Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch For 2014

McGraw-Hill Financial� (NYSE: MHFI  ) ,�the owner of the S&P 500 index,�said this week that it�will pay a�regular quarterly dividend�of $0.28 per share on June 12 to the holders of record at the close of business on May 29.�

McGraw-Hill�has paid a dividend each year since 1937 and is one of fewer than 25 companies in the S&P 500 that has increased its dividend annually for the last 40 years. It last increased the dividend beginning with the first-quarter payout, raising it from $0.255 per share. That increase�represents an average compound annual dividend growth rate of 9.6% since 1974.

It paid to investors a special dividend of $2.50 per share in December 2012.

McGraw Hill Financial owns such iconic brands as Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, and J.D. Power & Associates, The company has approximately 17,000 employees in 27 countries.

The most recent dividend payment equates to a $1.12-per-share annual dividend yielding 2.2% based on the closing price of McGraw-Hill's stock on May 1.

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Own For 2015: Susquehanna Bancshares Inc.(SUSQ)

Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides retail and commercial banking, and financial services in the mid-Atlantic region. Its retail banking services include checking, savings, and club accounts, as well as check cards, debit cards, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, home equity lines of credit, residential mortgage loans, home improvement loans, automobile loans, personal loans, and Internet banking services. The company?s commercial banking services comprise business checking accounts, cash management services, money market accounts, land acquisition and development loans, commercial loans, floor plan, equipment and working capital lines of credit, small business loans, and Internet banking services. It also offers commercial, property, and casualty insurance; and risk management programs for medium and large sized companies. In addition, it provides traditional trust and custodial services, as well a s acts as an administrator, executor, guardian, and managing agent for individuals, businesses, and non-profit entities. Further, the company offers investment advisory, asset management, and brokerage services for institutional and high net worth individual clients; and provides retirement planning services. Additionally, it engages in the equity management of assets for institutions, pensions, endowments, and high net worth individuals; and provides consumer vehicle financing services. The company operates 221 branches and 26 free-standing automated teller machines. Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Financial services holding company�Susquehanna Bancshares (NASDAQ: SUSQ  ) announced yesterday its third-quarter dividend of $0.08 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 14%, from $0.07 per share.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: The NASDAQ OMX Group Inc.(NDAQ)

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. provides trading, clearing, exchange technology, securities listing, and public company services worldwide. It offers trading across various asset classes, including cash equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products, and exchange traded funds; capital formation solutions; financial services and exchanges technology; market data products; and financial indexes, as well as clearing, settlement, and depository services. The company also provides broker services comprising technology and customized securities administration solutions, such as back-office systems to financial participants. In addition, it offers global listing services; technology solutions for trading, clearing, settlement, and information dissemination; and facility management integration, surveillance solutions, and advisory services, as well as develops and licenses NASDAQ OMX branded indexes, associated derivatives, and financial products. As of December 31, 2010 , a total of 2,778 companies listed securities on The NASDAQ Stock Market. The NASDAQ OMX Group supports the operations of approximately 70 exchanges, clearing organizations, and central securities depositories. The company was formerly known as The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and changed its name to The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. in February 2008. The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Do you remember the Flash Crash? NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is proving yet again why there still needs to be some human control and interaction over the vast numbers of shares trading each day. The only good news is that this is not the same sort of halt from a Flash Crash.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Insurers such as Aflac Inc. (AFL) ,�Allstate Corp. (ALL) , Aetna Inc. (AET) , Cigna Corp. (CI) �and Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) �will also report, along with exchange operators Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) �and CME Group Inc. (CME) .�

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)

iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the long-term sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Lehman Brothers 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index (the Index). The Index includes all publicly issued, the United States Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity greater than 20 years, are non-convertible, are denominated in United States dollars, are rated investment grade (Baa3 or better) by Moody�� Investors Service, are fixed rate, and have more than $150 million par outstanding. Excluded from the Index are certain special issues, such as flower bonds, targeted investor notes, state and local government series bonds, and coupon issues that have been stripped from assets that are already included in the Index.

The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index. The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Ciovacco]

  Similarities To 2007-2008?
  One way to evaluate any situation in the markets is to compare the present day to previous bearish market turns and look for similarities. The Junk Bond Spyder ETF (JNK) can be used as an excellent proxy for the high-yield debt markets. Since JNK did not start trading until 2008, to go back to the stock market's October 2007 peak, the graph below uses a mutual fund (FIHBX) as a proxy for JNK. The top of the chart shows the S&P 500 for comparison purposes. The ratio of junk debt to conservative debt is below the S&P 500. When the bond ratio rises, demand for junk bonds is greater than demand for conservative Treasuries. Were the debt markets a step ahead of stocks in 2007? Yes, as you can see below, bond investors started to migrate away from junk bonds toward more conservative Treasuries (TLT) well before stocks peaked (falling ratio). The credit markets correctly forecasted the coming risks in June 2007, or four months before a major bear market began in October.

• [By Matthew McCall]

  iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: TLT)

  Another ETF that had an initial reaction that was positive, did not hold the gains and within 45 minutes the bond market began to fall again. A taper would likely lead to higher interest rates, which would lead to lower bond prices and lower prices for TLT. But due to the low amount for the taper it appears the market is torn as to which direction bonds go in the near term.

• [By Matthew McCall]

  The long bond ETF, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: TLT) has been hit even harder by rising interest rates. Typically the longer the maturity of the bond, the more exaggerated the moves when interest rates increase. Since its high in 2012, TLT is down 22 percent and today it is set to close at the lowest level in two years.

• [By John Dowdee]

  For comparison with bonds and equities, I also included the following ETFs in the analysis:

  iShares Barclays 7 to 10 Year Treasury Bond (IEF). This ETF tracks the performance of intermediate-term treasury bonds and yields 1.7%. iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT). This ETF tracks the performance of long-term treasury bonds and yields 2.9%. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bonds (HYG). This ETF tracks the performance of high yield corporate bonds. It yields 6.4%. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY). This ETF tracks the performance of the S&P 500 equity index and yields 2%.

  To analyze the risks and return of floating rate CEFs, I used the Smartfolio 3 program (smartfolio.com), using data over the past 6 years. The results are shown in Figure 1, which plots the rate of return in excess of the risk free rate of return (called Excess Mu on the charts) against the historical volatility.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: Premiere Opportunities Group Inc (PPBL)

Premiere Opportunities Group, Inc., formerly Premiere Publishing Group, Inc., incorporated on March 25, 2005, was a magazine publishing company. The Company�� primary objective is to identify an operating company with a view to achieving long-term growth.

The Company had operated principally through two wholly owned subsidiaries Sobe Life LLC and Poker Life LLC. The Company has discontinued all publishing activities. As of December 31, 2011, it had not generated any revenues.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  For investors, there are three reasons to be bullish about luxury item stocks, ranging from well-known brands such as Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) and Coach (NYSE: COH), to promising small caps like Premier Opportunities Group (OTC: PPBL).