Friendly Ghosts Raise Home Prices

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- Alexandra Chauran, a 32-year-old fortune teller in Issaquah, Wash., bought a home there with her husband in December 2011. But she hardly blinked at the $350,000 asking price when she discovered the house was haunted.

A possessed property -- perhaps a deal-breaker to some -- actually allows a seller to command a premium on the real estate market when the buyer is an enthusiast of the occult like Chauran. It's hard for experts to put a finger on the exact value a ghost adds, but that intangible factor can clinch a deal.

Chauran and her husband met the previous owner of the four-bedroom, three-bath home who explained how the spirit of a boy who died on the property still lingers. That's when the Chaurans decided they had to make this their home and brought their two young children in tow when they signed on the dotted line.

"The story just increased our enthusias

Where Will Dell Go Next?

With shares of Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) trading around $12, is DELL an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Dell is a global information technology company that offers its customers a range of solutions and services, which are delivered directly by Dell, as well as other distribution channels. The company operates in four segments: Large Enterprise, Public, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer. Dell serves a wide range of customers: global and national corporate businesses; educational institutions; government, health care, and law enforcement agencies; small and medium-sized businesses; as well as end users. Through its four segments, Dell is able to provide information technology products to a growing user base around the world.

Dell shareholders are due to vote on founder Michael Dell's $24.4 billion buyout offer today, but some are expecting the vote to be postponed again as Mr. Dell works to drum up support for his bid. Dell is competing against billionaire Carl Icahn to take the struggling the company private. Dell shareholders are in a predicament: many don't feel that Dell's offer is high enough, but they also recognize that the company's stock could take a major hit the longer the uncertainty lasts.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Mixed

Dell stock has been in a decline over the last few years. The stock has been trading sideways as the buyout war continues. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages.

What are the key moving averages? They are the 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Dell is trading between its key averages, which signal neutral price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Dell options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	Top 10 Cheap Companies To Watch For 2014 30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Dell Options	45.25%	86%	83%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very significant amount of call and put options contracts, compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
August Options	Flat	Average
September Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is average demand from call buyers or sellers, and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts, and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates, and what that means for Dell’s stock.

E = Earnings Are Decreasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Dell’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Dell look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-80.56%	-29.00%	-44.90%	-12.50%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	-2.41%	-10.71%	-10.70%	-7.50%
Earnings Reaction	-0.22%	0.21%	-7.32%	-5.34%

Dell has seen decreasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been disappointed with Dell’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Dell stock done relative to its peers, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), HP (NYSE:HPQ), IBM (NYSE:IBM), and sector?

	Dell	Apple	HP	IBM	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	26.48%	-16.86%	82.74%	2.74%	15.73%

Dell has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Dell offers a variety of technology products and services to companies and consumers worldwide. The recent buyout battle has put shareholders of the company in a tough spot. The stock has declined in the last several years, but looks to remain stagnant until the buyout of company is settled. Over the last four quarters, investors in the company have been disappointed, as earnings and revenue figures have decreased. Relative to its peers and sector, Dell has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Dell does this coming quarter.

Where Will Microsoft Go Next?

With shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) trading around $33, is the stock an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze it with the relevant sections of our Cheat Sheet investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Microsoft is engaged in developing, licensing, and supporting a range of software products and services. The company also designs and sells hardware, and delivers online advertising to customers. It operates in five segments: Windows & Windows Live Division, Server and Tools, Online Services Division, Microsoft Business Division, and Entertainment and Devices Division. Through its array of divisions, Microsoft is able to provide products and services to a wide range of consumers and businesses across different industries around the world. As a mature company, Microsoft is also offering a stable dividend that is currently yielding around 2.74 percent annually.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Microsoft stock has been part of a consistent range for most of the past decade. The stock is now trading near the top of this range, where it may see some resistance. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart from Thinkorswim below, Microsoft is trading near its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near term.

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Microsoft options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Microsoft Options	25.92%	83%	80%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a significant amount of call and put options contracts, compared to the past 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
July Options	Flat	Average
August Options	Flat	Average

As of Tuesday, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers, and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts, and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. The last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Microsoft’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and year-over-year revenue growth figures for Microsoft look like and, more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	20.00%	-2.56%	-22.06%	-108.70%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	17.71%	2.78%	-7.83%	3.97%
Earnings Reaction	3.36%	0.90%	-2.91%	-1.76%

Microsoft has seen mixed earnings and rising revenue figures in the past four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been optimistic with Microsoft’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Microsoft stock performed relative to its peers – Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) — and sector?

	Microsoft	Oracle	Apple	Google	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	25.61%	-10.02%	-24.53%	22.40%	10.13%

Microsoft has been a relative performance leader in the year to date.

Conclusion

Microsoft is a well-regarded company that provides software products and services to a large number of companies and consumers operating worldwide. The stock has been on a bullish run this year, but is now trading near the top of a multi-year range that may cause some trouble. Over the past four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been on the rise, leading to optimistic investors. Relative to its peers and sector, Microsoft has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Microsoft does the remainder of this quarter.

iCar? Analyst says Apple should buy Tesla

One analyst believes electric cars are the secret to a profitable future for Apple.

LONDON (CNNMoney) Should Apple's next killer product be the iCar?

Taking his lead from billionaire investor Carl Icahn, analyst Andaan Ahmad at German investment bank Berenberg has written an open letter to Apple chief executive Tim Cook and chairman Arthur Levinson. Ahmad calls on Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) to buy electric carmaker Tesla (TSLA).

The London-based Ahmad -- who says he's covered the tech industry for nearly 20 years -- argued in Friday's letter that Apple's shift into the auto sector could give the company the kind of revenue growth that won't be sustainable from just smartphones and other mobile devices over the longer-term.

The move could reignite the U.S. auto industry and would be a catalyst to accelerate the current transition to hybrid and electric vehicles.

Top 10 Stocks To Watch For 2014

Ahmad said the strength of the Apple brand and its history of "disrupting" industries are reasons why his bold plan could make sense.

And then there's Tesla chief Elon Musk, who Ahmad sees as an innovative presence like the late Steve Jobs. Many analysts and investors have worried that Apple has not been the same since Jobs passed away two years ago.

"You could strike up a partnership and obtain a new iconic partner to lead Apple's innovation drive," Ahmad wrote.

While noting his proposal will be ridiculed by some, Ahmad said that Apple needs an "out of the box" move into a new market. Otherwise, he thinks "the key debate will always be about your ability to sustain these abnormal margins in your iPhone business."

This is the second piece of unsolicited advice Apple has received in the past week. Icahn issued an open letter to Tim Cook on Thursday and urged the company to buy back $150 billion of its own stock.

Icahn thinks Apple's stock is extremely undervalued and that the company should invest in its own shares right now.

Berenberg's Ahmad poked fun at Icahn in his proposal, saying he'd love to meet Cook and Levinson in London and promised not to tweet about their talk.

Apple, Tesla and Icahn weren't immediately available for comment.

Apple will release its fourth-quarter results after the closing bell Monday. Sales are expected to be up slightl! y from last year but analysts are forecasting that earnings were down again.

Although Apple's stock has rebounded sharply lately on hopes of strong iPhone sales, shares are still down year-to-date and are 25% below their all-time high from September 2012.

Tesla, on the other hand, has been a darling of Wall Street. Shares are up nearly 400% this year. The company's market value is now about $20 billion. The stock's meteoric rise has prompted Musk to say on more than one occasion that he thinks the stock has a higher price than it deserves.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks For 2014

What has two thumbs and is killing your 401(k)? If you said Ben Bernanke, you're our next winner!!!

Well, the Fed chairman may not deserve all the blame for the market's recent drop, but that's certainly what Wall Street seems to believe.�For the second day in a row, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) fell more than 100 points, again on concerns about central bank tightening, ending down 127 points, or 0.8%, slightly below 15,000 at 14,995. The blue chips actually opened up more than 100 points, but those gains quickly disappeared.

Yesterday, a lack of monetary policy action by the Bank of Japan sent stocks into a tailspin while today, on a day with no major economic reports out, the Dow sunk on general fears about the Fed cutting its stimulus. The next major Fed announcement will come next Wednesday, when it provides its latest decision and thoughts on the benchmark interest rate, which it's held at 0.25% for nearly five years.

Today's news wasn't all bad, though, as a report showed that last year the U.S. had the world's biggest increase in oil output and its biggest increase ever adding more than 1 million barrels a day in production to 8.9 million a day, or a 14% jump. The additional output has helped keep oil prices down, ensures a steady supply for American consumers, and aids U.S. foreign policy interests.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Divine]

  The last of the major tech gainers in the Dow today, IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) added 2.5%. IBM, which for decades has epitomized traditional business technology, is also embracing the cloud. Today it announced a new offering, IBM SmartCloud, which is a feature aimed at facilitating the flow of information in business through a wide swath of possible devices.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  This week, I'll highlight the nation's second largest integrated oil and gas company, Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) .

  Every Chevron shareholders' biggest nightmare
  The biggest concern for Chevron and its largest rival, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) , is declining energy prices. Weakening global economies could send oil and natural gas prices significantly lower, which would dramatically affect both companies' bottom lines. Lower prices became a reality for both Chevron and ExxonMobil in their most recent quarters. Chevron's average realized price for a barrel of oil and natural gas liquids fell to $94 from $102 in the year prior. For ExxonMobil, lower oil price realizations coupled with higher natural gas price realization lowered year-over-year earnings by $230 million.�

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) is about to make its shareholders a little richer. The company declared a fresh quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share of its common stock, which will be dispensed on June 10 to shareholders of record as of May 17. That amount is 11% higher than the $0.90 Chevron paid in each of its preceding four quarters. Prior to that, the firm handed out $0.81 per share.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  ExxonMobil has been struggling to grow its production in a meaningful way for a few years now. However, on a per-share basis, the company's production growth has been industry leading, thanks to its steady buybacks. Over the past five years, each share has an interest in 21% more production, which is an annualized growth rate per share of 5%. As the following chart shows, ExxonMobil easily outpaces Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) and BP (NYSE: BP  ) :

• [By John Maxfield]

  In terms of individual stocks, shares of Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) are headed higher in afternoon trading after the oil giant reported first-quarter earnings (link opens PDF) before the bell. While the oil giant saw its revenue and net income decline by 6.4% and 4.5%, respectively, its earnings per share managed to come in ahead of estimates. For the three months ended March 31, the company earned $3.31 per share compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 per share. Like ExxonMobil, which reported yesterday, Chevron's top and bottom lines were the latest victims of falling global oil prices.

Hot Oil Companies To Own For 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  )
  Colgate's shares are trading well below the $62 high they hit just last month. The consumer goods company is heavily levered to international sales, with more than 80% of its business coming from outside the U.S. and more than half coming from emerging markets.

• [By Ong Kang Wei]

  Another example of such a product is Colgate-Palmolive (CL)'s Colgate toothpaste. I do not think I have to elaborate much here. Toothpaste is needed in our everyday life, and we will definitely have to buy more toothpaste after we have finished using a packet of it, ensuring that Colgate gets more and more sales over the years.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Colgate-Palmolive
  Toothpaste and toothbrushes may not be exciting business, but it's consistent and consumers tend to develop habits they rarely break. Once they find a toothpaste brand they like, it could be years before they try another one. That leads to another incredibly consistent business for Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , one that has paid back investors with a dividend since 1895. �

• [By Eric Volkman]

  It's one of the steadiest dividend payers on the market, and it's continuing to fly level. Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) has declared a fresh quarterly common stock dividend, which is to be $0.34 per share, paid on August 15 to shareholders of record as of July 23. That amount matches the firm's previous distribution; this was paid in May. Prior to that, Colgate-Palmolive handed out $0.31 per share.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks For 2014: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuters]

  Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe Dow Jones news ticker in Times Square, New York City. NEW YORK -- Investment bank Goldman Sachs Group (GS), credit-card company Visa (V), and footwear Nike (NKE) will join the blue chip Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) Dow Jones industrial average, the index managers said Tuesday, in the biggest shake-up for the 30-stock average in nearly a decade. The three companies will replace Bank of America (BAC), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Alcoa (AA), all lower-priced stocks that exert a lesser pull on the price-weighted index. The changes will be effective on Sept. 23, S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a statement. The average, first established in 1896, includes 30 stocks, but very little money is indexed to its performance, unlike the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (^GSPC) or other indexes. In addition, because it is weighted by price, companies that are smaller in value with higher prices have more influence on the average. "Wow, those are big changes," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, N.Y. "The Dow is really an antiquated index. It is price-weighted, which makes no sense. But there are still are some people that pay attention to it, and some technicians, so it has an influence on some people." Google (GOOG) and other names were considered for inclusion but passed over because of high stock prices, David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the S&P Index Committee, told CNBC. The index manager said the changes were prompted by the low stock price of the three companies slated for removal and a desire to diversify the make-up of the index. Alcoa, in particular, has been seen as a candidate for elimination for some time, as the stock's market value of $8.5 billion is easily the lowest in the average. It is the first three-for-three change to the index since April 8, 2004, when American International Group (AIG), Pfizer (PFE) and Verizon (VZ) replaced AT&

• [By Tim Beyers]

  Getty Images There are some people who spend $5,000 each year going out to lunch. And then there are some who spend nothing. But according to a new Visa (V) survey, on average, Americans spend $936 a year -- or $10 per outing -- on restaurant-made lunches. That kind of money could easily help fund a winter trip to the beach, but it's going to stale chips, soda, and six-inch subs instead. Or, if you're among the 1 percent who spend more than $50 a lunch -- nearly $5,000 a year -- you'd have that beach trip completely covered. Here's a closer look at how the rest of us spend our lunch breaks: Men spend more. They spend 44 percent more, specifically: $21 weekly compared to $15 on average for women. So do the poor. Those who makes $25,000 or less spent more per meal, $11.70, than any other income bracket. Chitown = cheaptown. Midwesterners spent the least on eating out, just $8.90 per meal. Northeasterners ate out the least often -- just 1.5 times per week -- while Southerners spent an average of $10 each time on two weekly visits to the lunch counter. Resisting the temptation to get takeout for lunch can really pay off. "Simple choices have a large impact on your wallet," says Nat Sillin, Visa's head of U.S. Financial Education."Clipping a coupon, choosing a less expensive item, or brown-bagging it can save you hundreds over the course of a year." But Sillin isn't condemning eating lunch out. Rather, it's about being aware of how much you're spending and whether you can afford to spend that amount. "Going into debt for a tuna sandwich isn't worth it." Fair point. But what if you don't know where to start? Here are four tips for reducing your lunch tab without going hungry: 1. Bring leftovers. This should be obvious, but for many it isn't. Cook enough over the weekend for multiple weekday meals and then store the remainder in portable containers you can bring to work. Reheat, serve, and bask in the savings as you watch YouTube at your desk. 2. Buy frozen.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is another top credit card stock investors can look to buy. The company engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses and government entities. A staggering 21 analysts across Wall Street rate the stock at Buy, and nobody has a Sell rating on it. The consensus price target for the stock is $212. Investors are paid a 0.8% dividend.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Financial stocks are taking the brunt of the damage this morning. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) has dropped 1.1% to $129.83 at 9:38 a.m., making it the biggest loser among sector ETFs. Visa (V) and American Express (AXP) have dropped 1.8% and 1.7%, to lead the Dow lower.

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

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  BTIG Research analyst�Walter Piecyk suggests that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) should do whatever it takes to help DISH succeed, and he's absolutely right.

The Big (and Profitable) Changes in MLPs

From the Editor: Shares of MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE) are up 63% since Kent recommended them in Energy Advantage. Genesis Energy LP (Nasdaq: GEL) is up 71%. But the MLP market is about to get much more interesting, according to Kent. That's why he's targeting the "clones" now...

From the tax advantages to their high-paying yields, it's hard to beat the returns of a Master Limited Partnership (MLP).

And the good news for us is that this market is about to heat up again, especially when it comes to energy-based MLPs.

You see, the shape and focus of these MLPs is changing fast and for the better - even though it hasn't drawn much attention outside of these pages quite yet.

However, don't expect all of this to remain under the radar for too much longer.

In fact, new "MLP clones" are beginning to emerge that are going to hand us some interesting investment options in the coming months.

For MLP investors, what is about to hit is really something quite new...

The Advantages of Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs)

Of course, MLPs have long been a particularly attractive partnership option.

And when a company decides to float a part of the partnership proceeds as an equity issuance, average retail investors are allowed to participate as well.

One of the advantages of this arrangement is that an MLP carries tax considerations that distinguish it from other limited partnerships. In an MLP, there are no corporate taxes paid, meaning that all profits are carried through to the individual tax returns of limited partners.

And when stock is issued on such a partnership it is tantamount to a percentage of the profits passing directly through to the shareholders. Usually that translates into a dividend that is much higher than market averages.

It sounds like a perfect arrangement. But there are considerations on the other side investors need to account for.

For instance, MLPs must have a physical asset base.

That is, they have to be structured around tangible facilities. That's why most are based on oil and gas pipelines.

Of course, there are some exceptions. My favorite outlier, about as non-oil and gas as you can get, is StoneMor Partners LP (NYSE: STON). StonMor is an MLP that manages cemeteries... and it pays a 9.5% yield!

As it stands, the problems for the dominant pipeline-based MLPs emerge in two ways.

First, during periods in which natural gas or crude oil prices are declining, the value of an MLP based on pipelines will also decline.

Since much of that network is actually used for storage rather than transit, MLPs usually benefit whether a producer needs to ship or store volume coming out of the ground. However, in times when storage capacity maxes out, MLPs will also suffer.

Second, the structure of assets comprising the base for the partnership is also important. Facilities in areas where production is declining or that contain older pipelines that require either refurbishment or replacement will cut into the profitability of an MLP.

After all, there is no pass through income flow if operators are not using the pipelines. Therefore, MLPs are not automatically profitable at all times.

Yet there is another reason why limited partners are attracted to them.

In addition to the advantage of no corporate taxes, there is the added attraction of significant tax write-offs on the underlying assets themselves. Owning a percentage of those assets (which every limited partner does in an MLP) allows for the proportional pass through of depreciations, capital incentives, and rollovers.

The partners, therefore, have reasons for sticking with an MLP even when profits decline. As for shareholders, they have to be more attentive to the market conditions.

A Whole New World for MLPs

The good news is there are some changes in MLPs that will provide additional options for the average investor. I have been tracking two that are particularly interesting. In each case, though, we are seeing an expansion of the assets utilized and the pass-through elements available.

The first change involves the assets comprising the base of the MLP. While the essential structure is not changing (and actually could not unless legislation is altered), I now expect a dual move on the asset side: expansion into the upstream and downstream from the current pipeline (or midstream) emphasis, and crossovers between energy sources.

With these changes, MLPs are showing up at the wellhead - upstream where the actual oil and gas comes out of the ground.

At the same time, holdings in initial processing and separation, refineries, and wholesale and retail distribution, along with terminal and underground storage facilities, are moving the focus downstream.

This new mix of assets increases the options for investors, allowing MLPs to "verticalize" more of the overall operations.

It also provides increasing access to multiple points of profitability. And here crossovers are going to revise MLPs significantly.

Of course, there have always been MLPs in energy sources other than oil and gas. Electricity production and distribution, for example, have been long represented in such partnerships, as have coal assets.

But now new partnerships are coming that will cut across energy types.

Expect to see the first versions, the first new "MLP clones," if you will, to emerge connecting natural gas assets with power production. Given the rapid transition from coal to gas as the generating fuel of choice, the "spark spread" (the difference between gas and electricity futures contract prices) will entice combinations of gas and electricity assets in the same MLP.

Similar crossovers will occur between coal and power facilities, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and tanker fleets, and even transmission lines and emerging smart grid networks.

In each case, the new MLP will provide entry to asset elements that are actually working together in a continuous revenue or profit stream.

The second major advance is likely to be structures that allow for some pass through of the tax advantages currently reserved for the limited partners only. Now, stockholders are never going to achieve parity with the partners. The latter, after all, actually own the assets upon which the tax advantages are based.

Nonetheless, I expect to see MLP models that will augment dividends to shareholders by monetizing some of the write-offs currently enjoyed by the partners. There have even been some rumblings that the folks with big red noses, funny hats, oversized shoes, and undersized cars (i.e., the clowns of Congress) may even be considering a mandate in this direction.

All of which should hand us some interesting new ways to make some serious money.

I'll have much more on this as it develops.

Earnings Scheduled For October 24, 2013

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $14.00 billion.

3M Company (NYSE: MMM) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.75 per share on revenue of $7.85 billion.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $2.14 per share on revenue of $1.36 billion.

Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.37 per share on revenue of $33.98 billion.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.09 per share on revenue of $16.76 billion.

AutoNation (NYSE: AN) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.77 per share on revenue of $4.44 billion.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $17.79 billion.

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.01 per share on revenue of $1.88 billion.

Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.33 per share on revenue of $4.53 billion.

Raytheon Co (NYSE: RTN) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.33 per share on revenue of $5.81 billion.

McKesson (NYSE: MCK) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $2.04 per share on revenue of $32.08 billion.

Xerox (NYSE: XRX) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.25 per share on revenue of $5.34 billion.

Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK) is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $385.95 million.

Colgate-Palmolive Co (NYSE: CL) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $4.46 billion.

Precision Castparts (NYSE: PCP) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $2.83 per share on revenue of $2.36 billion.

Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.66 per share on revenue of $710.18 million.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co (NYSE: RS) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $2.54 billion.

PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion.

Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $2.05 per share on revenue of $3.78 billion.

Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $4.53 billion.

Eastman Chemical Co (NYSE: EMN) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $1.64 per share on revenue of $2.34 billion.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $1.53 billion.

Cash America International (NYSE: CSH) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.81 per share on revenue of $443.67 million.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.80 per share on revenue of $998.82 million.

KBR (NYSE: KBR) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.70 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion.

Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.04 per share on revenue of $142.67 million.

United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $1.54 per share on revenue of $10.26 billion. Cameron International (NYSE: CAM) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.83 per share on revenue of $2.59 billion.

Ball (NYSE: BLL) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.93 per share on revenue of $2.26 billion.

United Stationers (NASDAQ: USTR) is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.99 per share on revenue of $1.33 billion.

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $1.65 per share on revenue of $1.36 billion.

VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $240.61 million.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.80 per share on revenue of $2.16 billion.

Autoliv (NYSE: ALV) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.34 per share on revenue of $2.06 billion.

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

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Eric Sprott - An Open Letter to the World Gold Council

As you very well know, the business environment for gold producers has been extremely challenging over the past few years. While demand for physical gold remains extremely strong, prices on the COMEX have fallen precipitously. This contradictory situation is the single most important obstacle to a healthy gold mining industry.

In my opinion, the massive imbalance between supply and demand is not reflected in prices because available statistics are misleading. It is not the first time that GFMS (and World Gold Council) statistics come under pressure from the investment community. In his now celebrated "The 1998 Gold Book Annual", Frank Veneroso demonstrated the inconsistencies in GFMS gold demand data and proceeded to show how they grossly underestimated demand. The tremendous increase in the price of gold over the following years vindicated his conclusions.

For very different reasons, we are now at a similar pivotal point for gold. Over the past few years, we have seen incredible incremental demand from emerging markets. Indeed, so much so that the People's Bank of China has announced that it is planning to increase the number of firms allowed to import and export gold and ease restrictions on individual buyers.1 In India, the government has been fighting a losing battle against gold imports by imposing import taxes and restrictions.2 Moreover, Non-Western Central Banks from around the world are replacing their U.S. dollar reserves by increasing their holdings of gold.3

But, demand statistics reported by the World Gold Council (WGC) consistently misrepresent reality, mostly with regard to demand from Asia.

To illustrate my point, Table 1 below contrasts mine production with demand from some of the world's largest gold consumers. According to WGC/GFMS data, the world will mine, on an annualized basis, about 2,800 tonnes of gold for 2013.

But, I adjusted these figures to reflect mine production from China and Russia, which never leaves the country and is used solel! y to satisfy domestic demand. After adjustments, we have a total world mine supply of about 2,140 tonnes. On the demand side, I make some in-house adjustments to better represent demand from emerging markets. To proxy for gold consumption in China, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Turkey, I use net imports of gold, as reported by their various governmental agencies. While imports might in general be an imperfect proxy for demand, those countries see very little re-export of what they import and keep most of it for themselves, so it is not unreasonable to assume that what they import they "consume", on top of their domestic production. To this I add the demand, as estimated by the GFMS, from other countries and that of central banks. I annualized the year-to-date figures and found that for this year, annualized total demand is approximately 5,200 tonnes. On that basis, "core" annualized demand is approximately 3,000 tonnes more than mine supply.

TABLE 1: WORLD GOLD SUPPLY AND DEMAND 2013, IN TONNES
[ Enlarge Image ]

Sources: GFMS data comes from the WGC's "Gold Demand Trends" publications for 2013 Q1 & Q2. Chinese mine supply comes from the China Gold Association and is up to August 2013, the annualized number is a Sprott estimate.5 Russian mine supply comes from the WBMS (Bloomberg ticker WBMGOPRU Index) and is for 2012, 2013 statistics are still unavailable. Chinese data is taken from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department and covers the period Jan.-Aug. 2013 and is annualized to account for the 4 missing months to the year. Changes in Central Bank gold reserves are taken from the IMF's International Financial Statistics, as published on the World Gold Council's website for 2013 Q1 & Q2 and include all international organizations as well as all central banks. Net imports for Thailand, Turkey and India come from the UN Comtrade database and include gold coins, scrap, powder, jewell! ery and o! ther items made of gold. The data is for 2013 Q1 & Q2. ETFs data comes from Bloomberg's ETFGTOTL Index.

However, these figures also exclude what the GFMS dubs "OTC investment and stock flows", which is a name for a simple plug because no one really knows what is traded in the OTC market. Also, to remain conservative and avoid possible double counting, I exclude the category "technology" from my demand estimate, which the WGC/GFMS estimates to be about 400 tonnes a year.6 Certainly, some of this demand is captured by the demand numbers for China, Turkey, India or Thailand, but it is near impossible to disentangle them. Nonetheless, it should be kept in mind that my demand estimate is conservative and probably understated by a few hundred tonnes.

Of course, another important source of supply is gold recycling, which the GFMS estimates at about 1,300 tonnes for the year. However, this number is questionable at best as gold recycling is hard to estimate. But, most importantly, a large share of it is probably done in India and China, which as mentioned before do not re-export their gold. In the context of my analysis, recycling from those countries should therefore be excluded from the total supply number.

The real incremental source of supply this year has been the flows out of ETFs. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, and as shown at the bottom of Table 1, ETFs have seen outflows of approximately 724 tonnes year-to-date. On an annualized basis, this represents an additional supply of 917 tonnes. But, this incremental supply is only temporary. As shown in Figure 1 below, ETF holdings of gold seem to have stabilized at around 1,900 tonnes after a rapid decline in the first few months of 2013.

The evidence presented here is clear, demand for physical gold is extremely strong and, in reality, without the massive outflows from ETFs (half of world mine supply), it is hard to imagine how this demand would have been met. Since ETFs have a finite size (about 1,900 tonnes left)! , these o! utflows cannot continue for much longer (see our article on the topic).7 All these observations point to a considerable imbalance between supply and demand (unless Western Central Banks decide to fill this void with what is left of their reserves). If recycling was reduced by one half (China, India and Russia) and the temporary sales from ETFs were excluded, demand could be as high as 5,185 tonnes versus supply of 2,140 tonnes. The supply-demand imbalance is obvious to all.

FIGURE 1:TONNES OF GOLD IN ETFS
[ Enlarge Image ]
Source: Bloomberg

As was the case when Frank Veneroso first published his book in 1998, the GFMS methodology understates demand and the World Gold Council, by using data from the GFMS, misleads the market place.

To conclude, I urge the leaders of the World Gold Council, for the benefit of their own members, to improve the quality of their data and find alternative sources than the GFMS, which paints a misleading picture of the real demand for gold. This lack of quality information has certainly been one of the driving factors behind the lack of investors' confidence towards gold as an investment. Gold has been one of the best performing asset classes since 2000, and the World Gold Council should be promoting it accordingly.

Regards,
[ Enlarge Image ]

http://www.sprott.com/markets-at-a-glance/open-letter-to-the-world-gold-council/

Does 21st Century Fox Have a Bright Future?

With shares of 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) trading around $34, is FOXA an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

21st Century Fox was formerly part of News Corp. The company has a portfolio of cable, broadcast, film, pay television, and satellite assets spanning six continents across the globe. It is home to a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports, Fox Sports Network, National Geographic channels, Fox Pan American Sports, MundoFox, STAR, and 28 local television stations; film studio 20th Century Fox Film; and television production studios 20th Century Fox Television and Shine Group.

Investors in 21st Century Fox, excluding chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch and his family, have voted to separate the roles of chairman and CEO of the company by a 2-to-1 margin, as it's believed the Murdochs have too much control over the company. According to a regulatory filing seen by Bloomberg, shareholders representing 147 million Class B shares in the company have voted for having an independent chairman at the company's annual meeting last week.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

21st Century Fox stock has been trending higher since its initial public offering, earlier this year. The stock is currently at all time highs and looks ready to continue. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day, and 200-day simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, 21st Century Fox is trading above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of 21st Century Fox options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
21st Century Fox Options	23.39%	46%	44%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a significant amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
November Options	Flat	Average
December Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on 21st Century Fox’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for 21st Century Fox look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-3.13%	221.10%	140.50%	235.70%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	-13.84%	13.52%	5.01%	2.22%
Earnings Reaction	-0.41%	N/A	N/A	N/A

21st Century Fox has seen mixed earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have expected a little more from 21st Century Fox’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has 21st Century Fox stock done relative to its peers, Disney (NYSE:DIS), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB), and sector?

	21st Century Fox	Disney	Comcast	Viacom	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	55.13%	35.59%	25.64%	58.78%	42.57%

21st Century Fox has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

21st Century Fox is a cable, broadcast, film, and pay television provider around the world. In recent news, the company's newest channel, Fox Sports 1, comes to life Saturday. Investors in the company have voted to separate the roles of Chairman and CEO as they believe that the Murdoch family has too much influence. The stock has been trending higher since its IPO and is now at all time highs. Over the last four quarters, earnings, and revenues have been mixed which has left investors to expect more from the company. Relative to its peers and sector, 21st Century Fox has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for 21st Century Fox to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014

This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature a big upgrade for Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK  ) , an even bigger downgrade for Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) , and for Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII  ) , a new "buy" rating. Let's start with that one.

Polaris lights up the night
Somebody must have wished upon a star last night, for investors in Polaris Industries awoke this morning to find their stock "initiated at buy" by Swiss megabanker UBS. Shares are already up 1.2% in response -- nearly three times the gain on the Dow. But are these gains deserved?

Maybe. Sure, priced at 21 times earnings, Polaris doesn't look particularly cheap. But this stock has several things in its favor, which make it cheaper than it looks. For one, the company's got no net debt -- to the contrary, its bank account is brimming with nearly $275 million more cash than debt.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014: Horace Mann Educators Corporation(HMN)

Horace Mann Educators Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a multiline insurance company in the United States. The company underwrites and markets personal lines of property and casualty insurance, retirement annuity, and life insurance products. Its products include private passenger automobile and homeowner?s insurance coverage; tax-qualified individual and group annuities in fixed account and combination contracts; and individual and joint whole and term life insurance products. The company offers its products primarily to K-12 teachers, school administrators, education support personnel, and other employees of public schools and their families. It markets its products through its sales force, as well as through independent agents. Horace Mann Educators Corporation was founded in 1945 and is based in Springfield, Illinois.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014: MEDIWARE Information Systems Inc.(MEDW)

Mediware Information Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, and marketing of software solutions targeting specific processes within healthcare institutions. The company offers software systems consisting of company's proprietary application software, and third-party licensed software and hardware. It licenses, implements, and supports clinical and performance management, blood donor, and blood and biologic management products in the United States; and medication management solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The company?s blood and biologics management solutions include HCLL Transfusion and HCLL Donor, which address blood donor recruitment, blood processing, and transfusion activities for hospitals and medical centers; BloodSafe suite of hardware and software that enable healthcare facilities to store, monitor, distribute, and track blood products; LifeTrak software for blood centers; a nd BiologiCare, a bone, tissue, and cellular product tracking software. Its medication management products comprise WORx, a pharmacy information system to manage inpatient and outpatient pharmacy operations; MediCOE, a physician order entry module; MediMAR, a nurse point-of-care administration and bedside documentation module; MediREC, which assists in achieving compliance with a Joint Commission mandate; and pharmacy management and electronic prescribing systems. The company?s performance management products include InSight software that tracks performance metrics to assist healthcare managers to manage performance. It also provides software installation and maintenance services, as well as billing and collection services to home infusion and home/durable medical equipment markets. The company markets its products primarily through its direct sales force. Mediware Information Systems, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Mediware Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MEDW) plans to acquire the assets of Indianapolis-based Strategic Healthcare Group LLC (SHG), a leading provider of blood management consulting, education and informatics solutions.

Hot Companies For 2014: Compass Minerals Intl Inc(CMP)

Compass Minerals International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and markets inorganic mineral products primarily in North America and the United Kingdom. The company operates in two segments, Salt and Specialty Fertilizer. The Salt segment produces salt and magnesium chloride for use in road deicing and dust control, food processing, water softeners, pool salt, and agricultural and industrial applications. This segment also purchases potassium chloride and sells as a finished product. The Specialty Fertilizer segment produces and markets sulphate of potash crop nutrients and industrial grade sulfate of potash for use in the production of specialty fertilizers for vegetables, fruits, potatoes, nuts, tobacco, and turf grass. The company also produces and markets consumer deicing and water conditioning products, ingredients used in consumer and commercial food preparation, and other mineral-based products for consumer, agricultural, and industrial applications. In ad dition, Compass Minerals provides records management services to businesses located in the U.K. The company operates rock salt mines in Goderich, Ontario, Canada; and Winsford, Chesire, the United Kingdom. It primarily serves producers of intermediate chemical products used in the production of vinyls and other chemicals, and pulp and paper, as well as water treatment and other industrial uses. The company markets its products through direct sales personnel, contract personnel, and a network of brokers or manufacturers? representatives. Compass Minerals International, Inc., formerly known as Salt Holdings Corporation, was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Compass Minerals (CMP) is a producer of minerals, including salt, sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer and magnesium chloride. This stock closed up 3.4% at $75.60 in Wednesday's trading session.

  Wednesday's Volume: 913,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 212,481
  
  Volume % Change: 315%

  From a technical perspective, CMP gapped higher here off its recent low of $64.24 with heavy upside volume. This stock recently gapped down sharply from around $90 to $64.24 with heavy downside volume. That move pushed shares of CMP into extremely oversold territory, since the stock's current relative strength index reading is 25.78. Oversold can always get more oversold, but it's also an area where a stock can experience a powerful bounce higher from. Shares of CMP are now starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if CMP manages to take out its gap down day high of $78.20 and then once it clears its 200-day moving average at $79.14 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CMP as long as it's trending above Wednesday's low of $73.07 or $72.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 212,481 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CMP will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone that started near $90.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014: Cowen Group Inc.(COWN)

Cowen Group, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides alternative investment management, investment banking, research, and sales and trading services for its clients. It manages separate client focused portfolio through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm invests in equity and fixed income markets. It also invests in alternative investments markets through its subsidiaries. Cowen Group, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in New York, New York with additional offices in Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and San Francisco, California.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014: First Busey Corporation(BUSE)

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It accepts noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing transaction, savings, money market, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans; individual, consumer, installment, first mortgage, and second mortgage loans; and commercial real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans. It also provides money transfer, safe deposit, fiduciary, automated banking, and automated fund transfer services. In addition, the company provides asset management, brokerage, and fiduciary services, including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and trust and estate advisory services to individuals; investment management, business succession planning, an d employee retirement plan services to businesses; and investment management, investment strategy consulting, and fiduciary services to foundations. Further, it offers pay processing solutions, such as walk-in payments processing for payments delivered by customers to retail pay agents; online bill payment solutions for payments made by customers on a billing company?s Website; customer service payments for payments accepted over the telephone; direct debit services; electronic concentration of payments delivered by the automated clearing house network; money management software and credit card networks; and lockbox remittance processing of payments delivered by mail. The company has 33 locations in Illinois, 7 locations in southwest Florida, and 1 location in Indianapolis, Indiana. First Busey Corporation was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014: Global Payments Inc.(GPN)

Global Payments Inc. provides electronic transaction processing services for merchants, independent sales organizations (ISO), financial institutions, government agencies, and multi-national corporations located in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards; business-to-business purchasing cards; gift cards; and electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification, and recovery, including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. The company also offers proprietary software products to establish revolving check cashing limits for the casinos? customers in the gaming industry. In addition, it sells, installs, and services automated teller machine and point of sale terminals; and provides card issuing services, including card management and card personalization. The company markets its products directly, as well as through ISOs, retail outlets, tra de associations, alliance bank relationships, and financial institutions. Global Payments Inc. has a joint venture with La Caixa Group to provide merchant acquiring services to merchants in Spain. Global Payments Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) reported upbeat fiscal first-quarter results and raised its annual forecast. Global Payments named Jeffrey S. Sloan as its new chief executive and announced its plans to buy back up to $100 million of its common stock. Global Payments shares surged 6.80% to $54.15 in the after-hours trading session.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.95 per share on revenue of $623.79 million.

  Synergetics USA (NASDAQ: SURG) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $17.01 million.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014: CVS Corporation(CVS)

CVS Caremark Corporation operates as a pharmacy services company in the United States. The company?s Pharmacy Services segment provides a range of pharmacy benefit management services, including mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy services, plan design and administration, formulary management, and claims processing; and drug benefits to eligible beneficiaries under the Federal Government?s Medicare Part D program. This segment primarily serves employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, managed care organizations and other sponsors of health benefit plans, and individuals. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 44 retail specialty pharmacy stores, 18 specialty mail order pharmacies, and 4 mail service pharmacies located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. This segment operates business under the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services, Caremark, CVS Caremark, CarePlus CVS/pharmacy, CarePlus, RxAmerica, Accordant, and TheraCom names. The company?s Retail Pharmacy segment sells prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards, and convenience foods through its pharmacy retail stores and online, as well as offers film and photo finishing, and health care services. This segment operated 7,182 retail drugstores located in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and 560 retail health care clinics in 26 states and the District of Columbia under the MinuteClinic name. It has a strategic alliance with Alere, L.L.C. for the management of disease management program offerings that cover chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. CVS Caremark Corporation was founded in 1892 and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon] aremark is the nation's premier integrated pharmacy services provider, combining one of the nation's leading pharmaceutical services companies with the country's largest pharmacy chain.

  Owens had a relatively small holding of 200,000 shares which he purchased in the third quarter of 2011 at about $36 per share. In the fourth quarter, he increased his holding by 50%, adding 100,000 shares at about $37 per share. CVS�� share price has actually increased more than 20% in the last year, and more than 21% in the fourth quarter alone.

  Record-setting third-quarter earnings results, announced Nov. 3, 2011, contributed to the rise. Net revenues increased 12.5% to a record $26.7 billion. Revenues in its Pharmacy Services segment rose 25.8% to $14.8 billion, due primarily with the addition of a previously unannounced, long-term contract with Aetna Inc., and its acquisition of the Medicare prescription drug business of Universal American Corp. in the second quarter of 2011.

  In the first nine months of 2011, the company also returned over $3 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases.

  CVS has been growing over the long term as well. Its revenue per share increased at a 10-year annual rate of 11.5%, and its free cash flow per share increased at a 10-year annual rate of 21.4%. GuruFocus rated CVS Caremark the business predictability rank of 4.5-star. Steven Romick did an extensive analysis of CVS here.

  Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX)

  Boston Scientific Corporation is a worldwide developer

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  CVS Caremark is the second largest pharmacy in the nation that stands ready to provide consumers with hottest summer products. The stock has been trending higher in recent years and is now trading at all-time high prices where it may spend some time. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been increasing which has generally led to happy investors. Relative to its strong peers and sector, CVS Caremark has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for CVS Caremark to OUTPERFORM.

Best Cheap Companies To Invest In 2014: Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc.(WEN)

The Wendy's Company operates as a quick-service hamburger company in the United States. The company, through its subsidiary, Wendy's International, Inc., operates as a franchisor of the Wendy's restaurant system. As of December 26, 2011, the Wendy's system comprised approximately 6,500 franchise and company restaurants in the United States and the United States territories, as well as in 26 other countries worldwide. The company was formerly known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, Inc. and changed its name to The Wendy's Company in July 2011. The Wendy's Company was founded in 1884 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Wendy's (NASDAQ: WEN  ) will take a break from slinging hamburgers and other treats to hand out a new quarterly dividend. The company announced it will distribute $0.04 per share of its common stock on June 17 to shareholders of record as of June 3.� That amount matches each of Wendy's previous two payments, the most recent of which was handed out in mid-March. Prior to that, the fast food chain paid $0.02 per share.

Hot Penny Stocks To Invest In Right Now

When things go bad for high-profile Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) , it can get ugly. The discount retailer has hit another public relations speed bump given its guilty plea to charges of improper disposal of hazardous waste, with pollutants having gone down sanitation drains in California. The company will pay a pretty penny: an $81 million fine, which also covers related allegations in Missouri.

In its press release, Wal-Mart explained that the charges stem from activities that took place years ago, that regulators did not allege specific environmental impact, and that it now has comprehensive environmental programs in place. It gave examples of its more responsible methods for disposing of such waste after it began implementing stringent environmental measures in 2006, some of which the EPA�says go above and beyond regulatory laws.

Hazard pay and hazard payback
Regardless, the idea of costs -- both financial and reputational -- comes at an interesting time given a pending shareholder proposal. The resolution asks that Wal-Mart disclose utilization of its existing clawback policy to recoup compensation from executives that have indulged in unethical behavior or acts considered detrimental to the company. Investors will vote on the measure at the company's annual meeting on June 7.

Hot Penny Stocks To Invest In Right Now: (CTEI)

Cemtrex, Inc. designs, engineers, assembles, and sells emission monitoring equipment and instruments, and air filtration and environmental control products to power plants, refineries, chemical plants, and cement plants, as well as to municipalities, hospitals, and federal and state governmental agencies. Its emission monitoring systems are installed at the exhaust stacks of industrial facilities and are used to measure the outlet flue gas concentrations of regulated pollutants. The company offers opacity monitors for stack opacity and dust measurements; direct-extractive and dilution-extractive continuous emission monitor equipment and systems that are applicable for utilities, industrial boilers, FGD systems, SCR-NOx control, furnaces, gas turbines, process heaters, incinerators, and process controls; ammonia analyzers for monitoring ammonia, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by process analyzers that utilize UV absorbance techniques for detection; and mercury analyzer s. It also provides a line of air filtration and environmental control equipment to remove dust, corrosive fumes, mists, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, submicron particles, and particulate from industrial exhausts and boilers; clean noxious and acid gases from industrial exhaust stacks prior to discharging to the atmosphere; and control emissions from construction facilities, mining operations, and dryer exhausts. In addition, the company markets technologies for controlling greenhouse gases, such as methane from coal mines; and assists project owners in selling carbon credits. Further, it offers replacement and spare parts, and repair and refurbishment services for emission monitoring systems. The company was formerly known as Diversified American Holding, Inc. and changed its name to Cemtrex, Inc. in December 2004. Cemtrex Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Farmingdale, New York.

Hot Penny Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Air T Inc.(AIRT)

Air T, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides overnight air cargo, ground equipment sales, and ground support services. Its Overnight Air Cargo segment offers small package overnight airfreight delivery services on a contract basis to the air express delivery services industry. The company?s Ground Equipment Sales segment manufactures, sells, and services aircraft ground support and other specialized equipment products, including aircraft deicers, scissor type lifts, military and civilian decontamination units, glycol recovery vehicles, and other special purpose mobile equipment. This segment offers its products to domestic and international passenger and cargo airlines, ground handling companies, the United States Air Force and Navy, airports, and industrial customers. Its Ground Support Services segment provides ground support equipment maintenance and facilities maintenance services to domestic airlines and aviation service providers. As of March 31, 2010, the company operated 80 cargo aircrafts under dry-lease service contracts in the United States and the Caribbean. Air T, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is based in Maiden, North Carolina.

Top 5 Tech Stocks To Buy For 2014: Life Partners Holdings Inc(LPHI)

Life Partners Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary, Life Partners, Inc., operates in the secondary market for life insurance in the United States. It facilitates life settlement transactions by identifying, examining, and purchasing the policies as agent for the purchasers. The company?s financial transactions involve the purchase of life insurance policies at a discount to their face value for investment purposes. It serves institutional purchasers, which include investment funds designed to acquire and hold life settlements; and retail purchasers, such as high net worth individuals. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Waco, Texas.

Hot Penny Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Midway Gold Corporation(MDW)

Midway Gold Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in North America. Its principal properties include the Spring Valley, Midway, Pan, and Gold Rock gold and silver mineral properties located in Nevada; and the Golden Eagle gold mineral property located in Washington. The company was formerly known as Red Emerald Resource Corp. and changed its name to Midway Gold Corp. in July 2002. Midway Gold Corp. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

Hot Penny Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Air Transport Services Group Inc(ATSG)

Air Transport Services Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides aircraft, airline operations, and other related services primarily to the shipping and transportation industries. The company provides air cargo transportation services; airlift services, including aircraft, aircraft flight crews, and maintenance services; airlift services to other airlines, freight forwarders, and the U.S. military; freight transportation and supply chain management services; passenger transportation primarily to the U.S. military; air charter brokerage services, fuel management, and specialized cargo management services; and warehousing and cargo handling services, as well as leases aircraft. It also provides aircraft maintenance and modification services, aircraft part sales services, equipment leasing and maintenance services, mail handling services for the U.S. Postal Service, and specialized services for aircraft fuel management and freight logistics. The company operates in Europ e, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. As of December 31, 2009, its in-service fleet consisted of 62 aircraft. The company was formerly known as ABX Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Air Transport Services Group, Inc. in May 2008. Transport Services Group, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Ohio.

Hot Penny Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Service Corporation International(SCI)

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States, Canada, and Germany. Its funeral service and cemetery operations consist of funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and related businesses. The company provides various professional services relating to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral facilities and motor vehicles, and preparation and embalming services. It also sells funeral related merchandise, including caskets, burial vaults, cremation receptacles, cremation memorial products, flowers, and other ancillary products and services at funeral service locations. The company?s cemeteries provide cemetery property interment rights, including mausoleum spaces, lots, and lawn crypts; and sell cemetery related merchandise and services comprising stone and bronze memorials, markers, merchandise installations, and burial openings and closings. It also sells preneed funeral and cemetery products and services whereby a customer contractually agrees to the terms of certain products and services to be delivered and performed in the future. As of December 31, 2009, Service Corporation operated 1,254 funeral service locations and 372 cemeteries, including 208 combination locations, covering 43 states in the United States, 8 Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as 12 funeral homes in Germany. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Although actual tallies were not disclosed, the Teamsters local representing funeral directors and drivers of Service Corp. International (NYSE: SCI  ) in the Chicagoland area says members voted in overwhelming numbers against the death care leader's "last, best, and final" contract offer and in favor of a strike to be effective this morning.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of funeral-home operator Stewart Enterprises (NASDAQ: STEI  ) soared 34% today, after larger rival Service Corp. International (NYSE: SCI  ) agreed to acquire it in a deal worth about $1.4 billion.

Iron Mountain Announces Acquisition of Cornerstone Records Management for $191M (IRM)

Early on Friday, information protection and storage services company Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM) announced that it has acquired Cornerstone Records Management for $191 million in cash.

Cornerstone Records Management provides record storage, document shredding, and data protection services to small and mid-sized business in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, as well as the Southern California, Denver, and Houston areas.

The acquisition of Cornerstone Records Management will help Iron Mountain grow its core information storage business by adding small and mid-sized organizations to its customer base.

Iron Mountain went on to note that it does not believe this acquisition will provide a meaningful impact in 2013 results. However, it should add $50 to $55 million in revenues in 2014.

Iron Mountain shares were inactive during pre-market trading on Friday. The stock is down 16.33% year-to-date.

Hot Penny Companies To Buy Right Now

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