E*Trade Financial: Finra Investigation Not “New News at All,” Sandler O’Neill Says

Shares of E*Trade Financial (ETFC) have fallen today following a report that Finra is looking into whether customers got the best fills on its G1 Execution service.

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Sandler O’Neill’s Richard Repetto and Mike Adams do not believe the Finra investigation of E*Trade Financial “is new news.” They explain why:

While the NY Post article on ETFC's order routing practices implies a FINRA investigation is new (disclosed in recently filed 2013 10-K), we do not believe it is new news at all. First, ETFC disclosed that FINRA initiated an investigation on July 11, 2013 both in its 2Q13 10-Q (filed August 6, 2013) and 3Q13 10-Q (filed November 7, 2013). Even the recent disclosure in the 2013 10-K was filed 2 months ago on February 25, 2014.

Best Wireless Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Shares of E*Trade Financial have fallen 3.1% to $21.69 at 3:05 p.m.–and it’s not the only online broker getting hit today. Charles Schwab (SCHW) has declined 2.1% to $26.29, while TD Ameritrade (AMTD) has dropped 2.5% to $31.66 despite getting an upgrade from Bernstein Research. Interactive Brokers (IBKR), however, has gained 0.3% to $23.77.

Bernstein’s Brad Hintz and team explain why they upgraded TD Ameritrade:

The evidence that the retail investor has returned to the markets has become undisputable. The most recent confirmation was TD Ameritrade’s strong Q1 2014 earnings report last week. The client trading and engagement statistics were compelling, as were those at Schwab in its Q1 earnings the week before. But valuation on AMTD has been the countervailing factor. The stock was the best performer in our coverage group in 2013, and has maintained a 20+ forward P/E multiple for almost a year. However, the recent HFT-related pullback, thanks to Michael Lewis’s Flash Boys, combined with accelerating retail activity, provides an entry window. The HFT pullback is overdone, and the risk related to payment for order flow (PFOF) is limited. Bernstein believes a multiple recovery is in order and that investors will profit from the stock as earnings rise and valuation moves, as in past retail cycles. On these metrics, there is still room to run. We upgrade our rating to Outperform and raise our target price to $40.

For those doing the math, that’s 26% upside.

What Makes 3M Special?

With shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) trading at around $110.61, is MMM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

The question in the title can be answered in one word: innovation. 3M is one of the most innovative companies on the planet, and that has been the case for a long time. For example, when Neil Armstrong took that one small step for man, the rubber sole on his boot was made by 3M. Therefore, it can be said that 3M was the first company to walk on the moon.

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Since that time, 3M has only increased its innovation. Most readers, if not all readers, will be familiar with at least one of their brands. These brands include Ace, Common, Filtrete, Futuro, Nexcare, Post-It, Scotch, Scotch-Brite, ScotchBlue, Scotchgard, and Tegaderm. 3M has also recently developed Scotch Recycled Corrugate Tape 3072, which is industrial tape that can be used for packaging corrugated boxes.

Sticking with the innovation theme, 3M has consistently delivered over the past several years. For instance, when the Chilean miners were trapped in 2010, a 3M mobile projector was used to help. Another example of impressive innovation by 3M allows an astronaut's heartbeat to be heard from earth. Also thanks to 3M, someone can receive a medical diagnosis from anywhere (opposed to a doctor's office) with a Littmann Stethoscope.

The ultimate point here is that consistent innovation means there will always be potential for growth. As an investor, that should be comforting. Yes, the stock was hit during the financial crisis, but it wasn't hit as hard as most stocks throughout the broader market. And it turned out to be a phenomenal buying opportunity. In other words, any significant drops in the stock price might present an opportunity to add to a position. And let's not forget the 2.30 percent yield. Not a bad bonus.

In regards to company culture, 71 percent of employees would recommend the company to a friend, and 94 percent of employees approve of CEO Inge G. Thulin. These are impressive numbers.

The chart below compares basic fundamentals for 3M, General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).

	MMM	GE	JNJ
Trailing P/E	17.45	17.51	23.01
Forward P/E	15.07	12.99	14.63
Profit Margin	14.80%	9.71%	15.22%
ROE	25.70%	12.17%	15.76%
Operating Cash Flow	5.47B	29.48B	14.88B
Dividend Yield	2.30%	3.30%	3.10%
Short Position	2.00%	0.90%	2.60%

Let's take a look at some more important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

T = Technicals Are Strong

3M has been a steady performer for decades.

	1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
MMM	3.30%	20.71%	37.04%	52.64%
GE	5.14%	13.98%	32.33%	59.11%
JNJ	-0.26%	22.98%	42.06%	57.83%

At $110.61, 3M is trading above its averages.

50-Day SMA	108.41
200-Day SMA	101.63

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E = Equity to Debt Ratio Is Strong

The debt-to-equity ratio for 3M is stronger than the industry average of 1.10.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
MMM	0.32	4.38B	5.94B
GE	3.08	89.78B	397.41B
JNJ	0.24	21.67B	15.89B

E = Earnings Have Been Steady

It might sound repetitive, but steady is the name of the game for 3M. Savvy investors would want nothing else. You might not make 100 percent in six months like some popular growth stocks, but you don’t have to worry about a severe gap down overnight, either.

Fiscal Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Revenue ($) in millions	25,269	23,123	26,662	29,611	29,904
Diluted EPS ($)	4.89	4.52	5.63	5.96	6.32

Looking at the last quarter on a year-over-year basis, revenue and earnings have improved. Revenue and earnings also improved on a sequential basis.

Quarter	Mar. 31, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013
Revenue ($) in millions	7,486	7,534	7,497	7,387	7,634
Diluted EPS ($)	1.59	1.66	1.65	1.41	1.61

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

Conclusion

3M has strong margins, solid cash flow, quality debt management, a solid company culture, superb innovation, and it tends to focus on the bottom line. Investors looking for a steady, dividend-paying stock for the long haul should consider 3M.

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now

McGraw-Hill Financial's S&P Dow Jones Indices is making changes in a trio of its signature products.

After the close of trading Friday, the S&P 500 will include Pfizer spinoff Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) . The stock replaces First Horizon National (NYSE: FHN  ) , which is to find a new home on the S&P MidCap 400.

In turn, it bumps QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC  ) from that index to the S&P SmallCap 600. Finally, QLogic's shift completely displaces Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR  ) , which will no longer be on the S&P SmallCap 600.

The changes have come about because of Pfizer's attempt to unload its 80% stake in Zoetis, and the pharma giant is offering investors the opportunity to trade Pfizer shares for Zoetis shares. Zoetis engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines and vaccines.

Additionally, in the press release announcing the news, S&P Dow Jones Indices said that "First Horizon's total market capitalization is more representative of the mid cap market space, and QLogic's total market capitalization is more representative of the small cap market space."

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Rentech Inc (RTK)

Rentech, Inc. (Rentech), incorporated in 1981, is a provider of clean energy solutions. The Company owns and operates a nitrogen fertilizer plant in East Dubuque, Illinois, that manufactures and sells natural gas-based nitrogen fertilizer products within the corn-belt region in the United States. It is developing energy projects to produce certified synthetic fuels and electric power from carbon-containing materials, such as biomass, waste and fossil resources. Its technologies can produce synthesis gas (syngas) from biomass and waste materials, and convert syngas from its own or other gasification technologies into complex hydrocarbons (the Rentech Process) that are then upgraded into fuels using refining technology that it licenses. In addition to developing projects using these technologies, it is pursuing the licensing of its technologies to developers of projects that are expected to produce fuels and/or power. In May 2011, it acquired majority interest in ClearFuels Technology Inc. In May 2013, Rentech Inc acquired the entire share capital of Fulghum Fibres Inc. In August 2013, Rentech Inc announced that a subsidiary of the Company closed the sale of approximately 450 acres in Natchez, Mississippi to Adams County, Mississippi.

The Rentech Process is a technology based on Fischer-Tropsch (FT) chemistry, which converts syngas that can be produced from a range of biomass, waste and fossil resources into hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons can be processed and upgraded into synthetic fuels, such as military and commercial jet fuels and low sulfur diesel fuel, as well as waxes and chemicals. Unlike some other alternative transportation fuels, such as ethanol, fuels produced from the Rentech Process can be transported and used in existing infrastructure, including pipelines and engines without blending restrictions. Its technology portfolio also includes the Rentech-SilvaGas biomass gasification technology (the Rentech-SilvaGas Technology), which enables it to offer integrated technologies t! hat can convert biomass and wastes to syngas and into clean fuels and electric power.

The Rentech Process can produce synthetic diesel fuels (RenDiesel1 fuels), which are clean burning having lower emissions of regulated pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulate matter, than traditional petroleum-based diesel fuels. The Rentech Process also can produce synthetic jet fuel (RenJet fuel), which when blended with conventional jet fuel meet jet fuel specifications for military jet fuel and commercial Jet A and Jet A-1 fuels. It is developing a proposed project near Natchez, Mississippi (the Natchez Project) designed to produce approximately 30,000 barrels per day of synthetic fuels and chemicals and approximately 120 megawatts of power. It is evaluating alternative configurations for the Natchez site, which would initially be smaller in scale. The alternate configurations may use various feed-stocks alone or in various combinations, and include proportions of waxes and chemicals as products.

The Company owns, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rentech Energy Midwest Corporation (REMC), a nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing plant that uses natural gas as its feedstock to produce syngas and then nitrogen fertilizer products. The products, the Company can produce include renewable synthetic diesel and jet fuels, naphtha and power from biomass resources; synthetic diesel and jet fuels, naphtha and power from fossil or fossil and biomass resources, and paraffinic waxes, solvents and specialty chemicals.

The Company competes with ExxonMobil, the Royal Dutch/Shell group, Statoil, BP and Sasol.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of fertilizer and renewable energy company Rentech (NASDAQ: RTK  ) jumped 17% today after the company announced an acquisition.

• [By Robert Rapier] While the MLP space is dominated by the oil and gas sector, in last week’s article we began to explore some of the more exotic master limited partnership offerings. This week we continue our exploration of nontraditional MLPs by looking at the partnerships supplying fertilizer.
  
  Rentech (Nasdaq: RTK) has been around for more than a decade, and it has shifted strategies several times. Full disclosure: Rentech’s Chief Technology Officer Harold Wright is a former manager of mine when we were both at ConocoPhillips, and I have visited Rentech’s facility in Commerce City, Colorado.
  
  For most of Rentech’s existence, the company has sought to commercialize alternative fuels. At one time it had ambitions to build a large coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant, but federal legislation ultimately nudged it instead into the biomass-to-liquids (BTL) space. The company did build a BTL demonstration plant, but ultimately shut it down and has now refocused its efforts on becoming “one of the largest wood processing companies in the world.”
  
  During its interesting journey as a company, Rentech acquired two ammonia nitrogen fertilizer facilities, which turned out to be a profit center that funded the alternative energy research. In November 2011, Rentech spun off this fertilizer business into an MLP called Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (NYSE: RNF).
  
  In the months leading to the spin-off, RTK’s market capitalization was about $200 million. Rentech maintained 60 percent ownership of RNF, and three months after the spin-off RTK’s market cap had risen to $400 million, while investors had bid RNF up to $1 billion. Interestingly, RTK’s share of RNF was worth more than RTK’s entire market cap, a situation that persists. The market currently values Rentech at $482 million, while the valuation of Rentech Nitrogen Partners makes RTK’s 60 percent stake in RNF worth slightly more than $600 million — another illu
• [By Rich Duprey]

  Alternative energy specialist�Rentech� (NASDAQ: RTK  ) �will be�buying back�up to $25 million worth of company stock through the rest of the year, the board of directors announced Monday.

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Nobility Homes Inc. (NOBH)

Nobility Homes, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells a line of manufactured homes in Florida. It offers homes under the trade names of Kingswood, Springwood, Springwood Special, Tropic Isle Special, Regency Manor Special, and Special Edition. The company sells its manufactured homes through a network of its own retail sales centers; and to independent manufactured home retail dealers and manufactured home communities on a wholesale basis. It also provides retail insurance services, which involves placing various types of insurance, including property and casualty, automobile, and extended home warranty coverage, with insurance underwriters on behalf of its customers in connection with their purchase and financing of manufactured homes. As of October 31, 2009, the company operated 15 retail sales centers in north and central Florida. Nobility Homes, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Ocala, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Nobility Homes Inc. (NOBH)

  Finally, Gabelli reported owning 234.950 shares of Nobility Homes, sized at 5.97% of the company�� shares outstanding and 0.01% of Gabelli�� portfolio. The company has a market cap of $44.63 million, with a P/E of 59.6 and P/S of 2.41.

Top 5 Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: Husky Energy Inc (HUSKF.PK)

Husky Energy Inc. (Husky), incorporated on June 21, 2000, is an international integrated energy company. The Company operates in two segments: Upstream and Downstream. Upstream includes exploration for, development and production of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas and natural gas liquids and other producers��crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, sulphur and petroleum coke, pipeline transportation and processing of heavy crude oil and natural gas, storage of crude oil, diluents and natural gas and cogeneration of electrical and thermal energy (infrastructure and marketing). Downstream includes upgrading of heavy crude oil feedstock into synthetic crude oil (upgrading), refining in Canada of crude oil and marketing of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, ethanol blended fuels, asphalt and ancillary products, and production of ethanol (Canadian refined products) and refining in the United States of crude oil to produce and market gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuels that meet United States clean fuels standards (United States refining and marketing).

During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company had 512 retail locations in its light refined products operations, which consisted of 361 owned or leased locations (husky controlled) and 151 independent retailer locations. The Company is continually monitoring the owned and leased locations for environmental protection or to address regulatory compliance requirements, such as reporting.

Upstream Operations

Husky�� portfolio of Upstream assets includes properties with reserves of light crude oil (30掳 API and lighter), medium crude oil (between 20掳 and 30掳 API), heavy crude oil (liquid between 20掳 API and 10掳 API), bitumen (solid or semi-solid with a viscosity greater than 10,000 centipoise at original temperature in the deposit and atmospheric pressure), NGL, natural gas and sulphur. The Wenchang field is located in the western Pearl River Mouth Basin, approximately 400 kilometers ! south of Hong Kong and 100 kilometers east of Hainan Island. The Wenchang 13-1 and 13-2 oil fields are producing from 32 wells in 100 meters of water into an FPSO vessel stationed between fixed platforms located in each of the two fields. In December 2012, Husky signed a joint venture contract with CPC Corporation, Taiwan for an exploration block in the South China Sea. The exploration block is located 100 kilometers southwest of the island of Taiwan and covers approximately 10,300 square kilometers.

Husky has a 40% interest in approximately 621,700 acres (2,516 square kilometers) of the Madura Strait block, located offshore East Java, south of Madura Island, Indonesia. Husky�� two partners are CNOOC which is the operator and has a 40% working interest, and Samudra Energy Ltd., which holds the remaining 20% interest through its affiliate, SMS Development Ltd. Husky�� offshore East Coast Canada exploration and development program is focused on the Jeanne d��rc Basin on the Grand Banks, which contains the Hibernia and Terra Nova fields, as well as the White Rose field and satellite extensions including the North Amethyst, West White Rose and the South White Rose extensions. The White Rose oil field is located 354 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and approximately 48 kilometers east of the Hibernia oil field on the eastern section of the Jeanne d��rc Basin. Husky is the operator of the White Rose field and satellite tiebacks, including the North Amethyst, West White Rose and South White Rose extensions. The Terra Nova oil field is located approximately 350 kilometers southeast of St. John��, Newfoundland and Labrador. The Terra Nova oil field is divided into three distinct areas, known as the Graben, the East Flank and the Far East. As of January 16, 2013, Husky held a working interest in 17 Exploration Licences (ELs) offshore Newfoundland, Labrador and Greenland. Husky is the operator of 13 of these ELs and has working interests ranging from 35% to 100%.

Hus! ky is the operator of two ELs offshore the west coast of Disko Island, Greenland. Tucker is an in-situ SAGD oil sands project located 30 kilometers northwest of Cold Lake, Alberta. Husky holds in excess of 550,000 acres in undeveloped oil sands leases and has a 100% working interest in all leases except in Athabasca South in which it has a 50% working interest. Husky�� heavy oil assets are primarily concentrated in a large producing region in the Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan area. The Company maintains a land position of approximately two million gross acres within this area. Over 90% of Husky�� proved reserves in the region are contained in the heavy crude oil producing areas of Pikes Peak, Edam, Tangleflags, Celtic, Bolney, Paradise Hill, Westhazel, Big Gully, Mervin, Marwayne, Lashburn, Gully Lake, Vermilion, Swimming, Morgan, Lindbergh, Aberfeldy, Marsden, Epping, Furness and Rush Lake, and in the medium gravity crude oil producing fields of Wildmere and Wainwright. As of December 31, 2012, the Company produces from oil and gas wells ranging in depth from 450 meters to 650 meters and holds a 100% working interest in the majority of these wells. In the Lloydminster area, the Company owns and operates 21 oil treating facilities which are tied into the Husky heavy oil pipeline systems. Husky operates 67 facilities in the area. Husky is the operator of a number of properties in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan. The Foothills Northwest Plains area is located in western and northern Alberta and British Columbia. The area is made up of five distinct districts: Rainbow Lake, Northern Alberta, Northern Alberta & British Columbia Plains, Ansell-Galloway and Foothills.

Husky provides heavy crude oil feedstock to its Upgrader and its asphalt refinery, which are located at Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan. The combined dry crude feedstock requirements of the Upgrader and asphalt refinery are approximately equal to Husky�� heavy crude oil production from the Lloydminster area.! Husky al! so purchases third party volumes. Husky markets heavy crude oil production directly to refiners located in the mid-west and eastern United States and Canada. Husky markets its light and synthetic crude oil production to third-party refiners in Canada, the United States and Asia in addition to Husky�� Lima Refinery. NGL are sold to local petrochemical end users, retail and wholesale distributors and refiners in North America.

The Company holds a 50% interest in a 90 megawatts natural gas fired cogeneration facility adjacent to Husky�� Rainbow Lake processing plant. The cogeneration facility produces electricity for the Power Pool of Alberta and thermal energy (steam) for the Rainbow Lake processing plant. It provides power directly to the Power Pool of Alberta under an agreement with the Alberta Electric System Operator to provide additional electricity generating capacity and system stability for northwestern Alberta. The Company also operates and has a 50% interest in a natural gas storage facility at East Cantuar near Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

Downstream Operations

The Lima Refinery, located in Ohio between Toledo and Dayton, has an atmospheric crude throughput capacity of 160 thousand of barrels/day. The refinery produces gasoline, gasoline blend stocks, diesel, jet fuel, petrochemical feedstock and other by-products. The feedstock is received via the Mid-Valley and Marathon Pipelines and the refined products are transported via the Buckeye and Inland pipeline systems and by rail car to primary markets in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and southern Michigan. During 2012, crude oil feedstock throughput at the Lima Refinery averaged 150 thousand of barrels/day. Production of gasoline averaged 77 thousand of barrels/day, total distillates averaged 56 thousand of barrels/day and total butanes averaged 17 thousand of barrels/day. The BP-Husky Toledo Refinery, in which Husky holds a 50% interest, has an atmospheric crude throughput capacity of 160 thousand of barrels/day. Pr! oducts in! clude low sulphur gasoline, ultra low sulphur diesel, aviation fuels, propane, kerosene and asphalt. The refinery is located in one of the highest energy consumption regions in the United States. Husky owns and operates the Husky Lloydminster Upgrader, a heavy oil upgrading facility located in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. The Upgrader is designed to process blended heavy crude oil feedstock into high quality, low sulphur synthetic crude oil. Production at the Upgrader averaged 61 thousand of barrels/day of synthetic crude oil, 13 thousand of barrels/day of diluent and 4 thousand of barrels/day of low sulphur diesel in 2012.

Husky�� Canadian Refined Products operations include refining of light crude oil, manufacturing of fuel and fuel grade ethanol, manufacturing of asphalt products from heavy crude oil and acquisition by purchase and exchange of refined petroleum products. Husky�� retail distribution network includes the wholesale, commercial and retail marketing of refined petroleum products and provides a platform for non-fuel related convenience product businesses. Husky�� Pounder Emulsions division has a market share in Western Canada for road application emulsion products. Additional non-asphalt based road maintenance products are also marketed and distributed through Pounder Emulsions. Husky�� asphalt distribution network consists of emulsion plants and asphalt terminals located at Kamloops, British Columbia, Edmonton and Lethbridge, Alberta, Yorkton, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba and three emulsion plants located at Watson Lake, Yukon and Lloydminster and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Husky�� ethanol production supports its ethanol-blended gasoline marketing program. When added to gasoline, ethanol promotes more complete fuel combustion, prevents fuel line freezing and reduces carbon monoxide emissions, ozone precursors and net emissions of greenhouse gases.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Caiman Valores]

  But as highlighted earlier Whitecap's Canadian light sweet crude is not as heavily discounted as Canadian heavy oil or bitumen. This does not leave it exposed to the same price risks and volatility as those companies that have a significant portion of their production made up by Canadian heavy oil and Bitumen, such as Husky Energy (HUSKF.PK), Suncor (SU), Imperial Oil (IMO) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ).

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Constant Contact Inc.(CTCT)

Constant Contact, Inc. provides on-demand email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, and online survey products primarily in the United States. It offers email marketing products, which allow customers to create, send, and track professional and affordable permission-based email marketing campaigns; and social media marketing products that allow customers to manage and optimize their presence across multiple social media networks. The company also provides event marketing products, which enable its customers to promote and manage events, communicate with invitees and registrants, capture and track registrations, and collect online payments; and online survey products that enable its customers to create and send surveys, and analyze the responses. In addition, it offers customer support services to customers and trailers through phone, chat, email, and social media. Further, the company provides ancillary services, such as custom services to customers who lik e its email campaigns, event promotions, or surveys prepared for them; and online training programs to educate participants on email marketing and social media marketing best practices, as well as a workshop programs. It markets its products directly for small organizations, including retailers, restaurants, law and accounting firms, consultants, non-profits, religious organizations, and alumni associations. The company was formerly known as Roving Software Incorporated and changed its name to Constant Contact, Inc. in 2006. Constant Contact, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Technology sector was the leading decliner in the US market today. Top losers in the sector included Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT), off 8.1 percent, and Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV), down 9.1 percent.

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: United States Steel Corporation(X)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  One of the longest-serving top executives at U.S. Steel (NYSE: X  ) will soon depart. The company announced that CFO Gretchen Haggerty has served notice that she is to enter retirement later this year, and that it has launched a "comprehensive search" to find a replacement.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Over the preceding two years, factory production had grown 26%, compared to employment gains of 14%. However, Hazlitt found that by 1936, production was at 78% of its 1929 levels, while employment was at 80%! The technological argument didn't hold much water in the 1930s. Even a simple comparison of U.S. Steel's (NYSE: X  ) production against its employee headcount showed a greater loss of production than of employment: The bellwether steelmaker had rolled out less than half as much steel in 1935 as it had in 1929, but total employment was a mere 13% lower from the peak of the boom to 1935. Perhaps the first argument was more valid than the second.

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Airbus Group NV (EADSY)

Airbus Group NV, known as European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV, is a Netherlands-based company active within the aerospace and defense sector. The Company manufactures aircrafts, helicopters, commercial space launch vehicles, missiles, satellites, defense systems and defense electronics, and offers services related to these activities. The Company oprates four divisions. The Airbus division comprises the Airbus Commercial and Airbus Military segments, which develop, manufacture, market and sell commercial jet aircrafts, military transport aircrafts and special mission aircrafts, among others. The Eurocopter division develops, markets and sells civil and military helicopters. The Astrium division develops, manufactures and sells satellites, orbital infrastructures and launchers, as well as provides space-related services. The Cassidian division develops, manufactures and sells missiles systems, military combat and training aircrafts, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  So far this year, Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) says it has booked 1,229 "gross" orders for various configurations of its 737, 747, 777, and 787 airliners from a host of customers. Minus 161 orders canceled by customers, this leaves Boeing with 1,054 "net" orders for the year. But what about its archrival, Airbus (NASDAQOTH: EADSY  ) ?

• [By Katie Spence]

  The battle for airplane supremacy rages on with Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) nabbing a deal worth $30 billion, and rival European Aeronautical Defense and Space's (NASDAQOTH: EADSY  ) Airbus, receiving an order worth $11.5 billion. Boeing's order was for its much anticipated, but troubled, 787 Dreamliner, and Airbus' order was for its 135 A320neos. Here's what you need to know.�

• [By Alexander MacLennan]

  The past few years have been great for major aerospace manufacturers such as Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) and Airbus Group (NASDAQOTH: EADSY  ) as airline profits surged, leading aircraft purchases to boom.

• [By Rich Smith]

  On Monday, the Department of Defense awarded 19 contracts, which added�up to just under $1.5 billion in total value. The largest award went to a private company to pay for "full line food distribution" in Okinawa. But even so, there were a few contracts worth noting, going to publicly traded companies:

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH)

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. designs, builds, and sells single-family and multi-family homes. The company offers homes for entry-level, move-up, or retirement-oriented buyers. It also engages in rental of previously owned homes that are purchased and improved by the company. The company sells its homes through commissioned new home sales counselors and independent brokers. It operates in 16 states, including Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Beazer Homes USA, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  The housing market has been steadily improving, lifting the stocks of homebuilders like Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH  ) , Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV  ) , and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM  ) to heights not seen since the mortgage crisis. Indeed, a recent Federal Reserve survey noted�that housing helped buoy the economy during the first two months of this year, along with auto sales.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  One sign of strength recently has come from Toll Brothers' resilience even in the face of higher interest rates. In its July quarter, Toll Brothers managed to see net new signed contracts rise at a 26% pace, more than doubling rival D.R. Horton's (NYSE: DHI  ) pace of growth. What's perhaps most impressive about those gains is that they defied big drops in order volumes at PulteGroup and Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH  ) , both of which saw double-digit percentage decreases in orders during the same period.

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Planet Platinum Ltd (PPN)

Planet Platinum Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in the operation of Showgirls Bar 20 and the on-going rental of property in Elsternwick. The Company operates in two segments: hospitality and entertainment and property rental businesses. The Company�� hospitality and entertainment segment comprises operations of Showgirls Bar 20 in Melbourne and is engaged in the nightclub through the provision of beverages and adult entertainment. Property segment comprise maintaining of rental property at Home Street, Elsternwick. The Company continues to receive lease rentals from its Home Street property. The investment property is located at 12 Home Street, Elsternwick Victoria. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tabitha Jean Naylor]

  Americans consume a lot of chicken. It estimated that Americans consume about 81 pounds of poultry per year, per capita. With there being upwards of 310 million people living in the United States, it is no wonder why poultry production is big business. Two of the biggest names in poultry production are Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) and Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ: PPN).

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Cell Therapeutics Inc (CTIC)

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI), incorporated in 1991, develops, acquires and commercializes treatments for cancer. The Company�� research, development, acquisition and in-licensing activities concentrate on identifying and developing new ways to treat cancer. As of December 31, 2011, CTI focused its efforts on Pixuvri (pixantrone dimaleate) (Pixuvri), OPAXIO (paclitaxel poliglumex) (OPAXIO), tosedostat, brostallicin and bisplatinates. As of December 31, 2011, it developed Pixuvri, an anthracycline derivative for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Another late-stage drug candidate of the Company, OPAXIO, is being studied as a potential maintenance therapy for women with advanced stage ovarian cancer, who achieve a complete remission following first-line therapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin. As of December 31, 2011, it also developed tosedostat in collaboration with Chroma Therapeutics, Ltd. (Chroma). On May 31, 2012, CTI completed its acquisition gaining worldwide rights to S*BIO Pte Ltd.'s (S*BIO) pacritinib.

Pixuvri

As of December 31, 2011, the Company developed Pixuvri, an aza-anthracenedione derivative, for the treatment of non-Hodgkin�� lymphoma (NHL), and various other hematologic malignancies, and solid tumors. Pixuvri was studied in the Company�� EXTEND, or PIX301, clinical trial, which was a phase III single-agent trial of Pixuvri for patients with relapsed, refractory aggressive NHL who received two or more prior therapies and who were sensitive to treatment with anthracyclines. On September 28, 2011, CTI announced that a second independent radiology assessment of response and progression endpoint data from its PIX301 clinical trial of Pixuvri was achieved with statistical significance. The results of the EXTEND trial met its primary endpoint and showed that patients randomized to treatment with Pixuvri achieved a significantly higher rate of confirmed and unconfirmed complete response compared to patients treated with standard chem! otherapy had a significantly increased overall response rate and experienced a statistically significant improvement in median progression free survival. Pixuvri had predictable and manageable toxicities when administered at the proposed dose and schedule in the EXTEND clinical trial in heavily pre-treated patients. In March 2011, the Company initiated the PIX-R trial to study Pixuvri in combination with rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Pixuvri has also been studied in patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have tumor progression after at least two, but not more than three, prior chemotherapy regimens. In the second quarter of 2010, the NCCTG opened this phase II study for enrollment. The study is closed to accrual and results are expected to be reported by the NCCTG later in 2012.

OPAXIO

OPAXIO is the Company�� biologically-enhanced chemotherapeutic agent that links paclitaxel to a biodegradable polyglutamate polymer, resulting in a new chemical entity. As of December 31, 2011, the Company focused its development of OPAXIO on ovarian, brain, esophageal, head and neck cancer. OPAXIO was designed to improve the delivery of paclitaxel to tumor tissue while protecting normal tissue from toxic side effects. In November 2010, results were presented by the Brown University Oncology Group from a phase II trial of OPAXIO combined with temozolomide (TMZ), and radiotherapy in patients with newly-diagnosed, high-grade gliomas, a type of brain cancer. The trial demonstrated a high rate of complete and partial responses and a high rate of six month progression free survival (PFS). Based on these results, the Brown University Oncology Group has initiated a randomized, multicenter, phase II study of OPAXIO and standard radiotherapy versus TMZ and radiotherapy for newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma with an active gene termed MGMT that reduces responsiveness to TMZ. A phase I/II study of OPAXIO combined with radi! otherapy ! and cisplatin was initiated by SUNY Upstate Medical University, in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Tosedostat

In March 2011, the Company entered into a co-development and license agreement with Chroma Therapeutics, Ltd. (Chroma), providing the Company with marketing and co-development rights to Chroma�� drug candidate, tosedostat, in North, Central and South America. Tosedostat is an oral, aminopeptidase inhibitor that has demonstrated anti-tumor responses in blood related cancers and solid tumors in phase I-II clinical trials. Interim results from the phase II OPAL study of tosedostat in elderly patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) showed that once-daily, oral doses of tosedostat had predictable and manageable toxicities and results demonstrated response rates, including a high-response rate among patients who received prior hypomethylating agents, which are used to treat myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a precursor of AML.

Brostallicin

As of December 31, 2011, the Company developed brostallicin through its wholly owned subsidiary, Systems Medicine LLC, which holds rights to use, develop, import and export brostallicin. Brostallicin is a synthetic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) minor groove binding agent that has demonstrated anti-tumor activity and a favorable safety profile in clinical trials, in which more than 230 patients have been treated as of December 31, 2011. The Company uses a genomic-based platform to guide the development of brostallicin. A phase II study of brostallicin in relapsed, refractory soft tissue sarcoma met its predefined activity and safety hurdles and resulted in a first-line phase II clinical trial study that was conducted by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

The Company competes with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Roche Group, Genentech, Inc., Astellas Pharma, Eli Lilly and Company, Celgene, Telik, I! nc., TEVA! Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. and PharmaMar.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you're reading this, then odds are you already know that the last two weeks (not even a full two weeks) have been more fruitful for Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CTIC) shareholders than the prior two years have been - the stock's up 28% since last Thursday. And, odds are you already know why. The question most of you are asking now is, can CTIC actually keep climbing at this pace, or even keep climbing at any pace? The answer is "yes", though floating that answer almost inherently requires a deeper explanation.

• [By John Udovich]

  The start of 2014 shows that biotech is still a hot area with the sector along with small cap biotech stocks like AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: AMAG), Mast Therapeutics Inc (NYSEMKT: MSTX), Cell Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: CTIC), Imprimis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IMMY) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) producing news or returns�plus Auspex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ASPX), Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CARA), Egalet (NASDAQ: EGLT), Flexion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FLXN) and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: RARE) are among the (many�� planned biotech IPOs that have recently been announced publicly:

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Comstock Resources Inc. (CRK)

Comstock Resources, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company�s oil and gas operations are primarily located in East Texas/North Louisiana and South Texas. It owns interests in approximately 1,570 producing oil and natural gas wells. As of December 31, 2012, the company had proved reserves of 551 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent. Comstock Resources, Inc. was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Value Digger]

  It is clear that these key metrics match the metrics of a heavily natural gas weighted company that also carries significant debt. To prove this, let's check out Comstock Resources (CRK). Comstock sold some assets recently to Rosetta Resources (ROSE) to reduce its long term debt which still remains high though.

Dollar up vs. ruble as Ukraine tensions increase

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The dollar rose to a more-than one-week high against the Russian ruble on Friday as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated.

U.S. stocks fell and Treasurys gained.

Click to Play S&P downgrades Russia to BBB-minus

Emma Moody takes a look at the markets, including three stocks to watch today. Photo: Getty.

Officials in Ukraine said Friday they would pursue an operation aimed at isolating a key city held by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern region. Ukraine's prime minister accused Russia of wanting to start a third World War. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sent another warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin to step back in Ukraine or face further economic sanctions.

The dollar (USDRUB)  rose to 36.032 rubles from 35.776 rubles late Thursday to trade at its highest level since April 15.

The move came as Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Friday downgraded its rating on Russia, citing the potential for "additional significant outflows" of capital from Russia because of its escalating conflict with Ukraine that could further weaken prospects for growth. Russia's central bank hiked its key lending rate to 7.5% from 7% on Friday, surprising market participants.

Top 5 Asian Companies To Own In Right Now

"Russia is doing everything it can to preserve investor capital," said Kathy Lien, managing director of foreign-exchange strategy for BK Asset Management, of the rate hike. "It hasn't had much impact. The motivation for the exodus out of Russian assets is based upon a very significant macro theme," she said.

For the year, the dollar has gained 9.4% against the ruble.

Reuters Pro-Russian protesters gather at a barricade near the police headquarters in Slaviansk earlier this month.

The dollar (USDJPY)  fell to ¥102.14 from ¥102.30 late Thursday, in line with lower U.S. yields. Lower yields have been the "primary source of pressure" on the yen this week, said Lien. "Positive U.S. data have been ignored by investors as they realize it is not going to accelerate the Federal Reserve's plans for unwinding quantitative easing," she said.

U.S. consumer sentiment rose in April to a final reading of 84.1 from 80 in March, hitting the highest level since July.

The ICE dollar index (DXY) , which measures the greenback against six rivals,inched down to 79.763 from 79.770 late Thursday. The WSJ Dollar Index (XX:BUXX) , an alternate gauge of dollar strength, was little changed at 73.05 from late Thursday.

"Volatility has been way down and market has been very quiet," said George Dowd, head of Chicago foreign exchange for Newedge.

Moves were also muted in other currency pairs. The British pound (GBPUSD)  was at $1.6804 versus $1.6801 late Thursday. U.K. retail sales in March rose 0.1% from February, beating expectations of a 0.5% decline.

The euro (EURUSD)  was little changed at $1.3836 versus $1.3832 late Thursday. The Australian dollar (AUDUSD)  inched up 92.69 U.S. cents from 92.64 U.S. cents.

Read more on MarketWatch:

Peter Schiff: Reckless Fed may push gold to $5,000

Apple's first affordable product: its stock

Ukraine moves to isolate activist-held Slovyansk

Financial industry groups oppose adding exam scores to BrokerCheck

Bloomberg, iStock, Gerardo Tabones

As Finra considers ways to improve BrokerCheck, two industry groups said they will oppose efforts to expand the database by adding brokers' scores on securities licensing exams.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. board will take the first step toward strengthening its broker database when it meets on Thursday to consider a rule requiring brokerages to adopt written procedures to verify the accuracy and completeness of the information it submits on the Form U4 for brokers joining the firm.

The U4 is the foundation of broker profiles on Finra's BrokerCheck system, which is designed to help investors find red flags that would indicate problems with brokers with whom they might do business. BrokerCheck has been criticized recently by investor-advocacy groups and federal lawmakers for containing inaccurate and incomplete information.

David Bellaire, executive vice president and general counsel at the Financial Services Institute Inc., said that background checks would not be new for the independent broker-dealers and financial advisers that belong to the organization.

“Many of our firms already perform routine credit and other background checks when they're recruiting and supervising financial advisers,” Mr. Bellaire said.

The FSI backs Finra's efforts to improve the accuracy of information in the Central Registration Depository and on BrokerCheck, Mr. Bellaire said. Information included on BrokerCheck is drawn from the CRD.

But the group will evaluate the frequency, detail and potential cost of Finra's new background-check requirements to determine whether it supports the proposal. The rule has not yet been posted on the Finra website.

“If the Finra proposal memorializes what our member firms are already doing, it would be helpful to set that standard for the whole industry,” Mr. Bellaire said.

In an interview earlier this month, Finra chairman and chief executive Richard G. Ketchum said that the industry-funded broker regulator is reviewing BrokerCheck to look for instances of underreporting and is considering adding more disclosure categories.

The database is supposed to include information about brokers' 10-year employment history, charges and convictions for felonies and investment-related misdemeanors, disciplinary actions, investment-related civil and judicial actions and proceedings, and customer-initiated complaints and arbitration.

The Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association has been pushing Finra to include more information on BrokerCheck, such as older bankruptcies, tax liens, firings and internal investigations of brokers at their firms and broker scores on securities examinations. That data can be found on the CRD but not on BrokerCheck.

A major Wall Street industry group said that the PIABA idea goes too far.

“We're concerned about this notion that everything in! the CRD should be published on BrokerCheck,” said Kevin Carroll, managing director and associate general counsel at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. “We don't think all that information is relevant and helpful to investors and could be prejudicial to brokers and their firms.”

For instance, Mr. Carroll opposes posting brokers' scores on securities licensing exams. He used the illustration of a broker who failed an exam the first time he took it but then passed later and has been conducting a successful business for many years.

“So, he failed the exam 15 years ago,” Mr. Carroll said. “What's the point? Are you saying he's not competent now? He's been performing [successfully for] over 15 years. There's more potential for that information to be misused and abused than to help investors make informed decisions.”

The FSI also opposes putting exam scores on BrokerCheck. Many brokers took the tests under the assumption that the goal was to pass rather than worrying about their score, Mr. Bellaire said.

“Now to disclose scores, and tell investors that they're a relevant and important component in their consideration, is misleading and unfair,” Mr. Bellaire said.

Both FSI and SIFMA said that they intend to talk to Finra about BrokerCheck changes.

“We want to work with them to make sure investors have access to information that's accurate and meaningful in their choice of a financial adviser,” Mr. Bellaire said.

Compass Diversified Names New CFO

Westport, Conn.-based Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE: CODI  ) will soon have a new CFO.

On Thursday, the diversified holding company of manufacturing, distribution, consumer products, and services businesses announced that current Chief Financial Officer James J. Bottiglieri intends to retire from the company on November 30, 2013. At that time, he will be replaced by newly promoted CFO Ryan J. Faulkingham (although Bottiglieri will remain on the Board of Directors).

In a statement, Faulkingham pronounced himself "proud and honored to be appointed as CODI's CFO."

In a filing with the SEC Thursday, Compass revealed that, upon taking his new position, Faulkingham will be paid an annual base salary of $335,000, plus an unspecified annual bonus to be "based on certain performance objectives."

The filing also reveals that, technically, this promotion is taking the form of a "secondment." An employee of Compass's management company, Compass Group Management LLC, Faulkingham will essentially be leased out by the managing LLC to the publicly traded company in the capacity of Compass's CFO, receiving at least part of his salary from Compass.

Changes in Sight for Symantec Corp.

California-based Symantec Corporation (SYMC) is a company that provides Internet security technology, with a wide range of application and software products of content security solutions and information back-up solutions such as firewall, virtual private network (VPN), virus protection, vulnerability management, intrusion detection and other services, offered to individuals and enterprises. Best known for Norton products which provide antivirus protection, identity protection and online backup, Symantec operates in more than 50 countries, and has recently realigned its business into three divisions: User Productivity & Protection, Information Security and Information Management.

User Productivity & Protection segment comprises the company's endpoint security and management, encryption and mobile businesses; Information Security segment comprises Symantec's authentication, mail and web security services, data center security, managed security services (MSS) and data loss prevention (DLP) offerings; Information Management covers backup and recovery-related services and products. Revenue is generated from two segments: Content Subscription and Maintenance Revenues, segment which generated 87.0% of total revenues for fiscal 2013, and License Revenues, delivering 13.0% of total revenues for the same period.

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Since latest chief executive officer Steve Bennett, who took over the company's control during 2012, initiated several organizational changes to improve sales and profitability, Symantec has been facing difficult times, and sales force reorganizations are yet to yield the desired results. Analysts think Symantec has been poorly managed, and lacked a coherent strategy. Underperforming peers, it recently decided to remove CEO Steve Bennett and now the company is attracting activist investors and private equity firms. Under some rough conditions, activist investors and private equity firms are gathering for a sale or split of the business, though these meetings haven't resulted in any confirmation yet. The company is searching for a new CEO with public company experience, but still the departure of Bennett has been rather disruptive, leaving the company without leadership, within a difficult moment. Still, the company delivered better than expected results for last quarter. Adjusted earnings were $0.48 per share for third quarter 2014, increasing 15.7% year over year. Revenues were above estimations, reporting $1.71 billion, but still declined 4.8% versus 2013, because of a drop in demand, primarily within the Content, Subscription and Maintenance segment.

Between the Market

The dynamic environment and competitive market of security software manufacturing puts companies in a difficult position regarding innovation and investment. Given the decline in the PC market, and increase usage of mobile devices, Symantec is seeking to develop cloud and mobile products, and provide add new solutions and functions to their current products. However, the new product diversification positions the company in direct competition with big firms such as Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Intel Corporation (INTC)'s McAfee Inc., EMC Corporation (EMC), Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), IBM Corp. (IBM), and VMware Inc. (VMW), among others.

Indeed poor management hasn't contributed much to strengthening this position amid the competitive software development market, but still Symantec is market leader with great technology assets, and a company with strong fundamentals. Despite the fierce competition, Norton products are still desirable, and the information security segment is growing, fueled by endpoint sales and emerging security businesses such as data loss prevention, mobile management and cloud solutions. These new cheaper and easier solutions are expected to attract customers, increasing revenues in the near future, targeting an organic revenue compound annual growth rate over 5% and operating margins above 30% in fiscal 2017.

New Opportunities

Symantec has large installed base and high recurring revenue. The industry's high switching costs associated with its enterprise security and storage solutions have allowed the company to reach 135 million consumers of Norton security products. The company is continuously developing new products in order to keep competitors at bay. Adjusting to the industry's variable trends is a key to keep a competitive position and secure customers. Reorganization is on track, with a new go-to-market strategy and operating structure. The recent changes within management have opened the possibility for Symantec to introduce new leadership and strategic guidance and drive the company towards a more consistent operational improvement, with more positive performance forecasts.

Bottom Line

Symantec's Global Intelligence Network covers more than 200 countries and provides rapid global threat detection which gives users faster prevention and resolution. Despite the company's lack of a network security offering, Norton is the dominant brand in the consumer market. Indeed the shift towards mobile devices from PC has led to a dismal top-line performance. Nevertheless, the company is developing new products and restructuring its internal business. Moreover, analysts think its increase in net income, reasonable valuation levels, growth in earnings per share, expanding profit margins and solid financial, put the company in an interesting place for investors. Yet, the change in office is still to show some definition.

Disclosure: Damian Illia holds no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

About the author:Damian IlliaA fundamental analyst at Lonetreeanalytics.com constantly looking for value and income investments.

Visit Damian Illia's Website

Currently 5.00/512345 Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote)

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2 Things Investors Should Watch Very Closely This Week

Allow me to make a bold claim. In my opinion, this is the most important week in April for stocks and the economy, as two unusually significant economic reports are scheduled for release on Tuesday and Wednesday, either of which could exert a big impact on the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) .

The first, which I discussed at length yesterday, is the National Association of Realtors' report on March existing-home sales. The gravity of this can't be overstated, as the housing market is a principal component of the American economy.

Although the pace of existing-home sales has increased consistently since the middle of 2010, everything seemed to change last year. After peaking at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million in July of last year, they've since taken a nosedive. Most recently, the figure dropped to 4.6 million in February.

With the spring selling season just around the corner, the question is whether the downturn is a temporary blip, caused perhaps by extreme weather from earlier in the year, or whether it's a genuine correction. If it's the former, there's little reason for concern. If it's the latter, there may very well be.

Along these same lines, the second report will shed light on the homebuilding industry. On Wednesday, the government is scheduled to release its estimate of new home sales for March.

The figure for February, while not as dire as the market for previously owned homes, similarly suggested that the momentum in the housing market may have taken a turn for the worse, as new home sales were down by 3.3% compared to January. Again, the thing to watch is whether the downturn is temporary or here to stay, at least for the time being.

In sum, if you're an investor or are otherwise interested in the economy, then I'd strongly encourage you to keep a close eye on both of these events.

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How Jabil Circuit Can Push Higher

On Wednesday, Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL  ) will release its latest quarterly results. Even though the tech manufacturer has tried to emerge from the shadows by diversifying beyond its largest customer, Jabil still faces plenty of competition from other companies seeking to stand behind some of the most popular products in technology.

Jabil Circuit is one of many companies focusing on making components for other businesses, giving up its own chance at the limelight in order to facilitate production for its customers and their innovative technological products. But with the nature of the contract-electronics business being fairly cutthroat, Jabil has to be on guard constantly to protect and preserve its lucrative relationships with its customers. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Jabil Circuit over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its report.

Stats on Jabil Circuit

Analyst EPS Estimate	$0.54
Change From Year-Ago EPS	(16%)
Revenue Estimate	$4.4 billion
Change From Year-Ago Revenue	3.6%
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters	1

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

How Jabil Circuit can push earnings back in the right direction
Analysts have gotten less optimistic about Jabil's earnings prospects recently, reducing their estimates for the May quarter by $0.08 per share and their full-year fiscal 2013 consensus by double that figure. The stock has done a good job of treading water, though, rising about 2% since mid-March.

Jabil is best known for its production of the aluminum case that houses the iPhone 5. The company has done its best to try to diversify away from its smartphone focus, with its purchase of plastics-maker Nypro aiming to help it move more broadly into consumer electronics as well as the unrelated field of health care. Yet Jabil's diversified manufacturing services segment produces by far the most impressive margins for the company, highlighting its continued reliance on the business.

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As a result, the big threat that Jabil constantly faces is the potential loss of its customers. Rival Flextronics (NASDAQ: FLEX  ) suffered a huge hit last summer when major customer BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY  ) chose to stop using the company to help it make its namesake smartphones, citing cost-cutting efforts in its decision to make changes to its supply chain arrangements. Flextronics has seen substantial revenue declines as a result, even despite BlackBerry's relative weakness in the smartphone space in recent years. More importantly, the move came at the worst possible time, as BlackBerry has subsequently revived in the face of its latest product launch. Jabil counts BlackBerry as a customer as well, so it should be interesting to see how that relationship has developed in the wake of the Z10 and Q10 smartphone releases.

One area where Jabil is looking to make improvements is in labor costs. The company has cited rising costs in China as one reason why it has boosted its workforce in neighboring Vietnam, with plans to triple the number of workers it has in its Ho Chi Minh City factory over the next couple of years.

In Jabil's quarterly report, look beyond the iPhone to see how the company's business producing networking equipment is performing. With some recent good news in the networking space, success for Jabil's customers in the segment could lead to better results for Jabil as well.

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12 Reasons Why New Zealand's Economic Bubble Will End In Disaster

New Zealand's economy has been hailed as one of world's top safe-haven economies in recent years after it emerged from Global Financial Crisis relatively unscathed. Unfortunately, my research has found that many of today's so-called safe-havens (such as Singapore) are experiencing economic bubbles that are strikingly similar to those that led to the financial crisis in the first place.

Though I will be writing a lengthy report about New Zealand's economic bubble in the near future, I wanted to use this column to outline key points that are helpful for those who are looking for a concise explanation of this bubble.

View from Mission Bay, Auckland, New Zealand (Photo credit: Jaafar Alnasser Photography)

Here are the reasons why I believe that New Zealand's economy is heading for a crisis:

1) Interest rates have been at all-time lows for almost a half-decade

Ultra-low interest rate environments are notorious for fueling credit and housing bubbles, which is how the U.S. housing and credit bubble inflated last decade. New Zealand's interest rates have been at record lows for nearly five years, which is more than enough time for economic bubbles and related imbalances to form.

Here is the chart of New Zealand's benchmark interest rate:

Source: TradingEconomics.com

New Zealand's three-month interbank rate, base lending rate, and 10 year government bond yield are also at or near all-time lows. Like many countries that are experiencing bubbles in recent years, New Zealand's low interest rates are a byproduct of global "hot money" flows from the United States and Japan, which have both had zero interest rates and quantitative easing programs to boost their economies after the Global Financial Crisis.

Low interest rates in the U.S. and Japan encouraged capital to flow into higher yielding investments in countries such as New Zealand, which led to reduced bond yields and an 85 increase in the value of the New Zealand dollar against the U.S. dollar since 2009. To combat the export-harming currency appreciation and bolster the economy during the financial crisis, New Zealand's central bank reduced its short-term interest rates to all-time lows.

2) Property prices have doubled since 2004

Following the pattern of many nations outside of the hard-hit U.S., peripheral Europe, and Japan, New Zealand's housing prices have doubled in the past decade, forming a property bubble:

Source: Global Property Guide

3) New Zealand has the world's third most overvalued property market

The doubling of New Zealand's housing prices in the past decade far surpassed household income and rent growth, making the country's property market the third most overvalued in the world. New Zealand's home price-to-rent ratio is 77 percent above its historic average and its home price-to-income ratio is 26 percent above its historic average.

Citigroup Inc (C) Q1 Earnings Preview: Too Many Parts Heading South

Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) will issue its first quarter results via press release at approximately 8 a.m. (ET) on Monday, April 14, 2014. At 11 a.m. (ET), results will be reviewed via live webcast and teleconference.

Wall Street anticipates that money center will earn $1.14 per share for the quarter, which is $0.09 less than last year's profit of $1.23 per share. iStock expects C  to miss Wall Street's consensus number. The iEstimate is $1.13, a penny less than expected.

Sales, like earnings, are expected to slip, dropping 5.5% year-over-year (YoY). Citigroup's consensus revenue estimate for Q1 is $19.37 billion, lower than last year's $20.49 billion.

[Related -JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Q1 Earnings Preview: Regulation Costs To Trim Guidance?]

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

It's possible that C might do worse than the iEstimate as 2013's strongest unit in terms of growth, the bank's trading group, is suffering to start 2014. According to team Citigroup, trading will be down in the "high mid-teens" year-over-year (YoY). Meanwhile, another pillar, mortgages are slowing as well due to rising rates.

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According to CNBC, "Refinance activity has been falling steadily since the rate rise early last summer. Applications to refinance fell 5 percent last week [March 31 – April 4] from the previous week and are now at their lowest level since the end of 2013."

That's a one-two punch.

Watch out for the left hook as consumer credit via credit cards declines in the first two months of the years so says data from the Federal Reserve's Consumer Credit - G.19 report. For February, the central bank reported, "Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 3-1/2 percent."

Three of the financial giant's biggest margin businesses are under pressure as 2014 gets rolling. And, we haven't even mentioned higher cost and expenses in terms of technology and manpower to meet the challenge of complying with new, 2014 banking regulations.

That's not a good combination for the bottom line; falling revenue and higher expenses. Perhaps that's why nine analysts lowered their profit outlook for Citi in the last 30 days; however, three upped their view during the same timeframe.

Another major issue management will have to address is the Federal Reserve giving Citi's the thumbs down for its 2014 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) i.e. upping the dividend and stock repurchase program.

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Overall: There are so many parts moving in the wrong direction for Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) that it is hard to find a path to a bullish surprise. In fact, the iEstimate might prove to be attractive compared to actual results come Monday morning. 

We see many of our C concerns coming to life in today's JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) earnings announcement.

Why Is Gap Investing South of the Border?

On Monday, Gap (NYSE: GPS  ) announced details of its global expansion plans. The company is going to enter Hungary and Paraguay and will expand its presence in Mexico this year. The new locations will increase Gap's exposure to Latin America, giving it a foothold in eight countries. This new push comes right after a winter opening in Uruguay, which acted as a testing ground for further South American locations.

The deep south
The Uruguay store was opened in Montevideo in November last year, and the Paraguay store should be coming later this year. Both locations are relying on a partnership with Neutral for their on-the-ground operations. In addition to Paraguay and Uruguay, Gap has locations in Chile, Panama, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. The expansion into South America solves a whole boatload of problems for Gap.

First off, it gives Gap more exposure to reverse seasonality. That means that while Gap USA is selling sweaters, Gap Paraguay can be selling swimsuits. Not only does it allow the company to work a wider range of new products in through the whole year, it also gives it a pressure-release valve for extended periods of unseasonable weather. This year, for instance, the cool spring has caused many retailers to see less demand for seasonal products -- locations in South America can help pick up that slack.

In addition to giving Gap a place to sell its overstock, South America also gives Gap a way to add to its global brand image. The CEO of Neutral, Enrique Urioste, said that Gap holds a more aspirational place in the minds of South American shoppers. That premium is going to come with a price, and Urioste said that Gap clothing will have a meaningful markup from its American equivalents.

Because of that aspirational quality, Gap clothing has been counterfeited or sold through illegal channels more than it would be in the U.S. By moving into the countries that have these issues, Gap has an easier way to manage the branding and legality of its products.

Mexican expansion
Gap is also pushing its Banana Republic brand into Mexico, with its first freestanding store opening late in 2013. Gap opened its first Gap stand-alone in Mexico City in September last year. The Mexican expansion should also help the company balance its seasonal products while offering a popular brand to Mexican consumers.

Mexico also presents an easier point of international entry for the company. Uruguay had to act as a sort of testing ground for international sentiment, and gave Gap a chance to learn the market before it opened a location in Paraguay. Mexican consumers are more closely tied to American tastes, and other companies have already made the push, including H&M, which is the second-largest apparel retailer in the world.

The Latin American push is good news for Gap investors, who should see a profit from the new exposure and strong margins. The plan also provides a good counterbalance to the focus that so many retailers have placed on Asia and China, in particular. I'll be watching for more expansion as the brand catches on, especially in Mexico, where Gap already has some presence.

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Odds of Getting Audited by the IRS Are the Lowest in Years

Cassandra Hubbart, AOL WASHINGTON -- As millions of Americans race to meet Tuesday's tax deadline, their chances of getting audited are lower than they have been in years. Budget cuts and new responsibilities are straining the Internal Revenue Service's ability to police tax returns. This year, the IRS will have fewer agents auditing returns than at any time since at least the 1980s. Taxpayer services are suffering, too, with millions of phone calls to the IRS going unanswered. "We keep going after the people who look like the worst of the bad guys," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in an interview. "But there are going to be some people that we should catch, either in terms of collecting the revenue from them or prosecuting them, that we're not going to catch." Better technology is helping to offset some budget cuts. If you report making $40,000 in wages and your employer tells the IRS you made $50,000, the agency's computers probably will catch that. The same is true for investment income and many common deductions that are reported to the IRS by financial institutions. But if you operate a business that deals in cash, with income or expenses that are not independently reported to the IRS, your chances of getting caught are lower than they have been in years. Last year, the IRS audited less than 1 percent of all returns from individuals, the lowest rate since 2005. This year, Koskinen said, "The numbers will go down." Koskinen was confirmed as IRS commissioner in December. He took over an agency under siege on several fronts. Last year, the IRS acknowledged agents improperly singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status from 2010 to 2012. The revelation has led to five ongoing investigations, including three by congressional committees, and outraged lawmakers who control the agency's budget. The IRS also is implementing large parts of President Barack Obama's health law, including enforcing the mandate that most people get health insurance. Republicans in Congress abhor the law, putting another bull's-eye on the agency's back. The animosity is reflected in the IRS budget, which has declined from $12.1 billion in 2010 to $11.3 billion in the current budget year. Obama has proposed a 10 percent increase for next year; Republicans are balking. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the IRS budget, called the request "both meaningless and pointless" because it exceeds spending caps already set by Congress. Koskinen said he suspects some people think that if they cut funds to the IRS, the agency won't be able to implement the health law. They're wrong, he said. The IRS is legally obligated to enforce the health law, Koskinen said. That means budget savings will have to be found elsewhere. Koskinen said he can cut spending in three areas: enforcement, taxpayer services and technology. Technology upgrades can only be put off for so long, he said, so enforcement and taxpayer services are suffering. Last year, only 61 percent of taxpayers calling the IRS for help got it. This year, Koskinen said he expects the numbers to be similar. To help free up operators, callers with complicated tax questions are directed to the agency's website. "The problem with complicated questions is they take longer," Koskinen said. Your chances of getting audited vary greatly, based on your income. The more you make, the more likely you are to get a letter from the IRS. Only 0.9 percent of people making less than $200,000 were audited last year. That's the lowest rate since the IRS began publishing the statistic in 2006. By contrast, 10.9 percent of people making $1 million or more were audited. That's the lowest rate since 2010. Only 0.6 percent of business returns were audited, but the rate varied greatly depending on the size of the business. About 16 percent of corporations with more than $10 million in assets were audited. Most people don't have much of an opportunity to cheat on their taxes, said Elizabeth Maresca, a former IRS lawyer who now teaches law at Fordham University. Your employer probably reports your wages to the IRS, your bank reports interest income, your broker reports investment income and your lender reports the amount of interest you paid on your mortgage. "Anybody who's an employee, who gets paid by an employer, has a limited ability to take risks on their tax returns," Maresca said. "I think people who own their own business or are self-employed have a much greater opportunity [to cheat], and I think the IRS knows that, too." One flag for the IRS is when your deductions or expenses don't match your income, said Joseph Perry, the partner in charge of tax and business services at Marcum LLP, an accounting firm. For example, if you deduct $70,000 in real estate taxes and mortgage interest, but only report $100,000 in income. "That would at least beg the question, how are you living?" Perry said. Koskinen said the IRS could scrutinize more returns -- and collect billions more in revenue -- with more resources. The president's budget proposal says the IRS would collect an additional $6 for every $1 increase in the agency's enforcement budget. Koskinen said he makes that argument all the time, but for some reason, it's not playing well in Congress. "I say that and everybody shrugs and goes on about their business," Koskinen said. "I have not figured out either philosophically or psychologically why nobody seems to care whether we collect the revenue or not."

Guidewire Software Posts Q3 Loss

Guidewire Software (NYSE: GWRE  ) results for the company's fiscal Q3 have been released. For the quarter, revenue was $68 million, an improvement over the $57 million it posted in the same period the previous year. The bottom line turned red, however, swinging to a loss of $2.7 million ($0.05 per diluted share) from Q3 2012's profit of $3.1 million ($0.05). 

In spite of the shortfall, Guidewire Software managed to top its existing guidance for top line. This past February, it estimated it would take in $62.5 million-$64.5 million. The company did, however, anticipate a net profit. Its projection was for EPS of $0.01-$0.03. 

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The firm's management sounded an optimistic note about its future prospects. In the press release announcing the results, it quoted CEO Marcus Ryu as saying that "we believe that we are in the early stage of our market opportunity, and we continue to invest in expanding our product capabilities and global reach to advance our leadership position."

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Why the Dow Slumped 80 Points Today

On Monday and Tuesday, little of note happened in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) , as investors looked to high-ranking Federal Reserve officials for some indication of how long quantitative easing measures will continue. But today the Big Cheese himself, Chairman Ben Bernanke, spoke to the Senate about the central bank's plans. While remaining evasive about specifics, Bernanke indicated the Fed would continue its current stimulus efforts -- that is, until the labor market improves. Ironically fearing the prospects of lower unemployment, the Dow lost 80 points, or 0.5%, to close at 15,307. 

Ending Wednesday as the Dow's top performer, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) rallied 1.8% on news the company will move to divest from its majority stake in animal health business Zoetis. Shareholders applauded the decision that will allow Pfizer to focus more on its core strength of developing drugs for, you know, humans. Shareholders will have the option to trade in their Pfizer holdings for a stake in Zoetis, but at a discount.

Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) shares gained 1.3% after ending with healthy gains yesterday on an upbeat earnings report. While today's run may have something to do with that success, it probably had more to do with the woes of its competitor. Lowe's announced results of its own today, making Home Depot's competitive strength known. Lowe's grew profits by less than 3%, while Home Depot's surged nearly 20%. Yikes.

After hitting 52-week highs in the morning, chemical giant E.I. du Pont de Nemours (NYSE: DD  ) closed 1.4% lower today as shares sagged with the broader market. The $50 billion company has seen 23% gains this year as its stock remains attractive for value and dividend investors. With shares trading at a P/E below 12, offering a 3.2% annual payout, and DuPont boasting an intimidating intellectual property portfolio, today's slip could present an opportunity.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO  ) shed 2.8% Wednesday to end as the index's worst performer. After experiencing a 12% pop in a single day last week when earnings blew the market away, Wall Street's expectations are coming back down to earth. For long-term investors, today's slump is just a bump in the road. Cisco clearly remains a leader in information technology and is in an enviable position as the growth of cloud computing presents new opportunities for growth.

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