J.C. Penney to leave S&P 500 after stock decline

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- S&P Dow Jones Indices said late Friday that J.C. Penney (JCP) would be leaving the S&P 500 (SPX) upon the close of trading Nov. 29 after its market cap no longer made it suitable for the large-cap index of stocks. It will be replaced by Allegion, a soon-to-be-public spinoff of Ingersoll-Rand (IR) , which will remain in the S&P 500. J. C. Penney will replace Aéropostale Inc. (ARO) in the S&P MidCap 400, which in turn will replace Corinthian Colleges (COCO) in the S&P SmallCap 600. Even including an 18% recovery in price this month, J.C. Penney shares have dropped 55% this year, leaving it with a market cap of $2.7 billion. The lowest market cap stock on the index Friday was Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) . J.C. Penney shares fell 1% after hours.

Best Services Companies To Invest In 2014

Answering a query on CNBC-TV18 on whether it is feasible to have demat account even for small holdings, he says Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in order facilitate investors have introduced Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA). Wherein for all holdings under Rs 50,000 has no annual maintenance charges which otherwise a normal demat account would be charging

Also read: How you can invest in intl economies being in India

Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview on CNBC-TV18

Q: Investors generally end up paying between 2-3 percent on an investment of let us say Rs 50,000 annually, as charges for their Demat Accounts. A small investor may not even be using many of these services like derivatives, forex trading etc. Is there any way for investors to not pay these charges or the frills attached?

A: It has become almost mandatory for a person to have a demat account just like a bank account. Besides holding equities a person can now hold mutual fund units, bonds, debentures, National Savings Certificates (NSC), all of them in demat form.

5 Best Growth Stocks To Buy Right Now: iMD Companies Inc (ICBU)

IMD Companies, Inc., formerly Optimum Mobile Imaging, Corp, incorporated in 1993, is focused on products and services in the health and fitness nutraceutical and medical diagnostics services markets. The Company provides mobile Ultrasound imaging services. It also provides Echocardiography and Vascular Ultrasound services, including Carotid, Arterial with ABI (ankle-brachial index) and Venous duplex ultrasound. The equipment will be transported into customer's facility on a medical cart by its technologist who will perform all tests in one of customer's exam rooms. In February 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of Integrated Medical Diagnostics, Inc. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has formed a partnership with Anything Technologies Media Inc. by acquiring 51% interest in R-Quest Hydroponics, Inc., developer of the environmental master controller for medical and recreational marijuana hydroponic gardens. In January 2014, IMD Companies Inc and Anything Technologies Media Inc announced that they jointly acquired Green Linx Inc., and will split revenue on a 50:50 basis.

MyLab30 by Biosound implements phased array technology for cardiac imaging, linear array for vascular and small parts imaging, as well as curved array and microconvex for general imaging. The system allows for the evaluation of the heart, vasculature and organs of the body with the appropriate transducer technology and the appropriate measurement and analysis packages.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap marijuana stocks IMD Companies Inc (OTCMKTS: ICBU), Tauriga Sciences Inc (OTCMKTS: TAUG), ML Capital Group Inc (OTCBB: MLCG) and Lexaria Corp (OTCMKTS: LXRP) are aiming to give investors a high with their latest news. However, only one of these small cap marijuana stocks appears to be the subject of minor paid promotion or investor relations type of activities. So will investors and traders alike get a high off of these small caps? Here is a quick reality check:

  IMD Companies Inc (OTCMKTS: ICBU) Has a Funding Commitment for Over $1 Million

  Small cap IMD Companies is a Florida corporation, engaged in the medical diagnostics and health and fitness industries. The company is currently positioned to be a holding company for major acquisitions in the medical, and marijuana industry. On Friday, IMD Companies rose 7.82% to $0.120 for a market cap of $19.35 million plus ICBU is up 264.7% over the past year and up 23,900% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Frontier Beverage Company Inc (OTCMKTS: FBEC), IMD Companies Inc (OTCMKTS: ICBU) and Dmh International Incorporated (OTCBB: DMHI) were all mimicking the Titanic last Friday by sinking 41.18%, 32.5% and 28.16%, respectively, last Friday. Moreover, all three of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions or investor relation campaigns. With the promotions in mind, is it to late to dump these small cap stocks or will this week present a buying opportunity? Here is a closer look:

Best Services Companies To Invest In 2014: Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd.(SINO)

Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides shipping agency services for foreign ships coming to and departing from Chinese ports. Its services include preparing documents, husbanding vessels, working through customs issues, coordinating matters with port authorities, overseeing and settling cargo claims, tracking shipments, recommending trucking, warehousing, and complementary services. The company offers these services for bulk and break-bulk general cargo, and vehicle transport, as well as raw materials, such as crude oil, oil products, iron, manganese, and other metal ores in 76 ports in the People?s Republic of China. Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is based in Flushing, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  The recent strength from Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SINO) and the now-renewed strength from Safe Bulkers, Inc. (NYSE:SB) would suggest those two stocks are among the very best ways to play the rebound currently unfurling in the shipping sector. And to be fair, both are fine companies in their own right. The top play in the dry goods maritime shipping arena, however, may well be Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE:DSX). No, DSX isn't one of the fun and exciting small caps in the maritime shipping space. But, there's a lot to be said for size and stability, which SB and SINO can't offer.

Best Services Companies To Invest In 2014: OpenTable Inc.(OPEN)

OpenTable, Inc. provides restaurant reservation solutions in the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. It offers solutions that form an online network connecting reservation-taking restaurants and people who dine at those restaurants. The company provides electronic reservation book (ERB) that combines proprietary software and computer hardware to deliver a solution, whcih computerizes restaurant host-stand operations. The ERB streamlines and enhances various functions and processes for restaurants, including reservation management, table management, guest recognition, and email marketing. The company also operates opentable.com, a restaurant reservation Website that enables diners to find, choose, and book tables at restaurants on the OpenTable network in real time. In addition, it offers Connect, a Web-based service that enables restaurants to accept online reservations from the OpenTable network, as well as through its mobile application s and restaurants' Websites. Further, the company provides POP program, which lets restaurants offer diners bonus Dining Reward Points for reservations at select times; and telephone reservation management services for restaurants. Additionally, it operates toptable.com, a restaurant reservation site; designs, builds, and operates the OTRestaurant Website, which serves as an information and services portal for its restaurant customers; and offers versions of the OpenTable Websites for use on mobile devices, as well as free mobile applications. OpenTable, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Friday’s session are Express Inc.(EXPR), OpenTable Inc.(OPEN) and Priceline Group Inc.(PCLN)

Best Services Companies To Invest In 2014: Bell AG (BELL)

Bell AG is a Switzerland-based company that is primarily engaged in the production and distribution of meat. The Company has seven product groups. The Fresh Meat product group is involved in the supply of self-service meat products for the retail trade and products for the restaurant trade, as well as Vaudois specialties. The Charcuterie (own and purchased) product groups offer ready-cooked products, both under the Bell brand and under a number of customers' own brands. The Poultry product group offers various poultry products, as well as specialty meats, such as rabbit, game, ostrich and kangaroo. The Convenience product group offers ready-cooked seasonal convenience products, such as domestic and imported fish. Within the Seafood product group, the Company offers fresh and frozen seafood. Bell AG�� brands include Abraham, Zimbo and Polette, among others. The Company operates subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Hungary and other countries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tannor Pilatzke]

  Investment ideas are scarce and hard to come by at times. People constantly ask me about companies they work for (Bell) or businesses they purchase a lot of product from (P&G or Coca-Cola), and what I think about the prospects/valuation. When it is not the blue chips in the limelight it certainly is the Netflix��,Tesla's, 3-D printing, and other companies I would classify as speculative. It is not that I am a Grinch, but I do not like giving out investment ideas. Rather, I attempt to give lessons. As Maimonides said, ��ive a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.��/p>

Best Services Companies To Invest In 2014: Capella Education Company(CPLA)

Capella Education Company operates as an online postsecondary education services company in the United States and internationally. The company, trough its Capella University, offers various doctoral, master?s, and bachelor?s programs primarily for working adults in public service leadership, behavioral health and human services, business management and technology, and education markets; and online distance learning services for degree-entry programs and doctoral level programs in various disciplines, including business, management, psychology, law, and computing disciplines. It also provides learner support services, such as academic services comprising new learner orientation, technical support, academic advising, research services, online tutoring, and writing services; and administrative services through the telephone and Internet. In addition, the company?s learner support services include library services, such as access to collection of online journals, eBooks, an d interlibrary loan services; and career center services comprising career counseling, job search advising, and career management support services to learners and alumni. As of December 31, 2011, the company offered approximately 1,450 online courses and 43 academic programs with 140 specializations to approximately 37,000 learners. Capella Education Company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bill Smith]

  Competition
  ESI competes with many other for-profit ventures, including:
  Other for-profit educators, such as: Strayer (STRA), Apollo (APOL), DeVry (DV), Capella (CPLA), Corinthian Colleges (COCO), and Career Education Corporation (CECO)Traditional colleges/universitiesCommunity colleges
  Sales, EBITDA and Earnings
  ESI has steadily increased revenue and earnings. In the last decade they've grown revenue at 20.8%; EBITDA at 34.4%; FCF at 22.5%, and Book Value at 8.5%.
  

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Capella Education (Nasdaq: CPLA  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best Services Companies To Invest In 2014: Carbonite Inc (CARB)

Carbonite, Inc. (Carbonite), incorporated on February 10, 2005, focuses on the development and marketing of personal computer backup software that enables users to backup, access, and restore data files online. Carbonite is a provider of online backup solutions for consumers and small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). The Company provides secure online backup solutions with anytime, anywhere access to files stored on its servers, which it calls the Carbonite Personal Cloud. In November 2012, the Company acquired Zmanda, Inc.

The Company�� backup solutions works automatically uploading encrypted copies of its customers��files to the Carbonite servers. The Company's customers can browse and share their photos, videos, and documents anytime, anywhere using a Web browser or its free iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android apps. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had subscribers in more than 100 countries, with subscribers based in the United States representing 94% of its total revenue for 2012.

The Company competes with CrashPlan, Mozy, SOS Online Backup, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, DropBox, SugarSync, Box and others.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Carbonite (Nasdaq: CARB  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 12. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Carbonite's revenues will grow 27.5% and EPS will remain in the red.

Best Services Companies To Invest In 2014: DXP Enterprises Inc.(DXPE)

DXP Enterprises, Inc. engages in distributing maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products, equipment, and services to industrial customers in the United States. Its Service Centers segment provides MRO products, equipment and services, including technical design expertise and logistics capabilities to industrial customers with the ability to provide same day delivery. This segment?s product categories comprise rotating equipment, bearing, power transmission, hose, fluid power, metal working, industrial supply, and safety products; and services consist of field safety supervision, in-house and field repair, and maintenance services. The company?s Supply Chain Services segment manages the supply-chain of its customers from various industries. This segment designs supply chain inventory management programs, including SmartAgreement, a procurement solution for MRO categories; SmartBuy, an on-site or centralized MRO procurement solution; SmartSource, an on-site procurem ent and storeroom management solutions; SmartStore, an e-catalog solution; SmartVend, an industrial dispensing solution; and SmartServ, an integrated service pump solution. Its Innovative Pumping Solutions segment fabricates and assembles custom-made engineered pump packages consisting of diesel and electric driven firewater, pipeline booster, potable water packages, pigging pump packages, LACT charge units, chemical injection pump packages wash down units, seawater lift pumps, jockey pumps, condensate pump packages, cooling water skids, and seawater/produced water injection packages. DXP Enterprises, Inc. distributes its products and services through service centers and distribution centers to customers in the oil and gas, food and beverage, petrochemical, transportation, mining, construction, chemical, municipal, agriculture, pulp and paper, and other general industrial industries. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  The position vacated by Salix in the S&P SmallCap 600 will be filled by Agree Realty (NYSE: ADC  ) . Elsewhere on that index, DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ: DXPE  ) �will replace True Religion Apparel (NASDAQ: TRLG  ) . As with Gardner Denver in the S&P MidCap 400, True Religion Apparel is being acquired, in this case by private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners.

Top Airline Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top Airline Stocks To Watch Right Now: Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA (GOL)

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GoL) is a low-cost, low-fare airline in the world providing service on routes connecting all of Brazil's cities and from Brazil to cities in South America and select touristic destinations in the Caribbean. As of March 31, 2010, GoL offered approximately 800 daily flights per day to 61 destinations connecting cities in Brazil, as well as destinations in Argentina, Bolivia, Curacao, Aruba, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. GoL is a holding company, which owns directly or indirectly shares of five subsidiaries: VRG Linhas Aereas S.A. (VRG) and four offshore finance subsidiaries, Gol Finance Cayman and GAC Inc., which owns Sky Finance and Sky Finance II. VRG is the Company's operating subsidiary, under which it conducts its business. Gol Finance, GAC Inc., Sky Finance and Sky Finance II are off-shore companies established for the purpose of facilitating cross-border general and aircraft financing transactions.

GoL's passenger transportation services include ticketless travel; online sales, check-in, seat assignment and flight change and cancellation services; online flight status service; Web-enabled cell phone ticket sales and check-in; self check-in at kiosks at designated airports; designated female lavatories; friendly and efficient in-flight service; modern aircraft interiors; quick turnaround times at airport gates; free or discounted shuttle services between airports and drop-off zones on certain routes; buy on board services on certain flights; mobile check-in and boarding pass (100% paperless boarding), and iPhone application for check-in, electronic boarding pass and Smiles account management. On December 31, 2009, the Company had an operational fleet of 108 operational aircraft and a total fleet of 127. As of March 31, 2010, one of its Boeing 767 air! crafts was subleased to a charter company in the United States, one is under final formalization process for a wet l ease to a Brazilian company for flights connecting Brazil to! Angola and three are under final stages of negotiation to be chartered to operate intercontinental flights. At December 31, 2009, GoL had a total of 127 aircraft, 94 of which were under operating leases and 33 were under finance leases.

The Company competes with TAM Linhas Aereas S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL) is a Brazilian airline carrier, as well as a mail and cargo carrier. At $4.65, the 52-week trading range is $2.74 to $7.67.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE: GOL) was down, falling 6.31 percent to $4.0850 after the company posted a loss in the third quarter.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded up 1.33 percent to $94.28, while gold traded up 0.28 percent to $1,274.70.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-airline-stocks-to-watch-right-now-5.html

Hot Wireless Telecom Companies To Own In Right Now

Hot Wireless Telecom Companies To Own In Right Now: KDDI Corp (KDDIF)

KDDI CORPORATION is a telecommunications company. The Mobile Telecommunication segment is engaged in the provision of mobile communications services, including voice and data services, and mobile WIMAX services, as well as the sale of mobile communication terminals and the provision of contents. The Fixed-line Telecommunication segment provides broadband services, including fiber to the home (FTTH) and cable television (TV) services, as well as domestic and overseas communication services, data center services and information and communication technology (ICT) solution services. The Others segment is involved in the operation of call centers and the development of research and advanced technology. On December 2, 2013, it transferred all shares of a wholly owned subsidiary, JAPAN CABLE NET LIMITED to another subsidiary. In December 2013, the Company acquired the entire share capital in Yugen Kaisha Cosmos. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Inman]

  In Tokyo, KDDI (JP:9433)   (KDDIF)  gained 0.6% after the telecommunications company reported a record-high and consensus-beating operating profit for the first half of the fiscal year, due to a stronger-than-expected increase in subscription and a rise in usage revenue.

• [By Daniel Inman]

  In Tokyo, telecoms firm KDDI Corp. (JP:9433)   (KDDIF)  rose 2% after a Nikkei report said that the firm will likely report a record first-half group operating profit, with a 50% on-year increase. TDK Corp. (JP:6762)   ! (TTDKF) , however, dropped 0.2% after a separate Nikkei report said that the electronics-component producer will report an 8% increase in operating profit over the same period.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks opened sharply higher Monday, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) advancing 1.1% to 14,242.86 after falling 2.8% Friday, as end-of-the-week gains for U.S. shares and some earnings news helped lift the market. The Topix also saw solid gains, up 0.8% in early moves. Major advances included a 2.5% rise for Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) , a 4.1% surge for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (JP:7211) (MMTOF) , and a 2.6% improvement for KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) after the Nikkei business daily said the telecom will report a 50% increase for operating profit in the fiscal first half compared to a year earlier. Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) added 2% after scoring a Credit Suisse upgrade to outperform. Shares of NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF) traded 1.1% higher after posting above-forecast quarterly results Friday, while JFE Holdings Inc. (JP:5411) (JFEEF) fell 3.2% after the steel producer also reported earnings. ! !

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- With the yen holding on to its gains and investors cautious as earnings season kicks off, Japanese stocks slid lower Friday after closing the previous day with some late-session gains. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) fell 0.9% to 14,358.28, with the Topix down 0.8%, as the dollar bought 97.36 yen, little changed from 24 hours earlier. The relatively strong yen weighed on some names with high global exposure, as Sharp Corp. (JP:6753) (SHCAF) lost 1%, Pioneer Corp. (JP:6773) (PNCOF) dropped 1.6%, and Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) fell 1.2%. An outlook cut from Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) helped send its shares down 1%, while rival Nikon Corp. (JP:7731) (NINOF) lost 1.8%, though Olympus Corp. (JP:7733) (OCPNF) gained 1%. Telecoms were weak, with Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) falling 2.5%, KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) down 1.7%, and NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF)

source from Top Stoc! ks For 20! 15:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-wireless-telecom-companies-to-own-in-right-now-3.html

4 Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

>>5 Stock Trades to Take This Week

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Buy For 2015

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

China Recycling Energy

China Recycling Energy (CREG) engages in the recycling energy business, providing energy savings and recycling products and services. This stock closed up 9.2% to $3.07 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $2.69-$3.14

52-Week Range: $0.78-$3.14

Tuesday's Volume: 410,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 95,671

>>5 Stocks Ready to Break Out

From a technical perspective, CREG spiked sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $2.60 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months, with shares moving higher from its low of $1.66 to its recent high of $3.16. During that uptrend, shares of CREG have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of CREG within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if CREG manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.16 to $3.50 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CREG as long as it's trending above support at $2.60 or above its 50-day at $2.41 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 95,671 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CREG will set up to tag $4 to $5.

Performance Technologies

Performance Technologies (PTIX) is a supplier of advanced network communications solutions to carrier, government and OEM markets. This stock closed up 14.1% to $3.15 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $2.80-$3.20

52-Week Range: $0.73-$3.97

Tuesday's Volume: 364,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 262,357

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

From a technical perspective, PTIX skyrocketed higher here right above some near-term support at $2.70 and back above its 50-day moving average of $2.94 with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last three months, with shares moving between $2.59 on the downside and $3.97 on the upside. Shares of PTIX are now starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent range. That breakout will hit if PTIX manages to take out some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.20 to $3.25, and then once it takes out more resistance at $3.79 to its 52-week high at $3.97 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PTIX as long as it's trending above support at $2.70 or $2.59 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 262,357 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then PTIX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $3.97, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $5 to $6.

Altair Nanotechnologies

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI) develops, manufactures and sells nano lithium titanate batteries and energy storage systems. This stock closed up 6.8% to $4.82 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $4.45-$5.05

52-Week Range: $2.02-$8.00

Tuesday's Volume: 76,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 103,311

>>5 Rocket Stocks Worth Buying This Week

From a technical perspective, ALTI spiked sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $4.30 with lighter-than-average volume. This stock recently dropped sharply from its high of $8 to $4.30 with heavy downside volume flows. During that plunge, shares of ALTI have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of ALTI now look ready to see an end to its downside volatility, since the stock is starting to rebound off that $4.30 low and move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if ALTI manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance at $5.08 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ALTI as long as it's trending above Tuesday's low of $4.45 or above more support at $4.30 and then once it sustains a move or close above $5.08 with volume that hits near or above 103,311 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ALTI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels $6 to $6.50.

AK Steel

AK Steel (AKS) is a producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, and tubular products through its wholly owned subsidiary, AK Steel Corporation. This stock closed up 5.8% to $4.43 in Tuesday's trading session.

Tuesday's Range: $4.11-$4.45

52-Week Range: $2.76-$5.77

Tuesday's Volume: 8.76 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 5.23 million

From a technical perspective, AKS spiked sharply higher here with heavy upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $3.73 to its recent high of $4.46. During that uptrend, shares of AKS have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of AKS within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if AKS manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $4.46 to $4.65 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AKS as long as it's trending above Tuesday's low of $4.11 or above its 50-day at $3.89 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 5.23 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then AKS will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.94 to its 52-week high at $5.77.

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>Own Gold? Here's Why It's Time to Sell

>>4 Stocks Rising on Big Volume

>>3 Hot Stocks on Traders' Radars

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Top Recreation Companies To Invest In Right Now

Top Recreation Companies To Invest In Right Now: Marine Products Corp (MPX)

Marine Products Corporation (Marine Products), incorporated on August 31, 2000, designs, manufactures and sells recreational fiberglass powerboats in the sportboat, deckboat, cruiser, sport yacht and sport fishing markets. The Company sells its products to a network of 135 domestic and 69 international independent authorized dealers. The Company focuses to remain a manufacturer of recreational powerboats for sale to a range of consumers globally. The Company manufactures Chaparral sterndrive and inboard-powered pleasure boats including H2O Sport and Fish & Ski boats, SSi and SSX Sportboats, Sunesta Sportdecks and Xtreme Tow boats, Signature Cruisers, Premiere Sport Yachts and Robalo outboard sport fishing boats. The Company offers a range of products to the family recreational, cruiser and sport yacht markets through its Chaparral brand, and to the sport fishing market through its Robalo brand.

The Company's products include Chaparral - H2O Sport Series, whic h is a fiberglass multipurpose runabouts; Chaparral - SSi Wide tech, which is a fiberglass closed deck runabouts; Chaparral - SSX Sportdecks, which is a fiberglass bowrider crossover sportboats; Chaparral - Sunesta Xtreme Tow Boats, which is a fiberglass pleasure boats; Chaparral - Signature Cruisers, which is a fiberglass, accommodation-focused cruisers; Chaparral - Premiere Sport Yacht, which is a fiberglass sport yacht, and Robalo - Sport Fishing Boats, which is a sport fishing boats for freshwater lakes or saltwater use. Domestic sales are made through approximately 74 Chaparral dealers, 16 Robalo dealers and 45 dealers that sell both brands located in markets throughout the United States. Marine Products also has 69 international dealers.

The Company competes with Sea Hunt, Sea Fox, Grady-White, Boston Whaler, Everglades and Parker.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Sink or swim
  Sometimes t! he best short-sale opportunities are small, under-the-radar companies. One that I feel fits the bill perfectly is fiberglass boat maker Marine Products (NYSE: MPX  ) .

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Marine Products (NYSE: MPX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-recreation-companies-to-invest-in-right-now.html

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In 2015

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In 2015: Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD)

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (Enterprise), incorporated on April 9, 1998, owns and operates natural gas liquids (NGLs) related businesses of Enterprise Products Company (EPCO). The Company is a North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and certain petrochemicals. Its midstream energy asset network links producers of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil from supply basins in the United States, Canada and the Gulf of Mexico with domestic consumers and international markets. Its midstream energy operations include natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage, and import and export terminals; crude oil gathering and transportation, storage and terminals; offshore production platforms; petrochemical and refined products transportation and services; and a marine transportation business that operates on the United States in land and Intracoastal Waterway systems and in the Gulf of Mexico. Its assets include approximately 50,000 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines; 200 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, petrochemicals, refined products and crude oil; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. In addition, its asset portfolio includes 24 natural gas processing plants, 21 NGL and propylene fractionators, six offshore hub platforms located in the Gulf of Mexico, a butane isomerization complex, NGL import and export terminals, and octane isobutylene production facilities. The Company operates in five business segments: NGL Pipelines & Services; Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services; Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services; Offshore Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services.

NGL Pipelines & Services

The! Company's NGL Pipelines & Services business segment includes its natural gas processing plants and related NGL m arketing activities; approximately 16,700 miles of NGL pipel! ines; NGL and related product storage facilities; and 14 NGL fractionators. This segment also includes its import and export terminal operations. At the core of its natural gas processing business are 24 processing plants located across Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. Natural gas produced at the wellhead (especially in association with crude oil) contains varying amounts of NGLs. Once the mixed component NGLs are extracted by a natural gas processing plant, they are transported to a centralized fractionation facility for separation into purity NGL products. Once processed, this natural gas is available for sale through its natural gas marketing activities. Its NGL marketing activities generate revenues from the sale and delivery of NGLs it takes title to through its natural gas processing activities and open market and contract purchases from third parties. Its NGL marketing activities utilize a fleet of approximately 670 railcars, the majori ty of which are leased from third parties.

The Company's NGL pipelines transport mixed NGLs and other hydrocarbons from natural gas processing facilities, refineries and import terminals to fractionation plants and storage facilities; distribute and collect NGL products to and from fractionation plants, storage and terminal facilities, petrochemical plants, export facilities and refineries, and deliver propane to customers along the Dixie Pipeline and certain sections of the Mid-America Pipeline System. Revenues from its NGL pipeline transportation agreements are based upon a fixed fee per gallon of liquids transported multiplied by the volume delivered. Certain of its NGL pipelines offer firm capacity reservation services. It collects storage revenues under its NGL and related product storage contracts based on the number of days a custom! er has vo! lumes in storage multiplied by a storage fee. In addition, it charges customers throughput fees based on volumes delivered into and subsequently withdrawn from storage. Its ! principal! NGL pipelines include Mid-America Pipeline System, South Texas NGL Pipeline System, Seminole Pipeline, Dixie Pipeline, Chaparral NGL System, Louisiana Pipeline System, Skelly-Belvieu Pipeline, Promix NGL Gathering System, Houston Ship Channel pipeline, Rio Grande Pipeline, Panola Pipeline and Lou-Tex NGL Pipeline. It operates its NGL pipelines with the exception of the Tri-States pipeline.

The Company's NGL operations include import and export facilities located on the Houston Ship Channel in southeast Texas. It owns an import and export facility located on land it leases from Oiltanking Houston LP. Its import facility can offload NGLs from tanker vessels at rates up to 14,000 barrels per hour depending on the product. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its average combined NGL import and export volumes were 132 thousand barrels per day. In addition to its Houston Ship Channel import/export terminal, it owns a barge dock also located on the Houston Shi p Channel, which can load or offload two barges of NGLs or other products simultaneously at rates up to 5,000 barrels per hour.

The Company owns or have interests in 14 NGL fractionators located in Texas and Louisiana. NGL fractionators separate mixed NGL streams into purity NGL products. The primary sources of mixed NGLs fractionated in the United States are domestic natural gas processing plants, crude oil refineries and imports of butane and propane mixtures. Mixed NGLs sourced from domestic natural gas processing plants and crude oil refineries are transported by NGL pipelines and by railcar and truck to NGL fractionation facilities.

The Company's NGL fractionation facilities process mixed NGL streams for third party customers and support its NGL marketing activities. It earns revenues from NGL fractionatio! n under f! ee-based arrangements, including a level of demand-based fees. At its Norco facility in Louisiana, it performs fractionatio n services for certain customers under percent-of-liquids co! ntracts. ! Its fee-based fractionation customers retain title to the NGLs, which it processes for them. Its NGL fractionators include Mont Belvieu fractionator, Shoup and Armstrong fractionator, Hobbs NGL fractionator, Norco NGL fractionator, Promix NGL fractionators and BRF fractionators.

Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services

The Company's Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines & Services business segment includes approximately 19,900 miles of onshore natural gas pipeline systems, which provide for the gathering and transportation of natural gas in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming. It leases salt dome natural gas storage facilities located in Texas and Louisiana and own a salt dome storage cavern in Texas, which are integral to its pipeline operations. This segment also includes its related natural gas marketing activities.

The Company's onshore natural gas pipeline systems and storage facilities provide for the gathering and tra nsportation of natural gas from producing regions, such as the San Juan, Barnett Shale, Permian, Piceance, Greater Green River, Haynesville Shale and Eagle Ford Shale supply basins in the western United States. In addition, these systems receive natural gas production from the Gulf of Mexico through coastal pipeline interconnects with offshore pipelines. Its onshore natural gas pipelines receive natural gas from producers, other pipelines or shippers at the wellhead or through system interconnects and redeliver the natural gas to processing facilities, local gas distribution companies, industrial or municipal customers, storage facilities or to other onshore pipelines.

Its onshore natural gas pipelines generates revenues from transportation agreements under which shippers are billed a fee per unit of volume transported mu! ltiplied ! by the volume gathered or delivered. Its onshore natural gas pipelines offer firm capacity reservation services whereby the shipper p ays a contractually stated fee based on the level of through! put capac! ity reserved in its pipelines whether or not the shipper actually utilizes such capacity. Under its natural gas storage contracts, there are typically two components of revenues monthly demand payments, which are associated with a customer's storage capacity reservation and paid regardless of actual usage, and storage fees per unit of volume stored at its facilities. The Company's natural gas marketing activities generate revenues from the sale and delivery of natural gas obtained from third party well-head purchases, regional natural gas processing plants and the open market.

Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services

The Company's Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines & Services business segment includes approximately 5,100 miles of onshore crude oil pipelines, crude oil storage terminals located in Oklahoma and Texas, and its crude oil marketing activities. Its onshore crude oil pipeline systems gather and transport crude oil in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to refineries, centralized storage terminals and connecting pipelines. Revenue from crude oil transportation is based upon a fixed fee per barrel transported multiplied by the volume delivered.

The Company owns crude oil terminal facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma and Midland, Texas, which are used to store crude oil volumes for it and its customers. Under its crude oil terminaling agreements, it charges customers for crude oil storage based on the number of days a customer has volumes in storage multiplied by a contractual storage fee. With respect to storage capacity reservation agreements, it collects a fee for reserving storage capacity for customers at its terminals. In addition, it charges its customers throughput (or pumpover) fees based on volumes withdrawn from its terminals. It provides fee-based tr! ade docum! entation services whereby it documents the transfer of title for crude oil volumes transacted between buyers and sellers at its terminals. The Company's crude oil marketing activities generate revenues! from the! sale and delivery of crude oil obtained from producers or on the open market.

Offshore Pipelines & Services

The Company's Offshore Pipelines & Services business segment serves active drilling and development regions, including deepwater production fields, in the northern Gulf of Mexico offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. This segment includes approximately 2,300 miles of offshore natural gas and crude oil pipelines and six offshore hub platforms. Its offshore Gulf of Mexico pipelines provide for the gathering and transportation of natural gas or crude oil. Revenue from its offshore pipelines is derived from fee-based agreements whereby the customer is charged a fee per unit of volume gathered or transported multiplied by the volume delivered. Poseidon Oil Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (Poseidon), in which it has a 36% equity method investment, purchases crude oil from producers and shippers at a receipt point (at a fixed or index-base d price less a location differential) and then sells quantities of crude oil at onshore Louisiana locations (at the same fixed or index-based price, as applicable).

The Company's offshore platforms are components of its pipeline operations. Platforms are used to interconnect the offshore pipeline network; provide means to perform pipeline maintenance; locate compression, separation and production handling equipment and similar assets, and conduct drilling operations during the initial development phase of an oil and natural gas property. Revenues from offshore platform services consist of demand fees and commodity charges. Revenue from commodity charges is based on a fixed-fee per unit of volume delivered to the platform multiplied by the total volume of each product delivered.

Petrochem! ical & Re! fined Products Services

The Company's Petrochemical & Refined Products Services business segment consists of propylene fractionation plant s, pipelines and related marketing activities; a butane isom! erization! facility and related pipeline system; octane enhancement and isobutylene production facilities; refined products pipelines, including its Products Pipeline System, and related marketing activities, and marine transportation and other services.

The Company's propylene fractionation and related activities consist of seven propylene fractionation plants (six located in Mont Belvieu, Texas and a seventh in Baton Rouge, Louisiana), propylene pipeline systems aggregating approximately 680 miles in length and related petrochemical marketing activities. This business includes an export facility and associated above-ground polymer grade propylene storage spheres located in Seabrook, Texas. Results of operations for its polymer grade propylene plants are dependent upon toll processing arrangements and petrochemical marketing activities. The toll processing arrangements include a base-processing fee per gallon (or other unit of measurement). Its petrochemical marketing activities include the purchase and fractionation of refinery grade propylene obtained in the open market and generate revenues from the sale and delivery of products obtained through propylene fractionation. The revenues from its propylene pipelines are based upon a transportation fee per unit of volume multiplied by the volume delivered to the customer. As part of its petrochemical marketing activities, it has refinery grade propylene purchase and polymer grade propylene sales agreements. Its butane isomerization business includes three butamer reactor units and eight associated deisobutanizer units located in Mont Belvieu, Texas, which comprise the commercial isomerization facility in the United States.

The Company's commercial isomerization units convert normal butane into mixed butane, ! which is ! fractionated into isobutane, isobutane and residual normal butane. The uses of isobutane are for the production of propylene oxide, isooctane, isobutylene and alky late for motor gasoline. These processing arrangements inclu! de a base! -processing fee per gallon (or other unit of measurement). Its isomerization business also generates revenues from the sale of natural gasoline created as a by-product of the isomerization process. The Company owns and operates an octane enhancement production facility located in Mont Belvieu, Texas, which produces isooctane, isobutylene and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). The products produced by this facility are used in reformulated motor gasoline blends. The isobutane feedstocks consumed in the production of these products are supplied by its isomerization units. The Company owns a facility located on the Houston Ship Channel, which produces high purity isobutylene (HPIB). The feedstock for this plant is produced by its octane enhancement facility located at its Mont Belvieu complex. HPIB is used in the production of alkylated phenols used as antioxidants, lube oil additives, butyl rubber and resins.

Refined products pipelines and related activities cons ist of its Products Pipeline System, equity method investment in Centennial Pipeline LLC (Centennial) and refined products marketing activities. The Products Pipeline System transports refined products, and petrochemicals, such as ethylene and propylene and NGLs, such as propane and normal butane. These refined products are produced by refineries and include gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, kerosene, distillates and heating oil. Refined products also include blend stocks, such as raffinate and naphtha. Blend stocks are used to produce gasoline or as a feedstock for certain petrochemicals. The Centennial Pipeline intersects its Products Pipeline System near Creal Springs, Illinois, and loops the Products Pipeline System between Beaumont, Texas and south Illinois. In addition, it has refined p! roducts t! erminals located at Aberdeen, Mississippi and Boligee, Alabama adjacent to the Tombigbee River and on the Houston Ship Channel in Pasadena, Texas. Its related marketing acti vities generate revenues from the sale and delivery of refin! ed produc! ts obtained from third parties on the open market.

The Company's marine transportation business consists of tow boats and tank barges, which are used to transport refined products, crude oil, asphalt, condensate, heavy fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas and other petroleum products along inland and intracoastal the United States waterways. Its marine transportation assets service refinery and storage terminal customers along the Mississippi River, the intracoastal waterway between Texas and Florida and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway system. It owns a shipyard and repair facility located in Houma, Louisiana and marine fleeting facilities in Bourg, Louisiana and Channelview, Texas. Other services consist of the distribution of lubrication oils and specialty chemicals and the bulk transportation of fuels by truck, in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and the Rocky Mountain region of the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  You have probably never heard of 31 year old Scott Duncan. That's likely because he's not behind the latest tech wonder that everyone is talking about. That doesn't change the fact that he is worth $7 billion after inheriting a quarter of his father's share of boring energy pipeline business Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD  ) . That makes him the fourth youngest billionaire under 40 in America. In fact, if it wasn't for Facebook's (NASDAQ: FB  )  surging stock price, which is behind the wealth of Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Jan Koum, Scott just might have been the richest billionaire under 40 in America. It goes to show that being a tech geek isn't the only path to wealth these days.  

• [By Robert Rapier]

  ! But much ! of this newfound oil and gas production is taking place in regions that haven't been traditional producers of oil and gas. This has created strong demand for midstream providers to build the gathering systems, pipelines and storage tanks required to move oil and gas from fields in North Dakota and Pennsylvania to customers on the Gulf Coast and in the Northeast. This profited such midstream MLP giants as Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP), Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), and Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE: PAA).

• [By Michael Hamlett Jr]

  Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) is an energy pipeline company that provides services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and certain petrochemicals. They pay a 3.5% dividend. EPD has little cash, a large amount of receivables, and high current liabilities and $17 billion in long-term debt. Priced at almost 5 times its book value, and almost 70 times its free cash flow, EPD is overvalued and probably won't be a bargain in a market correction.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-energy-stocks-to-invest-in-2015.html

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA): Shift In Release Schedule Should Alleviate Risk To FY14 View

Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) plans to release Titan Fall slightly earlier than expected, but Sims 4 will be pushed out to fall of 2014. The changes to the release schedule should alleviate risk to fiscal 2014 guidance.

Electronic Arts, or EA, is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The company's game franchises are offered as both packaged goods products and online services delivered through Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA has more than 300 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for blockbuster franchises such as The Sims, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed, Battlefield, and Mass Effect.

The company announced that Titan Fall, the debut game from videogame developer Respawn Entertainment, will be landing on store shelves beginning March 11, 2014 exclusively for Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system and PC.

Titan Fall was previously expected to be released sometime in the June quarter of 2014. The new date for Titan Fall is March 11th in the U.S. and March 13th in Europe. Titan Fall is one of the most anticipated titles currently and has been generating strong buzz for some time.

"We believe this (change in schedule) is being done to take advantage of the open window created by Ubisoft delaying the release of its highly anticipated title Watch Dogs," Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia said in a client note.

EA expects the net effect of the changes to its release schedule to be neutral. Although, these changes reduce guidance risk that investors were beginning to factor in due to the slower-than-expected start to FIFA 14.

With EA's recently released key title FIFA 14 starting off slower than expected, investors were beginning to factor in some risk to fiscal 2014 earnings. The changes in the release schedule announced would reduce that p! otential risk.

In July, EA guided fiscal 2014 GAAP net revenue of approximately $3.50 billion. Non-GAAP net revenue is expected to be about $4.00 billion. GAAP loss per share is expected to be approximately 98 cents while non-GAAP diluted earnings per share is expected to be approximately $1.20. Wall Street expects earnings of $1.23 a share on revenue of $4.01 billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

"We think EA remains well positioned for the upcoming console cycle and can grow EPS at a 20% CAGR in the foreseeable future. This should be driven by mid single-digit top-line growth combined with 150 bps to 200 bps of operating margin expansion annually for the next several years," Bhatia noted.

With next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony as key catalysts, EA is well positioned for a period of sustained growth with an impressive slate of core titles, strong digital growth and focused on cost control. This, in turn, would ultimately lead to a return in top-line growth and continued margin expansion for profitable growth.

EA shares trade at approximately 17 times its consensus 2014 EPS estimate. There are approximately 17.3 million shares short on EA, reflecting 6 percent of its diluted shares outstanding, flat from 17.1 million a year ago and a peak of 27.2 million at the end of January 2013.

"At current valuations and a robust portfolio of content, we believe Electronic Arts is an attractive investment opportunity," BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Williams wrote in a client note.

Short interest in EA has remained flat over the past three months even with a significant rise in share price as investor confidence in the company's growth prospects solidified with the start of a new console cycle and the company's margin expansion story. Shares of EA have climbed about 98 percent in the last year and traded between $11.80 and $28.13 during the past 52-weeks.

EA is set to release its financial results for the second quarter fiscal year 2014! after th! e close of market on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. The street expects earnings of 12 cents a share on revenue of $979.06 million. 

Hot Building Product Stocks For 2015

Hot Building Product Stocks For 2015: Manulife Financial Corp (MFC)

Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC) is a Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. The Companys segments are Asia, Canadian and U.S. Divisions and the Corporate and Other segment. The Companys international network agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to clients. It also provides asset management services to institutional customers. In January 2013, the Company acquired Benesure Canada Inc. In August 2013, John Hancock, the United States division of the Company, announced that it has acquired Landmark Square in Long Beach, California. In December 2013, MFC announced its subsidiary, Manulife (International) Limited, had completed the transaction to sell its life insurance business in Taiwan to CTBC Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Manulife Financial (MFC) is another stock that's forming an ascending triangle pattern right now. In the case of this $33 billion Canadian financial services firm, resistance comes into play at $18, a price level that's acted as a ceiling for shares since all the way back in July. The buy signal comes on a move through that $18 barrier.

  Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Triangles, and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That $18 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant -- the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above th! at price level.

  After it happens, I'd recommend keeping a protective stop at $16.50.

• [By Patricio Kehoe] est Canadian life insurer by market capitalization, offering asset management, wealth management and financial services to customers in Asia, Canada and the U.S. However, the companys annuity and segregated fund business has suffered over the past two years, due to the low interest rate environment, leading to a decline in earnings and operating results. Nonetheless, the firm has been undergoing some changes throughout 2013 and management expects profitability to increase for fiscal 2014, despite its underperformance during fourth quarter fiscal 2013. Thus, many investment gurus like George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons' (Trades, Portfolio) hedge fund remain bullish about Manulifes future outlook, evidenced by their shares purchased in the past quarter.

  Of Hedging and Repricing

  Manulifes capital sensitivity and volatile earnings have made it difficult for the company to maintain steady growth prospects in the past, but quarter four's earnings report showed improvements in some aspects, especially regarding EPS growth, which jumped 73% year over year, closing at $1.62 per share. This is largely due to the companys recent strategy of hedging two-thirds of its variable annuity business, and looking forward all newly written businesses in this segment will be hedged. Furthermore, the firm has been gradually trading most of its short-term bonds for long-term bonds, which will improve the bond duration of its investment portfolio, thereby reducing earning sensitivity. While insurance sales were weak for 2013, declining 13% from 2012 and 32% year over year for the quarter, Manulifes shift towards expanding its wealth management business (wealth sales increased 37% over the past fiscal year) and mutual fund sales should help offset declines in t he future.

  In fact, today the company announced that it will be launching a new universal lif! e product! for the Canadian market called Manulife UL by May 26 of this year. The new

• [By Eric Lam]

  Air Canada, the nations largest airline, surged 7.2 percent after reducing costs. Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC), Canadas largest insurer, increased 2.6 percent for a fourth day of gains. Trilogy Energy Corp. plunged 9.8 percent after reporting a loss as sales declined. Detour Gold Corp. plunged 18 percent after saying it will not meet its 2013 production targets. Centerra Gold Inc. and HudBay Minerals Inc. sank at least 3.7 percent as gold dropped to a three-week low in New York.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-building-product-stocks-for-2015.html

Best Media Stocks For 2014

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The size of your monthly Social Security check when you retire will depend largely on how much you earned and how much you paid in Social Security tax during your working years.

It's not as simple as getting your money back, however. The IRS uses special formulas and rules to determine how much you receive in benefits. The maximum amount that you can receive per month�if you retire at full retirement age in 2014 is $2,642, but your actual benefits will vary depending on several factors.

Because of the way your benefits are determined, you can't assume that the more you earn, the more you will receive in benefits. Here's how it works.

What factors affect Social Security benefits?
The biggest factor in how much you will receive in Social Security benefits is how much you earned while you were working. For Social Security purposes, what matters is the average amount you earned during your highest-earning 35 years before age 62, adjusted for cost-of-living increases.

Hot Safest Stocks To Watch Right Now: Thomson Reuters Corp(TRI)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Thomson Reuters (TRI)

  On Feb. 11, Thomson Reuters declared a dividend of $0.330 per share, representing 3.80% dividend yield for the company. This dividend is payable on March 17 to shareholders of the record at the close of business on Feb. 24, 2014.

Best Media Stocks For 2014: Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tiernan Ray]

  FBR & Co.‘s�William Bird, who follows the shares of old media dinosaurs�Gannett (GCI), �Meredith�(MDP),�News�(NWSA), and�The New York Times�(NYT), today offers the findings of a survey of 2,041 adults in the U.S. from March 12th to March 17th.

  Bird has an Outperform rating on shares of Gannett, and Market Perform ratings on the other three names.

  The upshot of the survey is that a third of young readers don’t read print papers, and are more and more flocking to online news outlets.

  The survey, conducted with the help of Clear Voice Research LLC, suggests to Bird a “steady structural pressure on print, a tip of the spear demographic problem for print circulation, and slow magazine tablet adoption�� negative as tablets offer a better business model for magazines.”

  More specifically, there is “value destruction” as more and more people trade from print to digital editioins of publications:

  The survey suggests that structural pressure on consumer newspaper readership is a touch above�that of magazines. Over the next year, print newspaper usage is expected to decline a net 5% (i.e.,�6% expect to use more versus 11% who expect to use less). A total of 11% of respondents said they plan to use print newspapers less and 10% said they plan to �use print magazines less. This was exactly offset by the percentage of respondents who said they�plan to consume online newspapers more (11%) and those who plan to consume online magazines�more (10%). With $1 of print ad spend translating to $0.25 in digital, these results are supportive of �continued print-to-digital value destruction.

  Younger readers tend to be more inclined to dump print, says FBR:

  According to our survey, intended print newspaper subscription cancellations total 9.8% over the next 12 months. Notable is that plans to cancel skew heavily toward the below 35 year old demographic. The 18 to 34 demographic reflects

Best Media Stocks For 2014: Charter Communications Inc.(CHTR)

Charter Communications, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides entertainment, information, and communications solutions to residential and commercial customers in the United States. The company offers cable video programming services, such as basic and digital video, premium channels, OnDemand, pay-per-view, high definition television, digital video recorder, and online video services; Internet services; Charter.net, which provides multiple e-mail addresses, as well as various entertainment, games, news, and sports content; and telephone services. It also provides broadband communications solutions, such as Internet access, data networking, fiber connectivity to cellular towers and office buildings, video entertainment services, and business telephone services under the Charter Business brand name to business and carrier organizations. As of December 31, 2011, the company served approximately 4.1 million video customers; approximately 3.5 million Internet customers; appr oximately 1.7 million telephone customers; and approximately 476,200 commercial primary service units. Charter Communications, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  If Liberty is able to swallow Sirius, it gives Liberty access to the satellite radio leader’s full free cash flow of about $625 million. That will almost certainly be used in Liberty’s pursuit of Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC). Liberty holds about a�27% stake in Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) and has been trying to put together the financing to buy out the much larger Time Warner.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Susan Walsh/APComcast CEO Brian Roberts at The Cable Show 2013 convention in Washington. Comcast offered to sell 1.4 million pay TV subscribers to Charter Communications for $7.3 billion as part of a transaction aimed at winning regulatory approval for its proposed $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable. Comcast (CMCSA) also said it would divest another 2.5 million subscribers into a new publicly traded company, dubbed SpinCo for now, to be one-third owned by Charter (CHTR) and two-thirds by Comcast shareholders. The deal would make Charter -- whose own bid for Time Warner Cable (TWC) was thwarted by Comcast's higher offer -- the second-biggest U.S. pay TV company with 5.7 million customers, overtaking Cox Communications. Charter's shares rose as much as 10 percent to $142.70 in early trading Monday. Comcast shares were up 1.4 percent at $51.70. Comcast would have less than 30 percent of the U.S. residential cable or satellite TV market after the deal, the company said in a statement. The agreement is contingent on Comcast's Time Warner Cable deal being approved by the Justice Department and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, a process that could take many months. Analysts said the deal was a pre-emptive move by Comcast ahead of a review of the deal by regulators. "Comcast wanted to do this deal now with Charter so it could get in front of regulators at the Justice Department and the FCC at the same time as the Time Warner Cable deal," a source familiar with the matter said. The source said there was a standstill agreement with Charter stipulating that it can't gain full control of SpinCo for four years. Comcast will have no ownership in SpinCo. SpinCo would have an estimated enterprise value of $14.3 billion and an equity value of $5.8 billion, Charter and Comcast said in an investor presentation. The divestments, mostly in the U.S. Midwest, would deliver about $19.5 billion in value to Comcast shareholders, the companies said. "For

• [By Sean Williams]

  What specifically led both stocks higher today was speculation that Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR  ) is on the acquisition hunt. According to CNBC, Time Warner Cable's CEO Glenn Britt has discussed the possibility of merging with Charter; however, CNBC also commented that Time Warner Cable isn't likely to pursue the deal. That still proved more than enough to send Time Warner Cable and rival Cablevision higher, as any M&A acquisition in this sector would only serve to improve pricing power for these broadcasting companies.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Leading the charge is cable operator Cablevision (NYSE: CVC  ) again found itself in the spotlight, up 9.6%, following the completion of its sale of Optimum West to Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR  ) for $1.625 billion. While shareholders are likely to be pleased seeing this deal completed, shares are really ramping up in expectation that Charter may make a bid for Cablevision. Rumors have been circulating for a week based on a report from Bloomberg News that Charter may look to make a bid for Time Warner Cable�or Cablevision. My stance remains not to chase rumors higher, so I'd suggest watching Cablevision from the sidelines.

Best Media Stocks For 2014: Liberty Global Inc.(LBTYA)

Liberty Global, Inc. provides video, broadband Internet, and telephony services primarily in Europe and Chile. The company offers broadband services over cable distribution systems, including video, broadband Internet, and telephony; and video services through direct-to-home satellite, or through multichannel multipoint distribution systems. Its analog video services comprise basic and expanded basic programming; and digital cable services include basic and premium programming, digital video recorders, and high definition programming, as well as pay-per-view programming, such as video-on-demand and near video-on-demand. In addition, the company offers voice-over-Internet-protocol and circuit-switched telephony services, as well as mobile telephony services using third-party networks. Further, it owns programming networks that provide video programming channels to multi-channel distribution systems owned by the company and the third parties. As of December 31, 2011, the com pany owned and operated networks that passed 33,262,100 homes; and served 18,405,500 video subscribers, 8,159,300 broadband Internet subscribers, and 6,225,300 telephony subscribers. Liberty Global, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Liberty Global(LBTYA) PLC has agreed to sell substantially all of its international content division Chellomedia to AMC Networks Inc.(AMCX) in a deal worth $1 billion, allowing the cable company to focus on its core markets.

• [By Alex Webb]

  Kabel Deutschland is a key part of Vodafone�� expansion strategy as the carrier looks for ways to boost revenue and lock in customers with Internet and television offers in addition to wireless service. Kabel Deutschland is the biggest cable company in Germany, Vodafone�� largest market, and had drawn a rival bid from John Malone�� Liberty Global Plc. (LBTYA)

Best Media Stocks For 2014: Discovery Communications Inc(DISCA)

Discovery Communications, Inc. operates as a non fiction media and entertainment company worldwide. The company provides original and purchased programming across various distribution platforms. Its content covers science, exploration, survival, natural history, sustainability of the environment, technology, docu-series, anthropology, paleontology, history, space, archaeology, health and wellness, engineering, adventure, lifestyles, forensics, civilization, and current events. The company owns and operates nine national television networks in the United States, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Military Channel, Planet Green, Discovery Fit & Health, and Velocity. Discovery Communications also has interests in Oprah Winfrey Network, a pay-television network and Web site; The Hub that features original programming, game shows, and live-action series and specials; and 3net, a three-dimensional network. In addition, it o ffers network branded Web sites, and mobile and video-on-demand services; and distributes various national and pan-regional television networks. Further, the company develops and sells curriculum-based products and services to public and private K-12 schools, such as access to an online VOD service that includes curriculum-based tools, professional development services, and student assessment and publication of hardcopy curriculum-based content; and postproduction audio services to motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks, cable channels, advertising agencies, and interactive producers. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 150 distribution feeds in 40 languages. The company is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Taulli]

  Still, BCE has a strong brand and substantial financial resources, as well as a top-notch network that reaches more than 70% of Canadians. BCE also has the advantage of owning premium content, with rights to programming for Discovery (DISCA) and Viacom’s (VIAB) MTV. Its prospects also look bright with concern to mobile, where the company has invested heavily in its payments solutions.

Best Media Stocks For 2014: Time Warner Cable Inc(TWC)

Time Warner Cable Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cable operator in the United States. It offers video, high-speed data, and voice services over its broadband cable systems to residential and commercial customers. The company provides a range of video services, including on-demand, high-definition (HD), and digital video recorder (DVR) services; residential high-speed data services with connection to the Internet; wireless mobile broadband Internet services; and digital phone services to residential customers. It offers video programming tiers and music services; high-speed data, networking, and transport services; and commercial digital phone service to small and medium-sized businesses under the Time Warner Cable Business Class brand. Further, Time Warner Cable Inc. sells advertising to various national, regional, and local customers. As of June 30, 2011, the company served approximately 14.5 million residential and commercial customers in the New Yor k State, the Carolinas, Ohio, southern California, and Texas. Time Warner Cable Inc. is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Gene J. Puskar/AP PHILADELPHIA -- Comcast said Tuesday that its first-quarter net income rose by 30 percent as ad revenue surged at broadcast network NBC, helped by the Winter Olympics in Sochi and Jimmy Fallon's elevation as host of "The Tonight Show." The results beat Wall Street estimates and its shares edged up in morning trading. Comcast (CMCSA) is the largest cable company in the country with 22 million video customers and 21.1 Internet customers. It is in the midst of an expected yearlong review of its $45 billion acquisition of No. 2 rival Time Warner Cable (TWC). Regulators are examining whether the combination would give it undue pricing power over customers and too much leverage with programmers. Its net income in the quarter through March rose to $1.87 billion, or 71 cents a share, from $1.44 billion, or 54 cents a share a year ago. Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings came to 68 cents a share, beating the 64 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue grew 14 percent to $17.41 billion from $15.31 billion. That's also higher than the $16.99 billion expected by analysts. NBCUniversal revenue grew 29 percent to $6.88 billion while cable services revenue grew 5 percent to $10.76 billion. Olympics broadcast rights boosted NBCU revenue by $1.1 billion. Even excluding the games, broadcast revenue rose 17 percent, helped by Fallon's selection for NBC's late night slot, replacing longtime host Jay Leno. The network was also boosted by more hours of "The Voice" and the popularity of new shows like "The Blacklist." On the cable connections side, Comcast added 24,000 video customers during the quarter, the second quarterly gain in a row following a six-and-a-half year losing streak. However, those gains are likely to come to an end in the current quarter as college students disconnect service at the end of the semester. Comcast added 383,000 high-speed data customers and 142,000 voice customers. The company says the roll-out of i

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The country�� two largest cable operators, Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) have reportedly had discussions in the past few months related to a combination. Time Warner took the lead in an apparent attempt to forestall a bid from Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR).

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-478728{display:none}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-478728,#postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-478728{width:570px;display:block} At the annual International Consumer Electronics Show, it's traditional to hear announcements of the most amazing things, some of which are so amazing that it's hard to believe they might happen. For example, Windows tablets have yet to put the sales of iPads to shame. Past announcements of smartwatches never saw them become a must for the fashion conscious. This year, perhaps one of the most eyebrow-raising claims belonged to Comcast (CMCSA) (CMCSK). "We expect that customer service will soon be one of our best products," said CEO Neil Smit, according to tech blog BGR. That would be one astonishing turnaround. Although, as BGR put it, "Considering the quality of most of Comcast's products, this wouldn't be very difficult to achieve." In "The Prince," Machiavelli once debated whether it was better for a leader to be feared or loved. (He said both if possible, but if not, then feared.) What he didn't address so clearly was the utility of being hated. That's been Comcast's quandary, as the company has exceeded at being hated. It won -- if that's the right word -- Consumerist's audience poll of the most hated company in the country last year. That was the second time the largest cable television provider in the U.S. grabbed the crown, with 2010 being the first. Comcast beat out the likes of Monsanto (MON), Walmart (WMT) and Bank of America (BAC). It even bested SeaWorld (SEAS) after the scandalous Blackfish documentary. The reason? Bad customer service. No, make that service so terrible that it has gained national attention on more than one occasion in just the last year: A tech journalist recorded his attempt to cancel his Comcast service, as Time reported, while a "customer retention" specialist desperately tried to keep him from doing so. Another man had multi

SEC Sanctions Portfolio Manager for Lying to Chief Compliance Officer

Lying to your chief compliance officer? Far worse than lying to your spouse, at least in the eyes of the SEC.

The commission announced Tuesday that it had sanctioned a former portfolio manager at a Boulder, Colo.-based investment advisor for forging documents and misleading the firm’s chief compliance officer to conceal his failure to report personal trades.

An investigation found that Carl Johns of Louisville, Colo., failed to pre-clear or report several hundred securities trades in his personal accounts as required under the federal securities laws and the code of ethics at Boulder Investment Advisers (BIA).  Johns concealed the trades in quarterly and annual trading reports that he submitted to BIA by altering brokerage statements and other documents that he attached to those reports.  Johns later tried to conceal his misconduct by creating false documents that purported to be pre-trade approvals, and misled the firm’s chief compliance officer in her investigation into his improper trading.

To settle the SEC’s charges — which are the agency’s first under Rule 38a-1(c) of the Investment Company Act for misleading and obstructing a chief compliance officer — Johns agreed to pay more than $350,000 and be barred from the securities industry for at least five years.

“Securities industry professionals have an obligation to adhere to compliance policies, and they certainly must not interfere with the chief compliance officers who enforce those policies,” Julie Lutz, acting co-director of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office, said in a statement.  “Johns set out to cover up his compliance failures by creating false documents and misleading his firm’s CCO.”

According to the SEC’s order, Johns submitted inaccurate quarterly and annual reports and falsely certified his annual compliance with the code of ethics. Johns physically altered brokerage statements, trade confirmations and pre-clearance approvals before submitting them to the firm along with these reports.  For example, he manually deleted securities holdings listed on his brokerage statements before submitting them in order to avoid disclosing securities purchases that were not pre-cleared.

Top Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now

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Check out SEC Enforcement: Scheme Loots IRAs to Fund Bounty Hunter TV Show on ThinkAdvisor.

Electronic Arts Stock: Here's What EA Needs to Thrive

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA  ) has announced notable third-party content deals over the past two months, including contracts with Disney (NYSE: DIS  ) for developing Star Wars games, and with Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS  ) to bring popular board games to mobile platforms.

But Electronic Arts needs to focus more on developing fresh original content to change its reputation as a company that puts out less-than-polished, uninspired titles and sequels, says Fool contributor Steve Symington in the following interview with the Fool's Alison Southwick.

What do you think? Is EA's current title lineup enough to revitalize Electronic Arts' stock, or are there better investment options out there? Please watch the full video below to get Steve's take, and then weigh in using the comments section below.

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These Stocks Overcame the Dow's Triple-Digit Drop

You used to be able to count on the bull-market mentality to pull a sagging market up by the end of the trading day. Lately, though, that old trend has reversed itself, with stocks become increasingly weak as the day goes on. Coming into the weekend, it seemed as though short-term traders didn't want to hold onto stocks in advance of a key Federal Reserve meeting next week. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) had fallen 106 points, closing the week with a level of volatility that has been unusual in recent months, but which has started to pick up more recently.

A few Dow stocks managed to defy the decline and post modest gains. The big winner on the day was Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) , which climbed almost 1% on the day. As Fool contributor Travis Hoium noted earlier today, one of the biggest issues facing Verizon is expanding its available wireless spectrum in order to allow its network to function more effectively and broadly. With the government having worked to ensure that smaller carriers get equal access to the spectrum that Verizon and rival AT&T have gotten, investors have been concerned that the big companies might get shut out of future spectrum auctions. Today, though, the White House ordered various government agencies to try to come up with ways to free up more spectrum for wireless companies, a move that could prove to be to Verizon's benefit.

5 Best Healthcare Equipment Stocks For 2015

One surprising minor winner today was Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) , which finished up just 0.1%. Housing is at the epicenter of the economic uncertainty we've seen lately, as rising mortgage rates have already spurred concerns about whether the recovery in the housing market will withstand homebuyers having to make larger monthly payments. Yet, at least for now, good news from a number of other home-related retailers, especially the high-end home furnishings business, have investors remaining confident that Home Depot can continue to use its competitive advantage to remain a leader in the industry.

Finally, big-pharma giants Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) both posted modest gains today. Merck announced that it would cut some jobs at its research laboratories, with an emphasis on trying to get drug candidates through the approval process in a more streamlined way. Yet, both companies have an amazing opportunity in the emerging markets, and with bond rates having eased downward today, dividend-paying stocks, in general, were among the better performers after their recent slumps.

This titan of the pharmaceutical industry stumbled into 2013, and continues to battle patent expirations and pipeline problems. Is Merck still a solid dividend play, or should investors be looking elsewhere? In a new premium research report on Merck, The Fool tackles all of the company's moving parts, its major market opportunities, and reasons to both buy and sell. To find out more, click here to claim your copy today.

Why Bank of America Might Lose at This Important Hearing

This is the week that the fate of a distinctly unsettled prior settlement between Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and 22 institutional investors gets put to the test in the courtroom of New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick. At issue is a New York law called Article 77, which will be used to answer the question of whether or not Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BNY  ) , as trustee for the settlement, acted reasonably in accepting the terms on behalf of the complainants.

Certainly, the $8.5 billion settlement amount is big enough to worry about all on its own, but there is another issue here, and for Bank of America, it's huge: Does B of A have successor liability for the bad behavior of Countrywide?

Intertwined with the Article 77 matter
It's a valid question, and it is considered germane to whether BONY acted in a reasonable manner pursuant to the settlement. As BTIG's Mark Palmer has noted, the pact was based upon the notion that B of A did not have successor liability, so revisiting that particular point might throw the whole deal out the window, and cause B of A lots of anguish -- both now and in the future.

Of course, as Alison Frankel muses, Kapnick could take the path of least resistance and endorse the settlement. This would save both B of A and BONY a big hassle, and prevent everybody from having to go back to the starting gate.

But, it probably won't be that easy. The question of successor liability by B of A for Countrywide has come up before, in the recently settled battle between the bank and monoline insurer MBIA (NYSE: MBI  ) . Earlier this year, the insurer filed with the New York courts a very long and colorful presentation in its bid to win summary judgment on this very issue. Despite its effort, however, New York State Supreme Court Justice Eileen Bransten wouldn't rule either for or against the question, citing disputed facts that needed more scrutiny. But, in a blow to Bank of America, she did decide that the successor liability issue should be heard in New York, rather than Delaware, which was B of A's preferred venue.

NY AG's case seems to favor a loss for B of A
Kapnick could still decide that there is no such liability on Bank of America's part toward Countrywide, but she would be going up against the Attorney General of New York, who last year filed suit against B of A for $1 billion in damages regarding substandard loans Countrywide sold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac several years ago.

In the complaint filed in the so-called "Hustle" case, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara outlines how the state of New York considers Bank of America to be liable for this shoddy behavior -- both as a direct participant, and as the successor to Countrywide. Preet alleges that the two entities engaged in a de facto merger, much as MBIA had -- at least, according to New York law. And, that's what counts at this point.

Will Kapnick approve the settlement without going into all these issues? In its motion to have the Hustle suit dismissed, B of A argued only that the AG's office hadn't proved fraud. For obvious reasons, the question of the bank's responsibility for Countrywide's abuses is one can of worms that B of A would rather not open.

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