Hot European Stocks To Own For 2014

The retreat by European bears is turning into a rout as equity traders reduce bets against the region�� stocks by about $80 billion to the lowest level in at least seven years.

Borrowed shares of Euro Stoxx 50 Index (SX5E) companies, an indication of wagers against equities, have fallen to 1.7 percent of the total outstanding from 3.2 percent two years ago and 24 percent at the height of the financial crisis, according to data from Markit, the London-based research firm. Bullish bets on Europe have reached the most since 2007 in a Bank of America Corp. survey of money managers who oversee $518 billion.

Investors are regaining confidence, squeezing pessimists who say the economy remains sluggish outside of Germany and point to record-low trading volume as a lack of conviction in the Euro Stoxx�� 61 percent rally of the past two years. Besides gains in stocks from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA to Renault SA (RNO), yields on Spanish and Italian bonds have declined to a two-year low compared with German bunds and the euro has strengthened 4.6 percent to $1.35 in the past six months.

Top 5 Insurance Stocks To Own For 2015: Telefonica SA(TEF)

Telefonica, S.A. provides fixed and mobile telephony services primarily in Spain, rest of Europe, and Latin America. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone; local, domestic, and international long distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; video telephony; supplementary and business-oriented value-added services; network services; leasing and sale of handset equipment; and telephony information services. The company?s Internet and broadband multimedia services comprise Internet service provider service; portal and network services; retail and wholesale broadband access; narrowband switched access to Internet; naked ADSL, a broadband connection; residential-oriented value-added services; companies-oriented value-added services; television services, such as IPTV, cable television, and satellite television; and Fiber to the Home, a service for high speed Internet access and digital video recording. Its data and business-solutions services principally include leased lines; virtual private network services; fiber optics services; the provision of hosting and application; outsourcing and consultancy services; desktop services; and system integration and professional services. The company?s wholesale services for telecommunication operators primarily comprise domestic interconnection services; international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators? network deployment; local loop leasing under the unbundled local loop regulation framework; and bit stream services. It also offers various mobile and related services and products that include mobile voice services, value added services, mobile data and Internet services, wholesale services, corporate services, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. The company has a strategic alliance with China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. Telefonica, S.A. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spai n.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  So, what does this mean for AMX stock and for its largest single competitor in Latin America, Spain��Telefonica (TEF)?

  To start, this will, by default, massively diversify AMX�� revenue stream globally. Though AMX is the number-one or number-two mobile provider in nearly every Latin American country, its home market of Mexico is by far its biggest. Mexico currently accounts for about a third of sales and nearly half of profits. The new AMX will be a pan-Latin-American telecom giant based in Mexico rather than a Mexican telecom giant with operations in Central and South America.

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  Next Page

  European Dividend Stocks to Buy: Telefonica (TEF)

  Dividend Yield: 6%

  And finally, we get to one of my favorite long-term holdings, Spanish telecom giant Telefonica (TEF).

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) announced it is in talks to acquire an un-named Mexican rival for as much as 3 billion euros. Shares gained 1.22 percent, closing at $16.63.

Hot European Stocks To Own For 2014: STMicroelectronics N.V.(STM)

STMicroelectronics N.V., an independent semiconductor company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of semiconductor integrated circuits and discrete devices. Its products include discrete and standard commodity components, application-specific integrated circuits, custom devices and semi-custom devices, and application-specific standard products for analog, digital, and mixed-signal applications. The company also offers subsystems and modules for the telecommunications, automotive, and industrial markets comprising mobile phone accessories, battery chargers, ISDN power supplies, and in-vehicle equipment for electronic toll payment, as well as provides Smartcard products. Its products are used in various microelectronic applications consisting of automotive products, computer peripherals, telecommunications systems, consumer products, industrial automation, and control systems. The company sells its products through distributors and ret ailers. STMicroelectronics N.V. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Laundon]

  Analog Devices (ADI) is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the motion-sensing space, with a market cap of $15.87 billion. STM Electronics (STM) is a slightly smaller manufacturer; its market cap is $7.6 billion.

• [By Esekla]

  Like Universal Display, InvenSense (INVN) represents a good long-term opportunity in its own right. The price entry point is not quite as good, though it has pulled back under my more recent price target of $15, when reports of a long-awaited Apple design win were challenged. Though conversations between the two are ongoing, InvenSense management's comments indicate an unwillingness to get roped into wrecking margin for volume, like many other Apple suppliers. Consequently, I don't believe they will gain Apple as a customer until the release of an iWatch or similar device that absolutely requires InvenSense's best-in-class form factors and power usage. It's also possible that continued good news on their legal battles with ST Micro (STM) could move the stock.

• [By John Udovich]

  If you are looking for a semiconductor stock that�� focus on an area that�� not so cyclical, mid cap microcontroller (MCU) stock Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) could be a good choice���meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with other�microcontroller�players like Microchip Technology Inc (NASDAQ: MCHP), STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE: STM) and Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: CY). Microcontrollers are programmable and�embedded�chips that are increasingly�hidden inside a all sorts of products these days e.g. if you have an appliance�with a�LED or LCD screen and a keypad, it contains some kind of�microcontroller plus all new�automobiles contain at least one�and often several. I should mention that we have also recently added Atmel Corporation to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio and we are down about 5.6% mostly due to the recent market volatility.

• [By ICRAOnline]

  Revenue for the last quarter stood at $73.4 million, up 27.9% from the year-ago quarter. This was primarily driven by the growth in memory technology licensing, coupled with impressive performance of its security technology licensing business. During the quarter, Rambus also signed new licensing agreements with tech giant Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology (MU), STMicroelectronics (STM), LSI Semiconductor (LSI) and SK Hynix. However, the company�� LED lighting business failed to make any significant contribution.

Hot European Stocks To Own For 2014: British American Tobacco Industries p.l.c.(BTI)

British American Tobacco p.l.c., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of tobacco products. The company offers cigars, cigarettes, smokeless snus, roll-your-own, and pipe tobacco products under the Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Rothmans, Peter Stuyvesant, Benson & Hedges, and State Express 555 brand names. It has operations in the Asia-Pacific, the Americas, eastern and western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. British American Tobacco p.l.c. operates independently of Remgro Ltd. as of November 03, 2008.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Stephens]

  The tide, it seems, is turning against tobacco companies such as�British American Tobacco� (LSE: BATS  ) (NYSEMKT: BTI  ) .

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Given the size of a potential acquisition of Lorillard would be quite large, we question how a bid from [Reynolds American] would be financed. Therefore, we think a more likely deal could be a merger between [Lorillard] and�[Reynolds American] rather than an acquisition. Also, there has been speculation that British American Tobacco (BTI), which currently owns ~42% of�[Reynolds American's] stock, could take a majority stake in�[Reynolds American] after the standstill ends in July 2014. While we believe the most likely scenario is that [British American Tobacco] and�[Reynolds American] could reach a strategic partnership to market/sell e-cigs globally, we wouldn�� rule out�[British American Tobacco] taking a majority stake in [Reynolds American]. Furthermore, if this occurs,�[British American Tobacco] could help finance a potential acquisition of [Lorillard].

Hot European Stocks To Own For 2014: Fresenius Medical Care Corporation (FMS)

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, a dialysis company, provides products and services for patients with chronic kidney diseases. As of May 12, 2011, it provided dialysis care services to 216,942 patients through its network of 2,769 dialysis clinics primarily in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and Africa. The company also develops and manufactures various dialysis products, including hemodialysis machines, dialyzers, hemofilters, dialysis fluid filters, tubing systems, fistula needles, dialysis related equipment, acute hemodialysis machines, plasma filters, acute tubing systems and cassettes, catheters, and related disposable products for chronic hemodialysis, acute therapy, home therapy, and therapeutic apheresis, as well as dialysis drugs. In addition, it provides laboratory services. Fresenius Medical sells its products through distributors. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Carlson, CEO and Portfolio Manager, Horizon Investment Services]

  For investors looking for growth but also income, I especially like three health-care related stocks��resenius Medical (FMS), Novo Nordisk (NVO), and Smith & Nephew (SNN).

• [By Louie Grint]

  Still unaffected
  First, Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS  ) is the No. 1 global provider of dialysis equipment. It enjoys leading market share of almost 33% in its home country.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap dialysis stock Rockwell Medical Inc (NASDAQ: RMTI) looks set to decline when the market opens after Brean Capital initiated coverage with a sell rating and a price target of $4.00, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at what is going on with the stock along with�the performance of large cap dialysis stocks DaVita Healthcare Partners (NYSE: DVA)�and Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) along with small cap dialysis stocks NxStage Medical, Inc (NASDAQ: NXTM).�

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid decided today to cut government payment to dialysis clinics. So why did share prices for DaVita HealthCare Partners (DVA) and rival Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) rise so steeply today?

Hot European Stocks To Own For 2014: BP p.l.c.(BP)

BP p.l.c. provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services, and petrochemicals products. Its Exploration and Production segment engages in the oil and natural gas exploration, field development, and production; midstream transportation, and storage and processing; and marketing and trading of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and power and natural gas liquids (NGL). This segment has exploration and production activities in Angola, Azerbaijan, Canada, Egypt, Norway, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in Asia, Australasia, South America, North Africa, and the Middle East. This segment also owns and manages crude oil and natural gas pipelines; processing facilities and export terminals; and LNG processing and transportation, as well as NGL extraction facilities. BP p.l.c. has interests in the Trans-Alaska pipeline system, the Forties pipeline system, the Central Area transmission sys tem pipeline, the South Caucasus Pipeline, and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, as well as in LNG plants located in Trinidad, Indonesia, and Australia. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment involves in the supply and trading, refining, manufacturing, marketing, and transportation of crude oil, petroleum, and petrochemicals products and related services to wholesale and retail customers primarily under the BP, Castrol, ARCO, and Aral brands. Its Other Businesses and Corporate segment produces and markets rolled aluminum products, as well as generates energy through wind, solar, biofuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage sources; and engages in shipping activities. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  For instance, embattled British oil giant BP (NYSE: BP  ) saw its first-quarter total oil and gas production fall 5% from year-ago levels, while French oil major Total (NYSE: TOT  ) reported a 2% drop. Even Exxon, despite its massive reserves and unparalleled efficiency in allocating capital, saw a 3.5% year-over-year decline in first-quarter production.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  The black gold still deserves its rich name. Chevron powers its generous dividends with outsize cash flows. The company's dividend boosts have left fellow Dow component and cash machine ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) in the dust, even though Exxon's cash flows are an order of magnitude richer. Chevron hasn't suffered any massively damaging setbacks like BP 's (NYSE: BP  ) Deepwater Horizon disaster, which put a damper on that company's market-crushing dividend increases. Royal Dutch Shell's (NYSE: RDS-A  ) total payouts plunged when the merger of Royal Dutch and Shell was completed in 2005 -- and have stayed modest ever since.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Looking back over the past year, a simple S&P 500 index fund has outperformed many key oil stocks, both domestic and foreign. In particular, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) has delivered less than half the gains of the S&P, while British giant BP (NYSE: BP  ) has been stuck right at the halfway point. Most of the biggest oil stocks in the U.S. and abroad have delivered only single-digit-percentage gains so far this year, compared to the S&P's double-digit rise. Let's take a look at what's behind the underperformance in oil stocks and whether the industry is poised to recover in the near future.