FTC Request for ACT-WCRX Deal - Analyst Blog

Actavis, Inc. (ACT) and Warner Chilcott plc (WCRX) recently announced that both companies have received a request from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for additional information regarding Actavis' upcoming acquisition of Warner Chilcott.

As a result, the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) will get extended until 30 days after Actavis and Warner Chilcott have complied with the request. This time period may be extended voluntarily by the concerned parties or terminated earlier by the FTC.

Actavis had first announced its intention to acquire Warner Chilcott in May 2013. The stock-for-stock transaction, valued at about $8.5 billion, includes the assumption of Warner Chilcott's net debt of $3.4 billion.

The successful completion of this deal will lead to the creation of a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company with combined annual revenues of about $11 billion. The combined company will hold the third position in the US specialty pharmaceutical market with annual revenues of about $3 billion.

Actavis and Warner Chilcott continue to expect the deal to close in the second half of this year. The two companies will be combined to form a new company domiciled in Ireland where Warner Chilcott is currently incorporated.

We are positive on this deal which makes strategic and financial sense. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive. Moreover, it will provide strong operating cash flow and allow Actavis to de-lever its balance sheet. The tax rate will also be significantly below current levels.

While Actavis currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Warner Chilcott is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.

Other companies that currently look well-positioned include Mylan, Inc. (MYL) and Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (SCR). Both are Zacks Rank #2 stocks.

Are the Earnings at Kirkland's Hiding Something?

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, Kirkland's generated $14.1 million cash while it booked net income of $13.6 million. That means it turned 3.1% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds OK.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at Kirkland's look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

With 28.6% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, Kirkland's investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, other operating activities (which can include deferred income taxes, pension charges, and other one-off items) provided the biggest boost, at 22.6% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures, which consumed 67.8% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Is Kirkland's the right retailer for your portfolio? Learn how to maximize your investment income and "Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks," including one above-average retailing powerhouse. Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add Kirkland's to My Watchlist.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Invest In 2015

If you’re hungry for steady gains in a volatile market, consider Potbelly (NASDAQ: PBPB), the gourmet sandwich shop chain that’s riding the growing popularity of “upscale” fast food restaurants.

Potbelly, at $24 per share, is no Chipotle (NYSE: CMG), which is trading at about $430 per share these days. But there’s a lot to like about Potbelly, even as its stock price fell about 25 percent last week after analysts hammered the stock as “overvalued” in the aftermath of what looked look a highly successful initial public offering.

Investors were salivating over PBPB’s October 8 IPO, and early buyers weren’t disappointed.

The stock jumped 120 percent on its first day of trading, bumping up against the $33 per-share mark before falling back to $30.77 per share at the end of the trading session, and well ahead of its posted IPO price of $14 per share.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Invest In 2015: 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 Udovich]

  Everyone is familiar with�the Tupperware brand from�consumer products stock Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) and you are probably familiar with the brands�of mid cap stock Jarden Corp (NYSE: JAH) along with small cap stocks Libbey Inc (NYSEMKT: LBY) and Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ: LCUT); but what about the stocks themselves? Chances are, their brands or products are right under your nose at home and you probably don�� know anything about the mid cap or small cap stock behind them.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP  ) is reaching into its corporate bowl for a fresh payout to shareholders. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share. This will be paid on July 8 to stockholders of record as of June 19. That amount matches the firm's previous distribution, which was paid in early April. Prior to that, Tupperware Brands was rather less generous, handing out $0.36 per share.

• [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).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Herbalife have gained 0.9% to $79.51 this morning in pre-open trading. Its shares have gained 139% this year, a nice gain, but lagging Nu Skin Enterprises 271% rise. Avon Products�(AVP), another multi-level marketer, has gained 21% so far this year, while Tupperware Brands�(TUP) has risen 49%.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Invest In 2015: 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 Paul Ausick]

  Oilfield services giant Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) saw short interest rise 12.5% to 14 million shares, about 1% of Schlumberger�� float. The largest oilfield services company reported fourth-quarter results last week and posted higher EPS and revenues than it did a year ago.

• [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 David Smith]

  Admittedly, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) is partnering with Saudi Aramco in production efforts in the Partitioned Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. And oil-field services and technology kingpin Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) has planted major facilities in the country. But it seems that a more widespread use of western companies' capabilities could do wonders for Saudi reserves and production longevity.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Oil-field services company, Schlumberger's (NYSE: SLB  ) large size and global presence means that it really has a read on the pulse of the global energy industry. When Schlumberger executives speak, it's a good idea for investors to listen closely because the company can provide important industry insights. With that in mind, I'd like to point your attention to a couple of important quotes from the company's first-quarter conference call.

10 Best Railroad Stocks To Own Right Now: 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 Laura Brodbeck]

  Notable earnings released on Wednesday included:

  Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported third quarter EPS of $1.45 on revenue of $13.40 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $2.54 on revenue of $16.44 billion. Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) reported EPS of $1.80 on revenue of $22.10 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $1.35 on revenue of $20.01 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) reported third quarter EPS of $0.46 on revenue of $4.07 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $0.41 on revenue of $3.74 billion. Motorola, Inc (NYSE: MSI) reported third quarter EPS of $1.32 on revenue of $2.11 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $0.84 on revenue of $2.15 billion. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) reported third quarter EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $32.20 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.63 on revenue of $31.46 billion.

  Pre-Market Movers

• [By Alex Dumortier, CFA]

  Earnings: The week ahead
  Each day of this week will see one Dow component report its results, beginning with Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) today (see below), followed by AT&T, Procter & Gamble, ExxonMobil, and Chevron. Also note that Apple -- oddly, not part of the Dow -- reports tomorrow.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) was the worst performer out of the 30 Dow components, falling 1.5%. Talks between the construction equipment maker and a Milwaukee union fell apart after workers rejected a new contract that would have frozen wages for current employees and paid new employees a lower wage. Shares of Caterpillar had increased more than 10% in the last three weeks so the stock may just be cooling off after its bullish run.

Top 5 Valued Stocks To Invest In 2015: 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 John Maxfield]

  If you're anything like me, two things went through your head when you saw this. First, you regret that you missed out on the investment opportunity. Since the end of 2009, shares in all three of these companies, led by Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) , have simply trounced the broader market. Even the worst performer of the bunch, Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) , beat it by nearly a factor of two.

• [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 Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Supervalu have dropped 8.3% to $6.31 at 2:59 p.m., within spitting distance of Goldman’s $6 target price, while competitors Family Dollar Stores (FDO) has gained 0.2% to $70.16,�Dollar General�(DG) has fallen 0.4% t0 $59.02,�Dollar Tree (DLTR) is off 1% to $59.33 and Wal-Mart (WMT) is little changed at $79.19.

How to Make Money in Smart Grid Stocks

Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some smart grid stocks to your portfolio, but don't have the time or expertise to hand-pick a few, the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure ETF (NASDAQ: GRID  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of smart grid stocks simultaneously.

The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The First Trust ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is 0.70%, which is a bit more than many ETFs, but still considerably lower than a typical stock mutual fund. The fund is fairly small, too, so if you're thinking of buying, beware of possibly large spreads between its bid and ask prices. Consider using a limit order if you want to buy in.

This ETF is too young to have a sufficient track record to assess, but it has underperformed the world market over the past three years. It's the future that counts most, though, and, as with most investments, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

Why smart grid stocks?
Building a smart grid involves the process of modernizing, digitizing, and making more efficient our electricity industry's infrastructure. Many expect big things from it, with Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers suggesting, back in 2009, that it will be a bigger business than the Internet. Some smart grid stocks are pure plays, while others are bigger companies engaged in lots of other operations, too.

More than a handful of smart-grid-related companies had strong performances over the past year. Solar energy inverter maker Power-One (NASDAQ: PWER.DL  ) , and utility contractor Pike Electric (NYSE: PIKE  ) , both surged 44%. Power-One's gain is in large part due to its being acquired, at a premium, by Switzerland-based power and automation technology giant ABB. Some have worried about inverters becoming commoditized, but others have admired Power-One's profitability and solid balance sheet.

Expectations for Pike Electric have been so high that the stock slumped in May on news that its third-quarter revenue and EPS grew only by 23% and 33%, respectively. Management blamed the weather for some slowdown in construction. Analysts at Stifel downgraded the stock in March, but then upgraded it back to a buy rating in May.

General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) jumped 24%, and recently yielded 3.2%. The company makes hardware and software for the smart grid, such as its smart meters. It's pretty far away from being a pure play among smart grid stocks, though, as its portfolio includes everything from light bulbs to refrigerators, to aircraft engines, to mammography systems, to mining equipment, and much more. Its latest earnings report is coming up later this week, and in its last quarter, it posted operating earnings up 15%, and equipment orders up 10%. One factor holding the company back has been weakness in Europe. GE has been boosting its involvement in renewable energy in recent years.

Canada's largest energy company, Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU  ) gained 10%, and yields about 2.5%. The company has expertise in deep oil sands, which are not known for cleanliness, but it's also investing more heavily in renewable energies. In recent news, pipeline shutdowns due to flooding put a crimp in production. Suncor is vulnerable to possible tightened regulations on pipelines, and its diversification beyond North America.

The big picture
A well-chosen ETF can grant you instant diversification across any industry or group of companies -- and make investing in, and profiting from it, that much easier. It you're interested in smart grid stocks, give this ETF a closer look. Or just examine the smart grid stocks within it.

This ETF focused on smart grid stocks isn't the only one to consider. I invite you to check out our special free report, "3 ETFs Set to Soar," which will introduce you to a few ETFs that have great promise for delivering profits to shareholders. Just click here to access it now -- for free.

6 Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now

Popular Posts: 7 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now10 Best “Strong Buy” Stocks — UA POWR QIHU and more10 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now Recent Posts: 3 Packaged Foods Stocks to Buy Now 6 Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now 4 Specialty Retail Stocks to Buy Now View All Posts

This week, six semiconductor stocks are improving their overall ratings on Portfolio Grader. Each of these stocks is rated an “A” (“strong buy”) or “B” overall (“buy”).

FSI International () is progressing from last week’s rating of B (“buy”) as the company improves to an A (“strong buy”) this week. FSI International is a supplier of processing equipment used at key production steps to manufacture microelectronics, including semiconductor devices and thin film heads. In Portfolio Grader’s specific subcategories of Earnings Growth, Earnings Momentum and Sales Growth, FSII also gets A’s. .

NeoPhotonics Corporation () ups its rating to a B (“buy”) this week after earning a C (“hold”) in the week before. NeoPhotonics designs, manufacturers, and markets standard and semi custom planar light wave circuits for metro access and other advanced optical communications platforms. .

TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc.’s () ratings are looking better this week, moving up to an A from last week’s B. TriQuint Semiconductor supplies communications companies with modules, components and foundry services. .

Skyworks Solutions, Inc. () gets a higher grade this week, advancing from a C last week to a B. Skyworks Solutions is an innovator of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. Shares of the stock have been trading at an exceptionally rapid pace, up twofold from the week prior. .

The rating of AIXTRON SE Sponsored ADR () moves up this week, rising from a C to a B. Aixtron provides deposition equipment, such as that used in lighting, fiber optic communication systems, and mobile telephone applications, to the semiconductor industry. .

This week, JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR’s () ratings are up from a C last week to a B. JA Solar Holdings is engaged in the design, manufacture, and marketing of high-performance solar cells, which are made from specially processed silicon wafers. The stock’s price of $10.97 is above the 50-day moving average of $10.46. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Aereo review: Paying for free TV?

Can this controversial startup convince you to pay for over-the-air television?

More than 5 million Americans have already cut the cord on cable, and continued improvements in video streaming tech have made the prospect of permanently ditching an expensive cable subscription more enticing than ever.

Many cord-cutters watch live TV via old-fashioned, over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts from local stations—and these days they're even in HD. Aereo wants to bring that OTA content into the streaming fold. Its concept is genius, ridiculous, and/or patently illegal, depending on whom you ask: The company uses huge arrays of tiny digital antennas to record the local broadcasts, then charges a fee to stream that content directly to your PC, iPhone, iPad, Android device (4.1+), or Roku box.

MORE REVIEWS: Tips on the latest TVs, set-top boxes, streaming services

If you're like us, you might have a hard time getting over the psychological barrier of paying for free content ($8 or $12, depending on the plan). But really, that's a straw-man dilemma. With Aereo, you're not paying for the content; you're really paying for a DVR and mobile access to that content.

For the moment, the service is only available in 11 markets: New York City, Boston, Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Miami. (The company lists another 16 cities as "coming soon.")

When Aereo flipped the switch in Beantown last June, we signed up for a trial account to see what all the fuss was about.

A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE

Aereo's web-based interface is simple and easy to use. Signup is a familiar three-step process—choose your plan, choose your username, provide payment info. The programming guide is just like what you're used to from recent cable and satellite boxes, but vastly improved due to its mouse and touch-driven interface.

Jumping into a live broadcast from the guide is quick—on our speedy broadband connection it took about 10 seconds on average—and you get HD! (720p) video right away. You can manually choose between three quality levels or leave it to Aereo to figure out what your connection can handle.

The video itself is perfectly acceptable, though a little less smooth and slightly mushier than an identical cable broadcast. The only time we noticed any significant pixilation was when there were a ton of details on screen—explosions, fast-moving action sequences, and the like. Sound quality is similarly solid, though those with expensive surround-sound setups might be disappointed that it's limited to stereo output.

We tested the service on a Windows desktop PC, Apple MacBook Pro, iPhone 5, and Roku 2 XS. Basic video playback worked splendidly on each and every one of them.

INTUITIVE DVR OPTIONS

The baseline entry fee of $8 per month gets you 20 hours of DVR space, though you can record only one show at a time and can't watch one show while recording another.

If you need a bit more room, you can opt for a $12 per month plan that gets you 60 hours of storage and the ability to record two shows at once. With this plan, you can also watch and record different shows at the same time.

Aereo's DVR implementation has a lot in common with modern cable DVRs: You can change starting and ending times, record shows on a recurring basis, assign priorities in the recording queue, and choose how many episodes of each show you want to keep before the oldest is deleted.

Navigating through a recording is simple. When using the web-based player you can click and drag on a timeline slider at the bottom of the video window. You can also skip back and forward in 30-second increments using your arrow keys. As with most other streaming services, there are no traditional fast-forward and rewind controls—only the slider and arrow keys.

JUST A FEW EXTRAS

Beyond live and recorded TV viewing, there isn't much else to Aereo.

The built-in search function mostly does what you want it to do. On the plus side, it searches both! show tit! les and descriptions for your search term, maximizing possible results. On the downside, multi-word searches bring up results for one word or the other; in just one example, searching for "Formula One" brings up all kinds of results that happen to have "one" in their title or description. Aereo tries to sort by relevance, but the signal-to-noise ratio can be an issue.

The channel guide can be customized, hiding stations you're not so interested in. (Don't speak Spanish? You can hide Univision!) You can also select optional, non-broadcast channels, though so far the only one available is Bloomberg TV.

CAN'T I DO THIS MYSELF FOR LESS MONEY?

Well, maybe. Parts of it. But whether you want to go to the trouble is another question.

You could write a book on the dozens of devices that can either provide local DVR service or send live TV to your phone and tablet. If you have a cheap HD antenna, you can hook it up to a TV tuner card on your PC, or plug the cable into a device like the $80 SiliconDust HDHomeRun. Then there's the granddaddy of time-shifted video, TiVo, which asks $150 for the device itself and another $15 in monthly fees. All of these provide DVR functionality of some sort, but don't re-transmit video to your mobile devices.

The real wildcard is Slingbox. Unlike the other options, it doesn't provide DVR functionality (though you can hook it up to a DVR device). Instead, it can broadcast live TV (either OTA or cable/satellite) to your mobile devices. Equally important, it lets you control your digital antenna or cable box remotely when you're away from home.

The Slingbox is a really versatile and powerful device, but its cost of entry is significantly higher than Aereo's: $180 for the cheapest Slingbox and then $15 for the mobile app. And there's a different app for phones and tablets, so if you want to use both an iPhone and an iPad, that'll be $30. (Got Android devices, too? Get ready to spend more.)

You could eventually save a bit of money with most of t! hese solu! tions (TiVo excepted), but it would take at least a year of Aereo service to cover the up-front cost of even the cheapest option. Then there are the inevitable headaches involved in getting them up and running; if you're not technologically inclined, the alternatives may be more trouble than they're worth.

That's where Aereo really shines—it's simple enough for anyone to use.

A COUPLE OF GLITCHES

Though Aereo's web-based interface is truly gorgeous, there a few bugs that wriggle to the surface when you shrink it down to smartphone size. Play, stop, and record buttons on the phone are quite small and difficult to hit on the first try. We also found we were unable to get back to the main menu from the program guide; we'd have to select a channel to get the menu button to appear again.

But those are minor quirks that Aereo can easily patch. The only significant letdown—and one that will be harder to fix—was the Roku app, which simply isn't as beautiful or intuitive as the website. The channel guide is particularly annoying on the Roku. Instead of the intuitive grid layout, you're stuck with either a side-scrolling list of channels or a list of currently airing shows. It's a pain to navigate, and ugly as well.

There's one last hiccup to consider: If you leave your local broadcast area, Aereo stops working. That's by design, probably a safeguard against legal action from the networks. So if you go on vacation or travel for work, you won't be able to access live broadcasts or DVR recordings. (Slingbox, it should be mentioned, has no such limitations.) If you're particularly internet-skilled, you can probably set up a proxy network to skirt the issue, but most users will simply be out of luck until they get back home.

WORTH A TRY?

There's no question that Aereo has put together a beautiful and supremely functional service. It does what it says—no muss, no fuss.

Frankly, the chances that Aereo will be right for the average TV-watcher are pretty slim.Whethe! r it's ri! ght for you is another, very personal question. There are many potential use-cases, each presenting a slightly different value proposition. But frankly, the chances that Aereo will be right for the average TV-watcher are pretty slim.

Who would it work for? We can think of three major possibilities. First, there are those who are already on an OTA-only diet and want inexpensive DVR functionality, a more convenient interface, and an easy way to watch TV on their mobile devices. Second, there are those already interested in cutting the cord, looking for any excuse to pull the trigger. And then there are those who have already made the move to a streaming-only setup—for them, it's just icing on the cake.

While we'd wager that plenty of curiosity-seekers will sign up just to see what the fuss is about, we just can't imagine too many of them will stick around for the long haul. Not many of the United States' 116 million TV-viewing households have a genuine need for the service that Aereo provides.

Report: Ford to name Fields CEO Mulally's…

Ford Motor within the next month will make it official that heir-apparent Mark Fields succeed retiring Alan Mulally as CEO, according to multiple reports on Monday.

The announcement will come by May 1, according to Bloomberg News, citing two unnamed sources. CNBC, meanwhile, reported that the switch would be announced within a month and pointed out that the automaker's annual meeting is set for May 8 in Delaware.

In December 2012, the Ford board, as part of a succession plan, created the No. 2 position of chief operating officer and named Fields, 53, to it, making him the presumed heir. Mulally, meanwhile, said and has continued to say, that he would retire by the end of 2014.

FORD'S FUTURE: Five things new Ford CEO must do

PROFILE: Waiting almost over for Ford CEO heir Fields

Ford's Mark Fields delivers his keynote address at the 2014 New York International Auto Show at the Javits Convention Center in New York, April 16, 2014.(Photo: Richard Drew, AP)

Ford officials refused to confirm the reports that an announcement is imminent.

"There is no change from our previous announcements and we do not comment on speculation. We take succession planning very seriously, and we have succession plans in place for each of our key leadership positions. For competitive reasons, we do not discuss our succession plans externally. If something were to change, we would let everyone know," spokeswoman Susan Krusel said in a statement.

Unlike the surprisingly quick announcement and promotion of Mary Barra to CEO of General Motors, Fields has been running the daily operations at Ford for 15 months and taken Mulally's spot in key planning meetings in what is viewed as a thorough and lengthy transition.

Mulally,! meanwhile, has said he is concentrating on longer-term strategy and he has already taken a lower profile, such as, for example skipping public appearances at last week's press preview of the New York Auto Show where the redone 2015 Ford Mustang and the 50th anniversary of the Mustang were featured.

Fields, 53, is credited with restructuring operations in North America prior to his promotion in 2012 to the COO.

At the time of Fields' promotion, Mulally, 68, confirmed plans to remain with the automaker through the end of this year, but the board of directors is said to be open to an earlier date.

The board next meets ahead of the May 8 shareholder meeting when they are up for re-election to their positions.

The timing of Mulally's retirement became an issue last year when he was on a list of candidates to become the next CEO of Microsoft. The publicity became a distraction at Ford and there were concerns it diverted attention from the big product push Ford has this year.

One offshoot of the speculation is the market remained stable in a signal it is not jittery about the transition from Mulally to Fields.

Mulally left Boeing in 2006 to take over as CEO of Ford. He is credited with uniting a fractious leadership, creating a global product development strategy and leading the automaker through the 2008 financial crisis with savvy decisions that made it possible to avoid filing for bankruptcy in 2009 and avoid using government assistance.

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In 2015

The annual Value Investor Conference is one of the premier events surrounding Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK-B  ) annual meeting in Omaha. The Motley Fool's Joe Magyer, Michael Olsen, and Rex Moore were in attendance and talked to several value investors. In today's video, Michael chats with Bob Robotti, founder of Robotti & Co., about a post-Buffett Berkshire.

Buy now?
Thanks to the savvy of investing legend Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's book value per share has grown a mind-blowing 586,817% over the past 48 years. But with Buffett aging and Berkshire rapidly evolving, is this insurance conglomerate still a buy today? In The Motley Fool's premium report on the company, Berkshire expert Joe Magyer provides investors with key reasons to buy as well as important risks to watch out for. Click here now for instant access to Joe's take on Berkshire!

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In 2015: CNH Industrial NV (CNHI)

CNH Industrial NV is a Netherlands-based company primarily engaged in the manufacture of heavy machinery and vehicles equipment. It divides its activities into four main businesses. The Agricultural Equipment offers agricultural equipment under the New Holland Agriculture, Case IH brands and the Steyr brand. The Construction Equipment produces excavators, bulldozers, backhoes, compactors and other construction equipment under the New Holland Construction and Case Construction Equipment brands. The Trucks & Commercial Vehicles manufactures trucks and a commercial vehicles, including buses, coaches and special vehicles under Iveco, Iveco Bus and Heuliez Bus brands, as well as it produces quarry and mining equipment through Iveco Astra, and fire fighting vehicles through the Iveco Magirus brand. The Powertrain offers transmission systems, engines for marine application and power generation through FPT Industrial brand. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  The largest detractor for the quarter was CNH Industrial (CNHI), a global agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer, which fell 11%.� CNH released its nine-month results, which showed revenue growth of 0.6%, but the company�� margins were adversely affected by Iveco, its trucks and commercial vehicles segment.� Iveco�� margins fell short of expectations due to tough pricing, high launch costs, negative mix and increases in bad debt provisions.� Management maintains full-year guidance of 3-4% revenue growth.� We believe improvements in the Iveco division will help CNH Industrial achieve its long-term margin targets.�

• [By Lisa Levin]

  CNH Industrial NV (NYSE: CNHI) shares tumbled 2.47% to reach a new 52-week low of $11.44. CNH Industrial reported an 11% drop in its third-quarter profit.

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In 2015: Level 3 Communications Inc.(LVLT)

Level 3 Communications, Inc. engages in the communications business in North America and Europe. It offers network and Internet services, including transport services, high speed Internet protocol services, dedicated Internet access, virtual private network services, and dark fiber services, as well as managed modem, an outsourced, turn-key infrastructure solution; and colocation services. The company also provides various media services, comprising Vyvx services that provide audio and video feeds over fiber or satellite; content delivery network services; media delivery services to customers seeking to manage, protect, and monetize content delivered over the Internet; a range of local and long distance voice services, such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and traditional circuit-switch based services; and VoIP Enhanced Local, a VoIP service that enables broadband cable operators, IXCs, VoIP providers, and other companies operating their own switching infrastructure to launch IP-based local and long-distance voice services through a broadband connection. Level 3 Communications? media services also consist of SIP Trunking, a VoIP-based local phone service; Local Inbound service that terminates traditional telephone network originated calls to Internet Protocol termination points; Primary Rate Interface, a TDM local phone service that could be configured in various ways; Long Distance services portfolio comprising local and long distance transport and termination services; and Toll Free services portfolio, which terminate toll free calls that are originated on the traditional telephone network. As of December 31, 2010, its network encompassed approximately 68,000 intercity route miles in North America and an intercity network covering approximately 13,000 miles across Europe. Further, it sells coal primarily through long-term contracts with public utilities. The company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Level 3 Communications provides essential communications products and services to growing companies and consumers across the globe. The stock has tripled over the last few years but seems to be stuck in a range extending back to last year. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have improved but not as much as investors have expected. Relative to its peers and sector, Level 3 Communications has been a poor performer year-to-date. WAIT AND SEE what Level 3 Communications does this coming quarter.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Buy Right Now: Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPW)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc., incorporated on August 27, 2003, is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in and owning net-leased healthcare facilities. The Company conducts substantially all of its business through MPT Operating Partnership, L.P. The Company acquires and develops healthcare facilities and leases the facilities to healthcare operating companies under long-term net leases, which require the tenant to bear the costs associated with the property. The Company also makes mortgage loans to healthcare operators collateralized by their real estate assets. In addition, the Company selectively makes loans to certain of its operators through its taxable REIT subsidiaries. In September 2013, Medical Properties Trust Inc completed the acquisition of the real estate of three acute care hospitals operated by IASIS Healthcare LLC.

As of February 18, 2013, the Company's portfolio consists of 82 properties: 69 facilities (of the 74 facilities that the Company owns) are leased to 23 tenants, five are under development, and the remainder are in the form of mortgage loans to three operators. The Company's owned facilities consist of 27 general acute care hospitals, 24 long-term acute care hospitals, 15 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, two medical office buildings, and six wellness centers. The non-owned facilities on which the Company has made mortgage loans consist of three general acute care facilities, two long-term acute care hospitals, and three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. At December 31, 2012, no one property accounted for more than 5% of the Company's total assets.

At December 31, 2012, the Company had leases with 22 hospital operating companies, eight mortgaged loans, six under development, and one property under re-development covering 82 facilities. Ernest leased 12 of these facilities pursuant to a master lease agreement. The master lease agreement has a 20-year term with three five-year extension options and provides for ! an initial rental rate of 9%, with consumer price-indexed increases, limited to a 2% floor and 5% ceiling annually thereafter. At December 31, 2012, these facilities had an average remaining lease term of approximately 19 years. In addition to the master lease, the Company holds a mortgage loan on four facilities owned by affiliates of Ernest.

Affiliates of Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. (Prime) leased 11 facilities pursuant to master lease agreements. The master leases are for 10 years commencing July 3, 2012 and contain two renewal options of five years each. The initial lease rate is generally consistent with the blended average rate of the prior lease agreements. However, the annual escalators, which in the prior leases were limited, have been increased to reflect 100% of CPI increases, along with a 2% minimum floor. The master leases include repurchase options substantially similar to those in the prior leases, including provisions establishing minimum repurchase prices equal to the Company's total investment. In addition to leases, the Company holds mortgage loans on three facilities owned by affiliates of Prime.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  A Bank of America (BOA) downgrade sends Medical Properties Trust (MPW) tumbling. The bank cut the shares to Underperform from Neutral citing the REIT's YTD outperformance relative to the sector overall (it has outpaced healthcare REITs two to one). Put simply, funds from operations "multiple expansion has exceeded fundamental trends." SA contributor Brad Thomas claims MPW is an example of mispriced risk.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  It was an impressive quarter for Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW  ) . In its Q1 report, revenues amounted to $58 million, up 42% from the $41 million in the same period the previous year. Attributable net profit advanced much more strongly, growing 148% to $26 million ($0.18 per diluted share) from Q1 2012's figure of $11 million ($0.08). Funds from operations -- a key metric for real estate investment trusts -- came in at $35 million ($0.25 per diluted share) on a normalized basis, compared with $22 million ($0.18) in the year-ago quarter.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Real estate investment trust�Medical Properties Trust� (NYSE: MPW  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In 2015: Albany Molecular Research Inc.(AMRI)

Albany Molecular Research, Inc. provides contract services to various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies primarily in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company offers a range of drug discovery services, including assay development and design, screening, screening library, natural product, medicinal chemistry, computer-aided drug discovery, in vitro ADMET, and bioanalytical services. It also provides chemical development services consisting of process research and development, custom synthesis, process safety assessment, scale-up capabilities, high potency and controlled substances, analytical services, preformulation services and physical characterization, preparative chromatography, IND support services, fermentation development and optimization, and building blocks collection and database services. In addition, the company offers chemical synthesis and manufacturing services. It manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)and advanced intermediate s. Further, the company provides contract manufacturing services in sterile syringe and vial filling for small molecule drug products and biologicals. Additionally, it offers formulation services, including neat API or pharmaceutical blend in capsules; PIB for solution and suspension; blending and sieving; milling; tableting; rheology; roller compaction; wet granulation; and fluid bed processing, including wurster coating; and associated analytical testing services for dosage formulation products, as well as provides analytical services, such as impurity identification and structure elucidation; method development, qualification, and validation; preformulation and physical characterization; quality control; stability services; analytical and preparative supercritical fluid chromatography; preparative chromatography; good laboratory practices bioanalytical services; and regulatory support/quality assurance services. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Albany, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Among the sector stocks, Albany Molecular Research (NASDAQ: AMRI) was down more than 13 percent, while Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: SGMO) tumbled around 6 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Healthcare stocks gained Wednesday, with Senomyx (NASDAQ: SNMX) leading advancers after the company announced a research agreement with PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP). Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Pernix Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ: PTX), Albany Molecular Research (NASDAQ: AMRI) and Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ: GTIV).

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In 2015: Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (IPG)

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (Interpublic), incorporated in September 1930, is a global advertising and marketing services companies. Interpublic�� companies specialize in consumer advertising, digital marketing, communications planning and media buying, public relations and specialized communications disciplines. The Company has two segments: Integrated Agency Networks (IAN) and Constituency Management Group (CMG). IAN is comprised of McCann, Draftfcb, Lowe, Mediabrands and its domestic integrated agencies. CMG is comprised of a number of its specialist marketing services offerings. During the year ended December, 31, 2011, it completed 22 acquisitions, which included purchases of controlling interests in previously unconsolidated subsidiaries. Of these acquisitions, 18 are included in IAN operating segment and four are included in CMG operating segment. All acquired agencies have been integrated into one of its global networks or existing agencies. The acquisitions included service creative agencies in Australia, a public relations firm in Brazil, digital and direct marketing agencies in the United Kingdom, a healthcare communications firm in Germany and a social media agency in the United States. In November 2013, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc's MRM, a global digital and direct agency within McCann Worldgroup, a unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies, acquired the Brazilian agency E/OU. In January 2014, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc announced that its division Lowe and Partners, announced the acquisition of the global digital network Profero.

The Company�� agencies create customized marketing programs for companies. The Company has three global networks: McCann Worldgroup (McCann); Draftfcb and Lowe & Partners (Lowe), that provide integrated, advertising and marketing solutions for clients, and two global media services companies, UM and Initiative, operating under the Mediabrands umbrella. It premier also has domestic integrated and interactive agencies. ! Its solutions vary from project-based activity involving one agency to long-term, integrated campaigns created by multiple IPG agencies working together.

McCann offers a range of communications tools and resources to companies and brands. McCann Erickson Advertising has operations in over 100 countries. MRM Worldwide is its global digital and customer relationship management (CRM) network. Momentum Worldwide is engaged in experiential marketing and promotions, as is McCann Healthcare Worldwide in healthcare communications. Draftfcb is an agency model for clients seeking creative and accountable marketing programs delivered in a media-neutral manner under a unified, integrated business.

Lowe is a creative agency. Lowe is developing ideas that connect with culture. Mediabrands delivers on the scale and breadth of its media capabilities. UM and Initiative seek to deliver business results by advising clients on how to navigate an increasingly complex and digital marketing landscape. Specialist brands within Mediabrands focus on areas, such as the targeting and aggregation of audiences in the digital space, hyper-local marketing, media barter and a range of other capabilities.

The Company�� domestic integrated independent agencies include agency brands, including Campbell-Ewald, Hill Holliday, The Martin Agency and Mullen. The marketing programs created by the group incorporate all media channels, CRM, public relations and other marketing activities and have helped build some of the brands in the United States, across all sectors and industries. It has marketing specialists across a range of disciplines. These include Jack Morton (experiential marketing), Octagon (sports marketing), public relations agencies, such as Weber Shandwick and GolinHarris, FutureBrand (corporate branding), and its digital specialist agencies, led by R/GA and HUGE. Its healthcare communications specialists reside within its three global brands: McCann, Draftfcb and Lowe.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  In the second half of the year, Crescent established new positions in a few companies that have more such global footprints. We initiated investments in Google (GOOG), as well as the advertising agencies Interpublic (IPG) and WPP (WPP). The fortunes of all three are tied directly to the level of global advertising spend, and they all saw their shares prices decline due to concerns of a recession-related slowdown. At our purchase price, we believe we were buying each at roughly 11-13x our estimated earnings for 2012 should the fears of a macroeconomic slowdown prove correct. This strikes us as a very reasonable multiple to pay for asset-light global businesses that generate strong free cash flow across the business cycle and have the capability to grow earnings greater than GDP in a normal economic environment.

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Jefferies analysts noted that Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (IPG) offers some upside, but certain factors will continue to weigh down the stock. As such, the analysts upgraded the marketing and advertising company on Wednesday, but only with a tepid rating.

  The analysts upgraded IPG from “Underperform” to “Hold” and now see shares reaching $17.20, up from the previous target of $11. This new price target suggests a slight upside to the stock’s Tuesday closing price of $16.92.

  Jefferies analyst David Reynolds commented, “There’s a lot to be said for IPG, robust earnings growth profile, plays well into a ‘growth’ ad spend market and perhaps it remains the key beneficiary of all things POG. Yet, issues around North American profitability and developing economy scale continue to weigh. Richly valued and thus only c.2% upside to the ‘old normal’ and demonstrably bullish 16.7x forward earnings, we think warrants a HOLD. We set our new PT at US$17.20, 16.7x FY14 earnings.”

  Interpublic Group shares were inactive during pre-market trading on Wednesday. The stock is up 53.54% year-to-date.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE: IPG) is an interesting name to attend. Formerly known as monster advertising agency McCann-Erickson, it is an integral cog in the entertainment and media machine. The consensus price target is $17.20. Investors receive a 1.7% dividend.

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In 2015: Brown(n)

N Brown Group plc operates as an Internet and catalogue home shopping company in the United Kingdom. The company principally offers womenswear, menswear, footwear, household, and electrical products, as well as provides insurance services. It also operates in the Republic of Ireland, Germany, and the United States. The company was founded in 1859 and is based in Manchester, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  However, Oracle also announced two additional cloud partnerships last week: one with NetSuite (NYSE: N  ) and one with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) .

• [By MarketWatch]

  Discussing cloud-computing stocks, the Barron�� article also said: ��ndustry leader Salesforce.com (CRM) � doesn�� earn a profit based on GAAP earnings that includes its stock compensation expense and yet it has a market value of $34 billion. Other hot plays with 2014 price/sales ratios above 10 and no GAAP earnings include Workday, NetSuite (N) , and ServiceNow (NOW) .��

• [By David Trainer]

  
  Cloud software provider Callidus (NASDAQ: CALD) is in the Danger Zone this week. We’ve recently highlighted two other Software as a Service (SaaS) companies in Netsuite (NYSE: N) andSalesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), and CALD is a classic story of a bad company riding the coattail of the popularity of cloud computing and SaaS companies. SaaS stocks surged in 2013, and CALD followed the trend, gaining 166% over the past year.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) is the industry’s leading provider of cloud-based financials and omnichannel commerce suites. The company drives earnings growth with a subscription-based business model gives businesses a new way to sell services and products that can result in more predictable revenue streams. The consensus price target for the stock is $91.

Hot Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In 2015: GEO Group Inc (GEO)

The GEO Group, Inc., incorporated on April 5, 1988, specializes in the ownership, leasing and management of correctional, detention, and re-entry facilities and the provision of community-based services and youth services in the United States, Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Canada. The Company operates in four segments: United States Corrections and Detention segment; GEO Community Services; International Services, and its Facility Construction and Design. The Company's United States Corrections and Detention segment primarily encompasses its United States-based privatized corrections and detention business. GEO Community Services segment consists of its community based services business, its youth services business and its electronic monitoring and supervision service. International Services segment primarily consists of its privatized corrections and detention operations in South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. Facility Construction and Design segment primarily contracts with various states, local and federal agencies for the design and construction of facilities for which the Company generally has been, or expects to be, awarded management contracts. In June 2013, it announced the closing of acquisition of the 1,287-bed Joe Corley Detention Center (the Center) in Montgomery County, Texas.

The Company owns, leases and operates a range of correctional and detention facilities, including maximum, medium and minimum security prisons, immigration detention centers, minimum security detention centers, and community based re-entry facilities. The Company offers counseling, education and /or treatment to inmates with alcohol and drugs abuse problems at most of the domestic facilities the Company manages. The Company is also a provider of compliance technologies, monitoring services, and evidence-based supervision and treatment programs for community-based parolees, probationers and pretrial defendants. On December 31, 2012, the Company divested its residential treatm! ent health care facility management contracts, (Residential Treatment Services (RTS)). Effective January 1, 2013, it began operating as a real estate investment trust (REIT). As of December 31, 2012, the Company's worldwide operations included the management and/or ownership of approximately 73,000 beds at 100 correctional, detention and residential facilities, including idle facilities, and also included the provision of monitoring services, tracking approximately 70,000 offenders on behalf of approximately 900 federal, state and local correctional agencies located in all 50 states. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company activated four new or expansion projects representing an aggregate of 2,082 additional beds.

The Company has an exclusive contract with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which the Company refers to as ICE, to provide supervision and reporting services designed to improves the participation of non-detained aliens in the immigration court system. The Company develops facilities based on contract awards, using its project development expertise and experience to design, construct and finance. The Company also provides secure transportation services for offender and detainee populations as contracted domestically and in the United Kingdom through its joint venture, GEO Amey PECS Ltd., which the Company refers to as GEOAmey. The Company provides a diversified scope of services on behalf of its government clients. Its correctional and detention management services involve the provision of security, administrative, rehabilitation, education, and food services, primarily at adult male correctional and detention facilities. Its community-based services involve supervision of adult parolees and probationers and the provision of temporary housing, programming, employment assistance and other services with the intention of the successful reintegration of residents into the community. The Company�� youth services include residential, detention and sh! elter car! e and community-based services along with rehabilitative and educational programs. The Company provides comprehensive electronic monitoring and supervision services. The Company provides secure transportation services for offender and detainee populations as contracted. Through the REIT subsidiaries (TRS) structure, a portion of the Company's businesses, which are non-real estate related, such as its managed-only contracts, international operations, electronic monitoring services, and other non-residential facilities, are part of wholly owned taxable subsidiaries of the REIT. Most of the Company's business segments, which are real estate related and involve company-owned and company-leased facilities, are part of the REIT.

The Company competes with Corrections Corporation of America; Management and Training Corporation; Louisiana Corrections Services, Inc.; Emerald Companies; Community Education Centers; LaSalle Southwest Corrections; Group 4 Securicor; Sodexo Justice Services (formerly Kaylx); Serco; G4 Justice Services, LLC; Elmo-Tech, a 3M Company, and Pro-Tech, a 3M Company

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  The premise here would be that any increase in nationwide drug testing would be bound to turn up additional drug users and could boost the prison population. That would be great news for the GEO Group (NYSE: GEO  ) and Corrections Corp. of America (NYSE: CXW  ) , which are contracted out through the government to run and service prisons around the country.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Corrections Corp. of America, also known as CCA, and GEO Group (NYSE: GEO  ) �are the two largest contracted prison companies. If there's any doubt that these companies are as good as gold, one need only look at CCA's first-quarter report from last week, which saw normalized funds from operations rise by a whopping 35% to $0.70 per share. CCA also boosted its full-year EPS from a range of $2.05-$2.15 to $2.08-$2.16.

• [By Tyler Laundon]

  And The GEO Group (GEO) is yet another compelling holding that most investors haven't heard of. The company operates correctional and detention facilities for various governments.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  GEO Group (NYSE: GEO  ) reported earnings on May 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), GEO Group met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Archer Daniels Midland Considers Selling Cocoa Business

Agricultural and food processing company Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM  ) released a brief statement today confirming the potential sale of its cocoa business.

Spokesperson Jackie Anderson issued the following statement:

Consistent with our commitment to create shareholder value, we regularly evaluate strategic options and maintain ongoing dialogue with other agribusiness companies to explore opportunities. We are currently engaged in discussions about the potential sale of our cocoa business. These discussions are ongoing, and there can be no assurance that they will result in the signing of a transaction or definitive agreement. We will communicate further if appropriate.

According to the company's Q1 SEC report, "Additional cocoa pressing capacity coming on line, lower cocoa powder selling prices, and customer inventory reductions led to weak cocoa press margins." Its cocoa operations pulled in $833 million in Q1 sales, equivalent to 3.8% of total revenue.

On its website, the company notes that "ADM is one of the world's largest processers and suppliers of cocoa and chocolate products with a selection of ingredients as broad and as varied as the customers we serve."

Why the Dow Is Losing Yesterday's Hard-Fought Gains

After closing yesterday with gains for the first time this week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is having a hard time holding on to the positive momentum. Just before 11:30 a.m. EDT, the index is down 57 points, over a third of yesterday's gains lost. With only two days of trading left before the next Federal Open Markets Committee meeting, investors need something to boost their confidence instead of the disappointing economic news they received this morning. Bank investors are also reeling as news of another scandal hit the Street.

All for naught
The sharp 1% rally yesterday has all but faded as investors prepare to enter the weekend. Though producer price data showed a 0.5% rise last month, beating estimates of a 0.1% increase, other economic data released this morning tamped out the positive news. Industrial output was flat in May, which missed estimates of a 0.2% rise. More troubling perhaps is the drop in consumer sentiment for June, which dropped from May's reading -- the highest point in the past six years.

All of this information continues a trend of conflicting signals, giving no real sense of how the economic recovery is progressing for investors. With the FOMC meeting on Tuesday a pivotal moment for the markets, any indication of how the Fed will approach changes to the current rate of stimulus would be welcomed on the Street. But for long-term investors, the recent frenzy over tapering down stimulus shouldn't be getting you riled up. Though the transition period will be a volatile one, the end result will be better market opportunities.

Banks in trouble again
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM  ) are among the Dow's top laggards this morning following news from Singapore that the banks were involved in a new benchmark-rates-rigging scandal. The banks were mentioned in a list of 20 banks, which also included Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) , that participated in attempts to rig the Singapore Interbank Offer Rate, swap offer rates, and currency benchmark rates.

Since last year's LIBOR scandal, many international regulators have been taking a closer look at how the rates are being set, leading to more allegations of rigging. Singapore is working to change how rates are set in the wake of this newest problem, and will list rate rigging as a criminal offense going forward. For now, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has ordered the banks to post $9.6 billion in penalties as it continues its investigation. No word on how much of the total amount will be attributed to each bank, however.

For Bank of America investors, this is simply another roadblock for the bank's progress, but it may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. With the bank arguing to keep a $60 billion price tag off its books, this new (pricey) scandal may lead investors away from the bank. If it can't move away from the costly legal and regulatory problems that have plagued its recovery, the bank will not provide the best returns for its shareholders.

Bank of America's stock doubled in 2012. Is there more yet to come? With significant challenges still ahead, it's critical to have a solid understanding of this megabank before adding it to your portfolio. In The Motley Fool's premium research report on B of A, analysts Anand Chokkavelu, CFA, and Matt Koppenheffer, Financials bureau chief, lift the veil on the bank's operations, including detailing three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. Click here now to claim your copy.

Michaels Stores Confirms Payment Card Data Breach

Douglas C. Pizac/AP Michaels Stores, the biggest U.S. arts and crafts retailer, confirmed Thursday that there was a security breach at certain systems that process payment cards at its U.S. stores and that of its unit, Aaron Brothers. The company said in January that it was working with federal law enforcement officials to investigate a possible data breach. Michaels Stores said the breach, which took place May 8 through Jan. 27, may have affected about 2.6 million cards, or about 7 percent of payment cards used at its stores during the period. The company said about 400,000 cards were potentially impacted at its Aaron Brothers unit by the breach, which occurred between June 26, 2013 and February 27, 2014. There was no evidence that data such as customers' name or personal identification number were at risk, Michaels Stores said in a statement. This is the second known data breach since 2011 at Michaels Stores. Michaels Stores, whose major investors are Blackstone Group (BX) and Bain Capital, said cyber security firms it hired found that malware not encountered previously had been used in the latest attack. The company said it was working with law enforcement authorities, banks and payment processors, and that the malware no longer presents a threat. Michaels Stores, which resubmitted its IPO documents late last month following a restructuring, is the latest U.S. retailer whose systems have been breached. Last year, the No. 3 U.S. retailer Target (TGT) suffered a massive security breach that resulted in the theft of some 70 million customer records. Reuters reported in January that smaller breaches on at least three other well-known U.S. retailers took place and were conducted using similar techniques as the one on Target. U.S. retailers are planning to form an industry group for collecting and sharing intelligence in a bid to prevent future attacks. Michaels Stores, which owns several private brands such as Recollections, Artist's Loft and Loops & Threads, competes with Hobby Lobby Stores, Jo-Ann Stores and Walmart Stores (WMT).

GE Climbs On Q1 EPS Beat, Helped By Industrial Business, Cost Cutting

General Electric (GE) was gaining ground on Thursday, after reporting a better-than-expected  bottom line result in the first quarter.

The conglomerate reported earnings of $3 billion, or 20 cents a share; operating earnings were 33 cents a share, down from 39 cent a share a year earlier but ahead of the 32 cents analysts had forecast. Revenue slid 2.2% to $34.2 billion, almost meeting consensus of $34.3 billion.

The firm's GE Capital and real estate operations were the main culprit for the decline: Revenue from GE Capital slumped 8.3% while its real estate arm saw sales plummet 62% year over year.

By contrast, GE's industrial business logged an 8.3% gain in sales: The oil and power segment saw revenue climb 27% and its power and water business jumped 14%.

GE also said it is on track to meet its goal of $1 billion or more in cost cutting this year.

S&P Capital IQ analyst J. Corridor reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, and raised his target price by $2 to $32, reflecting his "view that industrial, infrastructure and financial performance will benefit from an expanding U.S. and global economy. GE Q1 operating EPS of $0.33, vs. $0.39, was a penny better than our estimate. Order flow in industrial segment was strong and infrastructure backlog remains robust. We think traction on restructurings was good, and expect operating margin expansion through ’14 and ’15."

Morningstar's Daniel Holland also maintained his bullish stance on the stock and $29 fair value estimate: "Pre-tax, pre-provision income was down nearly 11%, with ending net investment down 7% over the same period. This performance is consistent with management's stated intention to shrink the business and in our opinion, moat-enhancing. Within the quarter GE completed the initial regulatory filings for the spinoff of its North America Retail Finance business, to be named Synchophony. GE will retain 80% of the ownership stake in Synchophony and will use all of the proceeds to support the business. As a result, we anticipate the transaction will be slightly dilutive to 2014 earnings, although once GE relinquishes the remainder of its stake, the company will likely return cash to shareholders."

PNC Climbs As Q1 Bottom Line Beats Expectations

PNC Financial Services (PNC) was climbing more than 1% in Wednesday morning trading as the bank's first-quarter earnings topped expectations.

PNC reported earnings of $1.06 billion, or $1.82 per share, up from $1.74 a share a year ago and above the $1.66 a share analysts were expecting.

However, a good part of that beat came from lower costs, as PNC, along with its peers, is still dealing with an environment of low loan demand and interest rates. Revenue in the quarter slipped 4.5% to $3.78 billion, below the $3.85 billion consensus, and its consumer-loan portfolio grew only 1.6%, reflecting the sluggish mortgage market.

Nonetheless, PNC saw its overall loan portfolio climb 6.3% to $198.3 billion, helped by commercial loans, which rose 9.5%.

Citigroup's Keith Horowitz was impressed by the bank's expense control but kept a Hold rating on the stock, writing "Relative to our estimates, the beat was driven by: 1) 23c on better core PTPP, largely from significantly better expense trends, 2) 9c on credit due to higher than expected LLR release, partially offset by 3) 9c from higher one-timers (est $55 mil in legal exp), and 4) 6c from higher tax and share count."

Other financial names that reported this morning include Bank of America (BAC), Credit Suisse (CS) and U.S. Bancorp (USB).

Update: On its conference call, management also said there is the possibility of doing an annual special dividend, but it depends on the CCAR process.

10 Financial Commandments for Your 30s

Your finances might have felt like a plague in your twenties, but thou shalt thrive throughout your thirties and beyond.

Our list of Financial Commandments for your 20s helped you find your financial footing and establish a solid foundation. Now that you're older and (hopefully) wiser, this list of goals will help you continue to build your wealth and blaze a path to financial security.

See Also: Kiplinger's Basics of Personal Finance 1. Advance your career.

In your twenties, you developed a marketable skill. Now it's time to apply that skill to increase your earnings.

Research potential career paths for workers with your skill. Identify the types of jobs and companies where you might fit. Consider whether you should go back to school for an advanced degree (or if some free online courses can help boost your career). You might even consider moving to a city where you can find more opportunities in your field.

Sharp career turns can be worthwhile but also risky. You'll need a financial plan to keep your budget steady while you're changing course. (See Quit Your Job the Right Way.)

2. Rethink your budget.

You established a budget in your twenties and perhaps accumulated some savings. But your income and expenses, as well as your needs, wants and dreams, will likely change from year to year. Your budget will need to adjust to life changes such as getting married, having kids or starting your own business. "It's a balancing act," says John Deyeso, a financial planner in New York City, who works with many young adults (and is himself 37 years old). "Once you get into your thirties, you have more money and more goals, so how do you spread that around?"

You may need to cut spending in some areas to reallocate elsewhere. For example, when I got pregnant with my first child, I slashed spending on the "going out" line item—and added costs to my budget on a new "baby supplies" line item. (Happy hours were off the table anyway.)

If you've recently gotten a raise (congratulations!), you might consider ramping up your saving for emergencies (see commandment #5) and retirement (commandment #6).

3. Adjust your insurance coverage.

As your assets grow, you may need more insurance to cover them. Maybe you rent a bigger or more private space now. (Learn more about renters insurance.) Maybe you're buying a house (and need home insurance) or car (and need auto insurance). Maybe you have some loved ones who depend on you financially (and you need life insurance to make sure they're taken care of if anything happens to you). All of these situations call for additional protection.

Even if your situation hasn't changed, you should periodically reshop your insurance policies to make sure you're still getting the best deal. To compare auto insurance rates, try InsWeb and Insurance.com. For life insurance, you can check rates at Accuquote and LifeQuotes.com. If you're changing jobs, be sure you understand your new benefits and how your health insurance premiums will differ from those at your old job.

4. Pay off nonmortgage debt.

In your twenties, you came up with a debt-repayment plan. Stick with it throughout your thirties, so you'll enter your forties focused on building your nest egg for the future—not paying off bills from your past.

5. Increase your emergency fund balance.

Remember, your goal is to maintain three to six months' worth of living expenses in your emergency fund. As your income and expenses go up, so should the amount in your emergency fund. Worried that all that liquid cash isn't compounding as it might if invested in the stock market? Consider these ways to earn more interest on your savings.

Herbalife bounces back after Friday sell-off

Nutritional supplements marketer Herbalife recouped some of its steep Friday losses Monday.

After popping 10% in early trading, shares closed up 4.4% to $53.75. Herbalife sank 14% late Friday on a report that the company has been under a criminal probe by the Justice Department.

Investors appeared to be reacting to the company's post-market close statement Friday.

"We have not received any formal nor informal request for information from either (the Justice Department or the FBI),'' the company said. "We take our public disclosure obligations very seriously."

Friday's slide was similar to the 15% March 12 tumble Herbalife suffered after the multi-level marketing company said it was was being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission.

At the time, Herbalife said it "welcomes the inquiry given the tremendous amount of misinformation in the marketplace," and said it would fully cooperate with the FTC.

Shares are down about 35% in 2014. Barclays analyst Meredith Adler, who has a $94 price target on the stock, said in a recent research report that the current law that governs the multi-level marketing industry is vague, and prior court opinions have been conflicting.

The company's business plan has been criticized for months by Pershing Square hedge fund investor Bill Ackman, who made a $1 billion bet on the stock's collapse in December 2012 and had lobbied regulators and members of Congress to investigate the company's business practices.

Ackman has repeatedly called Herbalife's multi-level marketing and sales practice a pyramid scheme and charged that the company was violating Chinese labor laws. Herbalife has denied Ackman's accusations.

Ackman's efforts to bash Herbalife have drawn criticism and protracted exchanges from activist investor Carl Icahn, who aligned himself with management and amassed a 13% stake in the company last year. Icahn has said Herbalife is undervalued.

Herbalife had 2013 sales of $4.8 billion, up from about $4.1 billion ! in 2012. It markets energy and fitness snacks, drinks, vitamin supplements and skin-care products through 3 million distributors in more than 90 countries.

The company is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings April 28.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now

Behind every progressive enterprise delivering innovation on the backbone of scientific research, there lies the support infrastructure necessary to evolve information into tangible product development. It is by optimizing efficient workflows, managing data, and modeling simulations that a scientific company can effectively compete in today's technology-focused world. One leading company providing such support solutions to these clients is San Diego-based Accelrys, Inc (ACCL). Through consistent operational performance and numerous acquisitions, the company has slowly grown into a stable investment. However, is now the time to buy this promising company?

Understanding The Company

Accelrys is a global provider of scientific innovation lifecycle management software solutions. The company supports industries and organizations that rely on scientific innovation in order to effectively compete within their markets. Accelrys enables these scientific authors the ability to efficiently access, organize, evaluate, and share pertinent data that can ultimately enhance productivity, innovation, and compliance. Altogether, Accelrys play an important role in limiting the time needed from the lab to the market in order to ultimately reduce costs for its numerous clients.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: Capital Senior Living Corp (CSU)

Capital Senior Living Corporation, incorporated on October 25, 1996, is an operator of residential communities for senior adults. The Company provides senior living services. Its communities integrate independent living, assisted living and home care services, to provide residents the opportunity to age in place. The Company operated 112 senior living communities in geographically concentrated regions with an aggregate capacity of approximately 14,600 residents.

The Company�� senior living options include independent living, assisted living, memory care and planning resources. The Company�� services include special nutrition counseling, additional housekeeping and laundry, exercise programs, recreation and entertainment, medication reminders and access to a choice of home health agencies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: Portland General Electric Company (POR)

Portland General Electric Company operates as an integrated electric utility in Oregon. The company engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity. Its generating portfolio consists of thermal, hydro, and wind resources. The company also sells electricity and natural gas in the wholesale market to utilities, brokers, and power marketers in the western United States and Canada. As of March 31, 2011, it served approximately 821,193 residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Utility operator�Portland General Electric� (NYSE: POR  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.275 per share, a near-2% increase over last quarter's payout of $0.27 per share.

5 Best Quality Stocks To Own Right Now: Frontier Communications Company(FTR)

Frontier Communications Corporation, a communications company, provides regulated and unregulated voice, data, and video services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in the United States. It offers local and long distance voice services, including basic telephone wireline services to residential and business customers; switched access services that allow other carriers to use the facilities to originate and terminate their long distance voice and data traffic; and directory services that provide white and yellow page directories for residential and business listings. The company also provides data and Internet services, which include residential services comprising high-speed Internet, dial up Internet, portal and e-mail products, and hard drive back-up services; and commercial and carriers services, such as metro Ethernet; dedicated Internet; Internet protocol, optical, multiprotocol label switching, and TDM data transport services. In addition, it offers di rect broadcast satellite services and fiber optic video services, as well as provides online access to video content, entertainment, and news available on the worldwide Web through its Web site myfitv.com. The company was formerly known as Citizens Communications Company and changed its name to Frontier Communications Corporation in July 2008. Frontier Communications Corporation was founded in 1927 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR  ) has announced its latest dividend payout as it reports an 80% boost in net income in its just-released quarterly results.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  For years, investors turned to lesser-known telecom companies for high dividend yields. Windstream (NASDAQ: WIN  ) and Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR  ) became especially popular, as they focused on rural areas where consumers have fewer choices on where to get telecom services. Even though those businesses have been in slow decline, both Frontier and Windstream have made efforts to broaden their offerings to keep up with competition in broadband Internet and business services, with varying degrees of success. Windstream has managed to keep its dividend steady, but Frontier had to cut its dividend twice in recent years, sending its shares down substantially.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: E*TRADE Financial Corporation(ETFC)

E*TRADE Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides online brokerage and related products and services primarily to individual retail investors under the E*TRADE Financial brand in the United States. It offers trading products and services, including automated order placement and execution of the U.S. equities, futures, options, exchange-traded funds, and bond orders; sweep deposit accounts; access to E*TRADE Mobile Pro to trade stocks and transfer funds between accounts, as well as to monitor real-time investment, market, and account information; access to Power E*TRADE Pro, a desktop trading software for active traders; an open applications programming interface for third-party and independent software developers; margin accounts; cross boarder trading; access to international equities; research and trade idea generation tools; and E*TRADE Community that utilizes social media to offer a platform to customers. The company also provides access to the inve stor resource center that provides an aggregated view of its investing tools, market insights, independent research, education, and other investing resources; advisory services through Online Advisor; fixed income tools to identify, evaluate, and implement fixed income investment strategies; access to Retirement QuickPlan calculator that provides action plan on personal retirement savings; one-on-one portfolio recommendations and personalized plans; managed investment portfolio advisory services; unified managed account advisory services; individual retirement accounts; access to non-proprietary exchange-traded funds and mutual funds; investing and trading educational services through online videos, Web seminars, and Web tutorials; and deposit accounts, including checking, savings, and money market accounts. In addition, it provides software and services for managing equity compensation plans for corporate customers. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Ne w York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  Traditionally reserved for big time Wall Street players, options are now offered to individual investors by leading online brokers such as Charles Schwab (SCHW, Fortune 500), E*Trade (ETFC), and TD Ameritrade (AMTD).

• [By Alexis Xydias]

  Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW), TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD) and E*Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) have climbed 38 percent on average in 2013, beating the S&P 500 by 23 percentage points and eclipsing returns in financial shares from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Bank of America Corp. (BAC), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The last times that happened, equity mutual funds received about $91 billion, 24 percent more than the annual average in the two decades before the financial crisis, the data show.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of E*Trade Financial (ETFC) have surged today after the online broker was given permission to reallocation capital from its bank to the parent company today. The Wall Street Journal has the details:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  They say a company is judged by the caliber of the talent it can attract. If that's true (and it is), then Indo Global Exchanges PteLtd (OTCMKTS:IGEX) should have little problem successfully completing its mission of becoming in Indonesia what E-TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC), Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCHW), and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NYSE:AMTD) became here in the United States ... a dominant force in the stock brokerage world, and the face of online trading. The only difference is, IGEX may finish its mission a lot faster than AMTD, SCHW, or ETFC did. See, Indo Global Exchanges PteLtd's target market is already fully online and in love with the internet (Indonesia has a bigger Facebook-user populous than the United States, for cryin' out loud), and there's no online-trading competition in sight.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc.(OPTR)

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing hospital specialty products worldwide. It develops products that treat gastrointestinal infections and related diseases. The company provides two late-stage anti-infective product candidates, including Fidaxomicin, a narrow spectrum antibiotic for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-infection, which completed two Phase 3 trials; and Pruvel, a prodrug in the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics, has completed two Phase 3 trials for the treatment of infectious diarrhea, including traveler?s diarrhea. It also develops product candidates using its proprietary technology Optimer One-Pot Synthesis, a computer-aided technology that enables the rapid synthesis of various proprietary molecules. In addition, the company?s other pipeline product candidates consist of CEM-101 (OP-1068), a macrolide and ketolide antibiotic, which is in Phase 2 trials for the treatment of upper and lower respiratory tract infections; and OPT-822/821, a novel carbohydrate-based cancer immunotherapy, is in Phase 2/3 trials for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. It has collaborative agreements with Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.; Par Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Nippon Shinyaku, Co., Ltd.; Cempra Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and The Scripps Research Institute. Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  "Bidness" is good (part 2)
  Obagi isn't the only company for which "bidness" is good. Antibiotic maker�Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OPTR  ) shares soared 22% this week on talk of interest by multiple potential buyers.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: Central Securities Corp (CET)

Central Securities Corporation is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Company�� primary investment objective is growth of capital. Central Securities Corporation invests primarily in common stocks, but it may invest in bonds, convertible bonds, preferred stocks, convertible preferred stocks, warrants, options real estate, or short-term obligations of governments, banks and corporations.

The Company, from time to time, invests in securities, the resale of which is restricted. Central Securities Corporation invests in various sectors, including insurance, Semiconductor, Technology Hardware and Equipment, Diversified Industrial, Energy, Software and Services, Banking and Finance and other.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joe Eqcome]

  Actionable Items:

  Highest Positive Spread: ING Emerging Markets High Dividend Equity Fund (IHD)Focus Stock: Central Securities Corporation (CET)Last Week's Focus Stock: Central Securities Corporation

  Junk Bonds Debacle: The $85 billion monthly bond-purchase program has produced a selloff for "junk" bonds. The U.S. Treasurys jumped 0.18% to 4.39% on Wednesday. The benchmark 10-Year Treasury note has risen 0.5% in the past month.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: GigaMedia Limited (GIGM)

Gigamedia Limited, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the operation of online games for online game players in Asia. The company provides a portfolio of online games, including MahJong, a traditional Chinese tile game; MMORPG, an Internet-based computer game; advanced casual games; and card, chance-based, and simple casual games. It also develops and licenses online poker, casino, and sports betting gaming software solutions, as well as offers application services for the online poker and casino markets primarily in the continental European markets. The company has strategic alliances with SoftStar Entertainment Inc., Neostorm Holdings Limited, XLGames Inc., Access China Holding Limited, Gorilla Banana Entertainment Corp., JC Entertainment Corporation, Possibility Space Incorporated, East Gate Media Contents & Technology Fund, and BetClic. GigaMedia Limited was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  GigaMedia (NASDAQ: GIGM  ) results for the company's fiscal Q4 and 2012 have been released. For the quarter, revenue was $4.8 million, down by 34% from the $7.4 million in the same period the previous year. Attributable net loss, however, narrowed considerably to $15.4 million ($0.30 per diluted share) from Q4 2011's shortfall of $51.3 million ($1.01).

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: Popular Inc.(BPOP)

Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services primarily to corporate clients, small and middle size businesses, and retail clients in Puerto Rico and Mainland United States. It offers deposit products; commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans, as well as lease finance; and finance and advisory services. The company also offers trust and asset management, brokerage and investment banking, and insurance and reinsurance services. As of December 31, 2010, it owned and occupied approximately 94 branch premises and other facilities in Puerto Rico; and 119 offices, including 20 owned and 99 leased in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Texas. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Among multinationals, Sterne Agee recommends three banks. The first is Puerto Rico�� Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP). The mid-cap bank�� stock closed at $28.21 on Friday in a 52-week range of $20.31 to $34.34. Based on Sterne Agee�� 2014 price target of $40.00, Popular has an upside potential of nearly 42% and a 2014 EPS estimate of $2.90. The investment firm�� forward multiple is just 9.6, below the Thomson Reuters consensus multiple of 10.3. Popular received TARP funds in 2009 and could repay the loan in the first quarter of next year, which will give the stock a shot in the arm as well.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) shares tumbled 5.54 percent to $27.48 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Equal-weight to Underweight.

  Pacific Coast Oil Trust (NYSE: ROYT) down, falling 7.13 percent to $16.70 after the company priced a public offering by Pacific Coast Energy Company LP and other selling unitholders of 13,500,000 trust units at a price of $17.10 per unit.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: Insys Therapeutics Inc (INSY)

Insys Therapeutics, Inc., incorporated on June 15, 1990, is a pharmaceutical company that develops and seeks to commercialize pharmaceutical products that target the unmet needs of cancer patients, with an initial focus on cancer-supportive care. The Company�� pharmaceuticals portfolio consists of one approved product and a number of product candidates targeting cancer-supportive care and cancer therapy. The Company�� product candidate includes Subsys, Dronabinol SG Capsule, Dronabinol RT Capsule, Dronabinol Oral Solution, Dronabinol Inhalation Device, and Dronabinol IV Solution. The Company is also developing cancer therapeutics, which is LEP-ETU, a formulation of paclitaxel, the active ingredient in the cancer drugs Taxol and Abraxane. On August 19, 2011, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved its Dronabinol SG Capsule product, a generic equivalent to Marinol, for the treatment of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), and anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Subsys

The Company's Subsys is a single-use product that delivers fentanyl, an opioid analgesic, in seconds for transmucosal absorption underneath the tongue. Subsys is a transmucosal product to show pain relief when measuring the sum of pain intensity difference at five minutes in a Phase 3 breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) clinical trial using fentanyl.

Dronabinol Product Family

The Company has an approved dronabinol product and is developing several dronabinol product candidates for the treatment of CINV and appetite stimulation in patients with AIDS, as well as other indications where dronabinol could have potential therapeutic benefits. Dronabinol, the active ingredient in Marinol, is a synthetic cannabinoid whose chemical name is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Its portfolio consists of its Dronabinol SG Capsule product and Dronabinol RT Capsule product candidate, which are intended to be generic equi! valents to Marinol, in addition to three formulations, including Dronabinol Oral Solution. Dronabinol SG Capsule is a dronabinol soft gelatin capsule intended to be a generic equivalent to Marinol. Dronabinol RT Capsule is a dronabinol soft gel capsule that is stable at room temperature. Dronabinol Oral Solution is a ynthetic THC in an oral liquid formulation.

Cancer Therapeutics

In addition to its cancer-supportive care products, the Company intends to develop cancer therapeutics targeting limitations of existing commercial products. LEP-ETU, it advanced cancer therapeutic, is a NeoLipid liposomal, or microscopic membrane-like structure created from lipids, formulation that incorporates paclitaxel. LEP-ETU completed a Phase 2 clinical trial of 70 patients with metastatic breast cancer.

The Company competes with Cephalon, Inc., BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., ProStrakan Group plc, Nycomed International Management GmbH, Archimedes Pharma Ltd., TEVA Pharmaceuticals USA, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Akela Pharma Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Pharmaceutical International, Inc., Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc., sanofi-aventis, Eisai Inc., Helsinn Group, Roche Holding AG, Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, ProStrakan Group plc, Merck & Co, GW Pharmaceutical, A.P. Pharma, Inc., Aphios Corp., Roche Holding, Tesaro, Inc., Cornerstone Pharmaceutical, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corporation, Laboratories, Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca PLC., Bayer AG, Biogen Idec Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd., F. Hoffmann- LaRoche Ltd., Johnson and Johnson, Merck and Co., Inc., Novartis AG, Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Zeiler]

  2. Insys Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: INSY): Insys is a biotech seeking to capitalize on the growing interest in medical marijuana by using a generic form of THC to create drugs to treat cancer pain. INSY had its IPO May 2 with an offer price of $8 a share. The stock rose 19.75% on its first day of trading. But investors really warmed up to Insys later; it currently trades at about $37.54, a 369.25% increase over the offer price.

• [By Traders Reserve]

  For example at the end of August, I found a little stock called INSYS Therapeutics (INSY) The company showed up as a top-rated stock using a stock-rating system based on something I call the P/E Gap ��the difference between a stock�� P/E ratio and its expected profit growth rate.

• [By Chris Preston]

  INSYS Therapeutics (INSY) is one recent IPO that jumps out. The Arizona-based pharmaceutical company markets a synthetic marijuana drug to treat cancer pain. It went public in May at $8 per share. It opened at over $46 per share.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Own In Right Now: Big Tree Group Inc (BIGG)

Big Tree Group Inc., formerly Transax International Limited (Transax), incorporated on January 28, 1987, is engaged in the business of toys sourcing, distribution and contractual manufacturing targeting international and domestic distributors and customers in the toys industry. The Company's main business focus is to function as a one stop shop for the sourcing, distribution and specialty manufacturing of toys and related products. The Company conducts these operations through both its BT Brunei and BT Shantou subsidiaries.

The Company sources a wide variety of more than 300,000 toys made of plastic, wood, metal, wool, and electronic materials, primarily targeting at children from infants to teenagers. These toys include, but are not limited to, infant appliances, games, balls, dolls, stuffed toys, transformers, racing track sets, play sets, water toys, and educational toys. The offered toys can be operated by battery, manual power, wire control, remote control, voice control, infrared ray control, and other applications.

The Company's Big Tree Magic Puzzle (3D) cater to consumers ranging from minor children to adults. Big Tree Magic Puzzle (3D) consists of 18 assembly parts made of ABS environmental-friendly plastic materials in multiple shapes including, but not limited to, squares, triangles, right-angled connectors, etc. The Big Tree Magic Puzzle (3D) adopts a plug-in design that goes beyond the traditional planar and linear plug-in to achieve the transformations among the common and unconventional shapes such as diamond, sphere and dynamic warping, etc. Each assembly part offers 10 color choices that encourage children to learn colors and shapes in an interesting and attractive playing environment. The Company has developed over 10 series of Big Tree Magic Puzzle (3D) including about 200 product items.

The Company's customers for the Company's toy sourcing business consist of distributors, trading companies, and wholesalers primarily located in mainland Chi! na, Hong Kong, Europe, South America, Asia and the United States. The Company's Big Tree Magic Puzzle (3D) is marketed directly to consumers in China through the Company's sales locations in Dennis Department Stores and its online store at Taobao Mall (www. Tmall.com).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd (OTCMKTS: DKAM), 7 Star Entertainment Inc (OTCMKTS: SAEE), Rising India Inc (OTCMKTS: RSII) and Big Tree Group Inc (OTCMKTS: BIGG) have all been attracting attention thanks to paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed and paid for promotions or investor relation activities, but they can backfire on unwary investors and traders alike. So are stock promoters blowing a bunch of hot air regarding these four small cap stocks or are they actually potential winners? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide: