10 Best Forestry Stocks To Watch For 2015

I have written two articles discussing the recent events in the potash industry, and why I am long Potash Corp (POT). The first article describes how the Uralkali-Belaruskali fallout will impact the potash market in the short and long run. The second article describes why I believe that POT is not as exposed to the perceived macro headwinds as many believe. In this article, I will attempt to address my readers' questions and examine all the major fundamental reasons why I am long POT. If you read to the end, I will also offer my unique perspectives on the whole Uralkali spectacle.

Reason No. 1: Low Cost Producer Equals Forever Business

Potash is an abundant commodity with enough global deposits to last essentially forever. However, Potash deposits that are economically minable are concentrated in only a handful of countries and dominated by a handful of producers like Uralkali, Belaruskali, K+S, Potash Corp , Mosaic (MOS), Agrium (AGU), and Intrepid Potash (IPI).

Best Information Technology Stocks To Watch For 2016: JDS Uniphase Corporation(JDSU)

JDS Uniphase Corporation provides communications test and measurement solutions, and optical products for telecommunications service providers, wireless operators, cable operators, network-equipment manufacturers, and enterprises worldwide. The company?s Communications Test and Measurement segment supplies instruments, software, and services to enable the design, deployment, and maintenance of communication equipment and networks. Its product portfolio consists of test tools, platforms, software, and services for wireless and fixed networks. The company?s Communications and Commercial Optical Products segment offers components, modules, subsystems, and solutions that are used by communications equipment providers for telecommunications and enterprise data communications. This segment?s products comprise transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, ROADMs, optical transceivers, multiplexers and demultiplexers, switches, optical-performance monitors and couplers, splitters, and circ ulators, which enable the transmission of video, audio, and text data through fiber-optic cables. It also provides various laser products, including diode, direct-diode, diode-pumped solid-state, fiber, and gas lasers for micromachining, materials processing, bioinstrumentation, consumer electronics, graphics, medical/dental, and optical pumping; and photovoltaic products, such as concentrated photovoltaic cells and receivers for generating energy from sunlight, as well as fiber optic-based systems for delivering and measuring electrical power. The company?s Advanced Optical Technologies segment offers optical solutions for security and brand-differentiation applications; and thin film coatings for a range of public and private-sector markets. This segment also provides multilayer product-security solutions that deliver overt, covert, forensic, and digital product and document verification. JDS Uniphase Corporation was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Milpitas, Califo rnia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Shares of fiber optic company JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU  ) shot higher by 8.4%, led by peer Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN  ) , which surged after it topped Wall Street's expectations in the second quarter and forecast third-quarter revenue well above the consensus. What's really noteworthy about Ciena's quarter was that the majority of revenue growth came from the U.S., not overseas. This speaks to what I've been saying for months about the next cycle of infrastructure growth trickling down from service providers like AT&T�down to fiber optic companies like JDS Uniphase, and into individual networking parts providers. We are witnessing the next boom in infrastructure spending, and I don't feel it's anywhere near too late to still get in on the gains.

• [By Sean Williams]

  However, just as Juniper has struggled over the past year, the signs that its business may be about to turn are making themselves apparent. Specifically, I'm talking about the boost we're beginning to see in the bottom lines of fiber-optic companies. Fiber-optic component suppliers like JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU  ) are seeing a ramp up in orders from Chinese and domestic service providers, which usually signals that the next technological infrastructure build-out is upon us. We've been given confirmation of this strength in JDS' second-quarter results, which delivered a 5% revenue jump, at the high-end of the company's previous forecast, as all three business segments improved.�

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Watch For 2015: BJ's Restaurants Inc.(BJRI)

BJ?s Restaurants, Inc. owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the Unites States. The company operates restaurants under the BJ?s Restaurant & Brewery, BJ?s Restaurant & Brewhouse, BJ?s Pizza & Grill, or BJ?s Grill names, which offer deep-dish pizzas, handcrafted beers, appetizers, entrees, pastas, sandwiches, specialty salads, desserts, non-alcoholic beverages, wine, other craft beers, and spirits. As of February 27, 2012, it owned and operated 116 restaurants comprising 10 BJ?s Restaurant & Brewery restaurants, 98 BJ?s Restaurant & Brewhouse restaurants, 7 BJ?s Pizza & Grill restaurants, and 1 BJ?s Grill. The company operates restaurants in California, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, and Washington. BJ?s Restaurants, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Huntington Beach, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Shares of BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ: BJRI) got a boost, shooting up 24.37 percent to $41.29 on stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings.

  KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) shares were also up, gaining 7.61 percent to $76.40 after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 results. The company announced a $16.50 per share special dividend and added 3.6 million shares to buyback.

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Watch For 2015: Perceptron Inc.(PRCP)

Perceptron, Inc. develops, produces, and sells non-contact measurement and inspection solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It offers AutoGauge systems that are used in the assembly and fabrication plants of automotive manufacturers; AutoGauge Plus, which offers freeform surface scanning and discrete feature measurement in one solution; AutoFit systems that are used in automotive manufacturing plants to contain, correct, and control the fit of exterior body panels; AutoScan systems, which provide a non-contact method of gathering data for the analysis of the surface contour of a part or product; and AutoGuide systems to calculate the difference between theoretical and actual relationships of a robot and the part being assembled, and send compensation data in six degrees of freedom to the robot. The company also offers ScanWorks, a hardware/software component set that allows customers to add digitizing capabilities to their machines or systems; ScanWorks xyz, a 3D sc anning solution designed for retrofitting 3-axis machines; ToolKit, a software solution for CMM manufacturers, system integrators, and application software developers; WheelWorks software and sensors that offer a non-contact method of measuring wheel position for use in automated or manual wheel alignment machines in automotive assembly plants; and Multi-line Sensors for use in automotive assembly plant wheel alignment systems. In addition, it manufactures visual inspection devices and accessories for the mechanical market; plumbing diagnostic equipment, meter imager systems, line detector accessories, and handheld inspection devices for the plumbing market; optical inspection devices for the construction and DIY market; and imaging solutions for the electrical market, as well as offers value-added services, including training, field services, launch support, consulting, maintenance agreements, repairs, and software tools. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Tuesday, industrials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.26 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Perceptron (NASDAQ: PRCP), up 10.9 percent, China Ming Yang Wind Power Group (NYSE: MY), up 4.8 percent.

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Watch For 2015: Maxim Integrated Products Inc.(MXIM)

Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. engages in designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing various linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits worldwide. The company also provides various high-frequency process technologies and capabilities for use in custom designs. It primarily serves industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets. The company markets its products through a direct-sales and applications organization, as well as through its own and other unaffiliated distribution channels. Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By rusticnomad]

  Maxim Integrated (MXIM) didn't do very well last quarter as its revenue declined. This decline was anticipated by management, as its consumer business was facing seasonal weakness. However, the gains from the initial ramp of a new smartphone at its largest customer arrested the decline.

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Watch For 2015: Pzena Investment Management Inc (PZN)

Pzena Investment Management, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm also provides investment advisory services to funds. It provides its services to individuals, typically high net worth individuals; investment companies; charitable organizations; corporations; state or municipal government entities; pension and profit sharing plans; and pooled investment vehicles. The firm manages separate client-focused equity portfolios. It invests in the public equity markets across the globe. The firm primarily invests in value stocks of large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap companies. It employs fundamental analysis while making its investments. Pzena Investment Management, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Serena Saitto]

  Officials at another Dell shareholder, Pzena Investment Management Inc. (PZN), which has opposed the buyout, didn�� return calls seeking comment.

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Watch For 2015: Ur Energy Inc(URG)

Ur-Energy Inc., an exploration stage junior mining company, engages in the identification, acquisition, evaluation, exploration, and development of uranium mineral properties. The company has 13 projects located in Wyoming and Nebraska, the United States; and 3 exploration projects located in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Its landholdings cover approximately 90,000 acres in the United States and approximately 140,000 acres in Canada. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap nuclear fuel stock USEC Inc (NYSE: USU) is up some 300% this week���meaning its worth taking a closer look at the company along with the performance potential uranium or nuclear stock peers Uranium Resources, Inc (NASDAQ: URRE), Denison Mines Corp (NYSEMKT: DNN), Ur-Energy Inc (NYSEMKT: URG) and Uranerz Energy Corp (NYSEMKT: URZ).

• [By The Energy Report]

  DS: Two of our top picks are Cameco Corp. (CCJ) and Ur-Energy Inc. (URG). For Cameco, we've got a $25/share target and an outperform rating. This company is the industry's go-to, the blue chip uranium company. It's organically growing very low-cost operations, which are for the most part in very safe jurisdictions. It has a lower-risk approach to contracts, with a targeted pricing mix of about 40% fixed-pricing and 60% market-related pricing in the contract book. The company's got a solid balance sheet. We think it's going to end Q3/13 with about $800M in working capital and another $2 billion [$2B] in undrawn lines of credit. It's also diversified across the nuclear fuel chain, with exposure not only to its core uranium mining business but also with nuclear fuel services, like conversion and fuel fabrication. It's got a stake in the Bruce nuclear power plant as well as a newly bolted-on uranium trading business, so it's quite diversified. On top of that, Cameco pays a 2% dividend. We think it offers a very attractive risk/reward proposition at these levels.

10 Best Forestry Stocks To Watch For 2015: Zinco Do Brasil Inc (ZNBR)

Zinco do Brasil Inc., formerly TurkPower Corporation, incorporated on November 4, 2004, has been a Turkish-American consulting and service operations firm and junior mining company. TurkPower offered its domestic and international clients consulting services and plans to act as a full service operator for wind, hydro, solar, coal and geothermal energy parks in Turkey.

In November 2011, the Company ceased all operations in Turkey. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2012 (fiscal 2012) the Company impaired its entire mining company investment.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap mining stocks Discovery Minerals Ltd (OTCMKTS: DSCR), Zinco Do Brasil Inc (OTCMKTS: ZNBR) and Amalgamated Gold and Silver Inc (OTCMKTS: BCHS) have been getting some extra attention lately as one stock surged last Friday while the other two are or have been in the past, the subject of paid promotions. It goes without saying though that small cap mining stocks tend to be riskier than your average stock. But do these three small cap mining stocks have what it takes to produce a mother lode for investors? Here is a deeper dig into all three:

Top Cheap Stocks For 2016

Top Cheap Stocks For 2016: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)

Progress Software Corporation operates as an enterprise software company worldwide. Its products include Progress OpenEdge platform, which offers development tools, application servers, application management tools, and an embedded database; Progress Orbix to address enterprise integration problems with standards-based solutions; and Progress ObjectStore, an object data management system to store data faster than relational database management system or file-based storage system. The company?s products also comprise Progress Responsiveness Process Management suite for business users; Progress Control Tower, an interactive business control panel; Progress Sonic, which comprises an enterprise messaging system and the enterprise service buses; Progress Actional that provides operational and business visibility, root cause analysis, and policy-based security and control of services; Progress Apama, which offers tools for creating, testing, and deploying strategies for applicat ions, including algorithmic trading, market aggregation, smart order routing, market surveillance and monitoring, and risk management; Progress Savvion BusinessManager, a business process management software; and Fuse products that provide customers with access to professional open source integration and messaging software. In addition, it offers Progress DataDirect Connect products, which provide data connectivity components; Progress DataDirect Shadow to provide foundation architecture for standards-based mainframe integration; and Progress Data Services product set that offers data integration for distributed applications. Further, the company provides maintenance, consulting, training, and customer support services. Progress Software Corporation sells its products to independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators through direct sales force and! independent distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bedford, Massa c husetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.31 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Aware (NASDAQ: AWRE), up 15.4 percent, and Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS), up 7.7 percent.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.31 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Aware (NASDAQ: AWRE), up 15.4 percent, and Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS), up 7.7 percent.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  In trading on Friday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.15 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Aware (NASDAQ: AWRE), up 15.9 percent, and Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS), up 10.5 percent.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-cheap-stocks-for-2016.html

Earnings Primer: What's on Deck for Celgene, AbbVie, and Gilead

Biotech stocks have taken a punishing nose-dive over the past month as investors step aside following significant gains. However, the current share slide is likely more a result of emotion than any long-term changes at drug developer heavyweights Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG  ) , AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) , and Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD  ) .

All three have blockbuster therapies that are likely to drive sales higher, rather than lower, this year. Since all three are set to report earnings later this month, let's look at what investors will be focusing on.

CELG data by YCharts

One proven and one potential blockbuster
Celgene has long benefited from Revlimid's market share leadership as a myeloma treatment. The company sold more than $4 billion worth of Revlimid last year alone. But it's not just Revlimid that investors will be watching when Celgene reports earnings on April 24.

Investors will also be zooming in on Abraxane, Celgene's promising cancer therapy. Abraxane won FDA approval for pancreatic cancer last fall, and sales have jumped sharply since coming to market as a treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer in 2012. Based on its fourth-quarter sales, Abraxane could be destined to hit the $1 billion blockbuster plateau this year.

Additionally, investors will want to see whether Celgene offers any clues on prescribing trends for its newly launched Otezla. Otezla won the FDA go-ahead as a treatment for psoriatic arthritis in March, so Q1 earnings may provide insight into inventory builds at drug wholesalers.

Heading into Celgene's report, industry analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of $1.65, up from $1.37 last year. If the company can beat those estimates, shares could head higher as analysts boost their full-year forecast, which currently stands at $7.28.

Eyes on the future
Investors holding on to AbbVie's shares after it was split from Abbott Labs early in 2013 have been handsomely rewarded. However, the ability for AbbVie to keep climbing is going to rely on Humira's ability to fend off competitors.

Humira, the nation's best-selling drug with $10.7 billion in sales last year, accounts for roughly half of AbbVie's sales, and revenue growth for the drug last year helped AbbVie's earnings per share grow sequentially during every quarter of 2013.

Currently, analysts predict AbbVie will report earnings of $0.68 per share on April 25. If so, investors may be disappointed, since the company similarly earned $0.68 last year.

However, Humira won't be the only thing investors will be watching in AbbVie's report. AbbVie has been ushering a promising three-drug combination therapy for hepatitis C through trials that some think could become the second best selling drug for that indication behind Gilead's recently launched Sovaldi. AbbVie previously said it would file for FDA approval of the regimen by midyear, and it's likely that management will provide an update on that timeline during the conference call.

Realizing blockbuster potential
Even if AbbVie does submit its hepatitis C drug for approval soon, it will have a lot of ground to make up on Gilead's Sovaldi. The FDA approved Sovaldi as a hepatitis C treatment in December, and despite only being available for a few weeks, Gilead still sold $140 million worth of the drug in the fourth quarter.

That has investors eager to see whether Gilead's Sovaldi has already achieved a blockbuster sales run rate in the first quarter. If so, Sovaldi could become one of the fastest drugs ever to reach the $1 billion annual sales mark this year.

Hot Performing Companies For 2016

However, Sovaldi is just one of Gilead's successes. Sales of the company's HIV drugs are also growing rapidly. Revenue from Gilead's HIV drugs totaled more than $9 billion in 2013, up 15% from 2012, and that momentum is likely to have carried though into the first quarter.

Currently, analysts expect Gilead's earnings per share to total $0.85 for the first quarter. However, those expectations are considerably higher than the $0.65 analysts were projecting just 90 days ago. That means the hurdle has been set high. If Gilead delivers the $0.85, it will mark a 77% jump from last year. Even if Gilead beats that forecast, analysts may not bump up their full-year forecast. After all, they already expect Gilead to earn $3.99 per share in 2014, up from $3.30 estimates three months ago.

Fool-worthy final thoughts
Few have the reputation for success of these three companies, and investors are likely eager to see if each can meet or beat first-quarter predictions. If so, investors having sold shares in Celgene, AbbVie, and Gilead may be forced to reconsider. After all, all three have not only billion-dollar franchises kicking off substantial cash flow, but pipelines that could help drive sales higher in the future, too. 

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No Parity for Solar as Congress Slumbers

 The joint monthly web chat for subscribers of The Energy Strategist (TES) and MLP Profits (MLPP) took place last week. The chat is conducted by Igor Greenwald, who is managing editor for TES and chief investment strategist for MLPP, and myself.  

There were six MLP questions remaining at the end of the chat that required an extended answer, or a bit more research. This week I will answer three: one on the MLP Parity Act, another on Regency Energy Partners (NYSE: RGP) and Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE: SPH), and finally one on Golar LNG Partners (Nasdaq: GMLP).

Next week's issue will tackle the three remaining questions: one on MLP equivalents in Canada and Australia, one on Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP)  and TC Pipelines (NYSE: TCP), and a third query on Access Midstream Partners (NYSE: ACMP), Crestwood Midstream Partners (NYSE: CMLP) and Mid-Con Energy Partners (Nasdaq: MCEP).

For answers to some remaining energy sector questions from the chat, see this week's issue of The Energy Letter.

Q: Have you heard of any new prospects for Congress to allow solar (manufacturers/ installers etc) to obtain MLP status? That would be a nice help by providing the tax advantages of MLPs.

I covered this in some detail back in August in Gridlocked Congress No Threat to MLPs. Here is a quick review. The Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act (MLPPA) (S.795, H.R.1696) was sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del) and US Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex). The summary of the bill reads:

Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act – Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships as corporations, to expand the definition of “qualifying income” for such partnerships to include income and gains from renewable and alternative fuels (in addition to fossil fuels), including energy derived from thermal resources, waste, renewable fuels and chemicals! , energy efficient buildings, gasification, and carbon capture in secure geological storage.

The bill seeks the same treatment for certain renewable energy projects as that given to fossil fuel companies. In principle, this is a great idea, but I have argued in the past that not all renewable energy projects would benefit from such a change. For example, MLPs tend to attract investors seeking steady income. Certain projects — advanced biofuel projects for example — are unlikely in my mind to provide it. Many of the advanced biofuel projects have shed 90 percent of their value over the past three years, and profitability isn't on the horizon. Such a company isn't going to attract the typical MLP investor.

Solar projects, however, may represent the exact type of project that could benefit from MLP status. A solar project with an attractive, long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) would be similar to a midstream MLP with long-term fee-based contracts. This is very different from a biofuel offtake agreement, since in many cases the biofuels aren't yet economically viable and hence can't benefit from an offtake deal structure. In the case of solar, the cost of production can be estimated, and it has continued to fall over the years. Thus solar, wind, geothermal, biomass combustion — all of the current commercially available renewable power production options — could benefit greatly from MLP status.

Unfortunately, a change in the tax status seems unlikely. This is amazing given that the bill has bipartisan support, and is favored by renewable energy companies and fossil fuel companies alike. But there are no hearings scheduled, and really nothing in the news about it. Nobody in Congress seems to be pushing it. The odds of passage of the MLP Parity Act in this Congress have been estimated to be only 1 percent.

Back in November the bill's lead sponsor, Sen. Coons, announced the co-sponsorship of senators Mary Landrieu (D-La) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).! They joi! n senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). That is a powerful bipartisan group that should be able to get this bill passed. The chance of passage for the MLPPA would improve if enough people pick up the phone and call their representatives about it — especially if your representative happens to be one of those mentioned above.

Q: Would you comment on RGP and SPH?

Regency Energy Partners (NYSE: RGP) is engaged in the the gathering and processing, contract compression, contract treating, transportation, fractionation and storage of natural gas and natural gas liquids. Regency operates in the most prolific shale plays and rich gas formations in the US including the Haynesville, Eagle Ford, Barnett, Fayetteville, and Marcellus shales as well as the Permian Delaware basin.

RGP has been a long-term holding in the MLP Growth Portfolio, returning nearly 25 percent in 2013 while paying a dividend yield above 7 percent. The partnership has been on an acquisition spree lately. Less than three months after unveiling a $5.6 billion buyout of Appalachia-focused gatherer PVR Partners (NYSE: PVR), Regency announced that it would spend $1.3 billion on the midstream assets of Eagle Rock Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EROC), one of the MLP sector's biggest 2013 busts. RGP will also buy Hoover Energy Partners' midstream assets for $290 million.

The purchases expand Regency's footprint in the Texas panhandle, east and west Texas and are adjacent to Regency's own gathering systems, promising increased efficiencies of scale and other cost savings.

The purchases will be financed with debt and the issuance of Regency units worth nearly $700 million, roughly 13 percent of the current market capitalization, with general partner Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE) buying $400 million.

Hot Airline Companies For 2016

However, at this point we have turned caut! ious on n! ew purchases of RGP. Aside from the usual integration risks, debt leverage remains high and the new unit issuance to finance the latest deal will disproportionately benefit Energy Transfer Equity via the latter's incentive distribution rights.

I discussed the propane distributors two weeks ago in Searching in Vain for Cheap Propane. Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE: SPH) markets and distributes propane, fuel oil and refined fuels, and also markets natural gas and electricity in deregulated markets. The partnership serves approximately 750,000 residential and commercial customers through some 300 locations in 30 states (primarily on the east and west coasts).

But because SPH is more involved in the retail end of propane instead of the production/logistical side, it has been significantly outperformed by NGL Energy Partners (NYSE: NGL) and Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP). In short, the latter two are the ways to play higher propane prices, whereas SPH will see much less benefit from higher-priced propane.

Q: Golar (GMLP) has been doing well lately after an up/down and eventually flat year in 2013.  While sometimes diverging TGP performed about the same. Thoughts on any catalyst this year that might help GMLP start to trend up consistently?

There was another question in the chat about Golar LNG Partners (Nasdaq: GMLP), and I think part of my answer is worth repeating. According to the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships, there are seven partnerships in the Marine Transportation category. Of those seven, five have a footnote that reads "Organized and headquartered outside the US. Although organized as a partnership, has elected to be taxed as a corporation in the US and will furnish 1099s rather than K-1s. Some income will be treated as a currently taxable dividend, some as return of capital."

Golar is one of those MLPs that has chosen to pay income taxes as a corporation. This avoids the hassle of dealing with K-1s in tax season, but it also gives up som! e of the ! tax advantages.

The two Marine Transportation MLPs that are taxed as MLPs are Dynagas LNG Partners (Nasdaq: DLNG) and Teekay LNG Partners (NYSE: TGP). The latter has 29 LNG carriers, and has already agreed to charter two of its ships to the first US LNG export venture. We actually favor TGP over GMLP.

Back to the initial question, the primary catalyst on the horizon that should benefit the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers will be the upcoming completion of LNG export terminals. As Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE: CQP) prepares to begin shipping LNG from its Sabine Pass LNG export terminal, and follows with another LNG terminal in Corpus Christi, Tex.,  investors should warm to LNG carriers as a significant investment opportunity. You may have to be a little patient as CQP's first terminal isn't scheduled to start shipping until late 2015 or early 2016. But there should be a lot of press coverage as project completion draws near.

Investors will then become more aware of the six applications for approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) — including two in Oregon (the only two US West Coast export terminals being considered). In total, 13 LNG export projects have been proposed to FERC, and another 11 sites identified by project sponsors.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) also has to approve the projects, and in addition to the six applications already approved by the DOE another two dozen are under review. Approving all would give the US a total export capacity of  35.6 billion cubic feet per day (equivalent to just over half the natural gas production in the US in 2012) — but certainly all of the projects under review will not be completed.

So if you are looking for a catalyst, I think that will be it. It will be general awareness of the huge opportunity as LNG shipments begin to take shape.

(Follow Robert Rapier on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.)

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2016

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2016: TechnoConcepts Inc (TCPS)

TechnoConcepts, Inc. (TCI), incorporated in May 2003, is in the business of designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing wireless communications semiconductors. The Company has begun manufacturing wireless transmitter and receiver microchips, based on its technology, and produced its engineering run in August 2006. The technology, which TCI calls True Software Radio, is designed to improve the way that wireless signals are received and transmitted, by making possible device-to-device communication across otherwise incompatible networks and wireless standards. On October 17, 2005, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Asante Acquisition Corp. completed reorganization with RegalTech Inc. RegalTech's name was changed to Asante Networks Inc. (Asante).

In December 2005, the Company formed Jinshilin Techno Ltd. (Jinshilin Techno) as its wholly owned subsidiary based in Shanghai, China. The Company organized Jinshilin Techno to provide marketing, sa les and technical support for True Software Radio technology in China. On April 21, 2006, Jinshilin Techno acquired Internet television (IPTV) set-top box (STB) technology through license agreements with Jinshilin Technologies Development Company Ltd. (Jinshilin). Jinshilin Techno offers an IPTV set-top box that features voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), capability and can receive Internet protocol (IP) data transmissions through the household electrical power grid.

Asante Networks Inc. provides Ethernet networking solutions for Apple Computer and the small-to-medium business retail markets, offering the IntraCore and FriendlyNET product families, integrating voice, data, and video over wireless and wired networks with unified management and authentication. In April 2006, Asante announced the release of 2-chip switch solution, the IntraCore 38480. The Intr! aCore 38480 provides no frame loss and full-wire speed with minimized latency. With 96-gigabit switching fabric, the IntraCore 38480 supports full-wire speed on all ! ports. It has advanced traffic control based on L2-L7 data of incoming frames.

The Company's True Software Radio technology makes possible for wireless transmitters and receivers, as well as the radio signal processing, to be fully controlled and reconfigured by software commands across a range of frequencies and frequency bands. Its True Software Radio technology is a delta-sigma microchip architecture that converts radio frequency signals directly into digital data for the wireless receiver and directly from digital data into radio signals for the wireless transmitter. True Software Radio microchips replace the analog front end, intermediate frequency (I/F) processing, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), and digital filtering sections of conventional wireless transmitters and receivers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech stocks TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS), Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) and Strategic Global Investments, Inc (OTCMKTS: STBV) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters thanks to promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions, but they can backfire on the unwary as its really up to investors or traders alike to do their own due diligence before investing or trading. With that in mind, here is a quick reality check about three small cap tech stocks getting a bit of attention lately:

  TechnoConcepts, Inc (OTCMKTS: TCPS) Has the Yield Sign Replaced on Its OTC Page

  Small cap TechnoConcepts is a wireless technology company currently holding patents and other intellectual property. On Friday, TechnoConcepts fell 0.45% to $15.58 for a market cap of $415.28 million plus TCPC is up 1.1% over the past year and up 6% since April 2012 according to Google Finance.

!

source! from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-wireless-telecom-stocks-for-2016.html

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch Right Now

Time Warner subsidiary Rocksteady Studios has delayed release of Batman: Arkham Knight from October 2014 to sometime in 2015. Credit: Time Warner/Rocksteady.

Comic book fans won't have to wait till 2016 to get the Batman they deserve. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX  ) subsidiary Rocksteady Studios will bring the Dark Knight back to Gotham with the 2015 release of Batman: Arkham Knight. The one problem? Bats was supposed to be back in October.

Yet investors needn't fret the delay. "I don't think delays hurt sales one bit," said video gaming expert and Geek Legacy Executive Editor Justin Cavender in an emailed statement. "Watch Dogs was supposed to come out in November and has already sold over 4 million copies in its first week of release. Mario Kart 8 took forever to come out and managed to sell 1.2 million copies over the weekend."

He's right. Mario Kart 8 is so big that some are talking about it as the last refuge of a once-doomed platform, the Wii U. Watch Dogs, meanwhile, is attracting so many pirates that enterprising miscreants are using the thieves' PCs to mine bitcoins on the sly. Investors can expect millions more copies of each game to be sold before they're off the shelves completely.

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch In Right Now: Hang Seng Bank Ltd (0011.HK)

Hang Seng Bank Limited and its subsidiaries and associates are engaged in the provision of banking and related financial services. It operates in five segments. The Hong Kong and other business segment includes: Retail Banking and Wealth Management activities, which offer personal banking, consumer lending and wealth management services to individual customers, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans and others; Corporate and Commercial Banking activities, which include the provision of financial services, payments and cash management and others to corporate and commercial customers; Treasury activities, which are mainly the provision of treasury services in credit, interest rates, foreign exchanges and others, and Other, which mainly refers to the management of shareholders' funds. The Mainland China business segment comprises the business of Hang Seng Bank (China) Limited and the Company's share of profit from Mainland associates.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  MARKET SNAP: At 6:20 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures up 0.2%. 10-Year Treasury yield flat at 2.46%. Nymex up 6 cents at $102.45. Gold 0.2% higher at $1310.40. In Europe, FTSE 100 up 0.4%, DAX up 0.7% and CAC 40 up 0.6%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 down 0.1% and Hang Seng (0011.HK) up 0.8%.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  MARKET SNAP: At 6:05 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures up 0.1%. 10-Year Treasury yield lower at 2.20%. Nymex down 92 cents at $84.82. Gold 0.2% higher at $1233. In Europe, FTSE 100 down 0.5%, DAX down 0.7% and CAC 40 down 0.9%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 down 2.4% and Hang Seng (0011.HK) down 0.4%.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch Right Now: Bridgepoint Education Inc (BPI)

Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (Bridgepoint), incorporated in May 1999, is a provider of postsecondary education services. The Company�� academic institutions include Ashford University and University of the Rockies. Its institutions deliver programs primarily online, as well as at their traditional campuses. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 86,642 total students enrolled in its institutions. Bridgepoint�� institutions conduct ongoing faculty and student assessment processes and provide a range of student services. The Company is also focused on developing new technologies, such as through Waypoint Outcomes, Constellation, and the development of its institutions' mobile learning platforms. The Company has developed Constellation to replace third party textbooks with digital course materials. Constellation materials are displayed in a browser-based platform. In January 2012, Bridgepoint introduced Thuze.

Ashford University offers associate's, bachelor's and master's degree programs online, as well as bachelor's degree programs at its campus in Clinton, Iowa. Ashford University consists of four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies, the College of Education, the College of Health, Human Services and Sciences, and the College of Liberal Arts. University of the Rockies is a graduate institution that offers master's and doctoral degree programs in the social and behavioral sciences. Classes at University of the Rockies are presented in a progressive online format, as well as at its campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Waypoint Outcomes provides learning and assessment software to K-12 and higher education institutions nationwide.

Constellation provides mobile access to students over the Internet, as well as on a variety of devices, including Web-enabled smartphones and tablet devices. Constellation is a cloud-based and is compatible across operating systems, browsers and mobile technologies. The Company has developed Constellation-enabled courses pri! marily in core classes to reach students. As of December 31, 2011, approximately 76% of Bridgepoint�� institutions' students had taken a Constellation-enabled course. As of December 31, 2011, it had 32 Constellation titles available. Thuze is a cloud-based, multi-platform, collaborative learning environment for students to interact with their course digital materials and with each other. Thuze provides students with the resources to work from both their desktop computers and also from their tablets and smartphones. It launched Thuze as a pilot program with publishers in higher education. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company deployed new mobile application technology at Ashford University. The Company has online students from all 50 states and from the District of Columbia. It has students from 69 different countries. As of December 31, 2011, over 34,400 students have graduated from the Company�� institutions, with approximately 15,200 students graduating from its institutions, during 2011.

Students finance their education at the Company's institutions through Title IV programs and Non-Title IV funding sources. Title IV programs includes The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Federal Direct Loan Programs. FFEL and Federal Direct Loan Programs consist of two loans: Stafford loans, which are either subsidized or unsubsidized, and PLUS loans, which are made available to graduate and professional students, as well as parents of dependent undergraduate students. Non-Title IV funding sources include other funding sources, which consist of cash, private loans, state grants, corporate reimbursement, military benefits and institutional loans. The Company has engaged Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS) to provide call center and transactional processing services for the online financial aid student populations at its institutions, including services related to disbursement eligibility review and Title IV fund returns. If Bridgepoint�� engagement with ACS were terminate! d, it wou! ld handle these processing services using its own resources or engage another third party vendor.

The Company�� institutions provide student support services, including academic, administrative and technology support. As of December 31, 2011, Bridgepoint�� institutions offered approximately 1,430 courses, 85 degree programs and 140 specializations. Its institutions offer programs and specialization areas through Ashford University's four colleges: the College of Business and Professional Studies; the College of Education; the College of Health, Human Services and Science; and the College of Liberal Arts, and through the University of the Rockies' two schools: the School of Organizational Leadership and the School of Professional Psychology. The Company�� leads are primarily generated from online sources. Its main source of leads is third party online lead aggregators. It also purchases keywords from search providers to generate online leads directly. In addition, the Company has an in-house team focused on generating online leads.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Royal]

  One of my favorite reasons to reinvest in stocks I already own is when an uncertain, but favorable catalyst occurs, but the stock does little. So my Special Situations portfolio is adding $1,000 to each of the following three stocks: Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB  ) , Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI  ) , and First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ: FFNW  ) . Read on to see why.

• [By Jim Royal]

  Earlier this week, Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI  ) revealed that the Western Association of Schools and Colleges had approved the company's Ashford University application for accreditation for five years. Investors had been concerned about this accreditation issue for the last year or so, and shares jumped on the news. They're now up about 50% from where my Special Situations portfolio bought in late April.

• [By Dan Newman]

  Debt
  Another factor to take into account is weighing the extra two years of college costs versus an extra two years of wages. According to College Reality Check, the net price for a bachelor's degree at�Bridgepoint Education's (NYSE: BPI  ) Ashford University is about $17,300, only about $1,000 less than the cost of Harvard. An Ashford graduate can expect to earn $36,400 annually in his or her early career,�about $14,000 less than a Harvard grad.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) shares tumbled 11.37 percent to $14.11 after the company announced a Q1 preliminary loss of $0.10 per share on sales of $160.5 million. The company also reported that it will be unable to file 10Q by May 12th.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch Right Now: Coca Cola Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. (KOF)

Coca Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages and brands. It offers colas under Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, and Coca-Cola Zero brands; flavored sparkling beverages under Aquarius Fresh, Chinotto, Crush, Fanta, Fresca, Frescolita, Hit, Kuat, Lift, Mundet, Quatro, Simba, and Sprite brands; water under Alpina, Brisa, Ciel, Crystal, Kin, Manantial, and Nevada brands; Aquarius, a flavored water; Hi-C, a juice-based beverage; and Powerade, an isotonic, as well as ready to drink tea products under Nestea and Matte Leao brands. The company also sells and distributes the Kaiser beer brand. It operates in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina. The company was founded in 1979 and is based in Mexico, Mexico. Coca-Cola FEMSA S.A.B de C.V. operates as a subsidiary of Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Put another tick in the acquisition column for Coca-Cola FEMSA (NYSE: KOF  ) . The Mexico-based company, which says it is the largest bottler of Coca-Cola products on the planet, has signed a deal to acquire Brazilian peer Companhia Fluminense de Refrigerantes. The price is $448 million in cash.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sourcefire Inc.(FIRE)

Sourcefire, Inc. provides intelligent Cybersecurity technologies to commercial enterprises and government agencies worldwide. The company?s network security products include Sourcefire appliances for detecting, blocking, and analyzing network traffic; Sourcefire IPS to examine network packets for threats; Sourcefire NGIPS to discover the characteristics and vulnerabilities of computing devices communicating on a network; Sourcefire NGIPS with Application Control to provide granular control of applications; Sourcefire NGFW that includes application control and firewall capabilities; and Sourcefire SSL Appliance, which decrypts SSL traffic for inspection by network security appliances. It also offers FireAMP, a malware protection solution that uses data analytics to discover, understand, and block malware outbreaks; and Sourcefire Defense Center that provides application programming interfaces to interoperate third-party systems, such as firewalls, routers, log management, security information event management, trouble ticketing, patch management systems, and other technologies. In addition, the company provides Sourcefire Virtual Appliance, an application to inspect communications between different virtual machines; Sourcefire Virtual Defense Center, which provides central management, event analysis, and reporting services; Snort, a traffic inspection engine used in intrusion prevention system; ClamAV, an open source anti-malware product; and Razorback, an open-source project that addresses threat detection and protection. Further, it provides customer support, professional, and education and certification services. The company serves financial institutions, defense contractors, health care providers, IT companies, telecommunication companies, and retailers, as well as national, state, and local government agencies. Sourcefire, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Sourcefire (Nasdaq: FIRE  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 29. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Sourcefire's revenues will increase 22.6% and EPS will shrink -6.3%.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  I’m with him on all counts, and would add steady growth along the bottom line over the past three years despite a slowdown — but not lower — growth along the top line. Indeed, Cisco is making moves to try and boost that top line, most recently through the acquisition of security software provider Sourcefire (FIRE), along with its nearly $225 million in revenues. The company still owns around 60% of the data-networking market, and is an entrenched cloud player and as Tom Taulli writes, up and coming mobile force. In another words, these guys are well positioned for the future.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Sourcefire (NASDAQ: FIRE  ) were on fire today, enjoying gains as great as 15%, after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the first quarter came in at $56.2 million, which resulted in non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.11. Those figures represent misses on both top and bottom lines, as analysts were expecting sales of $57.4 million and adjusted earnings of $0.12 per share.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In 2015

No sooner had Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFE  ) announced its successful purchase of KDR Biotech last week, then out came Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO  ) with a $13.6 billion bid to buy Life Technologies itself.

This morning, Life Technologies announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell itself to Thermo Fisher for $76 per share, or about $13.6 billion in total plus assumption of $2.2 billion in net debt. That assumption raises the deal value to $15.8 billion in total, easily trumping what was being reported last week as an estimated $11 billion bid for Life Technologies from private equity powerhouses Blackstone, Carlyle Group, and KKR.

The deal must be approved by shareholders and needs regulatory approval.

Thermo Fisher CEO Marc N. Casper was quoted in the company press release as saying that "Life Technologies enhances all three elements of our growth strategy: technological innovation, a unique customer value proposition and expansion in emerging markets." Life Technologies and Thermo Fisher say the deal will build on their "technological strengths to accelerate results for life sciences customers working in proteomics, genomics and cell biology."

Best Long Term Stocks For 2016: Pain Therapeutics Inc (PTIE)

Pain Therapeutics, Inc., incorporated in May 1998, is a biopharmaceutical company that develops drugs. The Company has four drug candidates in clinical programs, including REMOXY, abuse-resistant hydromorphone, abuse-resistant hydrocodone and a radio-labeled monoclonal antibody to treat metastatic melanoma. It is also working on a new treatment for patients with hemophilia. The Company�� lead drug candidate is REMOXY, which is a painkiller. It has collaboration agreement with King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (King) develops and commercializes REMOXY and other opioid painkillers. The Company and King jointly managed a Phase III clinical program and New Drug Application (NDA) submission for REMOXY. It is also developing a pipeline of drug candidates in the area of oncology and hematology. It owns all commercial rights to its pipeline of drug candidates in oncology and hematology. As of December 31, 2010, the Company leased approximately 30,700 square feet of space in San Mateo, California and all of its operations are located in San Mateo.

REMOXY

REMOXY is a controlled-release oral capsule form of oxycodone in a highly viscous liquid formulation matrix that includes excipients. It is formulated to help address issues of abuse and misuse of time-release oxycodone tablets. REMOXY�� capsule dosage form provides therapeutic drug levels of oxycodone on a twice-daily dosing schedule, while resisting the rapid increases in plasma levels of oxycodone associated with common methods of abuse and misuse. Its formulation also resists delivery by unapproved routes of administration, such as injection, snorting or inhalation.

Metastatic Melanoma

The Company is developing a drug candidate called PTI-188 to treat metastatic melanoma, a form of skin cancer. PTI-188 is a monoclonal antibody linked to a radioisotope, intended to deliver doses of radiation lethal to melanoma tumors without harming normal tissue. In March 2010, the Company announced data from two open-label! , dose-escalating Phase I studies conducted in Israel to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, dosimetry and anti-tumor activity of PTI-188. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the second study was completed. The technology used in this program was developed at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM). It had licensed worldwide commercial rights to this technology from AECOM.

Hemophilia

The Company has a gene transfer program, initially developed at Stanford University, focused at correcting a genetic disorder in which patients are unable to stop bleeding. During 2010, it conducted a variety of pre-clinical studies with this technology. The Company has licensed worldwide commercial rights to the technology used in this program from Poetic Genetics, LLC (Poetic).

Other product candidates

The Company�� alliance with King includes development of three other abuse-resistant opioid product candidates: hydromorphone, hydrocodone and oxymorphone. Its abuse-resistant formulations of hydromorphone and hydrocodone have completed Phase I clinical trials. In January 2011, the Company announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had accepted its investigational IND, for abuse-resistant oxymorphone.

The Company competes with Roxane Laboratories, Purdue Pharma, King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Cephalon, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Elkins-Sinn, Watson Laboratories, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical and Forest Pharmaceuticals.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Elsewhere, Pfizer is evaluating its continued partnership on an experimental oxycodone capsule, Remoxy. The drug is an extended-release formula that is targeted at reducing abuse of the painkiller. After years of setbacks and postponements for FDA approval, Pfizer is weighing its options. Its partners for the drug, Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTIE  ) and Durect, have both fallen heavily due to the news, with Pain Therapeutics falling more than 50% -- its largest decline ever.

• [By Sean Williams]

  However, all isn't well when it comes to the future of abuse-resistant painkiller Remoxy, which was developed by Pain Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTIE  ) , using Durect's�special technology-based gel capsule to prevent abuse, and is licensed by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) . Remoxy has been rejected twice by the FDA -- the most recent coming in mid-2011 -- and Pfizer commented this morning that if it were to seek reapproval for the drug it wouldn't be for at least two more years. Given Pfizer's extensive product pipeline, losing Remoxy wouldn't be a big deal. For micro-cap clinical-stage companies like Pain Therapeutics and Durect, it'd be a gigantic blow. Fittingly, Pain Therapeutics and Durect shares imploded by 50% and 34%, respectively, on Friday.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In 2015: Financial Institutions Inc.(FISI)

Financial Institutions, Inc. operates as the holding company for Five Star Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking, and financial services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses in central and western New York. Its deposit accounts consist of noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, money market, club, individual retirement, and other qualified plan accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial loans, commercial real estate loans, one-to-four family residential mortgages, consumer automobile loans, recreational vehicle loans, boat loans, home improvement loans, closed-end home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, collateralized and uncollateralized personal loans, deposit account collateralized loans, commercial and agricultural working capital and revolving lines of credit, commercial and agricultural mortgages, equipment loans, and crop and livestock loans. It operates throug h a network of approximately 51 offices and 70 ATMs in 14 contiguous counties of western and central New York. The company, through its other subsidiary, Five Star Investment Services, Inc., provides brokerage services. Financial Institutions, Inc. was founded in 1931 and is based in Warsaw, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  Financial Institutions Inc. (FISI) operates as the holding company for Five Star Bank that provides various banking and financial services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses. Aug. 21, the company increased its quarterly dividend 6% to $0.19 per share. The dividend is payable payable Oct. 2, 2013 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 12, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 3.9%.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In 2015: Hang Seng Bank Ltd (0011.HK)

Hang Seng Bank Limited and its subsidiaries and associates are engaged in the provision of banking and related financial services. It operates in five segments. The Hong Kong and other business segment includes: Retail Banking and Wealth Management activities, which offer personal banking, consumer lending and wealth management services to individual customers, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans and others; Corporate and Commercial Banking activities, which include the provision of financial services, payments and cash management and others to corporate and commercial customers; Treasury activities, which are mainly the provision of treasury services in credit, interest rates, foreign exchanges and others, and Other, which mainly refers to the management of shareholders' funds. The Mainland China business segment comprises the business of Hang Seng Bank (China) Limited and the Company's share of profit from Mainland associates.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  MARKET SNAP: At 6:05 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures up 0.1%. 10-Year Treasury yield lower at 2.20%. Nymex down 92 cents at $84.82. Gold 0.2% higher at $1233. In Europe, FTSE 100 down 0.5%, DAX down 0.7% and CAC 40 down 0.9%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 down 2.4% and Hang Seng (0011.HK) down 0.4%.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  MARKET SNAP: At 6:20 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures up 0.2%. 10-Year Treasury yield flat at 2.46%. Nymex up 6 cents at $102.45. Gold 0.2% higher at $1310.40. In Europe, FTSE 100 up 0.4%, DAX up 0.7% and CAC 40 up 0.6%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 down 0.1% and Hang Seng (0011.HK) up 0.8%.

Hot Life Sciences Companies To Invest In 2015: Westlake Chemical Corporation(WLK)

Westlake Chemical Corporation manufactures and markets basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers, and fabricated building products. It operates in two segments, Olefins and Vinyls. The Olefins segment provides ethylene, polyethylene, styrene monomer, and various ethylene co-products, such as chemical grade propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen. The Vinyls segment offers polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, ethylene dichloride, chlorine, caustic soda, and ethylene. This segment also manufactures and sells products fabricated from PVC, including water, sewer, irrigation, and conduit pipes; window and door profiles; and fences. The company?s products are used in various applications, such as consumer and industrial markets comprising flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, coatings, and residential and commercial construction, as well as in other durable and non-durable goods. Westlake Chemical Corporation provides its products for chem ical processors, plastics fabricators, construction contractors, municipalities, and supply warehouses in the United States, Canada, Singapore, and internationally. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Neil Macneale]

  We also considered Westlake Chemical (WLK). Based in Houston, Texas, the company produces basic chemicals such as ethylene and styrene from oil and gas feed stocks.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Specialty chemicals producer�Westlake Chemical� (NYSE: WLK  ) �has acquired�the PVC pipe, fittings, profiles, and foundation business of CertainTeed now that�all the closing conditions, including a regulatory review, have been met.

Hot Dividend Stocks To Own Right Now

Hot Dividend Stocks To Own Right Now: Medallion Financial Corp.(TAXI)

Medallion Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company engages in originating, acquiring, and servicing loans that finance taxicab medallions and various types of commercial businesses. It offers commercial loans to finance the purchase of the equipment and related assets necessary to open a new business, or the purchase or improvement of an existing business; asset-based loans to small businesses; and secured mezzanine loans to businesses in various industries, including manufacturing and various service providers. The company also raises deposits; originates consumer loans for the purchase of recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles, trailers, and hearing aids; and conducts other banking activities. In addition, it provides other debt, mezzanine, and equity investment capital to companies in various industries. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  Thats the case with Medallion Financial Corporation (TAXI). This neat little company is primarily focused on the financing of taxi cab licenses in major cities like New York. It does other specialty lending as well — such as asset-backed loans for luxury vehicles like boats and art. But its bread and butter has been the taxi business.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/hot-dividend-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

10 Best Value Stocks To Buy For 2015

Facebook� (NASDAQ: FB  ) �recently announced it has reached 1 million advertisers significant. At least one commentator believes the social media giant may have gone too far with its effort to monetize its user base. Online advertising represents a delicate balance between the value provided to the advertiser and the tolerance and interest of the user.

In the video below, Fool.com contributor Doug Ehrman discusses the milestone for Facebook and the importance of finding a level of ad saturation that communicates the message without overly annoying users.

Though Facebook may have gone too far, social media continues to have huge potential. This incredible tech stock is growing twice as fast as Google and Facebook, and more than three times as fast as Amazon.com and Apple. Watch our jaw-dropping investor alert video today to find out why The Motley Fool's chief technology officer is putting $117,238 of his own money on the table, and why he's so confident this will be a huge winner in 2013 and beyond. Just click here to watch!

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Why is the market surging? Top-notch earnings from big Dow components like Caterpillar (CAT) and 3M (MMM), and a dividend increase from Visa (V) certainly have helped, as these are some of the priciest stocks in the price-weighted Dow. And then there’s the economic data. US jobless claims rose to 283,000, a tad bit higher than expected but still ridiculously low. Global purchasing managers’ indexes also showed signs of improvement, especially in Europe. If the recent selloff was a “growth scare,” then perhaps growth isn’t as scary as many investors thought.�

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Despite having recently been upgraded by Longbow Research from "neutral" to "buy," shares of�Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) are down 0.35% today. The main reason shares are falling today is the poor earnings report released by Cummins (NYSE: CMI  ) this morning. The company reported that sales dropped 19% in the company's engine and turbine unit. Cummins also blamed the poor results on weak oil, gas, and mining demand -- areas in which Caterpillar also operates.�

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) is keeping its quarterly dividend policy steady. For its first payout of 2013, the company will hand out $0.52 per share of its common stock on May 20 to shareholders of record as of April 22. That matches the distribution of the preceding three quarters. Before that, the company disbursed $0.46 per share.

10 Best Value Stocks To Buy For 2015: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is down 3.5% at $64.19. Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) is down 2.9% at $59.93 on a wider loss and tepid outlook. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is up 14.1% at $70.57 indicating that investors liked the results posted after markets closed on Wednesday. Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is down 4.5% at $56.28. Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. (NYSE: ANF) is down 0.1% at $34.97.

10 Best Value Stocks To Buy For 2015: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Oliver Pursche]

  European large-cap pharmaceuticals like Novartis (NVS) �and Bristol Meyers Squibb (BMY) �count amongst some of our favorite stocks right now, as do U.S. multinationals that are growing revenue and margins in Asia ��Tupperware (TUP) �is a shining example. Stay away from utilities and energy stocks, as they are likely to be the laggards over the next year.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.03 per share on revenue of $623.34 million.

  Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $779.02 million.

10 Best Value Stocks To Buy For 2015: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Talk to your CFO if you experience bloating
  This quarter, Nabors, Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) , and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) have all struggled in their pressure-pumping businesses because of oversupply in the current market. According to Nabors CEO Anthony Petrello, this has led to a very competitive market: "It is not unusual to bid frac jobs against 20 other pumpers, and sometimes as many as 35 show up. We have seen some instances of competitors winning bids with economics that at least from our perspective appear to be near cash break-even."

• [By Tony Daltorio]

  The biggest oilfield service companies should get a big lift from the boom, Moors said. That includes Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), Weatherford International Ltd. (NYSE: WFT), and Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Halliburton (HAL), Schlumberger (SLB) and Baker Hughes (BHI). Three oil services firms with three very different responses to news today.

  Bloomberg

  First up, Halliburton. It reported a profit of 93 cents a share, above forecasts for 89 cents, yet Halliburton’s shares have dropped 1.8% to $49.76. Citigroup’s Robin Shoemaker and Mark Brown explain why:

Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Buy Right Now: Royal Bank Of Canada(RY)

Royal Bank of Canada provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking, and transaction processing services under the RBC name worldwide. Its Canadian Banking segment offers personal financial services, business financial services, and cards and payment solutions. The company?s Wealth Management segment provides wealth and asset management, and estate and trust services to affluent and high net worth clients through distributors, as well as directly to institutional and individual clients in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Its Insurance segment provides various life and health insurance, including universal life, accidental death and critical illness protection, disability, long-term care insurance, and group benefits; and property and casualty insurance comprising home, auto, and travel insurance, as well as wealth accumulation solutions; and reinsurance products through retail ins urance branches, call centers, independent insurance advisors and travel agencies, financial institutions, and career sales force. The company?s International Banking segment offers various financial products and services to individuals, business clients, and public institutions in the U.S. and Caribbean. This segment also provides global custody, fund and pension administration, securities lending, shareholder services, analytics, and other related services to institutional investors. Royal Bank of Canada?s Capital Markets segment engages in the trading and distribution of fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, commodities, and derivative products for institutional, public sector, and corporate clients; and involves in investment banking, debt and equity origination, advisory services, corporate lending, private equity, and client securitization businesses. The company! was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Before Friday’s opening bell, Royal Bank of Canada (RY) released its third quarter financial results, which came in higher from last year and beat analysts’ expectations.

  RY’s Earnings in Brief

  RY reported third quarter net income of C$2.297 billion, or C$1.59 per share, up from  C$2.197 billion, or C$1.51 per share a year ago. Excluding special items, earnings were C$2.418 billion, or C$1.62 per share, above analysts’ estimate of C$1.56 per share last year. Revenue increased to C$8.98 billion from last year’s C$7.17 billion. Analysts expected to see revenue of C$8.16 billion.

  CEO Commentary

  RY’s CEO Dave McKay commented: “These results demonstrate the strength of our diversified business model. Our ability to innovate and use capital effectively while managing costs positions us well to execute our client-focused strategy and extend our leadership positions across our key businesses.”

  RY Raises Dividend

  RY reported that it has increased its quarterly dividend by 6% to 75 cents per share.  The company will pay its next dividend on November 24.

  RY Dividend Snapshot

  As of market close on August 21, 2014

  
  

  Click here to see the complete history of RY dividends.

  Royal Bank of Canada shares were up 44 cents, or 0.59% during premarket trading Friday. The stock is up 11.04% YTD.

• [By Will Ashworth]

  Kuchar Sponsor Stock: Royal Bank of Canada (RY)

  Of these five players, Kuchar sits the highest in the 2014 FedEx Cup standings in 15th place. Although he too has missed a cut in nine tournaments played so far, he has managed to finish in the top 10 on six occasions, leading to $1.7 million in winnings leading up to the Masters.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://w! ww.topsto! cksblog.com/top-5-canadian-stocks-to-buy-right-now-6.html

Best Construction Material Companies To Invest In 2015

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, freight container lessor TAL International (NYSE: TAL  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at TAL and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

TAL facts

Headquarters (founded)

Purchase, N.Y. (1963)

Market Cap

$1.3 billion

Industry

Trading companies and distributors

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$628.9 million

Best Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2016: Texas Industries Inc (TXI)

Texas Industries, Inc., incorporated on April 19, 1951, is a supplier of construction materials in the southwestern United States. The Company operates in three segments: cement, aggregates and consumer products. Its cement segment produces gray portland cement and specialty cements. The Company�� cement production and distribution facilities are concentrated primarily in Texas and California. Its aggregates segment produces natural aggregates, including sand, gravel and crushed limestone. The Company�� consumer products segment produces ready-mix concrete. It is also a supplier of natural aggregates and ready-mix concrete in Texas and northern Louisiana and in Oklahoma and Arkansas. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 123 manufacturing facilities in five states.

Cement Segment

The Company produces specialty cements, such as masonry and oil well cements. Its cement production facilities are located at Midlothian, Texas, south of Dallas/Fort Worth, Hunter, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio, and Oro Grande, California, near Los Angeles. It also operates a cement terminal and packaging facility at its Crestmore plant near Riverside, California, and the Company operates its gray portland cement grinding facility on an as needed basis. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), it produced approximately 4.3 million tons of finished cement. The Company shipped approximately 4.4 million tons during fiscal 2013, of which 3.8 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers.

Aggregates Segment

The Company�� operations are conducted from facilities primarily serving the Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin areas in Texas; the southern Oklahoma area, and the Alexandria and Monroe areas in Louisiana. The Company produced approximately 14.2 million tons of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013. It shipped approximately 14.8 million tons of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013, of which 11.3 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers! . The Company shipped approximately 1.0 million cubic yards of lightweight aggregates during fiscal 2013, of which approximately 0.9 million cubic yards were shipped to outside trade customers.

Consumer Products Segment

The Company�� ready-mix concrete operations are situated in three areas in Texas (the Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton area of north Texas, the Austin area of central Texas and from Beaumont to Texarkana in east Texas), in north and central Louisiana, and in southwestern Arkansas. It is also a 40% partner in a joint venture that has ready mix concrete operations in the northern part of central Texas area centered around Waco, Texas. It shipped approximately 2.8 million cubic yards of ready-mix concrete during fiscal 2013. The Company manufacture and supply a substantial amount of the cement and aggregates raw materials used by our ready-mix plants. The Company also marketed its Maximizer packaged concrete mixes in southern California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Competitively advantaged holdings continued to demonstrate the value of moats at FedEx (FDX), Melco, and Texas Industries (TXI). These holdings were among our largest contributors to performance, and they exemplify activity prevalent across most of our holdings throughout the year.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Analysts expect Texas Industries (NYSE: TXI) to post its Q1 earnings at $0.01 per share on revenue of $233.63 million. Texas Industries shares gained 1.82% to close at $67.52 yesterday.

• [By Ben Fox Rubin]

  Building materials company Texas Industries Inc.(TXI) is considering a sale, Bloomberg News reported, citing three people familiar with knowledge of the matter. Shares of the company jumped 12% premarket to $65.50.

Best Construction Material Companies To Invest In 2015: CEMEX SAB de CV (CX)

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (CEMEX), incorporated on January 20, 1931, is a global cement manufacturer with operations in North America, Europe, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Company is a holding company engaged through the operating subsidiaries in the production, distribution, marketing and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and clinker. As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� cement production facilities were located in Mexico, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Egypt, the Philippines and Thailand.

The Company manufactures cement through a closely controlled chemical process, which begins with the mining and crushing of limestone and clay, and, in some instances, other raw materials. The clay and limestone are then pre-homogenized, a process which consists of combining different types of clay and limestone. The mix is typically dried, then fed into a grinder, which grinds the various materials in preparation for the kiln. The raw materials are calcined, or processed, at a very high temperature in a kiln, to produce clinker. Clinker is the intermediate product used in the manufacture of cement.

Ready-mix concrete is a combination of cement, fine and coarse aggregates, admixtures (which control properties of the concrete including plasticity, pumpability, freeze-thaw resistance, strength and setting time), and water. The Company is a supplier of aggregates primarily the crushed stone, sand and gravel, used in virtually all forms of construction.

Mexican Operations

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Mexican operations represented approximately 21% of the Company�� net sales. CEMEX Mexico is a direct subsidiary of CEMEX and is both a holding company for some of the operating companies in Mexico and an operating company involved in the manufacturing and ma! rketing of cement, plaster, gypsum, groundstone and other construction materials and cement by-products in Mexico. CEMEX Mexico, indirectly, is also the holding company for the international operations. The Company owns Tolteca, Monterrey, Maya, Anahuac, Campana, Gallo, and Centenario brands in Mexico. As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned 100% of CEMEX Mexico.

The Company competes with Holcim Ltd., Sociedad Cooperativa Cruz Azul, Cementos Moctezuma, Grupo Cementos Chihuahua and Lafarge Cementos in Mexico.

U.S. Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� operations in the United States represented approximately 19% of the Company�� net sales. As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX, Inc. As of December 31, 2009, CEMEX had a cement manufacturing capacity of approximately 17.9 million tons per year in the United States operations. As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated 14 cement plants located in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. As of December 31, 2009, it also had 48 rails or water served active cement distribution terminals in the United States. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had 336 ready-mix concrete plants located in the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington and aggregates facilities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

Spanish Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the operations in Spain represented approximately 5% of the Company�� net sales. As of December 31, 2009, the Company held approximately 99.8% of CEMEX Espana, the main operating subsidiary in Spain. The cement activities in Spain are conducted by CEMEX Espana. The ready-mix concrete activities in Spain are conducted by Hormicemex, S.A., a subsidiary of CEMEX Espana, and the aggregates activities in Spain ar! e conduct! ed by Aricemex S.A., also a subsidiary of CEMEX Espana.

U.K. Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� operations in the United Kingdom represented approximately 8% of the Company�� net sales. As of December 31, 2009, it held 100% of CEMEX Investments Limited, the holding subsidiary in the United Kingdom. The Company is a provider of building materials in the United Kingdom with vertically integrated cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and asphalt operations. It is also a provider of concrete and precast materials solutions, such as concrete blocks, concrete block paving, roof tiles, flooring systems and sleepers for rail infrastructure.

The Company competes with Lafarge, Heidelberg, Tarmac, and Aggregate Industries in the United Kingdom.

German Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the operations in the Rest of Europe consisted of the operations in Germany, France, Ireland, Poland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Austria and Hungary, as well as the other European assets. The Company is a provider of building materials in Germany, with vertically integrated cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and concrete products operations (consisting mainly of prefabricated concrete ceilings and walls). It maintains a network for ready-mix concrete and aggregates in Germany. As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX Deutschland AG, the holding subsidiary in Germany.

The Company competes with Heidelberg, Dyckerhoff, Lafarge, Holcim and Schwenk in Germany.

French Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX France Gestion (S.A.S.), the holding subsidiary in France. It is a ready-mix concrete producer and aggregate producer in France. As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated 239 ready-mix concrete plants in France, one maritime cement terminal located in LeHavre, on the northern coast of France, 20 land distribution centers and 42 aggregates quarries.

The Company competes with Lafarge, Holcim, Italcementi, Vicat, Lafarge, Italcementi, Colas (Bouygues) and Eurovia (Vinci) in France.

Irish Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held approximately 61.2% of Readymix Plc, the operating subsidiary in the Republic of Ireland. The operations in Ireland produce and supply sand, stone and gravel, as well as ready-mix concrete, mortar and concrete blocks. As of December 31, 2009, we operated 43 ready-mix concrete plants, 27 aggregates quarries and 15 block plants located in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. The Company imports and distributes cement in the Isle of Man.

The Company competes with CRH, the Lagan Group and Kilsaran in the Republic of Ireland.

Polish Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX Polska Sp. z.o.o. (CEMEX Polska), the holding subsidiary in Poland. It is a provider of building materials in Poland serving the cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates markets. As of December 31, 2009, CEMEX operated two cement plants and one grinding mill in Poland, with a total installed cement capacity of three million tons per year. As of December 31, 2009, the Company also operated 39 ready-mix concrete plants and nine aggregates quarries in Poland. As of December 31, 2009, the Company also operated 10 land distribution centers and two maritime terminals in Poland.

The Company competes with Heidelberg, Lafarge, CRH and Dyckerhoff in Poland.

Southeast European Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX Hrvatska d.d. (Hrvatska), the operating subsidiary in Croatia. As of December 31, 2009, it operated three cement plants in Croatia, with an installed capacity of 2.4 million tons per year. As of December 31, 2009, the Company also operated ten land distribution centers, three maritime cement terminals, eight ready-mix concrete facilities and one aggregates quarry! in Croat! ia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Vulcan have gained 7.6%, and given a lift to other cement makers today, including Martin Marietta Materials (MLM), which has risen 4.9% and reports earnings on Thursday, Cemex (CX), which has advanced 1.5%, and Texas Industries (TXI), which is up 4.9%.

Best Construction Material Companies To Invest In 2015: Eagle Materials Inc (EXP)

Eagle Materials Inc., incorporated on January 27, 1994, manufactures and distributes gypsum wallboard and also manufactures and sells cement. Gypsum wallboard is distributed throughout the United States with particular emphasis in the geographic markets nearest to its production facilities. The Company sells cement in six regional markets, including northern Nevada and California, the greater Chicago area, the Rocky Mountain region, the Central Plains region and Texas. Its gypsum wallboard business is supported by its recycled paperboard business, while its cement business is supported by its concrete and aggregates business. The Company operates in Cement and Concrete and Aggregates, and Gypsum Wallboard and Recycled Paperboard segments. As of March 31, 2013, the Company operated six cement plants (one of which belongs to its joint venture company), five gypsum wallboard plants, one recycled paperboard plant, seventeen concrete batching plants and four aggregates facilities. The Company�� products are used in the construction and renovation of houses, roads, bridges, commercial and industrial buildings and other, newer generation structures like wind farms.

Cement, Concrete and Aggregates Operations

The Company�� cement production facilities are located in or near Buda, Texas; LaSalle, Illinois; Laramie, Wyoming; Sugar Creek, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fernley, Nevada. The Company�� cement subsidiaries are wholly-owned except the Buda, Texas plant, which is owned by Texas Lehigh Cement Company LP, a limited partnership joint venture owned 50% by the Company and 50% by Lehigh Cement Company LLC, a subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement AG. Its LaSalle, Illinois plant operates under the name of Illinois Cement Company; the Laramie, Wyoming plant operates under the name of Mountain Cement Company; the Fernley, Nevada plant operates under the name of Nevada Cement Company and its Sugar Creek, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma plants operate under the name Central Plains Cement Com! pany. The Company produces and distributes ready-mix concrete from Company-owned sites north of Sacramento, California; Austin, Texas and the greater Kansas City area. The Company�� activities in its frac sand business are in the Utica, Illinois area and in south Texas. The Company sells aggregates to building contractors and other customers engaged in a variety of construction activities.

Gypsum Wallboard and Recycled Paperboard Operations

The Company owns five gypsum wallboard manufacturing facilities. As of March 31, 2013, the Company�� gypsum wallboard production totaled 1,950 million square feet. Total gypsum wallboard sales were 1,909 million square feet during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013). The Company also manufactures alternative products, including containerboard grades (such as linerboard and medium) and lightweight packaging grades (such as bag liner). In addition, recycled industrial paperboard grades (tube/core stock and protective angle board stock) are produced to maximize manufacturing efficiencies. The Company�� manufactured recycled paperboard products are sold to gypsum wallboard manufacturers and other industrial users.

The Company competes with USG Corporation, National Gypsum Company and Koch Industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top decliners in the sector included Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), off 6.3 percent, and Eagle Materials (NYSE: EXP), down 4.3 percent.

  Top Headline
  Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) announced its plans to buy Furiex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: FURX) for up to $1.46 billion. Forest will pay around $95 per share, or around $1.1 billion in cash. Forest Labs will also pay up to $30 per share, or around $360 million in a contingent value right. The deal is projected to close in the second or third quarter of 2014.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Tomorrow, Eagle Materials (NYSE: EXP  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

Best Construction Material Companies To Invest In 2015: Ply Gem Holdings Inc (PGEM)

Ply Gem Holdings, Inc. (Ply Gem Holdings), incorporated on January 23, 2004, is a manufacturer of residential exterior building products in North America. The Company operates in two segments: Siding, Fencing, and Stone and Windows and Doors. These two segments produce a product line of vinyl siding, designer accents, cellular polyvinyl chloride (PVC) trim, vinyl fencing, vinyl and composite railing, stone veneer and vinyl windows and doors used in both new construction and home repair and remodeling in the United States and Western Canada. It also manufactures vinyl and aluminum soffit and siding accessories, aluminum trim coil, wood windows, aluminum windows, vinyl and aluminum-clad windows and steel and fiberglass doors, enabling it to bundle complementary and color-matched products and accessories with its core products. The Company�� subsidiaries includes including Ply Gem Industries, MWM Holding, AWC Holding Company, MHE, and Pacific Windows. On July 30, 2012, Ply Gem acquired substantially all of the assets of Greendeck Products, LLC.

Siding, Fencing, and Stone Segment

In the Siding, Fencing, and Stone segment, its principal products include vinyl siding and skirting, vinyl and aluminum soffit, aluminum trim coil, J-channels, wide crown molding, window and door trim, F-channels, H-molds, fascia, undersill trims, outside/inside corner posts, rain removal systems, injection molded designer accents, such as shakes, shingles, scallops, shutters, vents and mounts, vinyl fence, vinyl and composite railing, and stone veneer. It sells its siding and accessories under its Variform, Napco, Mastic Home Exteriors, and Cellwood brand names and under the Georgia-Pacific brand name through a private label program. It also sells its Providence line of vinyl siding and accessories to Lowe�� under its Durabuilt private label brand name. Its vinyl and vinyl-composite fencing and railing products are sold under its Kroy and Kroy Express brand names. Ply Gem Holdings stone veneer produ! cts are sold under its United Stone Veneer brand name.

The Company sells the siding and accessories to specialty distributors (one-step distribution) and to wholesale distributors (two-step distribution). Its specialty distributors sell directly to remodeling contractors and builders. Its wholesale distributors sell to retail home centers and lumberyards who, in turn, sell to remodeling contractors, builders and consumers. In the specialty channel, it has developed a network of approximately 800 independent distributors, serving over 22,000 contractors and builders nationwide.

Windows and Doors Segment

In the Windows and Doors segment, its principal products include vinyl, aluminum, wood and clad-wood windows and patio doors, and steel, wood, and fiberglass entry doors that serve both the new home construction and the repair and remodeling sectors in the United States and Western Canada. Its products in its Windows and Doors segment are sold under the Ply Gem Windows, Great Lakes Mastic by Ply Gem, and Ply Gem Canada brands.

The Company competes with Alsco, Gentek, U.S. Fence, Homeland, Westech, Bufftech, Royal, Azek., Eldorado Stone, Coronado Stone, Jeld-Wen, Simonton, Pella and Andersen, MI Home Products, Atrium, Weathershield, Milgard, Jeld-Wen, Gienow, All Weather and Loewen.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Traders Reserve]

  There hasn�� been a January effect rally in shares of Ply Gem (PGEM). In fact, it has been quite the opposite. Shares are down a whopping 25% during the month. For a stock I rated as on of the Top 10 Sizzling Stocks, such a move is painful, but not disastrous. Sizzling Stocks are meant to be held for the duration of the year and we have 11 months to go. Small-cap stocks like Ply Gem can move sharply one direction or the other.

Best Construction Material Companies To Invest In 2015: Boral Ltd (BLD)

Boral Limited (Boral), is engaged in the manufacture and supply of building and construction materials in Australia, the United States and Asia. The Company�� operating segments include Construction Materials & Cement, Building Products, Boral Gypsum, and Boral USA. The Construction Materials & Cement is engaged in quarries, concrete, asphalt, transport, landfill, property, cement and concrete placing. The Building Products segment is engaged in Australian bricks, roof tiles, masonry, timber products and windows. The Boral Gypsum involves Australian and Asian plasterboard. The Boral USA is engaged in Bricks, cultured stone, roof tiles, fly ash, concrete and quarries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  Ballard Power (BLD), which designs and manufactures hydrogen fuel cells, slumped 15 percent to C$1.42, the biggest decline since March. The company yesterday said it will sell about 9 million units at $1.40 a unit for proceeds of about $12.6 million. The cash generated will be used to fund working capital, support growth and general corporate purposes, the company said.

Best Construction Material Companies To Invest In 2015: Societe Libanaise des Ciments Blancs SAL (CBN)

Societe Libanaise des Ciments Blancs SAL is a Lebanon-based joint stock company that operates in the construction materials industry sector. The Company is engaged in the production and sale of white cement. The Company is a 65.99% owned by Holcim (Liban) SAL. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CanadianValue]

  Nigeria�� reformed banking system has provided many foreigners with an attractive means to invest in the fast-growing domestic economy. The banking industry is important, not only because of the rise of microfinance, but because of the move by banks into consumer banking. Until recently, banks were mainly financing large businesses or the government through bond purchases. Following a banking crisis in 2008, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted an audit of the commercial banking sector. All banks that failed the audit had their CEOs replaced. The state-owned Asset Management Corporation (AMCON) was created to purchase non-performing loans and recapitalize the unhealthy banks. A recent review of the country�� banks by the IMF showed a dramatic increase in profits for the industry in 2012, while the capital adequacy ratio was above the minimum requirement of 10% and non-performing loans were below the mandated threshold of 5%5.