Bank hacktavists are at it again, and this time Regions Financial (NYSE: RF ) was the target. The large regional bank's website was down part of the day last Friday, and the bank confirmed that it had been the victim of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Online customers were unable to access their accounts, or if they could, found that their login information or debit card transactions were being denied.
Although Region's site seemed to be up and running by late Friday, these kinds of attacks are becoming the norm, and are striking regional banks more often. Are banks truly taking these attacks seriously, and what are they doing to protect themselves?
How dangerous?
Cyber attacks on websites, particularly the DDoS-type of disruption, first began in 2001. Back then, sites like eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO ) were targeted, possibly in an attempt to disrupt e-commerce. Since then, groups like Izz ad-Din-as-Qassam or groups tied to the Iranian government have staged assaults on the websites of big banks like�Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) , Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) , and Citgroup (NYSE: C ) , as well as large regionals such as BB&T (NYSE: BBT ) and PNC Financial.
Top 5 Wireless Telecom Companies To Watch In Right Now: Suntech Power Holdings Co. LTD.(STP)
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., a solar energy company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) products. The company also provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to building solar power systems for certain related party and third party customers. Its products include monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon PV cells; PV modules; and building-integrated photovoltaics products. In addition, the company provides PV system integration services, including designing, installing, and testing PV systems used in lighting for outdoor urban public facilities, as well as in farms, villages, and commercial buildings; and project development services. Its products are used to provide electric power for residential, commercial, industrial, and public utility applications. The company sells its products through value-added resellers, such as distributors and system integrators; and to end users, such as project develo pers primarily in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Benelux, Greece, the United States, Canada, China, the Middle East, Australia, and Japan. Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Wuxi, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Paul Ausick]
Provided that the Chinese government either encourages or permits consolidation, any of these three could be an acquirer. The likeliest target, of course, is SunTech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), which is reorganizing and which the government has already seemed to give up on. Other possible targets include ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) and JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS).
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Agility Public Warehousing Co KSC (AGLTY)
Agility Public Warehousing Company KSC is a Kuwait-based company engaged, along with its subsidiaries, in the provision of global integrated logistics solutions. The Company is organized into two business segments: the Logistic and Related services segment provides logistics offering to its clients, including freight forwarding, transportation, contract logistics, project logistics and fairs and events logistics, and the Infrastructure segment provides other services, which include industrial real estate airport and airplane ground handling and cleaning services, customs consulting, private equity and waste recycling. The Company operates under the brand name of Agility. The Company�� subsidiaries include Global Express Transport Co. WLL, PWC Transport Company WLL, Agility DGS Logistics Services KSCC and Gulf Catering Company for General, among others. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Fiona MacDonald]
The Kuwait SE Price Index rose for a sixth day, climbing 0.5 percent to 6,851.17 at the close. Kuwait Real Estate Co. (KRE) climbed to the highest level in a month. Agility (AGLTY) advanced 1.7 percent after winning a $190 million UN contract in Sudan�� Darfur region. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, which tracks the biggest 200 companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council, fell 0.1 percent.
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Ceres Inc (CERE)
Ceres, Inc. (Ceres), incorporated in March 1996, is an agricultural biotechnology company selling seeds to produce renewable biomass feedstocks that can enable the large-scale replacement of petroleum and other fossil fuels. The Company�� large-scale commercial products are sweet sorghum varieties that can be used as a drop-in feedstock to extend the operating season of Brazilian sugarcane-to-ethanol mills. Its products include sweet sorghum, high biomass sorghum, switchgrass, miscanthus and row crops. Its energy crops can also be used for the production of second-generation biofuels and bio-based chemicals, including cellulosic ethanol, butanol, jet fuel, diesel-like molecules and gasoline-like molecules, from non-food biomass. Baseload utility scale electric power can also be generated from the biomass feedstocks grown from its seeds. Ceres has started marketing sweet sorghum seeds in Brazil and has sold switchgrass and high biomass sorghum seeds in the United States under its brand, Blade Energy Crops (Blade). In January 2010, the Company incorporated a subsidiary, Ceres Sementes do Brasil Ltda.
The Company generates its revenues from government grants, research and development collaboration agreements and from product sales. Product sales primarily consists of sales of seeds. Collaborative research revenues consist of payments for research and development activities for specific projects. Government grant revenues consist of payments from government entities. Ceres markets its seeds and traits directly to ethanol mills, utilities, independent power producers, cellulosic biofuel companies, individual growers and grower cooperatives. It also works with technology providers and other market participants, such as equipment manufacturers and enzyme or fermentation technology companies. The Company markets its products to biorefineries and biopower facilities.
Ceres�� activities in cellulosic biofuels encompass a range of activities, including field trials, co-evolution agr! eements, and commercial sales. Its products have been tested in the conversion processes of EdeniQ, Inc., Choren USA LLC, Gruppo M&G, ICM, Inc., and UOP, LLC (a Honeywell company), among others. The Company has also conducted joint trials with, or sold seed to, AGCO Corporation, EdeniQ, Inc. and Hawai�� BioEnergy, LLC, among others. It has begun collaboration with Valero Services, Inc. to further evaluate feedstock supply strategies with energy crops. Ceres also works with refining technology companies to optimize feedstock for their refining processes. These collaborators include Novozymes North America, Inc. and ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc.
Drop-in Products
The Company�� products are drop-in solutions as they can be planted, harvested and processed using existing agricultural equipment with little or no modification and are being developed to be drop-in for all conversion technologies using sugarcane or biomass feedstocks, facilitating their rapid adoption. In collaboration with Boa Vista/Nova Fronteira, which is a joint venture of ethanol producers Grupo Sao Martinho, S.A. and Petrobras Biofuels, the Company has completed a commercial-scale trial on approximately 250 hectares of its sweet sorghum, which was planted and harvested using existing planting and harvesting equipment, fermented into ethanol without retrofitting or altering the existing mill and the remaining biomass combusted for electricity production, using existing boilers. It has also conducted smaller trials using its other energy crops with numerous industry participants engaged in cellulosic biofuels and biopower production. The Company�� products have been tested in the conversion processes of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., Choren USA LLC, EdeniQ, Inc., Gruppo M&G, ICM, Inc., Novozymes North America, Inc., ThermoChem Recovery International, Inc. and UOP, LLC (a Honeywell company), among others. DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE) also plans to validate the Company�� products in th! eir conve! rsion process.
Sweet Sorghum
Sweet sorghum is a type of sorghum that accumulates free sugars in its stalk. It is sown by seed, and requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer to grow to harvestable maturity. Sweet sorghum plants can be harvested in 90 to 140 days after sowing. Because sweet sorghum is an annual crop, multiple harvests or crop rotations may be possible during the season.
High Biomass Sorghum
High biomass sorghum is a type of sorghum, which is primarily developed for biomass yield. As such, high biomass sorghum is suited for the generation of renewable electric power and the creation of cellulosic biofuels. High biomass types are seed propagated, and requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer. As an annual crop, sorghum is harvested the year it is planted. This provides bioenergy facilities with a growing and flexible source of biomass, and a complementary feedstock to perennials, such as sugarcane or switchgrass. The Company�� ES 5200 and ES 5201 products contains its Skyscraper trait. These hybrids, developed through its partnership with Texas A&M University, are designed for single-cut production systems.
Switchgrass
Switchgrass is a perennial grass indigenous to North America that offers high biomass yield potential. It requires less water and nitrogen fertilizer, and can grow under semi-arid conditions. Switchgrass is seed propagated. As a perennial, switchgrass is not harvested for sale during the first year when the crop is being established. A properly managed stand of switchgrass may persist for a decade. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it introduced three products: EG 1101, EG 1102 and EG 2101. These high-yielding varieties is developed through its partnership with The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.
Miscanthus
Miscanthus x giganteus is a tall perennial grass that grows well in cooler climates. It is vegetatively propagated. It has been used as an energy crop on ! a small s! cale across Europe. The Miscanthus genus includes several perennial species that has energy crops. The variety adopted in the United States and Europe, miscanthus x giganteus, is a sterile hybrid of M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus. This miscanthus hybrid requires about the same water as corn, but up to two-thirds less nitrogen depending on crop management practices. As a perennial crop, miscanthus is not harvested for sale during the first year when the crop is being established. Ceres is also working on extending the region of adaptation. To these ends, the Company is collaborating with the Institute of Biological, Environmental, and Rural Sciences of Aberystwyth University in Wales, the United Kingdom.
The Company competes with Advanta India Limited, The Dow Chemical Company, Monsanto Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred (DuPont), KWS and Syngenta.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Maxx Chatsko]
Shares of energy crop developer Ceres (NASDAQ: CERE ) surged more than 100% from the opening bell Monday to early trading on Thursday. In fact, over one-third of the total outstanding shares traded hands on Thursday. Even with the move the company is trading for "only" $100 million. With some of the biggest names in industrial biotech on its side -- such as Syngenta (NYSE: SYT ) , Petrobras, Amyris, Valero, Novozymes, Gruppo M&G, and Mascoma, to name a few -- this must be a good buy right? Not so fast.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Another renewable energy player that looks ready to trigger a big breakout trade is Ceres (CERE), which sells seeds to produce renewable biomass feedstocks that can enable the large-scale replacement of petroleum and other fossil fuels. This stock has been hammered by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off sharply by 66%.
If you take a look at the chart for Ceres, you'll notice that this stock has just started to trend back above its 50-day moving average of $1.45 a share with heavy upside volume flows. Volume so far today has already registered over 1.15 million shares, which is well above its three-month average action of 670,538 shares. This spike back above its 50-day is now quickly pushing shares of CERE within range of triggering a big breakout trade.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CERE if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.67 to $1.68 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 670,538 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CERE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2 to $2.50 a share. Shares of CERE could even tag $3 if this breakout triggers with strong volume.
Traders can look to buy CERE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below $1.40 a share. One could also buy CERE off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: HCP Inc. (HCP)
HCP, Inc. is an independent hybrid real estate investment trust. The fund invests in real estate markets of the United States. It primarily invests in properties serving the healthcare industry including sectors of healthcare such as senior housing, life science, medical office, hospital and skilled nursing. The fund also invests in mezzanine loans and other debt instruments. It engages in acquisition, development, leasing, selling and managing of healthcare real estate and provides mortgage and other financing to healthcare providers. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P 500 Index, Berkshire Hathaway Index, and MSCI REIT Index. HCP, Inc. was formed in 1985 and is based in Long Beach, California with additional office in Nashville and San Francisco.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Fredrik Arnold]
Results from David Fish's Dividend Champions Index compiled as of July 30, 2013 projecting price upside results one year hence showed HCP, Inc. (HCP), the healthcare properties real estate investment trust, posted a 9.45% upside to lead a pack of just four dogs this month.
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Lindsay Corp (LNN)
Lindsay Corporation incorporated on January 7, 1974, is a provider of range of water management and road infrastructure products and services. The Company operates in two segments: Irrigation and Infrastructure. The Company�� irrigation segment includes the manufacture and marketing of center pivot, lateral move, and hose reel irrigation systems, which are used principally in the agricultural industry. The irrigation segment also manufactures and markets repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls, and designs, manufactures and services water pumping stations and controls for the agriculture, golf, landscape and municipal markets. The Company�� infrastructure segment includes the manufacture and marketing of moveable barriers, specialty barriers, crash cushions and end terminals, road marking and road safety equipment, large diameter steel tubing, railroad signals and structures, and outsourced manufacturing services. The Company�� principal infrastructure manufacturing facilities are located in Rio Vista, California, Milan, Italy, and Omaha, Nebraska. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Claude Laval Corp.
Irrigation Segment
The Company manufactures and markets its center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems in the United States and internationally under its Zimmatic brand. The Company also manufactures and markets separate lines of center pivot and lateral move irrigation equipment for use on smaller fields under its Greenfield and hose reel travelers under the Perrot and Greenfield brands in Europe and South Africa. The Company also produces or markets irrigation controls, chemical injection systems and remote monitoring and control systems, which it sells under its GrowSmart brand. In addition to whole systems, the Company manufactures and markets repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls. The Company also designs, manufactures and services water pumping stations and! controls for the agriculture, golf, landscape and municipal markets.
The Company�� irrigation systems are primarily of the standard sized center pivot type, with a small portion of its products consisting of the lateral move type. Both are automatic, continuous move systems consisting of sprinklers mounted on a water carrying pipeline, which is supported approximately 11 feet off the ground by a truss system suspended between moving towers. The Company also manufactures and distributes mini-pivots and hose reel travelers. The Company also markets pivot monitoring and control systems, which include remote telemetry and a Web or personal computer-hosted data acquisition and monitoring application. These systems allow growers to monitor their pivot system, accumulate data on the operation of the system, and control the pivot from a remote location by logging onto an Internet Website. The pivot monitoring and control systems are marketed under the GrowSmart brand and product name FieldNET.
In the United States, the Company sells its irrigation systems, including Zimmatic, to over 200 independent dealer locations, who resell to their customer, the farmer. Dealers assess their customer�� requirements, assemble and erect the system in the field, and provide additional system components, primarily relating to water supply (wells, pumps, pipes) and electrical supply (on-site generation or hook-up to power lines). Lindsay dealers generally are local agribusinesses, many of which also deal in related products, such as well drilling and water pump equipment, farm implements, grain handling and storage systems, and farm structures. The Company has production and sales operations in France, Brazil and China, as well as distribution and sales operations in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and sales operations in Central America and the Middle East serving the European, South American, Chinese, African, Australian, New Zealand, Central American and Middle Eastern markets, respect! ively.
Infrastructure Segment
The Company�� Quickchange Moveable Barrier (QMB) system consists of three parts: T-shaped concrete barriers that are connected to form a continuous wall; a Barrier Transfer Machine (BTM), capable of moving the barrier laterally across the pavement, and the variable length barriers necessary for accommodating curves. The BTM employs an inverted S-shaped conveyor mechanism that lifts the barrier, moving it laterally before setting it back on the roadway surface. The QMB system is useful in busy commuter corridors and at choke points, such as bridges and tunnels. QMB systems can also be deployed at roadway or roadside construction. The Company offers a range of equipment lease options for QMB systems and BTM equipment used in construction applications.
The Company offers a line of redirective and non-redirective crash cushions, which are at locations, such as toll booths, freeway off-ramps, medians and roadside barrier ends, bridge supports, utility poles and other fixed roadway hazards. The Company�� primary crash cushion products cover a range of lengths, widths, speed capacities and application accessories and include brand names, such as TAU, Universal TAU-II, TAU-B_NR, ABSORB 350 and Walt. In addition to these products the Company also offers guardrail end terminal products such as the X-Tension and TESI systems. The Company also offers specialty barrier products, such as the SAB, ArmorGuard, PaveGuard and DR46 portable barrier and/or barrier gate systems. The gates are generally used to create openings in barrier walls of various types for both construction and incident management purposes. The DR46 is an energy absorbing barrier to shield motorcyclists from impacting guardrail posts.
The Company offers preformed tape and a line of road safety accessory products. The preformed tape is used primarily in temporary applications, such as markings for work zones, street crossings, and road center lines or boundaries. The road s! afety equ! ipment consists of plastic and rubber products used for delineation, slowing traffic, and signaling. The Company also manages a testing laboratory, Safe Technologies, Inc., that performs testing of safety products. The Company�� Diversified Manufacturing and Tubing business unit (Diversified Manufacturing) manufactures and markets large diameter steel tubing and railroad signals and structures, and provides outsourced manufacturing and production services for other companies. The Company�� customer base includes certain industrial companies and railroads. The Company�� primary infrastructure market includes moveable concrete barriers, delineation systems, guardrails and similar protective equipment. The United States roadway infrastructure market includes projects, such as new roadway construction, bridges, tunnels, maintenance and resurfacing, and the purchase of rights-of-way for roadway expansion and development of technologies for relief of roadway congestion.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Farm equipment sales have also taken a hit as farmers make do with the machines they already have in an effort to keep overhead costs down. Shares of farm equipment producer Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) lost 5.48 percent last year, while irrigation systems supplier Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN) has fallen 3.22 percent in the past six months.
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including�Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN),RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM), ADTRAN, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN), and Del Frisco�� Restaurant Group, Inc (NASDAQ: DFRG)
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)
Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) has experienced more than impressive growth in both its share price and its profits in the past four years. Lately its gains have petered out. The problem is that much of that growth has come from a few countries in Asia, and if one analyst report is accurate, there will be little to no growth from those areas ahead. Nomura Securities is downgrading Philip Morris to a Reduce rating from Neutral, but for all practical purposes it is a Sell rating. The firm’s $76 price target suggests downside of more than $10 ahead.
- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
As the second-largest tobacco company in the world, $137 billion cigarette company Philip Morris International (PM) has the whole "sin stock" thing down pat. PM owns nearly a third of the ex-China market for cigarettes, with some of the most popular global brands under its corporate umbrella. At the top of the pack is the firm's flagship Marlboro label, which accounts for more than a third of volume. Other brands include L&M, Philip Morris, and Parliament.
But don't mistake PM for the company manufacturing Marlboro cigarettes here in the U.S. -- this firm, which spun out from Altria (MO) in 2008, is 100% ex-U.S. That's actually spectacular positioning, because it means that PM is the part of legacy Altria's tobacco business that's actually still growing. At the same time that cigarette sales here in the U.S. die a slow death, PM's emerging market business is seeing quick growth rates. The combination of a sticky product (consumers don't tend to switch cigarette brands often), and premium positioning with Marlboro means that PM earns thick net profit margins (28% last year) for its trouble.
The strong dollar has been a thorn in PM's side in the last few years -- since the firm earns revenues in local currencies and then reports in dollars, any upside in the greenback presents currency risk. Even so, growth in the firm's core emerging markets has outpaced the dollar's climb in this environment. Another mitigating factor is PM's huge 4.5% dividend yield -- with low interest rates likely to persist for some time, that yield should look increasingly attractive as time wears on.
Must Read: 5 Big Stocks to Trade for Gains as QE3 Ends - [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]
There are definitely concerns for Phillip Morris, which include decreased market share in many areas and poor debt management. However, up until this point, Phillip Morris has done a good job rewarding its shareholders. While history usually repeats itself, that�� not necessarily an all-positive in this case. Phillip Morris didn�� hold up well in 2008/early 2009. If a similar environment were to present itself again, then Phillip Morris wouldn�� be a top option ��regardless of the impressive yield. In the meantime, Phillip Morris is an OUTPERFORM.
- [By Shauna O'Brien]
On Wednesday, Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) announced that its board has approved a 10.6% increase to its quarterly dividend.
PM has increased its dividend from 85 cents to 94 cents per share, or $3.76 annually.
The dividend will be paid on October 11 to shareholders of record on September 26. The stock will go ex-dividend on September 24.
Philip Morris shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock has been mostly flat YTD.
10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: First Interstate BancSystem Inc.(FIBK)
First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for First Interstate Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services. Its deposit products include checking, savings, time, and demand deposits; and repurchase agreements primarily for commercial and municipal depositors. The company?s loan portfolio consists of a mix of real estate, consumer, commercial, agricultural, and other loans, including fixed and variable rate loans. Its real estate loans comprise commercial real estate, construction, residential, agricultural, and other real estate loans. The company also provides a range of trust, employee benefit, investment management, insurance, agency, and custodial services to individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. These services include the administration of estates and personal trusts; management of investment accounts for individuals, employee benefit plans, and charitable foundations; and insurance planning. It serves indi viduals, businesses, municipalities, and other entities in various industries, including energy, healthcare and professional services, education and governmental services, construction, mining, agriculture, retail and wholesale trade, and tourism. The company operates 72 banking offices in 42 communities located in Montana, Wyoming, and western South Dakota. First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Billings, Montana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Zacks]
Some better-ranked Midwest banks include First Interstate Bancsystem Inc. (NASDAQ: FIBK), Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC) and PrivateBancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB). All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
No comments:
Post a Comment