Madoff set clients’ profits, witness testifies

NEW YORK — Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff dictated specific rates of return for his investment clients — and even decreed one should never be stuck with losses — according to trial testimony on Wednesday.

Testifying in the fraud case against five former co-workers, star prosecution witness and ex-Madoff finance chief Frank DiPascali depicted the now-imprisoned financier as a criminal Santa who for years bestowed fake financial gains on clients, regardless of financial market ups and downs.

Account statements for Beverly Hills money manager Stanley Chais, a particularly favored client who invested millions for himself and others, should always show gains, DiPascali said Madoff ordered. Chais died in 2010.

"Bernie would pick the rate of return?" Assistant U.S. Attorney John Zach asked DiPascali.

"Most certainly," the former Madoff lieutenant testified.

In this March 10, 2009, file photo, Bernard Madoff exits Manhattan federal court in New York.(Photo: Louis Lanzano, AP file)

Turning the orders into reality were an office of financial elves — Madoff employees who churned out mountains of paperwork studded with what DiPascali said were phony trades that purportedly justified the gains.

The testimony coincided with the approaching fifth-year anniversary of the scam's collapse in a massive implosion that stole more than $17.3 billion from celebrities, charities, ordinary investors and other financial entities. DiPascali's account also offered the first insider view of the mechanics behind the scheme.

During his second day on the witness stand, DiPascali provided testimony that could implicate several of the former co-workers on trial. They've maintained they knew nothing about the! scheme and were fooled by their boss.

But DiPascali said ex-Madoff assistant Annette Bongiorno oversaw the production of investment statements with phony trades that were issued to relatives, friends and neighbors of the Howard Beach, Queens, neighborhood in New York City where she grew up.

JoAnn Crupi, a former Madoff employee who worked with Bongiorno, oversaw the investment statements sent to Chais, DiPascali testified.

Jerome O'Hara, a former Madoff computer programmer, helped pick printing fonts and other details designed to produce phony versions of documents that detailed investment shares purportedly held for customers by Madoff's Manhattan brokerage, DiPascali testified. The records are known as Depository Trust Co. (DTC) reports. By the 1990s, the fakes were "close to perfect," said DiPascali.

Recounting a meeting with defendant Daniel Bonventre and other employees, DiPascali said Madoff held copies of the fake and genuine reports up to a window's light and remarked "how great it was."

Jurors watched on courtroom computer monitors as examples of the contrasting reports were displayed. One fake DTC report showed billions of dollars in U.S. Treasury investments purportedly held by Madoff's brokerage. The actual report showed some stock holdings, but no Treasury bills, and far less in overall holdings.

Most jurors leaned forward and seemed engrossed in trying to follow the complex testimony and exhibits. But at least one seemed to doze just before the day's lunch break.

At that moment, Judge Laura Taylor Swain asked everyone in the courtroom to stand for a few seconds, then allowed testimony to resume.

United to revamp website, cut $2B in costs, boo…

United Airlines unveiled a broad set of initiatives Tuesday that carrier says will set it on a "path" to better performance and improved profitability.

As part of that plan, United will revamp its website, try to slash costs by $2 billion annually and shift more of its overseas flying to Europe from Asia. No furloughs will be required, a United spokeswoman tells the Associated Press.

PRESS RELEASE: United Airlines outlines path for increasing long-term shareholder value

The carrier also plans a big boost in amount of the so-called "ancillary revenue" it collects from add-on fees. United says it aims to up its take from such fees by about $700 million, "with a goal of generating more than $3.5 billion in ancillary revenue by 2017."

United says it can achieve that "by giving customers new options" and by "optimizing" the prices it charges on fees already in place. The company also will look at ways to better manage how it manages and sells the a la carte add-on services.

PHOTOS: United Airlines unveils its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner

United is presenting its plan — part of an effort to make its shareholders happy — at its Investor Day Conference Tuesday in New York.

"We are working together to build on United's core strengths and deliver excellent long-term results for our investors," United CEO Jeff Smisek said in a statement ahead of the event. "We are committed to achieving sufficient and sustainable profitability that will benefit all of our stakeholders."

The Wall Street Journal notes United's changes come "weeks after the airline missed already reduced estimates for its third-quarter earnings, while many of its peers announced record results."

United has been weighed down by an uneven integration effort and operational lapses following its merger with Continental. "Meanwhile," the Journal adds, United's "top rival, Delta, has hit its stride, earning a record $1.4 billion in the third quarter, compared with United's $379 million."

Analy! sts struck a cautiously optimistic tone regarding United's plan, Bloomberg News reports.

"We are very positive on these stated goals, but where UAL has run into problems over the past two years is in execution of its stated plans," James Corridore, an analyst with Standard & Poor's Capital IQ, says in a research note quoted by Bloomberg. "We would like to see some traction on these plans."

Among the highlights from United's plan:

Website upgrades

United says it will begin making changes to United.com next year, rolling out the overhaul in phases. United already rolled out its newest mobile app. The carrier expects its new website and app to "expand opportunities for ancillary product and service sales."

Businessweek says the upgraded website and app also can help United through "better collating and analyzing data on customers so United can tailor its product and service offerings and sell more of them."

"The marriage of big data and this mobile platform … becomes incredibly powerful," Scott Wilson, United's VP of e-commerce and merchandising, is quoted as saying by Businessweek.

Route shake-up

United will drop its Seattle-Tokyo nonstop route and will balance that by adding a second daily nonstop flight to Tokyo from its biggest hub at Houston Bush Intercontinental. United's Japanese Star Alliance and trans-Pacific joint venture partner All Nippon Airways will continue to fly to Tokyo from Seattle, where it will compete with Delta's nonstop service on the same route. Delta has ramped up its presence from Seattle during the past year, including new routes to Asia. That includes routes from Seattle to both of Tokyo's airports: Narita and Haneda.

United also will juggle its intra-Asia schedule, saying it will end its Tokyo-to-Bangkok service and switch to smaller aircraft for its flights between Tokyo and Seoul. Speaking to its cutbacks from Tokyo, United says ANA "will provide the appropriate amount of the beyond-Tokyo connectivity for United's ! trans-Pac! ific flights."

With that United says it intends to "capitalize on its ability to serve growing secondary markets in Asia directly from the United States, similar to its successful strategy serving secondary European markets non-stop from its East Coast hubs." On that point, United cited its recently announced routes from San Francisco to both Chengdu, China, and Taipei, Taiwan.

United will shift the aircraft its cutting from the intra-Asia routes to grow its presence between the USA and Europe. Those routes spring out of that aircraft shift include service between Houston and Munich and seasonal flights on the Washington Dulles-Madrid and Chicago O'Hare-Edinburgh routes.

Fee revenue

As United makes a pitch to boost its ancillary revenue, the Chicago Tribune notes "airlines have moved beyond fees customers hate, like those for checked bags, in recent years and are now focusing on growing revenue through perks that they believe improve the travel experience." Among those types of "perks" are extra charges for things like priority boarding, roomier seats and or less-stringent rebooking rules.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: United Airlines parent plans to cut costs by $2 billion a year

With that, United is looking is hoping to upsell more of its customers on those types of service. However, the Tribune notes that comes against United's recent move to "(retool) the seating arrangement of some of its smaller planes, taking out rows of (roomier) economy plus seats, for which customers have to pay extra. That suggests that as many customers are not forking over extra money for the roomier seats as United expected, at least on small planes that tend to fly shorter routes."

Efficiency

AP writes: "United says it is aiming to burn less fuel, make workers more productive, and improve its maintenance processes. It has been working with its mechanics' union to revamp which maintenance jobs are done by the 2,000 workers at its San Francisco maintenance center, said Greg Hart, who ru! ns the airline's technical operations."

TWITTER: You can follow me at twitter.com/TodayInTheSky

First Take: Apple shares slide on profit concerns

SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple on Monday reported shrinking quarterly and yearly profits, raising concerns over its recent down market debut into colorful iPhones.

Wall Street has been debating Apple's move into lower-cost smartphones because iPhones make up more than half of the company's profits. Apple's reported its gross margin was 37%, compared with 40% a year ago.

Apple reported sales of 33.8 million iPhones in its fourth quarter. Analysts were expecting Apple to report iPhone sales ranging 33 million to 36 million units in the quarter, ended Sept. 28. Apple was reported to have cut back on manufacturing of its colorful 5C because of lagging demand in the quarter.

Best Insurance Stocks To Buy Right Now

Shares of Apple fell 2%, to $518.50, in after-hours trading.

Apple's once-dominant iPhones and iPads face fierce competition. Samsung and other manufacturers, whose smartphones and tablets run Google's Android, put pricing pressures on Apple's premium-priced wares in competition for consumers.

The gadget giant sold more than 9 million iPhones in the debut weekend of its 5S an 5C models, which went on sale Sept. 20.

Apple reported net income of $7.5 billion on $37.5 billion in revenue in the quarter, beating analyst expectations. Analysts on average were expecting Apple to report fourth-quarter net income of $7.2 billion on $36.9 billion in revenue, according to the survey of estimates from Thomson Reuters. Apple reported net income of $8.2 billion in the same period a year ago.

Forecasts were for Apple to report declining full-year net income of $36.8 billion compared with $41.7 billion a year ago.

Analysts will be watching Apple's growth potential in the current quarter as it heads into the all-important holiday shopping season. The company last week unveiled two new iPads, both going on sale in November.

State regulators see uptick in actions against RIAs

Since states took on the oversight of advisers with $100 million or less in assets, state securities regulators have seen an increase in actions against registered investment advisers, exposing flaws in those advisers' compliance.

“State actions against investment advisers are up due to more oversight by state regulators,”` said Joseph Borg, director of the Alabama Securities Commission.

Last year, states expanded their oversight of registered investment advisers from those with $25 million in assets to those with $100 million or less. Previously, the Securities and Exchange Commission was responsible for examining those advisers.

Investment advisers now account for 23.9% of regulatory actions by states, while broker-dealers account for 29.2%, said Mr. Borg, who spoke Friday in Orlando, Fla., at the annual meeting of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association's lawyers.

Top Gold Companies To Invest In Right Now

Individuals who are not licensed to sell securities account for the most actions by the states, 42.5%, while insurance agents account for 4.5%.

Mr. Borg said he did not know the exact number of state actions last year against investment advisers, but he said that the increase “would not be an insignificant amount.” He added that the broad industry shift to investment advisers from broker-dealers, which include so called “breakaway brokers,” made the increase in state actions against advisers inevitable.

Jeffrey Kruske, general counsel for the Kansas office of the securities commissioner, concurs with Mr. Borg. Advisers “are leaving the structure of a large investment adviser or broker-dealer,” Mr. Kruske said.

Advisers lack the compliance support that a back office of a large financial institution provides, he said. “This goes on to present problems. They are solo practitioners with no back office. They may not be doing wrong but need to be reminded of the rules.”

A key that Kansas exams are revealing is supervision, Mr. Kruske said. “Who is supervising that solo investment adviser?” he asked. He had the experience recently of examining a solo adviser's business and found that the adviser had invested all his clients in inverse exchange-traded funds, a product type that has drawn intense scrutiny from regulators because of advisers' lack of understanding of them.

“I know his prior broker-dealer would not have allowed him to sell any of those,” Mr. Kruske said.

U.S. Stock Futures Fall; Nike Rises On Earnings; J.C. Penney Slumps

U.S. stock futures fell as increasing worries of a potential government shutdown overshadowed strong results from Nike (NKE) and consumer spending data.

About 20 minutes ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 47 points, or 0.3% to 15,214, giving back the gains made Thursday to end a five-session losing streak.

Nike, which became a Dow component earlier this week, rose 7.1% in premarket trading after the company reported late Thursday fiscal first-quarter earnings that surpassed expectations amid strong sales growth in the U.S. and Europe and wider gross margins.

Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell seven points, or 0.4% to 1,685.5, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 12.5 points, or 0.4% to 3,213.5. Changes in stock futures don’t always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed higher for the first time in six sessions, ending its longest losing streak since December 2012.

In Washington, tensions over budget and debt-ceiling negotiations have mounted, leading investors to climb a wall of worry this week. On Thursday, House Speaker John Boehner said the House would not accept a short-term spending bill likely to be approved by the Senate on Friday, which would help avoid a partial government shutdown starting Oct. 1.  

Meanwhile, data released Friday morning showing that consumer spending rose 0.3% in August – meeting economists' expectations — did little to bolster stock indices.

Other data is due later today. After the open, the final reading of the Thomson-Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for September is expected to be revised up to 78.0 from a preliminary reading of 76.8. The final August reading was 82.1.

And at 2 p.m., New York Federal Reserve president William Dudley will speak at Syracuse University.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.63% from 2.643% late Thursday. Yields move inversely to prices.

Crude oil futures slipped 0.3% to $102.77 a barrel. October gold futures rose 1.01% to $1,337.5 an ounce. And the U.S. dollar declined against the euro. 

In Europe, worries over U.S. budget talks offset encouraging confidence data, sending the Stoxx Europe 600 falling down 0.4%. Asian markets, however, were mostly higher.

In corporate news:

J.C. Penney (JCP) slid 8.2% to $9.57 after the troubled retailer announced late Thursday a public offering of 84 million shares of common stock. On Friday, the company said it priced its offering at $9.65 a share, which is 7.4% below Thursday’s closing price and 4.6% below Wednesday’s 13-year closing low. 

Lumber Liquidators (LL) plunged 9.5% to $102.62. A report by the AP says the hardwood company’s offices have been searched by federal authorities, yet no word on why or when this took place.

Blackberry (BBRY) edged up 1.4% to $8.06. The smartphone maker reported fiscal second-quarter losses and revenue that were in line with the sharply-reduced outlook it provided last week. Earlier this week, the company agreed to be taken private by one of its biggest shareholders for $4.7 billion.

J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) fell 0.7% to $51.55 after the bank’s audit committee head admitted to mistakes that have placed the firm in numerous legal and regulatory battles. On Thursday, CEO Jamie Dimon met with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss a settlement to end investigations into its mortgage lending practices.

Arch Coal (ACI) fell 3% to $4.37 after Goldman downgraded the stock to a Sell.

Finish Line (FINL) rose 8% to $24.20 on upbeat earnings.

 

 

Boeing Projects Surge in China’s Airplane Demand (BA)

The Boeing Company (BA) reported on Thursday that it is now predicting demand for 5,580 new airplanes in China over the next 20 years.

The company now sees China’s fleet tripling in the next 20 years and expects the country to purchase approximately $780 billion worth of aircrafts during that period. The increase in demand will be caused primarily by a rise in China and Asia based tourism.

The rise in tourism will likely grow demand for single aisle airplanes. The company expects the Next-Generation 737 and the new 737 MAX to improve current capabilities, fuel efficiency and maintenance costs.

Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for BA, commented: “Thanks to strong economic growth and increased access to air travel, we project China traffic to grow at nearly 7 percent each year.”

“China is a key market for Boeing. Our current and future products will allow our customers to meet the growing demand with the most efficient airplanes.”

Boeing shares were mostly flat during Thursday morning trading. The stock is up 41% YTD.

Reversing CNN’s fortunes proves a daunting task

When Jeff Zucker was anointed to reverse the fortunes of ratings-challenged CNN late last year, his boss told reporters that Zucker's shortcomings as a TV programmer were largely overlooked in the hiring process.

It was Zucker's journalistic chops, according to Phil Kent, CEO of CNN parent company Turner Broadcasting System, that sealed the deal.

"I'm very familiar with all of Jeff's successes and all things he probably wishes might have turned out better," Kent said at the time. "I was looking for a very specific talent here which would be someone who would be a great leader of a news organization."

A year later, Zucker's brand of journalism – featuring a series of on-air talent reshuffles and new documentary-style shows – still isn't translating into the type of ratings his boss and advertisers seek.

Zucker's year-end report card arrived a bit early in the form of Nielsen ratings for last week, showing the network's middle-of-the-road approach to broccoli journalism may not be way to attract more viewers.

With its heavy emphasis last week on the woes of the new national health insurance exchange website's rollout, the cable news network registered its lowest weekday primetime ratings in over a year.

For the week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, the Time Warner-owned network averaged 385,000 viewers – lowest since Aug. 2012 - and 95,000 coveted adults between the ages of 25 and 54. Both metrics trailed the figures put up by its primary competitors – Fox News and MSNBC.

Of course, cable news ratings have been falling for years as evening-news viewers get older and cable channels face heightened competition from the Internet. Zucker had no involvement in CNN's ratings hitting 20-year record lows last year, as viewers clearly preferred other channels that blared with a clearer - even if often shrill - voice.

Fox News, which has been openly critical of the Affordable Care Act, topped the competition with its own aggressive coverage of the rollout of Healthcare.g! ov. It drew 2.4 million viewers and 377,000 in the 25-54 group.

MSNBC, which airs with a liberal bent but has been critical of the Obama administration's health care website, averaged 683,000 viewers and 150,000 in the 25-54 group.

CNN's ratings numbers have always popped with national breaking news. But the story about an insurance website – however comprehensive in coverage - likely wasn't the kind that drives viewers to interrupt their day's routines to tune in, says Andrew Tyndall, a longtime TV news monitor and publisher of industry newsletter Tyndall Report.

"It's a procedural story, and and it didn't happen out of the blue," he said.

After replacing Jim Walton as CNN's president, Zucker, a former CEO of NBC Universal, quickly changed its talent lineup by hiring network news correspondents, like Jake Tapper and Chris Cuomo, overhauling the morning news and reinstating "Crossfire" with Newt Gingrich as a host.

But Zucker - who spent years as producer of NBC"s "Today" Show- left alone CNN's tradition of approaching story coverage with its sense of objectivity.

Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and chef-turned-TV-star Anthony Bourdain were also signed to augment the network's reality-TV features, and they have helped boost weekend ratings. "He's trying everything. Nothing appears to be working," Tyndall said. "Bourdain gets good ratings. But that doesn't help the network in its journalistic reputation."

Zucker's hiring was an indication that CNN's parent believed its sluggish ratings represented a "TV problem" that could be solved with a programming reshuffle, Tyndall said. He said the network suffers from lack of a distinctive approach. News outlets like the BBC can have a clear identity without venturing too deeply into partisanship.

"I think it's a journalism problem," Tyndall said. "In trying not to be partisan, it's opting for no voice at all. It's lacking an interesting voice and lacking in coherence. What does Wolf Blitzer have in common ! with Pier! s Morgan?"

AES Corp. Stays Neutral - Analyst Blog

Top 5 Safest Companies To Invest In 2014

On Jul 11, 2013, we maintain our long-term recommendation on The AES Corp. (AES) − a power company engaged in electricity generation and distribution businesses − at Neutral. The company currently retains a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Why the Reiteration?

The company's presence across 5 continents in 25 countries represents a highly-diversified earnings base. Geographic disparity in its target markets has resulted in a portfolio that is well-positioned for capitalizing on regional differences in power prices and weather-driven demand. This insulates the company from specific risks in any single region or country.

Again, AES Corp.'s large presence in the developing markets of Asia and Latin America puts it in a profitable position compared to its North America-focused peers. Steady economic growth and power demand in the emerging markets offset to a great extent the erosion in profitability in North America. The company is investing extensively for capacity expansion in the power hungry regions of Latin America and Asia.

The company's expense reduction program, aimed at curtailing general and administrative (G&A) costs, is expected to lead to bottom-line growth. AES Corp. has already achieved 62% of its three-year target in the first year. During the first quarter, the company reduced G&A costs by $26 million and remains on track to meet $145 million in annual cost reductions in 2014.

However, AES Corp.'s focus on long-term supply contracts exposes the company to commodity price risk. The company would be unable to pass on any escalation in prices of coal and natural gas to its customers.

Again, the company was a non-dividend paying stock since 1993 and only recently (Oct 2012) initiated the payment of dividends to its common shareholders. The intended annual payout of 16 cents comes with a yield of only 1.27! %, in sharp contrast to its peers (utilities and energy merchants), which have a high industry average dividend yield (Zacks industry average: 3.5%). This makes it a weak investment driver.

Other Stocks to Consider

There are other companies in the sector that appear more promising. These include Zacks Ranked #1 (Strong Buy) Companhia Paranaense de Energia (ELP) and Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (TEG), and Zacks Ranked #2 (Buy) Calpine Corp. (CPN).

Unnatural Exposure for Pepsi's Naked Juice

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that PepsiCo will also remove the "non-GMO" claim from its Naked Juice packaging. The Fool regrets the error.

Once you go down the rabbit hole of the government determining what's "natural" and what's not, it's hard to get back out, but food and beverage companies like PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) may need it to do so since plaintiff's attorneys seem determined to wring cash out of them for dubious violations of labeling laws.

Pepsi's Naked Juice brand recently agreed to settle for $9 million a class action lawsuit that the claims of "natural" made on its bottles were misleading or false because they contained unnaturally processed and synthetic ingredients. They were also charged with using genetically modified ingredients.

As readers may know, I'm a proponent of GMO labeling because I believe that when an organism is being manipulated in the lab and being released into the food chain, consumers ought to know they're ingesting that. Yet while I might not be big supporter of GMO crops, I wouldn't stop Monsanto (NYSE: MON  ) or Syngenta from developing their seeds. I just want to know if what I'm eating or drinking contains their Frankenfood strains.

But when it comes to claims of what constitutes "all natural," I'm willing to give food and drink producers a bit more leeway as there's a certain amount of processing that has to go on to make the goods available. Even the FDA recognizes the difficulty in the task and has posted on its website the reasons behind its reluctance to pursue the issue.

From a food science perspective, it is difficult to define a food product that is 'natural' because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth. That said, FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives. However, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.

And because the regulatory agency has not stepped in, the trial lawyers have filled the void. Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) has been sued because its "natural" private-label soda contained caramel flavoring, citric acid, and carbon dioxide. Kraft Foods' (NASDAQ: KRFT  ) "all natural" Capri-Sun was sued previously because it contained high fructose corn syrup and Kellogg's Kashi brand has been similarly sued because it contains bromelain, an enzyme derived from pineapples, which requires acetone in its production.

Campbell Soup finds itself in the netherworld between "all natural" claims and the issue of GMO labeling. A new line of soup has been targeted by lawyers because it contains GMO corn, and with around 86% of the country's corn corp having been genetically modified, it's tough to avoid its use. Unilever's Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream -- the poster boys for the all-natural set -- have been sued as well because 48 of their 53 ice cream flavors are claimed to be decidedly unnatural as they contain "alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, or other ingredients that either don't exist in nature or that have been chemically modified."

As part of its settlement, Naked Juice will stop claiming its beverages are "all natural," though it will be hiring a third-party testing lab to verify its claims that it meets Europe's stringent threshold of less than 0.9% GMO content per ingredient to allow the non-GMO label.

Allowing the government to determine what is and what isn't a certain type of food is a slippery slope I'd prefer not letting them start on. Yet if we don't, food and beverage makers will be left naked and exposed for the trial lawyers who will continue to exploit the vacuum the government's absence creates.

This Metric Suggests You're Right to Own G-III Apparel Group.

Here at The Motley Fool, I've long cautioned investors to keep a close eye on inventory levels. It's a part of my standard diligence when searching for the market's best stocks. I think a quarterly checkup can help you spot potential problems. For many companies, products that sit on the shelves too long can become big trouble. Stale inventory may be sold for lower prices, hurting profitability. In extreme cases, it may be written off completely and sent to the shredder.

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 G-III Apparel Group (Nasdaq: GIII  ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is G-III Apparel Group doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, pretty well. Trailing-12-month revenue increased 14.2%, and inventory increased 16.0%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks decent. Revenue expanded 18.8%, and inventory grew 16.0%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks worrisome. Revenue dropped 27.4%, and inventory dropped 13.8%.

Advanced inventory
I don't stop my checkup there, because the type of inventory can matter even more than the overall quantity. There's even one type of inventory bulge we sometimes like to see. You can check for it by examining the quarterly filings to evaluate the different kinds of inventory: raw materials, work-in-progress inventory, and finished goods. (Some companies report the first two types as a single category.)

A company ramping up for increased demand may increase raw materials and work-in-progress inventory at a faster rate when it expects robust future growth. As such, we might consider oversized growth in those categories to offer a clue to a brighter future, and a clue that most other investors will miss. We call it "positive inventory divergence."

On the other hand, if we see a big increase in finished goods, that often means product isn't moving as well as expected, and it's time to hunker down with the filings and conference calls to find out why.

What's going on with the inventory at G-III Apparel Group? I chart the details below for both quarterly and 12-month periods.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of latest fully reported quarter. Dollar amounts in millions. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of latest fully reported quarter. Dollar amounts in millions. FQ = fiscal quarter.

Let's dig into the inventory specifics. On a trailing-12-month basis, raw materials inventory was the fastest-growing segment, up 26.3%. On a sequential-quarter basis, raw materials inventory was also the fastest-growing segment, up 64.2%. G-III Apparel Group may display positive inventory divergence, suggesting that management sees increased demand on the horizon.

Top Value Stocks For 2014

Foolish bottom line
When you're doing your research, remember that aggregate numbers such as inventory balances often mask situations that are more complex than they appear. Even the detailed numbers don't give us the final word. When in doubt, listen to the conference call, or contact investor relations. What at first looks like a problem may actually signal a stock that will provide great returns. And what might look hunky-dory at first glance could actually be warning you to cut your losses before the rest of the Street wises up.

Selling to fickle consumers is a tough business for G-III Apparel Group or anyone else in the space. But some companies are better equipped to face the future than others. In a new report, we'll give you the rundown on three companies that are setting themselves up to dominate retail. Click here for instant access to this free report.

Add G-III Apparel Group  to My Watchlist.

Large-Cap Stocks: Huge, Still Growing, and Kicking Out Cash

Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some large-cap stocks to your portfolio but don't have the time or expertise to hand-pick a few, the Vanguard Large-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT: VV  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which large-cap stocks will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.

The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual-fund cousins. This ETF, focused on large-cap stocks, sports a relatively low expense ratio -- an annual fee -- of 0.1%. It yields about 2%.

This ETF has performed reasonably, but it's also very young, with just a few years on the books. It underperformed the S&P 500 in 2008 and 2010, though it beat it substantially in 2007 and 2009. As with most investments, of course, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

Why large-cap stocks?
Large-cap stocks can add some ballast to your collection. Many may not grow so rapidly as their smaller counterparts, but having reached their current size, they likely have some strong assets and features. And some can grow quite briskly, too.

More than a handful of large-cap stocks had strong performances over the past year. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) , for example, surged 47% despite having "one of the longest corporate rap sheets" among big banks in recent years. (For example, it was recently convicted of civil fraud, which may cost it several hundred million dollars.) Still, bulls will point out that there's good along with the bad, and that with a forward P/E ratio near 11, it still has room to grow. In its last quarter, its mortgage banking business shrank some, but credit quality improved, and its bottom line was well in the black.

General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) popped by 27%, is near a 52-week high, and yields 2.8%. Sitting on more than $130 billion in cash and equivalents, GE has been focusing more on its industrial operations and less on its financial ones, and it has been diving into emerging technologies with great success. The conglomerate has its powerful tentacles in mining, liquefied-natural-gas processing, undersea drilling, and more, as its international operations grow even more. Its third quarter offered growing margins, a big backlog of orders, and double-digit growth aims for its industrial business. Many see General Electric stock as a solid value.

PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) gained 24% and yields 2.7%. There's much more to PepsiCo than just beverages, as it's a salty-snack giant, with snack sales growing more briskly than drink sales. (Its brands are familiar to almost any American: Frito-Lay, Cheetos, Doritos, etc.) Bulls like the company's innovation and growth prospects in China, while bears wonder whether Coca-Cola is the better beverage buy. Meanwhile, activist shareholder Nelson Peltz has suggested that PepsiCo acquire Kraft Foods spinoff Mondolez International and then separate its drinks and snacks businesses.

Other large-cap stocks didn't do quite so well over the last year but could see their fortunes change in years to come. Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) , for example, gained 5% and yields 4.1%. With domestic tobacco companies challenged by tightening regulations, rising taxes, and a shrinking smoking base, many have assumed that Philip Morris is the best bet in tobacco. But in the third quarter, it posted the weakest results, with volume taking a sizable drop and a strong dollar reducing its earnings. Bulls like its innovation and share buybacks.

The big picture
If you're interested in adding some large-cap stocks to your portfolio, consider doing so via an ETF. A well-chosen ETF can grant you instant diversification across any industry or group of companies -- and make investing in and profiting from it that much easier.

Want some even faster growers?
Tired of watching your stocks creep up year after year at a glacial pace? Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner, founder of the No. 1 growth stock newsletter in the world, has developed a unique strategy for uncovering truly wealth-changing stock picks. To learn about it and see some of his favorite growth stock superstars, check out our special free report called "6 Picks for Ultimate Growth." So stop settling for index-hugging gains and click here for instant access to a whole new game plan of stock picks to help power your portfolio.

"Bad" News in Housing Yesterday... Should You Worry?

Top 5 China Stocks To Own For 2014

"Previously Owned U.S. Home Sales Unexpectedly Fell in March," Bloomberg reported yesterday.   Most economists take an "agnostic" view on housing, like this recent opinion from the New York Times. But some economists saw the latest news as proof the housing market isn't really coming back.   I disagree completely...   My thesis is that housing is in the early stages of an incredible boom fueled primarily by low interest rates...   I believe house prices in America will soar beyond what anyone can imagine.   Getting back to this supposedly "bad" news reported yesterday... Yes, it's true, specifically the NUMBER of previously owned homes that were sold fell by 0.6%. But that's less than a percent... no big deal.   The more important thing is, what is happening to the PRICE?   "The median price of an existing home rose 11.8 percent, the most since November 2005," Bloomberg reported yesterday... "to $184,300 last month from $164,800 in March 2012."   This wasn't a one-off price improvement. According to real estate data provider CoreLogic, house prices have increased on an annual basis for 12 consecutive months. This is a real trend.   To me, the housing recovery trend is unquestionable. And it's about to get much crazier...   You see, we have a "perfect storm" in place for higher housing prices...  

•	There aren't enough homes for sale right now. In January, housing supply reached a 13-year low.
•	Meanwhile, demand is high. (My colleague Brett Eversole is buying a house as I write. His mortgage company – a nationwide bank – says it will take 45 days to close on his house, because it's swamped with buyers.)
•	Houses are cheap. We are coming off the greatest bust in housing prices in our lifetimes!
•	Thanks to record-low mortgage rates (at around 3.5% for a 30-year mortgage), housing is literally more affordable than ever.

I understand that you can never know the future. But these conditions are as good as it gets for a rise in home prices.   Yes, the data will fluctuate... It won't be a straight line higher. You will have data like Bloomberg yesterday, where you will see a down month. It's just like stock prices – even in a roaring bull market, stocks will still have down months.   I believe we are in the early stages of a roaring bull market in housing.   So the number of homes sold fell for one month... Big deal. More importantly, home prices are up 11.8% in the last 12 months – for the biggest gain in more than seven years (since November 2005).   My friend, this is a housing boom. No question.   You haven't missed it... yet.   Please, don't miss it... Contrary to what most analysts are saying, I expect this new housing boom will be incredible.   Good investing,   Steve

Vanguard Explorer Manager to Pass Baton; Good Tax News for Schwab ETFs

Fund giant Vanguard said early Monday that John “Jack” J. Granahan — a portfolio manager with the multimanaged $12.4 billion Vanguard Explorer Fund, the $1.3 billion Vanguard Variable Insurance Fund-Small Company Growth Portfolio and the Irish-domiciled $125 million Vanguard U.S. Discoveries Fund — will hand off management responsibilities at year-end.

His investment responsibilities will be taken on by other portfolio managers at the firm, including CEO Jane White and Chief Investment Officer Gary C. Hatton, who co-founded Granahan Investment Management with Granahan, now 77, in 1985. White and Hannon have been co-managers of the Explorer Fund since 2000 and 1998, respectively.

“I’d like to thank Jack on behalf of Vanguard and our shareholders,” said Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb, in a statement. “His wisdom, investment acumen, and experience greatly contributed to the success of our shareholders over four decades. As one of Vanguard’s longest-tenured managers, he leaves behind a great legacy and team, who we are confident will continue to serve our shareholders well.”

Best Bank Companies To Buy Right Now

The Vanguard Explorer Fund (VEXPX, VEXRX) has risen 37.1% so far this year vs. 27.7% for the S&P 500, while the Vanguard Variable Insurance Fund-Small Company fund has ticked up 37.1%, according to Bloomberg.

Before co-founding the firm that bears his name, Granahan managed the Explorer Fund during the 1970s at Wellington Management Co., where he also led the Vanguard Morgan Growth Fund.

Vanguard tapped Granahan Investment Management to manage the Vanguard Explorer II Fund when it was rolled out in 1985; it also retained the Grahanan fund-management team to run part of the Explorer Fund when it merged with the Explorer II Fund in 1990.

Granahan will remain chairman of the investment management group, which oversaw nearly $4 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, including $3.4 billion for Vanguard.

Other managers of the Explorer Fund are Century Capital Management, Chartwell Investment Partners, Kalmar Investment Advisers, Stephens Investment Management Group, Wellington Management and Vanguard Equity Investment Group. Vanguard says it uses a multimanager approach for 18 funds.

No Capital Gains Distributions for Schwab ETFs

Charles Schwab Investment Management (SCHW) said Monday that none of its 21 ETFs will have capital gains distributions in 2013 — a plus for investors looking to maximize their tax efficiency with these products, it noted.

Schwab ETFs, including the six Schwab Fundamental Index ETFs rolled out in August, had $16.1 billion in assets as of Nov. 29, nearly double their year-ago asset base. The six Fundamental Index ETFs have close to $170 million in assets.

“We’re very pleased to be maintaining our track record of tax efficiency across all Schwab ETFs, having never distributed capital gains since we launched our first ETFs in 2009,” said John Sturiale, vice president of product management for Charles Schwab, in a press release. “Every penny counts when evaluating a fund’s total costs, and tax efficiency is a critical component for investors.”

Several Schwab ETFs recently received awards for “best investor experience” over the past year from Morningstar, including Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB) for the U.S. ETF Large Blend category; Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ET (SCHE) for the U.S. ETF Diversified Emerging Markets category; Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG) for the U.S. ETF Large Growth category; and Schwab International Equity ETF (SCHF) for the U.S. ETF Foreign Large Blend category.

Schwab started offering commission-free online trading of its proprietary ETFs in November 2009.

---

Check out 9 Tax Breaks Expiring at Year’s End on ThinkAdvisor.

IBM to Fight Lawsuit Over NSA Spying

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) has said in a statement that it will vigorously fight the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan by shareholder Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension and Relief Fund over its alleged failure to disclose its involvement in the U.S. National Security Agency’s (NSA) spy program and the subsequent loss of business in China.

In November, China appeared to stonewall IBM, Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) in response to media reports that they were aiding the NSA through a program known as Prism. The use of Prism and other disclosures were revealed to the press by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

The complaint claims that IBM’s lobbying of Congress to pass a law letting it share personal data of customers in China and elsewhere with the NSA threatened IBM hardware sales in China. IBM reported disappointing third-quarter results, including a 22% loss in revenue from China and a 40% decline in overall hardware sales. Total revenue came in well below analyst forecasts. IBM shares fell more than 6% on the news, wiping out more than $12 billion of the company’s market value.

Chief Executive Virginia Rometty and Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge are named in the lawsuit as defendants. The complaint says they should be held liable for the company’s failure to reveal the risks of its lobbying and its NSA ties sooner.

Reported actions of the NSA that have caused controversy since he leaks by Snowden include spying on the German and Mexican presidents, installing surveillance equipment at foreign embassies, creating malware that infected many thousands of computers, breaking into the networks of Microsoft and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and even infiltrating online multiplayer games.

IBM shares were up fractionally in premarket trading Monday to $173.88, in a 52-week range of $172.57 to $215.90.

Will Recent News Take Toll Brothers Higher?

With shares of Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) trading around $33, is TOL an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Toll Brothers, together with its subsidiaries, designs, builds, markets, and arranges finance for detached and attached homes in luxury residential communities. It is also involved in building or converting existing rental apartment buildings into high-, mid-, and low-rise luxury homes. In addition, the company, through joint ventures, is developing a high-rise luxury condominium/hotel project and a for-rent luxury apartment complex. Further, it owns, develops, and operates golf courses and country clubs associated with various planned communities.

Toll Brothers is purchasing the home building business Shapell Industries Inc. in a move that will give the luxury home builder more business in the lucrative markets of California. The $1.6 billion cash deal will give Toll Brothers Shapell's land portfolio of 5,200 home sites in the San Francisco Bay Area, metro Los Angeles, Orange County, and Carlsbad, Toll Brothers said in an announcement seen by Reuters.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Mixed

Toll Brothers stock has been in a range over the last year. The stock is currently trading sideways and looks set to continue. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Toll Brothers is trading above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Toll Brothers options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Toll Brothers Options	36.34%	63%	61%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a significant amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
December Options	Flat	Average
January Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Toll Brothers’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Toll Brothers look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-27.78%	40.00%	-250.00%	2521.38%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	24.33%	38.09%	31.88%	47.93%
Earnings Reaction	0.03%	2.94%	-9.05%	-1.75%

Toll Brothers has seen mixed earnings and rising revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have had mixed feelings about Toll Brothers’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Weak Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Toll Brothers stock done relative to its peers, Comstock Holding (NASDAQ:CHCI), M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO), Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH), and sector?

	Toll Brothers	Comstock Holding	M/I Homes	Meritage Homes	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	4.73%	79.31%	-23.00%	18.74%	20.94%

Toll Brothers has been a poor relative performer, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Toll Brothers designs, builds, and markets buildings as well as homes. The company is purchasing the home building business Shapell Industries in a move that will give the luxury home builder more business in the markets of California. The stock has been in a range over the last year and is currently trading sideways. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been rising, leaving investors with mixed feelings about the stock. Relative to its peers and sector, Toll Brothers has been a poor relative performer year-to-date. WAIT AND SEE what Toll Brothers does next.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CHANGE IN RATINGS

Becton Dickinson (BDX) was upgraded at Piper Jaffray to overweight from neutral. $117 price target. Microbiology market should drive earnings growth, Piper Jaffray said.

Biomarin (BMRN) was downgraded at Stifel Nicolaus to hold from buy. Valuation call, as the stock is largely pricing in potential near-term catalysts, Stifel Nicolaus said.

Caterpillar (CAT) was downgraded at Robert Baird to neutral from outperform. Company is facing mining headwinds and lower construction growth, Robert Baird said. Frank's International (FI) was initiated with a buy rating and $33 price target at UBS. The company has industry leading margins, exposure to attractive offshore markets and balance sheet strength, UBS said. HCA (HCA) was upgraded at Mizuho to buy from neutral. $51 price target. Company should benefit from health care reform, Mizuho said. Intuit (INTU) was downgraded at Morgan Stanley to underweight. $62 price target. Tax business growth is slowing, Morgan Stanley said. International Rectifier (IRF) was upgraded to buy at TheStreet Ratings. Interpublic Group (IPG) was upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies. $17.20 price target. Big steps forward but valuation remains rich, Jefferies said. [Read: 5 Stocks Under $10 Making Big Moves] ServiceNow (NOW) was upgraded at Morgan Stanley to overweight. $62 price target. Total addressable market is higher than previous thought, Morgan Stanley said. Nucor (NUE) was initiated with an outperform rating at BMO Capital. $54 price target. Company should see an improved product mix and lower costs, BMO Capital said. Oil States (OIS) was upgraded at BMO Capital to market perform. $110 price target. Company is sold a noncore asset, and the sector is seeing better momentum, BMO Capital said. Elizabeth Arden (RDEN) was downgraded at B. Riley to neutral from buy. Valuation call, as the stock is approaching the $40 price target, B. Riley said. [Read: How Capital Markets Will React to FOMC News] Shutterfly (SFLY) was upgraded to buy at TheStreet Ratings. Synchronoss (SNCR) was upgraded at Goldman Sachs to neutral from sell. $37 price target. Estimates also upped, given higher expected growth at Verizon (VZ), Goldman said. AT&T (T) was initiated with an outperform rating at Credit Suisse. $38 price target. Stock is attractively valued, on a relative basis, Credit Suisse said.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now: Mcdermott International Inc (MDR)

McDermott International, Inc. (MII),incorporated on August 11, 1959, is a engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) company. The Company is focused on designing and executing complex offshore oil and gas projects worldwide.

The Company provides fully integrated EPCI services; it delivers fixed and floating production facilities, pipeline installations and subsea systems from concept to commissioning. Its business segments consist of Asia Pacific, Atlantic, Caspian and the Middle East. On March 19, 2012, the Company completed the sale of its former charter fleet business, which operated 10 of the 14 vessels.

Asia Pacific Segment

Through the Company�� Asia Pacific segment, it serves the needs of customers primarily in Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Project focus in this segment includes the fabrication and installation of fixed and floating structures and the installation of pipelines and subsea systems. The majority of its projects in this segment are performed on an EPCI basis. Engineering and procurement services are provided by its Singapore office and are supported by additional resources located in Chennai, India and Houston, Texas. The primary fabrication facility for this segment is located on Batam Island, Indonesia. Additionally, through its equity ownership interest in a joint venture, the Company has developed a fabrication facility located in China.

The Company competes with Allseas Marine Contractors S.A.; Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.; EMAS Offshore Pte Ltd.; Heerema Group; Hyundai Heavy Industrial Co., Ltd.; Nippon Steel Corporation; Saipem S.P.A.; Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.; Sapura Kencana Petroleum; Subsea 7 S.A.; Swiber Holdings Ltd., and Technip S.A.

Atlantic Segment

Through the Company�� Atlantic segment, it serves the needs of customers primarily in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad and West Africa. Project focus in this s! egment includes the fabrication and installation of fixed and floating structures and the installation of pipelines and subsea systems. Engineering and procurement services are provided by its Houston office, and its New Orleans office provides marine engineering capabilities to support its global marine activities. The primary fabrication facilities for this segment are located in Morgan City, Louisiana and Altamira, Mexico.

The Company competes with Allseas Marine Contractors S.A.; Dragados Offshore Mexico, S.A.; Gulf Island Fabrication Inc.; Heerema Group; Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.; KBR, Inc.; Kiewit Corporation; Saipem S.P.A.; Subsea 7 S.A., and Technip S.A.

Middle East Segment

Through the Company�� Middle East segment, which includes the Caspian region, it serves the needs of customers primarily in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Kuwait, India, Azerbaijan, Russia, and the North Sea. Project focus in this segment relates primarily to the fabrication and offshore installation of fixed and floating structures and the installation of pipelines and subsea systems. The majority of its projects in this segment are performed on an EPCI basis. Engineering and procurement services are provided by its Dubai, U.A.E., Chennai, India and Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia offices and are supported by additional resources from its Houston and Baku, Azerbaijan offices. The primary fabrication facility for this segment is located in Dubai, U.A.E.

The fabrication facilities in each segment are equipped with a variety of heavy-duty construction and fabrication equipment, including cranes, welding equipment, machine tools and robotic and other automated equipment. Project installation is performed by construction vessels, which the Company owns or leases and are stationed throughout the various regions and provide structural lifting/lowering and pipelay services. These construction vessels are supported by its multi-function vessels and chart! ered vess! els from third parties to perform a wide array of installation activities that include anchor handling, pipelay, cable/umbilical lay, dive support and hookup/commissioning.

The Company competes with Hyundai Heavy Industrial Co. Ltd.; Keppel Corporation; Larsen and Toubro Ltd (India); National Petroleum Construction Company (Abu Dhabi); Saipem S.P.A.; Technip S.A.; and Valentine and Swiber Holdings Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 engineering player that's trending very close to triggering a big breakout trade is McDermott International (MDR), an engineering, procurement, construction and installation company engaged on designing and executing complex offshore oil and gas projects. This stock has been hit hard by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off by 31%.

  If you take a look at the chart for MDR, you'll notice that this stock recently gapped down sharply from close to $9 a share to its recent low of $6.68 a share with heavy downside volume. Following that move, shares of MDR have started to rebound off that $6.68 low, and the stock is now starting to move within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MDR if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $7.74 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 of 4.33 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then MDR will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from August that started near $9 a share. If MDR gets into that gap with volume, then this stock could easily hit $9 to $10 a share.

  Traders can look to buy MDR off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some near-term support levels at $7.04 o around its recent low of $6.68 a share. One can also buy MDR off strength once it takes out $7.74 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  McDermott International (MDR) is an engineering, procurement, construction and installation company engaged on designing and executing complex offshore oil and gas projects. This stock closed up 2.2% to $9.52 in Thursday's trading session.

  Thursday's Range: $6.69-$6.95
  
  52-Week Range: $6.68-$13.56
  
  Thursday's Volume: 8.51 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 4.48 million

  From a technical perspective, MDR bounced modestly higher here right off its recent low of $6.68 with heavy upside volume. This stock recently gapped down sharply from close to $9 to that $6.68 low with heavy downside volume. That move has now pushed shares of MDR into extremely oversold territory, since the stock has a current relative strength index reading of 19.84. Oversold can always get more oversold, but it's also an area where a stock can experience a powerful bounce higher form if buyers decide to step in.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MDR as long as it's trending above that $6.68 low and then once it sustains a move or close above its gap down day high near $7.50 with volume that hits near or above 4.48 million shares. If we get that move soon, then MDR will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone that started near $9. Some possible upside targets for MDR if it gets into that gap with volume are $8 to $8.20.

• [By CRWE]

  McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) reported that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a contract by Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) for transportation and installation services for a Spar hull in the Gulf of Mexico. The value of the contract is included in McDermott’s second quarter 2012 backlog.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Digging the chance for a rebound
  If you've been keeping your eye on the oil and gas drilling sector lately, you'd be hard pressed to find poorly performing companies, but offshore services company McDermott International (NYSE: MDR  ) is one of the few that fits the bill.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now: Vecta Energy Corp (VER)

Vecta Energy Corporation is engaged in the exploration for, and the acquisition, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Company has non-operated interests in three areas: the foothills of Alberta, northeast BC and the Brewster area in central Alberta. The Company has interest in the Brewster area of west central Alberta (in townships 42, 43 and 44; range 12-13, W5). These lands are prospective in the Belly River formation at depths of 1,500 to 2,000 meters, as well as deeper zones including Nordegg, Rock Creek, Ellerslie, Ostracod, Falher and Notikewin. A total of six wells have been drilled on Company acreage. The 102/01-26-043-13 W5 well is producing 350 to 400 thousand cubic feet of natural gas with liquids. The 15-11-043-13 W5 well is producing of 350 to 400 thousand cubic feet of natural gas with liquids.

Hot Financial Stocks For 2014: North American Energy Partners Inc. (NOA)

North American Energy Partners Inc. provides heavy construction and mining, piling, and pipeline installation services to customers in the Canadian oil sands, industrial construction, commercial and public construction, and pipeline construction markets. The company operates in three segments: Heavy Construction and Mining, Piling, and Pipeline. The Heavy Construction and Mining segment focuses on providing surface mining support services for oil sands and other natural resources. Its activities include land clearing, stripping, muskeg removal, and overburden removal to expose the mining area; the supply of labor and equipment to supplement customers� mining fleets supporting ore mining; and provision of general support services, such as road building, repair and maintenance for mine and treatment plant operations, and hauling of sand and gravel. This segment also engages in the construction related to the expansion of existing projects-site development and infrastructure ; and the provision of environmental and tailings management services. In addition, it provides industrial site construction for mega-projects; and underground utility installation services for plant, refinery, and commercial building construction. The Piling segment installs driven, drilled, and screw piles, as well as caissons and earth retention, and stabilization systems. It also designs, manufactures, and sells screw piles and pipeline anchoring systems worldwide, as well as provides tank maintenance services to the petro-chemical industry in Canada and the United States. The Pipeline segment provides small and large diameter pipeline construction and installation services, as well as equipment rental to energy and industrial clients. The company�s fleet includes approximately 900 pieces of diversified heavy construction equipment supported by approximately 750 pieces of ancillary equipment. North American Energy Partners Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered i n Calgary, Canada.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now: Freedom Energy Holdings Inc (FDMF)

Freedom Energy Holdings, Inc. (FDMF), incorporated in June 2005, is a holding company with a focus on the identification of opportunities within the oil and energy sectors. KC-9000 is the Company�� heavy oil technology, to assist in the recovery of heavy oil. As of December 31, 2011, the Company research had developed and shown a new product SR-139 at breaking down asphalt shingles allowing the extraction and recovery of hydrocarbons.

KC-9000 is a micro-emulsion technology. KC 9000 is a micro-emulsion developed to assist in the recovery and extraction of heavy based hydrocarbons that are saturated with high metals and paraffin content. KC 9000 is used for tank cleaning processes. By injecting KC 9000 directly into the tank port holes, at the tank bottom, with the emulsifies turning into an easily extractable slurry.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now: Fleetcor Technologies Inc (FLT)

FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (FleetCor) is an independent global provider of specialized payment products and services to businesses, commercial fleets, oil companies, petroleum marketers and government entities in countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company processed more than 215 million transactions on its networks and third-party networks. The Company operates in two segments: North American and International segments. The Company provides its payment products and services in a variety of combinations to create payment solutions for its customers and partners. In August 2011, the Company acquired Mexican prepaid fuel card and food voucher business based in Mexico City, Mexico. On December 13, 2011, the Company acquired Allstar Business Solutions Limited, a fleet card company based in the United Kingdom. In July 2012, the Company acquired a Russian fuel card company. In July 2012, the Company acquired CTF Technologies, Inc.

The Company uses third-party networks to deliver its payment programs and services. In order to deliver its payment programs and services and process transactions, it owns and operates closed-loop networks through which it electronically connects to merchants and captures, analyzes and reports information. The Company also provides a range of services, such as issuing and processing. The Company markets its payment products directly to a range of commercial fleet customers, including vehicle fleets of all sizes and government fleets. Among these customers, it provides its products and services to small and medium commercial fleets. The Company also manages commercial fleet card programs for oil companies, such as British Petroleum (BP) (including its subsidiary Arco), Chevron and Citgo, and over 800 petroleum marketers.

The Company sells a range of fleet and lodging payment programs directly and indirectly through partners, such as oil companies and petroleum marketers. It provides it! s customers with various card products that function like a charge card to purchase fuel, lodging and related products and services at participating locations. The Company supports these cards with issuing, processing and information services that enable it to manage card accounts, facilitate the routing, authorization, clearing and settlement of transactions. The Company provides these services in a variety of outsourced solutions ranging from an end-to-end solution (consisting issuing, processing and network services) to limited back office processing services.

In addition, the Company offers a telematics solution in Europe that combines global positioning, satellite tracking and other wireless technology to allow fleet operators to monitor the capacity utilization and movement of their vehicles and drivers. The Company offers prepaid fuel and food vouchers and cards in Mexico that may be used as a form of payment in restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations. Approximately 10.4% of its revenue during the year ended December 31, 2011 came from its lodging and telematics products.

During 2011, the Company owns and operates eight closed-loop networks in North America and internationally. Fuelman network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the United States. Corporate Lodging Consultants network (CLC) is the Company�� lodging network in the United States and Canada. The CLC Lodging network covers more than 17,700 hotels across the United States and Canada. Commercial Fueling Network (CFN) is the Company�� members only unattended fueling location network in the United States and Canada. Keyfuels network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the United Kingdom.

CCS network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Petrol Plus Region (PPR) network is the Company�� primary fleet card network in Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Mexican network is the Company�� fuel! and food! card and voucher network in Mexico. Allstar network is the Company�� fleet card network in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the Company issues corporate cards that utilize the MasterCard payment network, which includes 176,000 fuel sites and 398,000 maintenance locations across the country. The networks of locations owned by the Company�� oil and petroleum marketer partners in both North America and internationally are utilized to support the card programs of these partners.

UNION TANK Eckstein GmbH & Co. KG (UTA) operates a network of over 46,000 fleet card-accepting locations across 38 countries throughout Europe, including more than 31,000 fueling sites. DKV operates a network of over 45,000 fleet card-accepting locations across 36 countries throughout Europe, including more than 30,500 fueling sites. In Mexico, the Company issues fuel cards and food cards that utilize the Carnet payment network, which includes approximately 8,700 fueling sites and 78,890 food locations across the country.

The Company competes with Wright Express Corporation, Comdata Corporation, U.S. Bank Voyager Fleet Systems Inc., Edenred and Sodexo, Inc.

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 headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on FleetCor Technologies (NYSE: FLT  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Rich Smith]

  Moving quickly to establish synergies on its Australian purchase of Fleet Card from General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) last month, Norcross, Ga.-based FleetCor (NYSE: FLT  ) is buying another fuel card-issuing and payment-processing business right next door.

• [By Steve Sears]

  New stocks in what Goldman calls the “Hedge Fund VIP list,”�include Actavis (ACT), Baidu (BIDU), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Crown Castle International (CCI), Entergy Louisiana (ELB), �Equinix (EQIX), Facebook (FB), Fleetcor Technologies (FLT), W.R. Grace (GRA), MetLife (MET), Macquarie Infrastructure (MIC), Micron (MU), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and Time Warner (TWX).

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now: Encana Corporation(ECA)

Encana Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the exploration for, development, production, and marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids. The company owns interests in resource plays that primarily include the Greater Sierra, Cutbank Ridge, Bighorn, and Coalbed Methane resource plays located in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the Deep Panuke natural gas project offshore Nova Scotia in Canada. It also holds interests in resource plays comprising the Jonah in southwest Wyoming, Piceance in northwest Colorado, Haynesville in Louisiana, and Texas resource play, including east Texas and north Texas. The company serves primarily local distribution companies, industrials, energy marketing companies, and other producers. Encana Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Realizing the error of its ways — i.e. spinning off its oil division as Cenovus (CVE) in 2009 — EnCana (ECA) has been spending much of the past year reinventing itself as a more balanced energy play rather than a strictly natural gas one. That has meant adding more liquids and shale oil back into its production mix.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now: Access Midstream Partners LP (ACMP)

Access Midstream Partners, L.P., formerly Chesapeake Midstream Partners, L.L.C. (Partnership), incorporated on January 21, 2010, owns, operates, develops and acquires natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and oil gathering systems and other midstream energy assets. The Company is focused on natural gas and NGL gathering. The Company provides its midstream services to Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake), Total E&P USA, Inc. (Total), Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko), Statoil ASA (Statoil) and other producers under long-term, fixed-fee contracts. On December 20, 2012, the Company acquired from Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.P. (CMD), a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake, and certain of CMD's affiliates, 100% of interests in Chesapeake Midstream Operating, L.L.C. (CMO). As a result of the CMO Acquisition, the Partnership owns certain midstream assets in the Eagle Ford, Utica and Niobrara regions. The CMO Acquisition also extended the Company's assets and operations in the Haynesville, Marcellus and Mid-Continent regions.

The Company operates assets in Barnett Shale region in north-central Texas; Eagle Ford Shale region in South Texas; Haynesville Shale region in northwest Louisiana; Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania and West Virginia; Niobrara Shale region in eastern Wyoming; Utica Shale region in eastern Ohio, and Mid-Continent region, which includes the Anadarko, Arkoma, Delaware and Permian Basins. The Company's gathering systems collect natural gas and NGLs from unconventional plays. The Company generates its revenues through long-term, fixed-fee gas gathering, treating and compression contracts and through processing contracts.

Barnett Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in its Barnett Shale region are located in Tarrant, Johnson and Dallas counties in Texas in the Core and Tier 1 areas of the Barnett Shale and consist of 25 interconnected gathering systems and 850 miles of pipeline. During the year! ended December 31, 2012, average throughput on the Company's Barnett Shale gathering system was 1.195 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points that are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Barnett Shale gathering system is connected to the three downstream transportation pipelines: Atmos Pipeline Texas, Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas and Enterprise Texas Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Atmos Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and south, east and west Texas markets at the Katy, Carthage and Waha hubs. Natural gas delivered into Energy Transfer Pipeline Texas pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Midcontinent Express Pipeline, Centerpoint CP Expansion Pipeline and Gulf South 42-inch Expansion Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Texas Pipeline pipeline system serves the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and southeastern and northeastern the United States markets supplied by the Gulf Crossing Pipeline.

Eagle Ford Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in its Eagle Ford Shale region are located in Dimmit, La Salle, Frio, Zavala, McMullen and Webb counties in Texas and consist of 10 gathering systems and 618 miles of pipeline. During 2012, gross throughput for these assets was 0.169 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Eagle Ford gathering systems are connected to six downstream transportation pipelines, which include Enterprise, Camino Real, West Texas Gas, Regency Gas Service, Eagle Ford Gathering and Enerfin. The Company processes gas at Yoakum or other Enterprise plants and transports residue to Wharton residue header w! ith conne! ctions to numerous interstate pipelines.

Haynesville Shale Region

The Company's Springridge gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in Caddo and DeSoto Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the core areas of the Haynesville Shale and consists of 263 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Springridge gathering system was 0.359 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered. The Company's Springridge gathering system is connected to three downstream transportation pipelines: Centerpoint Energy Gas Transmission, ETC Tiger Pipeline and Texas Gas Transmission Pipeline. The Company's Mansfield gas gathering system in the Haynesville Shale region is located in DeSoto and Sabine Parishes, Louisiana, in one of the areas of the Haynesville Shale and, as of December 31, 2012, consist of 304 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's Mansfield gathering system was 0.720 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering system to receipt points that are at central receipt points into which production from multiple wells is gathered and treated. The Company's Mansfield gathering system is connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Enterprise Accadian Pipeline and Gulf South Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Enterprise Accadian pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines. Natural gas delivered into Gulf South pipeline can move to on-system markets in the Midwest and to off-system markets in the Northeast through interconnections with third-party pipelines.

Marcellus Shale Region

Through Appalachia Midstream, the Company operates 100% of and own an approximate average 47% interests in 10 gas gathering systems that consist of approximately 5! 49 miles ! of gathering pipeline in the Marcellus Shale region. The Company's volumes in the region are gathered from northern Pennsylvania, southwestern Pennsylvania and the northwestern panhandle of West Virginia, in core areas of the Marcellus Shale. The Company operates these smaller systems in northeast and central West Virginia, southeast Pennsylvania, northwest Maryland, north central Virginia, and south central New York. During 2012, gross throughput for Appalachia Midstream assets was just over 1.8 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Marcellus gathering systems' delivery points include Caiman Energy, Central New York Oil & Gas, Columbia Gas Transmission, MarkWest, NiSource Midstream, PVR and Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Natural gas is delivered into a 16-inch pipeline and delivered to the Caiman Energy Fort Beeler processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. The natural gas is then delivered into the TETCo interstate pipeline for ultimate delivery to the Northeast region of the United States. Natural gas delivered into Central New York Oil & Gas 30-inch diameter pipeline can be delivered to Stagecoach Storage, Millennium Pipeline, or Tennessee Gas Pipeline's Line 300. In Columbia Gas Transmission lean natural gas is delivered into two 36-inch interstate pipelines for delivery to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States. Natural gas is delivered into a MarkWest pipeline for delivery to the MarkWest Houston processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the gas stream. In NiSource Midstream natural gas is delivered into a 20-inch diameter pipeline and delivered to the MarkWest Majorsville processing plant where the liquids are extracted from the rich gas stream. In PVR natural gas is delivered into the 24-inch diameter Wyoming pipeline and the Hirkey Compressor Station. In Tennessee Gas Pipeline natural gas is delivered into this looped 30-inch diameter pipeline (TGP Line 300) at three different locations can be received in the Northeast at points along th! e 300 Lin! e path, interconnections with other pipelines in northern New Jersey, as well as an existing delivery point in White Plains, New York.

Niobrara Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in the Niobrara Shale region are located in Converse County, Wyoming and consist of two interconnected gathering systems and 79 miles of pipeline. During 2012, average throughput in the Company's Niobrara Shale region was 0.013 billion cubic feet per day. The Company connects its gathering systems to receipt points,which are either at the individual wellhead or at central receipts points into which production from multiple wells are gathered. The Company's Niobrara gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Tallgrass/Douglas Pipeline and North Finn/DCP Inlet Pipeline. Natural gas delivered into Tallgrass/Douglas pipeline is sent to the Tallgrass processing facility; after processing, natural gas is delivered to Cheyenne Hub, Rockies Express Pipeline, or Trailblazer Pipeline through Tallgrass Interstate Gas Transmission.

Utica Shale Region

The Company's gathering systems in the Utica Shale region are located in northeast Ohio and consist of 67 miles of pipeline. The Company's Utica gathering systems are connected to two downstream transportation pipelines: Dominion East Ohio (Blue Racer) and Dominion Transmission, Inc.

Mid-Continent Region

The Company's Mid-Continent gathering systems extend across portions of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas. Included in the Company's Mid-Continent region are three treating facilities located in Beckham and Grady Counties, Oklahoma, and Reeves County, Texas, which are designed to remove contaminants from the natural gas stream.

Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma

The Company's assets within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma are located in northwestern Oklahoma and the northeastern portion of the Texas Panhandle and consist of appro! ximately ! 1,578 miles of pipeline. During 2012, the Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma region gathering systems had an average throughput of 0.457 billion cubic feet per day. Within the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma, the Company is focused on servicing Chesapeake's production from the Colony Granite Wash, Texas Panhandle Granite Wash and Mississippi Lime plays. Natural gas production from these areas of the Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma contains NGLs. In addition, the Company operates an amine treater with sulfur removal capabilities at its Mayfield facility in Beckham County, Oklahoma. The Company's Mayfield gathering and treating system gathers Deep Springer natural gas production and treats the natural gas to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide to meet the specifications of downstream transportation pipelines.

The Company's Anadarko Basin and Northwest Oklahoma systems are connected to a transportation pipelines transporting natural gas out of the region, including pipelines owned by Enbridge and Atlas Pipelines, as well as local market pipelines such as those owned by Enogex. These pipelines provide access to Midwest and northeastern the United States markets, as well as intrastate markets.

Permian Basin

The Company's Permian Basin assets are located in west Texas and consist of approximately 358 miles of pipeline across the Permian and Delaware basins. During 2012, average throughput on the Company's gathering systems was 0.076 billion cubic feet per day. The Company's Permian Basin gathering systems are connected to pipelines in the area owned by Southern Union, Enterprise, West Texas Gas, CDP Midstream and Regency. Natural gas delivered into these transportation pipelines is re-delivered into the Waha hub and El Paso Gas Transmission. The Waha hub serves the Texas intrastate electric power plants and heating market, as well as the Houston Ship Channel chemical and refining markets. El Paso Gas Transmission serves western the United ! States ma! rkets.

Other Mid-Continent Regions

The Company's other Mid-Continent region assets consist of systems in the Ardmore Basin in Oklahoma, the Arkoma Basin in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas and the East Texas and Gulf Coast regions of Texas. The other Mid-Continent assets include approximately 648 miles of pipeline. These gathering systems are localized systems gathering specific production for re-delivery into established pipeline markets. During 2012, average throughput on these gathering systems was 0.031 billion cubic feet per day.

The Company competes with Energy Transfer Partners, Crosstex Energy, Crestwood Midstream Partners, Freedom Pipeline, Peregrine Pipeline, XTO Energy, EOG Resources, DFW Mid-Stream, Enbridge Energy Partners, DCP Midstream, Enterprise Products Partners Inc., Regency Energy Partners, Texstar Midstream Operating, West Texas Gas Inc., TGGT Holdings, Kinderhawk Field Services, CenterPoint Field Services, Williams Partners, Penn Virginia Resource Partners, Caiman Energy, MarkWest Energy Partners, Kinder Morgan, Dominion Transmission (Blue Racer), Enogex and Atlas Pipeline Partners.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  While you can debate whether beaten-down natural gas producer Chesapeake (CHK) is a buy or just junk, its former MLP subsidiary Access Midstream Partners (ACMP) is very much in the ��uy, buy, buy!��camp.

Best Oil Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sunoco Inc.(SUN)

Sunoco, Inc., through its subsidiaries, refines and markets petroleum products in the United States. Its Logistics segment operates refined product and crude oil pipelines and terminals; and acquires and markets crude oil and refined products. As of December 31, 2011, this segment owned and operated approximately 5,400 miles of crude oil pipelines and approximately 2,500 miles of refined product pipelines. It also operates 42 active terminals that receive refined products from pipelines and distribute them to third parties. The company?s Retail Marketing segment engages in the retail sale of gasoline and middle distillates; and operation of convenience stores. This segment operates outlets primarily in Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Its Refining and Supply segment offers petroleum products, including gasoline and residual fuel oil, as well as middle distillates, such as jet fuel, heating oil , and diesel fuel; and commodity petrochemicals comprising propylene-propane, benzene, and cumene. This segment offers its products to wholesale and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1886 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now

At the outset of earnings season, investors were doubtful of the growth prospects for many of the biggest companies in the U.S. So far, though, the stock market has soared throughout this earnings season as many of those companies managed to outpace lowered expectations and make share price gains as a result. With so many members of the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) reporting their quarterly results this week, it's only natural for the market to put considerations about broader macroeconomic issues on the back burner and focus on individual company results. Given some good news this morning, the Dow is up a nominal 12 points as of 10:50 a.m. EDT, pushing forward to what could be a new all-time high if the index holds onto its current gains.

Driving the Dow higher are two industrial giants, United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  ) and DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) . For United Tech, a combination of continued strength in the aerospace industry and solid gains by its elevator segment sent the stock up 2.9%. The conglomerate also raised the lower end of its previous full-year earnings guidance, pointing to the success of its Goodrich acquisition in boosting sales of parts for large commercial engines. One analyst estimated that 65% of aircraft components now come from United Tech businesses, leaving its future firmly connected with currently rosy projections about aerospace demand over the next couple of decades.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now: RBC Bearings Incorporated(ROLL)

RBC Bearings Incorporated manufactures and markets engineered precision plain, roller, and ball bearings primarily in North America, Europe, and Latin America. It operates in four segments: Plain Bearings, Roller Bearings, Ball Bearings, and Others. The Plain Bearings segment produces plain bearings with self-lubricating or metal-to-metal designs, including rod end bearings, spherical plain bearings, and journal bearings that are primarily used to rectify misalignments in various mechanical components. The Roller Bearings segment provides tapered roller bearings, needle roller bearings, and needle bearing track rollers and cam followers, which are anti-friction products that utilize cylindrical rolling elements. The Ball Bearings segment specializes in high precision aerospace, airframe control, thin section, and industrial ball bearings that utilize high precision ball elements to reduce friction in high speed applications. The Other segment consists of precision mechanic al components, which are used in various general industrial applications; and machine tool collets that are used for holding circular or rod-like pieces in a lathe or other machine. It serves construction and mining, oil and natural resource extraction, heavy truck, packaging, and semiconductor machinery; and aerospace and defense markets. The company offers its products through direct sales force and a network of industrial and aerospace distributors. RBC Bearings Incorporated is headquartered in Oxford, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  This is a logical deal for SKF on multiple fronts. For starters, Kaydon will meaningfully expand the company's U.S. presence - something it could have done on its own eventually, but certainly not without spending money. With that, there is the possibility of using Kaydon's existing U.S. footprint to sell more SKF products and further trouble rivals like RBC Bearings (ROLL) and ITT (ITT).

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now: Seven Group Holdings Limited(SVW.AX)

Seven Group Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the media and broadcasting, newspaper and magazine publishing, heavy equipment sales and service, equipment hire, and online businesses in Australia and China. The company operates as a Caterpillar dealer, which provides heavy equipment sales and support services to customers in Western Australia, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory. It is also involved in the manufacture, assembly, sale, and support of lighting, power generation, and dewatering equipment; and rental of equipment, as well as distribution of Perkins engines. In addition, it engages in the operations of broadband, telephony, and other listed investments and properties. The company was formerly known as Seven Network Limited and changed its name to Seven Group Holdings Limited in April 2010, as a result of merger with WesTrac Holdings Pty Limited. Seven Group Holdings Limited is headquartered in Pyrmont, Australia.

Hot Low Price Companies To Invest In Right Now: Bankers Petroleum Ltd (BNK.TO)

Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (Bankers) is engaged in the exploration for and oil in Albania. The Company generates all of the oil revenue from its operations in Albania, which is located northwest of Greece in South Eastern Europe. In Albania, Bankers operates and has the rights to develop the Patos-Marinza and Kucova oilfields pursuant to License Agreements with the Albanian National Agency for Natural Resources (AKBN) and Petroleum Agreements with Albpetrol Sh.A (Albpetrol), the state-owned oil and gas corporation. The Patos-Marinza oilfield is an onshore oilfield in continental Europe, holding approximately 5.1 billion barrels of original-oil-in-place (OOIP). The Company also has rights to exploration Block F (adjacent to the Patos-Marinza oilfield), an 185,000 acre oil and gas prone exploration field. The Company�� subsidiaries include Bankers Petroleum Albania Ltd. (BPAL), Bankers Petroleum International Limited (BPIL) and Sherwood International Petroleum Ltd (Sherwood).

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now: Elbit Systems Ltd. (ESLT)

Elbit Systems Ltd. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and integration of defense systems and products worldwide. The company operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, electronic warfare (EW) suites, airborne warning systems, electronic intelligence systems, data links, artillery systems, military communications systems, and radios. Its activities include military aircraft and helicopter systems, helmet mounted systems, commercial aviation systems and aero structures, land vehicle systems, electro-optic and countermeasures systems, homeland security systems, EW and signal intelligence systems, and various commercial activities, as well as command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence and cyber systems. The company also provides a range of support services fo r its defense systems and products. Elbit Systems Ltd. markets its systems and products as a prime contractor or subcontractor to various governments and defense contractors. The company was founded in 1966 and is based in Haifa, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense awarded more than $562 million worth of contracts�on Wednesday. Publicly traded companies receiving contracts included:

  Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN  ) , which was awarded a maximum $12 million firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract to supply various oil nozzles and parts to the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps with a May 22, 2015, performance completion date.
  � Elbit Systems (NASDAQ: ESLT  ) subsidiary M7 Aerospace, awarded a $15.2 million option extension on a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for logistics support for 12 Navy/Marines UC-35 and seven Navy C-26 transport aircraft through May 2014.
  � Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC  ) , winner of a $15.3 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract funding continued systems development and demonstrations of the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System. This is the same�drone that the Royal Australian Air Force recently expressed interest in acquiring.

  Curiously, the DOD clarified that the actual purpose of the latter contract is not so much to perform work on the new drone per se but rather to pay for an upgrade of software being used in the project -- from Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) Windows XP operating system to Windows 7.

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Watch Right Now: Ratti(RATI.MI)

Ratti S.p.A. engages in the production and sale of printed and dyed-in-the-yarn silk, wool, cotton, linen, and other fabrics for apparel, neckwear, furnishings, and other accessories. It also produces apparel fabrics for the wholesale and retail sectors, as well as for tailoring work shops. In addition, the company designs and creates foulards, scarves, shawls, and stoles, as well as manufactures printed and plain fabrics for furniture. It has operations primarily in Europe, the United States, and Japan The company, formerly known as Antonio Ratti Silk Weaving, was founded by Antonio Ratti in 1945. Ratti S.p.A. is headquartered in Guanzate, Italy.