Reformed Broker on New Ritholtz Firm: Our Blogging Is Research

Two of the most hypercaffeinated commentators in the financial blogosphere, Barry Ritholtz and Josh Brown, are forming their own investment advisory firm, Ritholtz Wealth Management, but that won’t stop the blog-happy duo from blogging.

ThinkAdvisor asked Brown on Tuesday how their blogging busy-ness jibes with client portfolio management, and he said their absorption in financial news beats cold calling, seminars and similar activities by other financial professionals.

“We choose to spend our days being informed about policy. Blogging is part of our research. I write to find out what I think. I’m not writing ad copy. My clients know exactly what I think about every subject on the market,” he says.

Investors, financial professionals and financial news junkies have long turned to Ritholtz’s Big Picture blog and Brown’s Reformed Broker blog to get their fix of market news and commentary—when they’re not watching them on their frequent TV news appearances. Before giving their take on fast-moving financial markets, both typically offer a string of morning news links, doubtless causing many to wonder whether sleep is part of their daily routine.

Putting their ideas into financial planning practice is not new to Ritholtz (below) and Brown, who were already doing that at New York City-based Fusion Analytics.

Rather, as is common in breakaway situations, the advisor-bloggers wanted to do things their way, according to Brown.

“I had a really good experience at Fusion for the last three years,” Brown says. “We started an advisory firm from scratch. We got many clients and many referrals. But it got to a point where it made more sense to be a standalone firm than a practice within a firm.”

Brown says having their own firm will enable him and his partner to add technological capabilities and new services to their advisory platform.

“When you don’t own your firm, and you’re a practice in your firm, it’s not up to you how your money gets spent.

“We want to bring on more CFPs who can work directly with our clients,” he continues. “We believe the true value for the client is having a personal relationship with their advisor, that the person you work with is intimately involved with your situation. We really feel we want to staff up.”

Ritholtz’ “day job,” according to his blog bio, involved “institutional strength number crunching,” so it is perhaps no surprise that the firm plans on beefing up its technology.

“On the tech side, what used to be acceptable was a client being allowed to log into his advisory account and getting a report quarterly—‘Here’s how you did compared to the S&P,’” Brown says. “But clients want to see their investable assets alongside the rest of their assets. They want context as to how they’re doing compared to every aspect of their life. We also want to have much deeper analytics for those clients of ours who are more sophisticated … that requires an investment in software, investment in education.”

Besides the planned service offering enhancements, Brown argues the timing is ripe for Ritholtz Wealth Management.

“I think the industry has grown fat and happy; household assets are 10% higher than in the 2007 market peak. Retirement plan assets are 75% higher than 2002 level 10 years ago. As a result of that growth there’s been some complacency.”

Specifically, Brown argues that his team can sift through what he sees as a proliferation of investment products that have grown needlessly complex.

“So many people we see have portfolios that are preparing them for the last war,” he says. “Their portfolios are weighted in with put options or a lot of precious metals or black swan funds. They’re a drag on performance and don’t offer as much protection as people think.”

The reformed broker says he and Ritholtz see five to 10 prospects’ portfolios a week, and commonly find them larded with private equity, hedge funds, managed futures.

“The data tell us they don’t diversify as much as [their promoters say] they do,” Brown says. “Over long stretches of time, you eliminate costs and you actually do better [by excluding them,” he says, adding that he would say the same about currently popular risk parity strategies involving bonds.

“They do not lower your volatility—not as bonds are exiting a 30-year bull market. What they’re really doing is compromising potential upside and adding layers of cost. So that’s the kind of conversation we’re trying to have with people,” Brown says.

“We’ve got to get out of the mindset that volatility is evil,” he adds, noting that investors’ time horizons are probably “longer than they think,” such that the overly conservative portfolios he and Ritholtz are seeing in prospects’ portfolios are undermining their future retirement security.

To effect their strategies, Ritholtz Wealth Management, which Brown refers to as “primarily an ETF shop,” will be focusing on forward expected returns.

“Valuation plays a big role in the types of tilts we bring to client portfolios. It’s where the puck will be as to where it has been,” he says.

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Best Undervalued Companies To Buy Right Now

Best Undervalued Companies To Buy Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brendan Byrnes]

  Brendan: Not a problem at all. What about the surprising amount of dollar-store companies that are public? You have Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) , Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) , Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) . You mention, in particular, Family Dollar, which is the lowest market cap out of all of those, as doing the best, an exceptional company. Why?

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Janet S. Carter/AP Dollar General (DG) upped its bid for the rival Family Dollar chain and addressed an earlier roadblock, saying that it will more than double the number of stores it would shed to tamp down the antitrust concerns of its takeover target. The newest bid is worth $9.1 billion, or $80 a share, up from $78.50 a share in the previous offer. Family Dollar (FDO), based in Matthews, North Carolina, rejected the earlier bid in favor of a lesser offer of $8.5 billion from Dollar Tree (DLTR), saying! that regulators were less likely to stand in the way. On Tuesday Dollar General, the country's largest dollar-store chain, said it would divest as many as 1,500 stores, well above the 700 that it had originally agreed to, in order to sidestep any anti-monopoly actions that regulators might pursue. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee, company has also said it will pay a $500 million reverse break-up fee to Family Dollar Stores if the deal hits antitrust roadblocks. Dollar General Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling said that a second antitrust review supported its prior bid, but that its offer was revised "to demonstrate the seriousness of our commitment." The businesses of Family Dollar and Dollar General are more similar than Dollar Tree's. The first two sell items at a variety of prices while at Dollar Tree, all items are a buck. Family Dollar has been looking for a lifeline after running into some financial stress, shuttering stores and cutting prices. In June one big shareholder, Carl Icahn, urged the company to put itself up for sale. Family Dollar acted one month later, accepting an offer from Chesapeake, Virginia-based Dollar Tree of $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for each share held. The companies valued the transaction at $74.50 a share at the time. Including debt and other costs, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree estimated the deal to be worth approximately $9.2 billion. Shares of Family Dollar added 54 cents to $80.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Dollar Generals share price is up less than 6% in the past 12 months, but since the beginning of the year shares have risen more than 22%. And even then, Dollar Generaltrails Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) in share price growth since January 1. Dollar Tree stock is up 30%.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-undervalued-companies-to-buy-right-now-4.html

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Own For 2016

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Own For 2016: Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (AAV)

Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. and its subsidiaries engage in the acquisition, exploitation, development, and production of oil and gas in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. It produces and sells crude oil, natural gas, sulphur, and natural gas liquids primarily through marketing companies. As of February 5, 2013, the company's core properties comprised of Glacier Montney natural gas asset with approximately 80 net sections of land located in Alberta. Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  While Bakken formation oil and gas stocks have grabbed the attention of American investors, small cap Alberta or Saskatchewan oil and gas stocks Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (NYSE: AAV), Sonde Resources Corp (NYSEMKT: SOQ) and up and coming Centor Energy Inc (OTCBB: CNTO) have been largely overlooked as they seek to exploit oil and gas (including oil sands) in the resource rich Canadian provinces of Alberta or Saskatchewan or seek strategic alternatives for their assets in these areas or themselves. It should be mentioned that Canada's oil reserves are third only to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with over 95% of these reserves being the oil sands of Alberta plus that province contains much of the country's conventional oil reserves as well. In addition, the province of Saskatchewan along with offshore areas of Newfoundland contain substantial production and reserves. Excluding oil sands, Alberta would have 39% of Canada's remaining conventional oil reserves, followed b y offshore Newfoundland with 28% and Saskatchewan with 27%.

• [By Eric Lam]

  Royal Bank gained 1.2 percent as the market value of the nation's largest lender rose past C$100 billion for the first time. Bankers Petroleum Ltd. ! and Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. (AAV) climbed more than 2.7 percent as oil companies advanced. H&R Real Estate Investment Trust and Canadian Apartment Properties REIT added at least 2.5 percent to pace gains among financial stocks. Athabasca Oil Corp. tumbled 9.9 percent after an Alberta court decided to allow an aboriginal group to appeal an approval of the company's Dover oil-sands project.

• [By Stephan Dube]

  Comparing the netbacks with its peers, we can see that MEG Energy reported Q2 operating netbacks of $41.93/Boe, Advantage Oil & Gas' (AAV) Q2 operating netbacks totaled $14.74/Boe, Baytex has realized $25.76/Boe for Q1 and Bonavista Energy operating netbacks for Q1 amounted to $19.49/Boe. Therefore, with an average netback of $26.11/Boe, BlackPearl's $28.65/Boe is a little higher than the average of its peers with higher realized prices and stronger recoveries.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-canadian-stocks-to-own-for-2016.html

Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now

Hot Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now: Brown-Forman Corp (BF.B)

Brown-Forman Corporation, incorporated on October 19, 1933, primarily manufactures, bottles, imports, exports, markets, and sells a variety of alcoholic beverage brands. The Company's principal brands are Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Pepe Lopez Tequilas, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Woodford Reserve Bourbons, Jack Daniel's Ready-to-Drinks, Canadian Mist Blended Canadian Whiskies, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, Chambord Liqueur, Jack Daniel's Winter Jack Chambord Vodka, Gentleman Jack, Collingwood Canadian Whisky, Southern Comfort, Early Times Bourbon, Southern Comfort Ready-to-Drinks, Early Times flavored line extensions, Southern Comfort flavored line extensions, Early Times Kentucky Whisky, Finlandia Vodkas, Korbel California Champagnes, Finlandia Ready-to-Drinks, Little Black Dress Vodkas, Antiguo Tequila, Maximus Vodkas, el Jimador Tequilas, Old Forester Bourbon, el Jimador New Mix Ready-to-Drinks, Sonoma-Cutrer Wines, Herradura Tequilas, and Tuaca Liqueur.

The Company's products are sold in more than 150 countries around the world. The Company's international markets include Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, Poland, France, Russia, Japan, Turkey, Canada, Spain, Czech Republic, South Africa, Brazil and Italy.

The Company competes with Bacardi Limited, Beam Inc., Davide Campari-Milano S.p.A., Diageo plc, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A., Pernod Ricard S.A., and Remy Cointreau S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sure Dividend]

  No matter how much information we have, people will always need to eat. One way to look at if an industry has managed to grow over decades is to see how many Dividend Aristocrats the industry claims. Dividend Aristocrats are businesses that have increased their dividend payments fo! r 25 or more consecutive years, and meet certain size and liquidity requirements. These are businesses that have withstood all of the changes of the last 25 or more years, and managed to grow consistently and profitably. There are 54 Dividend Aristocrats. The list below shows the Dividend Aristocrats whose primary business relates to food and/or beverages:

  McDonald's (MCD) Coca-Cola (KO) PepsiCo (PEP) McCormick & Co. (MKC) Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) Hormel Foods (HRL) Brown-Forman (BF.B) Sysco (SYY)

  Of the 54 Dividend Aristocrats, eight (~15%) make their money from food and/or beverages. Interestingly, six of the seven (ADM and SYY are the exception) make their money from branded consumer food and beverages. If you are looking for slow-changing businesses that grow year after year, branded food companies are a good place to search.

• [By John Udovich]

  Whiskey has become increasingly cool and popular thanks to the whole cocktail movement, something that's good for big whiskey stocks like Suntory Beverage & Food Limited (OTCMKTS: STBFY), Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) and Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE: BF.B) who also produce a wide variety of liquors and beverages. In fact, a recent episode of the Daily Ticker cited these stats from a USA Today article:

• [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]

  BFB: Brown-Forman Corp. (BF.B)  Class B shares gained 3.7%. The alcoholic beverage maker reported fiscal third-quarter earnings Wednesday that beat expectations and boosted its full-year view on per-share earnings to between $2.95 and $3.05.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-beverage-companies-to-watch-in-right-now-2.html

National Advisors Trust to Provide Trust Services for Mercer Advisors

National Advisors Trust Company, which claims to be the nation’s largest independent RIA-owned trust company, announced Monday that it has been chosen by Mercer Advisors to provide trust and trustee services for its clients.

NATC was founded in 2001 and $8 billion in assets under administration through 135 RIA firms throughout the United States. Mercer, founded in 1985, has $4.5 billion in assets under management for 3,700 clients in branch offices in 15 cities.

“We chose NATC to be our provider because they have excellent trust services and a unique business model that allows Mercer Advisors to continue to enhance and preserve client relationships,” Dave Barton, resident and CEO of Mercer Advisors, said in a statement. “NATC’s trust and trustee services are comprehensive, and they do not compete with advisors. We’ve received numerous requests from clients for trustee services, and are looking forward to using NATC’s offering. It’s a natural fit for our needs and for the needs of our clients.”

Jim Combs, CEO of NATC, added “The model of combining an RIA like Mercer Advisors with a national trust company that provides conflict-free trust administration services, is a more attractive wealth management solution when compared to other trust services options on the market today. NATC trust solutions offer RIAs the flexibility and customization they need to meet the diverse needs of their client base, while trust services offered by large bank trust companies are becoming increasingly inflexible, often requiring high asset minimums and lacking a personalized approach.”

“Clearly, being principally owned by RIAs, we understand the RIAs’ need to be able to offer a wide range of personalized trust services,” Combs continued. “RIAs want to be named in trust documents as the investment advisor so they can honor clients’ requests to continue managing client assets when assets pass to family members. That kind of continuity and high-touch service can only be achieved by working with a non-competitive trust partner like NATC.  We see this trend growing, and expect it to continue in the coming decade.”

Top Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015

An array of energy's sub-industries are making a fortune from America's natural gas boom.

Rigs, pipelines, rail, wastewater treatment, trucking, seismic imaging, well-site security... And a lot more opportunity is on the way, like the deal Kent just uncovered.

But perhaps the most unlikely beneficiary of the shale revolution is the coal industry.

After all, "King Coal" has been dethroned in recent years by the swelling supply - and bargain prices - of clean-burning natural gas. Indeed, thermal coal at the Australian port of Newcastle, the Asian benchmark price, is currently near lows not seen since November 2009.

Australian producers have especially been struggling. They've been cutting costs and paring back production because U.S. and large project financiers like the World Bank are pulling away from coal projects.

And overall, ever-increasing environmental regulation is discouraging coal-powered electricity.

But the dynamic is suddenly changing.

Hot Casino Companies To Buy Right Now: Intermolecular Inc (IMI)

Intermolecular, Inc. (Intermolecular), incorporated on June 16, 2004, is engaged in research and development and time-to-market for the semiconductor and clean-energy industries. The Company, through paid collaborative development programs (CDPs) with its customers, develops technology and intellectual property (IP) for its customers focused on advanced materials, processes, integration and device architectures. The Company provides its customers with technology through various fee arrangements and grants them rights to associated IP, primarily through royalty-bearing licenses. Through paid CDPs and its own development, the Company has established a portfolio of greater than 1,000 patents and patent applications. Its approach is broadly applicable to high-volume integrated device markets, which include the markets for semiconductors, flat glass coatings and glass-based devices, solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), flat-panel displays, advanced batteries and other energy efficiency applications.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company targets large, high-volume semiconductor and high-growth emerging clean energy markets, including DRAM, non-volatile memory (including flash memory and embedded memory), complex logic, flat glass coatings and glass-based devices, solar cells, LEDs and other energy efficiency applications. The Company�� customers include ATMI, Inc. (ATMI), Elpida Memory, Inc. (Elpida), First Solar. Inc. (First), GLOBALFOUNDRIES Singapore Pte. Ltd (GLOBALFOUNDRIES), Guardian Industries Corp. (Guardian), SanDisk Corporation (SanDisk), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba). For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has received the majority of its revenue from customers in DRAM, flash memory, complex logic and energy-efficient applications in flat glass. The elements in HPC platform include Tempus HPC processing, automated characterization, and informatics and analysis software. Tempus HPC processing are used to process ! different experiments consisting of combinations of materials, processing parameters, sequencing and device structures. Automated characterization systems are used to characterize the substrates processed by its Tempus HPC processing tools. Informatics and analysis software are used to automate experiment generation, characterization, data analysis and reporting.

The Company�� HPC platform consists of its Tempus HPC processing tools, automated characterization and informatics and analysis software. The Company�� platform is purpose-built for Research and Development (R and D) using combinatorial process systems. Combinatorial processing is a methodology for discovery and development that employs parallel and other high-throughput experimentation, which allows R and D experimentation to be performed at speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional methods. The Company�� processing tools allows performing up to 192 experiments on a single substrate.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Intermolecular (NASDAQ: IMI) shares touched a new 52-week low of $4.84. Intermolecular shares have dropped 45.09% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.39% in the same period.

Top Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015: Huaneng Power International Inc (HNP)

Huaneng Power International, Inc. is principally engaged in the investment, construction, operation and management of power plants. The Company�� electricity generation business covers Northeast China Grid, North China Grid, Northwest China Grid, East China Grid, Central China Grid and South China Grid, as well as grid in Singapore. The Company�� power plants are mainly located in Shandong province, Liaoning province, Zhejiang province, Guangdong province, Jiangsu province, Hebei province, Fujian province, Jiangxi province, Chongqing city, Gansu province, Beijing city and Shanghai city, among others. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had a wholly owned power operation subsidiary in Singapore.

The Company�� Huaneng Dalian Power Plant (Dalian Power Plant) is located on the outskirts of Dalian, on the coast of Bohai Bay. Dalian Power Plant, including Phase I and Phase II, has an installed capacity of 1,400 megawatts and consists of four 350 megawatts coal-fired units. Dalian Power Plant typically stores 200,000 tons of coal onsite. Dalian Power Plant sells all its electricity through the Liaoning Electric Power Co., Ltd. and the Northeastern Power Grid. Electricity generated by Dalian Power Plant is delivered to the Liaoning Provincial Power Grid. Huaneng Dandong Power Plant (Dandong Power Plant) is located on the outskirts of the city of Dandong in Liaoning. Dandong Power Plant comprises two 350 megawatts coal-fired units. All the electricity generated by Dandong Power Plant is delivered to the Liaoning Provincial Power Grid and is sold through the Liaoning Electric Power Co., Ltd. and the Northeastern Power Grid.

Huaneng Yingkou Power Plant (Yingkou Power Plant) is located in Yingkou City in Liaoning Province. Yingkou Power Plant Phase I has an installed capacity of 640 megawatts and consists of 2x320 megawatts supercritical coal-fired generating units. Yingkou Power Plant sells all its electricity through Liaoning Electric Power Co., Ltd. and the Northeastern Power ! Grid. Electricity generated by Yingkou Power Plant is delivered to the Liaoning Provincial Power Grid. The Company�� construction projects in the Liaoning Province include the Yingkou Power Plant Phase II, which is planned to consist of two 600 megawatts coal-fired generating units. The Company owns 100% equity interests in this project.

Power Plant in Fujian Province

The Company�� Huaneng Fuzhou Power Plant (Fuzhou Power Plant) is located on the south bank of the Min River, southeast of the city of Fuzhou. Fuzhou Power Plant, including Phase I and Phase II, has an installed capacity of 1,400 megawatts and consists of four 350 megawatts coal-fired units. All the electricity sales of Fuzhou Power Plant are made through the Fujian Electric Power Company, Ltd. Electricity generated by Fuzhou Power Plant is delivered to the Fujian Provincial Power Grid.

Power Plant in Hebei Province

Huaneng Shangan Power Plant (Shangan Power Plant) is located on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang. Shangan Power Plant has been developed in two separate expansion phases. The Shangan Power Plant Phase I has an installed capacity of 700 megawatts and consists of two 350 megawatts coal-fired units. Shangan Power Plant sells all its electricity through the Hebei Electric Power Corporation. Electricity generated by Shangan Power Plant is delivered to the Hebei Provincial Power Grid. Shangan Power Plant Phase III is planned to consist of two 600 megawatts coal-fired generating units. The Company owns 100% equity interests in this project.

Power Plants in Jiangsu Province

Huaneng Nantong Power Plant (Nantong Power Plant) is located in the city of Nantong. Nantong Power Plant, including Phase I and Phase II, has an installed capacity of 1,404 megawatts, and consists of two 352 megawatts and two 350 megawatts coal-fired units. Nantong Power Plant sells all its electricity through the Jiangsu Electric Power Company. Electricity generated by Nantong Power Pl! ant is de! livered to the Jiangsu Provincial Power Grid. The Company�� Huaneng Nanjing Power Plant (Nanjing Power Plant) has an installed capacity of 640 megawatts consisting of two 320 megawatts coal-fired units.

The Huaneng Taicang Power Plant (Taicang Power Plant) is located in the vicinity of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou in the Jiangsu Province. Taicang Power Plant is an ancillary facility of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park and has a total planned capacity of 1,200 megawatts. Taicang Power Plant Phase I consists of 2 x 300 megawatts coal-fired generating units. Taicang Phase II Expansion consists of two 600 megawatts coal-fired generating units. The Huaneng Huaiyin Power Plant (Huaiying Power Plant) is located in the Centre of the Northern Jiangsu Power Grid. The plant has 2 x 220 megawatts coal-fired generating units.

Power Plants in Shanghai Municipality

Huaneng Shanghai Shidongkou First Power Plant (Shidongkou I) is located in the northern region of the Shanghai Power Grid. The plant comprises 3 x 325 megawatts, 1 x 300 and 1 x 320 coal-fired generating units, and has a total installed capacity of 1,270 megawatts. Electricity generated by Shidongkou I is delivered to the Shanghai Municipal Power Grid. Huaneng Shanghai Shidongkou Second Power Plant (Shidongkou II) is located in the northern suburbs of Shanghai. Shidongkou II has an installed capacity of 1,200 megawatts and consists of two 600 megawatts coal-fired supercritical units.

Power Plants in Guangdong Province

Located on the outskirts of the city of Shantou, the Huaneng Shantou Oil-Fired Power Plant (Shantou Power Plant) was set up with the support of the Shantou municipal government and the Guangdong provincial government. In 2007, Shantou Power Plant Phase I consisted of two 300 megawatts coal-fired units. The Company�� construction project in Guangdong Province consists of the Huaneng Haimen Power Plant (Haimen Power Plant), which is planned to consist of two 1,000 mega! watts gen! erating units with a total installed capacity of 2,000 megawatts. The Company owns 100% equity interest in this project.

Power Plants in Shandong Province

Huaneng Dezhou Power Plant (Dezhou Power Plant) is located in Dezhou City, near the border between Shandong and Hebei Provinces. Dezhou Power Plant consists of three Phases, with Phases I consisting of one 320 megawatts and one 330 megawatts coal-fired generating units, Phase II consisting of two 300 megwatts coal-fired generating units, and Phase III consisting of two 700 megawatts coal-fired generating units. Dezhou Power Plant sells its electricity through Shandong Electric Power Corporation. Electricity generated by Dezhou Power Plant is delivered to the Shandong Provincial Power Grid. Huaneng Jining Power Plant (Jining Power Plant) is located in Jining City, near the Jining load Centre and near numerous coal mines.

Huaneng Weihai Power Plant (Weihai Power Plant) is located approximately 16 kilometers southeast of Weihai City, on the shore of the Bohai Gulf. The Company holds a 60% interest in Weihai Power Plant, the remaining 40% interest of which is owned by Weihai Power Development Bureau (WPDB). Weihai Power Plant, developed in two phases, consists of four coal-fired generating units with an aggregate design capacity of 850 megawatts. Huaneng Xindian Power Plant (Xindian Power Plant) is located in Zibo Municipality of Shandong Province.

Power Plants in Zhejiang Province

Huaneng Changxing Power Plant (Changxing Power Plant) is located at the intersection of Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province. Changxing Power Plant has one 125 megawatts and one 135 megawatts coal-fired generating units. Changxing Power Plant sells its electricity to Zhejiang Provincial Electric Power Company. The Yuhuan Power Plant is located in Taizhou of Zhejiang Province and consists of two 1,000 megawatts ultra-supercritical, coal-fired generating units with a total installed capacity of ! 2,000 meg! awatts.

Power Plant in Shanxi Province

Huaneng Yushe Power Plant (Yushe Power Plant) is located in Yushe County of Shanxi Province. Yushe Power Plant Phase I has an installed capacity of 200 megawatts and consists of two 100 megawatts coal-fired generating units. Yushe Power Plant sells all its electricity through the Shanxi Electric Power Corporation. Electricity generated by Yushe Power Plant is delivered to the Shanxi Provincial Power Grid.

Power Plant in Henan Province

Qinbei Power Plant is located in Jiyuan Municipality of Henan Province. Its installed capacity is 2,400 megawatts, which consists of four 600 megawatts supercritical coal-fired generating units.

Power Plant in Jiangxi Province

Huaneng Jinggangshan Power Plant (Jinggangshan Power Plant) is located in Jian City of Jiangxi Province, and has an installed capacity of 600 megawatts and consists of two 300 megawatts coal-fired generating units. Jinggangshan Power Plant sells its electricity through the Jiangxi Electric Power Corporation. Electricity generated by it is delivered to the Jiangxi Provincial Power Grid.

Power Plant in Hunan Province

Huaneng Yueyang Power Plant (Yueyang Power Plant) is located in Yueyang City of Hunan Province. Yueyang Power Plant Phase I has an installed capacity of 725 megawatts and consists of two 362.5 megawatts sub-critical, coal-fired generating units. Yueyang Power Plant Phase II consists of two coal-fired generating units with installed capacity of 600 megawatts. Yueyang Power Plant sells its electricity through the Hunan Electric Power Corporation. Electricity generated by Yueyang Power Plant is delivered to the Hunan Provincial Power Grid.

Power Plant in Chongqing Municipality

Huaneng Luohuang Power Plant (Luohuang Power Plant) is located in Chongqing Municipality. Each of Phase I and Phase II of Luohuang Power Plant has an installed capacity of 720 megawatts and consists ! of two 36! 0 megawatts coal-fired generating units. Luohuang Power Plant Phase III consists of two 600 megawatts coal-fired generating units with an installed capacity of 1,200 megawatts.

Power Plant in Gansu Province

Huaneng Pingliang Power Plant (Pingliang Power Plant) is located in Pingliang City of Gansu Province. It has an installed capacity of 1,200 megawatts and consists of four 300 megawatts coal-fired generating units.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Utilities stocks gained Friday, with Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Huaneng Power International (NYSE: HNP), with shares up 2.1 percent, and Pampa Energia SA (NYSE: PAM), with shares up 2.5 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Friday morning, the utilities sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Huaneng Power International (NYSE: HNP) and Exelon (NYSE: EXC). In trading on Friday, telecommunications services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.01 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Friday morning, the utilities sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Huaneng Power International (NYSE: HNP) and Pure Cycle (NASDAQ: PCYO). In trading on Friday, healthcare shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.28 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Utilities sector gained 0.78 percent in the US market today. Among the utilities stocks, Huaneng Power International (NYSE: HNP) was down more than 1.4 percent, while UIL Holdings (NYSE: UIL) tumbled around 0.7 percent.

Top Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015: Vocera Communications Inc (VCRA)

Vocera Communications, Inc. (Vocera), incorporated on February 16, 2000, is a provider of mobile communication solutions. The Company�� solutions consist of its Voice Communication, Messaging and Care Transition solutions. Its Voice Communication solution, which includes a communication badge and a software platform, enables users to connect with other hospital staff. The Company�� Messaging solution delivers text messages and alerts directly to and from smartphones. Its Care Transition solution is a voice and text-based software application that captures, manages and monitors patient information when responsibility for the patient is transferred or handed-off from one caregiver to another, or when the patient is discharged from the hospital. Users can communicate with others using the Vocera communication badge or through Vocera Connect client applications available for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android smartphones, as well as Cisco wireless Internet protocol (IP) phones and other mobile devices. In January 2014, Vocera Communications Inc announced the acquisition of mVisum.

Communication solution can also be integrated with nurse call and other clinical systems to alert hospital workers to patient needs. The Company�� solutions are deployed in over 800 hospitals and healthcare facilities, including hospital systems, hospitals, and clinics, surgery centers and aged-care facilities. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company had shipped over 400,000 communication badges to its customers. The Company outsources the manufacturing of its products. Vocera offers a range of services, including clinical workflow design, wireless assessment, solution configuration, training and project management. It also provides a classroom-based curriculum for systems administrators, information technology professionals and clinical educators. The Company provides around-the-clock technical support to its customers through its support centers in San Jose, California, and Reading, United Kingdom.!

Voice Communication solution

The Company�� Voice Communication solution consists of a software platform that connects communication devices, including its hands-free, wearable, voice-controlled communication badges, Vocera-branded smartphones and third-party mobile devices that use its software applications to become part of the Vocera system. The system transforms the way mobile workers communicate by enabling them to connect with the right person simply by the name, function or group name of the person they want to reach, often while remaining at the point-of-care. Its system responds to over 100 voice commands.

Vocera�� Voice Communication solution is a software platform that runs on its customers��Windows-based servers. In addition, it controls the calling and messaging functions of the mobile client devices and maintains profiles for users and groups that enable customization of workflow patterns for each customer. The Company�� communication badge is a wearable device that operates over customers��wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks. The badge is worn clipped to a shirt or on a lanyard. It can be used to conduct hands-free communication. It enables two-way voice conversations without the need to remember a phone number or use a handset. Its badge also incorporates automatic diagnostic mechanisms that feed data on wireless network performance back to the software platform for reporting and diagnosis of problems. In October 2011, it introduced the Vocera B3000 badge. In 2012, the Company added Cisco wireless IP phones to the list of mobile devices it supports.

Messaging solution

The Company�� Messaging solution delivers text messages, alerts and other information, directly to and from smartphones. Its solution consists of a software platform and client applications that run on BlackBerry, iPhone or Android devices. Its Messaging solution includes a range of client applications, including Alert, Chat and Commander.

Care! Transition Solution

The Company�� platform, which includes modules for patient transfers, shift changes, physician sign-outs and patient and family information exchanges, allows hospitals to standardize and monitor patient hand-offs. Its Care Transition solution can be deployed through either a hosted software-as-a-service model or as a server-on-site model and has been deployed by over 120 hospitals.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Ascom and Polycom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Vocera Communications (NYSE: VCRA  ) have gotten slaughtered by 38% today after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the first quarter came in at $22.4 million, which translated into a non-GAAP net loss of $0.07 per share. Both figures were significantly worse than the $24.3 million in revenue and $0.02 per share adjusted loss that the Street was expecting. CEO Bob Zollars conceded that management was disappointed with the results.

• [By Victor Selva]

  On Dec.24, Mario Gabelli, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GAMCO Investors, Inc. added Communications Systems Inc. (JCS) at an average price of $11.05 and currently holds 330,172 shares of the stock. It was the 5th time he added the stock during this year, which makes me feel that he is betting in favor of a positive future for the consumption of network capacity.
  Recommendations of the Board
  Communications Systems is engaged in the manufacture and sale of modular connecting and wiring devices for voice and data communications, digital subscriber line filters, and structured wiring systems, and through its Transition Networks business unit in the manufacture of media and rate conversion products for telecommunications networks.
  Few months ago the firm announced�a series of actions to increase revenues and improve profitability. The first change was to operate as a holding company, monitoring and supporting all the business units: Suttle, Transition Networks (TN) unit and JDL Technologies. With this ��ew format�� each unit will operate with a high degree of autonomy. This will result in the reduction of labor costs, the emphasizing of accountability in the units as well as better recognition of performance. "While difficult decisions for the Board, we believe the changes we have taken to restructure our parent company as a holding company and to focus on individual business unit performance is in the best interest of our shareholders and will increase shareholder value" said Curtis A. Sampson, the Company's Board Chair and Interim CEO. Furthermore, strategic investments in the TN unit such as marketing, sales and product development will boost revenues in the future.
  Severe Warning Signs
  Not all are good news, we found three severe warning signs issued by GuruFocus: Piotroski F-Score of 2 is low, which usually implies poor business operation; revenue has been in decline over the past 3 years and operating margin has been in 5-year

• [By gurujx]

  Vocera Communications Inc (VCRA) Reached the 3-year Low of $12.33

  The prices of Vocera Communications Inc (VCRA) shares have declined to close to the 3-year low of $12.33, which is 64.4% off the 3-year high of $32.97.

Top Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015: Astrotech Corporation(ASTC)

Astrotech Corporation operates as a commercial aerospace company in the United States. The company provides spacecraft payload processing and related services; designs and manufactures space hardware; and commercializes space technologies for use on the earth. It also offers satellite launch processing support to government and commercial customers for their communication, earth observation, and deep space satellites. The company?s processing activities consist of satellite ground transportation; pre-launch hardware integration and testing; satellite encapsulation, fueling, launch pad delivery; and communication linked launch control, as well as engineering services. In addition, it develops Miniature Chemical Detector, a chemical analyzer for use on international space station, as well as detects residues and vapors from a range of chemicals, including explosives, chemical warfare agents, toxic chemicals, and volatile organic compounds. The company serves the United Stat es Government and commercial satellite and spacecraft customers. Astrotech Corporation was founded in 1984 is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

   

  Astrotech (ASTC) operates as a commercial aerospace company in the U.S. This stock closed up 7.2% to $3.26 a share in Thursday's trading session.

   

  Thursday's Range: $3.02-$3.31
  
  52-Week Range: $0.61-$4.05
  
  Thursday's Volume: 295,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 570,805

   

  From a technical perspective, ASTC spiked sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $2.96 with lighter-than-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last four months, with shares moving higher from its low of 63 cents per share to its recent high of $4.05. During that uptrend, shares of ASTC have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. This spike on Thursday is now starting to push shares of ASTC within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if ASTC manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.50 to $3.75 and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $4.05 with high volume.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ASTC as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $2.66 or above more near-term support at $2.62 and then once it sustain a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 570,805 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ASTC will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets of that breakout are $5 to $5.50.

   

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q3 2014 earnings report for small cap space stock Orbital Sciences Corp (NYSE: ORB), a potential peer of Alliant Techsystems Inc (NYSE: ATK) who ORB is actually merging with plus Astrotech Corp (NASDAQ: ASTC) which actually just completed the sale of�part of its�space business to subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) and Toronto listed Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd (TSE: MDA), is scheduled for before the market opens on Thursday (October 16th). Aside from the Orbital Sciences Corp earnings report, it should be said that Alliant Techsystems Inc will report earnings before the market opens on October 30th; Astrotech Corp reported Q4 2014 earnings on September 29th (they completed the sale of Astrotech Space Operations in August); and Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd will report earnings on October 29th after the market closes.��

Top Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015: Green Technology Solutions Inc (GTSO)

Green Technology Solutions Inc (GTSO), incorporated on February 22, 1991, is in the business of identifying and acquiring rights in early stage, green technologies, with the plan to develop these technologies into marketable products. The Company has identified several technology endeavors.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company has identified the advancement of mining technologies, with an emphasis on rare earth and precious metals mining applications, the development of additional markets for existing paint products that are being marketed in the United States, and smart grid technology. GTSO has also identified additional joint venture in China and South America.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GTSO surged (+10.29%) up +0.0035 at $.0375 with�55,329 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:20PM EDT August 27, 2013).

  Green Technology Solutions, Inc. is negotiating a potentially lucrative spot transaction with joint venture partner Chilerecicla to export a large quantity of e-waste to one of the largest smelters in the world.

  According to the terms of the spot transaction, GTSO joint venture partner Chilerecicla will collect several metric tons of e-waste from suppliers based in Bolivia and Chile, and then ship materials to a smelter overseas. The buyers consist of the world�� largest smelter, who has meticulously screened Chilerecicla to become one of its suppliers. The smelter has noted that its capacity to purchase e-waste from Chilerecicla exceeds our partner�� current e-waste forecast for the near and present future.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GTSO surged (+0.32%) up +0.0001 at $.0309 with 12,300 shares in movement thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:31AM EDT June 20, 2013).

  Green Technology Solutions, Inc. previously reported it has finalized a joint venture agreement with leading Latin American e-waste recycler Chilerecicla.

  Latin America is a key emerging market in the booming the global e-waste recycling and reuse services industry, which Transparency Market Research predicts accounted for more than $9 billion in 2012. The firm expects the worldwide e-waste market to reach $18 billion in 2017, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.2 percent from 2012 to 2017.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GTSO has shed (-10.51%) -0.0041 at $.0349 with 1,304,937 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 2:03PM EDT August 13, 2013).

  Green Technology Solutions, Inc. and its partner, Chilerecicla, are preparing to expand recycling operations into Bolivia.

  One of South America�� top recyclers of e-waste, Chilerecicla operates the first e-waste recycling plant in Southern Chile and maintains crucial relationships with overseas smelters, with the right to sell them as many recovered metals and minerals as GTSO and Chilerecicla can provide. With a feasibility study on the region now complete, the joint venture has targeted Bolivia as an ideal territory for growth.

Top Trucking Companies To Buy For 2015: Silicon Laboratories Inc.(SLAB)

Silicon Laboratories Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, designs, develops, and markets analog-intensive and mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs). The company offers broad-based products, which include microcontrollers, clocks and oscillators, wireless transceivers, digital isolators and related products, and human interface sensors and controllers; broadcast products comprising radio receivers and transmitters, and video tuners and demodulators; and access products consisting of embedded modems, subscriber line interface circuits, Voice over IP (VoIP) products, and power over Ethernet devices, as well as DSL analog front end ICs and IRDA devices. It provides ICs for use in various electronic applications, such as portable devices, AM/FM radios, and other consumer electronics, as well as networking, test and measurement, industrial monitoring and control, and customer premises equipment. The company markets its products through direct sales force, and through a networ k of independent sales representatives and distributors in the United States, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Japan, and internationally. Silicon Laboratories Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  XSD holds such big-cap names as Texas Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: TXN) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC). It also owns Atmel Corp. (Nasdaq: ATML), which has a market cap of less than $4 billion, and Silicon Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: SLAB), with a market cap of $2 billion.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, technology shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.80 percent. Top decliners in the sector included Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ: SLAB), down 15.32 percent, and Informatica (NASDAQ: INFA), off 11.91 percent.

Best Media Companies To Watch For 2015

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) --�Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.

Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.

While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for investors who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at some of the most active stocks on the market today.

Top 5 Information Technology Stocks For 2016: Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI)

Gannett Co., Inc. operates as a media and marketing solutions company in the United States and internationally. Its Publishing segment publishes 83 U.S. daily newspapers with affiliated online sites, including USA TODAY, a national, general-interest daily newspaper; USATODAY.com; USA WEEKEND, a magazine supplement for newspapers; Clipper Magazine, a direct mail advertising magazine; bi-weekly Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek periodicals; and military and defense newspapers. This segment also includes 17 paid-for daily newspapers; approximately 200 weekly newspapers, magazines, and trade publications; and approximately 600 non-daily publications, as well as involves in commercial printing, newswire, marketing, and data services operations. The company?s Digital segment owns and operates CareerBuilder, an employment Web site, which offers online recruitment and career advancement services for employers, employees, recruiters, and job seekers; ShopLocal, which provides multicha nnel shopping and advertising services; Planet Discover, which offers hosted search and advertising services; PointRoll, which provides digital marketing services and technology; and Schedule Star, which offers scheduling solution for high school athletic departments. Its Broadcasting segment operates 23 television stations and affiliated Web sites, which produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment programming. This segment also includes Captivate Network, a national news and entertainment network that delivers programming and full-motion video advertising on video screens located in elevators of office towers and select hotel lobbies in North America. The company has strategic business relationships with online affiliates, including Classified Ventures, ShopLocal.com, Topix, and Metromix LLC, as well as strategic marketing agreement with Microsoft. Gannett Co., Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon Friedman]

  On June 13, Gannett (NYSE: GCI  ) sent Wall Street a clear message: We are much more than the nation's leading newspaper chain.

  That was the day that Gannett announced plans to acquire television company Belo Corp. for $1.5 billion, transforming Gannett's image overnight�from an old-fashioned newspaper chain (bad, bad image) to a more promising television operation (very good one).

Best Media Companies To Watch For 2015: Time Warner Inc.(TWX)

Time Warner Inc. operates as a media and entertainment company in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Networks, Filmed Entertainment, and Publishing. The Networks segment provides domestic and international networks, premium pay and basic tier television programming services, and digital media properties, which primarily consist of brand-aligned Websites. Its premium pay television services consist of the multi-channel HBO and Cinemax premium pay television services. This segment provides programming to cable system operators, satellite service distributors, telephone companies, and other distributors; sells advertising; and licenses original programming to domestic and international television networks. The Filmed Entertainment segment produces and distributes feature films, television and other programming, and videogames; distributes home video products; and licenses rights to its feature films, television programming, and characters. T he Publishing segment publishes magazines and books; and operates various Websites, as well as engages in marketing services and direct-marketing businesses. This segment publishes magazines on style and entertainment, lifestyle, news, and sports. The company?s brands include TNT, TBS, CNN, HBO, Cinemax, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, People, Sports Illustrated, and Time. Time Warner Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Evan Agostini, Invision/APCBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves ranked No. 2 on a list of highest paid CEOs. LOS ANGELES -- Once again, media company CEOs are among the highest paid executives in the nation, occupying six of the top 10 earning spots, according to an Associated Press/Equilar study. Compensation experts say a variety of factors are at play, including the gain in media stocks, the intangible value of talent in a hit-or-miss business, the control of shareholder power in very few hands, and the decline of the financial sector. Stock Outperformers Outsized stock growth boosts the value of stock and option grants. Media companies' shares have rebounded strongly since the 2008 recession, mainly because advertising spending grows in tandem with a growing economy. That means higher-priced ads and higher-priced execs. Stocks of the six media companies on the list all outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC), which grew 128 percent in the five years through December 2013, according to FactSet. CBS (CBS) shares grew a whopping 699 percent in that period; Discovery Communications (DISCA) went up 539 percent; Viacom (VIA) rose 377 percent; Walt Disney (DIS) rose 250 percent; Time Warner (TWX) climbed 259 percent and Comcast (CMCSA) grew 223 percent. "If shareholders are happy they don't care how much a person makes," said Paul Dorf, managing director of consulting firm Compensation Resources. "When they complain most is when the market doesn't do well and their stock is going down the tubes." Talent Quotient Making it big in media means generating hits. And while top executives may not be hands-on with every decision, they are where the buck stops. Take Disney's animated blockbuster "Frozen," which grossed $1.2 billion at box offices worldwide. While Disney CEO Bob Iger didn't make the movie, he did orchestrate Disney's $7.4 billion acquisition of Pixar in 2006, which brought in talented executives to help reform Disney's faltering a

Best Media Companies To Watch For 2015: Thomson Reuters Corp(TRI)

Thomson Reuters Corporation provides intelligent information for businesses and professionals worldwide. The company allows market participants to connect, access content, and trade in a secure environment through Thomson Reuters Eikon desktop, Thomson Reuters Elektron network, content integration and management technology, content feeds and databases, and transactions infrastructure solutions that support buy- and sell-side customers to trade in foreign exchange, fixed income and derivatives, equities, exchange-traded instruments, and commodities and energy markets. It also offers information, analytics, workflow, and technology solutions to buy-side and off-trading floor customers; access to liquidity in over-the-counter markets, trade execution, and connections for market participants and financial professionals? communities; and a suite of solutions offering informed outcomes to regulated industries and law firms. In addition, the company provides critical information , decision support tools, and software and services to legal, investigation, business, and government professionals; integrated tax compliance and accounting software and services for accounting and law firms, corporations, and government professionals; intellectual property and scientific resources that enable its customers to discover, develop, and deliver innovations; and data analytics, and performance benchmarking solutions and services to healthcare sector. Further, it offers coverage of global, regional, and national news in 20 languages covering politics, business, finance, entertainment, lifestyle, technology, health, science, and sports; and engages in advertising-supported direct-to-consumer publishing activities of Reuters.com and its network of Websites, mobile applications, and electronic out-of-home displays. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  It's been a solid year for Thompson Reuters (TRI); since the calendar flipped over to January, this $30 billion financial media firm has rallied more than 22%. But don't worry if you've missed out on the move -- TRI looks well-positioned for higher levels thanks to the pattern that's been setting up in shares.

  Thompson Reuters is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish setup that's formed by horizontal resistance above shares at the $35.50 level and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as TRI bounces in between those two technically-important price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a confirmed breakout above that $35.50 price level. When the breakout happens, it's time to be a buyer.

  TRI closed above the $35.50 level in yesterday's session, but it's a little early to call it a breakout just yet. If shares can hold above that breakout level all through today's session, then the buy signal is worth heeding.

• [By Associated Press]

  Ron Brown, head of Elektron Analytics, a Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI  ) unit that sells news feeds that computers can read, said that the words "explosions" or "Obama" alone wouldn't have triggered selling. But add "White House," and it's a combination even the slowest computer couldn't miss.

• [By Bill Smith]

  FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
  Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP )

Best Media Companies To Watch For 2015: Cablevision Systems Corporation (CVC)

Cablevision Systems Corporation provides telecommunications and media services. It operates in two segments, Telecommunications Services and Other. The Telecommunications Services segment is involved in television business, including video, high-speed data, and VoIP operations, as well as the provision of commercial data and voice services. The Other segment offers Newsday, a daily newspaper; amNewYork, a free daily newspaper; and Star Community Publishing, a group of weekly shopper publications; and newsday.com and exploreLI.com. This segment also engages in motion picture theatre business, Clearview Cinemas; provision of the News 12 Networks, a regional news programming services; and the MSG Varsity network, a network covering high school sports and activities, and other local programs, as well as cable television advertising. Cablevision Systems Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Bethpage, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  For a second day in a row, we need to look no further than the broadcasting sector for our best performers. Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC  ) and Cablevision (NYSE: CVC  ) advanced 8.1% and 3.5%, respectively, on speculation that a wave of mergers and acquisitions would sweep through the sector. If you recall, Gannett�shares soared after announcing a $1.5 billion purchase of Belo�yesterday to expand its national broadcasting presence.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  'Interconnection' The better access that Netflix is getting from Comcast is known as "interconnection," a term referring to digital content's journey to an Internet service provider's gates. That path technically isn't covered by the current definition of Net neutrality, which refers to how service providers treat digital content once it's inside the gates. Comcast has promised to honor the previous rules governing Net neutrality through 2018. In a blog post last month, Hastings argued that future Net neutrality guidelines should be expanded to address interconnection issues, too. "Without strong Net neutrality, big ISPs can demand potentially escalating fees for the interconnection required to deliver high quality service," Hastings wrote. "The big ISPs can make these demands -- driving up costs and prices for everyone else -- because of their market position." Google's YouTube video site and many other websites were paying interconnection fees to Comcast before Netflix struck its own deal with the carrier. Even with the March improvements, Comcast's delivery of Netflix content lags behind several other major service providers. Cablevision (CVC), Cox, Suddenlink and Charter (CHTR) each delivered Netflix video at higher speeds than Comcast in March, according to Monday's breakdown. Netflix has interconnection deals with Cablevision, Cox and Suddenlink, although those arrangements don't require Netflix to pay fees.

Women Like It Smaller, and Other Smartphone Facts

The trend is unmistakable: Smartphone screens are getting larger and larger. Where will it all end?

That was one of the questions addressed recently at CE Week in New York City. According to Mashable, which hosted a panel on "The Battle Over Smartphone Screen Size," it's impossible to buy a top Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android phone these days with a screen smaller than 4.7 inches. Apple is still lagging in this area -- its iPhone 5 finally stepped up to a 4-inch display -- but there's speculation it will have to go larger as well.

Our roving reporter Rex Moore was in New York, and spoke with Mashable's Lance Ulanoff about the differences between men and women's tastes for screen size.

Want to get in on the smartphone phenomenon? Truth be told, one company sits at the crossroads of smartphone technology as we know it. It's not your typical household name, either. In fact, you've probably never even heard of it! But it stands to reap massive profits NO MATTER WHO ultimately wins the smartphone war. To find out what it is, click here to access The Motley Fool's latest free report: "One Stock You Must Buy Before the iPhone-Android War Escalates Any Further..."

Top Undervalued Companies For 2016

Best High Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2015

Last week, around 42 companies announced a high dividend. I published all stocks with dividend growth from the recent week in the attached dividend list. In average, stocks from the list of the latest dividend growth stocks have increased their dividend payments by 15.51%.

It�� always good to see how the dividend growth strategy works. Some of the dividend growers have raised their payments forty times and more. The biggest names come from the oil and gas sector. Eni and Total are the two biggest stocks followed by the British spirit maker Diageo.

Five of the results have a double-digit dividend yield and seven yielding above five percent. Analysts and brokerage firms recommend more than half, 26 in total, of the dividend growth stocks.

Here are my favorite dividend growth stocks:


Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) has a market capitalization of $34.16 billion. The company employs 45,948 people, generates revenue of $20.317 billion and has a net income of $1.956 billion. Teva Pharmaceuticals�� EBITDA amounts to $6.055 billion. The EBITDA margin is 29.80% (the operating margin is 10.85% and the net profit margin 9.63%).

Hot Integrated Utility Companies To Buy For 2016: Woolworths Ltd (WOW)

Woolworths Limited is an Australia-based company. The Company operates in five segments: Australian Food and Liquor, New Zealand Supermarkets, Petrol, BIG W and Hotels. Australian Food and Liquor segment is engaged in the procurement of food and liquor and products for resale to customers in Australia. New Zealand Supermarkets segment is engaged in the procurement of food and liquor and products for resale to customers in New Zealand. Petrol segment is engaged in the procurement of petroleum products for resale to customers in Australia. BIG W segment is engaged procurement of discount general merchandise products for resale to customers in Australia. Hotels segment is engaged in the provision of leisure and hospitality services, including food and alcohol, accommodation, entertainment and gaming. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Burgos]

  Woolworths Ltd. (WOW) dropped 1.6 percent to A$33.22 after Australia�� largest retailer said challenging economic condition were evident in the second quarter.

Best High Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2015: Thinspace Technology Inc (THNS)

Thinspace Technology Inc., formerly Vanity Events Holding, Inc., incorporated on November 22, 2006, is a holding company. Utilizing their licensed trademark of America's Cleaning Company, Vanity established a cleaning company offering residential and commercial cleaning services. In October 2012, the Company acquired fineartlender.com. In October 2012, the Company acquired additional URLS, which include Weddinggownlender.com; Suitlender.com and Bridalpartylender.com.

The Company seeks out, licenses, develops, promotes, and brings to market various consumer and commercial products. The Company markets products directly to the consumer and marketplace through one of its own properties www.ThereIsAProductForThat.com.

The Company competes with Rent the Runway, Inc., Rent-A-Center, Inc., Bag, Borrow or Steal, Inc., Aaron��, and Gilt Groupe, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech or media stocks Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS), Beamz Interactive Inc (OTCBB: BZIC) and Hannover House Inc (OTCMKTS: HHSE) have been getting some extra attention lately, but it appears that only one of these stocks has been the subject of a paid promotion. Nevertheless, all three stocks have been busy with press releases trying to get the attention of investors or traders. So are these three small cap tech or media stocks worth your attention? Here is a closer look along with a reality check:

  Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS) Was Recently Busy With Press Releases

  Small cap Thinspace Technology Inc is a global provider of reliable, scalable and affordable application delivery, virtualization and cloud client technology to public and private sector companies and organizations of all sizes. On Monday, Thinspace Technology Inc rose 2.80% to $0.330 for a market cap of $30.24 million plus THNS is down 82.6% over the past year and down 89.8% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Best High Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2015: Intrawest Resorts Holdings Inc (SNOW)

Intrawest Resorts Holdings, Inc. (New Intrawest), incorporated on August 30, 2013, is a North American mountain resort and adventure company. The Company owns interests in seven four-season mountain resorts with more than 11,000 skiable acres and more than 1,150 acres of land available for real estate development. The Company�� mountain resorts are geographically diversified across North America�� ski regions, including the Eastern United States, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Southwest and Canada. As of January 21, 2014, its portfolio of resorts received more than six million visitors from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. The Company also operates an adventure travel business, Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), the heli-skiing adventure company in North America. CMH provides helicopter accessed skiing, mountaineering and hiking. New Intrawest operates a real estate business through which it manages, markets and sells vacation club properties; manages condominium hotel properties, and sells and markets residential real estate. The Company operates in three segments: Mountain, Adventure and Real Estate.

The Company�� Mountain segment includes its mountain resort and lodging operations at Steamboat Ski & Resort, Winter Park Resort, Mont Tremblant Resort, Stratton Mountain Resort and Snowshoe Mountain Resort. It also holds a 50% interest in Blue Mountain Ski Resort within its Mountain segment. The Adventure segment includes its CMH business. Within its Adventure segment, the Company also owns and operates aviation businesses that support CMH and provide services to third parties. New Intrawest�� Real Estate segment includes its real estate development activities, as well as its real estate management, marketing and sales businesses, including Intrawest Resort Club Group (IRCG), Intrawest Hospitality Management (IHM) and Playground. Its mountain resorts offer activities for individuals of all ages that combine outdoor adventure and fitness with a variety of resort-based se! rvices and amenities, including retail, equipment rental, dining, lodging, ski school, spa services, golf, mountain biking and other summer activities.

The Company�� Steamboat Ski & Resort is located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, 157 miles northwest of Denver. The Winter Park Resort is located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, 67 miles west of Denver. The resort is comprised of Winter Park Mountain, Mary Jane Mountain, Vasquez Cirque and Vasquez Ridge. The Mont Tremblant Resort is located in Quebec. The Stratton Mountain Resort is located in Southern Vermont, approximately 220 miles north of New York City and approximately 150 miles northwest of Boston. The Snowshoe Mountain Resort is located in West Virginia and is a ski resorts in the Southeast region of the United States.

In the Blue Mountain Ski Resort the Company owns a 50% equity interest and is located in Ontario, approximately 90 miles northwest of Toronto. Blue Mountain also operates a year round conference center and offers a summer amenities, including an 18-hole golf course, an open-air gondola, a mountain biking facility and a waterfront park. The Company�� Mammoth Mountain, of which the Company owns a 15% equity interest, is located south of Yosemite National Park in California and primarily draws customers from Southern California�� approximately 22.0 million residents. The Company also owns a 50% equity interest in Mammoth Hospitality Management, LLC, which runs the hospitality and lodging operations at Mammoth. The Company�� other business interests at Mammoth include managing the commercial village, as well as the Westin Monache Resort at Mammoth Lakes, California. CMH provides helicopter-accessed skiing, mountaineering and hiking on 3.1 million powder-filled acres of terrain in British Columbia. The Company has a portfolio of more than 1,150 acres of development parcels surrounding the bases of its Steamboat, Winter Park, Tremblant, Stratton and Snowshoe resorts, much of which is located adjacent ! or proxim! ate to the ski trails, including ski-in ski-out parcels.

The Company�� competes with Breckenridge Ski Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, Copper Mountain Resort, Keystone Resort, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Mont Blanc, Le Massif, Mont Saint-Sauveur, Okemo, Mount Snow, Killington Resort, Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Bryce Resort, Wintergreen Resort, Horseshoe Valley Resort, Mount St. Louis and Holiday Valley Resort.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  If you are a ski enthusiast hitting the slopes this winter, you might want to check out ski stocks�like mid cap Vail Resorts, Inc (NYSE: MTN) and small caps Peak Resorts Inc (NASDAQ: SKIS) and Intrawest Resorts Holdings Inc (NYSE: SNOW) which own or operate ski resorts. However, two of these ski stocks are recent IPOs with small cap Peak Resorts Inc having an IPO about a month ago while Intrawest Resorts Holdings debuted at the end of January. With that in mind, here is what you need to know as an investor before you hit the slopes with these ski stocks:

Best High Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2015: MS Structured Asset Corp Saturns GE Cap Corp Series 2002-14 (MKS)

MKS Instruments, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides instruments, subsystems, and process control solutions that measure, control, power, monitor, and analyze parameters of manufacturing processes worldwide. It offers instruments and control systems, such as pressure measurement and control, materials delivery, gas composition analysis, and control and information technology products. The company also provides power and reactive gas products comprising power delivery, reactive gas generation, processing thin films, and equipment cleaning products; and vacuum products, including vacuum containment components, vacuum gauges, vacuum valves, effluent management subsystems and custom stainless steel chambers, vessels, and pharmaceutical process equipment hardware and housings. Its products are used in the semiconductor processing steps, such as depositing thin films of material onto silicon wafer substrates, and etching and cleaning circuit patterns; manufacture of f lat panel displays, light emitting diodes, solar cells, data storage media, and other coatings, including architectural glass; energy generation and environmental monitoring processes, such as nuclear fuel processing, fuel cell research, greenhouse gas monitoring, and chemical agent detection; medical instrument sterilization; consumable medical supply manufacturing; and pharmaceutical applications. In addition, the company offers maintenance and repair, software maintenance, installation, and training services. It serves semiconductor capital equipment and device manufacturers, thin film capital equipment manufacturers, energy generation, environmental monitoring, and manufacturing companies, as well as government, universities, and industrial research laboratories. The company sells its products primarily through its direct sales force, as well as through sales representatives and agents. MKS Instruments, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Andover, Massachuse tts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Marks & Spencer Group Plc (MKS), the U.K.�� largest clothing retailer, advanced 4.5 percent to 509 pence after reporting the smallest decline in general-merchandise sales in more than two years. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 1.3 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 28, M&S said. That beat the median estimate of 17 analysts for a 1.5 percent drop.

Best High Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2015: Crestwood Equity Partners LP (CEQP)

Crestwood Equity Partners LP, incorporated on March 7, 2001, is a master limited partnership. The Company owns the general partner interest (including the distribution rights) and an approximate 4% limited partner interest of Crestwood Midstream.

In addition, the Company's operations include a natural gas storage business in Texas and a natural gas liquid (NGL) and crude oil supply and logistics business that serves customers in the United States and Canada. On October 7, 2013, Crestwood Midstream Partners LP merged into Inergy Midstream, L.P.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Tuesday, Inergy (NYSE: CEQP  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  With Kinder Morgan's acquisition of Copano Energy officially in the bag, all eyes are on the newest big deal in the midstream world: the merger of Crestwood Midstream Partners (NYSE: CMLP  ) and Inergy (NYSE: CEQP  ) . In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy takes a look at this $7 billion deal, and explains what the ownership structure looks like at the new, yet-to-be-named entity.

Best High Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2015: Wisdomtree International Energy Sector Fund (GNAT)

WisdomTree International Energy Sector Fund (The Fund) is a non-diversified fund. It seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree International Energy Sector Index (The Index). The Fund is managed by WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc.

The Index is derived from WisdomTree Index of Europe, Far East Asia and Australasia (DEFA) Fund. It measures the performance of dividend-paying companies in developed markets outside of the United States and Canada within the international energy sector. The companies are weighted in the Index based on regular cash dividends paid. The Index includes companies from oil and gas producers, oil and gas services, pipelines, alternative energy sources, and coal industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  Unusual volume (at least 5X ADV): Market Vectors Gaming ETF (NYSE: BJK), Guggenheim Timber ETF (NYSE: CUT), WisdomTree Global Natural Resources ETF (NYSE: GNAT), iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners (NYSE: RING) and the Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ: SOCL).

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now

Hot Gold Stocks To Own Right Now: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Zacks]

  Originally posted here...

    Most Popular Earnings Expectations For The Week Of July 14: Big Banks, Tech Giants And More GT Advanced Technologies Down Sharply On iPhone Production Concerns UPDATE: Barclays Upgrades Apple, Has High Expectations For Near Term Perrigo Rumored To Be On Block; 'Market Source' Sees 25% Premium 9 IPOs To Watch For This Week
• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On that theory, hard-hit energy stocks that have suffered from the crash in oil prices could stand to benefit. Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR  ) , fo! r instance, lost more than half its value in the last four months of 2014 as the exploration and production company with a huge stake in the Bakken shale play in North Dakota suffered from worries about the sustainability of its long-term growth in light of falling oil. Similarly, many small-cap gold and silver miners struggled through a poor 2014, and so companies like First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG  ) and IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) arguably have more to gain from a January bounce.

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

Best Biotech Companies To Own For 2015

Once, one of the hottest biotech stocks around, Dendreon (DNDN) has become a cautionary tale, warning investors what can happen when a cutting-edge�drug turns into a dud.

Now at less than $3 a share, the stock had traded as high as $54 in 2010 as excitement buzzed over the�experimental prostate cancer vaccine Provenge. Initially, Wall Street expected peak sales of $3 billion to $4 billion. But insurers balked at the�hefty price tag for Provenge, and now, three years after it�won FDA approval, analysts see annual sales at roughly $300 million.

Disappointing sales are just one reason Deutsche Bank has joined the�bearish�voices surrounding this drug maker.�Today, analyst Robyn Karnauskas downgraded Dendreon�to a Sell and cut the�price target to $1, warning that even if the company�can significantly reduce�costs and drastically restructures, its�spending may still outpace revenue growth in the short-term. Karnauskas believes Dendreon may have to refinance its debt, negatively impacting shareholders.

Best Beverage Stocks For 2016: Galectin Therapeutics Inc (GALT)

Galectin Therapeutics Inc., formerly Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on January 26, 2001, is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in drug development to create therapies for cancer and fibrotic disease. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has two compounds in development, one is to be used in cancer therapy and the other intended to be used in the treatment of liver fibrosis and fatty liver disease. These two compounds are produced from different natural starting materials, both possessing the property, which lends itself to binding to and inhibiting galectin proteins. GM-CT-01, the Company's product candidate for cancer therapy, is a linear polysaccharide polymer consisted of mannose and galactose that has a defined chemical structure and is derived from a plant source. GR-MD-02, the Company's product for treatment of liver fibrosis and fatty liver disease with inflammation and fibrosis, is a polysaccharide polymer possessing both linear and globular structures, which also is derived from a plant source.

GM-CT-01 has in development for the therapy of colorectal cancer and is in a Phase I/II clinical trial as a combination therapy with a tumor vaccine in patients with advanced melanoma. Based on the completed Phase I and partially completed Phase II clinical trials, the Company is exploring two additional potential indicia for the use of GM-CT-01 in combination with cancer chemotherapy. There are two additional pathways for the development of GM-CT-01 for use in treatment of cancer. GM-CT-01 was found to be generally safe when studied in a Phase I clinical trial in end-stage cancer patients with multiple tumor types alone and in combination with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), which is an Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved chemotherapy used for treatment of various types of cancer.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

   

  Galectin Therapeutics (GALT) offers drug research and development to create new therapies for fibrotic disease and cancer. This stock closed up 9.6% to $12.06 in Monday's trading session.

   

  Monday's Volume: 674,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 222,171
  
  Volume % Change: 149%

   

  Shares of GALT jumped higher on Monday after Ascendiant initiated coverage on the stock with a buy recommendation.

   

   

  From a technical perspective, GALT spiked sharply higher here with strong upside volume. This stock has been uptrending for the last three months, with shares ripping higher from its low of $3.95 to its recent high of $13.21. During that move, shares of GALT have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of GALT within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if GALT manages to take out Monday's high of $12.44 and then once it clears its 52-week high at $13.21 with high volume.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in GALT as long as it's trending above some near-term support levels at $11 or at $10 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 222,171 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then GALT will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $13.21, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $15 to $16.

   

Best Biotech Companies To Own For 2015: Mast Therapeutics Inc (MSTX)

Mast Therapeutics, Inc., formerly ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated in December 1995, is a development-stage company biopharmaceutical company focused on developing product candidates. The Company's product candidate is ANX-188, a rheologic, antithrombotic and cytoprotective agent that improves microvascular blood flow and has application in treating a range of diseases and conditions, such as complications arising from sickle cell disease. As of December 31, 2011, the Company also is developing ANX-514, a detergent-free formulation of the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. The Company offers ANX-188 (purified poloxamer 188), ANX-514 (docetaxel for injectable emulsion) and Exelbine (vinorelbine injectable emulsion). In April 2011, the Company acquired SynthRx, Inc. In February 2014, Mast Therapeutics Inc completed its acquisition of Aires Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Aires became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mast Therapeutics.

ANX-188 (purified poloxamer 188)

ANX-188 is an aqueous solution of a purified form of poloxamer 188. Poloxamer 188 (P1880, is a nonionic, block copolymer that has been found to improve microvascular blood flow by reducing viscosity, particularly under low shear conditions, and by reducing adhesive frictional forces. The Company�� purified form of P188 (purified P188), which is the active ingredient in ANX-188, was designed to eliminate certain low molecular weight substances present in P188 (non-purified), which is primarily responsible for the moderate to moderately severe elevations in serum creatinine levels (acute renal dysfunction) observed in prior clinical studies of P188 (non-purified). Purified P188 has been evaluated in multiple clinical studies by a prior sponsor, including a 255-patient, phase III study.

ANX-514 (docetaxel for injectable emulsion)

ANX-514 is a detergent-free emulsion formulation of docetaxel, an intravenously-injected chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat solid tumors. Taxotere, a branded form! ulation of docetaxel, is approved to treat breast, non-small cell lung, prostate, gastric, and head and neck cancers. ANX-514 was designed to have clinically comparable release of docetaxel relative to Taxotere while eliminating the presence of polysorbate 80 and ethanol, both of which are used to solubilize docetaxel in the Taxotere formulation. The ANX-514 formulation solubilizes docetaxel using oil droplets consists of a combination of non-toxic excipients. Docetaxel is contained within these oil droplets and can be administered intravenously without using detergents as pharmaceutical vehicles. Once in central circulation, the emulsion is metabolized rapidly, leaving chemically-identical active ingredient to exert its cytotoxic effect. ANX-514 may reduce the incidence and severity of hypersensitivity reactions and delay the onset of fluid retention.

Exelbine (vinorelbine injectable emulsion)

Exelbine is an emulsion formulation of the chemotherapy drug vinorelbine. Navelbine, a branded formulation of vinorelbine, is approved in the United States to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer as a single agent or in combination with cisplatin, and approved in the European Union to treat non-small cell lung cancer and advanced or metastatic breast cancer.

In August 2011, the Company received a complete response letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stating that it could not approve the Exelbine Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in its present form and that the bioequivalence study would need to be repeated because the authenticity of the drug products used in the bioequivalence trial could not be verified in accordance with FDA standards. However, the Company elected to discontinue independent development of Exelbine and as of December 31, 2011, the Company was seeking a partner or outside investor for the program to complete the necessary bioequivalence study.

The Company competes with GlaxoSmithKline, Provenge and Pfizer.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

   

  Mast Therapeutics (MSTX), a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for serious or life-threatening diseases. This stock closed up 2.1% 65 cents per share in Thursday's trading session.

   

  Thursday's Range: $0.63-$0.67
  
  52-Week Range: $0.40-$1.10
  
  Thursday's Volume: 1.11 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 1.88 million

   

  From a technical perspective, MSTX spiked modestly higher here right above its 50-day moving average of 61 cents per share with decent upside volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last month, with shares moving between 60 cents on the downside and 72 cents on the upside. Shares of MSTX are now starting to push higher and into range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern. That trade will hit if MSTX manages to clear some near-term overhead resistance levels at 68 to 72 cents per share with high volume.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MSTX as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at 60 cents per share and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.88 million shares. If that breakout materializes soon, then MSTX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at 80 to 85 cents per share, or even 93 cents per share.

   

Best Biotech Companies To Own For 2015: Exelixis Inc.(EXEL)

Exelixis, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer. It focuses on developing Cabozantinib, an inhibitor of tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis that target MET, VEGFR2, and RET, which are key kinases involved in the development and progression of various cancers. The cabozantinib is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment for medullary thyroid cancer. The company also engages in various clinical programs for cabozantinib focused on the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular cancer, and melanoma. In addition, Exelixis, Inc. involves in developing a portfolio of other novel compounds to address serious unmet medical needs through collaborations with various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, sanofi-aventis, Genentech, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Gm bH, and GlaxoSmithKline and Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited. Its products under development through collaborations include XL475, XL281, XL139, and XL413 inhibitors; ROR antagonists; therapies targeted against LXR, a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in various cardiovascular and metabolic disorders; XL147, XL765, and isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors; XL518, a small-molecule inhibitor of MEK; sphingosine-1-phosphate type 1 receptor; XL880 inhibitor; and therapies targeted against the mineralocorticoid receptor, a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in various cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The company was formerly known as Exelixis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Exelixis, Inc. in February 2000. Exelixis, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL  )
  Yesterday was a big day for Exelixis shareholders, as it gave them their first glimpse of Cometriq sales. Designed for the treatment of metastatic medullary thyroid cancer, or MTC -- a rare but particularly aggressive form of thyroid cancer -- Cometriq, which is Exelixis' first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, nearly tripled progression-free survival in trials relative to AstraZeneca's (NYSE: AZN  ) Caprelsa, the current standard of treatment (11.2 months compared to four months). Based on those stats alone, I expect Cometriq to take practically all sales from AstraZeneca in MTC.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 biotechnology player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Exelixis (EXEL), which develops small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer in the U.S. This stock has been crushed by the bears so far in 2014, with shares down sharply by 41%.

  If you look at the chart for Exelixis, you'll notice that EXEL has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last two months and change, with shares moving between $3.02 on the downside and $3.84 on the upside. Shares of EXEL are starting to spike higher today right off its 50-day moving average of $3.42 a share. That spike is quickly pushing shares of EXEL within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in EXEL if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.55 to $3.63 a share and then once it clears more resistance at $3.84 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 4.85 million shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then EXEL will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level at its March gap-down-day high of $4.50 a share. Any high-volume move above $4.50 will then give EXEL a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone that started at $6.66 a share.

  Traders can look to buy EXEL off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.18 to $3.02 a share. One can also buy EXEL off strength once it starts to move above those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Where investment dollars are headed
  Thyroid cancer is treated in nearly every case with a full or partial thyroid removal since the majority of thyroid cancers aren't aggressive. However, in those rare cases where surgery isn't an option or the disease has metastasized to other parts of the body, there are two drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration to choose from.

  Caprelsa: AstraZeneca's (NYSE: AZN  ) Caprelsa was approved to treat unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer in April 2011. In trials, AstraZeneca's pill increased progression-free survival over the placebo and delivered an overall response rate of 44%, compared with just 1% for the placebo -- although it should be noted that all responses were partial. However, Caprelsa also comes with a laundry list of side effects that range from something as simple as rash, nausea, and hypertension, to having resulted in death from respiratory arrest and cardiac failure with arrhythmia.� Cometriq: Exelixis' (NASDAQ: EXEL  ) Cometriq was approved last November to treat progressive metastatic medullary thyroid cancer. The capsules work by inhibiting multiple tyrosine kinases, which are crucial to blood vessel growth in solid and metastasizing tumors. In late-stage trials, patients receiving Cometriq demonstrated an astounding 11.2 months of progression-free survival compared with just four months for the placebo. Further, the objective response rate was 27% in the Cometriq arm and a goose egg for the placebo arm. Similar to AstraZeneca's Caprelsa, severe adverse reactions tended to increase for Cometriq users relative to the placebo.

  Just as we've witnessed with every previous cancer in this series, not every drug trial proves successful. Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE  ) Sutent, for instance, is a very successful treatment for kidney cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and pancreatic endocrine tumors, but it didn't fare as wel

Best Biotech Companies To Own For 2015: Chromadex Corp (CDXC)

Chromadex Corporation, incorporated on June 19, 2008, is a provider of research and quality-control products and services to the natural products industry. The Company�� products are used by customers worldwide in the dietary supplement, food and beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. The Company together with its subsidiaries supplies phytochemical reference standards, which are small quantities of plant-based compounds used to research an array of potential attributes, and reference materials, related contract services, technical consulting and ingredients. On December 3, 2012, ChromaDex Inc. acquired Spherix Consulting Inc. The Company�� principal subsidiaries include ChromaDex, Inc., Chromadex Analytics, Inc. and Spherix Consulting, Inc (Spherix).

The Company provides its clients in the food, supplement and pharmaceutical industries with solutions to manage potential health and regulatory risks. Its science-based solutions are for both new and existing products that may be subject to product liability and/or exposed to changing scientific standards or public perceptions; literature evaluations, and design and assessment of pre-clinical and clinical safety testing. It specializes in regulatory submissions for food and dietary supplement ingredients. For its clients involved in drug development within the pharmaceutical industry, the Company provides similar services, as well as risk-based strategies, including intellectual property data and compliance gap identification, due diligence assessments and investigational new drug writing.

Products and Services

The Company offers bulk raw materials for inclusion in dietary supplements, food, beverage and cosmetic products. Through its catalog, it supplies a range of products necessary to conduct quality control of raw materials and consumer products. The Company through Chromadex Analytics, provides a range of contract services ranging from routine contract analysis for the production of dietary sup! plements, cosmetics, foods and other natural products to elaborate contract research for clients in these industries. The Company provides a range of consulting services in the areas of regulatory support, new ingredient or product development, risk management and litigation support. With an addition of Spherix, it provides regulatory approval and scientific advisory services.

The Company competes with Sigma-Aldrich, Phytolab, US Pharmacopoeia, Extrasynthese, Covance, Eurofins, and Silliker Canada Co.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Chromadex Corp (OTCMKTS: CDXC) and 22nd Century Group Inc (OTCBB: XXII) are, one way or the other, focused on natural products and have been getting some extra attention lately. Moreover, one of these stocks have been the subject of a disclosed investor awareness campaign. Keeping that in mind, are these two small cap stocks natural winners for investors? Here is a quick look:

Best Biotech Companies To Own For 2015: Ophthotech Corp (OPHT)

Ophthotech Corporation, incorporated on January 05, 2007, is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye. The Company�� advanced product candidate is Fovista, which the Company is developing for use in combination with anti-VEGF drugs that represent the current standard of care for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Wet AMD is a serious disease of the central portion of the retina, known as the macula, which is responsible for detailed central vision and color perception. It is characterized by abnormal new blood vessel formation and growth, referred to as neovascularization, which results in blood vessel leakage, retinal distortion and scar formation. If untreated, the progressive retinal damage results in rapid, irreversible and severe vision loss. Wet AMD is the cause of blindness in patients over the age of 55 in the United States and the European Union.

The anti-VEGF market for the treatment of wet AMD consists predominantly of two drugs that are approved for marketing and primarily prescribed for the treatment of wet AMD, Lucentis and Eylea, and off-label use of the cancer therapy Avastin. The use of anti-VEGF drugs has significantly improved visual outcomes for patients with wet AMD who have been treated with these drugs as compared to untreated patients.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

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

• [By John Udovich]

  If you have not been watching the biotech sector lately, you should start paying attention as the sector along with small cap biotech stocks like Cell Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: CTIC), BIND Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: BIND) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) continue to produce a steady stream of good news for investors thanks to positive industry trends. Moreover, Ophthotech Corp (NASDAQ: OPHT), Foundation Medicine Inc (NASDAQ: FMI), Evoke Pharma and Fate Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: FATE) are this week's biotech IPOs that will no doubt be watched closely by Wall Street and industry observers in general. With that in mind, consider the following biotech news or recent articles about the industry and the small cap players in it:

• [By John Udovich]

  The biotech sector has been pretty exciting this year�with small cap biotech stocks Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) having recently produced noteworthy news for investors�while Acceleron Pharma, Inc (NASDAQ: XLRN), Ophthotech (NASDAQ: OPHT) and BIND Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BIND) have just�set term sheets for their upcoming IPOs. Just consider all of the following recent news:

Best Biotech Companies To Own For 2015: Immune Design Corp (IMDZ)

Immune Design Corp, incorporated on February 20, 2008, is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company. The Company has engineered its technologies to activate the immune system�� natural ability to create tumor-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), to fight cancer. The Company is developing multiple product candidates from its two discovery platforms, DCVex and GLAAS. The Company�� product candidates, LV305, CMB305 and G100, utilize multiple immuno-oncology approaches. LV305 was developed from the DCVex platform and it is enrolling patients in a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of five solid tumor types. CMB305 is a prime-boost approach that combines LV305 with a second agent, G305. G100 was developed from the GLAAS platform and it is enrolling patients with Merkel cell carcinoma in a Phase I clinical trial.

The Company�� immuno-oncology product candidates are being developed in two separate approaches: Specific Antigen and Endogenous Antigen. The Specific Antigen approach uses selected antigens that are also present in the patient�� tumor so that the immune system will be educated to recognize the tumor antigen and kill tumor cells expressing the antigen. The Endogenous Antigen approach, in contrast, does not require a selected antigen present in the tumor. It instead relies on treatments, such as chemotherapy or local radiation to lyse tumors and release endogenous antigens, which are then captured by neighboring GLAAS-activated dendritic cells, generating a varied immune response. The Company utilizes DCVex and GLAAS to develop product candidates that work in vivo and are designed to create and expand diverse armies of CTLs to fight tumors. DCVex is a discovery platform that uses a first-in-class vector to generate product candidates designed to create CTLs in vivo. The DCVex vector is a delivery system based on a re-engineered virus to carry the genetic information of a tumor antigen safely and selectively to dendritic cells (DCs), in the skin. The GLAAS platform also works in! vivo and is based on a small synthetic molecule called GLA, which stands for glucopyranosyl lipid A. GLA selectively binds to the TLR4 receptor and causes potent activation of the DC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  www.gopro.com Now that it's nearly over, we can definitively say that 2014 has been one of the best years for initial public stock offerings in history. In terms of proceeds raised from IPOs, 2014 will challenge or even exceed the year 2000. Which is saying something: That was the height of the dot.com frenzy, when seemingly every new company with a website felt compelled to list on the stock exchange. As can be expected of a busy IPO year, some of 2014's new stock market titles have been runaway hits soaring above their issue price, while others have belly-flopped. Since we're heading into the most optimistic time of the year, we'll shine a light on the three best performers. In order of stock price appreciation, they are: GoPro (GPRO) 2014's current IPO front-runner is this company, maker of the popular action photography camera -- the one that's usually responsible for those hairy point-of-view videos posted on Facebook (FB) and other online sharing sites. GoPro's stock hit the market at the end of June priced at $24, and as if this writing it now stands at $70.72 for a muscular 195 percent total return. Although that's impressive, it should be noted that the current price is quite a bit lower than the stock's high of nearly $94, which it touched in early October. But then the camera was effectively blamed for the horrific accident that befell Formula One racing star Michael Schumacher -- although the journalist making the allegation later recanted -- and the shares cratered. The stock recovered after the company reported strong third-quarter earnings, and all seemed well again... until GoPro decided to float a secondary issue of stock. It'll sell 10.3 million fresh shares on the market, adding to the nearly 126 million currently outstanding. When secondary share issues are announced, a company's stock often takes a hit, since investors aren't too crazy about their existing stakes being diluted. Regardless, on a fundamental basis GoPro is a popular, if

Best Biotech Companies To Own For 2015: Johnson & Johnson(JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson engages in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of various products in the health care field worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Consumer, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices and Diagnostics. The Consumer segment provides products used in baby care, skin care, oral care, wound care, and women?s health care fields, as well as nutritional, over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, and wellness and prevention platforms under the brands of JOHNSON?S, AVEENO, CLEAN & CLEAR, JOHNSON?S Adult, NEUTROGENA, RoC, LUBRIDERM, DABAO, LISTERINE, REACH, BAND-AID, CAREFREE, STAYFREE, SPLENDA, TYLENOL, SUDAFED, ZYRTEC, MOTRIN IB, and PEPCID AC. The Pharmaceutical segment offers products in various therapeutic areas, such as anti-infective, antipsychotic, contraceptive, dermatology, gastrointestinal, hematology, immunology, neurology, oncology, pain management, and virology. Its principal products include REMICADE for the treatment of immune me diated inflammatory diseases; STELARA for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis; SIMPONI, a treatment for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis; VELCADE for the treatment of multiple myeloma; PREZISTA and INTELENCE for treating HIV/AIDS patients; NUCYNTA for moderate to severe acute pain; INVEGA SUSTENNAtm for the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults; RISPERDAL CONSTA for the management of bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia; and PROCRIT to stimulate red blood cell production. The Medical Devices and Diagnostics segment primarily offers circulatory disease management products; orthopaedic joint reconstruction, spinal care, and sports medicine products; surgical care, aesthetics, and women?s health products; blood glucose monitoring and insulin delivery products; professional diagnostic products; and disposable contact lenses. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Ne w Brunswick, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Woods]

  More and more of us are approaching our golden years, and this massive demographic shift by the Baby Boom generation means more demand for healthcare products like the kind made by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). The company�� diverse product lines — everything from oral care to pain relievers to prescription arthritis medications — means that whatever ails the world, Johnson & Johnson is likely to provide a remedy.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  WATCH FOR:�September NFIB Small Business Survey (7:30 a.m. Eastern Time): seen 95.9; previously 96.1. Citigroup (C), CSX, Del Frisco’s, Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Intel (INTC), J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Linear Tech (LLTC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Wolverine World Wide (WWW) are among companies scheduled to report quarterly results.

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Furthermore, the bottom line is that I believe that equities, especially blue-chip dividend paying equities are being given a bad rap from this attitude by suggesting they are riskier than, in fact, they truly are. The truth is that blue-chip companies such as Procter & Gamble (PG), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and many others too numerous to mention, have long legacies spanning decades of operating excellence and increasing dividends. To classify them as risky investments based on simply the idea that pricing can be volatile, is in my way of thinking, an injustice.