5 Best Performing Stocks To Watch For 2015

5 Best Performing Stocks To Watch For 2015: China Biologic Products Inc.(CBPO)

China Biologic Products, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of human plasma-based biopharmaceutical products to hospitals and inoculation centers in the People?s Republic of China. It offers Human Albumin for the treatment of shock caused by blood loss trauma or burn; raised intracranial pressure caused by hydrocephalus or trauma; oedema or ascites caused by hepatocirrhosis and nephropathy; and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, as well as for the prevention and treatment of low-density-lipoproteinemia. The company also offers Human Hepatitis B Immunoglobulin for the prevention of measles and contagious hepatitis; Human Immunoglobulin and Human Immunoglobulin for Intravenous Injection products for original immunoglobulin deficiency, secondary immunoglobulin deficiency, and auto-immune deficiency diseases; and Thymopolypeptides Injection that is used in the treatment of various original and sec ondary T-cell deficiency syndromes, auto-immune deficiency diseases, and a range of cell immunity deficiency diseases, as well as assists in the treatment for tumors. In addition, it provides Human Rabies Immunoglobulin primarily for passive immunity from bites or claws by rabies or other infected animals; Human Tetanus Immunoglobulin for the prevention and therapy of tetanus; and Placenta Polypeptide that is used for the treatment of cell immunity deficiency diseases, viral infection, and leucopenia caused by various reasons, as well as assists in postoperative heating. The company?s products under development comprise Human Prothrombin Complex Concentrate; Human Coagulation Factor VIII; Human Hepatitis B Immunoglobulin (PH4) for Intravenous Injection; Human Fibrinogen; Varicella Hyperimmune Globulins; and Human Immunoglobulin for Intravenous Injection. The company is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

Advisors' Opini! on:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Healthcare sector moved up 0.39 percent, with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: KERX) moving up 15 percent to gain the top spot. Top gainers in the sector included China Biologic Products (NASDAQ: CBPO), with shares up 7.4 percent, and Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH), with shares up 5.5 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Healthcare sector moved up 0.39 percent, with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: KERX) moving up 15 percent to gain the top spot. Top gainers in the sector included China Biologic Products (NASDAQ: CBPO), with shares up 7.4 percent, and Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH), with shares up 5.5 percent.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-performing-stocks-to-watch-for-2015.html

Hot Prefered Stocks To Own For 2015

Hot Prefered Stocks To Own For 2015: Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE)

Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Energy Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index (the Index). The Index includes companies that primarily develop and produce crude oil and natural gas, and provide drilling and other energy-related services.

The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing investment approach to invest in a portfolio of stocks that seek to replicate the Index. The Funds investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mark Salzinger]

  Our 'worst' US stock pick in 2013, is worst, only in a relative sense. After gaining just 5.2%, versus the S&P 500's (SPX) 16.0% in 2012, SPDR Select Energy (XLE) has gained 22.7% in 2013, versus 30.1% for the S&P 500.

• [By David Fabian]

  After a frightening dip in January, that tested the 200-day moving average, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLE) has rocketed to new all-time highs. In fact, XLE has now gained over four percent in the month of April and more than 13 percent since its February low.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  One way to fight back is by betting on higher oil prices. Consider the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NSYE: XLE), which holds some of the biggest players in this sector, including major oil producers, shale producers, and exploration services companies.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Needless to say, the energy sector didnt take too kindly to the idea that Iran could be finally shipping its crude — to the tune of 2.5 million barrels of oil per day — out to the market. Both international standard Brent and North American benchmark WTI fell hard on the news. Meanwhile, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) underperformed its sector ETF peers on the positive news.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-prefered-stocks-to-own-for-2015.html

Top Services Companies To Buy Right Now

Top Services Companies To Buy Right Now: Canterbury Park Holding Corporation(CPHC)

Canterbury Park Holding Corporation conducts pari-mutuel wagering operations and hosts unbanked card games at its Canterbury Park racetrack and card room facility in Shakopee, Minnesota. The company operates in three segments: Horse Racing, Card Room, and Concessions. The Horse Racing segment operates year-round pari-mutuel wagering on simulcast horse races, and live thoroughbred and quarter horse races held on a seasonal basis. The Card Room segment offers unbanked card games, which include poker and casino games. The Concessions segment provides food and beverage services for simulcast and live racing, and the card room, as well as for the special events. The company also offers facilities for special events, such as snowmobile races, arts and crafts shows, trade shows, concerts, fundraisers, automobile shows and competitions, vehicle and boat storage, and private parties. In addition, it provides advertising signage space; leases excess parking lot space for various aut omotive activities and vehicle storage; and sells various daily pari-mutuel publications. Canterbury Park Holding Corporation was founded in 1994 and is based in Shakopee, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones]

  Canterbury Park Holding Corporation (CPHC) Market Cap $46.35 Million

  Canterbury Park Holding Corporation is up 2% over 12 months. The company has a market cap of $46.35 million; its trades around $11.16 with a P/E ratio of 59.30 and a P/B of 1.70.

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Lastly, Gabelli increased his position in Canterbury Park Holding (CPHC). Gabelli upped his stake 3.18% by purchasing a total of 13,824 shares. He bought these shares at an average price of $11.11 per share, and since then the price per share is up about 3%. Gabelli now holds 447,944 shares, representing 10.74% of the companys shares outstanding.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-services-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Ford issues four recalls involving 1.3M cars, SUVs

Ford issued four recalls Thursday covering 1.3 million vehicles in North America, most of them to fix a power steering defect in SUVs that have resulted in 20 reported accidents.

The biggest recall was of 915,216 Ford Escapes and its corporate sibling, the since-discontinued Mercury Mariner, from the 2008 to 2011 model years, over the steering issue. All of the compact SUVs were made at Ford's Kansas City plant and 736,407 are believed to be in the U.S., with most of the rest in Canada and Mexico.

A separate recall covered the same potential problem in the 2011 to 2013 full-size Explorer SUV made at Ford's Chicago plant. Ford says some 195,527 vehicles are involved, of which 177,747 are believed to be in the U.S.

The number of vehicles in the U.S. involved in Thurday's four recalls is just shy of the total number of vehicles in all of those issued by Ford in 2013. Last year, there were 16 recalls. This year, so far there are 11, says spokeswoman Kelli Felker.

Ford says it is aware of five accident reports involving a total of six injuries related to the defect in Escape and Mariner. On Explorer, there are reports of 15 low-speed accidents and two minor injuries.

Ford reports on both the Escape/Mariner and Explorer, the defect involves a glitch that could result in loss of power steering. The issue has been under investigation on the Escape within Ford since 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing. Canadian authorities opened an investigation in 2011. In January, Ford came up with a procedure and parts that allowed dealers to fix the problem without replacing the entire steering column.

The Escape and Mariner problem involves a torque sensor inside the steering column. On Explorer, the issue is an electrical connection in the steering gear that can cut in or out. The result is the same on all the vehicles: the system can default to manual steering mode. In other words, no power steering. Since it takes a lot of effort to turn the whe! el, a crash can result, especially at lower speeds.

The other recalls included:

•2010 to 2014 Taurus. Ford is recalling the popular sedan because a light that illuminates the license plate can corrode. If it does, it can cause a short circuit that can cause a fire. Some 196,639 Taurus sedans are covered by the recall. There have been 18 reports of fire. In one instance, a driver was hurt when they tried to smother the fire with their bare hands.

•Floor mats. Ford sold 82,576 driver's side all-weather floor mats for 2006 to 2011 Fusion sedan, Lincoln MKZ and related vehicles that potentially could jam under gas pedals. Two accidents were reported with no injuries. That's the same issue that Toyota says was at the heart of its unintended-acceleration recalls a few years ago. It recalled 3.8 million vehicles over the issue in 2009.

Contributing: James R. Healey

Top 10 Healthcare Technology Stocks For 2015

Top 10 Healthcare Technology Stocks For 2015: MannKind Corporation(MNKD)

MannKind Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic products for diabetes and cancer in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Its lead product candidate, AFREZZA Inhalation Powder, an ultra rapid-acting insulin that is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of diabetes for the control of hyperglycemia. The company also develops MKC1106-MT, an investigational cancer immunotherapy product, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes; and MKC204, which is in preclinical development stage for the treatment of malignancies and inflammatory diseases. In addition, its products include MKC253 (GLP-1), a Phase I clinical trials product for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; MKC1106-PP, a Phase I clinical trials product for diverse tumor types, metastatic disease, and/or progressive and refractory disease; and MKC180, an obesity compound and MKC1106-NS , a cancer immunotherapy product that are in preclinical trials. MannKind Corporation was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Valencia, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  Based in Valencia, Calif., and founded in 1991, MannKind Corporation (MNKD) is a development stage biopharmaceutical company. It is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutic products for diseases like diabetes. The company's lead and only late stage pipeline candidate for this year is Afrezza, an inhalation powder which is an ultra insulin therapy for the treatment of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes to control their hyperglycemia. Currently, it is in late-stage clinical trials and a final decision from the U.S. regulatory body is expected by April 15, 2014. There is great concern revolving around this decision, as MannKind has already received two complete response letters (CRL) for Afrezza ! from the FDA, and it was requested to conduct two phase III trials with the next-generation inhaler. Further delay in approval or another setback related to this candidate could be a great danger for the company. Over and probably excessive depende nce on Afrezza as the company discontinued any other reasearch in other candidates is something to worry about. The company has generated no revenue last year round and its shares have experienced a total annual loss of $0.64 so far.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Last clinical trials!
  MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD  ) has been developing its inhaled insulin product Afrezza for years. The FDArejectedthe drug-device combo in 2010, requesting additional information on the clinical utility of Afrezza.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Anticipation
  MannKind's (NASDAQ: MNKD  ) rise doesn't appear to be due to anything that the biotech company has done, but what investors expect the company will do in the future. Specifically, investors are anticipating the release of data this summer for its phase 3 trials testing inhaled insulin Afrezza.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-healthcare-technology-stocks-for-2015.html

Top 10 Gas Companies To Buy For 2015

Top 10 Gas Companies To Buy For 2015: Oil and Gas Development Co Ltd (OGDC)

Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) is a Pakistan-based company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas resources, including production and sale of oil and gas and related activities. As the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, the Companys crude oil production was 37,615 barrels of oil per day, and 17 wells were spudded. As of June 30, 2011, the Company operated in 31 exploration blocks (22 blocks with 100% shares including an offshore block, and 12 blocks as operated joint ventures), including 3 offshore blocks. Its projects include Uch-II Development Project, KPD-TAY Integrated Development Project, Jhal Magsi Development Project, Sinjhoro Development Project and Nashpa/ Mela Development Project. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Weiyi Lim]

  Drinkall, whose $83 million Frontier Emerging Markets Portfolio (MFMIX) beat 99 percent of peers tracked by Bloomberg during the past 12 months with a 40 percent gain, said he favors Nigeria because of its economic growth prospects and Pakistan on the nations improving political stability. His fund held shares of Lagos-based Dangote Cement Plc (DANGCEM) and Islamabad-based Oil & Gas Development Co. (OGDC) as of April 30, Morgan Stanleys website shows.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-gas-companies-to-buy-for-2015.html

Home Depot: Strong Brand, Superb Management, Great Stock

source: Wikimedia Commons

The United States is finally starting to thaw from the brutal winter, and this couldn't come soon enough for retailers. In addition, the housing market continues to strengthen, evidenced by rising home prices across the country. These tailwinds are combining to provide a great deal of support to Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) , the biggest home-improvement chain in the U.S, as well as close rival Lowe's (NYSE: LOW  ) .

Home Depot is an amazing story. It's a company that managed to turn in a solid first quarter even in the face of adverse conditions. If you're a Foolish investor looking for a high-quality company with a strong brand and excellent management team, you should get to know Home Depot.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Home Depot's success speaks for itself
Home Depot posted 2.9% revenue growth in the first quarter along with 2.6% same-store sales growth (same-tore sales measure sales at locations open at least one year.) Earnings per share jumped 20% year over year, reflecting the benefits of tight cost controls and an effective share-buyback program.

To illustrate, Home Depot's total operating expenses only increased by 0.5%, far less than its rate of sales growth. And, the company's diluted shares outstanding dropped by nearly 7%, thanks to the $1.2 billion spent on share repurchases in the last three months.

These actions boosted Home Depot's profits in the first quarter, and excellent performance is becoming a habit for the company. In 2013, the company racked up nearly 7% growth in same-store sales, 25% earnings growth, and increased its dividend by 21% at year-end. This was comparable to Lowe's performance last year, which produced 4.8% same-store sales growth and 26% earnings growth. Like Home Depot, Lowe's is very shareholder friends. Lowe's repurchased $3.7 billion of its own stock and paid $733 million in dividends last year. This year, the company plans to buy back $5 billion of its stock.

It's clear that the continued momentum in the housing market and the economy more broadly are lending a helping hand to home-improvement retailers. These trends should continue for the remainder of the year. To reflect this, Home Depot management expects the company to produce 4.8% sales growth and 17% earnings growth, all of which will be made possible by the company's intent to purchase $3.7 billion of its own shares over the rest of the year.

However, Home Depot's results missed Wall Street expectations, and the company took some heat for it in the financial media. Don't be lured into thinking that Home Depot is struggling.

Ignore Wall Street disappointment
After Home Depot reported earnings, most of the attention from the financial media coverage circulated around the fact that the company missed analyst estimates. Revenue missed by about $200 million, and profits came up short by a few pennies per share. But once again, it seems that disappointment over Home Depot's results is only possible with a completely unrealistic view of how the past few months shaped up.

The spring season in the United States has gotten off to an extremely slow start. This has had an undeniable negative impact on retailers. That's especially true for home-improvement retailers, which rely on spring activity for sales. Obviously, analysts should have taken their estimates down a notch or two in light of the fact that brutally cold temperatures persisted well into March and April.

Home Depot Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake acknowledged the winter slowdown, saying in the earnings results that the company was affected by weather. However, he also reaffirmed his outlook for the remainder of the year and insisted the company would hit its guidance. Sales are expected to quickly recover from pent-up demand, and non-weather affected areas of the business continue to look good.

Best Consumer Stocks For 2015

Let Home Depot improve your portfolio
The bottom line is that there's absolutely nothing wrong with Home Depot or its close competitor Lowe's; far from it. In fact, both companies are thriving right now. That's especially true for Home Depot, which wrapped up a great first quarter even with the damage done by the extremely harsh weather. This came after a strong performance last year as well.

Home Depot is growing strong, buys back billions of dollars' worth of its own stock every year, and provides investors double-digit dividend increases annually. Any disappointment from Wall Street over Home Depot is misguided. This is clearly a company with a strong brand and capable management team, and the results speak for themselves.

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5 Big Stocks to Trade for Flat-Market Gains

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Feel free to blink -- you're not missing much in the stock market in 2014. Since the first week of March, the big indices have basically flat lined, the S&P 500 budging all of 0.5% in the last two months and change.

>>3 Stocks Spiking on Big Volume

Volatility remains extremely low this year, both on a statistical basis and an implied one through the VIX Volatility Index. While high volatility doesn't create a particularly good environment for investors, neither does none at all. And that's been a big contributor to the frustrating sideways grind that we've been caught up in for a while now.

Forgive the trite expression, but it's a "market of stocks, not a stock market". In other words, even while the market averages are doing nothing, there are some individual names that are showing investors attractive trading opportunities this summer -- big ones too.

Right now, some of Wall Street's biggest names are leading the way with setups that are getting near a breakout. That's why we're taking a technical look at trading setups in five of Wall Street's biggest stocks today.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

If you're new to technical analysis, here's the executive summary.

Technicals are a study of the market itself. Since the market is ultimately the only mechanism that determines a stock's price, technical analysis is a valuable tool even in the roughest of trading conditions. Technical charts are used every day by proprietary trading floors, Wall Street's biggest financial firms, and individual investors to get an edge on the market. And research shows that skilled technical traders can bank gains as much as 90% of the time.

>>5 Rocket Stocks Ready for Blastoff

Every week, I take an in-depth look at big names that are telling important technical stories. Here's this week's look at five high-volume stocks to trade this week.

VF Corp.

First up is $26 billion apparel name VF Corp. (VFC). At first glance, VFC hasn't done much itself in 2014. Year-to-date, shares are down 0.35%, a move so tiny that it doesn't even budge the average 401(k) balance by $300. But zoom out for a little context, and the setup in shares of VFC suddenly looks a whole lot more constructive.

VFC is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish setup that's formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $64, and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as VFC bounces in between those two technically important price levels, it's getting squeezed closer to a breakout above that $64 price ceiling. When that happens, it makes sense to be a buyer...

Shares have been flirting with that $64 price tag for a few weeks now, even pushing above it momentarily intraday. That's a good reminder of why waiting for a confirmed breakout is so important in VFC. Wait for a close above $64 before you click "buy".

NXP Semiconductors

We're seeing the exact same setup in shares of NXP Semiconductor (NXPI), the $15 billion Dutch chipmaker. Like VFC, NXPI is forming an ascending triangle pattern, in this case with a resistance level at $62.50. NXPI has made more progress this year, rallying more than 30%, followed by a shorter-term pattern in shares. When that $62.50 price level gets taken out, this stock is ready to add another leg to the rally.

Momentum, measured by 14-day RSI, went overbought the first time NXPI hit its head on that $62.50 resistance level, but our momentum gauge has been bleeding off ever since. Now, with momentum in neutral territory, this stock has ample run-up room before it starts to look overbought again.

The 50-day moving average has been a nearly-perfect proxy for support in NXPI over the course of this pattern. When the breakout happens, that's the level where I'd be keeping a protective stop.

Walt Disney

Walt Disney (DIS) is getting close to a breakout of its own this week, driven by a setup of a different sort. Disney has shown investors some solid performance in the last year, rallying more than 23% over the trailing 12 months. And while shares have stayed sideways since March, that sideways consolidation is exactly what makes Disney tradable right now.

Disney is currently forming an inverse head and shoulders pattern, a classic technical setup that indicates exhaustion among sellers. The pattern is formed by two swing lows that bottom out around the same level (the shoulders), separated by a bigger trough called the head; the buy signal comes on the breakout above the pattern's "neckline" level, currently right above $83.

Typically, the inverse head and shoulders is a reversal pattern that shows up at the bottom of a downtrend. While Disney's setup doesn't fix that textbook mold, the trading implications are every bit the same if shares can catch a bid above $83. Why all of that significance at that level? It all comes down to buyers and sellers. Price patterns are a good quick way to identify what's going on in the price action, but they're not the actual reason a stock is tradable. Instead, the "why" comes down to basic supply and demand for Disney's stock.

The $83 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a spot where sellers have previously been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above $83 so significant -- the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level. Wait for shares to catch a bid above resistance before you buy it.

Discover Financial Services

You don't have to be an expert technical analyst to figure out what's going on in shares of Discover Financial Services (DFS) -- a quick look at the chart will tell you everything you need to know about this $26 billion payment network. DFS has been bouncing its way higher in a textbook uptrend since last summer, staying stuck between a pair of trend lines that provide a high-probability range for shares to stay stuck within.

Now, as DFS tests trend line support for the ninth time over the course of this uptrend, it makes sense to buy the bounce.

Waiting for shares to bounce in DFS is crucial for two big reasons: it's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong). Remember, all trend lines do eventually break, but by actually waiting for the bounce to happen first, you're ensuring the stock can actually still catch a bid along that line before you put your money on shares.

L-3 Communications

Last up is L-3 Communications (LLL), a name that's in a long-term uptrending channel much like the one in Discover. Shares of L-3 have been bouncing their way higher since last July, staying constrained between a pair of parallel trendlines all the way up. And now, with shares testing support for a sixth time, it makes sense to buy the bounce for the exact same reasons we covered in DFS.

Relative strength adds some important backup for a buy signal in LLL. That performance indicator has been in an uptrend since last summer, a signal that this stock is continually outperforming the S&P in good times and in bad ones. As long as the broad market remains in a sideways correction, relative strength is the single most important indicator you can have in your technical toolbox.

If you buy the next bounce in LLL, I'd recommend keeping a protective stop underneath this stock's most recent swing low at $112.50. If that level gets broken, so is the uptrend...

To see this week's trades in action, check out the Must-See Charts portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS:

>>A Horrible Chart to Trade for Wonderful Gains

>>Sell These 5 Toxic Stocks Before It's Too Late

>>3 Stocks Breaking Out on Unusual Volume

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in the names mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) announced today that it has won a contract to supply Asia-based Soleq Solar with modules totaling 91 MW for solar power for projects in Thailand.

"We chose to work with Canadian Solar because of their vast industry experience and track record delivering high quality modules to large scale solar power projects worldwide," said Soluq spokesperson Adam Balin in a statement. "Canadian Solar understands our requirements for quality and reliability, and is a perfect fit with our focus on maximizing return on investment while generating clean, renewable energy for Thailand."

According to the press release, Canadian Solar will supply its CS6X high output�photovoltaic (PV) modules across 10 separate projects. Although Soleq will own and operate the solar farms, two other companies will provide engineering, procurement, and construction services.

"We are honored to be selected to supply our modules for Soleq's landmark power plants in Thailand," said Canadian Solar Chairman and CEO Dr. Shawn Qu. "We are also pleased with the progress of our market diversification strategy to reduce our exposure to European markets and to minimize policy risk. This module supply agreement underscores our success expanding our global footprint, building new customer relationships, and gaining market share in important growth markets."

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Ishares Gold Trust (IAU)

ishares Gold Trust (the Trust), incorporated on January 21, 2005, is to own gold transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust (Shares). Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the net assets of the Trust. The assets of the Trust consist of gold held by the Trust�� custodian on behalf of the Trust. The sponsor of the Trust is BlackRock Asset Management International Inc. (the Sponsor). The trustee of the Trust is The Bank of New York Mellon (the Trustee) and the custodian of the Trust is JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London branch (the Custodian).

The activities of the Trust are limited to issuing Baskets of Shares in exchange for the gold deposited with the Custodian as consideration; selling gold as necessary to cover the Sponsor�� fee, Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor and other liabilities, and delivering gold in exchange for Baskets of Shares surrendered for redemption. It does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of gold.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Pham]

  Although the Fed doubled its bond buying last September, the top gold exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, including SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) , iShares Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: IAU  ) , and ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: SGOL  ) , have dropped around 25% each over the last 12 months, which speaks to gold's extreme vulnerability to QE tapering. Even the mere mention of tapering seems to send gold into a tailspin, as seen with SPDR Gold Shares, which has plunged 24% year to date and also suffered massive losses with its physical holdings. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX  ) has suffered a massive drop of 48% so far in 2013, making it one of the worst-performing ETFs this year.

• [By WilliamBriat]

  For those investors who agree with this position that gold bullion should be a part of their portfolio, you may want to look at exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like the iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU). This ETF provides investors with exposure to gold bullion, and it’s a cheaper alternative to the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) ETF.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Moreover, historians point to the 1933 executive order that required individuals to deliver gold coins, bullion, and certificates to banks in exchange for regular currency at a rate of $20.67 per ounce as being functionally equivalent to confiscation. With the government proceeding to devalue the dollar to $35 per gold ounce the following year, those who complied with the order suffered a substantial loss of purchasing power. Indeed, many gold investors use that same argument in arguing against bullion ETFs SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) , iShares Gold (NYSEMKT: IAU  ) , and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV  ) , preferring instead to take physical possession of their gold and silver to ensure its safekeeping themselves.

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Natura Cosmeticos SA (NATU3)

Natura Cosmeticos SA is a Brazil-based company that, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the manufacture, industrialization, distribution and commercialization of cosmetics, fragrances and personal hygiene products under the brand name Natura. The Company's product line includes deodorants, makeup, sunscreens, lotions, creams, lipsticks and perfumes, among others. It operates in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Netherlands, among others, and, as of December 31, 2011, the Company had such subsidiaries as Industria e Comercio de Cosmeticos Natura Ltda, Natura Cosmeticos SA, Natura Cosmeticos de Mexico SA de CV, Natura Cosmeticos Espana SL, Natura (Brasil) International BV and Natura Inovacao e Tecnologia de Produtos Ltda, among several others. On February 28, 2013, the Company concluded the acquisition of a 65% stake in Emeis Holdings Pty Ltd, operating under Aesop brand. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Harry Suhartono]

  Brazil�� Ibovespa rose for a third day as traders pared bets on higher borrowing costs in Brazil, boosting the outlook for companies that sell in the local market. B2W Cia. Digital led gains among retailers, with Lojas Americanas SA (LAME3) and Natura Cosmeticos SA (NATU3) also trading higher. Petrochemicals producer Braskem SA (BRKM5) was the worst performer on the equity gauge after O Estado de S.Paulo reported Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4) is seeking to raise prices of naphtha sold to the company by 5 percent.

Hot Up And Coming Companies To Buy For 2015: Oxford Industries Inc.(OXM)

Oxford Industries, Inc. engages in designing, sourcing, and marketing apparel products primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company?s apparel products comprise a portfolio of company-owned lifestyle brands, as well as company-owned and licensed brands of tailored clothing and golf apparel. Its owned and licensed brands include Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, Ben Sherman, Billy London, Oxford Golf, Nickelson, and Arnold Brant. The company also holds licenses to produce and sell various categories of apparel products under the Kenneth Cole, Dockers, and Geoffrey Beene brand names. Its primary product line includes the Tommy Bahama brand men's and women's sportswear and related products for affluent men and women with age of 35 and older; the Lilly Pulitzer brand women's and girl's dresses, sportswear, and other products for young women, young mothers and their daughters, and women; the Ben Sherman brand men's sportswear and related products for men ages 25 to 40; and branded and private label men's suits, sport coats, suit separates, and dress slacks. In addition, the company licenses its Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, and Ben Sherman brand names for various products categories, including apparel, accessories, footwear, watches, jewelry, luggage, rugs, wall coverings, fragrances and toiletries, shampoos and soaps, gift products, furniture, ceiling fans, stationery, bedding and home fashions, and table top accessories. Further, it operates restaurants under the Tommy Bahama brand name. It distributes company-owned lifestyle branded products through department stores, specialty stores, company-owned and licensed retail stores, and its e-commerce Websites; and branded and private label tailored clothing products through department stores, specialty stores, national chains, specialty catalogs, mass merchants, and Internet retailers. Oxford Industries, Inc. was founded in 1942 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Oxford Industries (NYSE: OXM  ) will release its quarterly report on Tuesday, and investors have stayed optimistic about the apparel company's prospects, bidding the shares to all-time record highs in the past few months. With expectations for growth in Oxford earnings so high, though, investors need to be careful not to let the company's stock price get ahead of its fundamental business prospects.

• [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  Oxford Industries Inc.(OXM) said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings nearly tripled as the apparel company reported sales growth at its Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer brands.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Oxford Industries Inc.'s(OXM) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 70% despite continued sales growth at the apparel company’s Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer brands.

• [By Mike Deane]

  After the bell on Tuesday, Oxford Industries (OXM) announced its second quarter earnings, posting a 14% increase in net sales from last year’s same quarter.

  The Atlanta, GA-based apparel company announced second quarter consolidated net sales of $235 million, which were up from last year’s Q2 figure of $206.9 million. The company’s EPS, on an adjusted basis, came in at $1.01, a 55% increase from last year’s 65 cents.

  Oxford Industries beat analysts’ Q2 EPS estimates of 98 cents, but missed the analyst revenue consensus of $243.5 million.

  Looking forward to full-year 2013, Oxford Industries lowered its EPS guidance to a range of $2.90 to $3.05. This comes in below the analysts’ consensus of $3.12.

  OXM shares were up 86 cents, or 1.33%, at the end of trading on Tuesday. YTD the stock is up more than 40%.

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Safe Bulkers Inc(SB)

Safe Bulkers, Inc. provides marine drybulk transportation services worldwide. The company transports various bulk cargoes, primarily coal, grain, and iron ore. As of July 15, 2011, it had a fleet of 16 drybulk vessels, with an aggregate carrying capacity of 1,443,800 deadweight tons. The company?s fleet consists of Panamax, Kamsarmax, Post-Panamax, and Capesize class vessels, as well as 11 further contracted additional drybulk new build vessels to be delivered at various times through 2014. Safe Bulkers, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Safe Bulkers Inc. (NYSE: SB) was raised to Buy all the way up from Underperform for a two-notch upgrade, and the price target was raised to $8 from $6, at BofA/Merrill Lynch.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  European Stocks to Buy: Safe Bulkers (SB)

  Safe Bulkers (SB) is a Greek company that owns and operates dry bulk carrier vessels that transport major bulks, which include iron ore, coal, and grains Right now they have a fleet of 20 dry bulk carriers and also provide felt management services to third parties.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Safe Bulkers Inc.(SB) plans to offer 5 million shares and also unveiled plans to sell 1 million shares in a private placement to an entity associated with its chief executive at the public offering price. The drybulk shipping company has about 77 million shares outstanding. Shares dropped.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Wednesday
  Safe Bulkers (NYSE: SB  ) reports on Wednesday. The Greek provider of marine drybulk transportation services is in a volatile sector that should improve as the global economy gets better. Wall Street sees revenue and earnings declining by double-digit percentage clips this time around.

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Comerica Inc (CMA)

Comerica Incorporated (Comerica) is a financial services company. Comercia operates in four segments: the Business Bank, the Retail Bank, Wealth Management and the Finance Division. As of December 31, 2011, Comerica owned two active banking and 49 non-banking subsidiaries. The Company's Business Bank meets the needs of middle market businesses, multinational corporations and governmental entities by offering products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services and loan syndication services. On July 28, 2011, Comerica acquired Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (Sterling), a bank holding company.

The Company's Retail Bank includes small business banking and personal financial services, consisting of consumer lending, consumer deposit gathering and mortgage loan origination. In addition to a range of financial services provided to small business customers, this business segment offers a range of consumer products, including deposit accounts, installment loans, credit cards, student loans, home equity lines of credit and residential mortgage loans.

Wealth Management offers products and services consisting of fiduciary services, private banking, retirement services, investment management and advisory services, investment banking and brokerage services. This business segment also offers the sale of annuity products, as well as life, disability and long-term care insurance products. The Finance segment includes Comerica�� securities portfolio and asset and liability management activities. This segment is engaged in managing Comerica�� funding, liquidity and capital needs, performing interest sensitivity analysis and executing strategies to manage Comerica�� exposure to liquidity, interest rate risk and foreign exchange risk.

The Other category includes discontinued operations, the income and expense impact of equity an! d cash, tax benefits not assigned to specific business segments and miscellaneous other expenses of a corporate nature. In addition, Comerica delivers financial services in its four markets: Midwest, Western, Texas and Florida. The Midwest market consists of Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. The Western market consists of the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Washington. California operations represent the the Western market. The Texas and Florida markets consist of the states of Texas and Florida, respectively. Other Markets include businesses with a national perspective, Comerica�� investment management and trust alliance businesses, as well as activities in all other markets, in which Comerica has operations, except for the International market. The International market represents the activities of Comerica�� international finance division, which provides banking services to foreign-owned, North American-based companies and to international operations of North American-based companies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Comerica (NYSE: CMA) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $616.42 million.

  Posted-In: Earnings scheduleEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Dallas, Texas-based financial services company Comerica (CMA) raised its quarterly 12% to 19 cents per share, payable on Apr. 1 to shareholders of record as of Mar. 14.
  CMA Dividend Yield: 1.59%

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Imation Corp (IMN)

Imation Corp. (Imation) is a global scalable storage and data security company. The Company�� portfolio includes tiered storage and security offerings for business and products designed to manage audio and video information in the home. The Company�� global brand portfolio includes the Imation brand, the Memorex brand, the XtremeMac and MXI Security brands. Imation is also the exclusive licensee of the TDK Life on Record brand. Its three product categories include traditional storage, secure and scalable storage, and audio and video information. It operates in four geographic segments: Americas, Europe, North Asia and South Asia. On February 28, 2011, it acquired all of the assets of Encryptx Corporation. On June 4, 2011, it acquired the assets of MXI Security, from Memory Experts International Inc. On October 4, 2011 it acquired the secure data storage hardware assets of IronKey Systems Inc. In December 2011, it acquired the data deduplication technology from Nine Technology.

The Americas segment includes North America, Central America and South America. The Europe segment includes Europe and parts of Africa. North Asia segment includes Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. The South Asia segment includes Australia, Singapore, India, the Middle East and parts of Africa.

Imation brand products include magnetic tape media, recordable compact discs (CDs), digital versatile Discs (DVDs) and Blu-ray discs, flash products and hard disk drives. The Imation brand includes the DataGuard Data Protection Appliances, InfiniVault Storage appliances and removable disk technology (RDX) removable hard disk storage systems. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. Imation brand products are sold throughout the worldwide and target the commercial user and individual consumer. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. TDK Life on Record brand products include recordable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray d! iscs, flash drives, tape cartridges, headphones and computer speakers which are sold to commercial customers and individual consumers. TDK Life on Record brand products is sold throughout the world.

XtremeMac brand products include cases, chargers and audio solutions to protect, power and play Apple iPad, iPod, iPhone and other devices. XtremeMac products are developed for Apple enthusiasts and are available worldwide. Its MXI Security brand includes secure storage flash drives and external hard drives, as well as software solutions to help manage portable security devices on the network.

Traditional Storage

The Company�� optical media products consist of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray recordable media. It sells Blu-ray discs, which are used primarily for recording high-definition video content. Its recordable optical media products are sold through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels and sourced from manufacturers primarily in Taiwan and India. Optical storage capacities range from 650 megabyte CD-R (recordable) and CD-RW (rewritable) optical discs to 9.4 gigabyte double-sided DVD optical discs and Blu-ray discs with 25 gigabyte to 100 gigabyte of capacity. Its optical media is sold throughout the world under brands it owns or controls, including Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record and under a distribution agreement for the Hewlett Packard brand.

The Company�� magnetic tape media products are used for back-up, business and operational continuity planning, disaster recovery, near-line data storage and retrieval and for mass and archival storage. Other traditional storage products include primarily optical drives and audio and video tape media.

Secure and Scalable Storage

Secure storage products and software include universal serial bus (USB) flash drives and external hard drives designed to meet the security standards to protect data at rest with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) validation, pa! ssword an! d biometric authentication, including biometric USB drives, encrypted and biometric hard disk drives, secure portable desktop solutions and software solutions. It also sells standard USB flash drives and external hard disk drives throughout the world under its Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record brands. It sources these products from manufacturers primarily in Asia and the United States and sell them through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels around the world. Scalable storage products include data protection appliances, such as DataGuard network attached storage backup appliances and InfiniVault active archive appliances.

Audio and Video Information

The Company�� audio and video information products include Apple iPad, iPod and iPhone accessories, headphones, CD players, alarm clocks, portable boom boxes, moving picture experts group layer-3 audio (MP3) players, and speakers sold under the Memorex, TDK Life on Record and XtremeMac brands. It designs products to meet user needs and source these products from manufacturers throughout Asia.

The Company competes with Maxell, JVC, Sony, Verbatim, Fuji, HP, SanDisk, Lexar, PNY and Kingston.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] g>4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
  5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
  6. Maxygen (MAXY)
  7. Westell (WSTL)
  8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
  9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)

  I don�� love that list. I like the 14 past picks in the Ben Graham Net-Net Newsletter�� model portfolio much better. The newsletter only owns 1 of those 9 net-nets. Remember, we have 9 net-nets out of the 14 picked for the newsletter that are trading below where we picked them. So, obviously I like those 9 net-nets a lot better than these 9 net-nets.

  Like I said, I wouldn�� encourage you to buy those nine net-nets shown here ��even if you��e looking to put a lot of money into net-nets. Instead you should look at your favorite net-nets ��or the net-nets in the Ben Graham: Net-Net Newsletter ��and use them as a buy list you are constantly placing orders from month after month.

  Building a diversified collection of net-net through many months of purchasing is a better way to invest a lot of money in net-nets than trying to focus on the biggest net-nets.

  Read Geoff�� Other Articles
  Ask Geoff a Question
  Check out the Buffe

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Retail Properties of America Inc (RPAI)

Retail Properties of America, Inc., formerly Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust, Inc., incorporated on March 5, 2003, is a fully integrated, self administered and self-managed real estate company that owns and operates shopping centers. The Company is an owner and operator of shopping centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, its retail operating portfolio consisted of 259 properties with approximately 3.6 million square feet of gross leasable area (GLA), was diversified across 35 states and includes power centers, community centers, neighborhood centers and lifestyle centers, as well as single-user retail properties. The Company�� retail properties are located in retail districts. In August 2012, the Company sold a 1.04-million-square-foot Cost Plus Distribution Center in Stockton. In September 2012, it disposed 13 former Mervyns locations. In October 2012, it sold 18 non-core and non-strategic assets.

The Company�� shopping centers are anchored or shadow anchored by a grocer, discount department store, wholesale club or retailer that sells basic household goods or clothing. national and regional grocers, discount retailers and other retailers that provide household goods or clothing, including Target, TJX Companies, PetSmart, Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Kohl��, Wal-Mart, Publix and Lowe��. As of December 31, 2011, over 90% of its shopping centers, based on GLA, were anchored or shadow anchored by a grocer, discount department store, wholesale club or retailers that sell basic household goods or clothing. As of December 31, 2011, it had a retail tenant base that includes approximately 1,500.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Retail Properties of America (NYSE: RPAI  ) isn't keeping all of its rent money for itself. The company has declared a new set of quarterly dividend payments for its shareholders. Holders of all classes of the REIT's common stock will receive $0.165625 per share on July 10 if they're in possession of those shares as of June 28. The firm will also dispense $0.4375 per share of its 7.00% series A cumulative redeemable preferred stock on July 1 to shareholders of record as of June 20.

• [By Ant贸nio Costa]

  Retail Properties of America Inc (NYSE: RPAI) has been in an impressive rebound since the lows of August and the stock price action continues to become Bullish. However, RPAI has run into the downtrend line resistance again and this could lead to a brief period of sideways consolidation or price correction from current levels. On watch.

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Officemax Incorporated(OMX)

OfficeMax Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, distributes business-to-business and retail office products. Its Contract segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, technology products and solutions, office furniture, and print and document services directly to large corporate and government offices, as well as to small and medium-sized offices through field salespeople, outbound telesales, catalogs, Internet, and office products stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 38 distribution centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand; 4 customer service and outbound telesales centers in the United States; and 47 office products stores in Canada, Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. The company?s Retail segment markets and sells office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and office furniture to small and medium-sized businesses and consumers through a network of reta il stores. As of December 31, 2011, this segment operated 978 stores in the United States and Mexico; 3 large distribution centers in the United States; and 1 small distribution center in Mexico. The company, formerly known as Boise Cascade Corporation, was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mathew Schwartz]

  AlamyA Starbucks coffee shop in downtown Beijing, China. • There are prices to be paid for expanding your economy at a gallop, and China pays plenty of them. Today, anyone looking out across that nation's northern cities can see that winter has arrived there -- or rather, they can't, because the smog is so appallingly bad. In the city of Harbin, for example, visibility dropped to around 11 yards Monday, and small-particle pollution soared to 40 times higher than the international safety standard -- a record, by the way, though one we're sure nobody would want to break. It's a pretty clear case of cause and effect: Harbin's city heating systems were fired up on Sunday, and by Monday, you could barely see your hand in front of your face. • While we're on the subject of the world's rising economic superpower, China has a big complaint with Starbucks (SBUX) -- and it's probably the same one you have: Why does it charge so much for coffee? This may shock those of us in the U.S. who feel we're paying through the nose for our lattes, but Starbucks charges more in China than it does elsewhere -- about a third more than in the United States. • But back in America, the biggest news involving your money today is a no-brainer: the continuing glitches in the Obamacare websites. The administration has called out the computer cavalry, expanding the team that's trying to get the system working properly. And President Obama plans to speak publicly about the problems Monday. But in the meantime, the website is producing far more complaints than anything else. • We all know that taking out a student loan requires filling out a raft of complicated paperwork, but paying it back, at least, ought to be simple. Unfortunately, it's not, the advocates over at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau inform us in a new report. Some loan servicers -- the companies lenders hire to collect payments on private student loans -- make a concerted effort to maximize fee

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Office Depot (NYSE: ODP  ) scored a win in its merger with fellow big-box supply store retailer Office Max (NYSE: OMX  ) , but is the company out of the proverbial weeds? The Depot saw its shares decline more than 6% Wednesday due to an earnings report that came in under estimates and altogether left investors and analysts unimpressed. No one has any delusions as to the intense technology-fueled disruption facing Office Depot and its recently acquired competitor, but there are levers the company can pull to remain relevant in the future.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX  ) is keeping its dividend level. It will hand out a disbursement of $0.02 per share of its common stock on May 31 to shareholders of record as of May 15. This amount matches each of the firm's previous three payouts, the most recent of which was paid in late February.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  The company�� primarily competitors are Office Depot (ODP), United Stationers (USTR) and Office Max (OMX). Staples has the best gross margins of its competitors, at greater than 26%, and the only one to increase its book value per share since 2001.

Best Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: Gulfport Energy Corporation(GPOR)

Gulfport Energy Corporation engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties. Its principal properties are located in the Louisiana Gulf Coast, in west Texas in the Permian Basin and in western Colorado in the Niobrara Formation. The company also holds acreage position in the Alberta oil sands in Canada; and interests in entities that operate in southeast Asia, including the Phu Horm gas field in Thailand, as well as leasehold interests in the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio. As of December 31, 2011, it had 19.4 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  As prices for Utica acreage fall, recent transactions now appear expensive. For instance, Gulfport Energy (NASDAQ: GPOR  ) paid about $10,000 per acre for roughly 22,000 acres back in February, which is significantly more than the average selling price of between $1,000 and $8,000 an acre for Utica acreage. However, the company is primarily targeting natural gas liquids, for which its acreage may be ideal. �

• [By Anna Prior]

  Oil-and-natural-gas producer Gulfport Energy Corp.(GPOR) cut its production outlook for the year and reported weaker earnings for the quarter. Shares declined 19% to $59.50 premarket.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Liquids-focused driller Gulfport Energy (NASDAQ: GPOR  ) is a very interesting energy company. Unlike most North American production companies, Gulfport doesn't produce a lot of natural gas. In fact, last year 93% of its production was oil and NGLs, which provide the company with high-margin cash flow. Investors are starting to take notice and the stock has more than doubled over the past year. However, I see three very compelling reasons to own Gulfport.

3 Chemicals Stocks to Buy Now

Popular Posts: 13 “Triple A” Stocks to BuyHottest Technology Stocks Now – ASX DDD HIMX CDNS9 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now Recent Posts: 3 Chemicals Stocks to Buy Now 7 “Triple F” Stocks to Sell 3 Chemicals Stocks to Sell Now View All Posts

Three chemicals stocks are moving up in their overall rating this week, according to the Portfolio Grader database. Every one of these is graded an “A” (“strong buy”) or “B” overall (“buy”).

BioAmber, Inc. () ups its rating to a B (“buy”) this week after earning a C (“hold”) in the week before. .

This week, Sensient Technologies Corporation () pushes up from a C to a B rating. Sensient Technologies is a global manufacturer and marketer of colors, flavors and fragrances for products in the food and beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical, inkjet and other speciality markets. .

5 Best Dividend Stocks For 2015

PolyOne Corporation () is progressing from last week’s rating of B (“buy”) as the company improves to an A (“strong buy”) this week. PolyOne is an international polymer services company with operations in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. .

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

Only a ‘black swan’ will bring back stock volatility

Quick stock pullbacks have limited volatility to 'spikes'

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Investors are becoming more accustomed to holding firm during market drops, making it more likely that it will take a true "black swan" event to usher in a return to stock volatility.

After a near 30% run-up in the S&P 500 Index (SPX)  in 2013, many strategists were calling for a return to volatility in 2014. Instead, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has generally held to low levels, with the occasional spike past 20, just like in 2013.

As volatility has dropped, stocks have moved sideways: The S&P 500 is up 1.6% for the year and the VIX is down 9.3% for the year.

Russell Rhoads, senior instructor at the Options Institute at CBOE, said investors are expressing a "justified complacency" given that recent jumps in the VIX don't remain at those levels for too long. One-off events, like Ukraine, command investor attention for a while and then fall off the radar, enough to cause the VIX to spike but not enough to sustain the level.

A black swan event in the economy and markets would have a more far-reaching, deeper impact. Author and trader Nassim Taleb used the term to describe rare, hard-to-predict, and high-impact events like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

EXCLUSIVE
Bill Gross explains Treasury rally • Clock is ticking for bond-fund investors • Why a dollar rally is so stubbornly elusive

/conga/story/2014/05/gross_exclusive.html 307677

For sustained volatility to return to stocks, we'd have to have two crises hit right around the same time, something like a really unpopular Federal Open Market Committee meeting and a fresh Ukraine-like threat to geopolitical stability, without an apparent resolution, Rhoads said.

"We just haven't had that double whammy," said Rhoads. "The smart guys aren't necessarily panicking at small selloffs, and since 2013 they've been right."

Over the past 12 months, the 200-day moving average for the VIX has been essentially flat, currently at 14.38, compared with 14.90 a year ago.

One common misconception is mistaking choppy markets with volatile ones. While markets have been choppy lately, don't expect that to show up in the VIX, Rhoads noted. When trading is directionless, or choppy, it's actually not volatile as measured by the VIX, he said.

Last week, the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) rose 0.5%. It's moved between weekly gains and losses for six straight weeks.

Large-cap indexes are making similar zig-zag moves. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)  declined by 0.6%, reversing from gains the prior week. The S&P 500 ended the week down less than 0.1%, while the VIX declined 3.7% on the week.

What this means for investors is that holding onto those winning broad-market positions from last year has worked —so far. But folks who have tried to hedge with VIX-linked investments aren't smiling. Barclays Bank PLC iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX)  is down 14% this year and 50% over the last 12 months. Low volatility also isn't great for very active traders, who have a harder time finding good opportunities in a dull market.

Bear market grumblings

Debate is still lively whether a bear market is lurking around the corner . Some argue that the meandering market is the grumbling of a bear market that will start with a whimper. Then, there's also a historical precedence for weak markets before the midterm elections during a presidential cycle . And over the past few weeks, there's a been a spike in worry that the selloff in small-cap stocks, reflected in the 10% pullback in the Russell 2000 (RUT)  , was the harbinger of a broader retreat.

Read: Stocks are telling you a bear market is coming.

But many have a hard time figuring out what will spark a sustained selloff.

"There's very little evidence that people are positioning for a bear market," said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Sell Off As Retailers Disappoint The Street Across The Board

Related BZSUM Market Wrap For May 20: Markets Sharply Lower On Fed Talk, Disappointing Earnings Mid-Day Market Update: Dick's Sporting Slides After Weak Forecast; Aeroflex Shares Rise

Toward the end of trading Tuesday, the Dow traded down 0.89 percent to 16,365.44 while the NASDAQ tumbled 0.82 percent to 4,091.51. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.74 percent to 1,882.84.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Tuesday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.12 percent. Leading the sector was strength from Aeroflex Holding (NYSE: ARX) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ). Cyclical consumer goods & services shares declined around 0.71 percent in Tuesday's trading.

Top losers in the sector included Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), down 16.6 percent, and Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), off 12 percent.

Top Headline
Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) reported a drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit. Staples posted its quarterly earnings of $96.2 million, or $0.15 per share, versus $169.9 million, or $0.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain items, it earned $0.18 per share. Its sales declined 2.8% to $5.65 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $5.61 billion. Staples expects Q2 adjusted earnings of $0.09 to $0.14 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.15 per share.

Equities Trading UP
Aeroflex Holding (NYSE: ARX) shares shot up 25.63 percent to $10.44 after the company agreed to be acquired by Cobham plc for $10.50 per share, or $1.46 billion.

Hot Gas Stocks To Own For 2015

Shares of Ophthotech (NASDAQ: OPHT) got a boost, shooting up 25.78 percent to $39.54 after the company reported that it has entered into an ex-US licensing and commercialization deal with Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

Insmed Incorporated (NASDAQ: INSM) was on the rise as well, gaining 7.68 percent to $14.10 after the company announced some positive phase 2 clinical trial results in a study evaluating its drug Arikayce.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) were 17.44 percent to $43.89 after the company reported quarterly results and cut its FY14 earnings forecast.

Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) shares tumbled 12.47 percent to $11.72 after the company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings and issued a downbeat outlook.

Callaway Golf (NYSE: ELY) was down as well, dropping 9.70 percent to $7.54 after the Dick's Sporting goods earnings report unveiled a weakness in the golf market which traders applied to Callaway, using it as a catalyst to push the shares lower.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 0.20 percent to $102.31, while gold traded up 0.06 percent to $1,294.60.

Silver traded up 0.24 percent Tuesday to $19.41, while copper fell 0.76 percent to $3.14.

Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today.

The eurozone's STOXX 600 dropped 0.01 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index rose 0.29 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 0.34 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX tumbled 0.09 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.39 percent while UK shares slipped 0.60 percent.

Economics
The ICSC-Goldman same-store sales index declined 1.3% in the week ended Saturday versus the prior week.

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index gained 1% in the first two weeks of May versus April.

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Forex Global Econ #s Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers Tech

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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5 Best Construction Stocks To Own Right Now

The Week in Review

A solid bid to the Treasury complex pushed yields through the multi-month trading range and tested secular support at 2.47 percent. The 10 year closed at 2.518, down 0.12 percent on the week. The five-year note closed at 1.545 percent, which is just .02 percent above major support of its 200-day moving average of 1.525 percent. The yield curve flattened, with the 5y-30y spread moving into 1.795.

Last week's economic data was mixed. Retail sales, industrial output, capacity utilization and preliminary Michigan Sentiment all missed to the weak side. Housing starts, building permits, jobless claims and New York and Philadelphia manufacturing all topped expectations.

Related: ETF Outlook For The Week Of May 19, 2014 (QQQ, EPI, XHB, XLF)

Eurozone bond markets were mixed. The 10-year bond had its largest weekly drop since September, falling 0.13 percent to 1.33 percent. Peripherals, particularly Italy and Spain, had their first losing week of the month with a large 0.17 percent backup in yields on Friday.

Ukraine remained a wild card all week as tensions escalated with clashes between government forces and separatist militants.

The Week Ahead: Data and Federal Reserve speakers

It will be a very light week for news and data. There is no data on Monday or Tuesday. The two important releases, in a light pre-holiday week, are the Initial Jobless Claims Report on Thursday and New Home Sales on Friday. The Fed will dominate the rest of the landscape, with six FOMC members speaking.

The most important day for Fed speak will be Wednesday with Fed Chair Janet Yellen and New York's William C. Dudley speaking, as well as the release of the latest FOMC minutes. In a thin, consolidating Treasury market, there will be an excess of volatility drawn from their headline risk.

This Week's Theme

What should we make of the rally in bonds in the short run and the intermediate term?

Next week, expect lon-dated Treasuries to consolidate recent gains around Friday's close of 2.52 percent in the 10-year note. The short-term oversold condition in both U.S. Treasury's and Eurozone sovereign debt, and the strong back up in Peripherals on Friday, should bring about a bounce in yields. The back up in the 10-year note will be closely correlated with moves in the S&P and Bunds, but will not retest the breakout level of 2.59 percent.

On the downside, it is too early to breakthrough major support at 2.47 percent, and even a retest is unlikely next week. Look for a thin market, and modest range, but enough excess volatility to create good trading opportunities.

In the intermediate term, once this consolidation is complete the bond market will continue its march towards lower yields. The "taper" sell-off in 2014 that many predicted simply has not materialized. The reasons now have been well documented.
• The Fed is still on a long-term low rate policy.
• There is short covering by the dealer and hedge fund community.
• Yields are attractive compared to Eurozone bonds.
• There is safe-haven buying on the back of geo-politics, China hard landing and weakness in emerging markets.
• There is pension plan buying against a backdrop of less Treasury issuance.
• Assets are being allocated out of equities.

The fact is that Central Banks around the world know that the global rate of growth is low, and inflationary pressures are not their primary focus.

Inflation rate in the U.S. is approximately 1.5 percent, year-over-year, and thus a 2.5 percent 10-year note represents just a one percent inflation premium (Yield less inflation rate=inflation premium). Compare the inflation premium in Bunds and JGB's of only 0.5 percent and you can see the premium is about one percent higher for Treasuries compared to other sovereign credits.

Interest rates on benchmark 10-year government debt and inflation rates are both very low and a worldwide event. U.S. 10-year rates are higher than similar credits because of a higher imbedded inflation premium demanded by the market. The Fed has been "printing money" for the better part of the last five years and bond buyers are requiring insurance for inflationary expectations. QE is already priced into the market, even at these levels.

So the real takeaway from this year's bond market rally is that the market is expecting slow growth, low inflation and real incomes under pressure going forward.

Posted-In: Bonds Economics Federal Reserve Markets Best of Benzinga

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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After Profit Drops Again, An Investor Dares Ask: Has Wal-Mart Lost Its Way?

Has Wal-Mart(WMT)'s ship sailed?

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, looks like it has lost its way, said John Schwinghamer, a Montreal portfolio manager who sold all of his shares of Wal-Mart Thursday after a key measure of the company's profitability fell in consecutive quarters for the first time in at least 20 years.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The measure was Wal-Mart's earnings per share, which dropped by 3.5% in the quarter ended April 30, following a 20% drop in the previous quarter, according to S&P Capital IQ. Wal-Mart blamed severe weather across large swaths of the U.S. for much of the latest decline.

Shares of Wal-Mart dropped by 2.4% Thursday after it reported the dismal results. The world's largest retailer by revenue said it also didn’t expect sales at its U.S. stores to rise during the current quarter.

Over the past 20 years, earnings per share have only declined three other times and never for two quarters in a row, giving pause to some investors in what has long been considered a safe-haven stock.

"This is a game changer and a warning sign to investors that Wal-Mart is facing challenges in the competitive environment that they may not easily overcome this time," said John Schwinghamer, who manages about $200 million.

Mr. Schwinghamer declined to say how many shares he had held.

"I liken it to an ocean liner that's been going straight ahead for 20 years and all of a sudden it's turned," he said. "It's hard to get back on course when that happens."

Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove said the company is focused on long-term value for shareholders and has "been very deliberate about its strategy for continued growth and planned investment."

Other long-time investors haven't lost hope in the Bentonville, Ark. retailer.

"We're getting a Wal-Mart rollback here," said Michael Farr, president of Farr, Miller & Washington, who said he was considering adding more to his Wal-Mart stake after the Thursday dip.

Farr, Miller & Washington manages $1.1 billion and generally, no position reaches more than 4% of assets under management.

"While the earnings per share drop is worrisome and may be a sign of economic distress among U.S. consumers, over the long term you can't lose faith in corporate America," Mr. Farr said. "As the economy recovers, so will Wal-Mart."

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Saks (NYSE: SKS  ) jumped twice today, first gaining 11% during the trading session on strong sales in its earnings report, and then surging another 19% after-hours on reports that it retained Goldman Sachs to look into a possible sale. Its share price climbed 33% over the two sessions

So what: The upscale retailer first reported an adjusted earnings per share of $0.19, in line with estimates, but same-store sales came in well ahead of expectations, growing 5.9% versus the projected 2.6%. Overall revenue was up 5.2% to $793.2 million, topping expectations of $778.1 million.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Tranzbyte Corp (ERBB)

The Tranzbyte Corporation, incorporated on November 12, 1998, is a driving force behind Altitude Organic Corporation, One Bode, The YO! Debit Card, and ProximaRF. Altitude Organic Corporation is a medical marijuana dispensary brand. It has developed retailing, branding, and commercial cultivating strategies in conjunction with its licensed medical marijuana retail dispensaries operating under the Altitude Organic Medicine brand name.

Tranzbyte houses the technology division, which is engaged in the sale of its optical media enhancement products to customers in the United States and Asia. Products in the Tranzbyte division include FLASHAlbum and FlixStix technologies that enable distributors of optical media (compact discs, digital video discs, etc.) to consolidate the features of each medium onto a single content-protected universal serial bus (USB) flash drive. One Bode has created an assortment of products focusing on plant-based nutrients and enzymes. Applied radio frequency identification (RFID) and its operating subsidiaries (www.proximarf.com), have a portfolio of RFID reader, sensor tag and data logging products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  The SEC has halted trading of small cap marijuana stock Growlife Inc (OTCMKTS: PHOT) after a relatively brief trading halt for�Advanced Cannabis Solutions, Inc (OTCMKTS: CANN), but Tranzbyte Corp (OTCMKTS: ERBB), Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS: CBIS) and Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS: MJNA) are still very much alive. However and as I have noted (repeatedly)�in the past (see here), Medical Marijuana Inc has a�former CEO who has been indicted for a multi-state mortgage fraud scam/ponzi scheme while Medbox Inc (OTCMKTS: MDBX) is another marijuana stock with some ��ssues��that were summed up nicely in a Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation article cleverly entitled: Tinkerer, Lawyer, Hustler, Lies: One Man�� Path to a Dope Fortune. Obviously, investing in marijuana stocks is not for conservative. Nevertheless, there is�still plenty of good or bad news for investors in the marijuana sector to inhale, including the following:

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lojas Renner SA (LREN3)

Lojas Renner SA is a Brazil- based company primarily involved in the operation of department stores. The Company divides its business into two segments. The Retail segment is engaged in sale of women's, men's and children's apparels, underwear and shoes, as well as sportswear and other department stores' articles in the domestic market. The Company also sells household articles, bedding and bath items, furniture and decoration articles. The Financial products segment is involved in the intermediation of financial services, including brokerage of personal loans, sales financing, brokerage of insurance and bonds, and credit card processing, among others. The Company operates through a numerous subsidiaries, including Dromegon Participacoes Ltda, Renner Administradora de Cartoes de Credito Ltda, Renner Empreendimentos Ltda and Maxmix Comercial Ltda. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ney Hayashi]

  Anhanguera Educacional Participacoes SA (AEDU3) tumbled after Brazil�� antitrust regulator signaled it may limit the education company�� merger with competitor Kroton Educacional SA. (KROT3) Lojas Renner SA (LREN3) led retailers higher after a report showed Brazil�� industrial production expanded faster than expected in October, easing concern that growth is faltering.

Best Recreation Companies To Own In Right Now: The Pantry Inc.(PTRY)

The Pantry, Inc. operates a chain of convenience stores in the southeastern United States. The company?s stores offer a selection of merchandise, fuel, and ancillary products and services. Its merchandise products include cigarettes, grocery and other tobacco products, packaged beverages, beer, and wine. The company operates stores under various selected banners, which primarily include Kangaroo Express. As of September 29, 2011, it operated 1,649 convenience stores located in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Virginia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Indiana, and Missouri; and 233 quick service restaurants. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of The Pantry (NASDAQ: PTRY  ) were down as much as 15% today after the convenience-store chain posted a second-quarter loss and missed Wall Street estimates.

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By Sean Williams]

  Much of the same can be said about The Pantry (NASDAQ: PTRY  ) , a predominantly Southeastern U.S. convenience store chain that operates under the Kangaroo Express name. Food inflation has been minimal, the weather hasn't been as cooperative, and consumer traffic fell 4.6% in its most recent quarter. But where other investors see weakness, I see an opportunity.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  For one thing, I can�� tell a great oil company from a not so great oil company. I can�� evaluate the company�� culture, management, etc. There was no way I was ever going to answer questions like that. But I can easily split Murphy�� U.S. retail business from its other operations. And I can compare that part of the company to other public companies like Pantry (PTRY) and Susser (SUSS). I can also ��this is much harder ��look at Murphy�� reserves and compare them to other oil companies��reserves. The SEC now requires a standardized way of reporting discounted net cash flows for all oil companies. So, there�� certainly a specific number available for every company. Whether it�� a very good number or not depends on the assumptions the method uses.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (LL)

Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (Lumber Liquidators) is retailer of hardwood flooring, and hardwood flooring enhancements and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of wood flooring, which includes prefinished domestic and exotic hardwoods, engineered hardwoods, unfinished hardwoods, bamboo, cork and laminates, as well as resilient flooring. Its flooring enhancements and accessories include moldings, noise-reducing underlay and adhesives. Lumber Liquidators and Bellawood are it brands. Its hardwood flooring products are available in various widths and lengths. It offers approximately 350 different flooring product stock-keeping units. In September 2011, it acquired certain assets of Sequoia Floorings Inc. (Sequoia) relating to Sequoia�� quality control and assurance, product development and logistics operations in China.

In June 2013, Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc announced that the Company has opened its 300th store, located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company opened 40 stores. As of February 20, 2012, the Company operated 266 stores located in 46 states and Canada. During 2011, Lumber Liquidators opened its first stores in Canada. It operates a central distribution center located in Hampton, Virginia, supplemented by its facilities in Toano, Virginia. In addition, it operates a facility in Toronto, Canada, with both a store front and a small warehouse serving that metropolitan market. In 2011, Lumber Liquidators finished approximately 79% of its Bellawood products at its finishing facility in Toano, Virginia.

Solid Hardwood

The Company�� solid hardwood products are milled from one thick piece of wood, which can be sanded and refinished numerous times. It offers flooring products made from more than 25 wood species, including both domestic woods, such as ash, beech, birch, hickory, northern hard maple, northern red oak, pine and American walnut, and exotic woods, such as bloodwood, cherry, cypress, e! bony, koa, mesquite, mahogany, rosewood and teak. Lumber Liquidators sells these products either prefinished or unfinished.

Engineered Hardwood

The Company�� engineered hardwood products are produced by bonding a layer of hardwood to a plywood or fiber board backing. Its engineered hardwood floors are offered in domestic and exotic wood species, and in either glue down or floating application. All of its engineered hardwood products are prefinished. Engineered flooring is designed primarily to be installed in areas where hardwood is not conducive, such as slab construction, basements and areas where moisture may be a factor.

Laminates

Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc.�� laminate flooring is constructed with a fiber board core, inserted between a melamine laminate backing and photographic paper displaying an image of wood and a ceramic finish, abrasion-resistant laminate top. Its laminate flooring brands allow for easy-click installation, and some include a pre-glued undersurface, moisture repellent, soundproofing, single-strip format or a handscraped textured finish.

Moldings and Accessories

Lumber Liquidators offer a variety of wood flooring moldings and accessories. It sells stair treads and risers in both finished and unfinished versions. Accessories include underlayments that are placed between the new floor and the sub-floor, insulating sound and cushioning the floors. In addition, it sells installation supplies, such as sealers, adhesives and trowels, floor cleaning supplies, and butcher-block kitchen countertops.

Bamboo and Cork

The Company�� bamboo products, harvested from the bamboo plant, are offered as a prefinished, natural or stained, solid or engineered floor. Its cork flooring is produced by harvesting the outer bark of the cork oak tree.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  The shorts appear to be trying to crack small cap Tile Shop Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: TTS)���meaning it might be worth taking a realistic look at the stock and any potential problems surrounding it plus the performance of other home improvement retailers or peers like Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE: LL), which is not into tiles, and The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies, Inc (NYSE: LOW) which would be into tiles.

• [By Jacob Roche]

  Sherwin-Williams, along with some other home-improvement stocks, benefits from being part of that rare breed of stocks that do well when times are good, and still do well when times are bad. If the housing market is good, new homes get built en masse, and those homes need to be painted and floored. Hence, with U.S. housing starts up nearly 90% over the past couple of years, homebuilders KB Homes (NYSE: KBH  ) and Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH  ) have seen revenues finally starting to recover, and companies such as Sherwin-Williams and Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL  ) are being pulled along for the ride.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Macy’s Inc (M)

Macy�s, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates stores and Internet Websites in the United States. Its retail stores and Internet Web sites sell a range of merchandise, including apparel and accessories for men, women, and children; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods. The company also operates Bloomingdale�s Outlet stores that offer a range of apparel and accessories, including ready-to-wear, shoes, fashion accessories, jewelry, handbags, and intimate apparel products. As of January 28, 2012, it operated approximately 840 stores under the names of Macy�s and Bloomingdale�s; and 7 Bloomingdale�s Outlet stores, as well as macys.com and bloomingdales.com. The company was formerly known as Federated Department Stores, Inc. and changed its name to Macy�s, Inc. in June 2007. Macy�s, Inc. was founded in 1820 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Dillard’s have dropped 1.4% to $89.99 at 3:13 p.m., while Macy���(M) has dropped 0.6% to $57.33,�Sears Holdings�(SHLD) has fallen 2.7% to $44.61 and Nordstrom�(JWN) has has dipped $61.59. JC Penney is little changed at $8.29.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Macy�� Inc. (NYSE: M), Kohl�� Corp. (NYSE: KSS), and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) have all already reported poor quarterly results that barely met expectations in most cases. There�� no reason to expect anything substantially different this week, except perhaps from Home Depot, which has history of being cautious with its estimates.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: Macy�� Inc. (NYSE: M) is up 9.4% at $50.70 after clearing a low bar. Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is up 13.8% at $32.12 on solid earnings and rising margins. Health Management Associates Inc. (NYSE: HMA) is up 5.6% at $13.23. NQ Mobile Inc. (NYSE: NQ) is down 8.8% at $13.05 after failing to calm fears arising from short seller attack.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: REX American Resources Corp (REX)

Rex American Resources Corporation (REX), incorporated in 1984, is a holding company to succeed to the entire ownership of three affiliated corporations, Rex Radio and Television, Inc., Stereo Town, Inc. and Kelly & Cohen Appliances, Inc. As of January 31, 2012, the Company had lease agreements, as landlord, for six owned former retail stores and had 16 vacant former retail properties. The Company also owns one former distribution center that is partially leased, partially occupied by its corporate office personnel and partially vacant. The Company is marketing these vacant properties to lease or sell. As of January 31, 2012, the Company invested in five ethanol production entities, two of which the Company has a majority ownership interest in. These properties include One Earth Energy, LLC, NuGen Energy, LLC, Patriot Renewable Fuels, LLC, Levelland Hockley County Ethanol, LLC, and one group consisting of Big River Resources, LLC-W Burlington, Big River Resources, LLC-Galva and Big River United Energy, LLC. It operates through two business segments: alternative energy and real estate.

On November 1, 2011, the Company acquired an additional 50% equity interest in NuGen Energy, LLC. In December 2011, Big River acquired a 100% interest in an ethanol production facility located in Boyceville, Wisconsin.

Alternative Energy

As of January 31, 2012, all of the entities the Company is invested in are operating except for Levelland Hockley County Ethanol, LLC (Levelland Hockley). As of January 31, 2011, the Company held a 74% interest in One Earth Energy, LLC. The plant has an annual nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of dried distillers grains (DDG). The Company owns a 23% interest in Patriot Renewable Fuels, LLC (Patriot). The plant is located in Annawan, Illinois and has a nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of DDG per year.

As of January 31, 2012, all of the entities the Company is in! vested in are operating except for Levelland Hockley County Ethanol, LLC (Levelland Hockley). As of January 31, 2011, the Company held a 74% interest in One Earth Energy, LLC. The plant has an annual nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of dried distillers grains (DDG). The Company owns a 23% interest in Patriot Renewable Fuels, LLC (Patriot). The plant is located in Annawan, Illinois and has a nameplate capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol and 320,000 tons of DDG per year.

Levelland Hockley is located in Levelland, Texas. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 40 million gallons of ethanol and 135,000 tons of dried distillers grains (DDG) per year. The plant was shut down in January 2011. On January 31, 2011, the Company sold 814,000 of its membership units to Levelland Hockley, reducing its ownership interest in Levelland Hockley to 49%. As a result, it no longer has a controlling financial interest in Levelland Hockley.

Real Estate Operations

As of January 31, 2011, the Company had lease agreements, as landlord, for all or parts of eight owned former retail stores (88,000 square feet leased and 10,000 square feet vacant). It had 22 owned former retail stores (281,000 square feet) that were vacant as of January 31, 2011. The Company is marketing these vacant properties to lease or sell. In addition, one former distribution center is partially leased (266,000 square feet), partially occupied by its corporate office personnel (10,000 square feet) and partially vacant (190,000 square feet). A typical lease agreement has an initial term of five to twenty years with renewal options. Most of its lessees are responsible for a portion of maintenance, taxes and other executory costs.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tristan R. Brown]

  Three months ago I wrote that the stock performance YTD of independent ethanol producer Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) was an "aberration", especially in light of the performance of its industry peers' shares. The discrepancy between Pacific Ethanol's share price and those of its peers has only grown more pronounced since July (see figure). Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) and REX American Resources (REX) have continued to greatly outperform the S&P 500. Even Biofuel Energy, which fell behind on its interest and debt payments over the summer and is facing a shareholder-ruining liquidation, has seen its share price perform significantly better than Pacific Ethanol's in 2013. The oddest part about the stock's performance over the last three months, however, is that the period has been marked by multiple positive announcements from the company. It late July it reported its first positive EPS in almost two years for Q2 (0.07). Its Q2 EBITDA of $3.8 million was its highest since Q4 2011. Its current ratio is well above its previous lows, its ratio of total assets to total liabilities is increasing, and its total shareholders' equity is at a 3-year high. Despite these improvements, the company's price/book ratio is a mere 0.77.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: AutoCanada Inc (ACQ)

AutoCanada Inc. (AutoCanada) is a multi-location automobile dealership groups. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 24 franchised dealerships in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. During the year ended December 31, 2011, its dealerships sold approximately 28,000 vehicles and processed approximately 300,000 service and collision repair orders in its 333 service bays. As of December 31, 2011, it was authorized to sell through its dealerships the vehicle brands, which include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Hyundai, Nissan, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Subaru. In addition, it sells a range of used vehicles. In November 2011, the Company acquired assets of two dealerships. In January 2013, the Company purchased the assets of a Volkswagen dealership known as People's Automotive Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Greg Quinn]

  AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ), the country�� largest publicly traded chain of car dealerships, is using sales of trucks to Alberta oil workers to fund higher dividends and buy out competitors.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: FTD Companies Inc (FTD)

FTD Companies, Inc. (FTD), incorporated on April 25, 2008, is a floral and gifting company. The Company provides floral, gift and related products and services to consumers and retail florists, as well as to other retail locations offering floral and gift products primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The Company operates in one segment, which includes floral and related products and services. Its business uses the FTD and Interflora brands, both supported by the Mercury Man logo. The Company�� portfolio of brands also includes Flying Flowers, Flowers Direct, and Drake Algar in the United Kingdom. On November 1, 2013, United Online, Inc. (United Online) completed the separation of United Online into two independent, publicly traded companies: FTD Companies, Inc. and United Online, Inc.

The Company�� products revenues are derived primarily from selling floral, gift and related products to consumers and the related shipping and service fees. Products revenues also include revenues generated from sales of hard goods, software and hardware systems, cut flowers, packaging and promotional products, and a range of other floral-related supplies to floral network members. Its services revenues related to orders sent through the floral network are variable based on either the number of orders or on the value of orders and are recognized in the period in which the orders.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  As we head towards Black Friday, small cap specialty retail stocks United Online, Inc (NASDAQ: UNTD), TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE: TA) and MarineMax, Inc (NYSE: HZO) have the distinction of being the best performing small cap�specialty retail stocks for this year (according to Finviz.com) with gains of 181.2%, 123.8% and 71.8%, respectively. With those returns in mind, what are these small cap specialty retail stocks doing right and will the performance last through the all important holiday season? Here is what new and existing investors and traders alike need to know or consider:

  United Online, Inc.�A provider of consumer products and services over the Internet, United Online�� Content & Media segment services are online nostalgia (Memory Lane) and online loyalty marketing (MyPoints) while its�primary Communications segment services are Internet access and email (NetZero and Juno). The reason United Online is among the�best performing specialty retail stocks for this year in various stock screening tools like Finviz.com�is actually misleading as the company has just completed the spin off�of subsidiary FTD Companies, a floral and gifts products company acquired in August 2008 for $441 million, as�FTD Companies Inc (NASDAQ: FTD) where United Online shareholders received one share of FTD common stock for every five shares of United Online common stock they hold. In addition, United Online completed�a�one-for-seven reverse stock split of United Online shares.�On Tuesday, small cap United Online, Inc fell 1.01% to $15.72 (UNTD has a 52 week trading range of $11.65 to $62.30 a share) for a market cap of $207.79 million plus the stock is up 181.2% since the start of the year and up 182.2% over the past five years. Meanwhile, the FTD Companies Inc�now has a�market cap of $611.60 and the stock is up almost 6% since October.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  BlueOrange Studio/Shutterstock One day out of 365, we pay homage to our sainted mothers. Those of us who are members of this long-suffering, uncomplaining, self-sacrificing class may get some soggy French toast in bed, (don't worry, kids; mom will clean up the kitchen), a chance to read in peace, or perhaps time to indulge in a long, hot bath. Bringing Home the Bacon If you really want to pay back mom for all she's done, get ready to pony up big. A card and some carnations (the official flower of Mother's Day, who knew?) just won't cut it. The cost of replacing mom as nurturer, nurse, cleaner and cook -- according to Insure.com's 2014 Mother's Day salary index -- would run you $62,985 a year, up from $59,862 in 2013. Breaking down the price of having someone else handle her various duties: Cooking and cleaning, $12,230 Child care, $21,736 Homework help, $7,290 Chauffeur, $5,672 Shopping, yard work, party and activity planning, finances, etc., $15,019 And my personal favorite, finding out what the kids are up to (paid in the equivalent value of a private detective), $1,036. Salary.com placed a higher value on moms in its 2014 Mother's Day salary survey, concluding that stay-at-home moms were worth $118,905 and working moms worth $70,107 (this does not include any paid salary from their job), with both groups putting more than 56 hours of overtime at home. These numbers are all up from last year's survey. Cooking It Up in a Pan Mom helps to pay for other things, too. Thanks to the Department of Agriculture, you can see what it costs to raise a child in the U.S. to 18. As of August 2013, the average cost is $241,080. This does not cover college, and hopefully dear old dad is contributing. In 2012, there were 10.3 million single U.S. mothers with children under 18, and one-third of women who gave birth in 2012 were single moms. By becoming moms, women give up time to do other things, what economists call an "opportunity cost." Particularly if your mother st

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc (ULTA)

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (Ulta), incorporated on January 9, 1990, is a beauty retailer, which provides one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the United States. During the year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2011), the Company opened 61 new stores. It operates full-service salons in all of its stores. Its Ulta store format includes an open and modern salon area with approximately eight to 10 stations. The entire salon area is approximately 950 square feet with a concierge desk, skin treatment room, semi-private shampoo and hair color processing areas. Each salon is a full-service salon offering hair cuts, hair coloring and permanent texture, with salons also providing facials and waxing.

The Company offers products in the categories, such as cosmetics, which includes products for the face, eyes, cheeks, lips and nails; haircare, which includes shampoos, conditioners, styling products, and hair accessories; salon styling tools, which includes hair dryers, curling irons and flat irons; skincare and bath and body, which includes products for the face, hands and body; fragrance for both men and women; private label, consisting of Ulta branded cosmetics, skincare, bath and body products and haircare, and other, including candles, home fragrance products and other miscellaneous health and beauty products. The Company has combined its three operating segments: retail stores, salon services and e-commerce, into one reportable segment.

The Company competes with Macy��, Nordstrom, Sephora, Bath & Body Works, CVS/pharmacy, Walgreens, Target, Wal-Mart, Regis Corp., Sally Beauty and JCPenney salons.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) shares plunged 15.7% to $99.50 after the beauty products retailer�� quarterly results and outlook fell short of Wall Street expectations. The company reported third-quarter earnings of 70 cents a share on revenue of $618.9 million. Results included a severance charge of 2 cents a share. Analysts were expecting 74 cents a share on revenue of $622.1 million. For the current quarter, Ulta expects to earn between $1.07 a share to $1.10 a share on revenue of $853 million to $867 million. Analysts expect $1.24 a share on revenue of $893.6 million.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Finally, beyond the Dow, the end of earnings season and M&A activity continued to move stocks. Ulta Salon (NASDAQ: ULTA  ) has soared 15.6% after it released favorable results, including same-store sales gains of 6.7% and a 23% increase in overall revenue. Somewhat weak guidance for the current quarter wasn't enough to slow the stock's advance. Meanwhile, Cooper Tire (NYSE: CTB  ) launched 40% higher after getting a $35 per-share buyout bid from Indian company Apollo Tyres. If companies see value even as the stock market pauses or corrects, then further acquisition activity could well spur the market's bull run onward.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Invest In Right Now: L Brands Inc (LTD)

L Brands, Inc., formerly Limited Brands, Inc, incorporated on March 16, 1982, operates in the specialty retail business. The Company is a specialty retailer of women�� intimate and other apparel, beauty and personal care products and accessories. The Company operates in two segments: Victoria�� Secret and Bath & Body Works. It sells its merchandise through Company-owned specialty retail stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, which are primarily mall-based, and through Websites, catalogue and international franchise, license and wholesale partners. The Company operates in brands, such as Victoria�� Secret, Victoria�� Secret Pink, Bath & Body Works, La Senza, and Henri Bendel. The Company�� business for both the Victoria�� Secret and Bath & Body Works segments is principally conducted from office, distribution and shipping facilities located in the Columbus, Ohio area.

As of February 2, 2013, it operated 255 retail stores located in leased facilities, primarily in malls and shopping centers, throughout the Canadian provinces. As of February 2, 2013, it operated two retail stores in London. As of February 2, 2013, it operated 2,619 retail stores located in leased facilities, primarily in malls and shopping centers, throughout the United States. As of February 2, 2013, it also had 339 licensed La Senza stores in 32 countries; 38 franchised Bath & Body Works stores in nine countries; three franchised Victoria's Secret stores in two Middle Eastern countries, and 108 independently owned Victoria�� Secret Beauty and Accessories stores and various small-format locations in over 50 countries.

Victoria�� Secret, including Victoria�� Secret Pink, is a specialty retailer of women�� intimate and other apparel with fragrances and cosmetics, supermodels and runway shows. The Company sells its Victoria�� Secret products at more than 1,000 Victoria�� Secret stores in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and through the Victoria�� Secret catal! ogue and online at www.VictoriasSecret.com. Additionally, Victoria�� Secret brand products are also sold in stores operated by partners under a franchise or wholesale model throughout the world.

Bath & Body Works is a specialty retailer of home fragrance and personal care products, including shower gels, lotions, soaps and sanitizers. The Company sells its Bath & Body Works products at more than 1,600 Bath & Body Works stores in the United States and Canada and online at www.BathandBodyWorks.com. Additionally, Bath & Body Works brand products are available at franchise locations throughout the world.

La Senza is a specialty retailer of women�� intimate apparel. The Company sells its La Senza products at more than 150 La Senza stores in Canada and online at www.LaSenza.com. Additionally, La Senza has more than 330 stores in 32 countries operating under franchise and licensing arrangements. Henri Bendel sells upscale accessory products through its New York flagship and 28 other stores, as well as online at www.HenriBendel.com.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  L Brands (NYSE: LTD  ) reported earnings on May 22. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended May 4 (Q1), L Brands met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.