Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014

I carried the ��A Technologies (NYSE:CA) is too cheap��torch for a while, and though the stock is up about 20% since my last article, better than IBM (NYSE: IBM) and in line with Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL), the nearly 10% underperformance relative to the S&P 500 precludes any victory dance. On the other hand, the stock is well ahead of the S&P 500 on a year-to-date basis, and it sounds like the Street is increasingly on board with CEO Michael Gregoire's plans to reinvigorate growth at this large enterprise software company.

Dude, Where's My Growth?
When it comes to weak near-term growth, CA is hardly alone in the enterprise software space (at least among those companies old enough to shave). Revenue contraction of almost 2% in the second quarter was disappointing in absolute terms, though a bit ahead of Street expectations. Subscription revenue declined 3%, with both mainframe and enterprise revenue down from last year. On a more positive note, CA's bookings growth of 49% was well ahead of expectations (around 4%), but early renewals helped inflate this figure.

Top 10 Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own Right Now: CIENA Corporation(CIEN)

Ciena Corporation provides equipment, software, and service solutions that support the transport, switching, aggregation, and management of voice, video, and data traffic on communications networks worldwide. Its product portfolio consists of packet-optical transport that includes optical transport solutions to increase network capacity and enable delivery of a broader mix of high-bandwidth services; and packet-optical switching, which comprise optical switching platforms incorporating multiservice and multi-protocol switching systems that enable automated optical infrastructures for the delivery of various enterprise and consumer-oriented network services. The company also offers carrier Ethernet solutions, including service delivery switches and service aggregation switches to support the access and aggregation tiers of communications networks, as well as to support wireless backhaul infrastructures and business data services; and software solutions to track individual s ervices across multiple product suites, facilitating planned network maintenance, outage detection, and identification of customers or services affected by network troubles. In addition, Ciena Corporation provides consulting and support services, such as project management, deployment, maintenance support, consulting, and training services, as well as network analysis, planning, design, optimization, and tuning. Its packet-optical transport, packet-optical switching, and carrier Ethernet solutions products are used individually or as part of an integrated solution in communications networks operated by communications service providers, cable operators, governments, enterprises, and other network operators. The company sells its communications networking solutions directly, as well as through strategic channel relationships. Ciena Corporation was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Linthicum, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  When optical networking expert Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN  ) reported earnings on Thursday morning, it sparked a wholesale revival across the industry.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of network equipment maker Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN  ) popped 14% today after the company's quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street expectations.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: GSI Group Inc.(GSIG)

GSI Group Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells laser-based solutions, laser scanning devices, and precision motion and optical control technologies worldwide. The company?s Laser Products segment provides lasers and laser-based systems for photonics-based applications, such as cutting, welding, marking, engraving, micro-machining, and scientific research. Its Precision Motion and Technologies segment designs, manufactures, and markets air bearing spindles, encoders, thermal printers, laser scanning devices, and light and color measurement systems to original equipment manufacturers. The company?s Semiconductor Systems segment offers laser based production systems for semiconductor, microelectronics, and electronics manufacturing. This segment?s products comprise WaferRepair for dynamic random access memory, flash memory chips, and LCDs; WaferMark for silicon suppliers and integrated circuit factories; and WaferTrim and Circuit Trim for analog and mixed signal sensor and chip resistor devices, as well as for resistor devices. The company sells its products primarily through direct sales force, resellers, distributors, and system integrators. It serves industrial, electronics, automotive, medical, packaging, aerospace, scientific, semiconductor, lighting, military, and motion picture markets. The company was formerly known as GSI Lumonics Inc. and changed its name to GSI Group Inc. in 2005. GSI Group Inc. was founded in 1970 and is based in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Electro Scientific Industries (NASDAQ: ESIO  ) has a new division under its corporate wing. The company has inked a definitive agreement to purchase the semiconductor systems unit of GSI Group (NASDAQ: GSIG  ) . The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp (TKMR)

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference (RNAi) therapeutics and providing its lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners. On March 1, 2012, it announced that the Company had secured a license from Alnylam to develop TKMALDH2, an RNAi therapeutic that utilizes Tekmira's LNP for the treatment of Alcohol Dependence (AD). Its lead oncology product candidate, TKM-PLK1, targets PLK1, a protein involved in tumor cell proliferation and a validated oncology target. On February 8, 2012, it announced that Phase I clinical trial for TKM-Ebola had been initiated. The Phase 1 TKM-Ebola clinical trial is a placebo-controlled, single-blind, single-ascending dose study with additional multiple-ascending dose cohorts in healthy human volunteers. In the field of RNAi therapeutics, the Company has licensed its LNP delivery technology to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  Companies working on chemically synthesized siRNAs include Merck (MRK), through its subsidiary Sirna Therapeutics, Inc., Novartis (NVS), Takeda (TKPHF.PK), Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Marina Biotech, Inc., Arrowhead and its subsidiary, Calando, Quark, Silence Therapeutics plc, Tekmira (TKMR), Sylentis and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: CDI Corporation(CDI)

CDI Corp. provides engineering and information technology project outsourcing solutions and professional staffing services primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It operates in four segments: ES, MRI, Anders, and ITS. The ES segment provides engineering, design, project management, staffing, and outsourcing solutions to oil, gas, refining, alternative energy, power generation and energy transmission, chemicals, and heavy manufacturing industries; engineering, design, logistics, and staffing services to the defense industry, primarily in marine design, systems development, and military aviation support; engineering, design, project management, staffing, and facility start-up services to pharmaceutical, bio-pharmaceutical, and regulated medical services industries; and architecture, civil and environmental engineering, communication technology, and consulting services to governmental, educational, and private industry customers. The MRI segment opera tes as a global franchisor that does business as MRINetwork and provides the use of its trademarks, business systems, and training and support services to its franchisees who engage in the search and recruitment of executive, technical, professional, and managerial personnel for employment by their customers. It also provides training, implementation services, and back-office services to enable franchisees to pursue staffing opportunities. The Anders segment provides contract and permanent placement candidates to customers in the areas of architecture, building services, rail, commercial and industrial construction, consulting engineering, facilities management, interior design, surveying, and town planning. The ITS segment offers various information technology related services, which include staffing augmentation, permanent placement, outsourcing, and consulting. The company was founded in 1950 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Philadelphia-based CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI  ) has won a $36 million contract to provide watercraft engineering and marine services to the U.S. Navy.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on CDI (NYSE: CDI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Solitron Devices Inc (SODI)

Solitron Devices, Inc., incorporated on March 12, 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The Company manufactures a variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power transistors, power and controls hybrids, junction and power MOS field effect transistors (Power MOSFETS), field effect transistors and other related products. It's products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United States government. The Company�� semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic components. The Company�� active electronic components include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.

The Company�� semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and spacecraft. Its products have been used on the space shuttle and on the spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars Sojourner).

Power Transistors

The Company manufactures a variety of power bipolar transistors for applications requiring currents in the range of 0.1 ampere to 300 ampere or voltages in the range of 30 volts to 1000 volts. It also manufactures power diodes under the same military specification. In addition, it manufactures power N-Channel and P-Channel MOSFET transistors and is expanding that line in accordance with customers��requirements.

Hybrids

The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. The hybrids are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and aerospace systems. Some of the Company�� hybrids include high power voltage regulators, p! ower amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom hybrids.

Voltage Regulators

Voltage regulators provide the power required to activate electronic components such as the integrated circuits. These circuits are found in all electronic devices from radar and missile systems to smart phones.

Field Effect Transistors

The Company manufactures about 30 different types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor types. The Company�� field effect transistors conform to standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors, commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. It manufactures both standard and custom field effect transistors.

The Competes with IXYS Corporation, Motorola Inc., International Rectifier, Microsemi Corporation, M.S. Kennedy Corporation, Natel Engineering Company and Sensitron Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] strong>OPT-Sciences (OPST)

  Micropac

  Micropac is 76% owned by Heinz-Werner Hempel. He�� a German businessman. You can see the German company he founded here. He�� had control of Micropac for a long-time. I don�� have an exact number in front of me. But I would guess it�� been something like 25 years.

  ADDvantage

  ADDvantage Technologies is controlled by the Chymiak brothers. See the company�� April 4 press release explaining their decision to turn over the CEO position to an outsider. Regardless, the Chymiaks still control 47% of the company. Ken Chymiak is now chairman. And David Chymiak is still a director and now the company�� chief technology officer. Clearly, it�� still their company.

  By the way, the name ADDvantage Technologies has nothing to do with the Chymiaks. Today�� AEY really traces its roots to a private company called Tulsat. The Chymiak brothers acquired that company about 27 years ago. So, effectively, when you buy shares of AEY you are buying into a 27-year-old family-controlled company.

  That�� pretty typical in the world of net-nets.

  Solitron

  Solitron Devices is 29% owned by Shevach Saraf. He has been the CEO for 20 years. The post-bankruptcy Solitron has never known another CEO. Before the bankruptcy, Solitron was a much bigger, much different company. So even though we are not talking about the founder here ��and even though 70% of the company�� shares are not held by the CEO ��we��e still talking about a company where one person has a lot of control. Solitron only has three directors. Saraf is the chairman, CEO, president, CFO and treasurer. Neither of the other two directors joined the board within the last 15 years. So, we aren�� talking about a lot of tumult at the top.

  In fact, profitable net-nets seem to be especially common candidates for abandoning the responsibilities of a public company without actually getting taken private.

  OPT-Sciences

  This

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.
  
  Micropac (MPAD) sells at 83% of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.
  
  ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: NetApp Inc.(NTAP)

NetApp, Inc. engages in the design, manufacturing, marketing, and technical support of networked storage solutions. It supplies enterprise storage and data management software, and hardware products and services. The company offers Data ONTAP, an operating system that supports storage area network (SAN) and network-attached storage (NAS) environments; storage efficiency technologies, including FlexVol, FlexClone, and Deduplication technologies; storage management and application integration software, such as OnCommand management software; fabric-attached storage unified storage systems, which support a range of data for users on various platforms; and virtual storage tier; V-Series network-based virtualization solutions that provide SAN and NAS access to the data stored in heterogeneous storage arrays. It also provides data protection software products, including Snapshot, SnapRestore, SnapVault, and Open Systems SnapVault techologies; MetroCluster products; and SnapMirror data replication solution. In addition, the company offers data retention and archive products, and Flash Cache modules; and storage security products for data security and key management in IP SAN, NAS, and tape backup environments; StorageGRID that enables intelligent data management and secure content retention; and professional services, global support solutions, and customer education and training. It serves energy, financial services, government, high technology, Internet, life sciences and healthcare services, manufacturing, media, entertainment, animation and video postproduction, and telecommunications industries. It offers its products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company was formerly known as Network Appliance, Inc. and changed its name to NetApp, Inc. in March 2008. NetApp, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Pimentel]

  NetApp (NTAP) �shares ended the day down 2.5% in Tuesday, while VMware (VMW) �was off almost 3% and Cisco (CSCO) �gave up 0.7%

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Network storage specialist NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP  ) , meanwhile, jumped 22%. The company recently initiated a dividend, and it's yielding 1.6% these days. Some have sent the shares up on hopes that an activist investor might help the company's prospects, but the stock is also significantly shorted. NetApp announced layoffs and boosted its share buyback plans ��though buybacks are often regrettable. The company recently posted disappointing revenue numbers, but it still looks attractive to some, in part due to strong free cash flow. Some also wonder whether NetApp might end up acquired by another major data player, such as Oracle.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  According to IDC estimates, EMC's share of the storage hardware segment is more than 30%. That's about two-and-a-half times that of its nearest competitor, NetApp Inc. (Nasdaq: NTAP).

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: MEDIWARE Information Systems Inc.(MEDW)

Mediware Information Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, and marketing of software solutions targeting specific processes within healthcare institutions. The company offers software systems consisting of company's proprietary application software, and third-party licensed software and hardware. It licenses, implements, and supports clinical and performance management, blood donor, and blood and biologic management products in the United States; and medication management solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The company?s blood and biologics management solutions include HCLL Transfusion and HCLL Donor, which address blood donor recruitment, blood processing, and transfusion activities for hospitals and medical centers; BloodSafe suite of hardware and software that enable healthcare facilities to store, monitor, distribute, and track blood products; LifeTrak software for blood centers; a nd BiologiCare, a bone, tissue, and cellular product tracking software. Its medication management products comprise WORx, a pharmacy information system to manage inpatient and outpatient pharmacy operations; MediCOE, a physician order entry module; MediMAR, a nurse point-of-care administration and bedside documentation module; MediREC, which assists in achieving compliance with a Joint Commission mandate; and pharmacy management and electronic prescribing systems. The company?s performance management products include InSight software that tracks performance metrics to assist healthcare managers to manage performance. It also provides software installation and maintenance services, as well as billing and collection services to home infusion and home/durable medical equipment markets. The company markets its products primarily through its direct sales force. Mediware Information Systems, Inc. was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Mediware Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MEDW) plans to acquire the assets of Indianapolis-based Strategic Healthcare Group LLC (SHG), a leading provider of blood management consulting, education and informatics solutions.

10 Best Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2014

After a big decline of more than 200 points yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) has spent the morning trading in a narrow range as investors wait for tomorrow's news on the U.S. employment picture. Although today's data included a drop in weekly unemployment claims that would ordinarily have spurred some optimism about tomorrow's report, investors aren't sure whether to root for a strong jobs report that would point to a healthier economy or for a weak report that would increase the odds of further accommodation from the Federal Reserve. That uncertainty kept the stock market near breakeven, with the Dow down two points as of 10:55 a.m. EDT.

But some stocks are bouncing back for shareholders. Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) has risen 2.2% after getting hit hard in recent days. Rising interest rates have made their way into the mortgage loan market, and that has investors fearing a potential reversal in the substantial home-price gains that the housing market has seen over the past year. Yet reports yesterday that private-equity company Kelso might try to sell off its Custom Building Products home-furnishings and construction manufacturer might have reminded investors that Home Depot might benefit from a potential IPO of its former HD Supply unit, in which it still retains a 12.5% stake.

Top 5 Gold Companies To Buy For 2015: Revlon Inc.(REV)

Revlon, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in manufacturing, marketing, and selling cosmetics, women?s hair color, beauty tools, anti-perspirant deodorants, fragrances, skincare, and other beauty care products worldwide. The company?s cosmetics include face makeup products, including foundation, powder, blush, concealers, bronzers, and finishers; lip makeup products comprising lipsticks, lip glosses, and lip liners; eye makeup products consisting of mascaras, eyeliners, eye shadows, and brow products; nail color and nail care products, such as enamels, treatments, and cuticle preparations; and face and eye makeup removers. Its beauty tools comprise nail, eye, and pedicure grooming tools, such as clippers, scissors, files, tweezers, eye lash curlers, and makeup brushes; and fragrances consist of perfumes, eau de toilettes, colognes, and body sprays. The company markets its products primarily under Revlon, Revlon ColorStay, Revlon Super Lustrous, Revlon Age Defying, A lmay Intense i-Color, Almay Smart Shade, Revlon ColorSilk, Mitchum, Charlie, Jean Nate, Ultima II, and Gatineau names. Revlon, Inc. sells its products through sales representatives and independent distributors to mass volume retailers, chain drug stores, chemist shops, hypermarkets, general merchandise stores, department stores; other specialty stores, such as perfumeries; and to the United States military exchanges and commissaries. It also licenses its brand names to third parties for the manufacture and sale of beauty-related products and accessories. The company was founded in 1932 and is based in New York, New York. Revlon, Inc. is a subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Revlon (NYSE: REV  ) will need to have a serious discussion with its headhunters. The company revealed in an SEC filing that Executive Vice President and CFO Steven Berns has tendered his resignation. He has done so in order to take up the same positions at privately held media conglomerate Tribune Company.�

10 Best Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2014: Accor SA (AC)

Accor SA is a France-based hotel operator. The Hotels division manages more than 531,000 bedrooms in more than 4,200 hotels across 90 countries. Accor's portfolio consists of such hotel brands as Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suite Novotel, Adagio, ibis Styles, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1, hotelF1, Studio 6 and Motel 6, and its related activities, Thalassa sea & spa and Lenotre that provide an offer ranging from luxury to budget class. It operates through a number of subsidiaries, including SH Danton Michelet, Ste De Constructiondes Holets Suites, SIET, The Newgen Hotels, Chammans, Profid, SPFH, IBL, Soluxury HMC and SNC SH 61 QG; LA THERMALE DE FRANCE, PIH and HOTEXCO, among others. On July 30, 2012, it divested its stake in Ascendas Australia Hospitality Fund and Beijing Sanyuan Novotel and Ibis. In February 2013, it sold the Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg. In August 2013, it opened a new hotel in Thailand. In September 2013, it opened new resort in Dubai. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Investing in small or micro cap funds will be more volatile and loss of principal could be greater than investing in large cap or more diversified funds.Investing in foreign securities, especially in frontier and emerging markets, entails special risks, such as currency fluctuations and political uncertainties, which are described in more detail in the prospectus.For the period ended March 31, 2014, the average annual total returns of the Wasatch International Growth (Trades, Portfolio) Fund for the one-, five- and ten-year periods were 12.71%, 28.72%, and 10.73%, and the returns for the MSCI AC World Ex-U.S.A. Small Cap Index were 16.28%, 21.18%, and 9.31%. Expense ratio: Gross 1.57% / Net 1.57%.Recent stock market performance has caused atypical short-term returns for some asset classes,which may not continue in the future. Fund performance may be subject to substantial short-term changes due to market volatility.Data shows past performance, which is not indicative of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the data quoted. To obtain the most recent month-end performance data available, please click on the ��erformance��tab of the individual fund under the ��ur Funds��section. The Advisor may absorb certain Fund expenses, without which total return would have been lower. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate and shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.Wasatch Funds will deduct a 2.00% redemption proceeds fee on Fund shares held 60 days or less. Performance data does not reflect the deduction of fees, including sales charges, or the taxes you would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Fees and taxes, if reflected, would reduce the performance quoted. Wasatch does not charge any sales fees. For more complete information including charges, risks and expenses, read the prospectus carefully.Wasatch Funds are subject to risks, including loss of principal.Over

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Accor SA (AC) declined 4.2 percent to 25.62 euros after Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded Europe�� largest hotel operator to underperform, the equivalent of sell, from outperform, citing the increasing risk of disappointing first-quarter earnings.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Accor (AC) dropped 3.9 percent to 32.27 euros, its biggest decline since Aug. 28. Europe�� largest hotel operator said it will reorganize its business into two separate units. The HotelServices unit will operate about 460,000 hotel rooms under 14 brands. The HotelInvest unit will act as the owner and investor in hotels.

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Accor (AC) dropped 4.4 percent to 27.52 euros, the biggest loss since June 2012. Europe�� largest hotel operator posted first-half earnings before interest and taxes of 198 million euros ($265 million), missing the average analyst projection of 212 million euros. The company predicted 2013 Ebit of between 510 million euros and 530 million euros, compared with the average 534 million-euro analyst estimate.

10 Best Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2014: Red Lion Hotels Corporation(RLH)

Red Lion Hotels Corporation, a hospitality and leisure company, engages in the ownership, operation, and franchising of midscale, full, select, and limited service hotels under the Red Lion brand. As of June 30, 2011, its hotel network comprised of 44 hotels located in 8 states and 1 Canadian province, with 8,457 rooms. The company also offers ticketing services and promotion and presentation of entertainment productions, as well as provides ticketing inventory management systems, call center services, and outlet/electronic channel distribution for event locations. In addition, it has direct ownership interest in a retail mall in Kalispell, Montana, as well as involves in the real estate investments. The company was formerly known as WestCoast Hospitality Corporation and changed its name to Red Lion Hotels Corporation in September 2005. Red Lion Hotels Corporation was founded in 1937 and is based in Spokane, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Monday

  Earnings Releases Expected: Sotheby�� (NYSE: BID), Otelco (NASDAQ: OTEL), Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX), Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH) Economic Releases Expected: Italian industrial production, Mexican industrial production, Portuguese trade balance

  Tuesday

10 Best Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2014: Mechel OAO (MTLR)

Mechel OAO is a Russia-based integrated mining and steel company. The Company focuses on the production of mining products, such as coal, iron ore, nickel, and steel products. Its operations are divided into two segments: Mining and Steel. The Mining segment focuses on the production and sales of coking coal concentrate, iron ore concentrate and coke with assets in the Russian Federation and the United States. The Steel segment comprises production and sale of semi-finished steel products, carbon and specialty long products, stainless flat products, and value-added downstream metal products, including hardware and stampings. The Company has production facilities, located domestically in numerous regions, as well as in the United States, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria. In July 2013, it closed the deal on disposal of 100% of the shares of Toplofikatsia Rousse EAD. In July 2013, the Company sold a 100% stake in Invicta Merchant Bar. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lyubov Pronina]

  The Micex Index slid 1.1 percent to the lowest level since November. Russian growth is forecast to slow to 2.4 percent this year on high interest rates and lower gas exports, Economy Minister Andrei Belousov told reporters today. OAO Mechel (MTLR), a coking coal and steel producer, tumbled 6.3 percent.

10 Best Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2014: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)

SPDR Trust, Series 1 (the Trust) is a unit investment trust. The Trust is an exchange-traded fund created to provide investors with the opportunity to purchase a security representing a proportionate undivided interest in a portfolio of securities consisting of substantially all of the common stocks, in substantially the same weighting, which comprise the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Price Index (the S&P Index). Each unit of fractional undivided interest in the Trust is referred to as a Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipt (SPDR).

The Trust utilizes a full replication approach. With this approach, all 500 securities of the Index are owned by the Trust in their approximate market capitalization weight.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  You don't know how to buy stock?
  If you don't know how to buy stock, you're not alone. Few of us are ever taught much about investing. Fortunately, the basics are pretty simple. You might, for example, just park most of your nest egg in a few low-cost broad-market index fundsSPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPY  ) (which tracks the S&P 500) or Vanguard mutual funds or ETFs. (ETFs are exchange-traded funds, and are kind of like a cross between a stock and a fund.) You can include bonds easily, too.

• [By Tom Aspray]

  The Spyder Trust (SPY) and German DAX show very similar patters as both are up over 31%, just half of Japan's gain. The emerging markets as measured by Vanguard FTSE Emerging Market (VWO) is now up 2.3% since the November 2012 lows. Since I do feel a more meaningful correction is likely in the next few months (see What to Watch), it should present a buying opportunity. But should you just concentrate on stocks in the US or should you also look elsewhere?The Vanguard FTSE Emerging Market (VWO) was discussed in more detail in last August's A Contrary Bet for 2014? as I though it might be a star performer in 2014 and advised a dollar cost averaging strategy to get invested. As it turned out, VWO bottomed the following week and had a nice rally into the late October high, but then dropped as many turned became skeptical of the group.

• [By Tom Aspray]

  As we approach another financial crisis in Washington, a scene that may be repeated next month, many are wondering whether or not they should be invested in stocks. The year to date gain in the Spyder Trust (SPY) of over 18.4% is well into the double-digit territory I expected at the end of 2012. Of course the question is how will stocks do in the fourth quarter? But will the market be able to hold these gains until the end of the year?

• [By Will Ashworth]

  By the time the dust settled in 2013, small caps won the day (well, year) — the SPDR S&P SmallCap 600 (SLY) had outperformed the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by almost 9 percentage points.

10 Best Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2014: CSS Industries Inc (CSS)

CSS Industries, Inc. (CSS), incorporated on November 5, 1923, is a company primarily engaged in the design, manufacture, procurement, distribution and sale of seasonal and all occasion social expression products, principally to mass market retailers. These seasonal and all occasion products include gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, decorative tissue paper, decorations, classroom exchange Valentines, decorative ribbons and bows, floral accessories, Halloween masks, costumes, make-up and novelties, Easter egg dyes and novelties, craft and educational products, stickers, memory books, stationery, journals, notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, and other gift items that commemorate life�� celebrations. In September 5, 2012, it sold the Halloween portion of its Paper Magic business to Gemmy Industries (HK) Limited.

CSS��product provides its retail customers the opportunity to use a single vendor for much of their seasonal product requirements. A substantial portion of CSS��products are manufactured, packaged and/or warehoused in 10 facilities located in the United States, with the remainder purchased primarily from manufacturers in Asia and Mexico. The Company�� products are sold to its customers by national and regional account sales managers, sales representatives, product specialists and by a network of independent manufacturers��representatives. The Company�� principal operating subsidiaries include Paper Magic Group, Inc. (Paper Magic), Berwick Offray LLC (Berwick Offray) and C.R. Gibson, LLC (C.R. Gibson). CSS designs, manufactures, procures, distributes and sells a range of seasonal consumer products primarily through the mass market distribution channel. Christmas products include gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, decorative tissue paper and decorations. CSS��Valentine product offerings include classroom exchange Valentine cards and other related Valen! tine products, while its Easter product offerings include Dudley�� brand of Easter egg dyes and related Easter seasonal products. CSS also designs and markets decorative ribbons and bows, all occasion boxed greeting cards, gift wrap, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, decorative and waxed tissue, decorative films and foils, stickers, memory books, stationery, journals, notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, floral accessories and other gift and craft items to its mass market, craft, specialty and floral retail and wholesale distribution customers, and teachers' aids and other learning oriented products to the education market through mass market retailers, school supply distributors and teachers' stores. Key brands include Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, Markings, Creative Papers, Tapestry, Dudley��, Don Post Studios, Eureka, Learning Playground, Stickerfitti and iota. Key brands include Paper Magic, Berwick, Offray, C.R. Gibson, Markings, Creative Papers, Tapestry, Seastone, Dudley��, Eureka, Learning Playground and Stickerfitti.

CSS operates 10 manufacturing and/or distribution facilities located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas. Its boxed greeting cards are produced by Asian manufacturers to the Company�� specifications. Halloween make-up and Easter egg dye products are manufactured in Asia to specific formulae by contract manufacturers who meet regulatory requirements for the formularization and packaging of such products. Ribbons and bows are primarily manufactured and warehoused in seven facilities located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina and Texas. Memory books, stationery, journals and notecards, infant and wedding photo albums, scrapbooks, and other gift items are imported from Asian manufacturers and warehoused and distributed from a distribution facility in Florence, Alabama. Floral accessories, including pot covers, foil, waxed tissue, shred, aisle runners, corsage bags and other paper! and film! products, are manufactured in a facility located in Milford, New Hampshire and Juarez, Mexico. Manufacturing includes gravure and flexo printing, waxing and converting. Products are warehoused and distributed from a distribution facility in Berwick, Pennsylvania. Other products including, but not limited to, decorative tissue paper, all occasion gift wrap, gift tags, gift bags, gift boxes, gift card holders, classroom exchange Valentine products, Halloween masks, costumes and novelties, Easter products, decorations and school products are designed to the specifications of CSS and are imported primarily from Asian manufacturers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Gifts maker�CSS Industries� (NYSE: CSS  ) �announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.15 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

10 Best Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2014: West Marine Inc (WMAR)

West Marine, Inc., incorporated in September 1993, is a specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise for the boat and for the boater. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply and Direct-to-Customer. The Company sells to both retail and wholesale customers in its Stores segment. In addition, the Company has three franchised stores in Turkey. The Company�� Port Supply segment is its wholesale segment. The Company�� Direct-to-Customer, which includes e-commerce, catalog and call center transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Stores segment generated approximately 90% of its net revenues. During 2011, products shipped to Port Supply customers directly from its warehouses represented approximately 4% of its net revenues.

During 2011, its Direct Sales segment offered customers around the world more than 75,000 products and accounted for the remaining 6% of its net revenues. Private label products, which the Company sells under the West Marine, Black Tip, Third Reef, Pure Oceans, Lifesling, SeaVolt and Seafit brand names, usually are manufactured in Asia, the United States and Europe.

Stores Segment

During 2011, the Company opened six stores while closing 14 stores. In December 2011, it opened its Fort Lauderdale Boating Superstore, a 50,000 square foot flagship. Its flagship stores ranging in size from 21,000 to 50,000 square feet, offering an array of merchandise typically about 16,000 items, as well as displays designed to help customers make informed product selections. It also operates large format stores, standard-sized stores and smaller Express stores. Its large format stores range from 13,000 to 19,000 square feet and carry about 11,000 items. The standard-sized stores typically range from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet and carry over 6,000 items. Express stores typically range from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and carry over 4,000 items, mainly hardware and other supplies needed! for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs.

Port Supply Segment

Port Supply customers include businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations and other boating-related activities. In addition, Port Supply sells to government and industrial customers who use its products for boating and non-boating purposes. Port Supply, the Company�� wholesale segment, serves wholesale customers seeking convenience and a larger assortment of products than those carried by typical distributors.

Direct-to-Customer Segment

The Company�� e-commerce Website provides its customers with access to a selection of approximately 75,000 products, product advisor tips and technical information, over 450 product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. This segment also provides customers with access to knowledgeable technical advisors who can assist its customers in understanding the various uses and applications of the products it sell. It operates a virtual call center from which its associates assist its customers by taking calls from their homes or from its support center in Watsonville, California. Its virtual call center supports sales generated through its e-commerce Website, catalogs and stores and provides customer service offerings.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Interactive Buyside]

  West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR) is an undervalued retailer.  The company is going through a change in focus from a bricks and mortar boat product retailer to a fully integrated retail and wholesale business through bricks and clicks, targeting the boating and water enthusiast customer.   Recent results have been affected by a severe rainy and cool spring which hurt boat usage and delayed the start of the season.  The company has accelerated cash investments to build larger more productive stores and expand its ecommerce abilities, consequently affecting free cash flow short term.  The stock lacks sponsorship as there is only one research report written on the company by a small boutique firm.  The stock trades at only book value despite the company being the leading industry player with a solid balance sheet and significant net cash position. 

Top 5 Healthcare Technology Companies To Invest In Right Now

Edward Jones said Wednesday that it was introducing its own fixed-income mutual fund to clients using its fee-based platform, a move that the St. Louis-based broker-dealer says represents a course correction rather than a radical shift in corporate strategy.

“We are not altering the direction of the ship and are putting the needs of our clients first,” said Steve Seifert (left), principal with the firm’s investment-advisory operations, in an interview with ThinkAdvisor. “As we continue to grow and look for the best ways to perform for our clients, this is an important step forward for Edward Jones.”

Olive Street Investment Advisers, a unit of the St. Louis-based broker-dealer, filed a prospectus for the Bridge Builder Bond Fund on Aug. 6. The fund’s subadvisors are Robert W. Baird, J.P. Morgan Investment Management and Prudential Investment Management.

Top Computer Hardware Companies To Buy Right Now: Bellway PLC (BWY)

Bellway p.l.c. is a United Kingdom-based holding company, owning subsidiary undertakings, which is engaged principally in housebuilding in the United Kingdom. The Company�� subsidiaries include Bellway Homes Limited, Bellway Properties Limited, Bellway (Services) Limited, Litrose Investments Limited, Bellway Financial Services Limited, Bellway Housing Trust Limited and The Victoria Dock Company Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Persimmon dropped 4.3 percent to 1,061 pence, while Bellway Plc (BWY) declined 3.1 percent to 1,262 pence. Bovis Homes Group Plc slipped 2.7 percent to 712 pence. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and the Bank of England will reassess the Help-to-Buy program, which allows the purchase of homes with a deposit as small as 5 percent, every September from 2014, the Treasury said.

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Bellway Plc (BWY) added 1.4 percent after the homebuilder said reservations in the past four months rose 31 percent as buyers had greater access to mortgages. Elan (ELN) Corp. jumped to a 10-month high in Dublin after Royalty Pharma increased its offer for the Irish drugmaker to as much as $6.7 billion. BT Group increased 3.7 percent as Barclays Plc recommended investors buy shares of the U.K.�� largest fixed-line company.

Top 5 Healthcare Technology Companies To Invest In Right Now: ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (SDS)

ProShares UltraShort S&P500 (the Fund), formerly UltraShort S&P500 ProShares, seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice the inverse daily performance of the S&P 500 Index. The S&P 500 Index is a measure of large-cap United States stock market performance. The S&P 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 United States operating companies and real estate investment trusts (REITs) selected by an S&P committee through a non-mechanical process that factors criteria, such as liquidity, price, market capitalization, financial viability and public float.

The S&P 500 Index is a price return index. Reconstitution of the Index occurs both on a quarterly and on an ongoing basis. The Fund takes positions in securities and/or financial instruments that, in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as 200% of the daily return of the index. The Fund�� investment advisor is ProShare Advisors LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  The so-called Hindenburg Omen predicting a major market crash is increasingly popping into the headlines; but regardless of whether or not you believe in the prophecy,�short ETFs like ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SDS), ProShares Short Dow30 ETF (NYSEARCA: DOG) and�ProShares UltraShort QQQ ETF (NYSEARCA: QID) can off you some protection or insurance. We have also periodically added short ETFs to our�SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio as a�hedge against short-term�market downturns or�short-term trend reversals and right now, we have the ProShares UltraShort S&P500 ETF in our portfolio.

Top 5 Healthcare Technology Companies To Invest In Right Now: Halozyme Therapeutics Inc.(HALO)

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of recombinant human enzymes that transiently modify tissue under the skin to facilitate injection of other therapies or correct diseased tissue structures for clinical benefits. The company primarily offers recombinant human hyaluronidase, an enzyme that degrades hyaluronan, which is a matrix component in the skin, and facilitates the dispersion and absorption of drugs and fluids. Its portfolio of products and product candidates are developed based principally on intellectual property covering the family of human enzymes known as hyaluronidases. The company also provides Ultrafast Insulin program, a Phase II clinical trial product for the treatment of diabetes mellitus; and Enhanze technology, a proprietary drug delivery platform for subcutaneous delivery of injectable biologics, such as monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic molecules, as well as sma ll molecules and fluids. It offers PEGPH20, a new molecular entity that is in Phase I trial for the systemic treatment of tumors; and HTI-501, a recombinant human proteinase, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial used for the treatment of edematous fibrosclerotic panniculopathy (cellulite). The company has collaborative partnerships with F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc.; ViroPharma Incorporated; and Intrexon Corporation to apply Enhanze technology to the partners? biological therapeutic compounds. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO  ) isn't quite as close to commercialization. The company has a mid-stage study under way that combines its rHuPH20 hyaluronidase enzyme with a mealtime insulin analog. Halozyme's enzyme helps the insulin to be absorbed more quickly than it would normally.

• [By John Udovich]
  Follow-on Stock Offerings From Small Cap Biotech Stocks. Thanks to the boom in biotech IPOs along with the sector�� overall performance, already listed biotechs have the option to ask investors for more cash in the form of a follow-on offering. Recently, FierceBiotech.com noted how four small cap biotechs raised $276 million from follow-on offerings in just one day last week. These small caps�included Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM) which raised $88 million, Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: HALO) which raised $100 million, Agenus Inc (NASDAQ: AGEN) which raised $52 million and Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDRA) which raised $36 million. FierceBiotech.com noted that the�steady flow of about $4.5 billion a year in venture cash�along with�more than $3.5 billion from IPOs last year plus all of the�follow-ons are helping to foster both company growth and�accelerate drug�development programs. Mixed Bag for Biotech IPOs. Last Wednesday also saw two small cap biotech IPOs fizzle in one day�with small cap T cell vaccine developer�Genocea Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: GNCA) raising $60 million but then ending the day down 8.3% to close at $11 while Dutch drug developer uniQure NV (QURE) raised $81.9 million but fell more than 14% to $14.61. However, orphan drug stock Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ASPX), which is developing�drugs to treat orphan diseases like Tourette syndrome, saw a 30.5% gain to close at $15.66 and raise $84 million. The Boston Globe quoted Michael Ringel, a partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group who focuses on health care business, as saying:

  ��he mood is incredibly positive. Capital is flowing. [The biotech IPOs]��have been burning hot. I think it�� too early to suggest that is changing. I can�� predict the overall economy any better than anyone else, but I would expect a pretty good year for IPOs.��/p>

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Biotechnology stocks, meanwhile, are getting slaughtered. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is down 22 percent. Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO), which has been working on a drug to treat pancreatic cancer, is off 59 percent since peaking on Jan. 24.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) shares dropped 2.04% to $8.12 after the company reported a clinical hold of PEGPH20 pancreatic cancer trial amid voluntary halt.

Top 5 Healthcare Technology Companies To Invest In Right Now: Joy Global Inc (JOY)

Joy Global Inc. is a manufacturer and servicer of high productivity mining equipment for the extraction of coal and other minerals and ores. The Company's equipment is used in mining regions throughout the world to mine coal, copper, iron ore, oil sands, and other minerals. The Company's underground mining machinery segment (Joy Mining Machinery) is a manufacturer of underground mining equipment for the extraction of coal and other bedded minerals and offers service locations near mining regions worldwide. The Company's surface mining equipment segment (P&H Mining Equipment) is a producer of surface mining equipment for the extraction of ores and minerals and provides operational support for many types of equipment used in surface mining. During the fiscal year ended October 28, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of LeTourneau. On December 30, 2011, it acquired approximately 41.1% of Int'l Mining Machinery Holdings Limited's common stock to 69.2%.

Underground Mining Machinery

Joy is a producer of underground mining machinery for the extraction of coal and other bedded materials. The Company has facilities in Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, China and the United States, as well as sales offices and service facilities in India, Poland and Russia. Joy products include continuous miners, shuttle cars, flexible conveyor trains, complete longwall mining systems (consisting of powered roof supports, an armored face conveyor and a longwall shearer), continuous haulage systems, battery haulers, roof bolters, crushing equipment and conveyor systems. Joy also maintains a network of service and replacement parts distribution centers to rebuild and service equipment, and to sell replacement parts and consumables in support of its installed base.

This network includes five service centers in the United States and eight outside the United States, all of which are located in underground mining regions. This segment has a range of products, including Continu! ous miners, Longwall shearers, Powered roof supports, Armored face conveyors, Shuttle cars, Flexible conveyor trains (FCT), Roof bolters, Battery haulers, Continuous haulage systems, Feeder breakers, Conveyor systems and High angle conveyors.

Electric, crawler mounted continuous miners cut material using carbide-tipped bits on a horizontal rotating cutterhead. Once cut, the material is gathered onto an internal conveyor and loaded into a haulage vehicle or continuous haulage system for transportation to the feeder breaker.

A longwall shearer trams back and forth on an armored face conveyor parallel to the material face. Using carbide-tipped bits on cutting drums at each end, the shearer cuts 1.2 to 8.0 meters high on each pass and simultaneously loads the material onto the armored face conveyor for transport through the stageloader to the conveyor belt.

Roof supports use hydraulic cylinders to perform a jacking-like function that supports the mine roof during longwall mining. The supports self-advance with the longwall shearer and armored face conveyors, resulting in controlled roof falls behind the supports. A longwall face may range up to 400 meters in length.

Armored face conveyors are used in longwall mining to transport material cut by the shearer away from the longwall face. Shuttle cars, a type of rubber-tired haulage vehicle, are electric-powered using an umbilical cable. Their purpose is to transport material from continuous miners to the feeder-breaker where chain conveyors in the shuttle cars unload the material. Some models of Joy shuttle cars can carry up to 22 metric tons of coal.

FCT�� are electric-powered, single operator, self-propelled conveyor systems that provide continuous haulage of material from a continuous miner to the main mine belt. The FCT uses a rubber belt similar to a standard fixed conveyor. The FCT�� conveyor operates independently from the track crawler system, allowing the FCT to move and convey mater! ial simul! taneously. Available in lengths of up to 570 feet, the FCT is able to negotiate multiple 90-degree turns in an underground mine infrastructure.

Roof bolters are drills used to bore holes in the mine roof and to insert long metal bolts into the holes to reinforce the mine roof. Battery haulers perform a similar function to shuttle cars and are powered by portable rechargeable batteries. Battery haulers feature a flexible center joint allowing them to maneuver in tight conditions and do not use a trailing cable, which allows for maximum flexibility in the mining process.

The continuous chain haulage system provides a similar function as the FCT, transporting material from the continuous miner to the main mine belts on a continuous basis, versus the batch process used by shuttle cars and battery haulers, but it does so with different technology. The continuous chain haulage system is made up of a series of connected bridge structures that utilize chain conveyors that transport the coal from one bridge structure to the next bridge structure and ultimately to the main mine belts.

Feeder breakers are a form of crusher that use rotating drums with carbide-tipped bits to break down the size of the mined material for loading onto conveyor systems or feeding into processing facilities. Mined material is typically loaded into the feeder breaker by a shuttle car or battery hauler in underground applications and by haul trucks in surface applications.

Conveyor systems are used in both above and under-ground applications. The primary components of a conveyor system are the idlers, idler structure, and the terminal which itself consists of a drive, discharge, take-up and tail loading section. The Continental high angle conveyor is a method for elevating or lowering materials continuously from one level to another at steep angles. The Continental technology uses fully equalized pressing mechanism, which secures material towards the center of the belt while sealing the! belt edg! es together. The high angle conveyor has throughput rates ranging from 0.30 to 4,400 tons per hour.

Surface Mining Equipment

P&H is the producer of electric mining shovels and a producer of walking draglines for open-pit mining operations. P&H has facilities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, South Africa, and the United States, as well as sales offices in India, Mexico, Peru, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. P&H products are used in mining copper, coal, iron ore, oil sands, silver, gold, diamonds, phosphate, and other minerals and ores. P&H also provides logistics and a range of life cycle management service support for its customers through a global network of P&H MinePro Services operations strategically located within mining regions. In some markets, P&H MinePro Services also provides electric motor rebuilds and other selected products and services to the non-mining industrial segment. P&H also sells used electric mining shovels, drills and parts.

Mining shovels are used to load copper ore, coal, iron ore, oil sands, gold, and other mineral-bearing materials and overburden into trucks or other conveyances. There are two types of mining loaders: electric shovels and hydraulic excavators. Electric mining shovels feature dippers, allowing them to load volumes of material, while hydraulic excavators are smaller. The electric mining shovel�� use is determined by the size of the mining operation and the availability of electricity. Dippers can range in size from 12 to 82 cubic yards.

Draglines are primarily used to remove overburden to uncover coal or mineral deposits and then to replace the overburden as part of reclamation activities. P&H�� draglines are equipped with bucket sizes ranging from 30 to 160 cubic yards. Surface mines require breakage or blasting of rock, overburden, or ore using explosives. P&H MinePro Services provides life cycle management support, including equipment erections, relocations, inspections, service, r! epairs, r! ebuilds, upgrades, used equipment, new and used parts, enhancement kits and training. Each life cycle management program is designed for a particular customer and that customer�� application of the Company�� equipment.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rupert Hargreaves]

  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) and Joy Global (NYSE: JOY  ) have a problem: China. No, I'm not talking about the Chinese economy here, I am in fact talking about the quality of mining equipment being manufactured within China, which has drastically improved in recent years.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  WATCH FOR:�May ADP Jobs Survey (8:15 a.m. Eastern Time): seen +210K; previously +220K. April US Trade Deficit (8:30): seen $40.9B; previously $40.4B. First Quarter Productivity (8:30, second read): seen -3.1%; previously -1.7%. First Quarter Unit Labor Costs (8:30, second read): seen +5.5%: previously +4.2%. May ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (10:00): seen 55.2; previously 55.2. Analogic(ALOG), Ciena(CIEN), Cooper, Diamond Foods(DMND), J.M. Smucker(SJM), Joy Global(JOY), Piedmont Natural Gas(PNY), UTi Worldwide, Vail Resorts, Vera Bradley(VRA) and VeriFone(PAY) are among companies scheduled to report quarterly results.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The rush to cut costs has been felt the hardest by mining-industry suppliers, including Caterpillar (CAT) and Joy Global�(JOY), Graf and Levental say, because cancelling orders for new equipment is one of the easiest ways to cut costs.

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014

If ever anything called for close scrutiny, it's those high-decibel, often inflammatory assertions that are so prevalent in the cable TV pundit wars or over the angry airwaves of talk radio.

Outrageous claims masked as facts are a staple in our deeply divided political culture, offered up not just by politicians but also by talking heads, bloggers and columnists. And all too often, there's no one to check them out and call them out.

Until now.

In early November, PolitiFact, which evaluates the claims of pols for a living, will launch PunditFact. Its mission is to assess the validity of the pundits' pronouncements. And that's a very welcome development.

The advent of the fact-checking movement has been a real plus for democracy. With so much misinformation cavalierly and cynically tossed around, it's really important to investigate in an objective, non-partisan way and help voters separate the facts from the nonsense.

10 Best European Stocks To Buy Right Now: Softbank Corp (SFTBF)

SOFTBANK CORP. is a Japan-based company that provides digital information services. The Company has six business segments. The Mobile Communication segment provides cellular phone services and sells attached cellular phone terminals. The Broadband and Infrastructure segment provides high-speed Internet access services, Internet protocol (IP) phone service, and contents. The Fixed Communication segment provides transmission services for audio and data, as well as exclusive line and data center services. The Internet Culture segment is engaged in the Internet advertising, broadband portal and auction businesses. The Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) segment sells personal computers (PCs), peripheral devices and software for PC use, as well as provides business-to-business and business-to-customer e-commerce services. The Others segment is involved in the broadcasting media, technology service, media marketing and overseas fund businesses.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  Furthermore, Nippon recently gained access to the iPhone, which earns the firm the opportunity to reverse its share losses in the youth market. Earlier, market share on the wireless side had declined in favor of competitor Softbank Corp. (SFTBF), which had exclusive rights to sell Apple Inc. (AAPL)�� iPhone in Japan.

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: KDDI Corp (KDDIF)

KDDI CORPORATION is a telecommunications company. The Mobile Telecommunication segment is engaged in the provision of mobile communications services, including voice and data services, and mobile WIMAX services, as well as the sale of mobile communication terminals and the provision of contents. The Fixed-line Telecommunication segment provides broadband services, including fiber to the home (FTTH) and cable television (TV) services, as well as domestic and overseas communication services, data center services and information and communication technology (ICT) solution services. The Others segment is involved in the operation of call centers and the development of research and advanced technology. On December 2, 2013, it transferred all shares of a wholly owned subsidiary, JAPAN CABLE NET LIMITED to another subsidiary. In December 2013, the Company acquired the entire share capital in Yugen Kaisha Cosmos. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Inman]

  In Tokyo, telecoms firm KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) � (KDDIF) �rose 2% after a Nikkei report said that the firm will likely report a record first-half group operating profit, with a 50% on-year increase. TDK Corp. (JP:6762) � (TTDKF) , however, dropped 0.2% after a separate Nikkei report said that the electronics-component producer will report an 8% increase in operating profit over the same period.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- With the yen holding on to its gains and investors cautious as earnings season kicks off, Japanese stocks slid lower Friday after closing the previous day with some late-session gains. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) fell 0.9% to 14,358.28, with the Topix down 0.8%, as the dollar bought 97.36 yen, little changed from 24 hours earlier. The relatively strong yen weighed on some names with high global exposure, as Sharp Corp. (JP:6753) (SHCAF) lost 1%, Pioneer Corp. (JP:6773) (PNCOF) dropped 1.6%, and Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) fell 1.2%. An outlook cut from Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) helped send its shares down 1%, while rival Nikon Corp. (JP:7731) (NINOF) lost 1.8%, though Olympus Corp. (JP:7733) (OCPNF) gained 1%. Telecoms were weak, with Softbank Corp. (JP:9984) (SFTBF) falling 2.5%, KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) down 1.7%, and NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF)

• [By Daniel Inman]

  In Tokyo, KDDI (JP:9433) � (KDDIF) �gained 0.6% after the telecommunications company reported a record-high and consensus-beating operating profit for the first half of the fiscal year, due to a stronger-than-expected increase in subscription and a rise in usage revenue.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks opened sharply higher Monday, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) advancing 1.1% to 14,242.86 after falling 2.8% Friday, as end-of-the-week gains for U.S. shares and some earnings news helped lift the market. The Topix also saw solid gains, up 0.8% in early moves. Major advances included a 2.5% rise for Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) , a 4.1% surge for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (JP:7211) (MMTOF) , and a 2.6% improvement for KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) after the Nikkei business daily said the telecom will report a 50% increase for operating profit in the fiscal first half compared to a year earlier. Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) added 2% after scoring a Credit Suisse upgrade to outperform. Shares of NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF) traded 1.1% higher after posting above-forecast quarterly results Friday, while JFE Holdings Inc. (JP:5411) (JFEEF) fell 3.2% after the steel producer also reported earnings.

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: 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, sales 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 IntraCore 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.

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Eutelsat Communications SA (ETL)

Eutelsat Communications SA is a France-based holding company that provides fixed satellite services. It provides four types of services, including broadcast services, such as direct-to-home and professional broadcasting; broadband services, comprising broadband Internet access; telecoms and data services to ensure permanent communications links from all points of the globe, establish or restore communications in an emergency and multicast content; as well as mobile and maritime communications, such as fleet management and on- and off-shore broadband maritime communications. It operates a fleet of satellites covering Europe, the Middle East, North and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as parts of Asia and the Americas. In January 2014, it acquired Satelites Mexicanos, S.A. de C.V. and together with SES SA have completed the sale to EchoStar Corp. of Solaris Mobile Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Eutelsat Communications SA (ETL) declined 6.2 percent to 21.02 euros after predicting sales will grow by more than 2.5 percent for the year 2013 to 2014. The company, which operates 31 satellites, forecast growth of more than 5 percent for the following two years through June 2016. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its price target for the stock to 24 euros from 33 euros, saying analysts��will probably reduce their estimates following the company�� revised guidance.

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Sprint Corp (S&LS)

Sprint Corporation, incorporated on May 10, 2012, offers a range of wireless and wireline communications services to consumers, businesses and government users. On July 10, 2013, the Company, SoftBank Corp. and Sprint Nextel Corporation (Sprint Nextel) completed the merger. In the Merger, Sprint Corporation was merged into Sprint Nextel, New Sprint became the parent company of Sprint Nextel, with Sprint Nextel becoming its direct wholly owned subsidiary, and Sprint Nextel changed its name to Sprint Communications, Inc.

The Company develops, engineers and deploys technologies, including the first wireless fourth generation (4G) service from a national carrier in the United States; offering mobile data services, prepaid brands, including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities, and a global Tier 1 Internet Service. The Company also offers unlimited data services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Since Wilmers & Co. took over M&T Bank in 1983 the bank has acquired 23 banks and Savings and Loans (S&Ls) ��expanding from a single state to seven ��and assets have grown from $2 billion to $110 billion. M&T's branch count has grown from 60 to over 870. The bank currently boasts a customer base of over 2 million retail household customers and nearly 220,000 commercial customers.

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Vodafone Group PLC (VOD)

Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone), incorporated in 1984, is a mobile communications company operating across the globe providing a range of communications services. The Company offers a range of products and services, including voice, messaging, data and fixed-line solutions and devices to assist customers in meeting their total communications needs. Vodafone has a global presence, with equity interests in over 30 countries and over 40 partner markets worldwide. It operates in three geographic regions: Europe, Africa and Central Europe; Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, and has an investment in Verizon Wireless in the United States. In October 2010, Vodafone Global Enterprise, the business within Vodafone, announced the acquisition of two telecom expense management (TEM) companies, Quickcomm and TnT Expense Management. In November 2011, the Company sold 24.4% interest in Polkomtel in Poland. In March 2012, Verizon Wireless, which is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone, purchased the operating assets of Cellular One of Northeast Pennsylvania from the Company. In April 2012, its Netherlands-based division, Vodafone Libertel BV, acquired Telespectrum-DJ. On October 31, 2012, the Company acquired TelstraClear Limited. In May 2013, Vodafone Group Plc announced launch of its carrier services business unit.

In Europe, the Company�� mobile subsidiaries and joint venture operate under the brand name Vodafone. Its associate in France operates as SFR and Neuf Cegetel, and its fixed-line communication businesses operate as Vodafone, Arcor, Tele2 and TeleTu. Vodafone�� subsidiaries in Africa and Central Europe operate under the Vodafone brand, or in the case of Vodacom and its mobile subsidiaries, the Vodacom and Gateway brands. Its joint venture in Poland operates as Polkomtel and its associate in Kenya operates as Safaricom. The Company�� subsidiaries and joint venture in Fiji operate under the Vodafone brand, and its joint venture in Australia operates under the brands V! odafone and 3. The Company�� associate in the United States operates under the brand Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone has an international customer base with 370 million mobile customers across the world as of March 31, 2011. Vodafone also caters to all business segments ranging from small-office-home-office (SoHo) and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to corporates and multinational corporations. Through its subsidiaries, Vodafone directly owns and manages approximately 2,200 stores around the world. The Company also has around 10,300 Vodafone-branded stores run through franchise and exclusive dealer arrangements.

The Company�� range of handsets covers all its customer segments and price points, and is available in a variety of designs. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), 14 new handsets were released under its own brand and it shipped 5.8 million. In addition to handsets, it supplies a range of connected smart devices. It supplies the iPhone in 19 markets. During fiscal 2011, the Company launched its USB stick based on 4G/LTE technology in Germany and Verizon Wireless launched in the United States.; Vodafone WebBox; a smartphone roaming data plan that allows the European customers to use their home data plan abroad for only 2 a day to access the Internet, emails and applications; the Android-powered Vodafone 845 and 945 devices; Vodafone TV services; Vodafone 252, which comes pre-loaded with Vodafone M-Pesa for mobile payment services and a prepaid balance indicator that helps customers to keep track of their phone credit to avoid overspending; Vodafone M-Pesa in South Africa, Qatar and Fiji; 3G services in India, and LTE services by acquiring LTE spectrum in Germany.

The Company is a carrier of mobile voice traffic in the world providing domestic, international and roaming voice services to more than 370 million customers. Its networks sent and received over 292 billion text, picture, music and video messages during fiscal 2011. The Company ! serves mo! re than 75 million customers with data services, which allow access to the Internet, email and applications on their phones, tablets, laptops and netbooks. The Company provides a range of data products, including Machine-to-machine (��2M�� connections, which allow devices to communicate with one another via built-in mobile SIM cards; Third party billing; Financial services; Near field communication (��FC��, and Mobile advertising. The Company, as of March 31, 2011, served 5.3 million M2M connections around the world. NFC allows communication between devices when they are touched together or brought within a few centimetres of each other. The Company has mobile advertising business in 18 countries with a range of capabilities. Over six million customers use its fixed broadband services in 13 markets to meet their total communications needs. In addition, through Gateway, it provides wholesale carrier services to more than 40 African countries. Other service revenue includes business managed services, such as secure remote network access, and revenue from mobile virtual network operators generated from selling access to its network at the wholesale level. The Company�� enterprise customers range from small-office-home-office (��oHo�� businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises (��MEs��, through to domestic and multinational companies. The Company has 34 million enterprise customers accounting for around 9% of all customers and around 23% of service revenue. The Company focuses on SoHos and SMEs to provide customers with integrated fixed and mobile communications solutions. Vodafone Global Enterprise manages the communication needs of over 560 of the multinational corporate customers. It provides a range of managed services, such as Central Ordering, Device Manager, Spend Manager Solutions, Invoice Manager, Vodafone Neverfail and Telecoms management. The Company offers a range of total communications applications, as well as services for enterprise and consumer customers. Vodafone Alw! ays Best ! Connected software enables customers to stay connected to the Internet on the available connection wherever they are by automatically managing the switching between connection types including mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and LAN. Vodafone PC Backup is an online back-up and restores service that enables users to remotely store data securely and automatically via their Internet connection.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sam Robson]

  LONDON: Following reports that�Verizon Communications (NYSE: V  ) �has hired advisors on a bid to buy out its stake in Verizon Wireless,�Vodafone (LSE: VOD  ) (NASDAQ: VOD  ) �soared in trading today, pushing 200p -- a height not previously seen since December 2001.

Top 10 Wireless Telecom Companies For 2014: Ruckus Wireless Inc (RKUS)

Ruckus Wireless, Inc (Ruckus), incorporated August 19, 2002, is a provider of Wi-Fi solutions. The Company�� solutions, which it calls Smart Wi-Fi, are used by service providers and enterprises to solve network challenges. The Company�� products include gateways, controllers and access points. These products incorporate its technologies, including Smart Radio, Smart QoS, Smart Mesh, SmartCell and Smart Scaling. The Company sells its products to service providers and enterprises globally, and as of December 31, 2012, had sold its products to over 21,700 end-customers worldwide. During 2012, the Company added over 10,100 new end-customers. The Company�� enterprise end-customers are typically mid-sized organizations in a variety of industries, including hospitality, education, healthcare, warehousing and logistics, corporate enterprise, retail, state and local government and public venues, such as stadiums, convention centers, airports and outdoor public areas. Effective July 23, 2013, Ruckus Wireless Inc acquired YFind Technologies Pte Ltd.

The Company sells directly and indirectly to a range of service providers, including mobile operators, cable companies, wholesale operators and fixed-line carriers. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had over 65 service provider end-customers, including Bright House Networks, The Cloud (a BSkyB Company), KDDI, Tikona Digital Networks, Time Warner Cable and Towerstream. The Company�� Smart Wi-Fi solutions are marketed under the SmartCell, ZoneDirector, ZoneFlex and FlexMaster brands and include a range of indoor and outdoor access points (APs), long range point-to-point and point-to-multipoint bridges, wireless local area network (LAN), controllers, network management software and gateway systems with integrated advanced wireless software.

The Company�� core Smart Wi-Fi technologies include Smart Radio, Smart QoS, Smart Mesh, SmartCell and Smart Scaling. Smart Radio is a set of advanced hardware and software capabilities that auto! matically adjust Wi-Fi signals to changes in environmental conditions. A primary component of Smart Radio technology is BeamFlex, a smart antenna system that makes Wi-Fi signals stronger by focusing them only where they are needed and dynamically steering them in directions that yield the highest throughput for each receiving device. Another component is ChannelFly, a performance optimization capability that automatically determines, which radio frequencies or channels deliver the network throughput based on actual observed capacity, a key benefit for high-density, noisy Wi-Fi environments.

Smart QoS is a software technology that manages traffic load to enhance the user experience. Smart QoS was developed to handle the increasing volumes of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and streaming video traffic. Smart QoS offers automatic prioritization of different traffic types through intelligent analytics that classify, prioritize and schedule traffic for transmission. Smart QoS employs advanced queuing techniques and dedicated software queues on a per device basis to ensure fairness and optimize overall system performance. Smart QoS includes its band steering, rate limiting, client load balancing and airtime fairness techniques.

Smart Mesh is software technology that uses advanced self-organizing network principles to create Wi-Fi backbone links between access points. Smart Mesh automatically establishes wireless connections between individual access points using patented smart antenna technology and self-heals in the event of a failed link.

SmartCell is a key technology behind the Company�� SmartCell Gateway platform that integrates software and specialized hardware deployed at the edge of service provider networks to facilitate the integration of Wi-Fi and cellular infrastructures. SmartCell includes a set of modular software components ,as well as standard network interfaces into the mobile core that enable Wi-Fi to become a standard access mechanism for service ! providers! . Management components provide configuration, user management, analytics, accounting and other operational and maintenance functions.

Smart Scaling uses advanced database management techniques to enable the support of hundreds of thousands to millions of client devices across the Wi-Fi network. Smart Scaling employs intelligent data distribution techniques to extend client information, statistics and other vital user information across any number of nodes within the system without a single point of failure and with linear scalability. Smart Scaling is incorporated in its purpose-built hardware and software, making it capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of access points and user session workloads at the scale required by service providers.

SmartCell Gateway is a platform that integrates software and specialized hardware deployed at the edge of service provider networks to facilitate the integration of Wi-Fi and cellular infrastructures. The Company�� SmartCell Gateway is designed to be vendor-agnostic and can control third-party APs. SmartCell Gateway provides standard-based interfaces into existing and future mobile networks to simplify integration.

SmartCell access point addresses the capacity and density needs of service providers deploying networks within urban environments. SmartCell APs employ modular multimode architecture to enable service providers to deploy Wi-Fi, 3G/4G small cell cellular technology and Wi-Fi mesh backhaul within a single device. This provides operators with the ability to enhance and extend their macro networks, injecting much needed capacity into high traffic user environments with the flexibility to deploy Wi-Fi with Smart Mesh backhaul and upgrade to Wi-Fi with 3G/LTE when and where desired without any mounting or backhaul changes.

The Company�� ZoneDirector Smart WLAN controllers use a intuitive Web user interface to make configuration and administration extremely simple. This software includes a variety of ! advanced ! capabilities such as adaptive meshing, integrated client performance tools, authentication support, simplified guest access and user policy, wireless intrusion prevention, automatic traffic redirection, integrated Wi-Fi client performance tools and robust network management. ZoneFlex access points incorporate BeamFlex adaptive antenna array technology to deliver robust Wi-Fi performance, reliability and capacity. These devices support multiple virtual wireless LANs, Wi-Fi encryption and advanced traffic handling. The Company�� ZoneFlex outdoor Smart Wi-Fi access points and point-to-point and multipoint bridges can be deployed as stand-alone APs or be centrally managed.

In addition to the Company�� hardware products, the Company also sells software products. FlexMaster is a Linux-based Wi-Fi management service platform used by enterprises and service providers to monitor and administrate networks. FlexMaster provides configuration, fault detection, audit, performance management and optimization of remote Ruckus access points or wireless LAN controllers. It offers a single point for management and a number of automated and customized facilities such as an intuitive dashboard. FlexMaster is designed to operate with existing operational support system and features tiered administration to provide managed wireless LAN or cloud-based wireless services.

The Company competes with Cisco Systems, Ericsson; Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Aruba Networks.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Monday
  The market kicks off a new trading week with Ruckus Wireless (NYSE: RKUS  ) reporting quarterly results on Monday. The provider of wireless systems for the mobile Internet infrastructure market went public in November at $15. It moved lower initially, but the stock has crept into the high teens ahead of Monday's report.

• [By gurujx]

  Ruckus Wireless (RKUS): CFO Seamus Hennessy Sold 50,000 Shares

  CFO Seamus Hennessy sold 50,000 shares of RKUS stock on Sept. 6 at the average price of $15.12. The price of the stock has increased by 1.19% since.

Top 5 Financial Companies To Own In Right Now

Top 5 Financial Companies To Own In Right Now: Akbank TAS (AKBNK)

Akbank TAS (Akbank) is a Turkey-based commercial bank. The Bank operates in five segments: the Retail banking segment offers a range of retail services, such as deposit accounts, consumer loans, commercial installment loans, credit cards, insurance products and asset management services; the Corporate and Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME) banking segment provides financial solutions and banking services to large, medium and small size corporate and commercial customers; the Treasury Activities segment conducts regional and foreign currency spot and forward transactions, treasury bonds, government bonds, Eurobond and private sector bond transactions, as well as derivative trading activities; the Private banking segment offers banking and investment transactions for upper-income groups, and the International banking segment provides services for foreign trade financing, foreign currency and Turkish Lira (TL) clearances, and money transfers through agent financial institut ions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Julia Leite]

  Turkey's equity benchmark rallied as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS and Akbank TAS (AKBNK) advanced at least 5.4 percent. The lira gained for the fourth day.

• [By Anuchit Nguyen]

  The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index capped the longest slide since July 26 as Akbank TAS (AKBNK) and Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS dropped at least 2.9 percent.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-financial-companies-to-own-in-right-now-2.html

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014

On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Bank of America (BAC) and two subsidiaries with defrauding investors who bought residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) by failing to disclose key risks and misrepresenting facts about the underlying mortgages.

The SEC alleges that BofA did not tell investors that more than 70% of the mortgages backing the offering – called BOAMS 2008-A – came from the bank’s “wholesale” channel of mortgage brokers unaffiliated with Bank of America entities. 

Furthermore, the SEC says, BofA knew the wholesale-channel loans – described by its then-CEO as “toxic waste” – presented greater risks of delinquencies, early defaults, underwriting defects and prepayment, yet it “only selectively disclosed the percentage of wholesale channel loans to a limited group of institutional investors,” regulators say, rather than disclose this material information to all investors or file the information publicly as required.

Top Insurance Companies To Own For 2015: Makism 3D Corp (MDDD)

Makism 3D Corp., incorporated on May 4 2010, is a three dimensional (3D) printer manufacturing company. The Company produces consumer and professional grade 3D printers. The Company�� flagship product, branded as the Wideboy family of printers, offers packaging designed to fit any office or professional space.

Its 3D printers utilize British and German engineered components. Its printers are assembled in Cambridge (United Kingdom).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  We are two trading weeks into the new year and the 3D printing sector along with 3D printer stocks like ExOne Co (NASDAQ: XONE), Stratasys, Ltd (NASDAQ: SSYS),�3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD) and Makism 3D Corp (OTCBB: MDDD) have been printing their share of red ink for investors���despite the fact that 3D printing got� plenty of attention at�last week's�Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas while the�broader stock market rally has largely held up. With that in mind, here is the latest 3D printer stock or sector news you need to be aware of:

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Altec Holdings SA (AXY)

Altec Holdings SA the parent company of Altec Group, is a Greece-based company engaged in the information technology and telecommunications fields. The Company's range of activities includes the manufacture, import, export, trade, distribution, leasing and support of computers and telecommunication materials, as well as the design, production, development, import, export, leasing and trading of software for computers and electronic cash registers. Its hardware products include a range of personal computers, servers and related equipment. Its software products include systems for enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, accounting, human resource management, payroll and data warehousing, insurance brokerage software and equipment for call centers. It operates a retail network under the brand Microland. The Company has established subsidiaries in Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Yesterday, small cap geothermal stock U.S. Geothermal Inc (NYSEMKT: HTM) produced a geyser of a return when it surged 26.79%, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock verses the performance of other geothermal stocks like small cap Ormat Technologies, Inc (NYSE: ORA) and mid cap Calpine Corporation (NYSE: CPN).�First of all, I should mention there are some other geothermal stocks out there like Alterra Power Corp (CVE: AXY) and Ram Power Corp (TSE: RPG) who have their primary listing on Canadian exchanges with secondary ones on the OTC���meaning they may not be a good deal for American investors or easy to invest in. Second, U.S. Geothermal Inc itself is a good geothermal proxy as its�focused on developing, owning, and operating clean, sustainable electric power from geothermal energy resources and its�operating geothermal power projects at Neal Hot Springs, Oregon; San Emidio, Nevada; and Raft River, Idaho plus El Ceibillo, an advanced stage, geothermal prospect located within a 24,710 acre energy rights concession area near Guatemala City, the largest city in Central America.

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Timios National Corp (HOMS)

Timios National Corporation, formerly Homeland Security Capital Corporation, incorporated on August 12, 1997, provides radiological, nuclear, environmental, disaster relief and electronic security solutions to government and commercial customers. The Company is engaged in the strategic acquisition, operation, development and consolidation of companies operating in the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive, (CBRNE), incident response and security marketplaces within the homeland security industry. It is building consolidated enterprises (platform companies) through the acquisition and integration of businesses in the homeland security industry, particularly businesses focused on CBRNE incident response. In August 2011, the Company sold its Nexus Technologies Group. In October 2011, the Company sold its Safety and Ecology Holding Corporation subsidiary to Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. In May 2012, the Company announced the acquisition by its subsidiary Timios, Inc. of Glenn County Title Company. In June 2013, Timios National Corp announced that it has completed the purchase of Glenn County Title Company (GCTC). In September 2013, Timios National Corp announced that it had executed a purchase agreement for the assets of Adobe Title, LLC.

The Company offers a range of management and operational services to each of its subsidiaries through a team of dedicated professionals. Its subsidiaries compensate its holding company for such services. Its core services include environmental remediation and restoration, regulatory compliance, facilities management, facility deactivation, decommissioning and demolition, emergency response, design and construction services and security integration to the United States government agencies, such as the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United states Army Corps of Engineers and the National Aeronautics and Space ! Administration (NASA). It conducts its operations through Safety & Ecology Holdings Corporation (Safety), its wholly owned subsidiary; Nexus Technologies Group, Inc. (Nexus), its 93% owned subsidiary, and Polimatrix, Inc. (PMX), its joint venture. Safety is an international provider of environmental, nuclear and radiological infrastructure remediation, disaster relief solutions and advanced construction services. Nexus designs, develops and installs integrated security systems for government and commercial clients. PMX markets, sells and distributes radiological detection equipment.

Safety & Ecology Holdings Corporation

Safety is a provider of global environmental, hazardous and radiological infrastructure remediation, upgrades and nuclear services in the United States and the United Kingdom. Safety�� main business areas and service offerings include decommissioning and remediation environmental and remedial consultancy services; environmental and consultancy services; nuclear energy design, build, refurbishment and operational support services, and instrumentation and measurement technologies. Safety offers a range of services that include characterization, decontamination, decommissioning of facilities, soil and groundwater remediation, infrastructure reduction and demolition, site preparation, excavation, and remedial system construction; underground and overhead utility installation; electrical and mechanical installation; security fencing and device installation and upgrades; building renovation; piping; roadways, parking lots, and drainage system construction/repair, and landfill remediation and capping.

Safety engages in facility deactivation, demolition and closure solutions, including project investigation; radiological pre-engineering; demolition planning; removing above ground structures and structural components; storing, testing, certifying, processing and shipping nuclear waste, and abatement of hazardous materials. Safety focuses its service offe! ring on t! he application and integration of health physics, industrial hygiene, hazardous material consultancy and safety and health. In addition, Safety couples its technology with its instrumentation offering, on-site radiological laboratory capabilities and mobile radiological materials license to provide radiological services and consultation. Safety provides integrated services to the nuclear energy industry. Safety provides specialized services to a customer base, including government agencies, commercial customers and major engineering and construction companies around the world that are focused in the nuclear new plant deployment initiative, facility operation, decommissioning and refurbishment. The elements of Safety�� technology offering are instrumentation services and instrumentation technology, both of which are targeted to field investigations, characterizations of contaminants and clean-up and material management and disposal solutions.

The Company competes with Stoller, Cabrera, Portage, LATA Northwind, Demco, Eagle, Pro2Serv, PMTech, Navarro, Energy Solutions, the Washington Group, Tetra Tech, Shaw Environmental and C2HM Hill.

Nexus Technologies Group, Inc.

Nexus is a mid-Atlantic security integrator for the corporate and governmental security markets that specializes in the engineering and installation of custom designed integrated electronic security solutions, including access control, alarm, closed circuit television (CCTV), video, communication, perimeter protection and bomb and metal detection security systems. Nexus provides solutions to protect people, property and assets. As a systems integrator, Nexus designs, customizes, installs, integrates and maintains closed CCTV, access control, video and communication systems for its customers. Nexus has undertaken projects in a range of markets, including financial services, corporate and commercial, healthcare, government, nuclear utility services, public transportation, airports, industrial complexes,! museums,! prisons, higher education and data centers. As a provider of custom engineered integrated security solutions, including access control, alarm/intrusion, CCTV, communication, perimeter protection and bomb and metal detection security systems, Nexus is aligned with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Nexus has focused on five sectors in which it intends to expand, both vertically and horizontally. These sectors are Financial Institutions, Infrastructure Security, Government Facilities, Education Facilities and Corporate Markets.

Financial Institutions include banks, brokerage facilities, trading facilities and foreign currency exchange centers. Infrastructure Security include nuclear power generating facilities, water processing facilities, electricity generating facilities, power transfer stations and transportation centers, which include highway, bridge, tunnel, airport, rail and port security. Government Facilities include federal, state and local government buildings and offices, domestic and foreign embassies, military installations and police and fire department operations centers. Education Facilities include grammar, high school and college buildings, dorms and campuses, satellite learning centers and daycare centers. Corporate Markets include office buildings and grounds, parking lots, garages, retail locations, warehouses and apartment and condominium complexes.

The Company competes with Henry Brothers Electronics, Inc., Diebold, Inc. and ADT.

POLIMATRIX, INC.

PMX is a total solutions provider delivering radiation and nuclear protection and detection services through several engineered portable and stationary devices. PMX�� business plan is the development and marketing of radiological detection products and services. PMX has developed a range of domestic and international marketing initiative in Washington, DC, Virginia and Illinois. These states have used the PMX detection devices for a range of detection, prevention and first respon! der activ! ities. PMX�� product line of portable detection devices are designed to detect potential threats and can be positioned along transportation routes or carried by nuclear power generating facility security personnel. It operates PMX with the assistance of Safety�� personal.

The Company competes with Thermo Scientific and Canberra.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  However, there have been no further updates since then. A quick look on both Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance reveals the latest financials date from the end of September 2012 ��meaning its investor beware.

  Timios National Corp (OTCMKTS: HOMS) Has No News Beyond Filings

  Small cap Timios National Corp is involved in the strategic acquisition, development and consolidation of real estate service businesses. Former Maryland Congressman C. Thomas McMillen, who served three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 4th Congressional District of Maryland, heads the company. On Friday, Timios National Corp sank 32.28% to $1.28 for a market cap of $3.01 million plus HOMS is up 54.2% over the past year and up 1,013% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Timios National Corp (OTCMKTS: HOMS) and Lattice Inc (OTCMKTS: LTTC) surged 54.29% and 20.83%, respectively, while Unique Pizza & Subs Corp (OTCMKTS: UPZS) sank 27.27% last Friday. But today is a new trading week with the last two trading days for the year. So what will these three small caps do today, tomorrow and after New Years�� Here is a closer look:

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Violin Memory Inc (VMEM)

Violin Memory, Inc., incorporated on March 9, 2005, is pioneering a new class of flash-based storage systems that are designed to bring storage performance in-line with high-speed applications, servers and networks. The Company�� Flash Memory Arrays are specifically designed at each level of the system architecture starting with memory and optimized through the array to leverage the inherent capabilities of flash memory and meet the sustained requirements of business-critical applications, virtualized environments and Big Data solutions in enterprise data centers. The Company�� Velocity Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe), Flash Memory Cards leverage its persistent memory-based architecture in servers and are optimized for applications that require continuous access to quantities of low latency persistent memory located directly in servers.

The Company�� storage systems are based on a four-layer hardware architecture, which is integrated with its Violin Memory Operating System (vMOS), software stack to optimize the management of flash memory at each level of its system architecture. The Company�� Velocity PCIe Flash Memory Cards leverage its expertise in persistent memory-based storage and controller design, as well as its vMOS software stack, to offer a differentiated architecture in a deployable PCIe form factor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  On Monday, small cap storage stock Violin Memory Inc (NYSE: VMEM) surged 21.56% after booting out its CEO in the wake of disappointing earnings and IPO, meaning its time to take a closer look at the stock along with the performance of potential or better known storage peers like large caps SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) plus small cap Dot Hill Systems Corp (NASDAQ: HILL).

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Western Digital Corp (WDC)

Western Digital Corporation (WD) is a provider of solutions for the collection, storage, management, protection and use of digital content, including audio and video. Its principal products are hard drives, which are devices that use one or more rotating magnetic disks (magnetic media) to store and allow access to data. Its hard drives are used in desktop and notebook computers, corporate and cloud computing data centers, home entertainment equipment and stand-alone consumer storage devices. In addition to hard drives, its other products include solid-state drives and home entertainment and networking products. The Company operates as the parent company of its hard drive business, Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Effective March 8, 2012, the Company acquired Viviti Technologies Ltd. In May 2012, the Company completed the divestiture of certain 3.5-inch hard drive assets to Toshiba Corporation. As part of its deal with Toshiba, WD also completed its purchase of Toshiba Storage Device (Thailand) Company Limited (TSDT), which manufactured hard drives.

The Company offers a line of storage devices. Its hard drives include 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form factors, capacities ranging from 80 gigabytes to three terabytes, nominal rotation speeds up to 10,000 revolutions per minute, and interfaces, such as Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) and Serial Attached SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) (SAS). In addition, the Company offers a family of hard drives specifically designed to consume less power than standard drives, utilizing its WD GreenPower Technology. Its solid-state drives include 2.5-inch and Compact Flash form factors, capacities ranging from 1 gigabyte to 256 gigabytes, and interfaces, such as SATA and PATA.

Client Compute Storage Products

Client compute consists of hard drives and solid-state drives for desktop and mobile personal computers (PC��). During the fiscal year ended July 1, 2011 (fiscal 2011), it shipped 151 million hard drive clie! nt compute unit. Its client compute storage products include WD Caviar, WD Scorpio and WD Silicon Edge. WD Caviar family of hard drives is designed for use in desktop PCs. WD Scorpio family of hard drives is designed for use in mobile PCs. WD Silicon Edge family of solid-state drives is designed for both read-intensive client/consumer applications and write-intensive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) applications.

Client Non-Compute Storage Products

Client non-compute consists of branded products and consumer electronics products. Its hard drive client non-compute unit shipments were 46 million, during fiscal 2011.

Branded Products

Branded products consists of hard drives embedded into WD-branded external storage appliances with capacities ranging from 250 gigabytes to 8 terabytes and using interfaces, such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, USB 3.0, external SATA, FireWire and Ethernet network connections. Certain branded products models include software that assists customers with back up, remote access and management of digital content. Branded products also include its home entertainment and networking products. Its branded products include My Book and WD Elements Desktop family of storage appliances. My Passport and WD Elements Portable family of storage appliances include WD ShareSpace, WD TV and WD Livewire.

My Book and WD Elements Desktop family of storage appliances are designed to add external capacity to desktops and digital video recorders (DVRs), allow for the transfer and storage of videos directly from certain camcorders, and connect to networks to simplify storage for consumers. My Passport and WD Elements Portable family of storage appliances are designed for external portability weighing less than one-half of a pound and allow for the transfer and storage of videos directly from certain camcorders. WD ShareSpace is a network-attached storage system designed for home office or small office applications. WD TV m! edia play! ers connect to a user�� television or home theater system and play digital movies, music and photos from an integrated hard drive, network hard drives, any of its WD-branded external hard drives, other USB mass storage devices or content services accessed over the Internet. WD Livewire, which enables consumers to use their existing electrical outlets to extend Internet connections throughout the home.

Consumer Electronics Products

WD AV family of hard drives is designed for use in products, such as DVRs and audio and video applications. WD AV drives deliver the characteristics CE manufacturers.

Enterprise Storage Products

Enterprise consists of hard drives for traditional enterprise and nearline storage applications, as well as solid-state drives for embedded applications. Its hard drive enterprise unit shipments were 10 million, for fiscal 2011. Its enterprise storage products include WD S25 hard drive, WD VelociRaptor, WD RE and WD SiliconDrive. WD S25 hard drive is designed for mission-critical enterprise server and storage applications, such as data centers and data arrays. WD VelociRaptor hard drive is designed for enterprise server and storage applications. This hard drive is also used in the high-end desktop PC market for applications including gaming, servers and advanced computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems. WD RE family of hard drives is designed for nearline storage enterprise applications. WD SiliconDrive family of solid-state drives features fast read/write speeds in high capacities and is designed for embedded system OEM applications.

The Company competes with Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, Intel Corporation, Micron Technology, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Seagate Technology, STEC, Inc. and Toshiba Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Amy Sancetta/AP A consumer tech giant made the biggest acquisition in its history, and a popular discount airline paid the price for not discounting the way it said it was. Here's a rundown of the week's best and worst in the business world. Southwest Airlines (LUV) -- Loser The "bags fly free" airline loves to jab at its competitors for slapping extra fees on everything from luggage to legroom to hide their true total fares, but Southwest's advertised rates sometimes lack integrity too. Southwest messed up late last year when it promoted $59 fares for certain popular routes that it never ultimately offered at that price. The unfortunate episode came to a head this week when Southwest was fined $200,000 for deceptive marketing. It was a rare misstep for Southwest, and now it's paying the price in more ways than one. Apple (AAPL) -- Winner After weeks of speculation, Apple finally announced that it would pay $3 billion for Beats Electronics and Beats Music. Some have questioned the deal. Is Apple paying too much for what will be the largest acquisition -- by far -- in its history? Is the consumer tech giant desperate? Is this the end of organic innovation at Apple? Settle down. This purchase is a brilliant move. Beats Electronics is the leading marketer of premium headphones, and this gives Apple a high-end accessory category that it hasn't excelled at on its own. It also gives Apple a neat way to play the popularity of rival platforms since headphones, naturally, are operating system agnostic. Beats Music also gives Apple a foothold in the booming on-demand streaming category. It may have just 250,000 paying subscribers, but this is a market where Apple had struggled to obtain music label licenses. Apple only had the discovery-based iTunes Radio where listeners can't stream the exact song or playlist they crave. Beats Music solves that dilemma. Western Digital (WDC) -- Loser There's a surprising service missing from Western Digital's new set-top med

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: George Risk Industries Inc (RSKIA)

George Risk Industries, Inc. (GRI), incorporated on February 21, 1961, is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of computer keyboards, push button switches, burglar alarm components and systems, pool alarms, thermostats, EZ Duct wire covers and water sensors. GRI is a diversified manufacturer of electronic components, consisting of the security industries variety of door and window contact switches, environmental products, proximity switches and custom keyboards. The Company operates in two segments: security alarm products and security alarm products GRI�� security burglar alarm products comprise approximately 84% of net revenues and are sold through distributors and alarm dealers/installers. These products are used for residential, commercial, industrial and government installations. Its products include security products/ magnetic reed switches, data entry peripherals, pushbutton switches, custom engraved keycaps and proximity sensors.

The security segment has approximately 3,000 customers. One of the distributors, ADI accounts for approximately 40% of the Company's sales of these products. The keyboard segment has approximately 800 customers. Keyboard products are sold to original equipment manufacturers to their specifications and to distributors of off-the-shelf keyboards of proprietary design. GRI owns and operates its main manufacturing plant and offices in Kimball, Nebraska with a satellite plant 40 miles away in Gering, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] things I said was that I knew George Risk's materials cost was higher than some competitors' selling price. The fact that any company could survive under conditions like that immediately suggested that dollars paid for the product was not the key concern for this product.

  Perceived costs had to involve other concerns like customization, shipping speed, reliability, etc. Because it was a low cost product going into a higher cost product going into very high cost projects it seemed likely there was the opportunity to raise prices if needed. And that's what they ended up doing. The important clue for me in that investigation was the severe cost disadvantage George Risk had. You couldn�� compete at such a cost disadvantage unless price was less important than I initially thought.

  I think you will find that most of these insights are not available in the financial statements. They come from reading the 10-Ks of all companies in the industry, reading articles about the companies, listening to all conference call transcripts, etc.

  For example, there is not much in the financial statements of Carnival (CCL) that explains how the cruise business really works. But all of the companies in the industry (CCL, RCL and NCL) freely discuss the economics of their business in great detail. They break out costs before and after fuel. They give you per-passenger prices of how much newly built ships cost. They give you lots and lots of details. They explain how they price their product (the way airlines do) and so on. There is an extreme level of detailed explanation of the business in the various conference calls, 10-Ks, etc.

  A great source for this information is going back to the time the company went public or at least finding the S-1 of a competitor. When a company goes public it often gives much more detail into product economics, etc., than it will later on when it reports annual results.

  That is also a good place to learn about market share, com

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Nyxio Technologies Corp (NYXO)

Nyxio Technologies Corporation, incorporated on June 08, 2006, through its wholly owned subsidiary Nyxio Technologies Inc. (Nyxio), develop and provide technology for the entertainment and commercial markets within the consumer electronic industry. The Company�� product includes VioSphere Smart television (TV), a flat screen TV with a fully integrated personal computer.

The Realm is an all in one personal computer (PC)/ TV, combining the latest in PC technology with high definition (HD) TV. The Realm Pro, which is all in One PC/TV geared for commercial and digital signage markets. Venture MMV, which is a mobile media viewer is a new class of video eyewear offering designer styling in a sleek ergonomic design with features and performance. The Vuzion is a TV with Android operating system (OS) built in enabling 400,000 Android applications on a TV.

The Company competes with Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio, Apple, Dell, and HP.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Nyxio Technologies Corp (OTCMKTS: NYXO), COREwafer Industries Inc (OTCMKTS: WAFR) and NanoTech Entertainment, Inc (OTCMKTS: NTEK) are three small cap stocks in some very diverse industries. In fact, one of these stocks just bought a 3D ice sculpture business. So will investors see their investment melt with that small cap stock�along with the other two? Here is a closer look to help you decide for yourself:��