Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015

Well, I'll be the first to admit it took way longer than I expected, but Mediabistro Inc. (NASDAQ:MBIS) has finally unleashed the strength I saw brewing up four months ago. Now get out. Seriously. Go ahead and take your profits on MBIS and walk away while you still can.

Surprised to hear me say that? I understand. I'm not joking though. But, it's worth adding that my bearish call on MBIS is purely a short-term, technical-based, defensive one only intended to protect what we've gained so far. After a pullback and subsequent hints of a renewed (and better-paced recovery), I'll be encouraging everyone to start wading back into a Mediabistro position again.

I suppose I should go back to the beginning and explain what I saw unfurling with Mediabistro Inc. back on July 30th. There were two things going on. One of them was the fact that after more than a year of lower lows and lower highs, we had finally seen a few weeks' worth of higher highs and higher lows... and they were steady, bordering on freakishly smooth. The other bullish clue popping up at the time was the way MBIS was working on crossing above the 200-day moving average line, which would be a huge buy signal. See the July 30th write-up to see what things looked like then.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: KDR Industrials Ltd (KDR.V)

KDR Industrials Ltd., formerly North American Medical Services Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, North American Medical Services Inc. (NAMS-Nevada), NuCelle Inc. (NuCelle) and N.A.M.S. Capital Corp. (NAMS-CC), is engaged in the manufacture and sale of skin treatment formulations, products, and systems bearing brand of NuCelle and Mandelic Marine Complex. NuCelle�� provides skin care formulations for all skin types, sensitive, ethnic, trouble-prone, and aging. The Company operates two product lines: NuCelle Rx and NuCelle Mandelic Marine Complex. Its NuCelle Rx, physician only line of products, is formulated for, and distributed to physicians and medical professionals. Its NuCelle Mandelic Marine Complex, the aesthetician only line of products, consists of a five step regimen, including Mandelic Wash, Mandelic Mint Scrub, Mandelic Toner, Mandelic Laser-lift Serum and Mandelic Anti-Oxidant Treatment Moisturizer.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Santa Fe Metals Corp(SFM.V)

Santa Fe Metals Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious and base metal properties primarily in Mexico. The company principally holds a 100% interest in the Cuatro Cienegas copper property that consists of 6 concessions totaling approximately 3,408 hectares located northeast of the city of Torreon in the State of Coahuila, Mexico. It also focuses on the acquisition of producing or near-term producing gold properties. The company was formerly known as Tequila Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Santa Fe Metals Corp. in February 2008. Santa Fe Metals Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

5 Best Solar Stocks To Invest In 2015: Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp (RMO.V)

Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada. It primarily explores for copper, gold, zinc, nickel, and precious metals, as well as platinum group metals in northwestern Ontario. The company was formerly known as East West Resource Corporation and changed its name to Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp. in February 2010. Rainy Mountain Royalty Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is based in West Vancouver, Canada.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Ameron International Corporation(AMN)

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. provides healthcare staffing and clinical workforce management solutions in the United States. The company?s Nurse and Allied Healthcare Staffing segment provides staffing solutions for hospitals and other healthcare facilities, including medical, surgical, specialty, licensed practical or vocational, and advanced practice nurses, as well as surgical technologists and dialysis technicians. This segment also offers allied health professionals under the Med Travelers, Club Staffing, and Rx Pro Health brand names to acute-care hospitals and other healthcare facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities, rehabilitation clinics, and retail and mail-order pharmacies. These allied health professionals include physical, surgical, respiratory, and occupational therapists, as well as medical and radiology technologists, speech pathologists, rehabilitation assistants, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. Its Locum Tenens Staffing segment places physic ians of various specialties, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, and dentists on a temporary basis as independent contractors with various healthcare organizations, including hospitals, medical groups, occupational medical clinics, individual practitioners, networks, psychiatric facilities, government institutions, and managed care entities. The company?s Physician Permanent Placement Services segment provides permanent physician placement services to hospitals, healthcare facilities, and physician practice groups under the Merritt Hawkins and Kendall & Davis brand names. This segment also offers specialty offerings, including internal medicines, family practices, and surgeries. Its Home Healthcare Services segment provide home healthcare services to individuals with acute-care illness, long-term chronic health conditions, permanent disabilities, terminal illnesses, and post-procedural needs. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in S an Diego, California.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Cgx Energy Inc (OYL.V)

CGX Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas in Guyana, South America. The company holds a 100% interest in the Corentyne petroleum agreement (PA), which covers an area of approximately 2.9 million acres; 25% interest in the Georgetown PA covering 1.7 million acres; 100% interest in the Annex petroleum prospecting license that covers 1.0 million acres; and 100% interest in the Pomeroon PA covering an area of approximately 2.8 million acres located offshore in the Guyana basin. It also owns a 62% interest in The Berbice Block, which includes the onshore Corentyne license and the Berbice license covering an area of approximately 504,658 net acres situated onshore in the Guyana basin. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Igm Financial Inc Com Npv (IGM.TO)

IGM Financial Inc., a personal financial services company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution, management, and administration of mutual funds and other managed asset products primarily in Canada. It provides financial planning advice, products, and services through a network of 4,500 consultants; and offers investment funds, segregated funds, insurance, securities, mortgage and other financial services through integrated financial planning. The company also provides investment advisory and related services; and multi-manager asset allocation solutions through Symmetry and fund of fund structures. In addition, it provides investment management, securities, insurance, tax planning, and mortgage products through multiple distribution channels to retail and institutional investors, as well as banking products, such as investment loans, lines of credit, personal loans, creditor insurance, deposit accounts, and credit cards. The company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada. IGM Financial Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Power Financial Corporation.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Oshkosh Truck Corporation(OSK)

Oshkosh Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets a range of specialty vehicles, and vehicle bodies worldwide. Its Defense segment manufactures severe-duty, heavy, and medium-payload tactical trucks for the Department of Defense, including hauling tanks, missile systems, ammunition, fuel, and troops and cargo for combat units. The company?s Access Equipment segment offers aerial work platforms and telehandlers used in a range of construction, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and general maintenance applications. This segment also manufactures towing and recovery equipment and related parts; and leases equipments for short-term to rental companies. The company?s Fire and Emergency segment provides custom and commercial fire apparatus, and emergency vehicles, including pumpers, aerial and ladder trucks, tankers, rescue vehicles, wildland rough terrain response vehicles, mobile command and control centers, bomb squad vehicles, hazardous materials control vehicl es, and other emergency response vehicles. This segment also offers snow removal vehicles in airports; custom ambulances for private and public transporters, and fire departments; mobile medical trailers for medical centers and service providers; mobile command and control centers and simulation units; and vehicles for broadcasters, TV stations, broadcast production, and radio stations. Oshkosh Corporation?s Commercial segment manufactures refuse collection vehicles for the waste services industry; front and rear discharge concrete mixers, and portable and stationary concrete batch plants for the concrete ready-mix industry; and field service vehicles and truck-mounted cranes for the construction, equipment dealer, building supply, utility, tire service, and mining industries. The company was formerly known as Oshkosh Truck Corporation and changed its name to Oshkosh Corporation in February 2008. Oshkosh Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Heavy equipment and vehicle-maker Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK  ) reported a more than doubling in quarterly net income Tuesday, confirming strength in its sales to the residential construction market, as well as an ability to charge higher prices for military vehicles.

• [By James Brumley]

  If the idea of Carl Icahn wanting to split a company up seems vaguely familiar, too … well, that’s hardly anything new, either. Icahn was the key driver behind Transocean (RIG) opting to divest some of its master limited partnership holdings, he desperately wanted OshKosh (OSK) to spin off JLG, and somehow Icahn got credit for sparking Motorola’s (MSI) spinoff of its mobile phone business.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Oshkosh, Wis.-based Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK  ) landed a sizable contract award from the Pentagon on Thursday.

  The firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of P-19R Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles for the U.S. Marine Corps has a completion date of May 29, 2018, and a ceiling value of $192.8 million. In addition to the vehicles themselves, Oshkosh will provide the USMC with "support and sustainment" services on the new vehicles.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) got a boost, shooting up 7.96 percent to $55.55 after the companyposted upbeat fiscal first-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year forecast.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Amg Bioenergy Resources Holding (ABG.V)

AMG Bioenergy Resources Holdings Ltd. operates as a development stage renewable energy company in China. The company is developing a jatropha feedstock plantation in China to produce crude jatropha oil for conversion into biodiesel. It also focuses on managing the preparation of the land; the plantation of seedlings; the maintenance of the plantation; the harvesting of jatropha; and the extraction of crude jatropha oil from the seeds harvested. The company is headquartered in Singapore.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Mercer International Inc.(MERC)

Mercer International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells pulp produced from wood chips and pulp logs. The company offers northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp and market pulp. Mercer International sells its products primarily in Europe, Asia, and North America. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: United States Steel Corporation(X)

United States Steel Corporation produces and sells steel mill products in North America and Central Europe. It operates in three segments: Flat-rolled Products (Flat-rolled), U. S. Steel Europe (USSE), and Tubular Products (Tubular). The Flat-rolled segment offers slabs, rounds, strip mill plates, sheets, and tin mill products, as well as iron ore and coke. This segment serves service center, conversion, transportation, construction, container, and appliance and electrical markets in North America. The USSE segment offers slabs, sheets, strip mill plates, tin mill products, and spiral welded pipes, as well as heating radiators and refractory ceramic materials. This segment serves the European construction, service center, conversion, container, transportation, and appliance and electrical, as well as and oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The Tubular segment offers seamless and electric resistance welded steel casing and tubing; and standard, and line pipe and mechanical tubing. It primarily serves customers in the oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. The company also provides transportation services, including railroad and barge operations. In addition, it owns, develops, and manages various real estate assets, which include approximately 200,000 acres of surface rights primarily in Alabama, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania; participates in joint ventures that are developing real estate projects in Alabama, Maryland, and Illinois; and owns approximately 4,000 acres of land in Ontario, Canada. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  In looking at the ArcelorMittal earnings report, look to see how the company fares in Europe. U.S. Steel (NYSE: X  ) was able to announce a profit in its European business in its earnings announcement this morning, and if ArcelorMittal can find greater strength on its home turf, then it could lead to the turnaround investors have so desperately wanted to see. Otherwise, the recovery for ArcelorMittal could take a while longer.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: WellPoint Inc.(WLP)

WellPoint, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company offers various network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid, and senior markets. Its managed care plans include preferred provider organizations; health maintenance organizations; point-of-service plans; traditional indemnity plans; and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans, hospital only, and limited benefit products. The company also provides various managed care services comprising claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs, and other administrative services to self-funded customers. In addition, it offers specialty and other products and services, including life and disability insurance benefits; dental, vision, and behavioral health benefit services; radiology benefit management; personal health care guidance; and long-term care insurance. Further, the company serves as an intermediary providing administrative service for the Medicare program that offers coverage for persons, who are 65 or older and for persons who are disabled or with end-stage renal disease. WellPoint, Inc. markets its products through a network of independent agents and brokers, consultants, in-house sales force, or Internet. The company, formerly known as Anthem, Inc., was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  What's in it for them?
  Don't expect Walgreen or any of the members of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which includes 14 plans owned by WellPoint (NYSE: WLP  ) , to talk about any benefit that they might obtain from promoting education about Obamacare. That doesn't necessarily mean that they won't receive any benefits, though.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  The good feelings have helped UnitedHealth Group's (NYSE: UNH  ) stock gain 2.3% to top the Dow today. Despite the uncertainty over health care reform coming next year, UnitedHealth investors found some stability when the company decided not to immediately participate in California's state insurance exchange next year, joining several other public insurers. It's potentially an opportunity lost for UnitedHealth, but with rising premiums due to Obamacare still a concern, America's largest insurer is playing health care reform safely. However, UnitedHealth's caution could be WellPoint's (NYSE: WLP  ) gain. The country's second-largest insurer is a major player in California's individual-insurance market, and if its biggest public competitor is out of the race for millions of previously uninsured consumers, WellPoint could narrow the market-share gap between it and UnitedHealth.

• [By Sean Williams]

  For the insurers themselves, it would be a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the big three insurers that reached into their pockets and spent a fortune in the wake of Obamacare's passing --�WellPoint (NYSE: WLP  ) with its purchase of Amerigroup, Cigna� (NYSE: CI  ) with its purchase of HealthSpring, and Aetna (NYSE: AET  ) buying Coventry Health Care -- will be left waiting even longer for their membership numbers to rise. No enforceable mandate means enrollment figures will only marginally move higher in a best-case scenario.

• [By Sean Williams]

  The expected influx of Medicaid patients into the health care system is precisely what prompted WellPoint (NYSE: WLP  ) to buy Amerigroup for $4.5 billion and CIGNA (NYSE: CI  ) to purchase Healthspring for $3.8 billion. Although Medicaid patients don't drive the best margins, they are guaranteed income for health-benefits providers.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Lloyds-tsb(LLOY.L)

Lloyds Banking Group plc provides banking and financial services to personal and corporate customers primarily in the United Kingdom. The company?s Retail division provides banking, mortgages, and other financial services to personal customers. This division?s products comprise current accounts, savings, personal loans, and credit cards. In addition, this division operates as a general insurance and bancassurance distributor, and offers range of long-term savings, investment, and general insurance products. Its Wholesale division provides banking and related services to multinational corporates and financial institutions. This division also offers risk management solutions, specialized lending services, access to capital markets and multi product financing solutions, access to financial markets, and trading infrastructure. In addition, this division engages in corporate banking, mid markets, portfolio management, structured corporate finance, transaction banking, structu red transactions, and development capital activities. The company?s Commercial division serves the needs of small and medium-size enterprises, and community organizations. This division also offers hire purchase, leasing, and supplier finance products; and supports trading, investment, and protection needs of business customers. Its Wealth and International division offers private banking, wealth management, and asset management services. This division is also involved in corporate, commercial, asset finance, and retail businesses internationally. The company?s Insurance division provides life assurance, pensions, and investment products in the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as general insurance, including home and payment protection insurance to personal customers. The company was formerly known as Lloyds TSB Group plc and changed its name to Lloyds Banking Group plc in January 2009. Lloyds Banking Group plc was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in London, the Unit ed Kingdom.

Hot Defensive Companies To Watch For 2015: Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc.(BPFH)

Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the multi-bank holding company in the United States. The company provides private banking, investment management, and wealth advisory services to high net worth individuals, families, small and medium-sized businesses, and professionals in New England, Northern California, Southern California, the Pacific Northwest, Pennsylvania, and New York. It offers various deposit products, including checking accounts, demand deposits, NOW accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises residential mortgage loans, and mortgage loans on investment and vacation properties to individuals; unsecured and secured personal lines of credit, home equity loans, and overdraft protection; revolving lines of credit; working capital loans; equipment financing; community lending programs; and commercial, construction, and land loans. In addition, it offers financial planning, t ax planning and preparation, estate and insurance planning, retirement planning, charitable planning, and intergenerational giving planning. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.