6 Capital Markets Stocks to Buy Now

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

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation () is making headway this week, with the company’s rating improving to an A (“strong buy”) from a B (“buy”) last week. TD Ameritrade Holding provides securities brokerage services and technology based financial services to retail investors, traders, financial planners, institutions and business partners. In Portfolio Grader’s specific subcategory of Earnings Revisions, AMTD also gets an A. .

THL Credit () gets a higher grade this week, advancing from a B last week to an A. THL Credit is a management investment company that invests mainly in private subordinated debt, also known as mezzanine debt. .

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. () boosts its rating from a B to an A this week. LPL Financial Holdings offers technology, brokerage and investment advisory services through business relationships with all types of financial advisors. .

Ares Capital Corporation () shows solid improvement this week. The company’s rating rises from a B to an A. Ares Capital is a specialty finance company that invests mainly in first- and second-lien senior loans and mezzanine debt, which in some cases includes equity components like warrants. .

Top 5 Medical Stocks For 2014

Cowen Group, Inc. Class A’s () grade is moving up to a B (“buy”) this week from last week’s C (“hold”). Cowen Group is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Shares of COWN have increased 7% over the past month, better than the 1.3% decrease the Nasdaq has seen over the same period of time. .

This is a strong week for BGC Partners, Inc. Class A (). The company’s rating climbs to A from the previous week’s B. BGC Partners is a global inter-dealer broker that specializes in the brokering of OTC financial instruments and related derivative products. .

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

'Fast Money' Recap: Looking for the Upside

Top 10 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.46% on Friday. 

On CNBC's "Fast Money" TV show, Tim Seymour, managing partner of Triogem Asset Management, said the S&P 500 is only 2% off its highs despite many individual momentum stocks doing much worse lately. He said financial and industrial stocks have upside. 

Pete Najarian, co-founder of optionmonster.com and trademonster.com, pointed out the S&P 500 and the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX.X) are essentially unchanged from one month ago. He suggested that if momentum stocks begin to rebound the broader market could move significantly higher. 

Brian Kelly, founder of Brian Kelly Capital, said the market should have an easier time rallying as geopolitical issues and international growth concerns begin to diminish. Guy Adami, managing director of stockmonster.com, said equities will be able to move higher if the financials sector goes higher, and if industrial and transport stocks can bottom out. Tesla Motors (TSLA) bounced 2.5%. Seymour said he was not a buyer based on forward valuation.  Kelly was a buyer of Tesla, saying investor optimism over the company's future is strong, which is a reason to buy in the short term. Najarian said investors who are long Tesla could purchase put options as a hedge against a price decline. 

Adami said to buy General Motors (GM) with support at $34.  Najarian found a bullish options trade in Yahoo! (YHOO) where someone purchased 15,000 of the June $40/$45 bull call spreads. He added that the stock is not overvalued at current levels.  Kelly said Cisco Systems (CSCO) has a low valuation, solid dividend and is making a push into the cloud business, which has higher growth.  Colin Gillis, director of research and senior tech analyst at BGC Financial, was a guest on the show. He has a sell rating on BlackBerry (BBRY) with an $8 price target. He said CEO John Chen is good at turning around companies and is doing a good job so far at BlackBerry. However, the company continues to experience declining revenue, which fell 62% year over year.

Gillis said the stock has upside potential but it is dependent on the company turning around its core business. Only time will tell, he said, but BlackBerry is at least focusing on physical keyboards and its enterprise customers again.  Kelly called Facebook (FB) a "mini Google (GOOG)," and said he likes the stock. He added that shares traded well near the $60 level.  Connor Storck, a student at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, was a guest on the show. He was a buyer of Netflix (NFLX) due to the company's original programming, high acceptance from the younger generation and its streaming efforts. He was also a buyer of Cisco because of its advances in the cloud. He was a seller of MannKind (MNKD). -- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich. Follow @BretKenwell

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Stock quotes in this article: VIX.X, TSLA, GM, YHOO, CSCO, BBRY, FB, GOOG, NFLX, MNKD 

Biotech funds: Only for those immune to fear

As everyone knows from disinfectant commercials, germs lurking on the kitchen counter can give you infections so virulent that you'll be sent home from the hospital in a soup tureen. Fortunately, there are also cures for those diseases, although the side effects may include drowsiness, catatonia, dyspepsia, Cotard's Syndrome and uncontrollable shrieking.

Our constant fear of diseases – stoked by ads for drugs to combat illness – may be one reason behind the boom in biotechnology stocks. More likely, however, is our fondness for a good story and a red-hot stock. Biotech has been so hot the past two years that the sector is starting to raise red flags. And, while it may have longer to run, it's an area that the weak of heart and the short of cash should avoid.

Despite a recent backup – more on that in a moment – biotech funds are standouts in an otherwise mediocre quarter for mutual fund investors. The average health and biotech fund has gained 5.4% this year vs. 0.2% for the average stock fund. The difference is more striking if you look at the funds' three-year records: They're up 100% vs. 46% for the average stock fund.

Those big gains have raised the question of whether biotech is in a bubble, which is in itself a loaded question. By definition, bubbles are extraordinarily difficult to detect before they pop. And high returns are not, by themselves, the only hallmark of a bubble. CBS is up 1,902% since the stock market bottom in 2009, but no one is claiming that media stocks are in a bubble.

What makes bubbles so hard to spot? For one thing, there's always a plausible story behind them. In the 1830s, canal stocks boomed because it is indeed much easier to push something over water than over rutted dirt roads. And in the 1990s, people invested in the dot-com bubble because they believed that the Internet would be an enormous gateway for commerce – which, in fact, it has evolved to be.

With biotechnology, the plausible story is that medicine is making some spectacu! lar breakthroughs, and doing so after a fairly long dry spell. The most notable is Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, which actually cures the disease rather than controls it. The disease makes life a misery for 150 million to 200 million people around the world and ultimately kills many of them.

"Biotechnology is a real, great American story," says Rajiv Kaul, portfolio manager of Fidelity's Select Biotechnology Portfolio (FBIOX). "It's very difficult to make medicine. It takes hard work and the failure rates are high. But it's a really exciting time."

Furthermore, the industry's rise has come after a fairly long dry spell, when relatively few blockbuster drugs hit the market, says Evan McCulloch, portfolio manager of Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund. "Big pharma and biotech together had a significant period of underperformance," McCulloch says. During that period, biotech became extremely cheap relative to earnings.

Another problem in the middle part of the last decade: The Food and Drug Administration became more conservative after the failure of Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory drug sold by Merck, was shown to increase the risk of stroke and heart failure in patients. Currently, however, the FDA has been more accommodative toward getting new drugs on the market, says Kaul. "The FDA is doing the right things, and government has done good things in terms of working with industry to get innovative therapies to be priorities," he says.

The question then is whether investors are getting too giddy about the prospects for biotech stocks. Gilead (GILD), for example, sells for about 12.4 times its estimated 12 months' earnings, which is fairly reasonable. On the other end of the spectrum is Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), up 748% the past 12 months with no earnings.

But the market for small-company biotech stocks has always been giddy. One way to look at frothiness is the number of initial public offerings in the biotech industry – 25 in the industry this year alone! vs. 45 l! ast year. In a biotech bubble, you start seeing IPOs of companies composed of two guys, a microscope, and a dream. "It's not that bad yet," McCulloch says. "Companies raise money when they can, not necessarily when they need it." And right now is an excellent time for most companies to raise IPO money.

Nevertheless, biotech is a sector that has had a good run, which means that investors are likely to become skittish quickly. In the past few weeks, biotech stocks have sold off, in part because of Rep. Henry Waxman's recent letter to Gilead questioning the company's $84,000 price tag for Sovaldi. "It was a shot across the bow," says McCulloch. "And what it means is that there could be some revision to drug pricing in the long term."

Any laws restricting drug pricing are highly unlikely in the Republican-held House, however, and Gilead's champions note that the drug's price tag is far less than for a liver transplant or for the years of care needed by hepatitis C sufferers. But the letter may make companies wary of their pricing – not necessarily a bad thing. "Companies want their prices as high as they can make them without landing on front page of newspaper," McCulloch says.

Right now, it's hard to recommend biotech investing for anyone but those who don't mind risk. While the best years of biotech may be before us – and they probably are – you don't want to pay too much for the future. For the brave, the top-performing health and biotech companies are in the chart. Otherwise, consider a general diversified fund. Health care is about 13% of the Standard and Poor's 500 stock index. You don't want your portfolio to come down with unwanted side effects, such as itching, sneezing or hives.

Career and Job Advice From Around the Web

I recently interviewed Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, about common reasons why people find themselves broke. He said one of the reasons people don't get ahead financially is that they fail to network. He found when researching his book that financially successful people network and volunteer a minimum of five hours a month; whereas, those struggling financially do not. One person Corley interviewed for his book had lost his job but found a new one in just three weeks as a result of relationships he'd developed through networking. Not only can networking help you find a new job, but also it can help you advance in your current career or expand your business.

SEE ALSO: How Sharp Are Your Job-Hunting Skills?

If you need help improving your networking skills, a recent post on the Financial Highway blog -- Why You Should Maintain Your Career Network -- And How To Do It -- has some tips. For more career advice, here's what some of our favorite personal finance bloggers are saying:

20 Best Part-Time Jobs With Benefits [PT Money]
"The following 20 employers offer part-time jobs with benefits to employees, leaving you free to live your life, rather than worrying about health care costs."

15 Ways to Improve Your Career Prospects and Reach Work-Related Goals [Money Crashers]
"Whether you're gunning for a promotion or a raise, you're in the midst of a job search, or you want to start your own business, taking a few simple steps can help you become a happier, more employable, more valuable worker."

10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Become More Hirable [Wise Bread]
"It's easy to become complacent, especially if you've been working in the same job for multiple years. But when it is time to find a new job, you may have a lot of catching up to do."

What If You Could Take a Do-Over on Your Career? [20Somethingfinance]
"It's fun to imagine the possibilities, with a little reason sprinkled in."

You Don't Need That MBA Degree: Continuing Thoughts on Higher Education [Man Vs. Debt]
"Much of what you learned in the MBA is going to be obsolete, but the bills will continue arriving. Why don't you start training yourself, instead?"

Overwork and the Illusion of a 'High-Paying' Job [Get Rich Slowly]
"I don't want to simply earn a lot of money; I want to be a high-earner. To me, earning six-figures and working 80 hours a week does not a high-earner make. It just means, essentially, you're working two jobs."

I Chose Freedom Over Money and Benefits. Would You Have Done the Same Thing? [MoneyNing]
"Obviously, when making a career move, your gains should outweigh your losses -- but the pros of a job change look different for each individual."

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now

I get the arguments for and against Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) . I really do. Some see it as a company with a CEO who can't control his spending habits and doesn't like making money. Others see it as an earth-changing company with a leader who has zippy interest in playing Wall Street's little earnings games and sees the business years out in advance. I am the latter.

I'm not just a member
Let's be clear: I own Amazon shares and can't see getting rid of them anytime soon. I consider it an amazing company for so many reasons and Jeff Bezos has won my admiration for being one of the biggest risk takers (Elon Musk is up there, too) in the history of business.

We subscribe to Amazon Prime in my house. And unless something drastic occurs, it's a lock like the sun coming up that we will be Prime members for the rest of my days. There's simply too much value there for me to even consider not renewing. Three months of toilet paper shipping pays for the entire annual subscription, and the rest is just gravy. Two-day shipping, the Kindle lending library, free video streaming, it all adds up to a lot of value. Consumers can chalk it up as a huge win. But is it a win for Amazon? Some say yes; some say no. I say absolutely.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: Fibria Celulose SA (FBR)

Fibria Celulose S.A. (Fibria), formerly Votorantim Celulose e Papel S.A., incorporated on July 25, 1941, is a producer of market pulp. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Fibria produced 5,054 kilotons of eucalyptus pulp (including 50.0% of the pulp production of Veracel). The Company also produces coated and uncoated paper, carbonless paper and thermal paper at its Piracicaba paper mill, located in the State of Sao Paulo with an annual production capacity of 190 kilotons. During 2010, it produced 115 kilotons of paper products and recorded consolidated net revenues. Fibria produces bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp at three pulp mills, the Aracruz pulp mill located in the State of Espirito Santo, which has an annual production capacity of 2.3 million tons; the Tres Lagoas pulp mill located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, which has an annual production capacity of 1.3 million tons, and the Jacarei pulp mill located in the State of Sao Paulo, which has an annual production capacity of 1.1 million tons. The Company has a 50% interest in Veracel, which owns and operates a pulp mill in the municipality of Eunapolis, State of Bahia, with an annual production capacity of 1.1 million tons.

Pulp

Fibria produces bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp from planted eucalyptus trees. Bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp is a range of hardwood pulp. Eucalyptus is a hardwood tree, and its pulp has short fibers and is generally suited to manufacturing tissue, coated and uncoated printing and writing paper and coated packaging boards. Short fibers are optimal for manufacturing wood-free paper with good printability, smoothness, brightness and uniformity. Market pulp is the pulp sold to producers of paper products. Kraft pulp is pulp produced in a chemical process using sulphate. During 2010, it produced 5,054 kilotons of pulp (including 50.0% of the pulp production of Veracel).

Paper

During 2010, Fibria produced 115 kilotons of paper. The Company produced coated printing an! d writing paper, which is a coated woodfree paper used for promotional materials, folders, internal sheets and cover of magazines, books, tabloids, inserts and mailing; uncoated printing and writing paper, which is a uncoated woodfree paper in reels and sheets; carbonless paper, which is used to produce multi-copy forms, POS, invoices and other applications in place of traditional carbon paper, and thermal paper, which is traditionally used in fax machines; POS, bar code labels, toll tickets, water and gas bills and receipts for automated teller machines (ATMs) and credit card machines. It manufactures thermal paper products with technology licensed byOji Paper Co., Ltd (Oji Paper).

The Company competes with APRIL, Arauco, APP, Georgia Pacific, CMPC, Sodra, Stora Enso, Weyerhaeuser and Suzano.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Fibria Celulose (NYSE: FBR  ) reported earnings on July 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Fibria Celulose met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: Iberpapel Gestion SA (IBG)

Iberpapel Gestion SA is a Spain-based holding company engaged in the paper industry. The Company operates through three divisions: Forestry, involved in the acquisition and cultivation of eucalyptus plantations in Argentina, Uruguay and Spain; Industrial, focused on the production of bleached pulp and paper products, and Commercial, specialized on the distribution of products such as printing and photocopy paper, offset paper, light-coated paper, laser printing paper, paper bags and envelopes. The Company�� subsidiaries include Distribuidora Papelera SA, Moliner Dominguez y Cia SA, Ibereucaliptos SA, Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicunaga SA, Central de Suministros de Artes Graficas Papel SA and Copaimex SA, among others. The Company�� major shareholders include ONCHENA, SL and BESTINVER GESTION, SA. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

Top 5 Biotech Stocks For 2014: Rock-Tenn Co (RKT)

Rock-Tenn Company (RockTenn), incorporated on September 20, 1985, is a North America's integrated manufacturer of corrugated and consumer packaging. The Company operates locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico and China. The Company operates in three segments: Corrugated Packaging, consisting of its containerboard mills and its corrugated converting operations; Consumer Packaging, consisting of its coated and uncoated paperboard mills, consumer packaging converting operations and merchandising display facilities, and Recycling, which consists of its recycled fiber brokerage and collection operations. On June 22, 2012, the Company acquired Mid South Packaging LLC. On October 28, 2011, the Company acquired four entities doing business as GMI Group.

Corrugated Packaging Segment

The Company is a producer of linerboard and corrugated medium (containerboard) measured by tons produced and a producer of graphics pre-printed linerboard in North America. It operates an integrated system, which manufactures containerboard, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging and preprinted linerboard for sale to industrial and consumer products manufacturers and corrugated box manufacturers. It produces a range of corrugated containers designed to protect, ship, store and display products made to its customers' merchandising and distribution specifications. It also converts corrugated sheets into corrugated products ranging from one-color protective cartons to point-of-purchase packaging. Corrugated packaging is used to provide protective packaging for shipment and distribution of food, paper, health and beauty and other household, consumer, commercial and industrial products and in the case of graphically enhanced corrugated packaging for retail sale, particularly in club store locations and retail sale. It also provides structural and graphic design, engineering services, and custom and standard automated packaging machines, offering customers turn-key instal! lation, automation, line integration and packaging solutions. It feeds linerboard and corrugated medium into corrugators, which flutes the medium to specified sizes, glues the linerboard and fluted medium together and slits and cuts the resulting corrugated paperboard into sheets to customer specifications. Its container board mills and corrugated container operations are integrated with its containerboard production used internally by its corrugated container operations. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), sales of corrugated packaging products to external customers accounted for 65.7% of its net sales.

Consumer Packaging Segment

The Company operates an integrated system of coated recycled mills and a bleached paperboard mill, which produces paperboard for its folding carton operations and third parties. The Company is a manufacturer of folding cartons in North America measured by net sales. Its folding cartons are used to package food, paper, health and beauty and other household consumer, commercial and industrial products for retail sale. It also manufactures express mail envelopes for the overnight courier industry. Folding cartons protect customers��products during shipment and distribution and employ graphics to promote them at retail. It manufactures folding cartons from recycled and virgin paperboard, laminated paperboard and substrates with specialty characteristics, such as grease masking and microwaveability. It prints, coats, die-cuts and glues the cartons to customer specifications. It ships finished cartons to customers for assembling, filling and sealing. It employs a range of offset, flexographic, gravure, backside printing, and coating and finishing technologies. It supports its customers with package development, innovation and design services and package testing services.

The Company manufactures temporary and permanent point-of-purchase displays. The Company designs, manufactures and packs temporary displays for sal! e to cons! umer products companies. These displays are used as marketing tools to support new product introductions and specific product promotions in mass merchandising stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, home improvement stores and other retail locations. It also designs, manufactures and pre-assemble permanent displays for the same categories of customers. It makes temporary displays from corrugated paperboard. It provides contract packing services, such as multi-product promotional packing and product manipulation, such as multipacks and onpacks. The Company manufactures lithographic laminated packaging for sale to its customers, which require packaging with graphics and strength characteristics.

The Company operates an integrated system of specialty recycled paperboard mills, which includes its Seven Hills Paperboard LLC (Seven Hills) joint venture. Its specialty recycled paperboard mills, excluding Seven Hills, produce paperboard for its solid fiber interior packaging converting operations and third parties, and its Seven Hills joint venture manufactures gypsum paperboard liner for sale to its joint venture partner. It sells its specialty recycled paperboard to manufacturers of solid fiber interior packaging, tubes and cores, and other paperboard products. It also converts specialty paperboard into book covers and other products. Its 65% owned subsidiary, RTS, designs and manufactures solid fiber and corrugated partitions and die-cut paperboard components. It manufactures and sells its solid fiber and corrugated partitions principally to glass container manufacturers and producers of beer, food, wine, spirits, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals and to the automotive industry. During fiscal 2012, sales of consumer packaging products to external customers accounted for 27.5% of its net sales.

Recycling Segment

The Company�� recycled fiber brokerage and collection operations provide a strategic advantage to its mills. Its recycling operations procure recovered paper (or! recycled! fiber) for its paper mills, as well as for third parties from factories, warehouses, commercial printers, office complexes, grocery and retail stores, document storage facilities, paper converters and other wastepaper collectors. It handles a range of grades of recovered paper, including old corrugated containers, office paper, box clippings, newspaper and print shop scraps. It operates recycling facilities, which collects, sorts, grades and bales recovered paper and after sorting and baling, it transfer recovered paper to its paperboard mills for processing, or sell it to the United States manufacturers of paperboard, as well as manufacturers of tissue, newsprint, roofing products and insulation and to export markets. It also collects aluminum and plastics for resale to manufacturers of these products. Its waste reduction services extract additional recyclables from the waste stream by working with customers. In addition, it operates a nationwide fiber marketing and brokerage system, which serves regional and national accounts, as well as its recycled paperboard and containerboard mills and sells scrap materials from its converting businesses and mills. Brokerage contracts provide bulk purchasing. Its recycling facilities are located close to its recycled paperboard and containerboard mills, ensuring availability of supply with reduced shipping costs. During fiscal 2012, sales to external customers accounted for 6.8% of its net sales.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of MeadWestvaco have jumped 4.6% to $37.29 today at 3:36 p.m. Other paper packaging companies, however, aren’t getting a boost from the news or from Merrill’s upgrade. Shares of Rock-Tenn (RKT) have dipped 0.1% to $100.34, International Paper (IP) has ticked up 0.1% to $48.74and Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) is little changed at $65.40.

• [By Dr. Melvin Pasternak]

  Although I still remain cautious because of fears of tapering by the Federal Reserve, I am again trading from the long side. One stock I am currently attracted to is Rock-Tenn (NYSE: RKT), an international paper and packaging company, which according to Bloomberg, sports the highest earnings per share (EPS) in its industry.

• [By Saibus Research]

  Consolidation has been incremental in the paper and forest products industry. In May 2012, Resolute Forest Products (RFP) (formerly AbitibiBowater) announced that it had acquired 50.1% of Fibrek and acquired the remaining 49.9% in August. 2011 saw International Paper (IP) announce a hostile takeover of Temple-Inland and after offering $32/share in cash as well as the assumption of $600M of TIN's debt, IP was able to close the deal in February 2012. 2011 also saw Rock-Tenn (RKT) acquire Smurfit-Stone to create the number two player in the linerboard segment with 20% market share, trailing only International Paper's 40%. We see these moves as a prudent step to consolidation in the industry as certain types of paper such as newsprint and uncoated free sheet (office paper) are seeing falling demand due to increased use of digital resources.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: TriStar Wellness Solutions Inc (TWSI)

TriStar Wellness Solutions, Inc., formerly Biopack Environmental Solutions Inc., incorporated on August 28, 2000, is engaged in developing, marketing and selling, NCP's Beaute de Maman product lines, which is a line of skincare and other products specifically targeted for pregnant women, as well developing the Soft and Smooth Assets. The Company supplied biodegradable food containers and industrial packaging products to multinational corporations, supermarket chains and restaurants located across North America, Europe and Asia. In May 2013, the Company acquired HemCon Medical Technologies Inc.

The Company�� priority direct-to-consumer target markets are focused on women�� health and wound care. The second core product area is directed at the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) wound care market space. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company focused the sales and marketing resources for the Beaute de Maman brand on efficient Internet portals via the brand Website and selected Web-based retailers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap stocks Tristar Wellness Solutions Inc (OTCMKTS: TWSI) jumped 14.94% while Hybrid Coating Technologies (OTCBB: HCTI) and Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) sank 23.53% and 13.04%, respectively. It should be mentioned that only one of these small cap stocks appears to be the subject of paid promotions or investor relations type activities. So what will these three small cap stocks do for investors this week? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: International Paper Co (IP)

International Paper Company (International Paper), incorporated on June 23, 1941, is a global paper and packaging company, with primary markets and manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. The Company operates in four segments: Industrial Packaging, Printing Papers, Consumer Packaging and Distribution. As of December 31, 2012, in the United States, the Company operated 28 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 187 converting and packaging plants, 18 recycling plants and three bag facilities. Production facilities as of December 31, 2012 in Europe, Asia, Latin America and South America included 11 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 65 converting and packaging plants, and two recycling plants. It distribute printing, packaging, graphic arts, maintenance and industrial products principally through over 88 distribution branches in the United States and 32 distribution branches located in Canada, Mexico and Asia. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or managed approximately 327,000 acres of forestland in Brazil and had, through licenses and forest management agreements, harvesting rights on government-owned forestlands in Russia. On July 2, 2012, it sold Ontario and Oxnard (Hueneme), California containerboard mills to New-Indy Containerboard LLC, and its New Johnsonville, Tennessee containerboard mill to Hood Container Corporation. On January 3, 2013, it acquired joint venture partner, Sabanci Holding.

Industrial Packaging

International Paper is a manufacturer of containerboard in the United States. Its production capacity is about 14 million tons annually. The Company�� products include linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft. About 80% of its production is converted domestically into corrugated boxes and other packaging by its 178 United States container plants. In addition, it recycles approximately one million tons of old corrugated containers (OCC) and mixed and white paper through ! our 20 recycling plants. In Europe, our operations include one recycled fiber containerboard mill in Morocco and 20 container plants in France, Italy, Spain, and Morocco. In Asia, its operations include 19 container plants in China and additional container plants in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Its container plants are supported by regional design centers, which offer total packaging solutions and supply chain initiatives.

Printing Papers

International Paper is a producer of printing and writing papers. Products in this segment include uncoated and coated papers, uncoated bristols and pulp. This business produces papers for use in copiers, desktop and laser printers and digital imaging. End use applications include advertising and promotional materials, such as brochures, pamphlets, greeting cards, books, annual reports and direct mail. Uncoated papers also produce a variety of grades that are converted by its customers into envelopes, tablets, business forms and file folders. Uncoated papers are sold under private label and International Paper brand names that include Hammermill, Springhill, Williamsburg, Postmark, Accent, Great White, Chamex, Ballet, Rey, Pol and Svetocopy. The mills producing uncoated papers are located in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil and India. The mills have uncoated paper production capacity of approximately five million tons annually.

Pulp products include fluff, and southern softwood pulp, as well as southern and birch hardwood paper pulps. These products are produced in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, and Brazil and are sold around the world. International Paper facilities have annual dried pulp capacity of about 1.7 million tons.

Consumer Packaging

International Paper is a producer of solid bleached sulfate board with annual United States production capacity of about 1.7 million tons. Its coated paperboard business produces coated paperboard for a variety of packag! ing and c! ommercial printing end uses. Its Everest, Fortress, and Starcote brands are used in packaging applications for everyday products, such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, computer software and tobacco products. Its Carolina brand is used in commercial printing end uses, such as greeting cards, paperback book covers, lottery tickets, direct mail and point-of-purchase advertising. Its United States capacity is supplemented by about 365,000 tons of capacity at its mills producing coated board in Poland and Russia and by its International Paper & Sun Cartonboard Co., Ltd. joint venture in China, which has annual capacity of 1.0 million tons. Its Foodservice business produces cups, lids, food containers and plates through three domestic plants and four international facilities.

Distribution

xpedx, the Company�� North American merchant distribution business, distributes products and services to a number of customer markets, including commercial printers with printing papers and graphic pre-press, printing presses and post-press equipment; building services and away-from-home markets with facility supplies; manufacturers with packaging supplies and equipment, and to a number of customers, it provides distribution capabilities, including warehousing and delivery services. xpedx is the wholesale distribution marketer in these customer and product segments in North America, operating 108 warehouse locations in the United States and Mexico.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mike Deane]

  On Tuesday, International Paper (IP) announced that it has raised its dividend 17% and that its board of directors has approved up to $1.5 billion in common stock repurchases.

  The paper and packaging company declared a quarterly dividend of 35 cents, a 5 cent increase from its previous dividend of 30 cents. The dividend will be payable on December 16th, 2013 to all stockholders of record on November 15th, 2013. The ex-dividend date is November 13th, 2013.

  The company also announced a share buyback plan of up to $1.5 billion in common stock. The buyback is planned to happen over the next two to three years.

  IP shares were up 12 cents, or .24%, at Tuesday’s market close. YTD, the company’s stock is up 21.39%.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: Greif Inc (GEF)

Greif, Inc., incorporated on January 25, 1926, is a producer of industrial packaging products and services with manufacturing facilities located in over 50 countries. The Company offers a line of industrial packaging products, such as steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It also produces containerboard and corrugated products for niche markets in North America. It sells timber to third parties from its timberland in the south-eastern United States. It has four segments: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services, Flexible Products & Services, Paper Packaging and Land Management.

Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services

In the Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services, the Company is a provider of rigid industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services, such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It sells industrial packaging products to customers in industries, such as chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agricultural, pharmaceutical and mineral, among others.

Flexible Products and Services segment

In the Flexible Products and Services segment, the Company is a producer of flexible intermediate bulk containers and a North American provider of industrial and consumer multiwall bag products. Its flexible intermediate bulk containers consist of a polypropylene-based woven fabric that is partly produced at its production sites, as well as sourced from strategic regional sup! pliers. Its industrial and consumer multiwall bag products are used to ship a range of industrial and consumer products, such as seed, fertilizers, chemicals, concrete, flour, sugar, feed, pet foods, popcorn, charcoal and salt, primarily for the agricultural, chemical, building products and food industries.

Paper Packaging segment

In the Paper Packaging segment, the Company sells containerboard, corrugated sheets and other corrugated products to customers in North America in industries such as packaging, automotive, food and building products. Its corrugated container products are used to ship such products as home appliances, small machinery, grocery products, building products, automotive components, books and furniture, as well as numerous other applications. Operations related to industrial and consumer multiwall bag products have been reclassified to Flexible Products and Services segment.

Land Management segment

In the Land Management segment, the Company is focused on the active harvesting and regeneration of the United States timber properties to achieve long-term yields. It also sells, from time to time, timberland and special use land, which consists of surplus land, HBU land and development land. As of October 31, 2013, it owned approximately 252,475 acres of timber property in the southeastern United States and approximately 10,300 acres of timber property in Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  For those of you wondering if Greif Brothers Cooperage has any relation to Greif (GEF) ��yes. It has every relation. It�� the same exact company. And it�� still in pretty much the same business. They used to just make barrels. Now they make all kinds of different drums, containers, etc. That�� not a very big change for a company to make over 60 years or so.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: CenturyLink Inc.(CTL)

CenturyLink, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated communications company. The company provides a range of communications services, including voice, Internet, data, and video services in the continental United States. Its services include local exchange and long distance voice telephone services, as well as enhanced voice services, such as call forwarding, caller identification, conference calling, voicemail, selective call ringing, and call waiting; wholesale local network access services; and data services, including high-speed Internet access services, data transmission services over special circuits and private lines, and switched digital television services, as well as special access and private line services. The company also offers fiber transport, competitive local exchange carrier, security monitoring, and other communications, as well as professional and business information services. In addition, it provides other related services, such as leasing, selling, installing, and maintaining customer premise telecommunications equipment and wiring; payphone services; and network database services, as well as participates in the publication of local telephone directories. Further, the company offers printing, direct mail services, and cable television services; and wireless broadband Internet access services and satellite television services. As of December 31, 2010, it operated approximately 6.5 million telephone access lines. CenturyLink, Inc was founded in 1968 and is based in Monroe, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Wednesday, CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL  ) 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.�

• [By Mike Deane]

  CenturyLink, Inc. (CTL) announced its third quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, with core revenues tumbling 1% from last year’s Q3 figure.

  CTL Earnings In Brief

  -The company announced operating revenues of $4.52 billion, which was slightly above the analyst consensus of $4.51 billion.
  -The company’s adjusted earnings came in at $375 million, or 63 cents per share; this is in line with analysts’ EPS estimates.
  -CTL gave EPS guidance for the fourth quarter of 55 cents to 60 cents, which is below the 63 cents that analysts are expecting.
  -Q4 guidance for revenue is in the range of $4.5 billion to $4.55 billion, which is in line with analysts’ views.

  CEO Commentary

  Glen F. Post III, the CEO and president of CenturyLink, had the following to say about the company’s quarterly results:

  “Overall, we continue to perform well with particular strength in our Business segment where sustained demand for high-bandwidth services and solid sales momentum continue to drive strong results.�Despite this overall solid operating performance in the third quarter, there was a special item which significantly impacted our�financial results�for the quarter. We were required, under GAAP, to recognize a non-cash $1.1 billion impairment to the goodwill assigned to our Data Hosting segment. While we continue to be optimistic and encouraged about the future growth potential and value of our Data Hosting business, we are not currently achieving the forecasted growth and cash flows we originally projected.�As part of our accounting valuation process, past performance was a factor in the development of growth projections for our Data Hosting business in future periods.”

  No Mention of Dividend�

  CTL did not mention its dividend in the quarterly report, and last paid a dividend on September 19. Look for CTL to declare a dividend in mid-November. The company’s last dividend mov

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  You can find many examples of this phenomenon recently:

  Late last month, Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI  ) cut its dividend in half after announcing worse-than-expected sales and income. The stock had suffered from weakness in Pitney Bowes' core mailing and enterprise business solutions segments, and the company chose to sacrifice its former double-digit yield in order to shore up its financial condition. Even after the cut, the stock still yields a fairly high 5%. In February, CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL  ) cut its dividend by about 25%, again after reporting weak guidance for its earnings for the remainder of 2013. Even though the rural telecom company chose simply to put cash previously earmarked to pay its former yield of 7% toward share buybacks instead, the stock plunged more than 20% in response to the move, although it has rebounded significantly since then as investors recognized the fundamental benefits to the company from the capital reallocation. Until three months ago, Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF  ) had a high dividend yield approaching 7% despite terrible conditions in its iron-ore and metallurgical-coal businesses. After announcing earnings in mid-February, the company cut its dividend by more than three-quarters in a move that will conserve cash for the ailing producer of raw materials for steel production. Now, the stock yields just 2.6%.

  That's not to say that all of the highest dividend paying stocks are doomed to reduce their payouts. Businesses that are designed to focus on maximizing cash flow rather than seeking growth can often sustain very high yields for years. Vanguard High Dividend Yield (NYSEMKT: VYM  ) and other dividend ETFs use a combination of factors beyond simple yield to choose stocks with sustainable high payouts.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: Meadwestvaco Corporation (MWV)

MeadWestvaco Corporation (MWV) provides packaging solutions to the healthcare, personal care and beauty, food, beverage, home and garden, tobacco, and commercial print industries worldwide. The company?s Packaging Resources segment produces bleached paperboard, Coated Natural Kraft paperboard, and linerboard. Its Consumer Solutions segment designs and produces multi-pack cartons and packaging systems primarily for the beverage take-home and tobacco market. In addition, it offers a range of converting and consumer packaging solutions, including printed plastic packaging and injection-molded products used for personal care, beauty, and pharmaceutical products; and dispensing and sprayer systems for personal care, beauty, healthcare, fragrance, and home and garden markets. In addition, this segment has a pharmaceutical packaging contract with a mass-merchant, and manufactures equipment that is leased or sold to its beverage and dairy customers to package their products. The c ompany?s Consumer & Office Products segment manufactures, sources, markets, and distributes school and office products, time-management products, and envelopes in North America and Brazil through both retail and commercial channels. Its Specialty Chemicals segment manufactures, markets, and distributes specialty chemicals derived from sawdust and other byproducts of the papermaking process in North America, South America, and Asia. Its products include activated carbon used in emission control systems for automobiles and trucks, as well as for water and food purification applications, and performance chemicals used in printing inks, asphalt paving, adhesives, and lubricants for the agricultural, paper, and petroleum industries. MWV?s Community Development and Land Management segment involves in real estate development, forestry operations, and leasing activities. MeadWestvaco Corporation was founded in 1888 and is based in Glen Allen, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Will Ashworth]

  I don�� know about you but I definitely use several of its products on a regular basis. In fact, right here on my desk beside my computer is a small, Five Star notebook for jotting down ideas. I grew up on Hilroy notebooks, a brand brought to the table in its 2012 merger with MeadWestvaco�� (MWV) Consumer and Office Products division. MWV shareholders received one-third of an ACCO share for every MWV share. Since the deal was completed, ACCO stock has lost 42% of its value.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  When you’re stock has been lagging the S&P 500, sometimes drastic action must be followed by even more drastic action. Case in point: MeadWestvaco (MWV), which announced a program of cost cutting on the heels of one announced last year.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: Berry Plastics Group Inc (BERY)

Berry Plastics Group, Inc. (Berry), incorporated on November 18, 2005, is a provider of plastic consumer packaging and engineered materials. Berry owns 100% interest of Berry Plastics Corporation. Berry sells its solutions predominantly into end markets, such as food and beverage, healthcare and personal care. The Company operates in three segments: Rigid Packaging, Engineered Materials and Flexible Packaging. As of September 19, 2012, the Company supplied its customers through 82 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States (68 locations) and select international locations (14 locations). In June 2012, the Company acquired 100% interest of Frans Nooren Beheer B.V. and its operating companies (Stopaq). In September 2011, the Company acquired 100% interests of Rexam Closures Kentucky Inc., Rexam Delta Inc., Rexam Closures LLC, Rexam Closure Systems LLC, Rexam de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Rexam Singapore PTE Ltd., Rexam Participacoes Ltda. and Rexam Plasticos do Brasil Ltda. (collectively, Rexam SBC). In August 2011, Berry acquired 100% interest of LINPAC Packaging Filmco, Inc.

Rigid Packaging

The Company�� Rigid Packaging business consists of containers, foodservice items, house wares, closures, over caps, bottles, prescription vials, and tubes. The end uses for these products are consumer-oriented end markets, such as food and beverage, retail mass marketers, healthcare, personal care and household chemical. The Company manufactures a collection of container products. The Company produces 32 ounce or thermoformed polypropylene (PP) drink cups and offers a product line with sizes ranging from 12 to 52 ounces. The Company�� products of house wares market is focused on producing semi-disposable plastic home and party and plastic garden products. The Company produces closures and over caps across several of its product lines, including continuous-thread and child-resistant closures, as well as aerosol over caps. The Company also provides a range of custom closure ! solutions including fitments and plugs for medical applications, cups and spouts for liquid laundry detergent, and dropper bulb assemblies for medical and personal care applications.

The Company competes with Airlite, Letica, Polytainers, Silgan, Aptar Group and Reynolds.

Engineered Materials

Berry�� Engineered Materials business primarily consists of pipeline corrosion protection solutions, specialty tapes and adhesives, polyethylene-based film products, and can liners served to a variety of end markets including oil, water and gas infrastructure, industrial and consumer-oriented end markets. The Company produces anti-corrosion products to infrastructure, rehabilitation and pipeline projects throughout the world. Products include heat-shrinkable coatings, single- and multi-layer sleeves, pipeline coating tapes, anode systems for cathodic protection and epoxy coatings. These products are used in oil, gas and water supply and construction applications.

Berry is the manufacturer of cloth and foil tape products. Other tape products include range of splicing and laminating tapes, flame-retardant tapes, vinyl-coated and carton sealing tapes, electrical, double-faced cloth, masking, mounting, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) medical and specialty tapes. These products are sold under the National, Nashua and Polyken brands in the United States. The Company manufactures and sells a portfolio of PE-based film products to end users in the retail markets. These products are sold under brands, such as Ruffies and Film-Gard. Its products include drop cloths and retail trash bags. The Company manufactures customized PP-based, woven and sewn containers for the transportation and storage of raw materials, such as seeds, titanium dioxide, clay and resin pellets.

The Company offers range of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) meat film and agricultural film. Berry�� products are used primarily to wrap fresh meats, poultry and produce for supermarket applic! ations. I! n addition, the Company offers a line of boxed products for food service and retail sales. Berry sells trash-can liners and food bags for offices, restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels, municipalities and manufacturing facilities. The Company also sells products under the Big City, Hospi-Tuff, Plas-Tuff, Rhino-X and Steel-Flex brands. The Company produces both hand and machine-wrap stretch films, which are used by end users to wrap products and packages for storage and shipping. It sells stretch film products to distributors and retail and industrial end users under the MaxTech and PalleTech brands.

The Company competes with AEP, Sigma and 3M.

Flexible Packaging

The Company�� Flexible Packaging business consists of barrier, multilayer film products, as well as finished flexible packages, such as printed bags and pouches. Berry manufactures and sells a range of film products ranging from mono layer to coextruded films having up to nine layers, lamination films sold primarily to flexible packaging converters and used for peelable lid stock, stand-up pouches, pillow pouches and other flexible packaging formats. The Company also manufactures barrier films used for cereal, cookie, cracker and dry mix packages that are sold directly to food manufacturers like Kraft and Pepsico. It also manufactures films for industrial applications ranging from lamination film for carpet padding to films used in solar panel construction.

The Company supplies component and packaging films used for personal care applications. Berry is a converter of printed bags, pouches and roll stock. Its manufacturing base includes integrated extrusion that combines with printing, laminating, bagmaking, Innolok and laser-score converting processes. The Company is a supplier of printed film products for the fresh bakery, tortilla and frozen vegetable markets with brands, such as SteamQuick Film, Freshview bags and Billboard. The Company manufactures specialty coated and laminated produ! cts for a! range of packaging applications. Its products are sold under the MarvelGuard and MarvelSeal brands and are sold to converters who transform them into finished goods.

The Company competes with Printpak, Tredegar and Bemis.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  One of the most famous scenes in the cult classic, the Graduate, was when Mr. McGuire�took Dustin Hoffman�� character aside and said�"Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics"; but what about the Berry Plastics Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) and its performance verses that of the�iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV), iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: IWR) and iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IJR)? I should mention that plastics and the Berry Plastics Group was not the place to be yesterday as the stock took a tumble on reduced guidance.

Top 10 Paper Companies To Invest In Right Now: Weyerhaeuser Company(WY)

Weyerhaeuser Company, a forest products company, grows and harvests trees, builds homes, and manufactures forest products worldwide. It grows and harvests trees for use as lumber, other wood and building products, and pulp and paper. The company manages 6.4 million acres of private commercial forestland; and has long-term licenses on 13.9 million acres of forestland. It also offers timber; minerals, such as rock, sand, and gravel, as well as oil and gas to construction and energy markets; logs; timberland tracts; and seed and seedlings, poles, plywood, and hardwood lumber products. In addition, the company provides structural lumber products for structural framing; engineered lumber products for floor and roof joists, and headers and beams; structural panels for structural sheathing, subflooring, and stair treading for wood products dealers, do-it-yourself retailers, builders, and industrial users. Further, it offers building products comprising cedar, decking, siding, ins ulation, rebar, and engineered lumber connectors. Additionally, the company offers fluff pulp for use in sanitary disposable products; papergrade pulp for printing and writing papers, and tissues; specialty chemical cellulose pulp for use in textiles, absorbent products, specialty packaging, and high-bulking fibers; liquid packaging board converted into containers; and slush and wet lap pulp for manufacturing paper products. It also constructs single-family houses, as well as develops residential lots and land for construction and sale; and master-planned communities with mixed-use property. The company sells its cellulose fibers products through direct sales network, and liquid packaging products directly to carton and food product packaging converters; and wood products through sales organizations and distribution facilities. Weyerhaeuser Company has been elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in Federal Way, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Friday, Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY  ) 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 Dan Caplinger]

  This quarter, though, pricing trends haven't been as favorable, with lumber prices losing as much as 25% of their value before bouncing back somewhat. Moreover, Plum Creek has faced more of a competitive threat from rival Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY  ) , which bought up 645,000 acres of prime Pacific Northwest timberland from Brookfield Asset Management and its Brookfield Infrastructure Partners affiliate last month. The buy gives Weyerhaeuser more assets with easy access to export markets across the Pacific Ocean in Asia, although the Pacific Northwest does have closer proximity to areas destroyed by the mountain pine beetle.

The Wendy’s Co Completes Sale of 104 U.S. Restaurants (WEN)

After the closing bell on Monday, The Wendy’s Company (WEN) announced that it had completed its “System Optimization” initiative, which involved selling 104 of its restaurants to franchisees.

Wendy’s has been attempting to create a more predictable revenue stream by selling 418 company-run restaurants in 13 U.S. markets. Since 2013, Wendy’s has seen $235 million in income from these sales. Through the company’s “System Optimization” initiative, it expects to have a higher operating margin and stronger free cash flow; the company also expects these latest moves to bring a higher quality to its earnings.

Wendy’s president and CEO, Emil Brolick, had the following comments about the company’s latest moves: ”We are proud of our team that has diligently worked to complete the sale – faster than our original plan — of the 13 total markets to excellent franchise organizations that are fully committed to building the Wendy’s brand through restaurant reimaging, new development and other growth initiatives. This is an important step for the future of our business …”

WEN stock finished the day down 17 cents, or 1.85%, but the stock was slightly higher in after hours trading. YTD, the company’s stock is up 4.44%.

WEN Dividend Snapshot

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Own For 2014

As of Market Close, March 24 2014

Click here to see the complete history of WEN dividends.

Without the Financials, Who Can Lead the Market?

With the major averages not far below their all-time highs, MoneyShow's Jim Jubak notes recent negative financial news and wonders which stocks can push the market higher.

For the week ahead, look to see whether any of the groups that were responsible for moving the US stocks up from, oh, the old high of 1,852, or so, on the S&P up to 1,875 or so, see if those groups are capable of providing any leadership and if they're not, think about who's going to replace them. That last stage of the market where we broke through the old all-time high and set a new all-time high was driven by some technology stocks, financials, consumer stocks, and some energy. It's hard for me to see how those groups continue to drive the market. We've got, sort of, a mass warning from the financials, for example, where the big money center banks have said, "Hey, that, for the first quarter, it looks like revenue and income from fixed income trading is going to be down about 25%."

It's a big deal because the beginning of the year, it's a huge lump of this money for banks like Goldman Sachs (GS) and JP Morgan and Chase (JPM) so if it's not coming in now, not coming in January and February, it's a really bad indicator for that first quarter and for the whole year. Financials are going to be kind of stressed, it looks like.

Energy stocks, well, I don't see oil moving up a whole lot. It doesn't look like it is going to be necessarily a bad time for energy stocks because oil is going to be dropping, but I don't see a whole lot of energy in the sector. But the real problem, I think, is consumer stocks. These are kind of like the safe stocks that people go to when they want to be in the market but they're a little worried about the market. You know the stocks I mean, McDonald's (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), Pepsi (PEP), the companies that have theoretically steadily growing earnings. The problem is we've had a lot of bad news from those stocks in the fourth quarter and in, sort of, month-to-month figures from companies like McDonald's for January and February that we're not seeing much in the way of growth. Two problems there, one of which is sort of general, which is that we're not seeing a whole lot of increases in growth, sort of acceleration in the growth rate in emerging markets. In fact, we have seen a deceleration, and that has had an effect on companies like McDonald's. The other is that we're battling some individual, or sector trends, so that McDonald's, for example, is fighting against a lot more competition, in the sense that, for some percentage of the market, they are really not very exciting anymore as destination restaurants. For Coke and Pepsi, we're dealing with the fact that cola drinks and sweetened fizzy drinks, in general, are sort of losing market share, again, losing some pizzazz. If you look at all of these sectors and say, "Okay, so what's going to drive the market higher from here," a lot of the sectors that were doing the job in January, and the first half of February, seem to have run out of gas, and that may leave us with very little, other than technology, and it's hard to see technology being sufficient in and of itself to drive the market from here and that is what I 'd look for in the week ahead, what's our leadership from this point on?

Top Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014

This is Jim Jubak for the Money Show.com video network.

Hungry Girl still gets E-mail read—but for how…

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — In a world of texts, instant messages and alerts, e-mail is still kicking it for Lisa Lillien.

Her Hungry Girl e-mail newsletter (Tips and Tricks for Hungry Chicks) has spawned a $25 million empire that expands to books (her ninth, The Hungry Girl Diet, is out March 25,) TV shows on the Food Network, and her image on multiple cereal boxes.

"E-mail is still the driving force," she says. "People are used to reading the daily e-mails. They wake up, they drink their coffee and read their e-mails."

That's a challenge for her, since the No. 1 Web mail provider, Google's Gmail, in late 2013 re-organized the e-mail inbox into "primary," "social" and "promotion," tabs, which could make it harder for her 1.2 million readers to find her daily messages. But she says she's yet to see an impact. "People still open my e-mails every day," she says.

When Lillien began in 2004, e-mail marketing was easy. Spam filters hadn't gotten sophisticated. Google's Gmail had yet to be invented. Now, it's the most popular Web mail program — with 40% market share, compared with 23% for Outlook.com and 21% for Yahoo Mail, according to Litmus.com.

"This will have a huge impact eventually," says Jason Falls, co-author of The Rebels Guide to E-mail Marketing: Grow Your List, Break the Rules and Win. "Everyone I know is nervous and watching it closely."

The trick for Lillien and other e-mail marketers is to be very vocal with readers about Google's changes, and to urge them to "whitelist," the newsletter to make sure it shows up in the primary inbox instead of being marked as spam. "They need to be educated to know where to find it," she says.

She's pushing readers of her website to other places to find her, including Facebook (nearly 1 million fans), Twitter (160,000 followers) and Pinterest (nearly 100,000 followers.) What she hasn't been willing to do is bypass Google with a daily text, even though texting is so hot that WhatsApp, the company that provides unl! imited texts for 99 cents yearly, got snapped up by Facebook in a $19 billion deal.

She shakes her head violently. "No," she says. "People are annoyed by texts. People say they want them, but every time I see (a sponsored text), I want to throw my phone out the window."

Lillien's "Hungryland" home base here is a testament to the power of e-mail. It's like a box of Froot Loops come to life, with rich, vibrant colors. Illustrated cartoon images of Lillien as Hungry Girl adorn the walls. Cereal giant General Mills, a sponsor of the newsletter, showed their appreciation of the relationship, by creating a framed portrait of her — with colored Cheerios.

Lillien is a former TV producer (she's married to Dan Schneider, a former Head of the Class actor who's behind many of Nickelodeon's biggest hits, including iCarly and Sam & Cat.) She fell into the e-mail newsletter business after questioning whether a local bakery's pastry was really 150 calories, as it claimed, and had it tested.

She sent her findings to a bunch of friends, and the verdict came back — she should do a newsletter.

"I'm a little nutty," she says. "I'm the person who will take this to a lab. I'm not a dietician, I'm not a nutritionist, I'm just hungry. If I present that in a fun, relatable way, it could be successful."

She thought about building a website, but that was too much work. "The idea of e-mail appealed. It was short and sweet and marketable. People could share with friends. There was no marketing involved."

She doesn't write the newsletter anymore, but says she edits it. Instead of trying out recipes at home, she has a huge test kitchen, and employs chefs to try out new recipes and review products. Each newsletter is sponsored, but she says she only features sponsors for products she loves. "Ads are clearly marked as ads."

Lisa Lillien, a.k.a. "Hungry Girl," in her colorful L.A. office.(Photo: Jefferson Graham)

Meanwhile, how does the woman who sends out 1.2 million missives every day handle her own inbox on her Apple MacBook Air laptop?

"My inbox is a mess," she admits. "I'm organized, but I haven't mastered my inbox. I get 2,000 e-mails a day. My favorite thing to do is delete. I don't like work to pile up, so I instantly respond. People know if you don't hear from me right away, I missed it."

Follow Jefferson Graham on Twitter.

Bank Stress Tests Stress Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Shares

Nearly everyone passed the bank stress tests, but if this is passing, I would hate to see what happens to banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Bank of America (BAC) if they’d failed.

Getty Images

One possible reason for the lukewarm reaction to the stress tests: The variation of the Fed’s results with Street estimates and the bank’s best guesses. Credit Suisse analyst Moshe Orenbuch and team note that Bank of America’s estimated a Tier 1 common ration of 8.6%, 2.6 points higher than the Fed’s 6%, which is only one point higher than the minimum passing grade. Citigroup, meanwhile, had estimated a 10% tier 1 common ratio, three points higher than the Fed’s 7%, but still had two points to spare. JPMorgan Chase, meanwhile, had estimated 6.5%; the Fed said it was 6.3%. Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, missed Credit Suisse’s forecast by four percentage points, while Goldman Sachs was 1.7 points lower.

Orenbuch says those results aren’t surprising. He explains why:

Not surprisingly, the capital markets sensitive banks appear on the lower end of the range given losses associated with a large counterparty default, in addition to higher trading losses vs. regional bank peers.

Jefferies’ Ken Usdin and team believe the results show the stress tests have “teeth.” They explain:

[Stressed] capital ratios were slightly lower than we would have expected. Most banks that have disclosed the results of their own internal stress tests using the same Fed inputs showed capital ratios that were above the Fed’s outputs. Our initial take is that discrepancies were largely driven by higher charge-off and balance sheet growth assumptions used by the Fed.

Top 5 Up And Coming Companies To Own In Right Now

Usdin also expects Citigroup to be allowed to raise its dividend from its current level of one penny, which “could entice some income-oriented investors.”

Shares of Citigroup have dipped 0.2% to $50.13 at 2:15 p.m., while Bank of America has dropped 1.6% to $17.64, JPMorgan Chase has gained 0.3% to $60.30, Goldman Sachs has fallen 0.7% to $167.97 and Morgan Stanley has declined 1% to $32.47.

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now

Best Blue Chip Companies To Buy Right Now: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Every one of the 30 Dow stocks is trading higher about half an hour before Monday's closing gell. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) has posted the largest gain today, up 1.82% at $185.55 in a 52-week range of $172.19 to $215.82 just ahead of the closing bell. Volume is on track to be about 20% below the daily average of some 5 million shares traded. IBM's share price is second-highest among the Dow stocks.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Before thinking that these five are the biggest drags on the DJIA for 2014, other DJIA stocks have been dead weight for a bit longer then 2014. Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) are down some 18% from their 52-week high, and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) are down some 14% from their 52-week high. Their problems began in 2014, so they are not on the year-to-date loser list of the DJIA stocks.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-blue-chip-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Treasury yields leap as Fed sees earlier rate hikes

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices dropped sharply Wednesday, sending yields soaring after a press conference at the Federal Reserve left the impression that the central bank could begin raising its key policy rates, and with it the cost of borrowing, earlier than initially expected.

Intermediate maturity Treasury yields, which are most sensitive to shifts in monetary policy, rose the most. The 5-year note (5_YEAR)  yield, which rises as prices fall, was up 16 basis points at 1.708%. The 3-year note (3_YEAR)  yield rose 13.5 basis points to 0.888%.

The 10-year note (10_YEAR)  yield was up 9.5 basis points at 2.772%, and the 30-year bond (30_YEAR)  yield was up 2.5 basis points at 3.652%.

U. S stocks closed lower .

Bloomberg Enlarge Image Janet Yellen speaks after her first meeting as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve.

In a statement Wednesday, the central bank discarded an unemployment threshold that it had been using to help determine when to raise its target fed funds rate, which in turn drives bond yields and other borrowing costs higher. The Fed instead said it would use a variety of factors to determine when to hike rates. The central bank also continued the methodical cutting of its bond-buying stimulus program.

But the market lingered on a comment from Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who said in her first press conference at the helm of the central bank that the Fed could begin hiking rates roughly six months after it finishes winding down its bond-purchase program, which many expect to conclude this fall. That forced traders to bring forward expectations of when the Fed will begin raising its key policy rate as soon as early 2015.

"Everybody is talking about that because she gave you something specific, and that may have been a mistake," said Jeffrey Rosenberg, BlackRock's chief investment strategist for fixed income.

He added that market momentum may be building toward expectations of earlier rate hikes, which could force short- and intermediate-maturity yields higher. "If anything, today sort of kicks off what might be a bigger trend toward curve flattening," Rosenberg said.

Traders who bet on the future path of the policy rate using fed funds futures contracts now expect the first rate hike to occur in the April 2015 Fed meeting, according to CME FedWatch. That's one meeting earlier than before Yellen spoke, and two meetings earlier than before the statement.

Click to Play Hilsenrath: Fed tweaks interest-rate guidance

Jon Hilsenrath joins the News Hub with analysis of the Federal Reserve's move to alter its guidance on the likely path of interest rates, putting less weight on the unemployment rate as a signpost for when rate increases will start. Photo: Getty Images.

"How can you convince the market you will keep rates lower for longer when you talk about raising rates six months after you end a program that no one saw as having additional benefits at this point?" said Matt Duch, portfolio manager at Calvert Investments. "Is that long enough to decide whether the economy can stand on its own two feet?"

A summary of economic projections released alongside the statement telegraphed slightly more hawkish expectations for rate hikes than had been released earlier. Nonetheless, Yellen suggested that markets shouldn't put too much stock in such projections, known as "dot charts," and that the general statement provides a clearer view of expectations.

Prior to this week, the central bank had said it would hold down its fed funds rate well past the time the U.S. unemployment rate falls below 6.5%. But given a falling rate of joblessness, many expected the central bank to outline new measures to reassure markets of its promise to keep rates near zero for a substantial period of time.

More from MarketWatch:

Yellen speaks for hour, market only hears three words

Anti-1929 chart shows the bull market's longevity — or that data is malleable

Hunt for yield shines light on less liquid 'baby bonds'

Do Solar Energy Stocks Still Matter?

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) reported its first positive quarterly earnings in more than two years Monday morning to become the latest solar energy company to draw a line under the recovery of the solar photovoltaic (PV) makers. Some have done better than others, but compared with what was happening in the sector two or three years ago, 2014 has so far been a miracle year for solar makers.

But what does this resurrection mean for investors? With a couple of exceptions, solar stocks hit a peak in 2008. First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) topped $300 a share briefly, SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) topped $125 a share, JA Solar hit $120, Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) topped $40 and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) reached its peak of more than $35 in mid-2007. At today’s prices one almost has to wonder if we are talking about the same companies. The only stock trading anywhere near its peak price of six years ago is Canadian Solar. JinkoSolar is near its all-time high again, but it was not publicly traded until mid-2010.

The solar stocks in 2007 and 2008 were the momentum stocks that ethanol stocks were a year or two prior and like 3D printing and fuel cell stocks are today. The China-based solar companies were building new capacity, governments in Europe were offering massive incentives for clean energy projects and it seemed like the party would never end. But like most things that cannot last forever, the solar stock boom didn’t either.

Top Dow Dividend Stocks To Buy Right Now

The recovery in solar shares that began in the second quarter of last year has a much better chance of being a lasting change. For one thing, overcapacity has been winnowed out and for another costs at all the solar makers have come down. For another, the overall cost of installing a solar system has fallen, whether a rooftop system or a utility-scale system.

The Chinese makers have also gotten into the downstream project business, where the most of the profit margins are. First Solar and SunPower have had a significant presence in the project design and construction business for a few years now, but the Chinese have just gotten started with initial projects in China and Japan.

Having a solid solar PV industry that is not on the brink of collapse is important if governments are serious about reducing carbon emissions. Electricity generated by burning coal puts more carbon into the earth’s atmosphere than any other single-point source. Every megawatt of solar PV installed either replaces an existing megawatt of coal-fired generation or eliminates another coal-fired megawatt from new construction.

Will the solar PV industry return to the days of $100+ share prices? Maybe, but it doesn’t really matter. The stocks will never be the same kind of momentum plays again. After the recent return to profitability and run-up in share prices, there might be a little more enthusiasm building for getting back into these stocks, and there is likely still growth potential in many of them. But it will not be explosive growth, and it will not last long. Solar energy is a steady, long-term business now.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now

It seems that once you've grown large enough to disrupt business as usual for MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) and Visa (NYSE: V  ) , you run the risk of getting muscled. MasterCard recently announced plans to raise prices on intermediated payment processors (read: digital wallets) that chose to withhold valuable transaction details from MasterCard. In other words, this measure takes direct aim at eBay's (NASDAQ: EBAY  ) PayPal and other digital wallets such as Google Wallet that do not share transaction details with the payment processor.

Priceless data
The more transactional data a company can get its hands on, the more insight it has on consumer behavior. In an age where marketers are working to better connect the advertising world with the world of commerce, transactional data becomes the equivalent of marketing gold. Considering that PayPal conducted nearly $145 billion in transactions last year, it's not surprising to learn that MasterCard's fee could impact eBay's bottom line in the neighborhood of $0.03-$0.04 per share for the year. Should Visa follow suit, eBay investors can expect its earnings to be affected by another $0.07-$0.08 for the year.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: KongZhong Corp (HOA)

KongZhong Corporation, incorporated on May 6, 2002, is a provider of digital entertainment services for consumers in the People�� Republic of China. The Company operates in three main business units: Wireless Value-Added Services (WVAS), mobile games and Internet games. In addition to developing and operating its self-developed Internet games, such as Loong, Demon Code and Kung Fu Hero, it is an operator of the World of Tanks game for the People�� Republic of China Internet games market. In addition, it is also the licensee in the People�� Republic of China for the Guild Wars 2 game developed by ArenaNet, Offensive Combat game developed by U4iA Games and Hawken game developed by Meteor Entertainment.

The Company conducts substantially all of its business in the People�� Republic of China through its wholly owned subsidiaries KongZhong Beijing, KongZhong China and Simlife Beijing. It operates WVAS, mobile games and Internet games through Beijing AirInbox, Beijing WINT, Beijing Chengxitong, BJXR, Mailifang, Xinreli and Dacheng, all of which are based in the People�� Republic of China.

Wireless Value-Added Services (WVAS) Business

The Company provides interactive entertainment, media and other interactive services to mobile phone users in China through various second generation (2G) standard, technology platforms, including short message services (SMS), Interactive Voice Response services (IVR) and color ring back tone (CRBT), and through various second and a half generation standard (2.5G), technology and operating platforms, including wireless application protocol (WAP) and multimedia messaging services (MMS), which offer graphics, richer content and more interactivity than 2G wireless services. Its WVAS are tailored to the technical or other requirements of its telecommunications operator partners, through whom it deliver most of its WVAS, and to various billing systems for WVAS. Its WVAS are also delivered and marketed through various media partners, i! ncluding handset manufacturers, television stations, radio stations, print media and Internet sites. Its WVAS revenues accounted for 41.7% of its total revenues during the year ended December 31, 2012.

The Company offers a variety of WVAS, such as mobile games, pictures, karaoke, electronic books, mobile phone personalization features, entertainment news, chat and message boards. It provides its services mainly pursuant to its cooperation arrangements with the telecommunications operators and their provincial subsidiaries, the terms of which are generally for one year or less.

Mobile Games Business

The Company is a developer and publisher of mobile games for mobile phone users in the People�� Republic of China (PRC). The mobile games it develops include action, role-playing and leisure games. During 2012, it acquired Noumena, a developer of cross-platform smartphone mobile game engines.

Internet Games Business

The Company develops Internet games internally based mainly on its technologies, which include its game engine (Dazzler three dimension (3D)), game development platforms and online game billing system, all developed by its internal team. In particular, its Dazzler 3D game engine enables the Company to create 3D graphics and visual effects, and provides the technical foundation for creating features in its games. Its game development platforms give the Company the capacity to develop Internet games within approximately six to 24 months and to update Its Internet games frequently in response to players��preferences.

The Company uses an item-based revenue model for its games, whether internally developed or licensed, under which players can play its games on the Internet free of charge, but have to pay for purchases of in-game virtual items, such as in-game currencies, performance-enhancing clothing, weapons, accessories and pets. It distributes its electronic prepaid game cards and game points, which can be used to pur! chase in-! game virtual items, to players through multiple payment channels.

The Company competes with Sina Corporation, Sohu.com Inc., TOM Online Inc., Phoenix New Media Limited, Wireless Arts, Perfect World Co. Ltd, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, Netease.com, Inc., Changyou.com Limited, Giant Interactive Group Inc. and Tencent Holdings Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Konrad Kuhn]

  The company also has a minority interest in the privately-held Hooters of America (HOA), the operator and franchisor of over 430 Hooters restaurants; HOTR's CEO Mike Pruitt is a member of the HOA Board of Directors.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: TechnoConcepts Inc (TCPS)

TechnoConcepts, Inc. (TCI), incorporated in May 2003, is in the business of designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing wireless communications semiconductors. The Company has begun manufacturing wireless transmitter and receiver microchips, based on its technology, and produced its engineering run in August 2006. The technology, which TCI calls True Software Radio, is designed to improve the way that wireless signals are received and transmitted, by making possible device-to-device communication across otherwise incompatible networks and wireless standards. On October 17, 2005, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Asante Acquisition Corp. completed reorganization with RegalTech Inc. RegalTech's name was changed to Asante Networks Inc. (Asante).

In December 2005, the Company formed Jinshilin Techno Ltd. (Jinshilin Techno) as its wholly owned subsidiary based in Shanghai, China. The Company organized Jinshilin Techno to provide marketing, sales and technical support for True Software Radio technology in China. On April 21, 2006, Jinshilin Techno acquired Internet television (IPTV) set-top box (STB) technology through license agreements with Jinshilin Technologies Development Company Ltd. (Jinshilin). Jinshilin Techno offers an IPTV set-top box that features voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), capability and can receive Internet protocol (IP) data transmissions through the household electrical power grid.

Asante Networks Inc. provides Ethernet networking solutions for Apple Computer and the small-to-medium business retail markets, offering the IntraCore and FriendlyNET product families, integrating voice, data, and video over wireless and wired networks with unified management and authentication. In April 2006, Asante announced the release of 2-chip switch solution, the IntraCore 38480. The IntraCore 38480 provides no frame loss and full-wire speed with minimized latency. With 96-gigabit switching fabric, the IntraCore 38480 supports full-wire speed on all ! ports. It has advanced traffic control based on L2-L7 data of incoming frames.

The Company's True Software Radio technology makes possible for wireless transmitters and receivers, as well as the radio signal processing, to be fully controlled and reconfigured by software commands across a range of frequencies and frequency bands. Its True Software Radio technology is a delta-sigma microchip architecture that converts radio frequency signals directly into digital data for the wireless receiver and directly from digital data into radio signals for the wireless transmitter. True Software Radio microchips replace the analog front end, intermediate frequency (I/F) processing, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), and digital filtering sections of conventional wireless transmitters and receivers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech stocks TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS), Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) and Strategic Global Investments, Inc (OTCMKTS: STBV) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions, but they can backfire on the unwary as its really up to investors or traders alike to do their own due diligence before investing or trading. With that in mind, here is a quick reality check about three small cap tech stocks getting a bit of attention lately:

  TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS) Has the Yield Sign Replaced on Its OTC Page

  Small cap TechnoConcepts is a wireless technology company currently holding patents and other intellectual property. On Friday, TechnoConcepts fell 0.45% to $15.58 for a market cap of $415.28 million plus TCPC is up 1.1% over the past year and up 6% since April 2012 according to Google Finance.

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Buy For 2014: CalAmp Corp (CAMP)

CalAmp Corp. (CalAmp) develops and markets wireless technology solutions that deliver data, voice and video for critical networked communications and other applications. The Company has two business segments: Wireless DataCom, which serves commercial, industrial and government customers, and Satellite, which focuses on the North American Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) market. In May 2012, CalAmp Corp announced that it has entered into a five-year supply agreement to provide fleet tracking products to Navman Wireless. As part of the transaction, CalAmp has acquired certain products and technologies from Navman Wireless and established a research and development center in Auckland, New Zealand. The assets acquired by CalAmp include technology for Mobile Display Terminals (MDT) and an MDT product line marketed to telematics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) globally. In March 2013, it completed the acquisition of the operations of Wireless Matrix Corporation.

Wireless DataCom

The Wireless DataCom segment provides wireless technology, products and services for industrial Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Mobile Resource Management (MRM) market segments for a range of applications, including optimizing and automating electricity distribution and ancillary utility functions; facilitating communication and coordination among emergency first-responders; increasing productivity and optimizing activities of mobile workforces; improving management control over valuable remote and mobile assets, and enabling emerging applications in a wirelessly connected world.

The Company's Wireless DataCom segment is comprised of a Wireless Networks business and an MRM business. CalAmp's Wireless Networks business provides products, systems and services to industrial, utility, energy and transportation enterprises and state and local governmental entities for deployment where the ability to communicate with mobile personnel or to command and control remote assets is crucial. Utilities! , oil and gas, mining, railroad and security companies rely on CalAmp products for wireless data communications to and from outlying locations, permitting real-time monitoring, activation and control of remote equipment. Applications include remotely measuring freshwater and wastewater flows, pipeline flow monitoring for oil and gas transport, automated utility meter reading, remote Internet access and perimeter monitoring. CalAmp is among the leaders in the application of wireless communications technology to Smart Grid power distribution automation for electric utilities.

MRM wireless solutions include global positioning system (GPS) location, cellular data modems and programmable events-based notification firmware as key components, allowing customers to know where and how their assets are performing, no matter where those mobile assets are located. Commercial organizations, vehicle finance providers, city and county governments, and a range of other enterprises rely on CalAmp products and systems to optimize delivery of services and protect valuable assets. Applications include fleet management, asset tracking, student and school bus tracking and route optimization, stolen vehicle recovery, remote asset security, remote vehicle start, and machine-to-machine communications. In addition to functioning as an OEM supplier of location and communications hardware for MRM applications, CalAmp is a total solutions provider of turn-key systems incorporating location and communications hardware, cellular airtime and Web-based remote asset management tools and interfaces.

The Company competes with Motorola Solutions, GE-MDS, Freewave, Sierra Wireless, GenX, Spireon, Novatel Wireless-Enfora and Xirgo.

Satellite

The Satellite segment develops, manufactures and sells DBS outdoor customer premise equipment and whole home video networking devices for digital and high definition satellite television (TV) reception. CalAmp's satellite products are sold primarily to ! EchoStar,! an affiliate of Dish Network.

The Company's DBS reception products are installed at subscriber premises to receive television programming signals transmitted from orbiting satellites. These DBS reception products consist principally of outdoor electronics that receive, process, amplify and switch satellite television signals for distribution over coaxial cable to multiple set-top boxes inside the home that can acquire, recognize and process the signal to create a picture.

The Company competes with Sharp, Wistron NeWeb Corporation, Microelectronics Technology, Pro Brand and Global Invacom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  CalAmp (NASDAQ: CAMP) shot up 14.24 percent to $21.35 after the company reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter results.

  HomeAway (NASDAQ: AWAY) was up as well, gaining 8.17 percent to $29.74 on speculation of takeover talks with Priceline.com (NASDAQ: PCLN).

• [By Sara Sjolin]

  In the corporate sector, CalAmp Corp. (CAMP) �is likely to move. Shares dropped late Monday after its outlook for the current quarter fell short of Wall Street estimates.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Intelsat SA (I)

Intelsat S.A., incorporated on July 18, 2011, is a satellite services business, providing a layer in the global communications infrastructure. The Company operates satellite capacity, holds orbital location rights, contract backlog, serve commercial customers and deliver services. It provides diversified communications services to the world�� media companies, fixed and wireless telecommunications operators, data networking service providers for enterprise and mobile applications, multinational corporations and Internet service providers (ISPs). It is also the provider of commercial satellite capacity to the United States government and other select military organizations and their contractors.

The Company has a satellite fleet comprised of more than 50 satellites, covering 99% of the Earth�� populated regions. Its fleet, combined with the IntelsatOne terrestrial fiber network and a collection of teleports, form a singular unmatched global infrastructure to meet any communications requirement. As the provider of satellite services, the Company provides mission critical communication services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Satellite services provider�Intelsat (NYSE: I  ) announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.799 per share on its 5.75% Series A mandatory convertible junior non-voting preferred stock, which trades on the NYSE under the symbol I.PRA.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Stream Group Ltd (SGO)

Stream Group Limited, formerly LongReach Group Limited, is an Australia-based company operating in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The Company is engaged in the design, integration, installation and maintenance of integrated information and communications technology based products and services to the defense, public safety and security sectors, as well as for government, telecommunications and corporate customers, both locally and internationally. The Company together with its subsidiaries is also engaged in the provision of consulting services to certain key defense organizations. In January 2013, the Company sold its C4i business. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Saint-Gobain (SGO) dropped 3.7 percent to 36.87 euros. Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the stock to underweight, similar to a sell recommendation, from equal weight, saying it doesn�� see a recovery yet in the European building industry and the contribution from emerging markets will slow.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3)

TIM Participacoes SA (TIM) is a Brazil-based holding company engaged in the telecommunications segment. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, TIM Celular SA (TIM Celular) and Intelig Telecomunicacoes Ltda (Intelig), it provides telecommunication services throughout Brazil. TIM Celular and Intelig are active as Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) providers in the local and national and international long-distance modalities in all Brazilian states. Additionally, the Company provides multimedia communication services and personal mobile services, mobile data services and a third generation (3G) network, as well as international roaming agreements, multimedia messaging services, blackberry services and sale of related equipment. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Telecom Italia SpA (TIT) jumped 6.2 percent to 65.6 euro cents. The phone company that was stripped of its investment-grade rating is seeking at least 9 billion euros for its controlling stake in Brazilian wireless carrier Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3), according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

• [By Zahra Hankir]

  Brazil�� Ibovespa extended its weekly decline to 3.3 percent. Mobile carrier Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3) sank after parent Telecom Italia SpA (TIT)�� chief executive officer said its Brazilian assets are strategic, damping speculation the local unit will be sold.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Telecom Italia climbed 5.2 percent to 64.2 euro cents, its highest price since May. The telecommunications operator would gain enough funds to improve its domestic business if it sells at least 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) of shares or its stake in Tim Participacoes SA (TIMP3) in Brazil, according to Goldman Sachs.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Sprint Corp (S&LS)

Sprint Corporation, incorporated on May 10, 2012, offers a range of wireless and wireline communications services to consumers, businesses and government users. On July 10, 2013, the Company, SoftBank Corp. and Sprint Nextel Corporation (Sprint Nextel) completed the merger. In the Merger, Sprint Corporation was merged into Sprint Nextel, New Sprint became the parent company of Sprint Nextel, with Sprint Nextel becoming its direct wholly owned subsidiary, and Sprint Nextel changed its name to Sprint Communications, Inc.

The Company develops, engineers and deploys technologies, including the first wireless fourth generation (4G) service from a national carrier in the United States; offering mobile data services, prepaid brands, including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities, and a global Tier 1 Internet Service. The Company also offers unlimited data services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Since Wilmers & Co. took over M&T Bank in 1983 the bank has acquired 23 banks and Savings and Loans (S&Ls) ��expanding from a single state to seven ��and assets have grown from $2 billion to $110 billion. M&T's branch count has grown from 60 to over 870. The bank currently boasts a customer base of over 2 million retail household customers and nearly 220,000 commercial customers.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Ruckus Wireless Inc (RKUS)

Ruckus Wireless, Inc (Ruckus), incorporated August 19, 2002, is a provider of Wi-Fi solutions. The Company�� solutions, which it calls Smart Wi-Fi, are used by service providers and enterprises to solve network challenges. The Company�� products include gateways, controllers and access points. These products incorporate its technologies, including Smart Radio, Smart QoS, Smart Mesh, SmartCell and Smart Scaling. The Company sells its products to service providers and enterprises globally, and as of December 31, 2012, had sold its products to over 21,700 end-customers worldwide. During 2012, the Company added over 10,100 new end-customers. The Company�� enterprise end-customers are typically mid-sized organizations in a variety of industries, including hospitality, education, healthcare, warehousing and logistics, corporate enterprise, retail, state and local government and public venues, such as stadiums, convention centers, airports and outdoor public areas. Effective July 23, 2013, Ruckus Wireless Inc acquired YFind Technologies Pte Ltd.

The Company sells directly and indirectly to a range of service providers, including mobile operators, cable companies, wholesale operators and fixed-line carriers. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had over 65 service provider end-customers, including Bright House Networks, The Cloud (a BSkyB Company), KDDI, Tikona Digital Networks, Time Warner Cable and Towerstream. The Company�� Smart Wi-Fi solutions are marketed under the SmartCell, ZoneDirector, ZoneFlex and FlexMaster brands and include a range of indoor and outdoor access points (APs), long range point-to-point and point-to-multipoint bridges, wireless local area network (LAN), controllers, network management software and gateway systems with integrated advanced wireless software.

The Company�� core Smart Wi-Fi technologies include Smart Radio, Smart QoS, Smart Mesh, SmartCell and Smart Scaling. Smart Radio is a set of advanced hardware and software capabilities that auto! matically adjust Wi-Fi signals to changes in environmental conditions. A primary component of Smart Radio technology is BeamFlex, a smart antenna system that makes Wi-Fi signals stronger by focusing them only where they are needed and dynamically steering them in directions that yield the highest throughput for each receiving device. Another component is ChannelFly, a performance optimization capability that automatically determines, which radio frequencies or channels deliver the network throughput based on actual observed capacity, a key benefit for high-density, noisy Wi-Fi environments.

Smart QoS is a software technology that manages traffic load to enhance the user experience. Smart QoS was developed to handle the increasing volumes of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and streaming video traffic. Smart QoS offers automatic prioritization of different traffic types through intelligent analytics that classify, prioritize and schedule traffic for transmission. Smart QoS employs advanced queuing techniques and dedicated software queues on a per device basis to ensure fairness and optimize overall system performance. Smart QoS includes its band steering, rate limiting, client load balancing and airtime fairness techniques.

Smart Mesh is software technology that uses advanced self-organizing network principles to create Wi-Fi backbone links between access points. Smart Mesh automatically establishes wireless connections between individual access points using patented smart antenna technology and self-heals in the event of a failed link.

SmartCell is a key technology behind the Company�� SmartCell Gateway platform that integrates software and specialized hardware deployed at the edge of service provider networks to facilitate the integration of Wi-Fi and cellular infrastructures. SmartCell includes a set of modular software components ,as well as standard network interfaces into the mobile core that enable Wi-Fi to become a standard access mechanism for service ! providers! . Management components provide configuration, user management, analytics, accounting and other operational and maintenance functions.

Smart Scaling uses advanced database management techniques to enable the support of hundreds of thousands to millions of client devices across the Wi-Fi network. Smart Scaling employs intelligent data distribution techniques to extend client information, statistics and other vital user information across any number of nodes within the system without a single point of failure and with linear scalability. Smart Scaling is incorporated in its purpose-built hardware and software, making it capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of access points and user session workloads at the scale required by service providers.

SmartCell Gateway is a platform that integrates software and specialized hardware deployed at the edge of service provider networks to facilitate the integration of Wi-Fi and cellular infrastructures. The Company�� SmartCell Gateway is designed to be vendor-agnostic and can control third-party APs. SmartCell Gateway provides standard-based interfaces into existing and future mobile networks to simplify integration.

SmartCell access point addresses the capacity and density needs of service providers deploying networks within urban environments. SmartCell APs employ modular multimode architecture to enable service providers to deploy Wi-Fi, 3G/4G small cell cellular technology and Wi-Fi mesh backhaul within a single device. This provides operators with the ability to enhance and extend their macro networks, injecting much needed capacity into high traffic user environments with the flexibility to deploy Wi-Fi with Smart Mesh backhaul and upgrade to Wi-Fi with 3G/LTE when and where desired without any mounting or backhaul changes.

The Company�� ZoneDirector Smart WLAN controllers use a intuitive Web user interface to make configuration and administration extremely simple. This software includes a variety of ! advanced ! capabilities such as adaptive meshing, integrated client performance tools, authentication support, simplified guest access and user policy, wireless intrusion prevention, automatic traffic redirection, integrated Wi-Fi client performance tools and robust network management. ZoneFlex access points incorporate BeamFlex adaptive antenna array technology to deliver robust Wi-Fi performance, reliability and capacity. These devices support multiple virtual wireless LANs, Wi-Fi encryption and advanced traffic handling. The Company�� ZoneFlex outdoor Smart Wi-Fi access points and point-to-point and multipoint bridges can be deployed as stand-alone APs or be centrally managed.

In addition to the Company�� hardware products, the Company also sells software products. FlexMaster is a Linux-based Wi-Fi management service platform used by enterprises and service providers to monitor and administrate networks. FlexMaster provides configuration, fault detection, audit, performance management and optimization of remote Ruckus access points or wireless LAN controllers. It offers a single point for management and a number of automated and customized facilities such as an intuitive dashboard. FlexMaster is designed to operate with existing operational support system and features tiered administration to provide managed wireless LAN or cloud-based wireless services.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Ericsson; Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Aruba Networks.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By gurujx]

  Ruckus Wireless (RKUS): CFO Seamus Hennessy Sold 50,000 Shares

  CFO Seamus Hennessy sold 50,000 shares of RKUS stock on Sept. 6 at the average price of $15.12. The price of the stock has increased by 1.19% since.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Ruckus Wireless Inc. (NYSE: RKUS) is a favorite to maintain a healthy top line growth, with the increased popularity and success of its products and services in the Wi-Fi marketplace. Also, with the sustained shift from the use of PCs to smartphones and tablets, the need for Wi-Fi capacity and coverage solutions will steadily increase. The Deutsche Bank target price for the stock is $14 and should rise, while consensus for this top mid cap name is $23.

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)

Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone), incorporated in 1984, is a mobile communications company operating across the globe providing a range of communications services. The Company offers a range of products and services, including voice, messaging, data and fixed-line solutions and devices to assist customers in meeting their total communications needs. Vodafone has a global presence, with equity interests in over 30 countries and over 40 partner markets worldwide. It operates in three geographic regions: Europe, Africa and Central Europe; Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, and has an investment in Verizon Wireless in the United States. In October 2010, Vodafone Global Enterprise, the business within Vodafone, announced the acquisition of two telecom expense management (TEM) companies, Quickcomm and TnT Expense Management. In November 2011, the Company sold 24.4% interest in Polkomtel in Poland. In March 2012, Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone, purchased the operating assets of Cellular One of Northeast Pennsylvania from the Company. In April 2012, its Netherlands-based division, Vodafone Libertel BV, acquired Telespectrum-DJ. On October 31, 2012, the Company acquired TelstraClear Limited. In May 2013, Vodafone Group Plc announced launch of its carrier services business unit.

In Europe, the Company�� mobile subsidiaries and joint venture operate under the brand name Vodafone. Its associate in France operates as SFR and Neuf Cegetel, and its fixed-line communication businesses operate as Vodafone, Arcor, Tele2 and TeleTu. Vodafone�� subsidiaries in Africa and Central Europe operate under the Vodafone brand, or in the case of Vodacom and its mobile subsidiaries, the Vodacom and Gateway brands. Its joint venture in Poland operates as Polkomtel and its associate in Kenya operates as Safaricom. The Company�� subsidiaries and joint venture in Fiji operate under the Vodafone brand, and its joint venture in Australia operates under the brands V! odafone and 3. The Company�� associate in the United States operates under the brand Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone has an international customer base with 370 million mobile customers across the world as of March 31, 2011. Vodafone also caters to all business segments ranging from small-office-home-office (SoHo) and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to corporates and multinational corporations. Through its subsidiaries, Vodafone directly owns and manages approximately 2,200 stores around the world. The Company also has around 10,300 Vodafone-branded stores run through franchise and exclusive dealer arrangements.

The Company�� range of handsets covers all its customer segments and price points, and is available in a variety of designs. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), 14 new handsets were released under its own brand and it shipped 5.8 million. In addition to handsets, it supplies a range of connected smart devices. It supplies the iPhone in 19 markets. During fiscal 2011, the Company launched its USB stick based on 4G/LTE technology in Germany and Verizon Wireless launched in the United States.; Vodafone WebBox; a smartphone roaming data plan that allows the European customers to use their home data plan abroad for only 2 a day to access the Internet, emails and applications; the Android-powered Vodafone 845 and 945 devices; Vodafone TV services; Vodafone 252, which comes pre-loaded with Vodafone M-Pesa for mobile payment services and a prepaid balance indicator that helps customers to keep track of their phone credit to avoid overspending; Vodafone M-Pesa in South Africa, Qatar and Fiji; 3G services in India, and LTE services by acquiring LTE spectrum in Germany.

The Company is a carrier of mobile voice traffic in the world providing domestic, international and roaming voice services to more than 370 million customers. Its networks sent and received over 292 billion text, picture, music and video messages during fiscal 2011. The Company ! serves mo! re than 75 million customers with data services, which allow access to the Internet, email and applications on their phones, tablets, laptops and netbooks. The Company provides a range of data products, including Machine-to-machine (��2M�� connections, which allow devices to communicate with one another via built-in mobile SIM cards; Third party billing; Financial services; Near field communication (��FC��, and Mobile advertising. The Company, as of March 31, 2011, served 5.3 million M2M connections around the world. NFC allows communication between devices when they are touched together or brought within a few centimetres of each other. The Company has mobile advertising business in 18 countries with a range of capabilities. Over six million customers use its fixed broadband services in 13 markets to meet their total communications needs. In addition, through Gateway, it provides wholesale carrier services to more than 40 African countries. Other service revenue includes business managed services, such as secure remote network access, and revenue from mobile virtual network operators generated from selling access to its network at the wholesale level. The Company�� enterprise customers range from small-office-home-office (��oHo�� businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises (��MEs��, through to domestic and multinational companies. The Company has 34 million enterprise customers accounting for around 9% of all customers and around 23% of service revenue. The Company focuses on SoHos and SMEs to provide customers with integrated fixed and mobile communications solutions. Vodafone Global Enterprise manages the communication needs of over 560 of the multinational corporate customers. It provides a range of managed services, such as Central Ordering, Device Manager, Spend Manager Solutions, Invoice Manager, Vodafone Neverfail and Telecoms management. The Company offers a range of total communications applications, as well as services for enterprise and consumer customers. Vodafone Alw! ays Best ! Connected software enables customers to stay connected to the Internet on the available connection wherever they are by automatically managing the switching between connection types including mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and LAN. Vodafone PC Backup is an online back-up and restores service that enables users to remotely store data securely and automatically via their Internet connection.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  Next is competition. While MTN Group has the biggest presence in Africa, it�� not the only player. Britain�� Vodafone (VOD), through its subsidiary Vodacom, is also very active in Africa and in fact has a larger market share in MTN�� home market, South Africa. But this is the beauty of operating in growing, non-saturated markets. Hundreds of millions of Africans have yet to buy mobile phones ��let alone smartphones. A rising tide lifts all boats.

• [By Gerrit De Vynck]

  Guy Laurence, who used to run Vodafone Group Plc (VOD)�� U.K. business, replaces Mohamed on Dec. 2, capping his tenure as CEO with a flourish.

  ��t�� remarkable and a testament to Rogers how quickly this came together,��said Bettman.

• [By CNNMoney Staff]

  Investors will also be keeping tabs on Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500). The telecom giant is expected to announce a record $49 billion bond sale to help fund its Verizon Wireless purchase from Vodafone (VOD), according to news reports.

• [By Reuters]

  Michael Sohn/APSprint CEO Dan Hesse Sprint has been ranked last among U.S. cellphone service operators in a customer satisfaction survey by the influential Consumer Reports organization, scoring dismal marks for measures ranging from voice to 4G reliability. No-frills carrier Consumer Cellular received the highest overall score of 88 out of 100, followed by U.S. Cellular (USM) with 75. Sprint received the lowest score of 59, faring the worst in terms of value, voice, text and 4G services. The annual ratings were based on a September survey of 58,399 cellphone service subscribers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, which publishes widely followed surveys and reviews of everything from cars to refrigerators. In last year's survey, Sprint (S) trailed only Verizon Wireless among the four major carriers. Verizon Wireless (VZ) (VOD) ranked highest again this year with a score of 71. T-Mobile US (TMUS) rated 65 and AT&T (T) 64, according to survey results released Thursday. The rankings are based on ratings for voice, text and 4G, taking into account the occurrence of problems and adjusted for frequency of use. Sprint has been revamping its network after years of customer losses. The company, which is 80 percent owned by SoftBank, warned in October that customer defections would remain high in coming quarters. The company reported a decline in third-quarter revenue as it lost more subscribers than expected following the shutdown of its older network. "Our latest cell service satisfaction survey revealed a somewhat precipitous decline by Sprint that shuffled the rankings of the major standard service providers," Glenn Derene, Electronics Content Development Team Leader for Consumer Reports, said in a statement.

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Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Lumos Networks Corp (LMOS)

Lumos Networks Corp. is a fiber-based service provider in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Company provides data, broadband, voice and Internet protocol (IP) services over fiber optic network. The Company offers a range of data and voice products supported by approximately 5,800 fiber-route miles in Virginia, West Virginia, and portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and Kentucky. Its products and services include metro Ethernet, IP services, business advantage bundle, managed router service, broadband, voice services and Web hosting. On October 14, 2011, NTELOS Holdings Corp. announced a distribution date of October 31, 2011, for the spin-off of Lumos Networks Corp.

The Company�� broadband services include Business DSL, Dedicated Business Service, Managed Router Services, Business Broadband XL, Business PC Services and Web Hosting. Its IP services include Integrated Access, IP Trunking, IP Centrex and IP Phones. Its voice service include Business Voice, Business Advantage Bundle, nTouch, Intelligent Messaging, Simultaneous Ring, Conference Calling and Long Distance. Its data services include Metro Ethernet and Quality of Service. Lumos Networks Business DSL provides up to six megabits per second downstream and one megabit per second upstream. Its managed router support service equipment includes staging, installation, configuration, and maintenance while support provides around-the-clock monitoring, management and trouble resolution and direct access to networking experts. Its Business Broadband XL offers a selection of high download speeds. Lumos Networks' Integrated Access solution can integrate local voice, long distance, voicemail, and broadband Internet access. Lumos Networks nTouch brings voicemail linking IP Centrex and nTelos Wireless phone.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Lumos Networks Corp. (NASDAQ: LMOS) is a leading provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and IP services in key mid-Atlantic markets. It announced last month it had launched its cloud-based hosted call center solution, which provides best-in-class automated call distribution, integrated voice response and call reporting to help organizations manage call volumes more effectively and efficiently. The service operates over Lumos’s carrier-grade, premium optical network, which provides high-speed, resilient access to the call-center cloud service. The consensus price target for the stock is $20.50. Investors are paid a reasonable 2.7% dividend. Lumos closed Thursday at $20.77.