How Rosetta Stone Is Changing People's Lives

The following video excerpt was taken from an interview with Steve Swad, CEO of Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST  ) , in which he talks about his business philosophy and how it is driving success both for language learners and for the company itself. In this segment, he discusses how his products are helping people learn through technology.

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Matt Argersinger: So you mentioned technical expertise. When a lot of people think of Rosetta Stone, they think of education, which is obviously what you guys are doing, but you guys are really a technology company in a lot of ways, and so I am wondering if you could talk about that and also kind of what's going on in Boulder, Colorado.

Steve Swad: Boulder's sweet, notwithstanding the beautiful office we have. I actually find it to be the best place in our company to work. But back up, on the company, I think of the company with three pillars and the core, and you mentioned it, is learning. We're a company about learning. We succeed if our customers learn; we fail if our customers don't learn. We enable that learning through technology and so we use technology to bring learning to life, and the reason we do it is lifestyle, to change people's lives. So pillar one, learning; pillar two, technology; pillar three, change people's lives.

That's our company. That's our company yesterday. That's our company today. That'll be our company tomorrow. Boulder is part of that technology pillar, and it has invented speech recognition software that enables the learning. It's really critical software. Think about a tutor that is one-on-one and measures you by the minute. That's what our speech recognition software does in language.

So you say, "hola." The speech recognition software listens to you, grades you, and gives you feedback. If you pass, we give you a green signal. If you fail, we repeat the words: "hola." You listen and then you try it again. And that's all designed out of Boulder. They're wonderful people and it's wonderful technology.

One-sentence financial rules

There are 56,956 personal finance books on Amazon.com. In aggregate, they contain more than 3 billion words. This seems absurd, because 99% of personal finance can be summarized in nine words: Work a lot, spend a little, invest the difference. Master that, and the other 2.999 billion words are filler.

The most important finance topics don't require details. Most can be, and should be, summarized in a sentence or two.

Here are some I've learned.

1. Dollar-cost average for your entire life and you'll beat almost everyone who doesn't.

2. Only invest in products and companies you can explain to a six-year old.

3. Every five to seven years, people forget that recessions occur every five to seven years.

4. You're twice as biased as you think you are (four times if you disagree with that statement).

5. Read more books and fewer articles.

6. Read more history and fewer forecasts.

7. It's strange that you go to the doctor once a year, but check your investments once a day.

8. Be careful when reading about how stupid investors can be and not realize you're reading about yourself.

9. Your circle of competence is probably 90% smaller than you think it is.

10. You're only diversified when some of your investments perform worse than others.

11. Big risks will always be disregarded; small risks always blown out of proportion.

12. Check your brokerage account as infrequently as it takes to prevent rash decisions.

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13. When in doubt, choose the investment with the lowest fee.

14. Emotional intelligence is more important than book intelligence.

15. The more you learn about the economy, the more you realize you have no idea what's going on.

16. Start saving for college before your kid is born, and start saving for your retirement before you graduate col! lege. You'll feel silly when you start and like a genius when you finish.

17. The most powerful way to grow your money is learning to live with less, since you have complete control over it.

18. Singer Rihanna nearly went broke and fired her financial advisor, who described her situation well: "Was it really necessary to tell her that if you spend money on things, you will end up with the things and not the money?"

19. You have no obligation to have an opinion about anything.

20. You have a strict obligation to not have an opinion about things you don't understand.

21. No one attending private school should be on student loans. Most should utilize community and state schools, which provide just as good an education for a fraction of the price.

22. You shouldn't feel strongly about any investment you haven't spent at least a week thinking about.

23. Holding 60% of your assets in stocks and 40% in bonds isn't perfect for everyone; but I can think of a thousand worse strategies.

24. Respect the role luck has played on some of your role models.

25. Don't take out $100,000 in student loans for anything other than medical school (if that).

26. Change your mind as often as the facts change.

27. Ignore people who refuse to change theirs when the facts change.

28. Read last year's market predictions and you'll never again take this year's predictions seriously.

29. Warren Buffett's folksy talk misleads people into thinking that what he's accomplished is easy. It's not.

30. Sleep on every investment decision for a week, then run it by a trusted friend before acting.

31. Two things you can do to make yourself a better investor are increase the amount of time you're investing for and the humility you put into your ideas.

32. Just as you should dress appropriately for your age, you should spend appropriately for your income, and not a penny more.

33. Warren Buffett has the best explanation of dumb risk-taking: "To m! ake money! they didn't have and didn't need, they risked what they did have and did need. And that's foolish. It is just plain foolish."

34. You can probably afford not to be a great investor -- you probably can't afford to be a bad one.

35. You're twice as gullible as you think you are.

36. Learn more from your bad investments than your good ones.

37. Judge investors by the quality of their arguments, not the performance of their last trade.

38. You can realistically afford probably half the home the mortgage broker approves you for.

39. Teach your kids about money before they're old enough to earn their own.

40. Admit when you are wrong.

41. Imagine how much stuff you'd have to make up if you were forced to talk 24/7. Remember this when watching financial news on TV.

42. There is, and always will be, more money to be made providing investment advice than receiving it.

43. Assume the worst, hope for the best, accept reality.

44. Save for your own retirement; assume Social Security and private pensions won't be around (even though they probably will).

45. Annuities: A product mixing the complexity of high finance with the sales tactics of used-car salesman has an entirely predictable outcome.

46. The correlation between confidence and future regret is incredibly high.

47. During the last 100 years, there have been more 10% market pullbacks than Christmases. Everyone knows Christmas will come; think of volatility the same way.

48. Don't attempt to keep up with the Joneses without realizing the Joneses aren't any happier than you are.

49. Predictions, opinions, and forecasts should be discounted by the number of times the person making them is on TV each week.

50. Not taking advantage of an employer match on your 401(k) is no different than declining a raise.

51. Don't let Washington sway your investment decisions. Congress has been a dysfunctional swamp of disappointment since 1789, and stocks have done well! ever sin! ce.

52. To quote Larry Summers: "A good rule of thumb for many things in life holds that things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then happen faster than you thought they could."

53. Another Larry Summers gem: "THERE ARE IDIOTS. Look around."

54. "Invest in what you know" is dangerously simplified.

55. Quit day trading, and donate your money to charity instead. Same financial result for you, and a better outcome for society.

56. Most people's biggest expense is interest, which comes from living beyond your means, and buying things they think will impress others, which comes from insecurity. Avoid these two and you'll grow richer than most of your peers.

57. Reaching for yield to increase your income is often like sticking your hands in a fire to warm them up -- good in theory, disastrous in practice.

58. Your devotion to a political party or economic philosophy is directly proportional to your tendency to think irrationally about how politics affects your investments.

59. Most people need a financial advisor, but everyone needs a financial counselor, or someone to talk them off the ledge before making a dumb decision.

60. There's a strong negative correlation between flaunting money and being rich.

61. Investors were probably better informed 20 years ago when there was 90% less financial news.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Consumer spending, personal income up in Feb.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans spent slightly more in February but the gain still left consumer spending growing at a modest pace, held back by severe winter weather.

Consumer spending rose 0.3% in February following a 0.2% rise in January, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The spending increases would have been even weaker except for a surge in spending on utility bills. In February, spending on durable goods such as autos actually dropped as consumers stayed away from auto dealerships. Service spending, which covers utility payments, rose.

Analysts say consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity, slowed significantly in the current quarter and will depress overall economic growth. But they are looking for a rebound in the second quarter.

The report showed that after-tax income was up 0.3 in February, the same as in January.

The saving rate edged up slightly to 4.3% of after-tax income compared to January, when the saving rate was 4.2%.

The report showed that inflation remains very low. An inflation gauge tied to consumer spending was up just 0.9% in February compared to a year ago, significantly below the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed last week approved another reduction in its monthly bond buying, which the central bank is doing to lower long-term interest rates and boost economic growth. But some economists are concerned that if the Fed removes its support too quickly, it could undermine efforts to get prices rising closer to the target.

Economists expect that spending will rebound in the April-June period, helping to boost overall economic growth to its strongest pace in nearly a decade.

Many analysts foresee the economy growing 3% for the year, after a weak first quarter. It would be the most robust annual expansion since 2005, two years before the Great Recession began.

The National Association for Business Economics is predicting that the economy will grow 3.1% this year, far higher than the lackluster ! 1.9% gain in 2013.

If that forecast proves accurate, it would make 2014 the strongest year since the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, expanded 3.4% in 2005. Since the Great Recession ended in June 2009, annual growth over the past four years has averaged a weak 2.2%.

The U.S. economy has been hit by a series of blows since then from a prolonged European debt crisis which hurt U.S. exports to three years of Washington budget fights, which fueled uncertainty about the government's spending and tax policies.

Tax increases and deep spending cuts that took effect in 2013 subtracted an estimated 1.5 percentage points from growth last year.

With Congress having reached a budget agreement and a deal to raise the government's borrowing limit, companies now have more certainty about federal fiscal policies and because of that, analysts say businesses are likely to boost their hiring and investment spending.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits last week reached its lowest level since November — an encouraging sign that hiring should be picking up. In February, U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs, far more than in the two previous months. With more people working, more consumers will have money to spend to boost the economy, analysts believe.

MTNOY: The Emerging Market Rally Is Just Getting Started

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As we reach the end of the first quarter, Tesla Motors (TSLA) is leading the pack with a massive 48% gain, followed by Emerge Energy Services LP (EMES) at 27%. Not too shabby given that the S&P 500 is barely positive on the year.

My pick for 2014 — South African mobile phone giant MTN Group (MTNOY) is off to a slower start, down about 2%. But with nine months left in 2014, I expect MTNOY stock to make a serious run for the top spot. And in fact, in the month of March, it has been the second-best-performing stock in the contest after EMES.

This year has been a rough one for emerging markets. First, there was the "mini-crisis" in the Argentine peso and waves of protests sweeping Venezuela. Then, there was the Ukraine political crisis that resulted in Russia effectively stealing the Crimean peninsula … and fears that China was about to have a "Lehman moment" that would see its capital markets collapse.

And finally, in the most bizarre of the lot, there is the corruption scandal engulfing Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which Erdogan responded to his attackers by threatening to "eradicate" Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

MTNOY's home country wasn't immune either. South Africa is in the midst of an election season that has seen President Zuma raked over the coals for using excessive public funds to upgrade his personal residence. The African National Congress is facing its most difficult election in the post-Apartheid era.

Yet an interesting thing happened. While the news stories have gone from bad to worse, most emerging markets have been quietly enjoying a rally since early February. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) is up about 7%, and the iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (EZA) is up fully 17%.

So, what gives? Did the problems plaguing emerging markets — unsustainable current account deficits, unstable governments, weak domestic demand, etc. — spontaneously resolve themselves?

Not exactly. A more reasonable explanation is that the selling simply exhausted itself and that the bad news has already been priced in. Fund outflows from emerging markets are at their highest levels since the 2008 crisis.

As an asset class, emerging markets are cheap and underowned and, for the most part, still completely despised by the investing public — making them a virtual textbook example of the perfect contrarian investment opportunity.

I believe that emerging markets are the single best asset class for the remainder of 2014. And as a leading mobile carrier in Africa — one of the fastest-growing regions in the world — MTN Group is in excellent position to ride that wave.

Let's review the bullish arguments for MTNOY:

It's the dominant mobile provider in the last great frontier market: Africa. It provides a service that is essential to the lives of the new African middle classes. Its markets are far from saturated, and it has virtually unlimited growth potential due to the inevitable shift to smartphones and higher-margin data plans; only about a third of MTN's subscribers currently use data It's very reasonably priced and pays a high and growing dividend; MTNOY stock has a dividend yield of 4.8% MTNOY stock trades at a reasonable price/earnings ratio of 14

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If you haven't picked up MTNOY stock yet, it's not too late. Though it has rallied off its recent lows, I believe we are still in the early stages of a multi-year rally in emerging market stocks.

Charles Lewis Sizemore, CFA, is the chief investment officer of the investment firm Sizemore Capital Management. As of this writing, he was long EZA and MTNOY. Check out his new premium service, Macro Trend Investor, which includes a free copy of his e-book, The New Megatrend Investor: The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy That Will Make You Rich.

Carnival Corporation Q1 Earnings Decline; Weak Outlook; Shares Fall (CCL)

Shares of Carnival Corporation (CCL) were down on Tuesday morning after the company reported lower earnings and a weak outlook.

CCL’s Earnings in Brief

CCL reported Non-GAAP earnings of $2 million, or $0.00 per share, compared to $67 million, or 8 cents per share a year ago. Analysts expected to see a loss of 8 cents per share. The company reported GAAP earnings of $37 million, or 5 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter was$3.6 billion, above analysts’ estimate of $3.51 billion. Looking ahead, CCL expects to see  Q2 earnings between a loss of 2 cents and earnings of 2 cents. Analysts expect to see earnings of 7 cents per share. For FY2014, the company expects to see earnings in the range of $1.50-$1.70 per share, while analysts expect $1.73 per share in earnings.

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CEO Commentary

CEO Arnold Donald commented: “We see progress with our continental European brands and continue to be pleased with Carnival Cruise Lines’ pace of improvement. Exciting product innovations and strategic marketing initiatives at Carnival Cruise Lines have driven strong close-in demand resulting in sequential improvement in year-over-year quarterly ticket prices for the brand.”

CCL’s Dividend

CCL paid its last 25 cent dividend on March 14. We expect the company to declare its next dividend in April.

Stock Performance 

Carnival Corporation shares were down $1.22, or 3%, during Tuesday morning trading.

CCL Dividend Snapshot

As of 10:30am on March 25, 2014

Click here to see the complete history of CCL dividends.

AllianceBernstein: Classic Value

This featured recommendation is a classic value stock; the company is a leading global investment management firm structured as a master limited partnership, explains J. Royden Ward, editor of Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Investor.

AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB) offers high quality research and diversified investment services to institutional investors and private clients in major global markets. The company is one of the largest US investment advisors, with assets under management totaling $445 billion, as of January 31.

AllianceBernstein significantly increased its size with the October 2000 acquisition of Sanford Bernstein, a leading US-based, value-oriented investment manager, for $3.5 billion in cash and stock.

France-based AXA owns 64% of AllianceBernstein LP. One-third of AB's assets under management belong to clients domiciled outside the US.

AB's Institutional Services actively manage stock and bond accounts for institutions, mutual funds, including Alliance Mutual Funds, and investments for well-heeled clients. The company's Retail Services unit offers investment management to other individual investors.

AB has begun a major turnaround. The company produced weak sales and earnings from 2008 through mid-2012, caused by poor investment advice to its debt and equity institutional clients.

During the past 12 months, though, the company's investment advice to clients has been among the best in the industry. AB's new success has attracted many new clients seeking market-beating returns in the debt and equity markets.

Sales advanced 7% and EPS rebounded 39% during the 12 months ended December 31, 2013. Lower costs and higher performance fees helped earnings to surge.

The company's turnaround should strengthen during the next 12 months. My forecast includes a revenue increase of 8% and an EPS advance of 18% to 2.12.

AB's dividend, which is directly correlated to profits, is now 29% higher than a year ago and provides a very high yield of 8.4%. Dividend payments should climb further during the next 12 months.

At 13.3 times latest EPS, and with a huge dividend yield, AB shares are clearly undervalued. I expect AB to reach my minimum sell price target of $33.40 within two years.

Subscribe to Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Investor here…

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Rising food prices bite into household budgets

Prices are rising for a range of food staples, from meat and pork to fruits and vegetables, squeezing consumers still struggling with modest wage gains.

Food prices rose 0.4% in February, the most since September 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. Beef and veal shoppers were socked with some of the biggest increases, as prices jumped 4% from January.

Overall inflation remained tame, as falling gasoline and other energy costs offset the food price increases. The consumer price index ticked up just 0.1% from January and 1.1% in the past year.

Droughts, unusually cold winter weather, rising exports and a virus outbreak in the hog population are among the causes of food inflation, which is expected to accelerate in 2014. The Agriculture Department expects grocery store prices to increase as much as 3.5% in 2014, up from 0.9% last year. Among the foods most affected:

• Beef. The average retail cost of fresh beef last month was $5.28 a pound, up from $5.04 in January and the highest on records dating to 1987, according to the Agriculture Department and Sterling Marketing. Midwest ranchers thinned their cattle herds after droughts in 2011 and 2012 shrank pastures, says Sterling owner John Nalivka.

Other factors include small ranchers that shut down during and after the 2007-09 recession. There are now about 88 million head of cattle in the U.S., the smallest herd since 1951. Thus far, retailers have absorbed the bulk of a 22% beef price increase the past year, but Nalivka expects retailers to pass more costs to consumers this year.

• Pork. Retail pork prices rose 6.8% in the past year to an average $3.73 a pound in February as beef shoppers turned to cheaper pork options. But a virus outbreak since last April has killed about 6 million pigs, reducing the national herd by nearly 10%, estimates Steve Meyer, president of Paragon Economics. He expects the smaller inventory to boost per-pound prices to $4 by summer.

• Poultry. More expensive beef and! pork have prompted some shoppers to buy chicken and turkey. Poultry prices increased 4.7% last year, the Agriculture Department says.

• Milk. The average price of a gallon of milk was $3.56 last month, up from $3.46 in October. The main reason: a surge in exports to China and other Asian nations, says Knox Jones of consulting firm Advanced Economic Solutions. Retailers have been hit by a 36% wholesale price increase since December, and Jones says per-gallon retail prices could rise another 25 cents to 50 cents this year.

• Fruits and vegetables. Unusually cold weather in California and a "citrus greening" disease in Florida have damaged citrus crops. Orange prices increased 3.4% last month, and strawberry prices are up 12% vs. a year ago. Analyst Michael Swanson says prices for other fruits and vegetables could spike this year, depending on the damage caused by California's drought.

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Consumers paid 12% more for oranges and tangerines in February than a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.(Photo: Rick Runion, The Ledger via AP)

10 states with the highest gas prices

Gasoline prices have risen steadily the past six weeks through March 18. There was an uptick in gas prices all but one of the past 38 days, and gas is now more expensive than at any point the past six months.

In a number of states, the price of gas is now more than $3.75 per gallon, vs. $3.52 nationwide, with gas prices in several other states not far behind. In Hawaii, the price of gas is $4.17 per gallon. There, as in a number of other states, the high price of gas reflects the difficulties involved in transporting oil and refined products to the state. Based on data from AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, these are the 10 states with the highest average gasoline prices.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Michael Green, public relations manager at AAA, said that seasonal factors played a major role in the recent runup in gas prices. "Refinery maintenance, the switchover to summer blend gasoline, and more-recently rising demand," have all played a role in the rise of gas prices, Green said.

Differences in regional gas prices are in part the result of where a state is located. "The closer you are to a refinery, generally means you'll pay less at the pump," Green explained. Hawaii may be the most notable example of this. Similarly, states in the Northeast often pay higher prices due to their distance from oil-producing and refining states.

Because of their location, many states often import more expensive oil from abroad. "Refineries along the West Coast and Northeast generally buy higher priced Brent crude oil from overseas," Green said. Eventually, these higher prices are passed on to the consumer, who ends up paying more at the pump.

Taxes often affect the price of gasoline as well. Of the 10 states with the nation's highest gas prices, all but two levy among the 10 highest gas taxes. Residents in California, New York, Connecticut and Hawaii pay the most in both gas prices and gas taxes. California charges drivers more than 52 cents per gallon in state taxes alone.

To ! determine the states with the highest gasoline prices, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed statewide average fuel prices as of March 18 from AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. We also reviewed the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) 2013 Refinery Capacity Report, which breaks out production capacity and the number of operable refineries by state. Capacity figures cited are from January 2013 and reflect the number of barrels of oil that operating refineries can reasonably be expected to produce in a calendar day. Also from the EIA, we reviewed figures on total oil production by state for 2013. Finally, we looked at gas taxes per state from the American Petroleum Institute, which are current as of January 2014.

These are the states with the highest gas prices:

10. Pennsylvania
-- Price per gallon: $3.64
-- Barrels produced, 2013: 5.4 million (19th most)
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): 595,000 (6th most)
-- Tax per gallon: 41.8 cents (5th highest)

At the start of 2013, Pennsylvania had four operating refineries capable of producing nearly 600,000 barrels per day. Despite this, the state has some of the highest gas prices in the nation, with gasoline running $3.64 a gallon in Pennsylvania, versus $3.52 a gallon nationwide. Limited access to cheap crude and high taxes may be factors contributing to the relatively high gas prices. As of January, Pennsylvania residents paid 41.8 cents per gallon in state taxes, on average, fifth highest nationwide. The exact amount state residents pay in taxes is determined by wholesale prices for liquid fuels.

9. Maine
-- Price per gallon: $3.64
-- Barrels produced, 2013: N/A
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): N/A
-- Tax per gallon: 30.0 cents (19th highest)

Unlike most of the states where drivers pay the most for gas, Maine's gasoline taxes are relatively in line with the rest of the nation. Likely contributing to the high gas prices in Maine is the state's distance from much of the nation's oil infrastructure. The! United S! tates has no operable refineries east of New Jersey, and many of the petroleum products that go to Maine are delivered either by boat or from across the border in Canada. In addition to gasoline, much of the population relies on fuel oil to heat their residences during the winter. The state is also "particularly vulnerable to distillate fuel oil shortages and price spikes," according to the EIA.

8. Indiana
-- Price per gallon: $3.66
-- Barrels produced, 2013: 2.4 million (23rd most)
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): 192,100 (16th most)
-- Tax per gallon: 38.7 cents (8th highest)

Drivers in Indiana pay some of the nation's highest gas taxes — amounting to 38.7 cents per gallon on average in state taxes alone as of January. Following the national trend, the state's gas prices are lower than last year. Still, Indiana prices are among the highest in the nation, at $3.66. Indiana is home to BP's Whiting Refinery, one of the largest in the nation. A critical part of the refinery is said to currently be undergoing maintenance for the next several weeks, which may in turn temporarily contribute to higher gas prices.

7. Michigan
-- Price per gallon: $3.72
-- Barrels produced, 2013: 7.8 million (16th most)
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): 120,000 (24th most)
-- Tax per gallon: 39.1 cents (tied for 6th highest)

Gas prices in Michigan have improved slightly since reaching a high of $4.20 per gallon last year, but drivers in the state are still feeling the pain at the pump. The Marathon Oil Company Detroit Refinery became the state's only refinery in 2005, when the Alma Refinery closed. Prices might have been even higher had the refinery not recently made changes that allow it to refine Canadian crude oil. Drivers are not helped by the fact that they must pay, on average, 39 cents per gallon in taxes, the sixth highest in the country.

6. Illinois
-- Price per gallon: $3.76
-- Barrels produced, 2013: 9.5 million (15th most)
-- Refining capa! city (bar! rels per day): 930,100 (4th most)
-- Tax per gallon: 39.1 cents (tied for 6th highest)

Illinois residents currently pay $3.76 per gallon of gas, with prices reaching more than $3.90 per gallon in the Chicago metro area. Gas prices in the state may be the result of several factors, including the state's relatively high gasoline taxes. Drivers pay an extra 39.1 cents per gallon of gasoline in state taxes, more than all but a handful of other states in the country. Prices, too, may have risen due to maintenance work at BP's Whiting, Indiana, refinery, which is located close to Chicago and is one of the nation's largest refineries.

5. Connecticut
-- Price per gallon: $3.77
-- Barrels produced, 2013: N/A
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): N/A
-- Tax per gallon: 49.3 cents (3rd highest)

Connecticut drivers pay 49.3 cents per gallon in state gas taxes, the third highest in the nation. One factor contributing to the state's high gas prices is the fact that the state imports all of its gasoline from other states, or from abroad. Overall high consumer prices may also play a role. As of 2011, Connecticut was the sixth most expensive state in the nation, as measured by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Of course, residents have the capacity to pay higher gas prices — Connecticut residents had a median household income of $67,276 in 2012, among the highest in the nation.

4. New York
-- Price per gallon: $3.78
-- Barrels produced, 2013: 352,000 (26th most)
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): N/A
-- Tax per gallon: 49.6 cents (2nd highest)

Like Connecticut, New York gas prices are driven in part by the state's high taxes. Residents can expect to pay nearly 50 cents per gallon in taxes, more than in any state in the country except for California. Additionally, New York residents face some of the highest consumer prices in the country. In 2011, New York had the second highest price level of any state, behind only Hawaii, according to the BEA. Also ! helping t! o keep prices elevated is the sheer scale of the state's demand for energy. Gasoline for New York is brought in from other states as well as imported from other countries. New York, in turn, distributes petroleum products to other states in the Northeast from New York Harbor.

3. Alaska
-- Price per gallon: $3.84
-- Barrels produced, 2013: 187.9 million (4th most)
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): 244,707 (14th most)
-- Tax per gallon: 12.4 cents (the lowest)

Unlike other states with high gas prices, Alaska does not levy especially high gas taxes. As of the start of the year, residents paid just 12.4 cents per gallon in state taxes, the lowest of any state in America. Additionally, Alaska is a major producer of oil, with nearly 188 million barrels produced in 2013, more than all but three other states. However, Alaska's high oil prices, and years of declining production, have likely contributed to high prices at the pump. While the state is a major producer of oil, it is only a relatively small refiner. Alaska ranks just 14th for overall refining capacity, and refiners often face high costs of operating in the state. These costs, in turn, may be passed on to consumers.

2. California
-- Price per gallon: $3.97
-- Barrels produced, 2013: 199.4 million (3rd most)
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): 1.6 million (3rd most)
-- Tax per gallon: 52.5 cents (the highest)

Several factors contribute to California's volatile gas prices. While California was the third largest U.S. producer and refiner of oil in 2013, refiners still had to meet the state's huge demand. Refineries in the state, therefore, operate at nearly full capacity at all times, which means that any problems can potentially cause huge supply disruptions and lead to jumps in prices. The state also has more stringent standards than the federal government for reformulating gasoline, which adds another layer of costs to the price of gas. This is independent of the taxes that hit consumers at the! pump. Ca! lifornia effectively charges more than 52 cents per gallon in state taxes, the most of any state in the nation.

1. Hawaii
-- Price per gallon: $4.17
-- Barrels produced, 2013: N/A
-- Refining capacity (barrels per day): 147,500 (21st most)
-- Tax per gallon: 49.1 cents (4th highest)

Hawaii customers pay $4.17 per gallon of gas, more than anywhere else in the country. This is actually down considerably from just last year, when the price of gas was $4.40 per gallon. Like in a number of other high-price states, gas taxes are especially high in Hawaii. On average, residents pay 49.1 cents per gallon, more than in all but three other states. Of course, Hawaii is further away from America's oil production and refineries than anywhere else in the country. Its location leads to high prices for more than just gasoline. Without any hydrocarbon supplies of its own, Hawaii must import energy. With 70% of the state's electricity generation powered by petroleum, electricity rates in the state are also extremely high. As of November, residents paid an average of 37.2 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity, or more than double any other state.

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Kodak ends 2013 with smaller losses

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Eastman Kodak Co. has spent years investing in new businesses; harvesting returns from its old, declining ones; and cutting costs, all in an effort to turn profitable.

While it is today in many ways a new company — new CEO, new ticker symbol, many of its old legacy expenses wiped away with its bankruptcy — it still remains a work in progress toward that profitability goal.

The iconic Rochester, N.Y.-based company put out its fourth-quarter 2013 and 2013 overall financial results Wednesday after the market's close. The printing technology company's losses were far smaller than in the previous year. And its expectations for 2014 put it close to — though still not at — profitability.

STORY: Kodak names Clarke new CEO
STORY: Kodak CEO outlines growth strategy

Kodak's 2013 overall sales of $2.35 billion were $150 million short of what the company previously had forecast.

Chief Financial Officer Becky Root said in a conference call Wednesday that sales were down for the quarter and the year largely because of:

• An accelerated decline in the company's motion picture film business.

• Slumping desktop inkjet sales as the company got out of the printer business in 2012 (it now just sells replacement inks).

• Overall "customer reluctance to make commitments to us while we were in bankruptcy proceedings."

But even with that sales shortfall, Root said, Kodak beat earnings targets for 2013, thanks to high profit margins on desktop inkjet inks, lower-than-expected commodity costs and income from brand and intellectual property licensing. It ended the year with operational earnings of $160 million, not counting certain expenses such as taxes and depreciation.

If you remove both those various business expenses, plus reorganization and restructuring spending, Kodak had an operational profit of $46 million for the quarter, versus a $50-million loss the same quarter a year earlier.

For 2014, Kodak is not projecting a majo! r turnaround, with anticipated sales of $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion and comparable earnings of $145 million to $165 million.

STORY: Kodak bankruptcy officially ends

For the businesses that represent its future, such as various aspects of printing technology, Kodak expects sales to be flat to up as much as 8% in 2014. For one of its flagship products, the Prosper high-speed inkjet printing system, Kodak is expecting to double the number installed this year, CEO Jeff Clarke said.

Meanwhile, judging by how quickly their fortunes are plummeting, motion picture film and desktop inkjet inks may not be long for this world. Those businesses meant $521 million in sales for Kodak in 2013. The company is expecting them to bring in $275 million to $325 million this year.

The company also anticipates yet more cost cutting in 2014.

"We still have significant restructuring to do" in general and administrative operations, Clarke said. "There's never a company that's worked hard enough on cost reduction and productivity improvement."

These latest financial figures — covering the last three months of 2013 — are the first look at Kodak completely post bankruptcy, as the company ended its 20-month Chapter 11 in September 2013. It filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2012.

Best Up And Coming Stocks To Buy For 2014

That bankruptcy saw the company hugely reducing costs — and headcount. The last time Kodak was in this kind of watershed moment was arguably the first half of 2008, after it had finished wrapping up its massive 2004-2007 restructuring that similarly saw it widely cutting costs.

"Kodak is fundamentally a new company," Clarke said.

Kodak shares were up 1.7% to close at $27.60, before earnings were released. Shares rose nearly 2.5% in after-hours trading.

Daneman also reports for the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

Best Gold Companies To Watch For 2014

Best Gold Companies To Watch For 2014: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  At just $6.50, AKS is still one of the cheap stocks, but it may not be cheap for long.

  Cheap Stocks to Buy Now: Iamgold (IAG)

  Without a doubt, the most hated metals and mining sector has to be gold mining stocks. Faced with rising costs and falling gold prices, many of the precious metals miners have tanked, moving them into the cheap stocks category.

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  In addition to overexpansion at the wrong time, Golden Star's position has weakened due to its comparably less efficient operations. Unlike industry peers, such as IamGold Corp. (IAG) or Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), the majority of the Toronto-based miner's assets contain refractory ore, which is far more expensive to extract than non refractory ore. And, in an attempt to switch production to the lower cost gold ore, and thus increase margins, Golden Star has depleted its mines' non refractory ore. With low reserves and mounti! ng cash costs, the firm inevitably turned to new acquisitions.

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) and Air France-KLM (AF) Group rose with as a gauge of travel stocks as oil prices fell after Iran's accord. PSA Peugeot Citroen gained 3.7 percent after people familiar with the matter said its chief executive officer plans to step down next year. Fresenius Medical Care AG surged the most in five years after U.S. regulators scrapped a plan to cut Medicare payments next year.

• [By Daniel Putnam]

  The second factor working in gold stocks' favor is that analysts are growing optimistic again. Yesterday, HSBC put out a bullish note on gold and upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Yamana Gold (AUY), Barrick Gold, Iamgold (IAG), and Goldcorp. Most gold stocks are ranked "Hold" or "Buy" (as opposed to "Strong Buy") by the majority of analysts, meaning that there's plenty of room for continued positive news flow on this front.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-gold-companies-to-watch-for-2014.html

Top 5 Energy Companies To Own For 2014

Top 5 Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Real Goods Solar Inc.(RSOL)

Real Goods Solar, Inc. operates as a residential and commercial solar energy integrator primarily in California and Colorado. The company provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. It offers various turnkey solar energy services, including design, procurement, permitting, build-out, grid connection, financing referrals, and warranty and customer satisfaction services. The company installs residential and small commercial systems that range between 3 kilowatts and 1 megawatt output. It also engages in the retail sale of renewable energy products. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Louisville, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap solar stock Andalay Solar Inc (OTCMKTS: WEST) has largely cratered for investors verses solar stock peers Real Goods Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: RSOL) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ: SCTY), but is the company finally turning itself around after a failed deal to be acquired?

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Last Thursday when I suggested American Community (OTCMKTS:ACYD) was a stock that should be shed immediately, and replaced with a position in Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RSOL), I didn't win a lot of friends. After all, ACYD was the market's newest darling, in the middle of a red-hot runup, while RSOL was "just another solar name" that happened to be lucky enough to stumble its way above a key support line. Well, I hate to be the one to day I told you so, but, I told you so. American Community shares are down 35% since then, while Real Goods Solar shares are up 36% in the meantime. Both stocks seem pretty well entrenched in their current trends too.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you were lucky enough to be in an American Community (OTCMKTS:ACYD) position anytime before October 8th, then congratulations - you're ! up big. Now get out. Instead, use freed-up that capital to take on a position in Real Goods Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:RSOL), which looks like it's at the beginning of a good-sized rally.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-energy-companies-to-own-for-2014.html

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks For 2014

Top 10 Cheapest Stocks For 2014: Signe t Jewelers Limited(SIG)

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a specialty jewelry retailer in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Channel Islands. The company retails jewelry, watches, and associated services. As of January 28, 2012, it operated a network of 1,318 stores in 50 states in the United States that trade nationally in malls and off-mall locations as ?Kay Jewelers?, and regionally under various mall-based brands, as well as operated as destination superstores under the ?Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry? trade name. The company also operated a network of 535 stores in the United Kingdom, including 14 stores in the Republic of Ireland and 3 in the Channel Islands under the ?H.Samuel?, ?Ernest Jones?, and ?Leslie Davis? trade names in high street locations and shopping malls. Signet Jewelers Limited was founded in 1950 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  Signet Jewelers Ltd.(SIG) agreed to buy smaller rival Zale for about $690 million, significantly expanding the jewelry retailer’s presence in North America. Signet will offer $21 in cash for each Zale share, representing a 41% premium over Tuesday’s closing price. Zale shares jumped to $20.87 premarket and Signet climbed 12% to $88.40.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top Headline
  Signet Jewelers (NYSE: SIG) announced its plans to buy Zale (NYSE: ZLC) for around $690 million. Signet will pay $21 per share to acquire Zale, representing a 41% premium to Zale's closing price of $14.91 on Tuesday.

• [By Aaron Smith]

  Shares surged 12% for Signet (SIG)in premarket trading, while Zale (ZLC) shares soared 40%.

  Signet, which has 1,400 stores in the U.S. and 500 in the U.K., has agreed to buy the Dallas-based Zale, which has 1,680 stores in the U.S., Canada an! d Puerto Rico, in a cash deal for $21 per share.

• [By Reuters]

  Julio Cortez/AP NEW YORK -- Many U.S. retailers had to ramp up promotions last month as shoppers continued to watch their spending during the holiday season, hitting profits at several chains. L Brands (LB) cut its earnings forecast for the holiday quarter Thursday after reporting disappointing December sales at its Victoria Secret and La Senza chains. The company said it had to offer more deals than expected, the second month in a row it has had to do so. Family Dollar Stores (FDO) and teen retailer Zumiez (ZUMZ), which both reported sales declines for December, also slashed their profit forecasts. Even retailers that saw big sales gains, such as Kay Jewelers parent Signet Jewelers (SIG), weren't spared. "Additional discounting was necessary in a highly promotional retail environment," Signet Chief Executive Officer Mike Barnes said in a statement. A group of nine U.S. retailers in the Thomson Reuters same-store sales index are expected Thursday to report a sales rise of 1.9 percent in December at stores open at least a year, well below the 7.2 percent increase of a year earlier. Including drugstore chains Walgreen (WAG) and Rite Aid (RAD), analysts estimate the rise at 2.7 percent. Gap (GPS) will report after the markets close Thursday. Faced with reticent shoppers worried about their job prospects and modest economic growth, retailers offered more discounts during the holiday season than a year earlier. Between Nov. 3 and Jan. 4, eight retailers, including Walmart Stores (WMT), Target (T) and Macy's (M) , increased the number of circulars published by 6 percent and sent 57 percent more promotional emails, according to data prepared for Reuters by MarketTrack. Retailers also had to deal with shoppers who were less willing to go into stores: Data firm ShopperTrak this week said foot traffic had dropped 14.6 percent this holiday season. Walgreen, whose comparable sales of general merchandise rose 2.5 p! ercent in! December, said fewer shoppers had com

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-cheapest-stocks-for-2014.html

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015

It's been a month since lululemon atheltica (NASDAQ: LULU  ) CEO Christine Day announced that she will leave the company, and stakeholders are still waiting with bated breath to hear who her replacement will be. During her five years at the helm, Day has been nothing short of a corporate rock star by any conventional metric. Shares of the apparel chain increased 600% from the start of her tenure to her departure announcement, while sales and profits have grown exponentially as well. The retailer has become one of the most admired and imitated on the planet, ranking No. 3 in U.S. sales per square foot last year, behind only Apple and Tiffany, which sell much pricier wares.

But despite those successes, a backlash has formed in recent months among Lululemon's most devoted customers. Carolyn Beauchesne, who writes the blog Lululemon Addict, has been calling for Day's resignation for some time now, a demand that reached a fever pitch during Lululemon's pants recall earlier this year. Among Beauchesne's complaints have been a deterioration in the fabric quality, and changes in popular designs and unique fits, which she blames on Day's leadership and the company's going public.

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Chorus Ltd (CNU)

Chorus Limited maintains and builds a network made up of local telephone exchanges, cabinets and copper and fiber cables. The Company has approximately 32,000 kilometers of fiber and 130,000 kilometers of copper cabling. These cables connect back to local telephone exchanges. Chorus fiber also connects mobile phone towers owned by mobile service providers. About 7,000 cabinets provide interconnection points for around 50% of the lines in its network. A range of these cabinets are mini telephone exchanges and have electronic broadband equipment installed in them. In some cases, retail service providers have chosen to install their own broadband equipment in an exchange and pay the Company for the rental of the access line. It offers a range of products delivered over its copper network and new products designed to provide access to the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) fiber network. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Watsa sold two stocks in the fourth quarter: Continucare Corp. (CNU) and First Place Financial Corp. (FPFC). He reduced Dell (DELL), one of his largest holdings, but almost 60%.

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Herman Miller Inc.(MLHR)

Herman Miller, Inc. engages in the research, design, manufacture, and distribution of interior furniture systems, products, and related services worldwide. It also provides modular systems under the Action Office, Canvas Office Landscape, Ethospace, Resolve, My Studio Environments, and Vivo Interiors brand names; seating products under the Embody, Aeron, Mirra, Setu, Celle, Equa, and Ergon brand names; and storage products under the Meridian and Tu brand names. In addition, the company offers wooden casegoods under the Geiger brand name; freestanding furniture products under the Abak, Intent, Sense, and Envelop brand name; and ergonomic solutions. It markets its products for office, healthcare, industrial, educational, and residential settings through its sales staff, own dealer network, independent dealers and retailers, and independent contract office furniture dealers, as well as through Internet. The company was founded in 1905 and is based in Zeeland, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSteelcase, a leading maker of office furniture, reports this week; its earnings are a bellwether of how corporate America is faring. You can never know in advance all the news that will move the market in a given week, but some things you can see coming. From a pair of leading office furniture companies reporting on the same day to a popular used-car seller showing off its showroom, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- New Energy for the New Week: The new trading week kicks off with FuelCell Energy (FCEL) reporting. The builder of fuel cell power plants reports its latest quarterly results after the market closes on Monday. It's been 10 years since FuelCell completed its first commercial fuel cell plant installation. Business is starting to pick up, as it has as many orders over the past two years combined as it did during the eight previous years combined. Revenue should continue to grow as FuelCell grows closer to profitability. Tuesday -- Lone Wolf: Disney's (DIS) "The Lone Ranger" was a flop earlier this year. It failed to break $90 million in domestic box office receipts, and the $260 million it amassed in gross ticket sales worldwide wasn't enough to offset its massive production budget and cinematic distribution. Disney had fared well with Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski before. The two teamed up for the blockbuster success of Disney's "The Pirates of the Caribbean" movie series. It convinced a jaded audience to return to the local multiplex for a movie about swashbucklers. But it couldn't revive the Western genre this time around. Despite being a box office bomb, "The Lone Ranger" will get a chance at new life in the home market. It comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday. Wednesday -- Office Space: When it comes to stocks, it's safe to say that Steelcase (SCS) and Herman Miller (MLHR) aren't exactly the busy bees of the exchanges. On a typical day you w

10 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Darden Restaurants Inc (DRI)

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (Darden), incorporated in March 1995, is a company owned and full-service restaurant company. As of May 27, 2012, the Company operated through subsidiaries 1,994 restaurants in the United States and Canada. In the United States, it operated 1,961 restaurants in all 50 states, including 677 Red Lobster, 786 Olive Garden, 386 LongHorn Steakhouse, 46 The Capital Grille, 30 Bahama Breeze, 23 Seasons 52, eight Eddie V's Prime Seafood and three Wildfish Seafood Grille restaurants, and two test synergy restaurants, which house both a Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurant in the same building. In Canada, the Company operated 33 restaurants, including 27 Red Lobster and six Olive Garden restaurants. Through subsidiaries, it owns and operates all of its restaurants in the United States and Canada, except for three restaurants located in Central Florida that is owned by joint ventures it manages. On November 14, 2011, it acquired eight Eddie V's Prime Seafood restaurants and three Wildfish Seafood Grille restaurants.

As of May 27, 2012, the Company had 28 restaurants outside the United States and Canada operated by independent third parties pursuant to area development and franchise agreements, including five LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in Puerto Rico, 22 Red Lobster restaurants in Japan, and one Red Lobster restaurant in Dubai. During fiscal year ended May 27, 2012, it opened 89 net new restaurants in the United States and Canada.

Red Lobster

Red Lobster is a full-service dining seafood specialty restaurant operator in the United States. It offers a menu featuring fresh fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, scallops and other seafood. The menu includes a variety of specialty seafood and non-seafood entrees, appetizers and desserts. Red Lobster maintains different lunch and dinner menus and different menus across its trade areas.

Olive Garden

Olive Garden is a full service dining Italian restaurant operator in the United Stat! es. Olive Garden�� menu includes a range of authentic Italian foods featuring fresh ingredients and a wine list that includes a selection of wines imported from Italy. The menu includes flatbreads and other appetizers, soups, salad and garlic bread sticks, baked pastas, sauted specialties with chicken, seafood and fresh vegetables, grilled meats, and a variety of desserts. Olive Garden also uses coffee imported from Italy for its espresso and cappuccino.

LongHorn Steakhouse

LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants are full-service establishments serving both lunch and dinner. With locations in 35 states, primarily in the Eastern half of the United States, LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants feature a range of menu items, including signature fresh steaks, as well as salmon, shrimp, chicken, ribs, pork chops, burgers and prime rib.

The Capital Grille

The Capital Grille has locations in metropolitan cities in the United States. The Capital Grille offers seafood flown in daily and culinary specials created by its chefs. The restaurants feature a wine list offering over 350 selections, personalized service, and private dining rooms.

Bahama Breeze

Bahama Breeze restaurants bring guests the feeling of a Caribbean escape, offering the food, drinks and atmosphere found in the islands. The menu features Caribbean-inspired seafood, chicken and steaks, as well as signature specialty drinks. During fiscal 2012, it opened four Bahama Breeze restaurant.

Seasons 52

Seasons 52 is a grill and wine bar with seasonally inspired menus offering ingredients to meals that are lower in calories than comparable restaurant meals. It offers a wine list of more than 90 wines with approximately 60 available by the glass. As of May 27, 2012, there were 23 Seasons 52 restaurants in the United States.

Synergy restaurant

Synergy restaurant houses both a Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurant in the same building, but ! with sepa! rate front doors, dining rooms and brand-specific menus. It opened a second synergy test location during fiscal 2012.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Actually, that's not entirely true. Panera's drop pulled it closer to companies such as Darden (NYSE: DRI  ) -- operator of Red Lobster and Olive Garden -- and Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK  ) , which also runs Qdoba. It fell away from what seems like its closest competitor, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX  ) . But that's not necessarily a bad thing for investors.

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc (NSM)

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. is a non-bank residential mortgage servicer with a range of services across the residential mortgage product spectrum. As of December 31, 2011, the Company serviced over 645,000 residential mortgage loans. The Company�� clients include national and regional banks, government organizations, securitization trusts, private investment funds and other owners of residential mortgage loans and securities. It is a partner of financial organizations, including government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and other regulated institutions. The Company is a licensed servicer in all 50 states. In addition to its core servicing business, the Company has a fully integrated loan originations platform and suite of adjacent businesses.

Nationstar offers clients a range of services. The Company combines its mortgage servicing with a fully integrated loan originations platform. Nationstar offers clients a diversified array of residential mortgage services: Servicing, Originations and Other Related Services.

Servicing

The Company offers mortgage investors two primary ways to partner. A portion of its portfolio consists of owned mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). In this arrangement, the Company owns the right to collect the principal and interest due from a mortgage borrower, as well as manage the title and property insurance escrow of the collateral on behalf of mortgage investors in exchange for a monthly fee proportional to the unpaid principle balance (UPB) of the mortgage. The Company acquires MSRs either through its own origination of mortgages or by acquiring these rights from other MSR owners or the mortgage investor. It subservices multiple portfolios for federal agencies, Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) and large banks. For its subservicing clients, the Company is organized to serve its clients with an Investor Collections Professional and Senior Portfolio Manager(s) assigned to each portfolio.

Originations

The! Company offers a fully integrated loan origination platform. It also operates a wholesale origination channel capable of purchasing loans primarily from Financial Institutions operating as a broker.

Other Related Services

The Company offers a full suite of additional residential mortgage services to complement its servicing business and supporting originations platform. These businesses offer a range of ancillary services, including providing services for delinquent loans, managing loans in the foreclosure/real estate owned (REO) process and providing title insurance agency, loan settlement and valuation services on newly originated and re-originated loans. Nationstar is a part owner in NREIS, which is a provider of residential and commercial mortgage and real estate solutions in the United States. Their services include title insurance and property reports; real estate appraisals and alternative valuation products; settlement and closing services; commercial real estate services; default and property preservation services, and flood and tax certifications.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  This, of course, puts the trust in a perfect position to begin acquiring MSRs -- and start making megaprofits like industry heavy Nationstar Mortgage (NYSE: NSM  ) , which has seen its share price skyrocket by nearly 200% over the past year, and recently reported�an increase in revenue of 163% year over year.

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica(ERJ)

Embraer S.A. engages in the development, production, and sale of jet and turboprop aircraft for civil and defense aviation markets. It also offers aircrafts for agricultural use; structural components, mechanical and hydraulic systems, and technical activities related to the production and maintenance of aerospace material. The company?s Commercial Aviation segment designs, develops, and manufactures various commercial aircraft for regional, low-cost, and mainline airlines primarily in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Its Defense and Security segment provides a range of integrated solutions for the defense and security market, including training/light attack aircraft, aerial surveillance platforms, military transport aircraft, and government transport aircraft; command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; and maintenance and material solutions. The company?s Executive Aviation segment develops a line of executive jets for fractional ownership companies, charter companies and air-taxi companies, and high-net-worth individuals. Its Aviation Services segment offers after-sales customer support services for the fleets of its commercial, executive, and defense customers. This segment also provides spare parts, maintenance and repair, training, and other product support services. The company?s Other segment involves in selling and leasing used aircraft; and offers structural parts, and mechanical and hydraulic systems for the production of helicopters. This segment also manufactures landing gear, and general aviation propeller aircraft, such as executive planes and crop dusters. It has a strategic alliance with European Aerospace and Defense Group. The company was formerly known as Embraer - Empresa Brasileira de Aeron Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Maybe there's something to this whole "sequestration" phenomenon after all -- because for all intents and purposes -- and certainly in comparison with recent trends -- Department of Defense spending has come to a screeching halt in recent days. On Wednesday, for example, DoD issued a grand total of three new contracts, totaling a mere Pentagon pittance of just $44.4 million.

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  SkyWest also recently won a 12-year contract to operate 40 Embraer (NYSE: ERJ  ) E175 76-seat regional jets for United. Moreover, United ordered another 30 E175 aircraft in April, which it plans to assign to one of its regional partners. Since SkyWest will already be flying E175s for United, the company may have a leg up vis-�-vis competitors in the bidding process for that additional work.

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Wajax Corp (WJX)

Wajax Corporation (Wajax), is engaged in the sale and after-sales parts and service support of equipment, power systems and industrial components. Wajax�� three business divisions include equipment,power systems and industrial components. Its equipment division is engaged in the distribution, rental, modification and servicing of mobile equipment from manufacturers. It Power Systems is engaged in the distribution, rental and servicing of engines, transmissions and generators for on-highway, off-highway and electric power generation applications. Industrial components is engaged in the distribution, servicing, custom design and assembly of industrial components for in-plant customers and original equipment manufacturers. The Company�� products include excavators, lift trucks, mining trucks and shovels, forest harvesting equipment, utility equipment, loader backhoes, container handlers, cranes, diesel and natural gas engines, transmissions and power generators and bearings. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Heinzl]

  For example, BMO Nesbitt Burns analyst Bert Powell recently raised his price target on Wajax (WJX) to $41.50 from $35.50 because, as he explained in a note, he believes the company is poised for a recovery. The new target reflects his expectation that the stock will trade at 11 times his 2015 earnings per share estimate of $3.77��ts average P/E multiple historically.

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Aeropostale Inc (ARO)

Aeropostale, Inc., (Aeropostale), incorporated on September 1, 1995, is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 14 to 17 year-old young women and men through its Aeropostale stores and 4 to 12 year-old kids through its P.S. from Aeropostale stores. P.S. from Aeropostale products can be purchased in P.S. from Aeropostale stores, in certain Aeropostale stores, and online at www.ps4u.com. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 986 Aeropostale stores, consisting of 918 stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico, 68 stores in Canada, as well as 71 P.S. from Aeropostale stores in 20 states. The Company designs, sources, markets and sells all of its own merchandise. In addition, pursuant to a licensing agreement, it operated 14 Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale stores in Middle East and South East Asia. During March 2011, it announced that it had signed a second licensing agreement. The licensee to this agreement is focused to open approximately 30 stores in stores in Turkey over the next five years. In November 2012, the Company acquired online women's fashion footwear and apparel retailer GoJane.com (GoJane).

P.S. from Aeropostale offers casual clothing and accessories focusing on kids between the ages of 4 and 12. It�� P.S. from Aeropostale products are sold only at its stores and online through its e-commerce Websites, www.ps4u.com and www.aeropostale.com. The Company operates three street level stores in the New York City area. It also has a19,000 square foot Aeropostale store in the Times Square section of New York City. It offers both Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale products in the Times Square store.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Frank Franklin II/AP NEW YORK -- Macy's reported a disappointing profit for its second quarter and cut its outlook for the year Wednesday, with the department store operator citing shoppers' reluctance to spend for a slip in sales. Its shares fell 3.4 percent to $46.85 in premarket trading. During the past year, its stock is up almost 27 percent. Macy's (M), which operates its namesake stores and Bloomingdales, is grappling with a yo-yo economic recovery that's making people more careful about their purchases heading into the heart of the key back-to-school selling period. Like other retailers, the Cincinnati-based company is grappling with a yo-yo economic recovery that's making people more careful about their purchases heading into the heart of the key back-to-school selling period. "To see Macy's miss by a wide margin is troublesome, speaking volumes about the health, or lack thereof, of middle America," wrote Brian Sozzi, chief equities strategist for Belus Capital Advisors. For the period ended Aug. 3, Macy's says it earned $281 million, or 72 cents a share. That's short of the 78 cents a share analysts expected. A year ago, the company earned $279 million, or 67 cents a share. Revenue slipped to $6.07 billion, also short of the $6.26 billion analysts expected, according to FactSet. Revenue at stores open a year, a key metric because it strips out the impact of newly opened and closed locations, slid 0.8 percent. Macy's now expects sales at stores open at least a year to climb between 2 percent and 2.9 percent, down from its previous guidance of a 3.5 percent increase. While jobs are easier to get and the turnaround in the housing market is showing promise, the improvements haven't been enough to get most Americans to spend more. Most are juggling tepid wage gains with higher costs of living. On Wednesday, Macy's nevertheless said it was encouraged by its early read on the back-to-school season heading into the third quarter. But other retailer

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Velti plc(VELT)

Velti plc provides mobile marketing and advertising solutions for mobile operators, ad agencies, brands, and media groups. The company?s Mobile Marketing Platform (MMP) helps businesses to plan, execute, monitor, and measure mobile marketing or advertising campaigns on various digital delivery channels, including Internet sites, SMS and MMS, mobile TV, mobile communities, mobile applications, location-based services, and mobile social networking. Its MMP also helps in the creation of mobile Websites, portals, blogs, content, iPhone applications, branded games, and mobile widgets; and in the mobile marketing through mobile clubs, mobile content, contests, couponing, alerts and tips, photo/text to screen, green screen, and image remix applications. In addition, MMP offers Mobile CRM solutions that help in the creation and management of mobile communities, mobile broadcasts, member management, segment management, member rewards, multichannel registration, and advanced profil ing. It has operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 name that's quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Velti (VELT), which provides mobile marketing and advertising technology solutions that enable brands, advertising agencies, and mobile operators to implement interactive and measurable campaigns by communicating with and engaging consumers via their mobile devices. This stock has been destroyed by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off sharply by 91%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Velti, you'll notice that this stock recently gapped down big from over $1 a share to 33 cents per share with monster downside volume. Following that gap down, shares of VELT have started to consolidate and move sideways between 33 cents per share on the downside and 44 cents per share on the upside. Shares of VELT are spiking sharply higher on Thursday above some near-term support at 35 cents per share. That move is pushing this stock within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in VELT if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at 44 cents per share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.02 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then VELT could easily explode higher and potentially re-test its gap down day high from August at 66 cents per share.

  Traders can look to buy VELT off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at 35 cents to 33 cents per share. One can also buy VELT off strength once it clears 44 cents per share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Abby Inc (ABBY)

Abby, Inc., incorporated on December 11, 2000, is an exploration-stage company. The Company is in the business of natural gas exploration. On September 17, 2010, the Company acquired the Westrose property gas concession option from Mitchel Vestco Inc. As of November 30, 2010, the Company had completed Phase One of its exploration program. As of November 30, 2010, it had not generated any revenues.

The Westrose Property

The Westrose property is located in Alberta, Canada. The property consists of 640 acres. As of August 22, 2011, the Company had not commenced any exploration or work on the concession.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap stocks Cambridge Heart, Inc (OTCMKTS: CAMH), Abby Inc (OTCMKTS: ABBY) and Grillit Inc (OTCMKTS: GRLT) surged 176.92%, 71.2% and 24.07%, respectively. Of course, that was last week and today is a new trading week. So what should investors and traders alike be prepared for this week with these three small caps? Here is a closer look to help you decide on an investing or trading strategy:

Top 10 Quality Companies To Own For 2015: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.(REGN)

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products for the treatment of serious medical conditions in the United States. The company?s commercial product includes ARCALYST (rilonacept) injection for subcutaneous use for the treatment of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, including familial cold auto-inflammatory syndrome and muckle-wells syndrome in adults and children. Its products under Phase III clinical development stage consist of VEGF Trap-Eye, an aflibercept ophthalmic solution developed using intraocular delivery for the treatment of serious eye diseases; ARCALYST for the prevention of gout flares in patients initiating uric acid-lowering treatment; and Aflibercept (VEGF Trap), which is developed in oncology. The company?s earlier stage clinical programs include various human antibodies, such as REGN727 for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction, REGN88 for rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis; REGN668 for atopic dermatitis and asthma; REGN421 and REGN910 for oncology; REGN475 for the treatment of pain; and REGN728 and REGN846. It also conducts preclinical research programs in the areas of oncology and angiogenesis, ophthalmology, metabolic and related diseases, muscle diseases and disorders, inflammation and immune diseases, bone and cartilage, pain, cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases. The company distributes its products through third party service providers. It has strategic collaboration with sanofi-aventis Group to discover, develop, and commercialize human monoclonal antibodies; and Bayer HealthCare LLC to develop and commercialize VEGF Trap. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Tarrytown, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  It's been a good year to own shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN); in the last 12 months, the biopharma stock has rallied around 50%. But after a big move higher this past year, shares of REGN are starting to roll over. And it doesn't take an expert technical analyst to see why.

  That's because shares of Regeneron are currently forming a downtrending channel, a price setup that's formed by a pair of parallel trendlines bounding REGN's share price movement. When it comes to price channels, it's about as simple as it gets: Up is good, and down is bad. So now, as Regeneron bounces off of trendline resistance, shares look ready for another leg lower.

  The underperformance in REGN is compounded by horrible relative strength at the bottom of the chart. That relative strength line is a particularly important indicator to keep an eye on now, and more underperformance in REGN looks even more likely as a result.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Biotechnology superstar Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN  ) topped the charts, tacking on 9.8% after it, and partner Bayer,�reported positive late-stage results for Eylea in treating myopic choroidal neovascularization, or mCNV. In trials, those patients receiving Eylea had a mean improvement in best-corrected visual acuity of 12.1 letters after 24 weeks compared to the control arm, which delivered a loss of two letters. Eylea is already a blockbuster drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat wet age-related macular degeneration and macular edema following central retinal vein occlusion, and now looks poised to add a third indication in treating mCNV. With baby boomers now reaching retirement age, the need for ophthalmic treatments is only going to increase, putting Regeneron in the driver's seat.

• [By Smith On Stocks]

  The Tethadur technology is potentially applicable to any biological drug and may have a significant opportunity in the development of biosimilars to current large selling products; it may improve the performance of those drugs through sustained release. Of particular interest is that pSivida has said that it has a fully funded agreement with a major biotechnology company to evaluate the potential for sustained release of a major product to the back of the eye. The initial agreement is for the pre-clinical setting. pSivida has not said what the drug is, but speculation naturally centers on Regeneron's (REGN) Eylea or Roche's (RHHBY.OB) Lucentis. These drugs are enormously successful for the treatment of "wet" AMD but must be must be injected into the eye on a monthly or six week time frame.

Best Rising Stocks To Own Right Now

Best Rising Stocks To Own Right Now: First Trust Global Wind Energy (FAN)

First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy Index Fund is an exchange-traded fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, of an equity index called the ISE Global Wind Energy Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks that comprise the Index or in depositary receipts that may include American depositary receipts (ADRs), global depositary receipts (GDRs), European depositary receipts (EDRs) or other depositary receipts (collectively, Depositary Receipts) representing securities in the Index. The Fund invests in sectors, which include Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Industrials, Materials and Utilities. First Trust Advisors L.P. (First Trust) is the Investment Advisor of the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap wind stock Broadwind Energy Inc (NASDAQ: BWEN) is up 203.7% since the start of the year, but investors might want to contain their excitement when they look closer at the stock and consider its long term performance along with the performance of other wind investments like First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (NYSEARCA: FAN) and wind energy stocks Vestas Wind Systems (OTCMKTS: VWDRY) and China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd (NYSE: MY) to see whether BWEN is just blowing more hot air.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-rising-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Icahn holds a 2.2% stake in eBay. In a fight that started in January, Icahn has sought to convince eBay to split PayPal off as a separate company, arguing that PayPal needs better management to face challenges from the likes of Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The world of music seems to be always changing, but what many consumers have not heard of in a while is the launch of yet another portable music player. Legendary musician Neil Young is wanting to change that, and his obvious target is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) with its iPod and iTunes dominance.

• [B! y Piyush Arora]

  Speculators betting against the growth of Apple  (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) may soon find themselves in troubled waters. According to a recent report by Digitimes, Apple's recent deals with China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo -- with a collective base of 821 million subscribers -- will propel the global demand for iPhones. The research firm expects iPhone shipments to double in 2014. 

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Apps downloads for the month of February show that the Google Play store from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) gained another point of market share in the two-company battle with the App Store from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Google Play now claims 39% of the market between the two players, up from 38% in January and 35% in August 2013.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-blue-chip-stocks-to-buy-for-2014.html

What to Expect in 2014

Market veteran Ned Riley shares his outlook for the market in 2014 as well as for some of the recent high-flying technology stocks.

TERRY:  I'm Terry Savage from MoneyShow.com talking with Ned Riley of Riley Asset Management, formerly chief investment strategist for State Street Global Advisors. 

NED:  Right, Terry. 

TERRY:  So that's a very good point to start out, we're early in the year.  We had some terrific gains last year.  What do you see ahead for 2014? 

NED:  I think this year is going to be a little bit more difficult.  It was pretty easy last year.  We had the markets up 30% and if anybody want up at least that much money they probably are kind of wondering what they did for strategy.  2014 is going to be real hard in many respects.  First of all, the profit momentum is good this year, it's positive.  It was riding off the fourth quarter at 7% growth but it's going to be more difficult if Europe and the Far East don't kick in with growth.  I think our US companies are going to depend more on the international scene in 2014 than they do on the domestic scene. 

TERRY:  Well, that's not too exciting, right.  I mean, we had a weak January and now we've got the emerging markets having problems, currency woes all over.  The feds, you know, while they're not cutting back they're just not putting quite as much money in.  Can any of that be good for the stock market? 

NED:  Most of that is not good, but the tapering aspect for the Federal Reserve, I mean, we've expanded the balance sheet so much to $4 trillion that, you know, $800 to $1 trillion, you know, what's that to the fed?  They can reduce the balance sheet to $3 trillion and we still have a lot of liquidity, Terry.  When you start to look at things, there's a lot of cash, money market funds, and bonds, and I'm looking for the poor public to get whipsawed again where they'll be selling out bonds this year to put into the stock market.  Unfortunately there's the old repetition of selling at lows and buying at highs. 

TERRY:  So what's your net net for the stock market this year?  Are you predicting it will be an up year by the time the New Year's Eve bell rings? 

Top Rising Stocks To Own For 2014

NED:  I think it will be an up year, but more modest, 8% to 10%.  I think the profits will be the primary factor behind that growth.  The expansion of price earnings ratios is not going to be great this year as it was last. 

TERRY:  Any sectors you like particularly? 

NED:  I like technology.  I still like the groups that I've liked for the last several years.  It's funny, between the old and the new, I actually still like the old tech stocks.  I like Apple, yes, they didn't have the quarter that everybody wanted them to, but it's cheap.  I still like companies like Hewlett-Packard which clearly out -

TERRY:  What about the hot and happening stuff, the Facebook and the Twitters? 

NED:  Well, I get a twitter every time I see the stocks go up.  Facebook hit a new high, that's wonderful.  Things are going just brilliantly for all three companies like Tesla, like Facebook, like Twitter.  The only problem is they're priced to perfection, and at some point someone is going to make a mistake along the line and that stock price is going to get hit quite dramatically, so -

TERRY:  Inaudible. 

NED:  Well, I'm a little apprehensive, yeah.  If I was going to sell the stock, I don't own any of the three so I was a fool not to own them, obviously, but I would do it in increments.  I wouldn't do it at all once.  I would sell -

TERRY:  It's always hard to look back and you sold everything at one point.  Better to just kind of average in and out.  Thanks for joining us.  We had Ned Riley of Riley Investment Management.  I'm Terry Savage from MoneyShow.com.

Best Up And Coming Stocks To Watch For 2015

Best Up And Coming Stocks To Watch For 2015: Gentiva Health Services Inc.(GTIV)

Gentiva Health Services, Inc. provides home health services and hospice care in the United States. The company offers skilled nursing and therapy services, paraprofessional nursing services, and homemaker services primarily to adult and elderly patients through licensed and Medicare-certified agencies. It also provides its services through specialty programs comprising Gentiva Orthopedics, which offers individualized home orthopedic rehabilitation services to patients recovering from joint replacement or other major orthopedic surgery; Gentiva Safe Strides that provides therapies for patients with balance issues; and Gentiva Cardiopulmonary, which helps patients and their physicians manage heart and lung health in a home-based environment. In addition, the company offers services through Gentiva Neurorehabilitation, which helps patients who have experienced a neurological injury or condition by removing the obstacles to healing in the patient?s home; Gentiva Senior Health that addresses the needs of patients with age-related diseases and issues; and Rehab Without Walls unit, which provides neurorehabilitation therapies for patients with traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accident injury, and acquired brain injury. Further, it offers consulting services to home health agencies, which include operational support, billing and collection activities, and on-site agency support and consulting. Additionally, the company provides hospice services primarily in the patient?s home or other residence, such as an assisted living residence or nursing home, as well as in a hospital. Gentiva Health Services, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Truth be told, it's not clear if SK3 Group Inc. (OTCMKTS:SKTO) is best described whe! n compared to a name like Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ:CERN), or to a Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIV). The company's got elements of both major industries being represented by CERN and GTIV (home health care, and information technology), with the addition of another budding industry thrown into the mix. One thing IS clear though... SKTO shares have decidedly reversed a nasty downtrend, and may now be one of the market's best small cap healthcare speculative trades.

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of home health providers Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED  ) , Gentiva Health Services (NASDAQ: GTIV  ) , and LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG  )  swooned as much as 28%, 20%, and 15%, respectively, following a public proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, late yesterday that in-home health care reimbursements be cut by 1.5% in 2014.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Last week, we saw home-health sector stocks like Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED  ) and Gentiva Health Solutions (NASDAQ: GTIV  ) get clobbered because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommended a 1.5% reduction in Medicare reimbursements each year between 2014 and 2017. With Amedisys and Gentiva reliant on Medicare for more than 80% and 90% of their revenue, respectively, it could put hospitals that rely on government reimbursements in a growth bind. 

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-up-and-coming-stocks-to-watch-for-2015-2.html

Rieder: Pierre Omidyar's Ukrainian connection

So what are we to make of the flap over contributions by eBay founder and nascent media titan Pierre Omidyar to anti-government groups in Ukraine?

Website PandoDaily published a story Friday reporting that Omidyar, along with the U.S. government, had bankrolled groups active in opposing the recently toppled government of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Omidyar is also funding First Look Media, a budding media colossus, to the tune of $250 million. His marquee hire is Glenn Greenwald, a crusading left-of-center journalist who has been the leader in coverage of the revelations of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

In a breathless article written as if it were unearthing major skullduggery, PandoDaily's Mark Ames wrote: "What all this adds up to is a journalistic conflict-of-interest of the worst kind: Omidyar working hand-in-glove with U.S. foreign policy agencies to interfere in foreign governments, co-financing regime change with well-known arms of the American empire -- while at the same time hiring a growing team of so-disant 'independent journalists' which vows to investigate the behavior of the US government at home and overseas, and boasts of its uniquely 'adversarial' relationship toward these government institutions."

Ames also claimed that Omidyar had purchased the silence of the "dream team" of writers he has hired and the rest of the fawning press, who were not weighing in on his questionable deeds.

Greenwald promptly ended that silence Sunday with a post that quickly took the air out of the "this just in" scoop when he pointed out Omidyar's aid had been disclosed in a press release on the Omidyar Network website when he made pro-democracy grants to the Ukrainian group and five others in 2011.

The famously independent Greenwald conceded that he hadn't known that before, just as he didn't know much about the funding sources of previous employers Salon and the Guardian, where he had broken so many stories about NSA surveillance. He said it didn't m! atter, because none of that would have affected his reporting. Just as the Omidyar "revelations" won't.

While there may be more to the story, at this juncture I hardly see a major media scandal here. But it does underscore that we are in very different waters.

For years, potential or actual conflicts of interest were off-limits in American journalism. Former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. went to the extreme of refusing to vote, on the grounds that that very act might compromise his independence.

Two things have made a dent in the traditional approach: the rise of the freewheeling Internet, and the huge financial challenge facing traditional news outlets in the digital age. The latter has brought nonprofit journalism to the fore, and with it funders with social agendas.

So a new approach is achieving grudging acceptance: It's OK if funders, news outlets and journalists have a point of view, as long as it is fully disclosed, and as long as their factual reporting sticks to the truth.

For example: ProPublica has been heavily underwritten by a foundation with a liberal bent. But the its investigative reporting has been widely praised as fact-based, on-target and not swayed by ideology.

Top 5 Gas Stocks For 2015

Or take the NSA surveillance saga. Yes, Glenn Greenwald is an unabashed liberal. But his reporting has been totally solid. And the revelations in the Snowden documents he and Bart Gellman of The Washington Post and others have brought to light provided vital information to the American people and started a sorely-needed debate about privacy in the U.S.

So as the Omidyar venture, which has launched its first digital magazine, The Intercept, takes shape, it will be watched closely. But I continue to see it as source of hope, not alarm