A Rising Dividend? Bank on It!

This past week, banking giant Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) announced that it will increase its dividend from $0.30 to $0.35 per quarter. That increase puts Wells Fargo's quarterly dividend $0.01 ahead of what the bank was paying when it was forced to start cutting its dividend during the financial crisis. 

With that increase, Wells Fargo joins the ranks of portfolio picks in the real-money Inflation-Protected Income Growth portfolio that increased their dividends since being selected for that portfolio. Rising dividends are the primary way that the IPIG portfolio seeks to combat inflation, and Wells Fargo's 16.7% increase handily bested the official inflation rate over the past year. 

A portfolio of dividend growers
While the IPIG portfolio hasn't received any dividend payments since last week's update, the portfolio has reached the point where virtually every selection has increased its dividend since becoming a pick. The only pick that hasn't yet is lawn care titan Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG  ) , which just joined the portfolio this January.

Scotts Miracle-Gro operates in a very seasonal industry, and the winter is typically weak for the company. In recent years, the company has increased its dividend in the summer months (closer to its peak season). Once the weather starts breaking for good, we'll start to learn whether Scotts Miracle-Gro will have a shot at maintaining its recent streak of dividend increases.

While there are no guarantees in investing, the IPIG portfolio's strong track record in finding dividend growers shows the potential benefits of actively seeking out companies that fit the trend. To make the cut, every IPIG selection had to meet the following characteristics:

A dividend with a history of growth. Some reason to believe the dividend growth could continue. A healthy enough balance sheet to enable to handle the occasional economic rough spots. A reasonable price tag based on some fundamental valuation method. A decent overall fit from a diversification perspective.

Thus far, it seems to be working.

Still, there are risks
Dividends are not guaranteed payments, however, and a company typically has to make good on every higher priority financial commitment (like bond interest) before it can use its cash for dividends. That's why paying attention to a company's payout ratio can help you keep track of how much risk a company has of reducing -- or even of failing to increase -- its dividend.

Within the IPIG portfolio, energy pipeline giant Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI  ) likely has the greatest risk to its dividend. As the company that owns the general partner of a master limited partnership group of businesses, Kinder Morgan's dividend is linked to the group's overall cash flow. Because of that structure, it's common for its dividend to exceed the company's reportable net earnings.

With that type of payout, Kinder Morgan and the partnerships it relies on has to execute with excellence in order to have the cash flow to cover its dividends. While the company itself anticipates that Kinder Morgan will pay an 8% higher distribution in 2014 than it did in 2013, its recent 10-K filing also lists more than 12 pages of risks that may restrict its ability to deliver to that goal.

That's why you diversify
Only time will tell whether Kinder Morgan -- or any of the other companies in the IPIG portfolio -- will continue to pay and increase its dividends. That's the key reason why the IPIG portfolio varies the industries it invests in.

After all, while Wells Fargo's recent 16.7% dividend hike is quite nice, it wasn't that long ago that the entire banking industry was in crisis because of the financial meltdown. Many banks -- Wells Fargo included -- were forced to cut their dividends during the crisis. As an investor looking for dividend growth, too much portfolio concentration in a single industry exposes you to the risks from that sort of industry-level meltdown

By building on the IPIG portfolio's principles of dividends, valuation, balance sheet strength, and diversification, you still don't get any guarantees from the market. But what you do get is a solid foundation for the potential of decent risk-adjusted returns. As of the market's close on Friday March 28, the IPIG portfolio looked like this:

Company Name

Purchase Date

Total Investment (Including Commissions)

Current Value
March 28, 2014

Current Yield
March 28, 2014

United Technologies	12/10/2012	$1,464.82	$2,066.58	2.06%
Teva Pharmaceutical	12/12/2012	$1,519.40	$1,879.10	2.58%
J.M. Smucker	12/13/2012	$1,483.45	$1,640.16	2.40%
Genuine Parts	12/21/2012	$1,476.47	$1,960.29	2.70%
Mine Safety Appliances	12/21/2012	$1,504.96	$2,016.36	2.14%
Microsoft	12/26/2012	$1,499.15	$2,216.50	2.78%
Hasbro	12/28/2012	$1,520.60	$2,372.74	3.12%
UPS	1/2/2013	$1,524.00	$1,946.80	2.75%
Walgreen	1/4/2013	$1,501.80	$2,614.40	1.93%
Texas Instruments	1/7/2013	$1,515.70	$2,192.08	2.57%
Union Pacific	1/22/2013	$805.42	$1,108.50	1.97%
CSX	1/22/2013	$712.50	$971.72	2.10%
McDonald's	1/24/2013	$1,499.64	$1,555.84	3.33%
Becton, Dickinson	1/31/2013	$1,518.64	$2,079.72	1.89%
Aflac	2/5/2013	$1,466.35	$1,691.82	2.36%
Air Products & Chemicals	2/11/2013	$1,510.99	$1,994.10	2.63%
Raytheon	2/22/2013	$1,473.91	$2,663.55	2.45%
Emerson Electric	4/3/2013	$1,548.12	$1,869.28	2.58%
Wells Fargo	5/30/2013	$1,525.48	$1,823.73	2.43%
Kinder Morgan	6/21/2013	$1,518.37	$1,349.88	5.10%
Scotts Miracle-Gro	1/3/2014	$1,974.68	$1,920.96	2.92%
Cash			$971.37
Total Portfolio			$40,905.48

Data from the IPIG portfolio brokerage account, as of March 28, 2014.

9 rock-solid dividend stocks you can buy today
A key reason the IPIG portfolio relies on dividends is one of the dirty secrets that few finance professionals will openly admit: the fact that dividend stocks as a group handily outperform their non-dividend-paying brethren.

However, knowing this is only half the battle. The other half is identifying which dividend stocks in particular are the best. With this in mind, our top analysts put together a free list of nine high-yielding stocks that should be in every income investor's portfolio. To learn the identity of these stocks instantly and for free, all you have to do is click here now.

To follow the IPIG portfolio as buy and sell decisions are made, watch Chuck's article feed by clicking here. To join The Motley Fool's free discussion board dedicated to the IPIG portfolio, simply click here.

Dow up more than 100 as spending rises

Stocks jumped in morning trading Friday as incoming economic data continues to show moderate improvement.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.7% to 16,383 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.8% to 1,864. The Nasdaq composite index gained 1.1% to 4,196.

The latest economic report showed that Americans spent slightly more in February as consumer spending grew at a modest pace despite the severe winter weather in much of the country.

Markets were higher in Europe and Asia also.

Asian stocks rose as as expectations grew that China will move to counter its economic slowdown. Chinese officials have set a target of 7.5% economic growth this year but are more concerned about ensuring sufficient new jobs are created than precisely meeting the GDP figure.

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Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index gained 0.5% to close at 14,696.03. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.1% to 22,065.53. But the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 2,041.71 as major banks reported profits in line with analysts' forecasts.

Benchmarks across Europe advanced, with the German DAX index leading the way with a 1.1% gain. Britain's FTSE 100 index added 0.4% and France's CAC 40 index rose 0.5%.

On Wall Street on Thursday, the Dow fell 4.76 points, or 0.03% to 16,264.23. The S&P 500 index dropped 3.52 points, or 0.2%, to 1849.04. The Nasdaq composite index fell 22.35 points, or 0.5%, to 4151.23.

Benchmark New York oil gained 55 cents to $101.83, compared to the previous close of $101.28, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

THURSDAY: Stocks close lower as tech stocks stumble again

Contributing: The Associated Press

Aqua America: The Right DRIP

After a series of sell-offs in January and February, the stocks rebounded; but that good news should not cause us to abandon a logical approach to our investing decisions, explains Vita Nelson, dividend expert and editor of MoneyPaper.

Substituting emotion for reason usually leads us to make poor decisions that will cost us money.

Whether stock prices are at high or low extremes—or somewhere in the middle—we know from experience that following a dollar-cost averaging approach will keep us from investing too much or too little at any given moment.

That should keep us headed in the right direction, no matter what emotions are ruling other people.

Our latest featured dividend reinvestment idea is Aqua America (WTR). Founded in 1968, and headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Aqua America operates regulated utilities that provide water or wastewater services in the United States.

It serves residential, commercial, fire protection, industrial, and other utility customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, and Georgia.

It also provides operating and maintenance contracts to municipal authorities and other parties, sludge hauling, grease, back-flow prevention, and non-utility raw water supply services for firms in the natural gas and oil drilling industry.

Consensus estimates call for the company to earn about $1.21 per share this year and $1.26 in 2015, compared with $1.16 last year. The dividend, which has been increased for 22 consecutive years, provides a yield of 2.4%.

Subscribe to MoneyPaper here…

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Drug Profits: Inoculated from Congress

While the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NSDQ: IBB) has gained more than 50 percent over the trailing year and nearly doubled over the past two, it's not immune from the occasional sell-off. Since last Friday, the index is down by more than 8 percent following Congressional concern about high drug costs.

Those concerns are unwarranted, which opens the way for investment opportunity.

Gilead Sciences (NSDQ: GILD) recently launched Sovaldi, a new hepatitis C treatment, and plans to sell a 12-week course of treatment for $84,000. The House Energy and Commerce committee sent a letter to the company questioning the cost, worrying that high price tag could put the treatment out of reach for uninsured patients.

The Committee also brought up the point that hepatitis C is a disease that's extremely prevalent among low-income and minority patients, many of whom are on state Medicaid programs and other forms of government health care assistance. Considering that many of those programs operate on tight budgets, the concern is that such high drug costs could stretch them even further. For instance, it's estimated that the cost of Sovaldi alone could cost California's Medicaid program almost $30 billion per year.

The committee has asked Gilead for a briefing on the issue by April 3.

Gilead isn't the only company with a pricey drug. In last week’s Money & Medicine, I wrote about Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ: ALXN) and its drug Soliris, the world's single most expensive drug costing nearly $410,000 per year. Sanofi's (NYSE: SNY) drug Myozyme costs $300,000 per year while the price of ViroPharma's (NSDQ: VPHM) Cinryze runs at about $350,000.

So, what happens next? The odds are, not much.

The current law specifically prohibits Medicare and Medicaid from negotiating drug prices and the programs are forced to cover virtually any drug that the Food and Drug Administ! ration has approved.

The only leverage the programs have in setting prices is that Congress has said they can refuse to pay any more than what "the market" pays for a drug, though that's a poorly defined term. Medicare and Medicaid, like private insurers, can also use formularies, or lists of preferred drugs for specific conditions for patient reimbursement purposes, but they don't play a role in setting prices.

The simple fact is that government-administered health care programs have never really had any teeth in terms of drug pricing, a fact that was left unchanged by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to get the pharmaceutical companies to go along with it.

While drug prices will eventually have to be addressed vis-à-vis those programs to contain costs and ensure the long-term solvency of the programs, after the huge battle over the ACA that issue isn't likely to come any time soon. Republicans aren't inclined to interfere in the free market mechanism and Democrats will be gun shy on the issue for some time to come.

About all Congress can do to address the issue is to crow about it on the public stage and hope to shame drug companies into lowering their prices. But this “bully pulpit” has its limitations.

The market itself will also help to flatten the price curve to at least some degree. Pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) such as Express Scripts (NSDQ: ESRX), the nation's largest, have processed about 1.5 billion prescriptions last year, giving them significant leverage in negotiating pharmaceutical reimbursement rates. While pricing spats occasionally emerge among the PBMs, manufacturers and pharmacies, the PBMs usually prevail.

The other significant force is the sheer size of the hepatitis C market. With about 4 million chronic cases in the US and an estimated 180 million around the world, drug makers have a huge incentive to continue developing new, and hopefully more effective, treatments for the disease. That competition will inevitab! ly help p! ush down prices.

The only real exception to that rule is treatments for rare and orphaned diseases such as those offered by Alexion Pharmaceuticals and ViroPharma. Those markets are so small they receive special exemptions from price controls and are subject to virtually no price negotiation since there are few, if any, other treatment options available. But those cases are so rare that they don't pose a significant risk to America’s insurance schemes, public or private.

So while the news of Congressional interest in drug pricing has clearly spooked some biotechnology investors, the simple fact is that this isn't the issue that will unhinge the sector's swing upward. That makes Gilead Sciences a particularly good bet now.

Hot or Not? Three Small Cap Stocks Seeking Attention: IDGC, EMBR & SNET

Small cap stocks IDGlobal Corp (OTCMKTS: IDGC), Embarr Downs Inc (OTCMKTS: EMBR) and SourcingLink.net, Inc (OTCMKTS: SNET) have been getting some extra attention in various investment newsletters or investor alerts lately as at least two of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions or other types of investor relations activities. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotions or investor relations activities. But just how hot are these two small cap stocks? Here is a closer look and a quick reality check:

IDGlobal Corp (OTCMKTS: IDGC) Recently Gave an Investment Portfolio Update

Small cap IDGlobal Corp is a diversified holdings company with a focus on emerging and middle market investment opportunities in North America. On Monday, IDGlobal Corp closed at $0.0005 for a market cap of $184,434 plus IDGC is down 88.9% over the past year and down 97.7% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With IDGlobal Corp? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention IDGlobal Corp in various investment newsletters. About a week ago, IDGlobal Corp provided an investment portfolio update which noted holdings in the following companies:

Physicians Healthcare Management Group: 198,385 Preferred B shares with conversion option at 40:1 to common shares and a $25,000 Receivable in form of Retainer Agreement; Phyhealth Corporation (OTCMKTS: PYHH): 1,000,000 Common Shares acquired. Apple Rush Company, Inc (OTCMKTS: APRU): 135,000,000 Common Shares just acquired.

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In late January, IDGlobal Corp announced that it had been officially retained by the Physicians Healthcare Management Group to assist in the restructuring of the company as well as an ongoing strategic partnership. The assistance will focus on day to day operations, short term financing needs and the long-term vision of PHYH. Otherwise, IDGlobal Corp gave another corporate update in early January which noted the company had settled and written off more than US $200,000 in convertible indebtedness and was continuing to negotiate and is close to finalizing more. However, the most recent financials for IDGlobal Corp on Google Finance dates from the end March of last year. Given that along with the fact that investors can invest in small caps like PYHH and APRU on their own, its hard to get overly excited with IDGlobal Corp.

Embarr Downs Inc (OTCMKTS: EMBR) Expands Into Arizona

Small cap Embarr Downs is involved in the buying, selling and racing of thoroughbreds. On Monday, Embarr Downs fell 1.85% to $0.265 for a market cap of $12.17 million plus EMBR is down 98.7% over the past year and down 97.3% over the past five years according to Yahoo! Finance.

What's the Catch With Embarr Downs? According to various disclosures, transactions of $2k, $2.5k and $19k have occurred to mention Embarr Downs in various investment newsletters. Last Thursday, Embarr Downs announced that Rock Off had been entered into the 8th race on Monday, March 24, at Turf Paradise for the company's first race in Arizona with shareholders of record on March 31 being entitled to 20% of the horse's net purse winnings. However, there has been no press release since then – meaning its probably safe to assume that Rock Off did not win his or her race. Otherwise and on Monday of last week, Embarr Downs announced that it will be attending the OBS sale for two-year-olds in training in Ocala, Florida with the expectation to acquire up to 3 thoroughbreds at the auction plus the company announced that it had filed its license application with the Arizona Department of Racing to expand its operations to Arizona with the CEO commenting:

"We were able to expand the number of thoroughbreds to 3 and start in 5 races and now we are taking the next step up in race class and begun paying an annual dividend of $.001 per share to our shareholders. Our next goal is to expand to 5-6 thoroughbreds and acquire a thoroughbred that is capable of competing in stakes races. The line of credit we have established allows us to fund the acquisition of these thoroughbreds without the need to issue a single share of common stock. We have a 2 year plan (which we are 3 months into) to have 15-20 thoroughbreds racing for us and to have 5-10 broodmares in our breeding division."

The problem for investors though is that I am not seeing any financials for Embarr Downs on either Google Finance or Yahoo! Finance – meaning its investor beware.

SourcingLink.net, Inc (OTCMKTS: SNET) Has Been Quiet Since December

Small cap SourcingLink.net signed an agreement to acquire 100% interest in the Eldor Rare Earth Property Claims (The Eldor Project) located in Northern Quebec, Canada. The Eldor Project consists of 21 mineral claims covering approximately 2438 acreage and is located in Northern Quebec which is considered one of the most favorable mining jurisdictions in the world. On Monday, SourcingLink.net jumped 13.73% to $0.0058 for a market cap of $698,314 plus SNET is up 427.3% over the past year and up 93.3% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With SourcingLink.net, Inc? According to various disclosures, a transaction or transactions of $7.5k have occurred to mention SourcingLink.net in various investment newsletters. However, SourcingLink.net has been quiet since mid December when the it gave an update about its strategy of obtaining distressed or undervalued Rare Earth Element (REE) properties or assets "due to unprecedentedly low valuations in the Jr. mining market sector." The press release noted that SourcingLink.net had recently acquired the Eldor Property in Northern Quebec, Canada, which is located adjacent and contiguous to Commerce Resources Corporation's Ashram Deposit that has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) with a Net Present Value (NPV) at a 10% discount rate of $2.32 billion. Otherwise and in mid August, SourcingLink.net announced it had executed on the Purchase Agreement to acquire 100% of the Eldor Property by making the initial payments. A quick look at SourcingLink.net's financials reveals revenues of zero (most recent reported quarter), $18k and $1k for the three reported quarters of last year along with net losses of $1,512k (most recent reported quarter) and $22,025k and net income of $23k. At the end of December, SourcingLink.n had $13k in cash to cover $267k in current liabilities and $356k in long term debt. So investors might want to wait for more news and more financials to appear before getting overly excited here.

Curbing the High Cost of Retirement Medical Care

The cost of medical care continues to rise and to be the wild card in retirement plans. Reports and studies update the estimates of the cost of retirement medical care each year. They show the cost to be high and also very unpredictable for individual retirees and couples. The studies focus on average or median costs. In your planning you have to be aware that individual costs vary greatly because of differences in personal health, geography, and insurance coverage. Your retirement medical costs can be substantially higher or lower than the overall forecasts.

We're talking about out-of-pocket costs, those expenses that aren't covered by Medicare. People on average incur higher medical costs than these estimates, but Medicare picks up some of the costs. These estimates are of what you'll have to pay.

A couple retiring in 2013 and incurring median drug expenses during retirement would need to save $151,000 to have a 50% chance of covering their lifetime costs for prescription drugs only, according to the latest study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Those who incur among the highest medicine expenses are likely to need over $220,000. The good news in the report is that the prescription drug expense estimates are lower than last year's because of a reduction in the rate of growth of medical and drug costs.

Remember those estimates are only for prescription drug costs. To have a high probability of paying all non-covered medical costs after age 65, EBRI estimates a couple age 65 today with a high level of medical expenses will need savings of $360,000. (You can see that for the average person prescription drugs is the largest medical expense not covered by Medicare.)

How will these costs be paid? EBRI estimates that Medicare covers about 62% of medical costs for beneficiaries. (I've seen other reports estimate that Medicare pays only about 50% of costs.) Another 13% comes from p! rivate insurance and about 12% is paid by the retirees. The rest is paid by state programs, employer retirement benefits, and other sources.

Of course, there are steps you can take to reduce both the out-of-pocket medical costs and the uncertainty of your exposure to the medical costs.

* Those not already retired should take steps to establish good health habits, including participating in any employment or community wellness programs.

* When you're eligible for a health savings account, take advantage of the option and fund it with the maximum amount each year. Contributions to HSAs are deductible if made by you and excluded from gross income if made by your employer. Earnings on the account compound without taxes, and all amounts withdrawn from the account are tax-free when withdrawn to pay for qualified medical expenses. It's a good way to build a tax-advantaged retirement fund for medical expenses.

* Enroll in Medicare when first eligible. For most of us that's when we turn 65. You pay a penalty for life if you decide later to sign up for Medicare Part B or the Part D Prescription Drug Coverage after your initial enrollment period expires.

* Sign up for Part D Prescription Drug Coverage. This is private insurance that is partially subsidized by the government. Prescription drugs are the largest medical expense for most of those age 65 and older. A good policy reduces your out-of-pocket costs and the uncertainty of how much you'll pay should you have an above-average or catastrophic need for medicine.

When you don't have much need for prescription drugs at the start of retirement, sign up for a barebones, low-cost policy. You always can switch to a more robust policy during a future open enrollment period if you need it and will avoid the premium penalty for signing up for Part D late.

* Consider a Medicare Supplement policy. When you're in traditional Medicare (not Medicare Advantage), there are a number of deductibles, copayments, and coverage g! aps. A Me! digap policy will cover some of them and reduce your uncertainty. There are 10 different Medigap policies to choose from, so you can look for the right trade off for you between premiums and better coverage.

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* Shop around. I can't stress this enough. Recent studies have found that premiums for identical coverage for the same person can vary by 100%. There are people paying twice as much for Part D and Medigap policies than they should because they didn't shop around. The insurance industry counts on a combination of inertia and people disliking insurance shopping. It costs people a lot of money.

* Have flexibility. A retirement plan needs a cushion and some flexibility because of the uncertainty of medical expenses. You should minimize fixed expenses so that spending changes can be made in case uncovered medical expenses arise.

* Plan for long-term care. Medicare won't cover much of any long-term expenses you incur, and most of you won't qualify for Medicaid. You probably don't want to rely on Medicaid for long-term coverage anyway, because the level of care by facilities accepting primarily Medicaid usually is considered to be of lower quality than at others.

I recommend most people plan on using several sources to pay for LTC. Part of the cost can be funded from savings. There probably are expenses you incur now that you won't if you need LTC, and that money also can be used to help pay for LTC.

To pay for the bulk of the coverage, you should consider obtaining either a stand alone LTC policy or an annuity or life insurance policy with a long-term care rider. Or you can combine both types of coverage. Tapping the equity in your home through either a reverse mortgage or a sale can be a good way to plan for extended long-term care expenses. By using all these tools, you'll have a solid plan to cover any LTC you need.

I've covered all these strateg! ies and m! ore in detail in past issues of Retirement Watch. You also can find strategies in my books, including Personal Finance for Seniors for Dummies.

Toy company settles suit against Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys may be rocking, but it looks like the GoldieBlox toy company is rolling.

The Oakland-based toy company, which makes engineering-type toys that target young girls, has settled a lawsuit against the Beastie Boys, the New York hip-hop band first formed in the 1980s that went on to huge success, over its parody of their song, Girls, in a promotional video that went viral.

An agreement to dismiss the claim was filed Monday in U.S. District Court, according to a report in the Oakland Tribune. No details of the settlement were released.

GoldieBlox seemingly came out of nowhere to national fame early this year when its 30-second TV commercial featuring girls tossing away their dolls in favor of engineering toys appeared on the Super Bowl.

The toy maker didn't pay for air time, but won a small business contest for the free Super Bowl ad sponsored by Intuit.

The company's stated goal is to "disrupt the pink aisle" in the toy store with toys that introduce girls to engineering at an early age. More than 87% of engineers are male vs. 13% females, according to the National Science Foundation.

GoldiebBlox filed suit in November, seeking to pre-empt any possible claims of copyright infringement over the repurposed song.

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The video, which shows young girls singing about science and engineering, was viewed millions of times before it was removed from YouTube.

The Beastie Boys countersued GoldieBlox in December. The newspaper says it was not immediately clear if Monday's settlement would have any effect on that claim.

The hip-hop group has a blanket ban on using their songs in advertisements.

Contributing: Associated Press

Axxess Unlimited is Oh-So-Close (AXXU)

A week and a half ago, yours truly penned some bullish thoughts on Axxess Unlimited Inc. (OTCMKTS:AXXU). Not too many traders read that take, and/or if they did, they didn't seem to care. The response to the commentary was non-existent (good or bad), and there was no sudden rush to go out and buy AXXU. Today's second look may have a different outcome.

For those who aren't familiar with it (or as a reminder for the seven or so people that read the first commentary on AXXU), Axxess Unlimited is essentially a web-marketing organization, though to say "it builds websites" or "improves search-engine optimization" doesn't do the company justice. Axxess Unlimited provides high-end, integrated marketing and market research solutions for serious players who need significantly-detailed work done in the digital ether. For perspective, some of its clients include government entities, medical goods manufacturers, and automobile dealerships.

It's clearly not a bad business to be in, during the advent of mobile web. That's not a reason to become interested in the stock, however. No, the reason a newcomer may want to nibble on AXXU is far simpler... perhaps even low-brow. The reason Axxess Unlimited is quickly becoming a worthy trade is (still) the shape of the chart and the fact that it appears to be solidifying a new uptrend.

Just like the last look, AXXU is walking higher on the heels of a significant pivot - for the better - in early February. All the telltale signs were there, the biggest one of all being the volume spike on the day of the pivot. Though the bullish effort cooled a bit from there, as of last week, the bulls are piling in again in greater numbers; we've seen two heavy bullish volume days since then. Things may well be on the verge of going from good to great, however, for Axxess Unlimited. See the $0.50 level where the stock topped out and reversed in early February. That's also where shares peaked on Monday. Well, the stock's right there again right now, knocking on the door, waiting for an answer. One good nudge to just a penny higher could open the floodgates. Once opened, the bulls may pile in indiscriminately, not looking back. Take a look.

The point is, AXXU deserves a place on your watchlist, and if it can actually break above the $0.50 mark, it may well deserve a place in your speculative portfolio. Oh, and if you're wondering why the sudden interest in Axxess Unlimited, most of it likely has to do with the fact that the company owns a patent that may help law enforcing keep marijuana-impaired drivers off the road. Though it took two weeks for traders to put the January 16th explanation from the company and 2014's new recreational-usage laws together before plowing into the stock and kick-starting an uptrend, the trend is getting traction all the same.

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Top 5 Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now

Top 5 Dividend Companies To Own In Right Now: Telefonica SA(TEF)

Telefonica, S.A. provides fixed and mobile telephony services primarily in Spain, rest of Europe, and Latin America. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone; local, domestic, and international long distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; video telephony; supplementary and business-oriented value-added services; network services; leasing and sale of handset equipment; and telephony information services. The company?s Internet and broadband multimedia services comprise Internet service provider service; portal and network services; retail and wholesale broadband access; narrowband switched access to Internet; naked ADSL, a broadband connection; residential-oriented value-added services; companies-oriented value-added services; television services, such as IPTV, cable television, and satellite television; and Fiber to the Home, a service for high speed Internet access and digital video recording. Its data and business-solutions services principally include leased lines; virtual private network services; fiber optics services; the provision of hosting and application; outsourcing and consultancy services; desktop services; and system integration and professional services. The company?s wholesale services for telecommunication operators primarily comprise domestic interconnection services; international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators? network deployment; local loop leasing under the unbundled local loop regulation framework; and bit stream services. It also offers various mobile and related services and products that include mobile voice services, value added services, mobile data and Internet services, wholesale services, corporate services, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. The company has a strategic alliance wit! h China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited. Telefonica, S.A. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spai n.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By LarryZ6]

  With the recent acquisition, financed by the $ 130 billion sale of Verizon Wireless (VZ) in the US, Vodafone adds 1.9 million clients to its customer base in Spain totaling 17.2 million, second to Teléfonica (TEF), which counts 24.9 million, and ahead of ORANGE (ORAN), that has 14.4 million customers. According to Antonio Coimbra, Vodafone´s CEO in Spain, there are strong indicators that favor the acquisition:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  As was the case with KMI, ARCP insiders have been using the recent weakness as a buying opportunity. In the month of November, four company officers bought a combined 72,500 shares of ARCP stock worth over $950,000, and this followed a steady stream of insider buying throughout the summer.

  Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: Telefonica (TEF)

  TEF Dividend Yield: 6%

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Telefonica provides fixed and mobile communication services primarily in Europe and Latin America. The company reported earnings that fell; however, the company is beginning to see a turnaround. The stock has been surging higher after hitting lows last year and is currently trading near highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been decreasing, but investors remain optimistic about the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Telefonica has been a relative performance leader year-to-date. Look for Telefonica to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  With dividend stocks, however, you have no guarantee that there's no assurance that you'll receive a dividend. For instance, Spanish telecom company Telefonica (NYSE: TEF  ) chose last year not to pay its planned dividend for 2012, saying it would restore half the payout later this year. Even stalwart blue-chips General Electric (NYSE: ! GE &! nbsp;) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) had to reduce their dividends dramatically during the financial crisis, and even now, they haven't risen back to their pre-crisis levels.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-dividend-companies-to-own-in-right-now.html

Lennar Corporation Q1 Earnings Rise; Beats Estimates; Shares Up (LEN)

Shares of Lennar Corporation (LEN) were up on Thursday morning after the company reported increased earnings that beat estimates.

LEN’s Earnings in Brief

LEN posted Q1 earnings of $78.1 million, or 35 cents per share, up from 57.5 million, or 26 cents per share, last year. The most recent quarter included a tax provision of $45.9 million. Revenue jumped to $1.4 billion from $990.24 million last year. On average, analysts estimated earnings of 28 cents per share and $1.28 billion in revenue. LEN reported that its  new orders during the quarter rose 10%, while deliveries increased 13%.

CEO Commentary

Lennar’s CEO Stuart Millar commented:  ”Despite harsh weather conditions that impacted sales and construction during the quarter in some of our markets, we were able to achieve healthy year over year increases in both new orders and deliveries. Additionally, an 18% increase in average sales price and continued momentum from our land acquisition strategy drove gross and operating margin increases by over 300 basis points to 25.1% and 13.2%, respectively, the highest first quarter gross and operating margin in the Company’s history.”

Hot Up And Coming Stocks To Buy For 2014

LEN’s Dividend

LEN paid its last dividend of 4 cents on February 13. We expect the home builder to declare its next dividend in April.

See Also: The History of Home Builder Dividends

Stock Performance 

Lennar Corporation shares were up 86 cents, or 2.08%, during pre-market trading Thursday. The stock is up 4.5% YTD.

Best Growth Stocks To Watch Right Now

Best Growth Stocks To Watch Right Now: Thoratec Corporation(THOR)

Thoratec Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary medical devices used for circulatory support. The company?s primary product lines include ventricular assist devices, such as HeartMate II, an implantable left ventricular assist device consisting of a rotary blood pump to provide intermediate and long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS); and HeartMate XVE, an implantable and pulsatile left ventricular assist device for intermediate and longer-term MCS. Its ventricular assist devices also comprise Paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device, an external pulsatile ventricular assist device, which provides left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for bridge-to-transplantation (BTT), including home discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery; and Implantable Ventricular Assist Device, an implantable and pulsatile ventricular assist device designed to provide left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for BTT comprising hom e discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery. The company also provides CentriMag, an extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platform that offers support up to 30 days for cardiac and respiratory failure. In addition, it offers PediMag and PediVAS extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platforms designed to provide acute surgical support to pediatric patients. The company sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through a network of distributors internationally. Thoratec Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Campbell]

  Competing for heart pump market share
  Abiomed's products provide circulatory support for up to six hours and are designed for use in cardiac cath labs or during heart surgery, but competito! rs Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR  ) and Heartware (NASDAQ: HTWR  ) target the intermediate- and long-term-use market instead.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of medical device company Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR  ) sank 12% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations.  

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-growth-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

Best Casino Companies To Buy For 2014

Best Casino Companies To Buy For 2014: Penn National Gaming Inc.(PENN)

Penn National Gaming, Inc. and its subsidiaries own and manage gaming and pari-mutuel properties in the United States. It operates approximately 27,000 gaming machines; 500 table games; and 2,000 hotel rooms in 23 facilities in 16 jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. The company was formerly known as PNRC Corp. and changed its name to Penn National Gaming, Inc. in 1994. Penn National Gaming, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe] the measures taken to balance out revenue in case of headwinds.

  Valuation and Contracts

  One factor that plays in this firm's favor is NASCAR's long-term contracts with major TV networks and radio stations. The most recent deal is set to launch in 2015, and will bind the motorsport brand for 10 years to NBC and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOX), for a total of $8.2 billion (45% annual increase over the current contract). Although a more stable economic scenario may reignite concessionary spending among customers, and cause the motorsport segment to gain popularity again, the non-existent switching costs and alternative leisure choices could be detrimental to this company. Also, ISCA's current $87.9 million cash flow will likely be stagnated by the new Daytona Ring Project, which is expected to cost $400 million over the next five years.

  Furthermore, concerns remain regarding the company's growth metrics, especially given their downward trend. For the fourth quarter in 2013, revenue showed negative growth of 0.5%, a downfall which ISCA has not been able to stall since 2007. Operating margins have also fallen by 9% in the past ! two years (currently at 12.8%), in addition to the below average (2.02%) dividend yield of 0.70%. Added to a premium P/E value of 33.00x trailing earnings, compared to the industry average of 22.40x, I feel bearish about this motorsports giant's near-term profitability and see some uncertainty in the long-term future.

  Disclosure: Patricio Kehoe holds no position in any stocks mentioned.

  About the author:Patricio KehoeA fundamental analyst at Lone Tree Analytics
• [By Lisa Levin]

  Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) shares fell 1.71% to reach a new 52-week low of $12.05. Penn National Gaming is expected to report its Q4 results on February 6.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-casino-companies-to-buy-for-2014.html

Best Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014

Best Medical Stocks To Invest In 2014: NeoStem Inc (NBS)

NeoStem, Inc., incorporated on September 18, 1980, operates in cellular therapy industry. Cellular therapy addresses the process by which new cells are introduced into a tissue to prevent or treat disease, or regenerate damaged or aged tissue, and consists of a separate therapeutic technology platform in addition to pharmaceuticals, biologics and medical devices. The Company's business model includes the development of novel cell therapy products, as well as operating a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing services to others in the regenerative medicine industry. Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary (PCT), is a CDMO in the cellular therapy industry. PCT has provided pre-clinical and clinical current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) development and manufacturing services to over 100 clients advancing regenerative medicine product candidates through rigorous quality standards all the way through to human te sting.

PCT has two cGMP, cell therapy research, development, and manufacturing facilities in New Jersey and California, serving the cell therapy community with integrated and regulatory compliant distribution capabilities. Its core competencies in the cellular therapy industry include manufacturing of cell therapy-based products, product and process development, cell and tissue processing, regulatory support, storage, distribution and delivery and consulting services. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Amorcyte, LLC (Amorcyte) is developing its own cell therapy, AMR-001, for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. AMR-001 represents its clinically advanced therapeutic product candidate and enrollment for its Phase II PreSERVE clinical trial to investigate AMR-001's safety and efficacy in preserving heart function after a heart attack in a particular type of po! st Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) patients.

Through the Company's subsidiary, A thelos Corporation (Athelos), the Company is collaborating w! ith Becton-Dickinson in early stage clinical development of a therapy utilizing T-cells, collaborating for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, including but not limited to, graft vs. host disease, type 1 diabetes, steroid resistant asthma, lupus, multiple sclerosis and solid organ transplant rejection. The Company's pre-clinical assets include its Very Small Embryonic Like (VSEL) Technology platform. The Company has basic research and development capabilities, manufacturing facilities on both the east and west coast of the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 biopharmaceutical player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Neostem (NBS), engages in the development of proprietary cell therapy products. This stock has been hit hard by the sellers during the last three months, with shares off by 22%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Neostem, you'll notice that this stock has recently spiked higher back above both its 50-day moving average at $6.41 and its 200-day moving average of $6.60 a share. This move has also pushed shares of NBS back above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.57 to $6.98 a share. That move is quickly pushing NBS within range of triggering another breakout trade above some key near-term overhead resistance.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in NBS if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $7.22 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action 327,514 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then NBS will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from October that started just above $8 a share. If that that gap gets filled with volume, the! n NBS cou! ld easily tag its next major overhead resistance levels at $9 to $9.50 a share, or even its 52-week high at $9.89 a share.

  Traders can look to buy NBS off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average of $6.41 a share, or near more support at $6 a share. One can also buy NBS off strength once it takes out $7.22 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  NeoStem (NYSE: NBS) priced an underwritten public offering of 5,000,000 shares of common stock at an offering price of $7.00 per share. NeoStem shares dipped 9.44% to $7.10 in after-hours trading.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-medical-stocks-to-invest-in-2014.html

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2014

Top Clean Energy Stocks For 2014: Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS)

Sonus Networks, Inc. provides voice and multimedia infrastructure solutions. The company offers session border control (SBC), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and access and VoIP media gateway solutions that allow the delivery of voice and multimedia sessions over IP networks. Its products include GSX9000 Open Services Switch that enables voice traffic to be transported over packet networks; GSX4000 Open Services Switch; NBS9000 Network Border Switch that permits service providers to transform their time division multiplexing networks to IP; PSX Policy & Routing Server, which translates business policies into actual call control, routing, and service selection decisions; NBS5200 Network Border Switch that provides SBC functionality; and ASX Call Feature Server that provides local area calling and regulatory features for residential and enterprise markets. The company also offers Network Analytics Suite of performance management products, including NetScore network perf ormance analysis tool, NetAssure voice quality monitoring tool, and NetEng network audit and visualization engine that are used for the collection, monitoring, reporting, and notification of performance metrics. In addition, it provides professional consulting and services to support its IP communication solutions; and program management, network deployment design, softswitch and subscriber database design, network verification and audit, custom application and adaptor development, OSS and API integration, migration and upgrade, and managed services. The company serves long-distance and local exchange carriers, Internet service providers, wireless operators, cable operators, financial institutions, retailers, state and local governments, and multinational corporations. It sells its products primarily through a direct sales force in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the! Middle East. Sonus Networks, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Westford, Mas s achusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Fox Rubin]

  Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS) agreed to buy Performance Technologies Inc.(PTIX), a supplier of network communications products, for $3.75 a share, a 26% premium of Thursday’s close, or $42 million. The companies said the deal was worth $30 million, net of Performance Technologies’ cash and excluding acquisition costs. Performance Technologies shares jumped 24% to $3.70 premarket, just under the offer price.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS  ) have popped today by upwards of 17% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: First quarter sales totaled $63.3 million, which turned into a non-GAAP net loss of $0.02 per share. Investors were expecting just $61.1 million up top and an adjusted loss of $0.03 per share, meaning the figures were a beat relative to consensus estimates. Session border controller, or SBC, revenue was up 77% to $30 million.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Sonus Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: SONS) was recently named to the 2013 InformationWeek 500 list of top technology innovators across the country. In July the company authorized a repurchase program to buy back up to $100 million of their stock. Lazard has a Buy rating on the stock and a $4.50 price target. The consensus target is at $4.30, and the stock closed yesterday at $3.41.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One networking player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Sonus Networks (SONS), which provides networked solutions for communications service providers and enterprises in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up 104%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Sonus Networks, you'll notice that this stock has bee! n trendin! g sideways for the past month, with shares moving between $3.25 on the downside and $3.72 on the upside. Shares of SONS have been finding support over the last month each time the stock has pulled back to its 50-day moving average. This stock is now starting to trend a bit higher and move within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways consolidating chart pattern.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SONS if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $3.56 to $3.59 a share and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $3.72 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.50 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SONS will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $5 to $5.50 a share.

  Traders can look to buy SONS off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.33 to $3.25 a share, or right below more support at $3.10 a share. One could also buy SONS off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-clean-energy-stocks-for-2014-2.html

Top 10 High Tech Stocks For 2014

Top 10 High Tech Stocks For 2014: Bell AG (BELL)

Bell AG is a Switzerland-based company that is primarily engaged in the production and distribution of meat. The Company has seven product groups. The Fresh Meat product group is involved in the supply of self-service meat products for the retail trade and products for the restaurant trade, as well as Vaudois specialties. The Charcuterie (own and purchased) product groups offer ready-cooked products, both under the Bell brand and under a number of customers' own brands. The Poultry product group offers various poultry products, as well as specialty meats, such as rabbit, game, ostrich and kangaroo. The Convenience product group offers ready-cooked seasonal convenience products, such as domestic and imported fish. Within the Seafood product group, the Company offers fresh and frozen seafood. Bell AG's brands include Abraham, Zimbo and Polette, among others. The Company operates subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Hungary and other countries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tannor Pilatzke]

  Investment ideas are scarce and hard to come by at times. People constantly ask me about companies they work for (Bell) or businesses they purchase a lot of product from (P&G or Coca-Cola), and what I think about the prospects/valuation. When it is not the blue chips in the limelight it certainly is the Netflix's,Tesla's, 3-D printing, and other companies I would classify as speculative. It is not that I am a Grinch, but I do not like giving out investment ideas. Rather, I attempt to give lessons. As Maimonides said, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime."

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-high-tech-stocks-for-2014.html

Best Rising Stocks To Invest In 2014

Best Rising Stocks To Invest In 2014: Encore Wire Corp (WIRE)

Encore Wire Corporation (Encore), incorporated on April 5, 1989, is a manufacturer of electrical building wire and cable. The Company is a supplier of building wire for interior electrical wiring in commercial and industrial buildings, homes, apartments, and manufactured housing. Encore offers an electric building wire product line that consists of nonmetallic-building ( NM-B) cable, underground feeder-building (UF-B) cable, thermoplastic high heat resistant nylon coated/thermoplastic heat and water resistant nylon coated (THHN/THWN)-2 and other types of wire products, including metal clad and armored cable. All of these products are manufactured with copper or aluminum as the conductor. The principal customers for Encore's wire are wholesale electrical distributors, who sell building wire and a variety of other products to electrical contractors. The Company sells its products primarily through 31 manufacturers' representatives located throughout the United States. Th e Company also purchases small quantities of other types of wire to re-sell to customers that buy products that the Company manufactures. The manufacturing process for the Company's various products involves multiple steps, including: casting, drawing, stranding, compounding, insulating, jacketing and armoring.

The Company's non-metallic sheathed cable is used primarily as interior wiring in homes, apartments and manufactured housing. NM-B cable is composed of either two or three insulated copper wire conductors, with an un-insulated ground wire, all sheathed in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) jacket. UF-B cable is an underground feeder cable is used to conduct power underground to outside lighting and other applications remote from buildings. UF-B cable is composed of two or three PVC insulated copper wire conductors, with an un-insulated ground wire, all jacketed! in PVC. THHN/THWN-2 cable is used primarily as feeder, circuit and branch wiring in commercial and industrial buildings. It is composed of a copper or aluminu! m single conductor, either stranded or solid, and insulated with PVC, which is further coated with nylon.

Cross-linked high heat water resistant insulated wire (XHHW)-2 Cable is a XHHW-2 wire used for general purpose applications utilized in conduit or other recognized raceways for service, feeders, and branch-circuit wiring. It's composed of a copper or aluminum single conductor, either stranded or solid, and with a single layer of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation. Underground service entrance (USE)-2 Cable. USE-2 or rubber high heat-resistant (RHH) or RHW-2 wire is used for general purpose applications utilized in conduit or installed in underground applications or in recognized raceways for service, feeders, and branch-circuit wiring. It's composed of a copper or aluminum single conductor, either stranded or solid, and with a single layer of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation suitable for wet locations.

Metal clad and armo red cable is used primarily as feeder, circuit and branch wiring, primarily in commercial and industrial buildings. It is composed of multiple conductors, either stranded or solid, and insulated with PVC, which are further coated with nylon and then fully encased in a flexible aluminum or steel armored protective sheath that eliminates the need to pull the wire through pipe or conduit. The Company's photovoltaic style cables are designed to meet the different needs of the emerging solar industry by providing connections between photovoltaic (PV) panels, collector boxes and inverters; and where also allowed by the National Electric Code (NEC). Its bare copper conductors are used in overhead electrical transmission and distribution systems for grounding electrical systems and circuit grounding.

The Company competes with Southwire Company, Cerro Wire LLC, Uni! ted Coppe! r Industries, BICC General and AFC Cable Systems, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Basic guidelines
  In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Encore Wire (Nasdaq: WIRE  ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Encore Wire doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue decreased 9.2%, and inventory increased 0.3%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks decent. Revenue grew 3.9%, and inventory expanded 0.3%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks healthy. Revenue dropped 4.1%, and inventory dropped 5.1%.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Encore Wire (NASDAQ: WIRE  ) , like a strip of its namesake product, seems to believe in keeping its shareholder payouts long and straight. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, to be paid on July 19 to shareholders of record as of July 5. That amount is in line with every one of the firm's previous distributions stretching back to early 2007. 

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-rising-stocks-to-invest-in-2014.html

Hot Rising Stocks To Buy For 2015

Hot Rising Stocks To Buy For 2015: Armstrong World Industries Inc (AWI)

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (AWI), incorporated on December 30, 1891, is a global producer of flooring products and ceiling systems for use in the construction and renovation of residential, commercial and institutional buildings. The Company designs, manufactures and sells flooring products (resilient and wood) and ceiling systems (mineral fiber, fiberglass and metal) globally. The Company segments includes: Building Products, Resilient Flooring and Wood Flooring. The Company's Building Products, Resilient Flooring, Wood Flooring and Cabinets segments sell products for use in the home. Its products are used in new home construction and existing home renovation work. Its products, primarily ceilings and Resilient Flooring, are used in commercial and institutional buildings. On September 1, 2012, it sold Patriot Flooring Supply, Inc. to The Belknap White Group. Effective October 31, 2012, the Company sold of its cabinets business to American Industrial Partners.

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Building Products

Building Products produces suspended mineral fiber, soft fiber and metal ceiling systems for use in commercial, institutional and residential settings. In addition, its Building Products segment sources complementary ceiling products. Its products, which are sold globally, are available in colors, performance characteristics and designs, and offer attributes, such as acoustical control, rated fire protection and aesthetic appeal. Commercial ceiling materials and accessories are sold to ceiling systems contractors and to resale distributors. Residential ceiling products are sold in North America to wholesalers and retailers, including home centers. Suspension system (grid) products manufactured by Worthington Armstrong Venture (WAVE) are sold by both the Company and WAVE.

Resilient Flooring

Resilient Floo! ring produces and sources a range of floor coverings for homes and commercial and institutional buildings. Manufactured products in this segment include vinyl sheet, v! inyl tile and linoleum flooring. In addition, its Resilient Flooring segment sources and sells laminate flooring products, vinyl tile products, vinyl sheet products, adhesives, and installation and maintenance materials and accessories. Resilient Flooring products are offered in a range of types, designs, and colors. It sells these products globally to wholesalers, home centers, retailers, contractors and to the manufactured homes industry.

Wood Flooring

The Company's Wood Flooring segment produces and sources wood flooring products for use in new residential construction and renovation, with commercial applications in stores, restaurants and offices. The product offering includes pre-finished solid and engineered wood floors in various wood species, and related accessories. All of its Wood Flooring sales are in North America. Its Wood Flooring products are sold to independent wholesale flooring distributors and home centers.

The Com pany competes with Saint-Gobain, Chicago Metallic Corporation, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Knauf AMF GmbH & Co. KG, Lafarge SA, Odenwald Faserplattenwerk GmbH, Rockfon A/S, USG Corporation, Amtico International, Inc., Beaulieu International Group, N.V., Boa-Franc, Inc., Congoleum Corporation, Faus, Inc., Forbo Holding AG, Gerflor Group, Interface, Inc., IVC Group, Krono Holding AG, LG Floors, Mannington Mills, Inc., Metroflor Corporation, Mullican Flooring, L.P., Mohawk Industries, Inc., Nora Systems GmbH, Pfleiderer AG, Shaw Industries, Inc., Somerset Hardwood Flooring, Tarkett AG.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 h! eadlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Armstrong World Industries (NYSE: AWI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-rising-stocks-to-buy-for-2015-2.html

Mike Rowe's 12-Point Pledge Solves Life's Big Problems

Best China Stocks To Watch For 2015

Getty Images/AFP/Mandel Ngan Mike Rowe has drawn attention lately for a voiceover he did for a Walmart ad campaign called "Work Is a Beautiful Thing." His support of a big corporation received mixed reviews, since he's always been viewed as an advocate for the little guy. But the former "Dirty Jobs" host responded to critics, clarifying that he's neither a supporter of the little guy nor the big guy -- but a supporter of hard work.

This $12 Billion Hedge Fund Company Has Sold Valero, Sysco, and Hewlett-Packard

The latest 13F season is commencing, when many money managers issue required reports on their holdings. It can be worthwhile to pay attention, as you might get an investment idea or two by seeing what some major investors have been buying and selling.

For example, consider Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest hedge fund companies. According to its recently released 13F statement, the company has reduced its positions in Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ  ) and Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY  ) , while eliminating its position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO  ) .

Hewlett-Packard has been suffering in recent years, in part due to a weak PC market, which is expected to shrink by 6% in 2014, per analysts at IDC. Its last quarter featured estimate-topping revenue and earnings, with earnings rising 10% over year-ago levels, and revenue dropping by 1%. The company has been cutting costs aggressively, but its enterprise services business has not been growing as quickly as hoped. Goldman Sachs has slapped a sell rating on the stock. The printing giant plans to compete in 3-D printing, and it has been racking up some significant contracts, such as one worth up to $32 million from the Department of Homeland Security, and one worth up to $548 million with the Department of Defense. It's also expanding in health-care analytics, and generating solid free cash flow. Hewlett-Packard's stock has surged nearly 50% during the past year, and yields 1.9%. With its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio near eight, some see more growth ahead for the stock.

Sysco is a giant in food delivery to restaurants and other institutions and a dividend dynamo, recently yielding 3.2%. In its second quarter, it topped earnings expectations (though earnings were down over year ago levels) and disappointed on revenue (though that rose). Bears worry about how rapidly it can grow, with some seeing it as a good company in a bad industry. Bulls like its market dominance, consistent profitability, and reliable quarterly payout. Its international expansion offers more cause for optimism.

Major U.S. refiner Valero Energy yields 2% and has gotten a boost recently due to instability in the Ukraine. In 2013, a drop in the spread between Brent and WTI crude prices hurt its profit margins, but Valero still upped its throughput during the year, and its significant capital expenditures in 2014 could lead to further growth. Valero's competitive advantages include its size and the location of its operations, and it has been a successful major player in ethanol. Valero is poised to benefit from the proposed (and controversial) Keystone XL Pipeline, and has been investing in railcars to help bring in crude from inland fields. Bears worry about rising crude prices, though, and would like to see more growth drivers for the company.

Grab nine solid dividends here
One of the dirty secrets that few finance professionals will openly admit is the fact that dividend stocks, as a group, handily outperform their non-dividend paying brethren. With this in mind, our top analysts put together a free list of nine high-yielding stocks that should be in every income investor's portfolio. To learn the identity of these stocks instantly and for free, all you have to do is click here now.

RadioShack: Beware the Binary Outcome

RadioShack (RSH) fell 17% yesterday after reporting earnings, announcing store closures and having one analyst compare it to Circuit City.

AP

B. Riley’s Scott Tilghman explains that the outcome for RadioShack looks increasingly binary:

In one way or another, RadioShack is entering a new chapter that will either have a fairytale ending as the store base rightsizing and five pillars of work help the company to recover from losses, or simply end in a bankruptcy filing as losses mount and vendors pullback. Recent results highlight the challenges facing the company as comps fell 19% on top of last year's 7% 4Q decline. [RadioShack's cost] cuts have not been able to keep up with the sales drops, and new concept stores don't seem to be profitable, yet remodels will continue. [RadioShack] is tasked with changing not just its merchandising, but also attempting to attract new traffic (demographics) in a heightened competitive environment. We expect losses to continue as negative sales trends are difficult to reverse and GM pressures persist. As a result, it is difficult to justify valuation other than at liquidation value, leading us to reiterate our Sell rating

Best Stocks To Own For 2015

Shares of RadioShack have dropped 2.7% to $2.19 at 2:15 p.m., while BestBuy (BBY) has fallen 0.9% to $25.56, GameStop (GME) has gained 2.2% to $371.86 and Amazon.com (AMZN), which caused all their troubles in the first place, has risen 3.4% to $38.61.

China's reform progress tops congress agenda

China kicks off its annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing Wednesday.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) China's annual parliamentary meetings kick off Wednesday, offering Beijing a chance to gauge progress on key economic reforms outlined last year.

The National People's Congress, often criticized as mere political theater, remains an opportunity for top Communist Party brass to reveal new plans and announce economic targets. This year's meetings are of particular note -- it's the first such gathering that President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will preside over, since assuming their top posts a year ago.

Beijing promised a slate of reforms last year at two major political meetings, broadly pledging to clean up corruption, stabilize economic growth, and open up China's financial markets. That was on top of social measures that aimed at clearing heavy pollution and easing family planning policies.

The reform measures are nothing if not ambitious. Capital Economics called one laundry list of proposals "the most impressive statement of reform intentions that we've seen this century." But the big question is whether Beijing will follow through on its promises. Some reform initiatives -- such as reforming state-owned companies, managing local government debt and fiscal reform -- have lacked specifics.

Related story: China's anti-corruption drive eats into growth

Xi's sweeping anti-corruption campaign has placed a number of government officials and company executives under investigation. Officials have been banned from conspicuous spending -- no more extravagant banquets, riding in showy cars and gifting luxury items. Some critics say the crackdown is more about knocking out political opponents, but either way, it's a move that has gathered significant momentum.

China has also begun testing a number of fi! nancial reforms in a free-trade zone in Shanghai, including greater foreign investment access and experimentation with market-based interest rates.

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More recently, the People's Bank of China has allowed the tightly-pegged yuan to fluctuate a bit more than usual -- a possible sign that Beijing is getting serious about building a more market-driven economy.

Despite these strides, China still faces an uphill battle in implementing some reforms, especially in the face of slowing economic growth. While economists agree China needs to change, gains may not be reflected in the economy for years.

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Looking ahead, there are a number of areas that experts say the government must still address, including tax reform, shadow banking regulation, food safety and shoring up the country's social safety net.

Tackling even just one of those could help alleviate a number of major challenges. Tax reform, for example, "is crucial for addressing local government debt, property bubbles, and financial risk," analysts at Barclays wrote in a recent research note.

Sink or Swim? Three Small Caps Heading in Different Directions: TWSI, HCTI & BTGI

Last Friday, small cap stocks Tristar Wellness Solutions Inc (OTCMKTS: TWSI) jumped 14.94% while Hybrid Coating Technologies (OTCBB: HCTI) and Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) sank 23.53% and 13.04%, respectively. It should be mentioned that only one of these small cap stocks appears to be the subject of paid promotions or investor relations type activities. So what will these three small cap stocks do for investors this week? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

Tristar Wellness Solutions Inc (OTCMKTS: TWSI) Had a Busy Week Issuing News

Small cap Tristar Wellness Solutions is a health and wellness company that targets under-met consumer opportunities in the OTC and professional marketplace. On Friday, Tristar Wellness Solutions jumped 14.94% to $0.90 for a market cap $19.21 million plus TWSI is down 52.6% over the past year and up 800% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Tristar Wellness Solutions Inc? According to various disclosures, transactions of $4k, $5k and $18k have or will occur to mention Tristar Wellness Solutions in various investment newsletters and the company was busy last week issuing press releases. Last Thursday, Tristar Wellness Solutions announced another patent to its "vast domestic and international intellectual property portfolio" with the most recent patent number being granted to HemCon Medical Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of TWSI, and is specific to HemCon's chitosan-based dental sponges in China. The HemCon Dental Dressings are a unique oral wound dressing used in dental and oral surgery procedures to protect the wound site with a physical barrier and provide pain relief. On Tuesday, Tristar Wellness Solutions announced that due to the rapid incremental sales growth for the HemCon hemostatic antibacterial woundcare line in the professional hospital market, the company had decided to accelerate the national expansion of their dental product line in North America and it was noted that there are ten million third molars (wisdom teeth) extracted from approximately 5 million people in the United States every year at an annual cost of over $3 billion. Otherwise and last Monday, Tristar Wellness Solutions announced that its Beaute de Maman brand of beauty and wellness products for pregnant and nursing women had begun its national rollout to drugstore, grocery and natural food retailers across the country. A quick look at Tristar Wellness Solutions' financials reveals revenues of $1,281k (most recent reported quarter), $1,286k, $7k and -$4k along with net losses of $2,676k (most recent reported quarter), $1,697k, $2,174k and $3,589k. At the end of last September, Tristar Wellness Solutions had $315k in cash and $811k in receivables to cover $6,453k in payables and $9,029k in current liabilities. So in light of all the recent news, investors might want to wait for more financials ! from Tristar Wellness Solutions to appear.

Hybrid Coating Technologies (OTCBB: HCTI) Has Sort of Been Quiet Lately

Small cap Hybrid Coating Technologies is the exclusive licensee of Green Polyurethane(TM) coatings and paint - the world's first-ever patent-protected polyurethane-based coatings and paint products which eliminate toxic isocyanates from the entire production process. On Friday, Hybrid Coating Technologies fell 23.53% to $0.390 for a market cap of $4.63 million plus HCTI is down 13.3% over the past year and down 97.5% in intermittent trading since August 2009 according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Hybrid Coating Technologies? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention Hybrid Coating Technologies in various investment newsletters. A week ago, Hybrid Coating Technologies announced that its world renowned head scientist Dr. Oleg Figovsky had recently published a book called "Advanced Polymer Concrete and Compounds" while late in January, the company announced that it had expanded its technology with a new UV curing formulation. The press release noted that Hybrid Coating Technologies' coating products address a $35 billion global industrial and specialty coatings market while the President/CEO was quoted as saying:

"We are very excited by this new formulation as it allows for the installation of a floor coating in one day rather than several days which is presently the industry norm."

A quick look at Hybrid Coating Technologies' financials reveals revenues of $48k (most recent reported quarter), $5k, $3k and $53k for the past four reported quarters along with net losses of $821k (most recent reported quarter), $1,571k, $774k and $510. At the end of September, Hybrid Coating Technologies had no cash to cover $4,037k in current liabilities and $1,279k in long term debt. So while the global industrial and specialty coatings market might be worth $35 billion, Hybrid Coating Technologies has yet to grab enough of it.

Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) Recently Did a Reverse Split

Small cap Bulova Technologies Group has an extensive history of large scale Defense Contracts for munitions, weapons systems and combat systems. On Friday, Bulova Technologies Group fell 13.04% to $0.0300 for a market cap of $663,789 plus BTGI is up 29,900% over the past year and down 66.7% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Bulova Technologies Group, Inc? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention Bulova Technologies Group in various investment newsletters. The latest press release from Bulova Technologies Group dates from February 11th and announced the change of its stock symbol from BLVT to BTGI to reflect the reverse split recently conducted by the company. The completion of that reverses split was announced near the end of December where the number of authorized shares of Common Stock of the Company was reduced from 5,000,000,000 to 500,000,000 and a reverse split of the Common Stock was effected at a ratio of 1 for 200. Keeping the reverse merger in mind, Bulova Technologies Group has reported revenues of $2,290k (most recent reported quarter), $1,212k, $2,249k and $1,941k for the four quarters of 2013 along with net losses of $587k (most recent reported quarter), $1,273k and $257k and net income of $5,345k. At the end of last December, Bulova Technologies Group had $72k in cash to cover $5,546k in current liabilities. So investors might want to dig deeper into the recent reverse split as well as wait for more updated financials to appear.

Ukraine War Could Cause Huge Oil Price Spike

It has been over a year since the near-collision of Israel and Iran, then in the midst of enhancing its nuclear stockpiles, drove oil prices up. As Ukraine’s Crimea region is invaded by Russian troops, the chances that oil prices will rise, and rise sharply, due to a regional conflict are back again.

It takes very little in terms of global political conflicts, weather, or tightened supply to press the price of crude higher. One big hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, racing toward Texas refineries can trigger it. So can any hint that OPEC might throttle supply. Tensions in the Middle East seem to affect oil prices almost annually, if not more often.

Russia supplies much of the oil and natural gas for Europe. In September 2013, a dispute between Russia and Belarus caused anxiety about the export of crude by the huge nation. Europe has no easy way to replace this supply. If the West imposes sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine, Russia may retaliate with a cut in oil and gas exports to undermine Europe’s resolve.

The question is how much a war between Russia and Ukraine would move oil prices higher. There is no formula to count it. However, the more violent the conflict, the more likely that the move upward would be sharp

Crude oil in the United States currently trades at about $102 a barrel. It has bounced between that level and $90 for a year. So far, the $100 price has not effected gas, oil, and petrochemical prices enough to dent the economies of the developed nations. If the 2008 oil spike, which pushed crude above $120 a barrel for about three months, is any indication, GDP among these countries could be hurt by much higher prices. The victims would range from drivers to transportation companies and airlines. And the ripple caused by high petrochemical prices, which effect a broad range of industries, is too large to calculate.

Much higher oil prices are on the way if the situation in Ukraine gets much worse. Global GDP, the recovery of which is still fragile, probably faces a new hurdle.

Yellen: Fed can't regulate Bitcoin

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told senators Thursday that the central bank can't regulate troubled digital currency Bitcoin because it operates outside the banking system.

"I think it's important to understand that this is a payment innovation that's taking place entirely outside the banking industry," Yellen told Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV. "The Federal Reserve simply does not have the authority to supervise or regulate Bitcoin in any way."

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Yellen, who succeeded Ben Bernanke as Fed chair this month, was delivering the Fed's semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate banking committee.

Manchin pressed Yellen to impose rules on the virtual currency, noting it has been used "by scam artists and hackers to steal money from hard working Americans." Bitcoin has been the currency of choice for illegal international activity, including money laundering.

This week, New York-based SecondMarket said it plans to launch a regulated exchange to facilitate trading for Bitcoin after Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, the biggest marketplace for Bitcoin transactions, abruptly shut down. An estimated $400 million in Bitcoins vanished. Unlike in the U.S. banking system, no entity insures the digital currency.

In a letter this week to Yellen and other top U.S. regulators, Manchin said Bitcoin "has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly unstable and disruptive to our economy."

Yellen told Manchin that Congress could get involved "and set up a supervisory regime" to oversee the currency. She added, "I think it's not so easy to regulate Bitcoin because there's no central issuer or network operator to regulate."