Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now

With shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) trading around $99, is UPS an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

United Parcel Service is a package delivery company. The company delivers packages each business day for 1.1 million shipping customers to 7.7 million consignees in over 220 countries and territories. Last year, United Parcel Service delivered an average of 16.3 million pieces per day worldwide or a total of 4.1 billion packages. It serves the global market for logistics services, which include transportation, distribution, forwarding, ground, ocean and air freight, brokerage, and financing. United Parcel Service operates in three segments — U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain & Freight.

United Parcel Service on Friday warned it would miss its fourth quarter earnings targets, blaming an ��nprecedented��rise in online holiday shopping, a shortened holiday season and bad weather despite ��xtraordinary measures��to meet Christmas demand. This will be the second time the Atlanta-based package and delivery concern has missed its quarterly earnings targets.

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Dephasium Corp (DPHS.PK)

Dephasium Corp., formerly Pay Mobile, Inc., incorporated on November 17, 2005, is a development-stage company. As of December 31, 2012, the Company was seeking new business opportunities. On June 3, 2013, Dephasium Corp announced that it has completed the acquisition of the ANCILIA from Dephasium Ltd.

The Company was engaged in the business of providing integrated payment solutions for consumers and corporate clients by incorporating its mobile payment technology with the issuance of open-loop prepaid Visa and MasterCard cards. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had no operations.

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Global Power Equipment Group Inc(GLPW)

Global Power Equipment Group Inc. and its subsidiaries designs, engineers, and manufactures gas turbine auxiliary equipment; and provides routine and specialty maintenance services to customers in the utility and industrial sectors. Its gas turbine auxiliary equipment include filter houses, inlet systems, exhaust systems, diverter dampers, selective catalytic emission reduction systems, packaged skids, and precision parts and specialty fabrications. These products are primarily used in the operation of gas turbine power plants, as well as for other industrial, energy, and power-related applications. The company?s service offerings consist of nuclear power plant modification, maintenance, and construction; and fossil fuel and hydroelectric power plant modification and construction services. It also provides specialty services comprising cleaning, surface preparation, coatings application, quality control, and inspection testing services; industrial insulation services, pri marily in process-piping installations; abatement services for the removal of asbestos and removal of heavy metal based coatings, such as lead paint; replacing, repairing, and upgrading industrial facility roofing systems; and integrated valve and actuator services that include inspection, preventative maintenance, and repair of various types of valves and actuators. It serves original equipment manufacturers; engineering, procurement, and construction contractors; operators of power generation facilities; and firms engaged in various process-related industries, as well as utility companies. The company operates primarily in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; and Europe, Asia, and the Middle East; and internationally. Global Power Equipment Group Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Best Oil Companies To Invest In Right Now: Stelmine Canada Ltd (STH.V)

Stelmine Canada Ltd., a junior exploration company, engages in acquisition, exploration, production, development, and operation of mining properties in Canada. The company�s Opinaca properties includes the Opinaca North property that consists of 9 claims covering an area of 471 hectares; and the Opinaca South property, which includes 37 claims covering an area of 1924 hectares. It also holds interests in the Aiguebelle property that comprises 4 claims covering an area of 159 hectares located north of Rouyn Noranda; and Clericy property, which consists of 15 claims covering an area of 620 hectares situated in north east of Rouyn Noranda, as well as interest in a mining license covering an area of 34,000 hectares of land in the Gaspesia hydrocarbons area. The company is based in Montreal, Canada.

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PeppinNini Minerals Ltd(PNN.AX)

Pepinnini Minerals Limited engages in the exploration and development of mineral resource properties in Australia. The company explores for nickel, copper, gold, lead, zinc, uranium, and other mineral commodities. It holds interests in 39 exploration tenements covering approximately 15,795 square kilometers in the Curnamona and Musgrave Provinces of South Australia; the Georgetown, Woolgar Goldfield, and Drummond Basin of north Queensland; and the Robinson Range area of Midwest Western Australia and Salta Province, Argentina. The company also holds an 83 hectare mining lease located in the Woolgar Goldfield of north Queensland. Pepinnini Minerals Limited was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Adelaide South Australia.

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Astral Mining Corp (AA.V)

Astral Mining Corporation, a junior exploration company, engages in the acquisition, evaluation, exploration, and development of precious metal properties in North America. The company primarily explores for gold and silver deposits. It holds interest in the Jumping Josephine Gold property consisting of 99 mineral claims covering 43,488 hectares in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. The company was formerly known as Amanda Resources Corp. and changed its name to Astral Mining Corporation in June 2005. Astral Mining Corporation was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. As of February 12, 2013, Astral Mining Corp. operates as a subsidiary of Orex Minerals Inc.

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sony Corp Ord(SNE)

Sony Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for consumer, professional, and industrial markets worldwide. The company offers consumer products and devices, including televisions, video cameras, compact digital cameras and interchangeable single-lens cameras, Blu-ray Disc players/recorders, DVD-video players/recorders, home theaters and audio systems, and portable audio and car audio products. It also provides charged coupled devices, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors, system LSIs, small- and medium-sized LCD panels, and other semiconductors; and components, such as batteries, optical disk drives, chemical products, audio/video/data recording media, storage media, and optical pickups. In addition, the company develops, produces, markets, and distributes games, such as PlayStation3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2 hardware and related software; and PCs and flash memory digital audio pl ayers, as well as manufactures broadcast- and professional-use products, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CD discs. Further, it produces and distributes motion pictures and television programs, and home entertainment; creates and distributes digital content; operates television networks and studio facilities; and develops entertainment products, services, and technologies. Additionally, the company engages in the music publishing business, as well as provision of various financial services, including insurance, savings products, loans, and credit financing services; and a network service business and an advertising agency business. It also involves in research, development, design, production, marketing, sales, distribution, and servicing mobile phones, accessories, services, and applications. The company was formerly known as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha and changed its name to Sony Corporation in 1958. Sony Corporation was founded in 1946 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  What, me worry?
  GameStop can thank the lifting of uncertainty around the next-generation consoles for much of that gain. Rumors have been swirling that Microsoft and Sony� (NYSE: SNE  ) aimed to blockade used games from their new systems. Considering that GameStop made $1.17 billion in profits from the resale of used games last year, a move like that could be lethal to its business.

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Superior Energy Services Inc.(SPN)

Superior Energy Services, Inc. provides specialized oilfield services and equipments to serve the production and drilling-related needs of oil and gas companies. It operates through three segments: Subsea and Well Enhancement; Drilling Products and Services; and Marine. The Subsea and Well Enhancement segment provides integrated subsea and engineering services, coiled tubing, electric line, pumping and stimulation, gas lift, well control, hydraulic workover and snubbing, recompletion, stimulation and sand control equipment and services, well evaluation, offshore oil and gas tank, vessel cleaning, decommissioning, plug and abandonment, and mechanical wireline services. This segment also manufactures and sells drilling rig instrumentation equipments; and involves in the production and sale of oil and gas from its properties in the Gulf of Mexico. The Drilling Products and Services segment manufactures, sells, and rents equipments for use with offshore and onshore oil and gas well drilling, completion, production, and workover activities. This segment?s products and services include pressure control equipment, drill pipe and landing strings, connecting iron, handling tools, stabilizers, drill collars, and on-site accommodations. The Marine segment owns and operates a fleet of liftboats in the Gulf of Mexico. The company operates 25 rental liftboats with leg lengths ranging from 145 feet to 265 feet. Superior Energy Services, Inc. sells its products and services in Latin America, North America, North Sea and Europe, the Middle East, West Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  Superior Energy Services (NYSE: SPN  )
  The largest of the three "smaller" oil-field services companies for this discussion carries an approximately $4.4 billion market cap. The Houston-based company has been accorded a rating of 1.6 by the analysts, with no single rating below a buy. (All three of the companies discussed here are headquartered in Houston. But that's a coincidence, not a requirement.)

• [By Sara Murphy]

  Basic Energy Services (NYSE: BAS  ) derived more than a quarter of 2012 revenues from its fluid services unit. Its operations rely heavily on the legacy model of hauling water. Superior Energy Services (NYSE: SPN  ) counts on its traditional fluid services offerings for about 20% of revenues.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  As a result, the knives have come out. Cowen’s analysts downgraded six stocks–Baker Hughes (BHI), Cameron International (CAM), Nabors Industries (NBR), CGG (CGG), Superior Energy Services (SPN) and Helmerich & Payne (HP)–and cut their estimates on even more. Its analysts explain why:

Top 5 Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CoBiz Financial Inc.(COBZ)

CoBiz Financial Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services. The company?s Commercial Banking segment offers various accounts for depositors, including certificates of deposit, money market accounts, Eurodollar sweep accounts, savings accounts, checking and NOW accounts, and individual retirement accounts; lending products comprising commercial loans, commercial and residential real estate construction loans, commercial and residential real estate mortgage loans, consumer loans, revolving lines of credit, and tax-exempt financing; and real estate banking, private banking, interest-rate hedging, and treasury management services. Its Investment Banking segment provides merger and acquisition advisory services, institutional private placements of debt and equity, and other strategic financial advisory services for middle-market companies. The company?s Wealth Management segment offers wealth planning and investment management, trust and fiduciary, wealth transfer, estate and business succession planning, estate settlement, financial planning, and family office services. Its Insurance segment provides employee benefits consulting, insurance brokerage, and related administrative support to individuals, families, and employers; and commercial and personal property insurance brokerage, and casualty insurance brokerage, as well as risk management consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals. CoBiz Financial Inc. operates 12 locations, including 9 in the Denver metropolitan area, 1 in Boulder, and 2 in the Vail area in Colorado under the name Colorado Business Bank; and 7 locations serving the Phoenix metropolitan area and the surrounding area of Maricopa County in Arizona under the name Arizona Business Bank. The company was formerly known as CoBiz Inc. and changed its name to CoBiz Financial Inc. in May 2007. CoBiz Financial Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Denver, Co lorado.

Unusual Role Reversal Force Driving BlackBerry

BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: BBRY) just keeps continuing to amaze on the upside. It was not that long ago that it was hitting 52-week lows under $5.50, and on Friday the stock has already challenged the $9.00 mark.

John Chen’s actions here may only be part of the action. The stock of the struggling smartphone player is up a sharp 20% from the $7.44 price at the end of 2013. Friday actually marks the second trading day of the twelve trading days of 2014 that we have seen the stock go above $9.00.

Citron Research is usually known for its short sell idea focused articles, but the research shop has shown that the short selling mentality here needs to be dropped. A short squeeze could drive BlackBerry shares even higher, maybe even up to $15. Citron’s report is a 12-page reversal of fortune report. Again, Citron is often known for being negative on companies.

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Blackberry shares were up 4.4% at $8.94 on almost 20 million shares. The 52-week trading range is $5.44 to $18.32.

We would point out that the consensus price target is down at $7.00, but analysts have not been key drivers on most days and investors are generally not buying or selling BlackBerry based just upon its valuations.

A Two-Step Strategy For Competing In A Diverse World Market Environment

Disclosure: I own shares of YUM and DEO

How can you sell more smartphones in US, Europe, Japan, and Eastern China, where every consumer already carries one? What about in rural China and rural India, where scores of people do not have a smartphone, either because they cannot afford one or they find hard to learn how to use one? How do you market shampoo to consumers with a large disparity of preferences or incomes? What about fast food?

With a two-step strategy:

The first step is to determine whether the target market segment is pure global, pure localized or semiglobal, avoiding the pseudo-dilemma (globalization or localization), which has proved to be costly for other companies.

The second step is to come up with the right product offering (bundle) to address the peculiarities and specificity of each market.  Diageo (NYSE:DEO), Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM), and P&G (NYSE:PG) overseas success exemplifies this strategy.

All-three companies have treated the world market as a collection of all three segments, devising value propositions that include the right mix of global and local product characteristics to address the peculiarities and specificities of each market segment, as discussed in a previous piece.

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Beverage maker Diageo mixes global drinks with local drinks and liquors to create product offerings that cater to local markets. Diageo's Gordon Edge, a mix of gin and lemon, caters to the UK market. Meanwhile Safari Luna, a mixed of fruit and liquor, caters to the Netherlands.

Allied Domecq's Presidente brandy and cola mix caters to the Mexican market, while TG — a mix of Scotch and guanana — caters to the Brazilian market. Campari's Mixx, a mix of grapefruit and Campari, caters to the Italian and Swiss market.

In some cases, Diageo has localized marketing to promote local brands, as is the case with its Bulliet brand, marketed to local bars. "By restricting ad spending and selling only to select bars, Diageo aimed to create an independent, hipster aura around Bulleit," writes Wall Street's Peter Evans. "The plan worked: Buoyed by the renaissance in bourbon and with a growing following in the cocktail trade, sales of Bulleit have increased fivefold in the past three years, largely through "on-trade" sales in bars."

This localized strategy is in sharp contrast to the globalized strategy for the company's major brands, like Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Guinness.

P&G has designed value propositions that promote product characteristics, such as shampoo and dental paste branding and chemical components globally, while localized product packaging.

The company has crafted a careful strategy for each local market, especially in diverse emerging markets like China. "[P&G] entered China in the 1980s and first developed a distribution network for shampoo," writes Edward Tse in The China Strategy. "Then P&G added other products one by one, building on its experience both in reaching markets across the country and running marketing campaigns to support the launch of each new category of goods."

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) has designed Pizza Hut and KFC menus that include both a global and a local component. This is especially the case for China, YUM's largest overseas market. "Like Procter & Gamble, KFC spent a long time—nearly a decade—figuring out its basic model, which gave it the foundation it needed to embark on its rapid restaurant rollout in its second decade in China," writes Tse in The China Strategy. "KFC deliberately adopted products and practices that would mesh well with inherent qualities of the Chinese markets it was trying to reach."

The bottom line: Winning in a diverse world market takes three different value propositions, one for each segment: A universal value proposition for the pure global segment; a customized value proposition for the localized segment; and a hybrid value proposition for the semiglobal segments.

3 Types of Dividend Growth Stocks For Income Investors

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Throughout my experience as a dividend growth investor, I have identified three types of dividend growth stocks. Each type of equities comes with a distinct set of yield and growth characteristics, which the enterprising dividend investor can use to their advantage.

In my dividend portfolio, I own all types of equities, in order to benefit from long-term growth and also to add some sustainable high income in case growth doesn’t turn out as expected.

The three types include:

1)  High yielding stocks which typically grow distributions more slowly.

Most companies in this category include utilities, telecom, real estate investment trusts and many master limited partnerships. Many of these companies are natural monopolies over a certain activity such as electricity transmission in a particular area. There could be government regulation which ensures the monopoly status in a particular region, but also limits the amount of profits and returns on capital that companies could enjoy.

Others, as in the case of REITs, have properties which are already established, and would take a lot of effort from competitors to replicate that success. After all, the chances of a competitor building a new mall next to an established one are very low, as it takes time to build something and might be impractical to engage in a price war to compete for customers when you have steep upfront costs to foot. These companies generate stable streams of earnings, which do not grow quickly, but are dependable. This results in fewer dividend cuts during recessions. Because of their slow growth, such companies typically yield more than the market.

Examples of companies in the first type include:

Realty Income (O) has regularly raised distributions for 20 years in a row. The company has managed to increase dividends by 6% per year over the past decade.Yield: 5.30% (analysis)

Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP)  has regularly raised distributions for 18 years in a row. The partnership has managed to increase dividends by 7.40% per year over the past decade.Yield: 6.80% (analysis)

AT&T (T) has managed to increase dividend for 30 consecutive years. Over the past decade, the company has managed to boost dividends by 4.90% per year.Yield: 5% (analysis)

2) Companies in the sweet spot.

These are dividend stalwarts, which generate strong earnings growth, and have average or above average yields. Some of these companies tend to satisfy everyday consumer needs for medicine, cosmetics, toiletries, food, gas etc. They tend to have strong brand names and wide moats which help these companies to charge a premium price to customers. The perceived qualities of these everyday products or services, make them a preferred choice for customers, who might be willing to go out of their way in order to find what they are looking for.

For example, consumers would prefer Tylenol to its generic version. Others loyally purchase Gillette shaving products on a regular basis, without hesitation. These repeatable purchases, multiplied by millions of consumers worldwide, lead to a diversified stream of revenues for the companies that sell those products.

These companies also invest billions in research to identify new product or services solutions for their customers, identify efficiencies to increase profitability and expand organically or through acquisitions.

Examples of the companies that will provide current yield with dividend growth include:

Coca-Cola (KO) has boosted distributions for 51 years in a row. The company has managed to increase dividends by 9.80% per year over the past decade.Yield: 3% (analysis)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has regularly raised dividends for 51 years in a row. The company has managed to increase dividends by 10.80% per year over the past decade.Yield: 2.90% (analysis)

Wal-Mart (WMT) has managed to increase dividend for 39 consecutive years. Over the past decade, the company has managed to boost dividends by 18% per year.Yield: 2.50% (analysis)

McDonald’s (MCD) has boosted distributions for 38 years in a row. The company has managed to increase dividends by 22.80%/year over the past decade.Yield: 3.40% (analysis)

3) The third type of dividend growth stocks includes companies with strong earnings and dividend growth, which tend to have below average yields.

These are the companies that are in a growth stage, and they tend to reinvest most of their earnings back into growing the business. Such companies have the potential to deliver high total returns over time, and the rapid dividend growth from a low base could deliver double or even triple digit yields on cost after a couple decades. Some of these stocks are typically richly priced, which is why the best time to purchase them is during market declines.

Investors have to closely monitor these companies, in order to make sure that future growth can materialize. Otherwise, if growth slows down, shares that are trading at higher multiples could fall pretty quickly, even if earnings are still increasing.

Some of the companies on my dividend growth wish list include:

Family Dollar (FDO) has boosted distributions for 38 years in a row. The company has managed to increase dividends by 13.60% per year over the past decade.Yield: 1.70% (analysis)

Casey’s General Stores (CASY) has managed to increase dividend for 14 consecutive years. Over the past decade, the company has managed to boost dividends by 19.10% per year.Yield: 1.10% (analysis)

Yum! Brands (YUM) has boosted distributions for 10 years in a row. The company has managed to increase dividends by 15.10%/year over the past five years.Yield: 2% (analysis)

Full Disclosure: Long O, KMR, KO, JNJ, WMT, MCD, FDO, CASY, YUM

The Biggest Threat to Firms That Serve the Wealthy

As high-net-worth investors work with greater numbers of financial professionals and gravitate toward boutique-like service models, such as RIAs, multifamily offices and state-registered trust companies, the pressure is on providers to attract new wealthy clients.

In a wide-ranging report on the high-net-worth market, defined as clients with $5 million or more in investable assets, Cerulli Associates said that while new clients were crucial, firms courted danger if they failed to better engage the heirs of existing clients.

Heirs who are not adequately prepared for inheritances not only threaten legacies, but are the greatest threat to legacy providers’ asset bases when the fortunes are dispersed among numerous beneficiaries, Cerulli said.

The study found that HNW providers generally understood that engaging heirs now, including a spouse, increased the odds of retaining the inherited assets.

Many providers are trying to involve children at the outset of a new relationship, or persuading existing clients to invite their children. Others are designing boot camp programs to educate younger HNW investors on basic and advanced investing concepts, and to provide an opportunity to network with well-off peers.

These efforts give patriarchs and matriarchs the opportunity to explain the risks associated with accumulating wealth, and the risks that need to be hedged against when preserving wealth.

Cerulli said legacy providers, including wirehouses and bank trusts, should engage heirs to ensure they do not take cues from their wealth-creating peers, who are progressively shifting their assets to providers that offer greater levels of flexibility and control, including direct providers such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

The HNW Market’s Allure

HNW families and their advisors offer asset managers intriguing opportunities owing to their complex needs, primary objectives and wide-ranging aspirational goals.

It’s not surprising, then, that 56% of all asset managers surveyed by Cerulli considered the HNW market more appealing than other business lines because of investors’ sophistication.

Another 53% found the market more attractive because of the various vehicles used, and 50% liked the long hold periods.

Less attractive aspects of the HNW market included a time-consuming sales process.

Cerulli said asset managers could gain significant insights by viewing these attributes of the individual distribution channels that are advising the clients. For example, asset managers rank RIAs as the most attractive channel for HNW clients.

Most RIAs, as well as multifamily offices, rely on third-party managers. Because they are autonomous and embrace open architecture, they are highly accommodating providers for cutting-edge products such as hedge funds.

Bank trusts represent the longest holding periods, but asset managers view them as conservative providers and do not like the lengthy sales process that averages 10 months.

The big wirehouses are an anomaly. With their immense scale, scope of services and huge advisor force, they dominate the overall HNW market both in assets and market share and are expected to uphold control, Cerulli said. Their advisors distribute the largest percentage of HNW assets to mutual funds and separate accounts compared with other channels. And thanks to their internal resources, they represent the fastest timeframe in winning an HNW account at an average of just five months.

However, the wirehouses are only the fourth-most attractive HNW channel for asset managers. Cerulli attributed this to the surge of RIAs and MFOs, bank trusts increasingly adopting open architecture and the fact that wirehouses are well known for leveraging their influence on required revenue sharing.

State-Registered Trusts

Cerulli estimated that state-registered trust companies control $446 billion in HNW assets, making them the third-largest HNW channel, albeit far behind wire houses with $2.3 trillion and private client groups with $1.4 trillion.

Cerulli said 2013 marked the first year it had presented state trusts as their own unique channel.

For asset managers, the majority of these banking organizations are nimbler and more technologically savvy than their nationally registered counterparts. As well, these firms tend to be more reliant on third-party managers and products because they lack the resources for proprietary funds.

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At the same time, the study found, efficiently wholesaling into these firms may be a challenge owing to their private nature and scattered locations.

Cerulli expected state-registered trusts to continue to grow as more wealth managers and investors take advantage of states vying for the business via lax state laws and taxation.

It projected that the state-registered entities would post asset growth of more than 8% over the next 3.5 years, outpacing the growth of both nationally registered bank trusts and private client groups.

Fee Compression

Cerulli’s data showed that nearly three-quarters of HNW providers remained committed to their “stated fee schedules” during the past three years, while the remaining one-quarter reported an increase.

However, Cerulli said that despite the actions taken over the past three years, major differences existed between HNW providers’ stated fees and those they actually imposed.

Given the intensifying competition for HNW assets, a client’s investable assets continued to be the pivotal element in determining fees, according to the report. Approximately three-quarters of HNW providers said their minimum fee was 1%, if not greater, while only 18% reported a minimum between 50 and 99 basis points.

In reality, discounting among HNW wealth managers remains rampant, the report said. On average, they impose a fee of just 51 basis points on all investors with more than $5 million in investable assets.

Cerulli reported that, on average, bank trust organizations were imposing among the lowest stated fees. This was especially true for clients investing between $25 million and $50 million.

---

Check out another story on this study, HNW Investors’ Needs Differ as Wealth Increases: Cerulli, on ThinkAdvisor.

4 reasons Warren Buffett loves Wells Fargo stock

Historically, Berkshire Hathaway — the conglomerate holding company run by Chair and CEO Warren Buffett and Vice Chair Charlie Munger — has achieved the rare and elusive feat of beating the market. The per-share book value of Berkshire Hathaway has increased more quickly than the S&P 500 equity index for every five-year period since 1965, boasting a compounded annual gain of 19.7% compared to 9.4% for the market, including dividends.

The track record is nothing short of astonishing, and it has earned Buffett a legendary reputation that would seem fictitious if it weren't backed up by data. Research into Buffett's investing strategy conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates that far from simply being lucky, Berkshire Hathaway has managed to produce outsize returns with minimal risk consistently for at least the past 30 years.

Buffett has done this by adhering to a fairly simple overarching strategy: Buy great companies (or stakes of those companies) at good prices. The value investing paradigm, first championed by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd at the Columbia Business School, which Buffett attended, saturates Buffett's decision-making process.

Investors large and small turn to Buffett and the philosophy he champions for guidance in their own investment decisions. While playing follow the leader is generally not a winning strategy, there is something to be said for taking a look at the big investments Buffett makes. Here's a look at his largest holding, Wells Fargo.

1. Great company at a good price, or a good company at a great price?

In 1989, Buffett wrote to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that, "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." He was speaking about "bargain-purchase" folly, one of the traps of the value investing philosophy that can be surprisingly difficult to avoid. In his 1989 letter, he admits to falling into it himself with, among other things, the purchase of the Berks! hire textile manufacturing company. He was "enticed to buy because the price looked cheap," but as he went on to say, the deal wasn't such a bargain after all.

"Now, when buying companies or common stocks," he wrote, "we look for first-class businesses accompanied by first-class managements." Ostensibly, this means Wells Fargo. Buffett first invested in the bank in 1989, and has been seriously adding to his position for nearly a decade. At the time of his first purchase, Buffet told Berkshire shareholders that, "With Wells Fargo, we think we have obtained the best managers in the business, Carl Reichardt and Paul Hazen." Reichardt was president of the bank from 1978 to 1984, and chair the institution until 1994; Hazen succeeded Rechardt as president, until 1998, and later chair, until 2001.

Buffett owned 5 million shares of Wells Fargo stock in 1990 for a cost of $289.4 million. He's bought in at a number of different price points since, but his philosophy appears to have remained the same. He's continued to add to his position based on the idea that Wells Fargo is one of the best banks in the business being run by some of the best people in the business. At the helm right now is John Strumpf.

Back in 1990, Buffett wrote that, "Because leverage of 20:1 magnifies the effects of managerial strengths and weaknesses, we have no interest in purchasing shares of a poorly-managed bank at a 'cheap' price. Instead, our only interest is in buying into well-managed banks at fair prices."

2. Some bets on housing are good bets

The late 2000s wasn't the only period of time during which the housing market was, let's say, frothy. Writing in 1990, Buffett mused that, "The market's major fear of the moment is that West Coast real estate values will tumble because of overbuilding and deliver huge losses to banks that have financed the expansion." Then, as now, Wells Fargo was a leading real estate lender, and (then, as now) this exposure was a red flag for many investors.

That year, fea! rs of dis! aster in the west coast market contributed to a 50% decline in Wells Fargo stock price. Buffett, cool as a cucumber, bought more. "We welcomed the decline because it allowed us to pick up many more shares at the new, panic prices," he told shareholders.

Some of the same thinking no doubt resurfaced over the past decade as the housing market inflated and burst, and Buffett added to his position in Wells Fargo throughout it all. Buffett has bet big — sometimes a little too optimistically — on the recovery of the housing market, saying in 2011 that "Housing will come back – you can be sure of that." What better way to capitalize on the trend than to own a sizable share of the largest retail mortgage lender in the country?

The bank's exposure to housing hasn't been without cost, though. At the end of 2013, Wells Fargo announced that it would have to pay $591 to Fannie Mae in order to settle claims that it sold defective mortgages during the financial crisis of 2008.

3. The recovery of the financial industry is real

Buffett is often seen as a different kind of investor than those who make up the nebulous Wall Street crowd. His approach is so well-grounded in common sense, his personality so agreeable, that he is often not mentioned in the same breath as Wall Street. But Buffett's stake in Wells Fargo, and his enormous stakes in a number of other major banks, are clear, and he is straightforward about his position on the financial industry as a whole.

"The banks will not get this country in trouble," Buffett told Bloomberg's Betty Liu early in 2013. "I guarantee it. The capital ratios are huge, the excesses on the asset side have been largely cleared out." At the time, Buffett had multibillion dollar investments in four of the seven largest U.S. lenders by assets. "Our banking system is in the best shape in recent memory," Buffett told Bloomberg.

Buffett's comments didn't pass without criticism and many financial institutions have had to pay billions to settle the law! suits tha! t emerged in the wake of the crisis, but the investments speak for themselves. Buffett has banked billions from his dealings with America's largest financial institutions, including more than $5 billion from his deal with Bank of America and about $2 billion from his deal with Goldman Sachs.

Buffett was greedy when other people are fearful and served as a white knight lender to many financial institutions during the crisis. The result was an enormous win for Berkshire.

4. What it all comes down to

At the end of the day, the success of Buffett's investment comes down to the price of Wells Fargo stock. On February 10, shares were trading at $45.50, up about 28% on the year, up nearly 50% over the past two years, and up nearly 190% over the past five. The bank, and its stock, performed relatively well throughout the financial crisis and over a 10-year time frame, only JPMorgan really compares.

Analysts hold a mean price target of $49.01 and a median price target of $50 on the stock, representing potential upside of about 10%.

5 Tech Stocks to Trade for Gains This Week

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- After a long period of stock market underperformance, the tech sector is starting to look exciting for investors again. And that's creating some big opportunities in tech stocks this week.

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Typically, technology sector outperformance is synonymous with bull markets. But not this one. Since last June, the S&P 500 has moved 10.3% higher, while the tech sector has only managed to move the needle 4.5%. By and large, technology names haven't fully participated in this rally.

But if the trading setups in big tech names are any indication, they could be about to make up for lost time. Today, we'll take a technical look at five of them.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

For the unfamiliar, technical analysis is a way for investors to quantify qualitative factors, such as investor psychology, based on a stock's price action and trends. Once the domain of cloistered trading teams on Wall Street, technicals can help top traders make consistently profitable trades and can aid fundamental investors in better planning their stock execution.

Without further ado, let's take a look at five technical setups worth trading now.

Micron Technology

First up is Micron Technology (MU), a name that's been one of the tech sector's shining momentum stars for the last year and change. Shares of MU have more than tripled in the last 12 months -- and this stock could have even further to go thanks to a bullish setup in shares.

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Micron spent the last two months forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish price setup that was formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $24 and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as MU bounced in between those two technical price levels, it was getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above resistance at $24. Taking out $24 was the buy signal in MU -- and it triggered on Friday.

Momentum, measured by 14-day RSI, adds some extra confidence to upside in Micron. The momentum gauge broke its intermediate-term downtrend at the same time MU's shares pushed through $24. Since momentum is a leading indicator of price, that's a good sign for bulls.

If you decide to jump into MU here, I'd recommend putting a protective stop just below the 50-day moving average.

SunPower

We're seeing the exact same setup in shares of solar power systems maker SunPower (SPWR), except this mid-cap solar name hasn't broken out yet. The breakout comes on a push through resistance at $34. When $34 gets taken out, buying shares becomes a high-probability trade.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

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

That $34 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant -- the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

Wait for the breakout before taking the trade.

InvenSense

It's been a solid year for InvenSense (INVN); the small-cap motion interface device maker has rallied more that 36% in the trailing 12 months. And like the other technology stocks on our list of trading setups, INVN looks well-positioned for even more upside in 2014.

>>3 Huge Stocks to Trade (or Not)

That's because INVN is currently forming a cup and handle pattern, a classic bullish price setup that's formed by a cup-shaped rounding bottom in shares that's followed up by a short-duration channel down. The buy signal comes on a move through the pattern's price ceiling at $21. Shares are pushing up very close to that level in today's session thanks to news that a lingering patent dispute is getting settled.

Like with MU, the 50-day moving average has been a pretty good proxy for support all the way up in shares of InvenSense. It makes sense to keep a protective stop below that level in case this trade loses traction.

Infosys

Forget about the pattern names for a moment -- you don't have to be an expert technical analyst to figure out what's going on in shares of Infosys (INFY), the $32 billion Indian IT outsourcing firm. Instead, a quick glance at the chart is sufficient.

>>4 Stocks Breaking Out on Big Volume

Infosys is currently bouncing higher in an uptrending channel, a price setup that's been in place since all the way back at the start of the summer. From a relative strength standpoint, this name has been holding up exceptionally well over that six-month span, with shares catching a bid on every test of the trend line support level at the bottom of the channel. So with INFY sitting at the bottom of the channel for a sixth time now, it makes sense to buy the bounce.

Waiting to buy off a support bounce makes sense for two big reasons: It's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong). Remember, all trend lines do eventually break, but by actually waiting for the bounce to happen first, you're ensuring INFY can actually still catch a bid along that line before you put your money on shares.

Alcatel-Lucent

Last up is Alcatel Lucent (ALU), the $10.5 billion French communications firm that's become a popular trading vehicle in the last couple of years. That huge liquidity in shares of ALU means that it's more likely to be technically obedient -- and considering the bullish setup in shares, that's a very good thing for anyone who owns shares.

Alcatel Lucent is currently forming an inverse head and shoulders pattern, a trading setup that indicates exhaustion among sellers. The pattern is formed by two swing lows that bottom out around the same level (the shoulders), separated by a deeper low (the head). The buy signal comes on a move through the neckline, which is right at $4.60.

So far, this pattern isn't complete -- it hasn't formed a right shoulder yet. But ultimately, for the reasons I mentioned earlier, that doesn't have a big bearing on the trading implications of ALU. If shares can catch a bid above $4.60, I'd be a buyer -- with a tight stop in place, of course. This stock is still a volatile name.

To see this week's trades in action, check out the Technical Setups for the Week portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS:

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>>5 Dividend Stocks That Want to Give You a Raise in 2014

>>4 Hot Stocks on Traders' Radars

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

For consumer cellular prices, look out below!

SAN FRANCISCO — Mobile phone service in the U.S. looks headed down the same path as traditional land-line voice communication before it.

It's dropping in price, thanks to the Internet, and the fall is just now accelerating.

AT&T fired the loudest shot in the brewing price war last week when it slashed the cost of its family data plans, a move aimed at stealing high-end customers from rival Verizon.

The price cut came one month after No. 4 U.S. operator T-Mobile boldly offered to pay the hefty fees consumers usually pay when they switch carriers before the end of their contract.

Yet the biggest disruption to the consumer cellular market may come from below, thanks to a small Internet-based upstart with eye-popping prices and an aggressive business plan.

Los Angeles-based FreedomPop — which in October rolled out the novel combination of a low-end smartphone and free basic service for voice, text and data — has now upped the ante on its giant rivals.

Starting this month, it's also offering unlimited voice and text plans for just $4.58 a month, a small fraction of what larger carriers charge.

What's more, FreedomPop is now offering the service on higher-end phones.

John Shinal, technology columnist for USA TODAY.(Photo: USA TODAY)

"We're declaring war on an industry that's taken advantage of consumers for too long," FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols says.

The company's service takes advantage of the fact that most mobile calls today travel over the Internet for at least part of their journey between callers.

Breaking voice calls into packets of data and sending them alongside other digital traffic over the big carriers' Internet-switch networks has dramatically lowe! red the operator's costs.

But so far at least, the savings have been reaped mostly by the wireless giants rather than consumers.

That's why the fight between the two largest U.S. cellular carriers unnerved telecom investors, who sold off their shares and those of T-Mobile and No. 3 operator Sprint after AT&T's price cut.

An average plan that includes 500 MB of data costs $85 a month in the U.S., compared with $8.80 in the U.K. and $24.10 in China, according to the International Telecom Union.

Yet as we told you here in October, FreedomPop is offering a comparable plan for free, and has now cut the cost of a more-robust plan targeted at higher-end smartphone users by more than half.

I've been testing the service, which runs over Sprint's network for the last two weeks on a Samsung Galaxy 2 phone, alongside two other phones: an iPhone 3G running on AT&T's network and an iPhone 4S from Sprint.

I carried all three around, checking service strength and placing various calls from my home office in San Francisco and while traveling the Bay Area by car and subway.

FreedomPop's service requires a strong 3G connection to work properly, and even in places where I was connected to Sprint's 4G LTE network and Wi-Fi, the signal was a bit weaker than AT&T's.

For example, FreedomPop had no luck grabbing a signal while I was riding underground on public transit trains, whereas I do get service on my iPhone.

The upstart service also dropped a call to a wireline phone number on the East Coast of the U.S. while I was sitting at my desk, something that almost never happens on AT&T's network.

Still, for the majority of the calls I made during the business day, most around the Bay Area, the service worked fine.

So while I can't recommend it right now for heavy business users or helicopter moms who demand Grade A service 100% of the time, it's an adequate phone and service package for most consumers.

And at the price FreedomPop is offering,! the cost! savings versus the large carrier plans is as much as 85%.

To offer the service so cheaply, FreedomPop buys its smartphones at auctions in warehouses and on shipyard docks. The startup is on track to sign up more than 200,000 customers by the end of this quarter, Stokols told me last month.

"The big carriers know that the threat is coming, but they're more worried about each other right now," said Stokols, a former executive with British Telecom.

In the meantime, FreedomPop will be trying to revolutionize cellular pricing from below, one user at a time.

John Shinal has covered tech and financial markets for 15 years at Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, the San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal Digital Network and others. Follow him on Twitter: @johnshinal.

When Titans Collide: Coke vs. Pepsi

Coke vs. Pepsi--the age-old debate. While this debate usually revolves around the flavors of these two beverage makers, I am going to take a look at the companies' growth prospects going into 2014. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) shares are only up a modest 10% year-to-date, while PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  )  has had a much better year with its shares up almost 20%. So which of these soda titans will have a better 2014 ?

Sales
While on the surface Pepsi and Coca-Cola look like very similar companies, that simply isn't the case. Coca-Cola collects 75% of its revenue from the sale of its carbonated beverages, while Pepsi only makes 25% of its revenue from the sale of carbonated drinks. The bulk of Pepsi's revenue comes from its food division that owns popular brands such as Frito-Lay.

Sales of carbonated beverages in the United States may be affected by anti-sugary drink legislation. Right off the bat it's clear that one company, Coca-Cola, will be more affected by legislation aimed at banning sugary drinks, such as New York's sugary-drink ban. Due to Coca-Cola's lack of diversity in the products it manufactures, which are heavily beverage-related, the company will struggle to bolster sales with American soda demand slowly declining.

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Growth 
Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi announced that soft drink sales have been declining at a 3% annual rate as consumers demand healthier and more natural-seeming options. However, Pepsi's loss in sales of carbonated drinks was covered by the recent surge in its sales of snack products.

Volume in the American, Latin American, European, and Asian food businesses gained about 3%, led by double-digit growth in China, Pakistan, and Turkey. These encouraging pieces of data bolstered Pepsi's sales numbers in the third quarter but really didn't do much for Coca-Cola.

Emerging markets
China is one of the fastest growing snack-food markets in the world. Forbes reported that China will also quickly become the world's largest beverage market, and it may become the largest snacks market in five to 10 years. 

To take advantage of this growth both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have increased their presences in the region. Coca-Cola opened a bottling plant in Myanmar on June 4th. Forbes reported that the company also plans to invest $200 million in Myanmar over the next five years.

Pepsi is getting its foothold in the region through other means. Pepsi's CEO said the company plans to open a manufacturing plant in Myanmar, but until then Pepsi plans to work with local distributors to sell their products and work with local farmers to create a supply of potatoes for chips.

While Coca-Cola seems to have a bit of a head start in Myanmar, its facilities will only help the company gain a share of the region's fast-growing beverage market. Pepsi's approach will create a base from which Pepsi is able to capture market share in both the beverage and snack-food markets. 

Foolish takeaway 
Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi's drink divisions will suffer over the next few years due to declining demand for soda in the domestic market. However, Pepsi will have the upper hand thanks to the diversity of the products it manufactures. Pepsi's popular line of "healthy" drinks, like Tropicana, will also fare well as American consumers demand healthier alternatives to soft drinks.

Because Pepsi will probably be able to offset its weak soft drink sales with increased revenue from snack products, it seems it is in better shape to tackle the food and beverage business in 2014 and beat Coca-Cola in the market again next year. 

What's the Fool's favorite stock for 2014?
There's a huge difference between a good stock, and a stock that can make you rich. The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for 2014, and it's one of those stocks that could make you rich. You can find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2014." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

As pay phones vanish, so does lifeline for many

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For pay phones here and everywhere else in America, the dial tone is flat lining.

In an age when just about everyone seems to have a cellphone, coin-operated phones are disappearing from the landscape at a rapid clip — and with them a lifeline for the poor.

2012: Phone booths disappear
2011: Number of pay phones drops to 425K

Those that remain stand on street corners and in suburban plazas like monuments to history, quaint relics of the past and curiosities to children of the 21st century.

"I've never used a pay phone," Jessica Maye, 20, confessed recently while walking downtown. "I tried to use a pay phone once, but it didn't work, I didn't know how to use it."

Advancements in mobile communications technology and reductions in price have put the pay phone on the endangered species list, and the latest figures show how quickly they are vanishing.

Pay phones in the United States numbered 243,487 at the end of last year, the most recent figures available from the Federal Communications Commission. Ten years earlier, more than 1.7 million were installed across the country with more than 2 million at the turn of the century, according to the FCC.

Waiting for a bus in downtown Rochester, Eddie These defied a reporter to spot someone using one of the pay phones a few yards from the bus shelter.

"They're obsolete. They're like dinosaurs," said These, 57, a Rochester resident who recalled last using a pay phone more than 15 years ago.

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A 2002 movie that won't be made again: Colin Farrell, starring in "Phone Booth," is trappe! d after being told by a caller -- a serial killer with a sniper rifle -- that he'll be shot if he hangs up.(Photo: 20th Century Fox)

But just as the likes of Maye and These wonder who still plunks down 50 cents — yes, the cost has doubled in the past decade — to make a call, pay phone operators and trade associations insist pay phones are used and serve an invaluable public function.

"The best numbers we have I think underestimate the number of households in America that have no phone at all," said Randy Nichols, president of the American Public Communications Council. "If somebody doesn't have a phone, the only place they can make a call is the pay phone."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 3 million households in the country do not have access to either a landline or cellphone. Residents of those households in many cases rely on borrowing cellphones and pay phones.

James McMullen, 58, of Rochester, is one of those people. He said he uses pay phones every day to place calls to his friends, his doctor, his work and whoever else he may need to reach.

"I use a pay phone just about every day," said McMullen, slapping a thick hand on top of a phone affixed to the Cox Building on St. Paul Street. "I don't use a (cell) phone and I don't have a regular phone, so I use the old iron one."

Another Rochester resident, Randy Tisdale, 33, has a cellphone but said he uses a pay phone every couple of days to save prepaid minutes and money. When he runs out of minutes, he said, he relies on pay phones all the more.

"It's better to have these when you don't have no other phone," Tisdale said, referring to a nearby pay phone.

“I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's a booming, growing business, (but) there's also a public service element to this.”

— Phil Yawman, Frontier Communications

Locally, roughly 264,000 calls were placed last year from the 3,055 pay phones in the Rochester area, according to Frontier Communications ! Corp., wh! ich operates most of the remaining pay phones in the region. That translates to each phone being used once every four days — a rate well shy of the 80 to 100 calls a month that industry advocates estimate are needed for a pay phone to turn a profit.

But Frontier points out that the phones also facilitated 3,500 free calls to 411 and 911 last year, and the company says those calls are on track to top 5,200 this year.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you it's a booming, growing business," said Phil Yawman, vice president and general manager of Frontier's greater Rochester market. "But it's still a viable piece of what we do and a business that we remain committed to even thought it's not the growth business it was years ago.

"And there's also a public service element to this," he said. "We believe it's important for everyone in this community to be able to get access to the outside world quickly in a time of need."

Emergencies and natural disasters periodically restore the luster of pay phones as streetscape lifelines. Reports of pay phone usage spiked, for instance, in the aftermath of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy, when cellphone service was overwhelmed or towers were rendered useless.

Vanessa Ganzler, 30, of Chili, N.Y., recalled being rescued because of a pay phone during her own minor emergency two months ago, when she discovered her cellphone battery had died and she needed to call a taxi. She said the episode reminded her how valuable pay phones could be in a pinch.

"Not every cellphone company is a 'Can you hear me now?'" said Ganzler, referring to the popular Verizon Wireless slogan. "They're not all reliable."

A pedestrian speaking on a mobile phone walks past a series of old red British pho! ne boxes ! modeled into a work of art in 2004 in Kingston town centre in southwest London.(Photo: Adam Butler, AP)

By the numbers

• 243,487: pay phones nationwide at the end of 2012

• 425,000: pay phones in 2011

• 1.7 million: pay phones in 2002

• 2.2 million: pay phones in 2000

Who will work less under Obamacare

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Working more may be less rewarding for some people under Obamacare.

That's because, just like other income-based government programs, the more you earn, the less assistance you receive. This disincentive to bringing home a bigger paycheck will shrink the labor force by the equivalent of 2.5 million workers by 2024, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates released this week.

Obamacare provides federal subsidies for those who make less than $46,000 for individuals and $94,200 for families of four in 2014. Because the subsidy levels are tiered based on income, a few extra dollars of pay can greatly lower your subsidy amount. And in some cases, it can actually cost you money.

Take a 50-year-old couple with two children. If they earn $94,000, they will receive a $3,345 subsidy and only have to pay $8,930 in premiums, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation subsidy calculator. But if their salary increases by just $1,000, they no long qualify for a subsidy and have to pay the full $12,275 cost of insurance.

"People can work less and make more," said Casey Mulligan, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, who has written about how part-time work will become attractive under Obamacare.

Share your story: Will you work less now that you have Obamacare insurance or Medicaid?

Others will just see their some of their extra income whittled away by a decline in the subsidy. But that may be enough to change their behavior, much as higher-income people who will be subject to a new Obamacare tax may not want to work as hard.

While lower-income adults still need money for food, shelter and other necessities, Obamacare can relieve them of the additional pressure of getting health care. So the CBO projects that many people will cut back on hours worked to remain eligible for assistance, but not walk away from their jobs.

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Look at someone who earns $29,000 a year, who would lose $115 in subsidies if she earned $1,000 more.

"You could bust a gut to $30,000, but then your subsidy goes down," Katherine Baicker, a health economics professor at Harvard. "You think maybe I should spend that time taking care of my kids."

In states that have opted to expand Medicaid -- about half the nation -- individuals earning just under $16,000 and families of four with incomes less than $32,500 can now qualify.

Some studies on Medicaid show how access to the program can affect work. In Wisconsin, for instance, employment among adults allowed into Medicaid in 2009 dropped 20% during the analysis period. And their quarterly earnings fell by $200 to $400, on balance, said study co-author Laura Dague, an assistant professor at Texas A&M.

  Will Obamacare affect health care costs?

For some, access to health insurance independent of their job will prompt them to leave the workforce entirely. They had remained employed only because they needed health insurance and had no other way of getting it previously, said Gary Claxton, director of the Health Care Marketplace Project at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Those who may want to quit their jobs include people nearing retirement or folks who are ill or caring for a sick family member. The disabled may want to cut back, as may people working extra shifts. And some may prefer to have that extra time to spend as they want.

While they have no doubt that Obamacare will affect work habits, experts warn that though the CBO number may seem eye-popping, the reductions will be mainly at the margins. There were 155 million people in the labor market in December.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014

The yield on the 10 Yr G-sec has again started to rise after a sharp fall last month due to the OMOs conducted by RBI in order to increase liquidity in the market. The downside was also supported by significant Net FII inflows into the debt market earlier this year. However, recently, FIIs have been net sellers in the debt segment as the fundamentals of India have deteriorated significantly as observed amongst recent domestic economic data. Moreover, RBI� decision of not conducting OMOs in the current week has stimulated the up side rally in yields.

With today� IIP data coming below market expectations, focus will turn towards the release of headline WPI data next week. Expectations are for inflation to ease down to 6.70% as compared with prior monthly reading of 7.47%. Should the data come in line with market expectations, it would give room for the RBI to consider cutting benchmark interest rates, which in turn could support yields to inch lower.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (TCS.NS)

Tata Consultancy Services Limited provides information technology (IT) services, business solutions, and outsourcing services primarily in the Americas, Europe, and India. The company offers IT services, including custom application development and management, migration and re-engineering, system integration, testing, and performance engineering; and IT infrastructure services comprising IT service desk, data center and end user computing services, application management services, managed security services, converged network services, enterprise system management, IT service management, and transformation solutions. It also provides enterprise solutions consisting of supply chain and customer relationship management, as well as RFID, call management, Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP; and consulting services. In addition, the company offers business process outsourcing services; platform BPO solutions; business intelligence and performance management; engineering and industrial s ervices; assurance services; asset leveraged solutions; and eco-sustainability services, as well as various services to small and medium businesses. Further, it provides various software products, which include financial solutions under TCS BaNCS brand name; technology products; and other products for enterprises in the insurance, health, and life science industries. The company serves banking and financial services, energy, resources, utilities, government, health care and life sciences, high tech, insurance, manufacturing, media and information services, retail and consumer products, telecom, travel, transportation, and hospitality industries. It has strategic partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, EMC, Google Enterprise, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, NetApp, RIM, and SAP, as well as with JDA Software Group, Inc., Sun Microsystems, Inc., and Xerox Corporation. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Mumbai, India. Tata Consultancy Services Limited is a subsidiary of Tata Sons Limited.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (SOTL.NS)

Savita Oil Technologies Limited manufactures and sells petroleum products in India and internationally. The company?s products include transformer oils, liquid paraffin and white oils, lubricating oils/greases, petroleum jellies, optic fiber cable filling compound, emulsifiable polyethylene wax, and waxes, as well as specialty wax emulsion for leather finishing, water based paints, and printing inks. It also generates and sells wind power. The company, formerly known as Savita Chemicals Limited, is based in Mumbai, India.

Best Industrial Disributor Companies To Buy For 2015: (GSPL.NS)

Gujarat State Petronet Limited operates as a natural gas transmission company in India. The company develops energy transportation infrastructure and connects natural gas supply sources, including LNG terminals to various markets in Gujarat. Its transmission network consists of a medium-to-high pressure natural gas transmission grid comprising approximately 1874 kilometers of pipeline network that transports approximately 35 million metric standard cubic meters per day of natural gas. The company serves power, fertilizer, steel, chemical plants, and distribution companies. It also engages in generation of electricity through windmills. Gujarat State Petronet Limited was founded in 1998 and is based in Gandhinagar, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (TATASTEEL.NS)

Tata Steel Limited manufactures and sells steel products in India and internationally. The company provides steel products to vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers, and aerospace sector; structural frames, infrastructure, building envelope, and internal fit out application products used for heating and ventilation, and partition walls; hot rolled coil products and high-gloss pre-finished steel perforated blanks primarily for use in domestic appliances, lighting, furniture and office equipment, racking and shelving, battery cases, bake-ware, enamel-coated applications, and decorative pre-finished metals; hot rolled and cold rolled sheets, wire rod and wire, sections, plate, bearings, and tubes for engineering companies; agricultural implements; wire products for use in farming and fencing; and engineering services, including testing, erection, and commissioning, and business consulting services. It also offers tinplate, ECCS, and Protact polymer-coated steel product s for canmaking industry; formable steels for large and intermediary steel drums, and small pails for industrial packaging sector; strip and coil, quenched and tempered plate, and special profiles for track shoe and forklift masts, as well as engineered steel bars and tubes for lifting and excavating sector; welded pipeline packages and prefabricated structural products for wind, and oil and gas structures; light fabricated systems for solar farm foundations; semi finished steel components for drilling and power generation; plates, bulb flats, angles, tubes, sections, and bars for shipbuilding; rail sections sizes, steel sleeper, noise reduction systems, other specialised track, and rail products for rail sector; steel plate and sections, armoured steel, blast protective structures, perimeter security, and anti-attack vehicle barriers, as well as engineering consultancy and solutions to defense and security sector. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Mumb ai, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (NIIT.BO)

NIIT Limited provides information technology (IT) learning solutions for individuals, enterprises, schools, and colleges worldwide. It offers instructor-led and computer-based training, and e-learning programs, such as GNIIT for IT careers; NIIT Edgeineers, a program for engineering graduates and IT professionals; NIIT GlobalNet+, a program on networking and infrastructure management; degrees in alliance with universities; SWIFT for Internet and IT literacy; bioinformatics and educational technology programs; executive management programs for working professionals; training programs for financial services sector; NIIT Uniqua that provides training programs for workers in the business and technology services industry; training.com, an e-Learning Web site; and industry linked joint programs in IT and management sciences, as well as facilitate scholarship programs and IT aptitude test. The company also provides enterprise learning solutions, such as instructor-led and e-learn ing training in IT and soft skills; advisory services; custom content development; application and process rollout training; learner management systems; learner support services; a suite of catalogue products from Element K; assessment and testing services; English language testing, assessment, and training services. In addition, it offers services for colleges and universities, including curriculum design, in-campus learning delivery, and learner and faculty support services. Further, the company provides NIIT eGuru, a school learning solution that includes interactive classrooms; Math lab, a mathematics laboratory for schools; IT Wizard that equips the students with computer knowledge and IT skills; Quick School, an education resource planning solution for school management; and Mobile Science Lab, a portable computerized science laboratory. Additionally, it operates career development centers and other learning centers. NIIT Limited was founded in 1981 and is based in Gur gaon, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (SUZLON.NS)

Suzlon Energy Limited engages in the design, development, manufacture, and supply of wind turbine generators in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe. The company?s product portfolio includes drive systems, annular generators, and grid connection systems, as well as towers and foundations comprising tower constructions, tubular steel towers, precast concrete towers, and foundation constructions. It also involves in the sale/sub-lease of land; infrastructure development; sale of gear boxes, and foundry and forging components; and power generation operations. In addition, the company offers land sourcing and permitting, wind resource assessment, and erection and commissioning services, as well as operations and maintenance services for projects. Suzlon Energy Limited was founded in 1995 and is based in Pune, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (POLARIS.NS)

Polaris Software Lab Limited, a financial technology company, provides software solutions for core banking, corporate banking, wealth and asset management, and insurance sectors. Its products include Intellect Universal Banking, a core banking platform that enables banks to serve markets through various channels; Intellect Consumer Finance Platform, a loan life cycle management solution, an integrated front, middle, and back-office solution for managing wealth management life cycle; Intellect Cards Platform, a credit card application; Intellect Portals, an Internet banking platform; Intellect Cash and Liquidity, a liquidity management software; Intellect Treasury, a web-based software that meets treasury requirements in the areas of fixed income, forex, money markets, derivatives, and risk management; Intellect Business Process Studio, a process automation solution; and Intellect Securities Services, an integrated custodial services solutions. The company also offers servi ces, including enterprise applications and technology platforms, such as Infor BaaN, Siebel, SAP, Business Objects, and IBM technologies; and global shared services, application maintenance and support, full lifecycle implementations, package rollouts, migration / version upgrades, custom application development, and integration services. In addition, the company provides performance engineering services; domain, domain led technology, and domain led validation services; IT enterprise managed services; and business process outsourcing services. It sells its products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, India, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Chennai, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (TECHM.NS)

Tech Mahindra Limited provides information technology (IT) services to the telecommunications industry worldwide. Its IT solutions comprise consulting services, such as strategy planning, assessment, procurement, and re-engineering solutions, as well as planning, audits, and best practices; system integration and transformation services; managed services, including application management, infrastructure management, revenue management, and mobile virtual network enabler services; application development, maintenance, and support services; B/OSS solutions; and business intelligence and data management solutions. The company also offers network solutions and services, including network lifecycle, network integration and testing, data quality management, managed network, and network solutions; and infrastructure management services comprising data centre, managed network, application support, and end user services. In addition, it provides security services, such as security g overnance and compliance, application security consulting, network and system security, business continuity and DR consulting, identity and access management, managed security, security products, and cloud security solutions; business process outsourcing (BPO) services, including customer relationship management, F and A, data analytics, and human resources and enterprise management; value added services comprising enterprise mobility, content, and embedded services; and product engineering services consisting of signaling and switching, wireless infrastructure, hardware and embedded systems, and network management, as well as access, datacom, and transport. Further, the company offers business process management, cloud computing, SAP, and applications testing services, as well as portal solutions. It serves telecom service providers, telecom equipment manufacturers, BPOs, independent software vendors, and non telecom vertical customers. The company was founded in 1986 and i s based in Pune, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (WIPRO.NS)

Wipro Limited provides information technology (IT) products and services, and consumer care and lighting products primarily in India, the United States, and Europe. The IT Services segment provides IT and IT enabled services, including software application development, application maintenance, research and development services for hardware and software design, data center outsourcing services, and business process outsourcing services. The IT Products segment sells a range of personal desktop computers, servers, and notebooks. This segment provides computing, storage, networking, security, and software products. It also acts as a value added reseller of desktops, servers, notebooks, storage products, networking solutions, and packaged software for various brands, as well as delivers hardware, software products, and other related deliverables. This segment serves enterprises in the government, defense, IT and IT-enabled services, telecommunications/telecom service providers , manufacturing, and banking sectors. The Consumer Care and Lighting segment manufactures, distributes, and sells personal care products, baby care products, lighting products, and hydrogenated cooking oils. It provides products in the toilet soaps, toiletries, deodorants, wellness, skincare, and hair care categories; and commercial lighting, office modular furniture, and security solutions. The company also manufactures cylinders and truck hydraulics; distributes hydraulic steering equipment and pumps, motors, and valves for international companies; and provides water solutions business, as well as provides consulting on renewable energy solutions. Wipro Ltd. has a strategic partnership with Red Hat, Inc. Wipro was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Bangalore, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (PATNI.NS)

Patni Computer Systems Limited, an information technology (IT) services company, provides a range of IT services through integrated onsite and offshore delivery locations. Its services include IT strategies development, system consulting and design, application development, application maintenance and support, packaged software implementation, quality assurance, infrastructure management, business process outsourcing, IT outsourcing, and OSS and BSS systems deployment services. The company offers IT services primarily to customers in insurance, manufacturing, retail, distribution, financial services, communications, media, and utilities industries. It also offers product engineering services, including engineering design and modeling, electronic design, embedded software development, and product lifecycle management for legacy products, as well as testing and migration services for new technologies to clients in electronics, automotive, medical electronics, industrial auto mation, office automation, handheld/mobile device manufacturing, and semiconductor manufacturing industries. The company operates in North America, Europe, India, and Japan, as well as in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Patni Computer Systems Limited was incorporated in 1978 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(RDY)

Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical company. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, and biotechnology products. The company also conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, and bacterial infection. In addition, it involves in the contract manufacture generic prescription and over-the-counter products for branded and generic companies in the United States. The company primarily focuses on therapeutic categories of cardiovascular, diabetes management, gastro-intestinal, and pain management. It markets its products in India, the United States, Europe, and the Russian Federation. The company has a co-development and commercialization agreement with Rheoscience A/S for the development and commercialization of Balaglitazone/DRF 2593, a partial PPAR-gamma agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; an agreement with ClinTec Internatio nal for the development of an anti-cancer compound, DRF 1042; collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; and an agreement with Argenta Discovery Limited for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also has an agreement with 7TM Pharma for drug discovery collaboration on selected drug targets; and an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop and market pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology, gastroenterology, and pain management. Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Teva has dropped 7.7% to $37.85 today at 3:23 p.m. but doesn’t seem to be spreading though the generic drug space. Taro Pharmaceuticals (TARO) ha gained 1.1% to $79, while Actavis (ACT) has gained 1.2% to $156.25 and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (RDY) has advanced 1% to $40.24. Mylan (MYL) has dropped 0.7% to $38.40.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (NEPCMICON.NS)

NEPC India Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of wind turbine generators and solar dual power machines in India. The company offers wind turbine generators with capacities ranging up to 225/40 KW, 250/50 KW, 400/100 KW, and 750/180 KW. It also provides solar dual power modules, solar inverters, and UPS for plants. The company?s solar power systems bridge the gap between the grid and the consumer points. It primarily serves small and medium category consumers, as well as utility and energy sectors. NEPC India Limited was founded in 1986 and is based in Chennai, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: (EPIC.BO)

Epic Energy Limited provides energy management solutions in India and internationally. It operates in two divisions, Energy Conservation, and Solar and Wind Energy. The Energy Conservation division principally offers power conditioner and energy saver that reduces the unbalance current and the neutral current, and neutral shifting problems in the transformers, as well as reduces the system current and ensures that the impedance matching is achieved for the load, and accordingly the optimum power is transferred. The Solar and Wind Energy division provides solar products, including solar water heaters, solar lanterns, and solar street lights, as well as solar inverters, solar radio plus torches, solar cool caps, and solar fans, and solar home generators; and wind products, including wind solar hybrid for remote power solutions. This division caters to energy needs of remote households, street lighting, telecommunication, and defense sectors. In addition, Epic Energy offers v arious services, including design, supply, and implementation of SCADA for power utilities and process industries; energy and power quality solutions; energy audit services; and custom products and systems for automatic meter reading. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Mumbai, India.

5 Best India Stocks To Own For 2014: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is based in Chennai, India.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015

Small cap Biomed Realty Trust Inc (NYSE: BMR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) offering an alternative way to gain exposure to the biotech or life sciences sector, meaning it might be worth taking a closer look at it along with a few benchmarks like the Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEARCA: VNQ), iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) and SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA: XBI). Of course, it should be mentioned that REITs have had a rough ride lately�given all the ��apering��talk, but there is still a place for them in your portfolio with Biomed Realty Trust being one of the more unique offerings.

What is Biomed Realty Trust Inc?

Small cap Biomed Realty Trust is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed�REIT focused on providing real estate to the life science industry. Biomed Realty Trust has�over $5.0 billion invested in state-of-the-art research facilities and a world-class portfolio of life science buildings concentrated in the seven core�US life science markets of Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, Maryland, New York/New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Seattle.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: MS Structured Asset Corp Saturns GE Cap Corp Series 2002-14 (MKS)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Marks & Spencer (MKS) Group Plc climbed the most in three weeks after posting sales growth that exceeded projections. Ashmore Group Plc jumped the most in almost 4 1/2 years as the assets under its management increased. Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. dropped 4.7 percent after a report that its chairman has threatened to quit. Evraz Plc declined the most since November 2011 as it refrained from announcing a final dividend for 2012.

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

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

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) slipped 7.2 percent for the worst performance on the FTSE 100. Marks & Spencer Group Plc (MKS) paced a decline among retailers. BT Group Plc (BT/A) climbed 1 percent after Citigroup Inc. raised its recommendation on the shares.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: Seaway Energy Services Inc. (SEW.V)

Seaway Energy Services Inc., an oil field service company, provides construction and environmental consulting services to the petroleum and natural gas industry. Its services include site scouting, surveying assistance, and other pre-construction activities; completion of pre-construction site assessments and environmental field reports; well site and access road construction; well site and access road cleanup; reclamation and remediation services; detailed site assessments; and reclamation certificates preparation and submission. Seaway Energy Services Inc., formerly known as Dolce Financial Corp., was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Own Right Now: Olympic Steel Inc.(ZEUS)

Olympic Steel, Inc. engages in the processing and distribution of metal products in the United States. It offers flat products and tubular and pipe products, including processed carbon, coated, aluminum and stainless flat-rolled sheet, coil, and plate; and metal tubing, pipe, bar, valves, and fittings and fabricate pressure parts. The company also provides various processing services comprising cutting-to-length, slitting, sawing, and shearing; and value-added processes of blanking, tempering, plate burning, laser cutting, precision machining, welding, fabricating, bending, and painting to process metal to specified lengths, widths, and shapes. It serves metal consuming industries, such as manufacturers and fabricators of transportation and material handling equipment, construction and farm machinery, storage tanks, environmental and energy generation equipment, automobiles, food service and electrical equipment, and military vehicles and equipment, as well as general and plate fabricators and metals service centers through direct sales force. Olympic Steel, Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Bedford Heights, Ohio.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: L (MCG.V)

Melco China Resorts (Holding) Limited develops and operates ski resorts in China. Its portfolio includes Sun Mountain Yabuli, Sky Mountain Beidahu, The Lotus Mountain Club, Adventure Mountain Changchun, and Star Mountain Beijing resort properties in Beijing, Heilongjiang Province, and Jilin Province. The company offers a range of accommodations, including full-service hotels, condominium-hotels, and luxury resort homes. Melco China Resorts (Holding) Limited is based in Beijing, China.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: GATX Corp (GMT)

GATX Corporation (GATX) leases, operates, manages and remarkets assets primarily in the rail and marine markets. GATX has three segments: Rail, American Steamship Company (ASC) and Portfolio Management. Rail and its affiliates lease tank cars, freight cars and locomotives in North America and Europe. ASC operates a fleet of United States flagged vessels on the Great Lakes. Portfolio Management has investments in affiliated companies. As of December, 31, 2011, the Company held 37.5% interest in AAE Cargo AG (AAE), a 12.5% interest in Adler Funding LLC (Adler) and a 50% interest in Southern Capital Corporation (ACC). In January 2012, ASC entered into a five-year lease for a newly constructed articulated tug-barge. The tug is diesel powered and the barge is 740 feet in length with a carrying capacity of 34,000 gross tons. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Clipper Fourth Limited and Clipper Fourth APS marine joint ventures, in each of which GATX held a 45% interest, were dissolved.

Rail

Rail is exploring leasing opportunities in Asia through both wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as joint venture arrangements. As of December 31, 2011, Rail�� worldwide fleet, consisted of wholly owned and leased-in railcars, totaled approximately 130,000 railcars. Rail offers customers financial, operational, management and maintenance expertise. In addition, Rail actively manages fleets for an affiliate and other third-party owners of approximately 8,000 railcars, in aggregate.

Rail�� customers primarily operate in the chemical, petroleum, food/agriculture and transportation industries. Rail�� fleet consists of a diverse selection of railcar types that are used by its customers to ship approximately 700 different commodities. Rail also had an ownership interest in approximately 32,000 railcars through investments in affiliated companies. Affiliate fleets consist primarily of freight and intermodal railcars. Additionally, Rail manages approximately 2,000 railcars f! or third-party owners. Rail primarily provides railcars pursuant to full-service leases under which it maintains the railcars, pays ad valorem taxes and insurance and provides other ancillary services. Rail also offers net leases for railcars under which the lessee is responsible for maintenance, insurance and taxes.

In North America, Rail leases railcars for terms that generally range from three to 10 years. Rail�� North American operations also include a locomotive leasing business. As of December 31, 2011, Rail�� locomotive fleet totaled 572 locomotives. The majority of Rail�� leases are full-service contracts under which Rail maintains the railcars. Rail operates an extensive network of service facilities across North America that perform repair, maintenance, modification and regulatory compliance work on the fleet. Maintenance services include interior cleaning of railcars, general repairs to the car body and safety appliances, regulatory compliance work, wheelset replacements, exterior blast and painting, and car stenciling.

Rail leases standard gauge railcars to customers throughout Europe. Lease terms generally range from one to seven years and at December 31, 2011, the average remaining lease term of the fleet was approximately two years. Rail acquires new railcars primarily from the IRS Group and VRZ Karlovo. The owned service centers are supplemented by a number of third-party repair facilities.

ASC

ASC operates a fleet of United States flagged vessels on the Great Lakes, providing waterborne transportation of dry bulk commodities primarily for customers in the steel, electric utility and construction industries. The primary commodities carried by ASC�� vessels are iron ore, coal, limestone aggregates and metallurgical limestone. End markets for these commodities include domestic automobile manufacturing, electricity generation and non-residential construction. At December 31, 2011, ASC�� fleet consisted of 17 vessels. Fourteen ! of the ve! ssels are diesel powered. The diesel vessels range in size from 635 to 1,004 feet in length with maximum load capacities between 23,800 and 80,900 gross tons. The three remaining vessels are steam powered. The steamer vessels range in size from 690 to 767 feet in length with maximum load capacities between 22,300 and 26,300 gross tons. In 2011, ASC carried 28.4 million net tons of cargo including both contracted volume and spot business.

Portfolio Management

Portfolio Management leverages its equipment knowledge by managing portfolios of assets for third parties. Portfolio Management generates fee and residual sharing income through portfolio administration and remarketing of these assets. Affiliate activities include aircraft spare engine leasing, shipping operations and gas compression equipment leasing. Rolls-Royce and Partners Finance (RRPF) is a collection of 50%-owned domestic and international joint ventures with Rolls-Royce plc, a manufacturer of commercial aircraft jet engines. RRPF leases spare engines to Rolls-Royce plc and commercial airlines. The RRPF portfolio in aggregate is comprised of approximately 370 Rolls-Royce and International Aero Engine aircraft engines. Cardinal Marine Investments LLC (Cardinal Marine) is a 50%-owned marine joint venture with IMC Holdings, a subsidiary of the IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group (IMC).

Cardinal Marine owns six chemical parcel tankers (each with 45,000 dead weight tons that operate under a pooling arrangement with IMC�� other chemical tankers in support of the movement of liquid bulk chemicals in the Middle East Gulf/Far East and United States Gulf/Far East trades. Somargas II Private Limited (Somargas) and Singco Gas Pte, Limited (Singco), respectively, are 35% and 50%-owned joint ventures with IM Skaugen ASA (Skaugen). Clipper Third Limited (Clipper Third) is a 50%-owned joint venture with Clipper Group Invest Ltd. (the Clipper Group). Clipper Third owns two handysize vessels that support the worldwide movement! of dry b! ulk products, such as grain, cement, coal and steel. Enerven Compression, LLC (Enerven) is a 45.6%-owned joint venture with ING Investment Management and Enerven management. Enerven provides natural gas compression equipment leasing through its subsidiary, Enerven Compression Services (ECS) and third-party maintenance and repair services through its subsidiary, Worldwide Energy Solutions Company (WESCO).

The Company competes with Union Tank Car Company, General Electric Railcar Services Corporation, American Railcar Leasing, CIT Group Inc., Trinity Leasing, First Union Rail, Helm Financial Corporation, National Railway Equipment Corporation, Relco Locomotives, Inc., VTG Aktiengesellschaft, Ermewa, CTL Logistics Group, PCC Rail Group, Interlake Steamship Company, VanEnkevort Tug and Barge, Grand River Navigation, Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. and Central Marine Logistics.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
  
  1. Avg. High Yield Price
  2. 20-Year DCF Price
  3. Avg. P/E Price
  4. Graham Number
  
  GWW is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 10.0% premium to its calculated fair value of $219.95. GWW did not earn any Stars in this section.
  
  Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:
  
  1. Free Cash Flow Payout
  2. Debt To Total Capital
  3. Key Metrics
  4. Dividend Growth Rate
  5. Years of Div. Growth
  6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%
  
  GWW earned three Stars in this section for 1.), 2.) and 3.) above. A Star was earned since the Free Cash Flow payout ratio was less than 60% and there were no negative Free Cash Flows over the last 10 years. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. GWW earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured.
  
  Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15% means that dividends grew on average in excess of 15% for each consecutive 4 year period over the last 10 years (2003-2006, 2004-2007, 2005-2008, etc.) I consider this a key metric since dividends will double every 5 years if they grow by 15%. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1965 and has increased its dividend payments for 42 consecutive years.
  
  Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: Granite City Food And Brewery Ltd. (GCFB)

Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. engages in the operation of casual dining restaurants in the United States. The company�s restaurants include the Granite City Food & Brewery restaurant with an upscale casual dining theme with various menu items and hand-crafted beers; and the Cadillac Ranch All American Bar & Grill restaurant that offers a selection of classic American cuisine with regional favorites at each location. As of March 8, 2013, it operated 28 Granite City restaurants in 13 states; and 6 Cadillac Ranch restaurants in 5 states. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Granite City Food & Brewery Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Concept Development Partners LLC.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: Axa SA (AXA)

Axa SA (AXA) is a France-based holding company engaged in the business of financial protection, insurance and asset management. It operates in three segments: Life & Savings, Property & Casualty Insurance and Asset Management. The Company�� business involves the sale of savings policies, retirement accounts, estate planning services, health insurance, car and home insurance, insurance against property damage and civil liability, among others, for individual and business clients. AXA operates through subsidiaries in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific Region alsoin the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. In November 2012, the Company acquired HSBC Bank Plc P&C�� operations in Hong Kong and Singapore and in October 2013, it sold MONY Life Insurance Co to Protective Life Insurance Company. On September 30, 2013, AXA SA's private equity arm completed a spin out from its parent company, and was named Ardian. In October 2013, it created Axa Lab and Silicon Valley.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: Targacept Inc.(TRGT)

Targacept, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, design, and development of neuronal nicotinic receptors (NNR) therapeutics for the treatment of diseases and disorders of the nervous system. Its products include TC-5214, a nicotinic channel modulator, which is in Phase III clinical trials as an adjunct treatment for depressive disorder; and in Phase IIb clinical trial for switch monotherapy in patients with depressive disorder. The company?s small molecule products include TC-5619, which is under two separate Phase II clinical trials to treat negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, inattentive-predominant attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer?s disease; AZD3480, a product under Phase IIb clinical trials for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer?s disease; AZD1446 for treatment of Alzheimer?s disease; TC-6987 under Phase II clinical trials to treat asthma and type 2 diabetes; and TC-6499 for the treatm ent for gastrointestinal disorders. It has a collaborative research and license agreement with AstraZeneca AB for the development and commercialization of AZD3480, TC-5214, and TC-5619; and a product development and commercialization agreement with SmithKline Beecham Corporation and Glaxo Group Limited to discover, develop, and market product candidates that selectively target specified NNR subtypes in specified therapeutic focus areas. Targacept, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Targacept Inc.'s(TRGT) investigational secondary treatment for schizophrenia didn’t show significant improvement in negative symptoms or cognitive function in a Phase 2b trial after 24 weeks. The biopharmaceutical company said it wouldn’t pursue further development of the therapy for the mental illness or for Alzheimer’s Disease. Shares fell 31% to $4.09 premarket.

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Investors took a wait-and-see attitude Tuesday, but airline stocks lost altitude. The market is in a holding pattern until 2 p.m. Wednesday, when the Fed reveals details of this week's FOMC policy meetings, and whether it's ready to begin cutting back on its main economic stimulus program. If it does begin to taper, the next debate will begin immediately: Is that good or bad for investors? On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) edged down 9 points, the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) fell nearly 6, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) lost 5 points. The Dow's gainers were led by a pair of companies hiking their dividends. 3M (MMM), which makes everything from Post-It notes to medical equipment, rose 3 percent after increasing its payout by 35 percent. And Boeing (BA) rose 1 percent. It boosted the dividend by 50 percent and announced a big stock buyback. The other big blue chip winner was Visa (V), which gained another 2.5 percent. Its stock is now up 43 percent from a year ago. On the downside, Verizon (VZ), IBM (IBM), McDonald's (MCD) and Microsoft (MSFT) all lost about one percent. Microsoft says it will not name a new CEO until next year. And airline stocks were broadly lower. United (UAL) and Delta (DAL) both fell 3 percent. American Airlines (AAL), which completed its merger with U.S. Airways last week, fell 2 percent. And Southwest (V) also lost 2 percent. Brokerage recommendations gave a boost to several issues. Data storage companies Seagate (STX), up 3 percent, and Western Digital (WDC), up 2.5 percent, following JP Morgan upgrades. And iRobot (IRBT) surged 17 percent after Raymond James gave it a 'strong buy.' Shares of Facebook (FB) rose 2 percent, hitting an all-time high. The social media giant is rolling out new video ads this week. That's expected to boost revenue. The question is, will it alienate users? On the downside, Targacept (TRGT) lost more than a third of its value. A clinical trial of its schizophreni

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: ShangPharma Corporation(SHP)

ShangPharma Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development outsourcing company. It offers various integrated services across the drug discovery and development process to international and Chinese pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and academic and research institutions. The company?s services include discovery chemistry, discovery biology and preclinical development, pharmaceutical development, and biologics services. Its discovery chemistry services consist of medicinal chemistry, synthetic chemistry, library generation, and analytical chemistry; and discovery biology and preclinical development services comprise assay development and high throughput screening, pharmacology, reagent generation, and target validation and biomarker research, as well as DMPK, early formulation, in vitro ADME profiling, metabolite identification, bioanalytical services, and non-GLP toxicology. The company pharmaceutica l development services include preformulation and formulation, process research and development, analytical development and validation, and research manufacturing; and biologics services consist of therapeutic antibody generation, antibody optimizing and engineering, and analytical services for large molecules. ShangPharma Corporation provides its services primarily in North America, Europe, China, and Japan. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2015: Central Alberta Well Services (CWC.V)

CWC Well Services Corp., an oilfield services company, provides production services to oil and gas exploration and development companies in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It offers service rigs for completions, workovers, and remedial recovery production, as well as for maintenance, heavy oil, critical sour, horizontal, and re-entry drilling services; and coiled tubing services for work over operations, shallow drill outs, and extensions into producing zones. The company also provides snubbing and stripping operations that are designed for completion and workovers, wireline operations, and underbalanced drilling; and well testing and pressure control systems. As of May 14, 2012, it operated a fleet of 65 service rigs and 8 coil tubing units; and 8 snubbing units and 12 well testing units. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.