweetening the pot
We won't keep you in suspense. Here are IBISWorld's findings, showing that out of the top 10 food producers in America, four of the top five are industries that produce sweets:

Now admittedly, this isn't the fact that IBISWorld focuses on in its report. Rather, the researcher emphasizes a growing trend of Americans who are becoming "increasingly concerned about the negative health effects of certain foods," growing more "health conscious," and "seeking out new and healthier versions from their favorite brands."

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies To Own In Right Now: Acuity Brands Inc (AYI)

Acuity Brands, Inc. (Acuity Brands), incorporated on September 20, 2007, is the parent company of Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. (ABL), and other subsidiaries. Acuity Brands is a provider of lighting solutions for commercial, institutional, industrial, infrastructure, and residential applications throughout North America and select international markets. The Company's lighting solutions include devices, such as luminaires, lighting controls, power supplies, prismatic skylights, light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, and integrated lighting systems for indoor and outdoor applications utilizing a combination of light sources, including daylight, and other devices controlled by software that monitors and manages light levels while optimizing energy consumption (collectively referred to herein as lighting solutions). Effective March 14, 2013, the Company acquired eldoLED Europe BV.

The Company manufactures lighting devices primarily in North America, Europe and Asia. The Company's lighting solutions are marketed under numerous brand names, including Lithonia Lighting, Holophane, Peerless, Mark Architectural Lighting, Hydrel, American Electric Lighting, Gotham, Carandini, RELOC, Antique Street Lamps, Tersen, Winona Lighting, Synergy Lighting Controls, Sensor Switch, Lighting Control & Design, Dark to Light, ROAM, Sunoptics, acculamp, Pathway Connectivity, and Healthcare Lighting. As of August 31, 2012, the Company manufactures products in 18 facilities in North America and two facilities in Europe.

Principal customers include electrical distributors, retail home improvement centers, electric utilities, municipalities, lighting showrooms, and energy service companies located in North America and select international markets serving new construction, renovation, and facility maintenance applications. In North America, the Company's lighting solutions are sold primarily by independent sales agents, electrical wholesalers, and factory sales representatives who cover specific geographic areas! and market channels. Products are delivered directly or through a network of distribution centers, regional warehouses, and commercial warehouses using both common carriers and a company-owned truck fleet. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012), North American sales accounted for approximately 98% of net sales. The Company has one operating segment serving the North American lighting market and select international markets.

The Company provides a range of lighting solutions, as well as services used in the applications, such as lighting solutions and services. Lighting solutions and services includes commercial and institutional, industrial, infrastructure, residential and services. Commercial and Institutional includes stores, hotels, offices, schools, and hospitals, as well as other government and public buildings. Lighting solutions that serve these applications include recessed, surface, and suspended lighting products, recessed down lighting, track lighting, day lighting, and lighting controls (occupancy sensors, photocontrols, relay panels, architectural dimming panels, and integrated lighting controls systems), as well as special-use lighting products. The outdoor areas associated with these applications are addressed by a range of outdoor lighting products, such as area and flood lighting, decorative site lighting, and landscape lighting. Industrial includes primarily warehouses and manufacturing facilities, which utilize a range of general purpose, day lighting, and special-use lighting solutions. Infrastructure includes highways, tunnels, airports, railway yards, and ports. Products that serve these applications include street, area, high-mast, off-set roadway, sign lighting, poles, and integrated controls systems. Residential includes a combination of decorative, utilitarian, and down lighting products. Services include monitoring and controlling of lighting systems through network technologies.

The Company competes with Cooper Industries plc, Hu! bbell Inc! orporated, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., OSRAM AG, Schneider Electric and General Electric Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $$1.02 per share on revenue of $569.33 million.

  Walgreen Co (NYSE: WAG) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $17.95 billion.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Wednesday

  Earnings Expected: Unifirst Corporation (NYSE: UNF), Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON), Acuity Brands Inc (NYSE: AYI) Economic Releases Expected: �Chinese services PMI, Australian trade balance, US crude inventory data, eurozone PPI

  Thursday

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Tuesday
  Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI  ) �reports on Tuesday. The lighting specialist is expected to post net income of $0.88 a share, just ahead of the $0.82 it posted a year earlier. Let's illuminate the situation, if you'll pardon the wordplay. It would be a gamble to assume that Acuity will please investors. It merely met Wall Street's bottom-line target a quarter ago and actually fell short in each of the two prior periods.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Analysts are expecting Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI) to have earned $$1.02 per share on revenue of $569.33 million in the fourth quarter. Acuity Brands shares rose 0.95% to close at $92.02 yesterday.

Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: Cleco Corporation (CNL)

Cleco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Louisiana. As of December 31, 2009, it had ownership interest in 3 steam electric generating stations and 1 gas turbine with a combined name plate capacity of 1,359 megawatts, and a combined electric net generating capacity of 1,318 megawatts. The company served approximately 277,000 customers in 107 communities in the central and southeastern Louisiana. It also owns and operates a natural gas-fired merchant power plant, as well as has a 50% interest in another natural gas-fired merchant power plant located in Louisiana. Cleco Corporation was founded in 1934 and is based in Pineville, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Pineville, Louisiana-based utility holding company CLECO (CNL) raised its quarterly dividend 10.3% to 40 cents per share payable on May 15. No record or ex-dividend date for the payment was released.
  CNL Dividend Yield: 3.13%

• [By David Dittman]

  Answer: I like NextEra Energy, which has significant renewables exposure and operates in a region with solid economic fundamentals. I also like smaller utes that operate in smaller footprints with solid long-term fundamentals, including Cleco (NYSE: CNL), Pinnacle West, Vectren (NYSE: VVC) and SCANA (NYSE: SCG).

Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: NVR Inc.(NVR)

NVR, Inc. operates as a homebuilder in the United States. It engages in the construction and sale of single-family detached homes, townhomes, and condominium buildings under the trade names of Ryan Homes, NVHomes, Fox Ridge Homes, and Rymarc Homes primarily to first-time homeowners and first-time move-up buyers. The company markets its products in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, western and eastern Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, and Columbia. It also offers mortgage banking services to its homebuilding customers, including mortgage financing and brokerage of title insurance, as well as performs title searches in connection with mortgage loan closings. NVR, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  NVR (NYSE: NVR  ) reported earnings on July 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), NVR met expectations on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Toll Brothers' quarterly profit more than doubled as a recovering housing market allowed the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder to sell more homes at higher prices, sending its shares up 4 percent. The company, which sells homes that can cost more than $2 million, has been able to perform better during the past few quarters than most large U.S. homebuilders as its buyers were less affected by a recent rise in mortgage rates. Toll's average selling price rose about 22 percent to $706,000 in the second quarter ended April 30 -- a period well into the spring selling season, which is to homebuilders what the holiday shopping season is to retailers. Toll (TOL), which mainly builds single-family houses, handed over 1,218 homes in the quarter, up 36 percent from a year earlier. While the company's sales remain strong, it decided last year to build and rent apartments to cater to the demand for rentals as higher interest rates and slow income growth pushes home ownership out of reach for many Americans. Permits to build multifamily housing such as apartment blocks rose 19.5 percent in the United States last month, compared with a 0.3 percent rise in permits for single-family homes. Toll Brothers said Wednesday it had about 1,500 rental units under construction and that it controlled sites for another 3,800. Lennar (LEN), the second-largest U.S. homebuilder, is the only other builder that is offering apartment rental units. 'Impressive Results' Toll's net income soared to $65.2 million, or 35 cents a share, in the second quarter from $24.7 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 67 percent to $860.4 million. Orders stayed almost flat at 1,749 homes, compared with a 6 percent fall in the first quarter. "We are in a leveling period in the early stages of the housing recovery with significant pent-up demand building," Chief Executive Officer Douglas Yearley said in a statement. UBS analyst Davi

• [By Morgan Housel]

  This isn't surprising. The supply of existing homes for sale is at a seven-year low. Construction of new homes is still well below the rate of household formation. Prices will almost always rise in that situation. It's simple supply and demand. And it's pulled millions of homeowners out from being underwater on their mortgage and brought new hope to the housing industry, boosting shares of D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI  ) and NVR (NYSE: NVR  ) as the outlook for construction rises.�

• [By Holly LaFon] nc. consists of two operating segments: homebuilding and mortgage banking. The homebuilding unit makes homes under the trade names Ryan Homes, NVHomes and Fox Ridge Homes, and NVR Mortgage primarily focuses on serving NVR homebuyers.

  NVR�� is older than most of the other companies on the over-$500 share-price list, having gone public in 1993. Since then its stock price has increased 7,219% to $741 per share on Monday. It has never split its stock.

  Seaboard Corp. (SEB)

  Seaboard is also an older company founded more than 90 years ago and has focused on grain and agriculturally derived products. In the last 10 years its stock has appreciated 543%, and on Monday one share costs $1,955. It has never split its stock.

  Seaboard is still a growing company. In the last ten years it increased revenue per share at an average rate of 12.5%, EBITDA at 9.8%, and book value at 18.2%. It also has a low P/E of 6.8, its lowest since about 2007.

  Berkshire Hathaway-A (BRK.A)

  Berkshire Hathaway is the multinational conglomerate founded by Warren Buffett and is the eighth largest company in the world. They are the highest priced shares on the New York Stock Exchange, partially due to never splitting their stock or paying a dividend. Rather, they reinvest corporate earnings to continue growth.

  In the last 10 years, Berkshire Hathaway stock has increased 67%. On Monday, one share of BRK.A cost $122,115.

  Berkshire management has grown book value at an annual rate of 20.3% for the last 44 years. Growth has been continuing in recent history. In the last 10 years, revenue per share increased at a rate of 11.4%, EBITDA at 7.5% and free cash flow at 3.3%. Its P/E is 17.1.

  These stocks are not necessarily expensive or not expensive based on how much one share costs but are subject to the same valuation as lower-priced companies. To create your own screener to find the exact stocks you are interested in, try GuruFocus��do-it-all scree

Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: Five Oaks Investment Corp (OAKS)

Five Oaks Investment Corp., incorporated on March 28, 2012, focused on investing in, financing and managing a leveraged portfolio of Agency and Non-Agency residential mortgage-backed securities, or RMBS, residential mortgage loans and other mortgage-related investments. The Company invests in both Agency RMBS and Non-Agency RMBS.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� portfolio consisted of Agency RMBS and Non-Agency RMBS. The Company is managed by Oak Circle Capital Partners LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Five Oaks Investment Corp. (NYSE: OAKS) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

  Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: Hauppauge Digital Inc.(HAUP)

Hauppauge Digital Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of analog and digital TV tuner products for the personal computer (PC) market in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It offers video recorder products, such as USB-Live2, a standard definition video recorder used to record video tapes and other types of video into a PC; HD PVR, a high-definition video recorder for making real-time H.264 compressed video recordings at resolutions up to 1080i, and to record old home video tapes into an AVCHD format; and Colossus to record high definition video from a cable TV or satellite set top box, or an Xbox 360 or Sony playstation 3 game console. The company also provides TV receivers, including Broadway that connects to a TV signal and then transmits that TV signal through a Wi-Fi network or the Internet; analog TV tuners to enable a PC user to watch analog cable TV in a resizable window; digital TV receivers and hybrid analog/digital TV receivers, which allow a PC user to watch digital television in a resizable window on a PC or laptop screen; and PCTV TV tuner products that allow users to view television programming on their computers. In addition, it offers non-TV tuner products comprising WinTV application, a PC-based TV watching, pause, and recoding application; WinTV Extend software product, a PC-based Internet video server that streams live TV or other video content to remote devices; Impact video capture board for PC-based video conferencing and video capture in industrial applications; MediaMVP-HD, a Linux-based digital media device that links TV sets and PCs; and MediaMVP to watch and listen to PC-based videos, music, and pictures on a TV set through a home network, as well as provides an on-TV-screen display of media directory listings. The company sells its products through retailers, PC manufacturers, and distributors. Hauppauge Digital Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Hauppauge, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Hauppauge Digital (NASDAQ: HAUP) shares fell 8.70% to touch a new 52-week low of $0.42. Hauppauge Digital shares have dropped 61.02% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 18.17% in the same period.

Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: Molson Coors Brewing Company(TAP)

Molson Coors Brewing Company brews, markets, sells, and distributes beer brands. It sells its products in Canada, under the Coors Light, Molson, Rickard's Red, Carling, Pilsner, Keystone Light, Creemore Springs, and Granville Island brands. The company also brews or distributes products under license from third parties, which include Heineken, Amstel Light, Murphy's, Asahi, Asahi Select, Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Chill, Milwaukee's Best, Milwaukee's Best Dry, and Foster's. In addition, it imports, distributes, and markets the Corona, Coronita, Negra Modelo, and Pacifico brands, through a joint venture agreement with Grupo Modelo. Further, the company sells various brands in the United States, which include Coors Light, Miller Lite, Coors Banquet, Miller Genuine Draft, MGD 64, Miller Chill, Sparks, Miller High Life, Miller High Life Light, Keystone Light, Icehouse, Mickey's, Milwaukee's Best, Milwaukee's Best Light, Old English 800, Blue Moon, Henry Weinhard 's, George Killian's Irish Red, Leinenkugel's, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch, Coors Non-Alcoholic, and Sharp's. Additionally, it sells various brands in the United Kingdom comprising Carling, C2, Coors Light, Worthington's, White Shield, Caffrey's, Kasteel Cru, and Blue Moon, as well as various regional ale brands. The company also sells the Grolsch brands through a joint venture with Royal Grolsch N.V. and the Cobra brands through a joint venture called Cobra Beer Partnership Ltd.; and distributes brands sold under license, including Corona, Coronita, Negra Modelo, Pacfico, Singha, and Magners Draught Cider. In addition, it markets and sells Zima, Si'hai, Coors Gold, and Coors Extra brands to various international markets. The company was formerly known as Adolph Coors Company and changed its name to Molson Coors Brewing Company as a result of its merger with Molson Inc. in February 2005. Molson Coors Brewing Company was founded in 1873 and is headquartere d in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Trying to tap into that market would be a difficult task for anyone, even for�SABMiller� (NASDAQOTH: SBMRY  ) ,�the world's second largest brewer, which is why it undoubtedly figured that by hooking up with Canada's biggest operator, Molson Coors� (NYSE: TAP  ) , with 39% of the beer market, it would have an easier time of getting better distribution. Their MillerCoors joint venture was created in 2007 and mainly distributes beer in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, but it also allows Molson to market and distribute certain Miller brands in Canada.

• [By Chris Mydlo]

  A recent large insider sell has been from Peter S. Swinburn, President and CEO of Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP). On March 24, 2014, he sold 71,424 shares at an average price of $58.89 per share. The total transaction amount was valued at $4,206,159. Molson Coors manufactures and sells beer and other beverage products.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Molson Coors Brewing Co. (NYSE: TAP), like many beer companies, has seen beer consumption drop in favor of wine and liquor. The only standout in the recent poor numbers was an increase in sales of “above-premium beers.” Despite a new brewer opening up almost every day in the United States, Molson Coors accounts for nearly one of every three additional brews sold at the craft-brew level. Shareholders are paid a 2.7% dividend. Merrill Lynch lifts the price target from $50 to $52. The consensus target is $58.25. The stock closed Friday at $55.02.

Top Dow Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: Etablissements Maurel et Prom SA (MAU)

Etablissements Maurel et Prom SA is a France-based company engaged in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons (oil and gas), and in oil drilling activities. Its main activities comprise geological surveys, seismic acquisition and processing, geophysical interpretation and drilling. The Company pursues its activities mainly in Africa and Latin America, but it also has its businesses in Gabon, Senegal, Congo, Mozambique, Syria, Tanzania, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, France and Italy. Maurel & Prom SA operates through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including M&P Venezuela SAS, Prestoil Kouilou, Maurel & Prom Peru Holdings, Maurel & Prom Tanzanie Ltd and Panther Eureka SRL, among others. In December, 2013, the Company the acquisition of all of the shares of Caroil SAS (excluding the South American business of Caroil) from Tuscany International Drilling Inc. and has sold all of its 109,000,000 common shares of Tuscany to an entity incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Riddhi Kharkia]

  Since I have touched the topic of metrics, it is worthwhile to note that Twitter�� monthly active users (MAU) number stands at 57 million as compared to approximately 1.23 billion MAUs for Facebook. Monthly active user growth ticked up just 6% for Twitter on a sequential basis, while monthly active users fell 8% year over year. Even in terms of quarterly results, Facebook was miles ahead of Twitter, which was also a factor behind the sell-off in Twitter stock.

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2014

BEIJING (AP) ��China's Lenovo Group is buying IBM's server business for $2.3 billion, expanding a product line-up dominated by PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Lenovo, the world's biggest personal computer maker, said Thursday it expects to offer jobs to 7,500 IBM employees as part of its acquisition of the x86 server business.

The acquisition will accelerate Lenovo's moves to expand beyond its traditional PC business, said Peter Hortensius, a senior vice president.

"We see a transformation coming for our company from just being a PC company to being a mobile device, PC and enterprise server company," said Hortensius in a phone interview. "This provides another strong leg for that strategy."

Lenovo has its own server business but Hortensius said it is less than one-fifth the size of the IBM unit. He said the acquisition will move Lenovo ahead five years in its plan to expand in servers, raising its global ranking among suppliers from No. 6 to No. 3 and increasing its share of global server sales from 2% to 14%.

Top 5 Asian Companies To Buy For 2015: Smiths Group PLC (SMGKF.PK)

Smiths Group plc is a technology company. It has five divisions: Smiths Detection, Smiths Medical, John Crane, Smiths Interconnect and Flex-Tek. The Company and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture, sale and support advanced security equipment, including trace detection, millimeter-wave, infrared, biological detection and diagnostics; mechanical seals, seal support systems, engineered bearings, power transmission couplings and specialist filtration systems, and medical devices aligned to specific therapies, principally airway, pain and temperature management, and vascular access. It also develops, manufactures, sells and supports specialized electronic and radio frequency products for the global wireless telecommunications, aerospace, defense, space, medical, rail, test and industrial markets, and engineered components, including ducting, hose assemblies and heating elements. In May 2011, it acquired the entire issued share capital of SDBR Comercio De Equipamentos De Seguanca LTDA. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Lauchheimer]

  Currently, three main companies supply security equipment to the TSA - Safran (SAFRY.PK), Smiths (SMGKF.PK), and Level-3 Holdings (LLL). All three of these companies sell the whole range of their products to the TSA, with an ETD offering included. Recently, however, a new company, Implant Sciences Corporation (IMSC.PK) received approval from the TSA to begin selling their ETD equipment to airport security professionals. This approval has opened the door for IMSC to begin taking some market share away from the more established players in the US and beyond.

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2014: Toshiba Corp (TOSBF)

TOSHIBA CORPORATION is a Japan-based manufacturer that operates in five business segments. The Digital Product segment manufactures and sells cellular phones, hard disc devices, optical disc devices, televisions among others. The Electronic Device segment provides general logic integrated circuits (ICs), optical semiconductors, power devices, large-scale integrated (LSI) circuits, among others. The Social Infrastructure segment manufactures and sells various generators, power distribution systems, water and sewer systems, transportation systems and station automation systems, among others. The Home Appliance segment provides refrigerators, drying machines, washing machines, cooking utensils, cleaners and lighting equipment, among others. The Others segment is involved in the provision of logistics services. In January 2014, Toshiba Corp purchased substantially all assets of OCZ Technology Group, and launched new subsidiary, OCZ Storage Solutions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll and Max Macaluso, Ph.D.]

  Panasonic's (NASDAQOTH: PCRFY  ) not the first company you may think of in the health-care field, but this Japanese electronics maker's a player in blood glucose monitors and other fields. With Panasonic's sales under fire across the board, however, this company's looking to sell off its health-care business to refocus on its core segments. Toshiba (NASDAQOTH: TOSBF  ) reportedly has expressed interest in a buy, and private equity-firms are also in the hunt to get on board with Asia's health-care rise.

• [By Bruce Kennedy]

  On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced indictments against five officers in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) for ��erious cybersecurity breaches��against six American firms: Westinghouse Electric, a division of Toshiba (OTC: TOSBF) , Alcoa (NYSE: AA),�Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI), U.S. Steel (NYSE: X), the United Steelworkers Union and SolarWorld (OTC: SRWRY).

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2014: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KWHIY)

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI), incorporated on October 15, 1896, is a global manufacturer of transportation equipment and industrial goods. KHI manufactures ships, rolling stock, aircraft and jet engines, gas turbine power generators, environmental and industrial plants, and range of manufacturing equipment and systems. KHI also produces consumer products, such as Kawasaki-brand motorcycles and personal watercraft. KHI�� business is divided into seven operations: shipbuilding, rolling stock and construction machinery, aerospace, gas turbines and machinery, plant and infrastructure engineering, consumer products and machinery, and hydraulic machinery.

Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation, which is the company of this segment, is engaged in building gas carriers and submarines, which require advanced design and construction technologies. It offers

a range of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, extending from small carriers with cargo tank capacities of 19,000 cubic meters to large carriers with capacities of 177,000 cubic meters. It also developed and offered in its lineup a pressure build-up type LNG carrier for short distance and small-volume transportation. The Company�� shipbuilding operations include products, such as LNG carriers, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, container ships, very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and other types of tankers, bulk carriers, high speed vessels, submarines, maritime application equipment.

KHI�� rolling stock production systems are located in Hyogo and Harima in Japan and in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Yonkers, New York, in United States. Kawasaki completed its light rail vehicle (LRV), dubbed SWIMO. It also is developing efSET (Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train) which achieves a service speed of 350 kilometers per hour (km/h). Regarding the construction machinery business, Kawasaki has arranged a business alliance with Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., and TCM Corporation. As of April 1, 2009, the Compa! ny split off its construction machinery business as a wholly owned subsidiary of KHI, KCM Corporation.

KHI is the prime contractor for the development of the MOD�� large-scale XP-1 and C-X aircraft. In the commercial aircraft field, KHI delivered a test model of Boeing�� 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft. KHI is a partner corporation in the development and production of the 787 Dreamliner.

The Gas Turbines & Machinery segment has a range of products for the energy and transportation equipment field. KHI focuses to expand its global business by offering solutions for its customers that include a lineup of in-house developed gas turbines together with product support and maintenance. During the year ended December 31, 2008, the 8MW-class power-generating capacity Kawasaki Green Gas Engine had 4,000 hours of operational testing.

The plant and infrastructure engineering segment encompasses the operations of Kawasaki Plant Systems, Ltd. (K Plant), which undertakes projects to supply energy-related, industrial infrastructure, environmental preservation systems and equipment, and the operations of the parent company�� Industrial Facilities and Tunneling Equipment Division, which mainly focuses on LNG tanks and diverse other storage tanks along with shield machines and tunnel-boring machines. The Anhui Conch Kawasaki Energy Conservation Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (CKM) is engaged in the manufacturing of PH boiler parts that are employed in waste heat power plants. CKM has commenced the manufacturing and sales of environmental preservation related products, including cement plant components, such as vertical mills, boilers for waste heat recovery power generation systems, and waste gasification systems and sewage treatment systems that can be integrated with cement kilns to enable municipal waste recycling.

The consumer products and machinery segment includes the manufacture of motorcycles, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility vehicles, personal! watercra! ft, general purpose gasoline engines and industrial robots. In the motorcycle line, Kawasaki launched the ZRX1200 DAEG and the Ninja ZX-6R. In the cruiser segment, Kawasaki launched its Vulcan 1700 series with developed engine and chassis. This series includes the Vulcan 1700 Voyager, a full-dress V-twin engine tourer with a load of long-distance touring equipment. In the utility vehicle category, KHI equipped the Teryx 750 series with an electronic fuel injection system, mainly for recreational use. The MULE utility-oriented vehicle series was restyled with the launch of the MULE 4010 series.

The hydraulic machinery operations include Kawasaki Precision Machinery Ltd. (KPM). It has five manufacturing and marketing facilities, which comprises KPM�� headquarters plant and the facilities

of Kawasaki Precision Machinery (U.K.) Limited; Kawasaki Precision Machinery (U.S.A.), Inc.; China based Kawasaki Precision Machinery (Suzhou) Ltd.; and Korea-based Flutek, Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks have ended with losses in every session this week, and sure enough, the Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) was down 0.6% in early Friday trade, though off an opening 0.8% defecit, while the Topix carried a 0.7% loss. Overnight losses for the U.S. and further strength in the yen (with the dollar falling to 楼101.28 from 楼101.56 a day earlier) helped drag the market lower, as did results from Fast Retailing Co. (JP:9983) (FRCOF) , the shares of which hold the heaviest weighting on Nikkei Average. Fast Retailing said that while its Uniqlo brand was doing great business, weakness for its J Brand luxury demin label helped send September-May profit down 4% and prompted another cut to Fast's full-year outlook. Consequently, its shares traded 0.7% lower, though rivals Takashimaya Co. (JP:8233) and J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) (JFROF) also saw losses of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Among other decliners, Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) lost 0.7%, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) fell 2.1%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7012) (KWHIY) fell 1.5%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201)

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2014: ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA)

ThyssenKrupp AG is a Germany-based technology holding company operating in seven business areas. The Steel Europe division produces carbon steel flat products. The Steel Americas division is engaged in production, processing and marketing of high-grade carbon steels. The Materials Services division is engaged in global distribution of materials and the provision of complex technical services for the production and manufacturing sectors. The Elevator Technology division is engaged in the area of passenger transportation systems. The Plant Technology division focuses on specialty and large-scale plant construction. The Components Technology division is engaged in manufacturing components for the automotive, construction and engineering sectors as well as for wind turbines. The Marine Systems division focuses on naval and civil shipbuilding. Apart from its business areas, it provides business services, which are diversified into Business Services and Information Technology (IT) Services. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Telekom Austria (TKA) slid 1.6 percent to 5.63 euros. Second-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to 330.3 million euros ($439 million) from 364.8 million euros a year earlier. That compared with the average 332.7 million-euro analyst estimate.

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2014: Wartsila Oyj Abp (WRT1V.HE)

Wartsila Oyj Abp is a Finland-based company. Its operations are divided into four segments: Power Plants, Ship Power, Services and PowerTech. The Power Plants segment offers multi-fuel solutions for power generation markets, such as gas power plants, dual-fuel power plants, oil power plants and liquid biofuel power plants, among others. The Ship Power segment offers a range of products and services to both shipyards and ship owners, such as medium-speed and low-speed engines, seals and bearings, automation systems, ship design and ballast water treatment systems, among others. The Services segment offers solutions, such as basic support, installation and commissioning, performance optimization and upgrades, among others. The PowerTech segment comprises research and development for medium-speed engines and other operations, with a focus on gas, environmental solutions and Smart Power Generation drives. It has operations in more than 160 locations in over 70 countries around the world. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Wall var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(fu]

  The British company tried to strengthen its maritime engine business through a $10 billion takeover of Finland�� W盲rtsil盲 Oyj (WRT1V.HE) which rebuffed Rolls-Royce’s preliminary approach. The attempted acquisition of a company of that size surprised investors who hadn�� realized expansion was on management�� agenda so soon after its full takeover of Tognum, a German engineering company originally acquired in partnership with Daimler.

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2014: Orkla ASA (ORK)

Orkla ASA is a Norway-based company active in various sectors. The Company�� operations are structured into two segments: Branded Consumer Goods and Other Businesses. The Branded Consumer Goods segment is divided into five units: Orkla Foods, which comprises the Company�� food businesses in the Nordic region and the Baltics; Orkla Confectionery, which comprises five branded consumer goods businesses which serve the Nordic region and the Baltics as their home markets; Orkls Home & Personal consists of five branded consumer goods businesses, including Lilleborg, Lilleborg Profesjonell, the Axellus Group, Pierre Robert Group and House Care; Orkla Food Ingredients cover product categories, including margarine, marzipan, bread improvers and mixes, and yeast, and Orkla International includes branded consumer goods companies outside the Nordic region and the Baltics. The Other Businesses segment covers the Company�� operation in aluminum, real estate and hydropower sectors, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Orkla ASA (ORK), the Norwegian industrial conglomerate transforming itself into a consumer-goods producer, slumped 11 percent to 46.78 kroner, the largest drop since November 2011. The company reported second-quarter pretax profit of 514 million kroner ($86 million), missing estimates of 965 million kroner in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Companies For 2014: Siemens AG (SI)

Siemens AG (Siemens), incorporated on August 28, 1996, is a globally operating technology company with core activities in the fields of energy, healthcare, industry and infrastructure. Siemens business activities focus on four sectors, Energy, Healthcare, Industry and Infrastructure & Cities. These sectors form four of Siemens reportable segments. In addition to the four sectors, Siemens has two additional reportable segments: Equity Investments and Siemens Financial Services (SFS). The Energy sector comprises four divisions: Power Generation, Wind Power, Power Transmission and Energy Service. The Healthcare Sector includes four divisions: Imaging & Therapy Systems, Clinical Products, Diagnostics and Customer Solutions; and one sector-led Business Unit, Audiology Solutions. The Industry sector consists of three divisions: Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services; and one sector-led Business Unit, Metals Technologies. The Infrastructure & Cities sector consists of five divisions: Rail Systems, Mobility and Logistics, Low and Medium Voltage, Smart Grid, and Building Technologies. In July 2013 Siemens sold its stake in the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) joint venture to Nokia and OSRAM Licht AG was spun off from Siemens.

Industry

The Industry Sector offers a broad spectrum of products, solutions and services that help customers use resources and energy. The Sector�� integrated technologies and holistic solutions primarily address industrial customers, particularly those in the process and manufacturing industries. The portfolio spans industry automation, industrial software, drive products and services, system integration, and solutions for industrial plant businesses. The Industry Sector consists of three Divisions: Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services. The Sector also includes a sector-led Business Unit, Metals Technologies. In addition to its Sector-level financial results, Industry also breaks out financial results for the Indust! ry Automation Division and the Drive Technologies Division. The Industry Automation Division offers a range of standard products and system solutions for automation technologies used in the manufacturing and process industries. The Division�� offerings include automation systems and software, motor controls, machine-to- machine communication products, sensors, product and production lifecycle management products, and software for simulating and testing mechatronic systems. The Drive Technologies Division offers products and comprehensive systems across the entire drive train. These offerings are customized to the respective application and include numerical control systems, inverters, converters, motors (geared and gearless), drives and couplings. In addition, Drive Technologies supplies integrated automation systems for machine tools and production machines. The Division also offers integrated lifecycle solutions and services for industries such as shipbuilding, cement, mining, and pulp and paper. The Customer Services Division offers a comprehensive portfolio of services and supports industrial customers.

Energy

The Energy Sector offers a spectrum of products, solutions and services for generating and transmitting power, and for extracting, converting and transporting oil and gas. The Fossil Power Generation Division offers products and solutions for fossil-based power generation. The Division concentrates on products and solutions for gas and steam turbines, turbo generators, heat recovery steam generators including control systems, with an emphasis on combined-cycle power plants. It also develops solutions for instrumentation and control systems for all types of power plants and for use in power generation. The Wind Power Division manufactures wind turbines for onshore and offshore applications, including both geared turbines and direct drive machines. The product portfolio is based on four product platforms, two for each of the onshore and offshore applications. The Oil ! & Gas Div! ision has a comprehensive portfolio of rotating machinery (gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors with associated equipment) and electrical, instrumentation and telecommunication (EIT) solutions. The Power Transmission Division provides customers with turnkey power transmission solutions as well as discrete products, systems and related engineering and services. It covers high-voltage transmission solutions, power and distribution transformers, high-voltage switching and non-switching products and systems, and alternating and direct current transmission systems. The Energy Service Division offers comprehensive services for products, solutions and technologies, covering performance enhancements, maintenance services, customer trainings and consulting services for the Divisions Fossil Power Generation, Wind Power and Oil & Gas. The Wind Power Division is active in both the onshore and the offshore market segments globally. Power Transmission Division is expanding infrastructure in emerging countries, equipment replacement and modernization in mature economies, and integration of renewable energies.

Healthcare

The Healthcare Sector offers customers a comprehensive portfolio of medical solutions across the treatment chain-ranging from medical imaging to in-vitro diagnostics to interventional systems and clinical information technology systems-all from a single source. In addition, the Sector provides technical maintenance, professional and consulting services, and, together with Financial Services (SFS), financing to assist customers in purchasing the Sector�� products. The Healthcare Sector includes four Divisions: Imaging & Therapy Systems, Clinical Products, Diagnostics and Customer Solutions. The Sector also includes one sector-led Business Unit, Audiology Solutions. In addition to its Sector-level financial results, Healthcare also separately breaks out financial results for the Diagnostics Division.

The Imaging & Therapy Systems Division provides large-scale! medical ! devices for diagnostic imaging and for image-guided therapies. Imaging equipment includes computed tomographs, magnetic resonance imaging equipment, angiography systems for diagnostics, and positron emission tomography. The Clinical Products Division mainly comprises the business with ultrasound and X-ray equipment including mammography. The Diagnostics Division offers products and services in the area of in-vitro diagnostics. The Division�� product portfolio represents a comprehensive range of diagnostic testing systems and consumables, including offerings for clinical chemistry and immunodiagnostics, molecular diagnostics, hematology, hemostasis, microbiology, point-of-care testing and clinical laboratory automation solutions. The Customer Solutions Division provides healthcare information technology (HIT) systems. It is responsible for the Sector�� service business and customer relationship management on a global level.

Equity Investments

The Equity Investments comprises equity stakes held by Siemens that are accounted for by the equity method, at cost or as current available-for-sale financial assets and for strategic reasons are not allocated to a Sector, SFS, Centrally managed portfolio activities, Siemens Real Estate (SRE), Corporate items or Corporate Treasury. Its main investments within Equity Investments are its stake of 50% in BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate GmbH (BSH), its stake of 17% in OSRAM Licht AG (OSRAM) as well as its 49% stake in Enterprise Networks Holdings B.V. (EN).

Financial Services

Financial Services provides a variety of financial services and products to other Siemens units and their customers and to third parties. SFS has three strategic pillars: supporting Siemens units with finance solutions for their customers, managing financial risks of Siemens and offering third-party finance services and products. SFS��business can be divided into capital business and fee business. The Commercial Finance Business Unit offers! a compre! hensive range of solutions for equipment financing, leasing, rental and related financing for equipment supplied by Siemens or third-party providers. The Venture Capital Business Segment�� main task, together with Siemens��Sectors, is to identify and finance young companies worldwide. The Treasury Business Unit operates the global Corporate Treasury of the Siemens Group, with SFS employee�� thereby managing liquidity, cash and financial risks (interest, foreign exchange, commodities) on behalf of Corporate Treasury. The Financing & Investment Management Business Unit manages fee-based receivables and offers investment management services. The Insurance Business Unit acts primarily as an insurance broker for Siemens and external customers.

Infrastructure & Cities

The Infrastructure & Cities Sector offers a range of technologies for the sustainability of metropolitan centers and urban infrastructures worldwide, such as integrated mobility solutions, building and security systems, power distribution equipment, smart grid applications and low and medium-voltage products. The Sector consists of five Divisions: Rail Systems; Mobility and Logistics; Low and Medium Voltage; Smart Grid; and Building Technologies. The Rail Systems Division comprises Siemens��rail vehicle business, encompassing the entire spectrum of rolling stock-including high-speed trains, commuter trains, passenger coaches, metros, people movers, light rail vehicles, locomotives, bogies, traction systems and rail-related services. The Mobility and Logistics Division primarily provides products, solutions (including IT solutions) and services for rail transportation operating systems, such as central control systems, interlockings and automated controls. The Division also provides offerings for road traffic, including traffic detection, information and guidance systems.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Lomas]

  How much impact there will be on the profit margin will depend on the royalty rate set. Virnetx has an established royalty rate structure both published and through agreements with other licensees. Virnetx's published royalty rate is between 1 and 2 percent for customers in good standing. This royalty rate has been validated through licenses with 4 different companies, Siemens (SI), NEC, Mitel (MITL), and Aastra (AATSF.PK). The average rate agreed to by these companies through negotiations is 1.52%, right in the middle of the 1 to 2 percent published rate. Whatever rate is set will further reduce Apple's profit margin.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  As for strategic positioning, STM is an enviable place. Major customers include Apple, General Electric (GE) and and Siemens (SI). It’s also moving into or already a leader in some hot new markets.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  When the rumors started swirling a couple of weeks ago that Siemens (NYSE: SI  ) was shopping around its 50% ownership stake in Nokia Siemens Networks, the profitable joint venture it has with Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) , fans of the Finnish smartphone maker couldn't help but wonder how it would impact Nokia's turnaround efforts. It became clear when Nokia reported its fiscal 2013 Q1 earnings that NSN's fourth straight quarter of profitability was driving Nokia's surprisingly positive financial results.