3 Ways To Benefit From Deals In Precious Metals

Related ABX Market Wrap For April 28: Apple Hits New 52-Week Highs In a Volatile Start To the Trading Week Newmont Responds to Barrick Press Release, Confirms Companies Had Settle Prelim Draft Summary of Indicative Terms M&A Activity Boosts U.S. Stock Futures (Fox Business)

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal reported on a possible merger between Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) and Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE: NEM), two of the biggest gold mining companies in the world.

The sector is certainly ripe for consolidation, as asset values are very low along with the cost of capital. For investors, here are three ways to profit from deals in gold and silver entities.

As the possible deal between deal Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining indicates, there are gains to be made with the biggest and the best.

Even though Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining are blue chips, the prices are tempting. Barrick Gold is around $17.60 a share, with the Wall Street analyst price target being $20.56 over the next year. Newmont Mining has jumped more than eight percent  in recent market action, but it is off over 17 percent for the last year.

Related: 3 Ways To Profit From Merger Activity In The Pharmaceutical Sector

The exchange traded funds are excellent financial vehicles for profiting from deals in gold and silver.

SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD), the exchange traded fund for gold, is up nearly seven percent for 2014. iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV), the exchange traded fund for silver, does not have the following of SPDR Gold Shares. As a result, it is off for the last week, month, quarter, six months, and year of market action. Due to the nature of the sector, gold will draw the bulk of the investor attention -- keeping with its traditional role as a safe harbor asset.

That greatly favors SPDR Gold Shares over iShares Silver Trust as an investment tool.

Small caps in natural resources with promising holdings are always attractive takeover targets, as detailed in a previous article in Benzinga. That is especially so for those with valuable assets such as Premium Exploration (OTC: PMMEF), a gold company operating in Idaho. Due to tension abroad, investors are willing to pay more for North American gold and silver firms such as Premium Exploration.

The Wall Street Journal reports that talks are still continuing between Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold. That demonstrates there is plenty of dealmaking left in the sector. As such, investors have a myriad of ways to profit from exchange traded funds such as SPDR Gold Shares, to promising small caps such as Premium Exploration.

Posted-In: Gold metals and mining precious metals SilverLong Ideas News Sector ETFs Emerging Markets Wall Street Journal Rumors Small Cap Analysis Commodities M&A Markets Media Trading Ideas ETFs Best of Benzinga

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Most Popular Market Wrap For April 28: Apple Hits New 52-Week Highs In a Volatile Start To the Trading Week Apple Issuing More Bonds to Fund Increased Buyback Amazon's 'Big Spender' Act Not Impressing Investors Financials, Futures Move Lower Following News BofA Has Suspended 2014 Capital Plan Earnings Scheduled For April 29, 2014 UPDATE: Organovo Reports Pre-Release Availability of 3D Liver Contract Services Related Articles (GLD + ABX) 3 Ways To Benefit From Deals In Precious Metals Market Wrap For April 28: Apple Hits New 52-Week Highs In a Volatile Start To the Trading Week Newmont Responds to Barrick Press Release, Confirms Companies Had Settle Prelim Draft Summary of Indicative Terms Mid-Day Market Update: NASDAQ Drops 0.8%; Susser Shares Surge On Acquisition News Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Higher; Forest Labs To Acquire Furiex For $1.1B In Cash Morning Market Losers Around the Web, We're Loving... Consumer Confidence Falters in April

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, fuel logistics company World Fuel Services (NYSE: INT  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

World Fuel facts

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Headquarters (founded)

Miami, Fla. (1984)

Market Cap

$2.9 billion

Industry

Oil and gas refining and marketing

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: ESSA Bancorp Inc. (ESSA)

ESSA Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for ESSA Bank & Trust that provides a range of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses in Pennsylvania. The company provides deposit accounts comprising savings accounts, NOW accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, club accounts, certificates of deposit, IRAs, and other qualified plan accounts, as well as commercial checking accounts for businesses. It also offers residential first mortgage loans, including one-to-four family residential loans and construction mortgage loans; commercial real estate loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; and commercial and consumer loans, as well as various unsecured or secured loans, loans secured by deposits, personal loans, and automobile loans. In addition, the company provides asset management and trust services, and investment services, as well as insurance benefit consulting services, including health insurance, life insurance, short term and lo ng term disability, dental, vision, and 401(K) retirement planning, as well as individual health products. As of September 30, 2013, it operated 26 full-service banking offices, including 13 offices in Monroe County, 6 offices in Lehigh County, and 7 offices in Northampton County in Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1916 and is based in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  I get somewhat amused every day by the thousands of traders who spend all day trying to figure out what the hot stocks like Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (FB) are going to do every day. Owning stocks like these two banks — or ones I have mentioned before, like ESSA Bancorp (ESSA) and Charter Financial (CHFN) — will be a far more profitable and relaxing endeavor over the next few years.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Right now I know that silver miners like Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Coeur Mining (CDE) are very cheap on an asset basis. I know that oil and gas producers like Swift Energy (SFY) and WPX Energy (WPX) are priced as if no one will ever use the stuff again. I know that small banks like Cape Bancorp (CBNJ) and Essa Bancorp (ESSA) are crazy-cheap — and if the world does not end, those stocks will be a lot higher in a few years.

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: Katy Industries Inc (KATY)

Katy Industries, Inc. (Katy) is a manufacturer, importer and distributor of commercial cleaning and storage products. The Company�� commercial cleaning products are sold primarily to janitorial/sanitary and foodservice distributors that supply end users, such as restaurants, hotels, healthcare facilities and schools. The Company�� storage products are primarily sold through home improvement and mass market retail outlets. Continental Commercial Products, LLC (CCP) is its wholly owned subsidiary and includes as divisions all of its business units. The Company�� business units are Continental, Contico, Container, Gemtex, Glit and Wilen. On October 4, 2011, the Company sold all assets and certain liabilities related to the DISCO division of CCP to DISCO Acquisition Corp. In February 2014, Katy Industries Inc completed the acquisition of Fort Wayne Plastics, Inc.

The Continental business unit is a plastics manufacturer and an importer and distributor of products for the commercial janitorial/sanitary maintenance, industrial and food service markets. Continental products include commercial waste receptacles, buckets, mop wringers, janitorial carts, and other products designed for commercial cleaning and food service. Continental products are sold under the brand names, such as Continental, Kleen Aire, Huskee, SuperKan, King Kan, Unibody, Tilt-N-Wheel, Wall Hugger, Collossus, Corner��Round, Rountop, Swingline, Kleen Tech and Structo Tuff.

The Contico business unit is a plastics manufacturer and distributor of home and tool storage products, sold primarily through home improvement and mass market retail outlets. Contico products include plastic home storage units, such as domestic storage containers, tool boxes, shelving and hard plastic gun cases and are sold under the brand names Contico and Tuffbin. Contico is a registered trademark used under license from Contico Manufacturing Limited.

The Container business unit is a plastics manufacturer and distributor ! of industrial storage drums and pails for commercial and industrial use. Products are sold under the Contico and Contico Container brand names.

The Gemtex business unit is a manufacturer and distributor of resin fiber disks and other coated abrasives for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), automotive, industrial and home improvement markets. Gemtex products are sold under the brand names Trim-Kut and Grind R.

The Glit business unit is a manufacturer and distributor of non-woven abrasive products for commercial and industrial use and also supplies materials to various OEMs. Glit non-woven products include floor maintenance pads, hand pads, scouring pads, specialty abrasives for cleaning and finishing, growth medium and roof ventilation products. These products are sold primarily in the commercial sanitary maintenance, food service, industrial and construction markets under the brand names, such as Glit, Kleenfast, Glit/Microtron, Fiber Naturals, Blue Ice, Brillo, Cyclone, Cyclone D, Sponge Pro, Wipe Clean Pro, Joey, Jackeroo, Buckaroo, Cocopad, Safire and WalnutPad. Brillo is a registered trademark used under license from Armaly Brands, Inc. and BAB-O is a registered trademark used under license from Fitzpatrick Bros., Inc.

The Wilen business unit is a manufacturer, importer and distributor of professional cleaning products that include mops, brooms, brushes and plastic cleaning accessories. Wilen products are sold primarily through commercial sanitary maintenance, industrial and food service markets, with some products sold through consumer retail outlets. Products are sold under the brand names, such as Wilen, Wax-o-matic, Rototech, ErgoWorx and Derma-Tek.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Mydlo]

  The guru, Mario Gabelli, purchased 724,729 shares of Katy Industries (KATY). According to the 13D filed with the SEC on March 21, 2014, Gabelli is deemed to have beneficial ownership of the securities owned by Gabelli Funds, GAMCO, Teton Advisors and MJG Associates. The total amount of shares owned is 1,711,045, representing 21.52% of the shares outstanding. Katy engages in the manufacture, import and distribution of commercial cleaning and storage products for commercial janitorial/sanitary maintenance, industrial, foodservice, mass merchant retail and home improvement markets in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In Right Now: Pimco Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund (PTY)

PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund (the Fund) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is to seek maximum total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation in a diversified portfolio of United States dollar-denominated corporate debt obligations of varying maturities and other income producing securities. The Fund will normally focus on corporate debt obligations rated in the lowest investment-grade category (Baa or BBB) and in the highest non-investment-grade category (Ba or BB). Its portfolio includes corporate bonds and notes, the United States Government agency securities, sovereign debt obligations, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and short-term investments.

The Fund invests in residual interest municipal bonds and residual interest tax exempt bonds (inverse floaters), whose interest rates bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund may purchase and write (sell) put and call options. The Fund may sell options on the United States Treasury futures and other fixed-income instruments. PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund invests in various industries, including airlines, banking, energy, financial services, food and beverage, hotels/gaming, oil and gas, paper/paper products, telecommunications and utilities. The Fund's investment manager is Allianz Global Investors Fund Management LLC, which is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Global Investors of America L.P. PIMCO Corporate Opportunity Fund's sub-advisor is Pacific Investment Management Company LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Lesson 1: Income is king.
  A look at the four funds trading at the highest premiums to net asset value reveals a common thread: They're all focused on maximizing income. What's interesting, though, is that they use different methods to reach the same ends. Among the three PIMCO funds, PIMCO High Income (NYSE: PHK  ) looks largely to the high-yield bond market for its holdings, while PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunities (NYSE: PTY  ) has a somewhat lower distribution rate but has a sizable allocation to investment-grade debt. The fund with the highest premium, PIMCO Global StocksPLUS, uses futures contracts to add stock exposure to its portfolio of income-producing bonds. Finally, BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond rounds out the top four with its tax-free bond portfolio.

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: Tranzyme Inc.(TZYM)

Tranzyme, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of acute and chronic gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders in the United States and internationally. The company?s clinical product candidates include ulimorelin, an intraveneous ghrelin agonist, which is in the Phase III clinical development stage for the treatment of acute upper GI motility disorders; and TZP-102, an orally-administered ghrelin agonist that has commenced Phase IIb clinical development stage for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. Its preclinical product candidates comprise TZP-201, a motilin antagonist for the treatment of various forms of moderate-to-severe diarrhea; and TZP-301, an oral ghrelin antagonist for the treatment of metabolic diseases. The company has strategic collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to discover, develop, and commercialize additional novel co mpounds; and a license agreement with Norgine B.V to develop and commercialize ulimorelin in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and north and South Africa. Tranzyme, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Tranzyme Pharma (Nasdaq:TZYM) reported that it has closed the previously announced underwritten registered direct offering of approximately 3.0 million shares of its common stock at a price of $3.85 per share for gross proceeds, including the over-allotment option, of approximately $11.5 million.

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: Compania Mina Buenaventura S.A. (BVN)

Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A., a precious metals company, engages in the exploration, mining, processing, and development of gold, silver, and other metals in Peru. It also explores for zinc, lead, and copper. The company operates the Orcopampa mine located in the province of Castilla in the department of Arequipa; the Uchucchacua mine located in the province of Oyon in the department of Lima; the La Zanja mine located in the district of Pulan in the province of Santa Cruz; the Antapite mine located in the province of Huaytara in the department of Huancavelica; the Julcani mine located in the province of Angaraes in the department of Huancavelica; and the Recuperada mine located in the province of Huancavelica in the department of Huancavelica. It also holds controlling interests in the Colquijirca and Marcapunta Norte mines located east of the city of Lima; and the Shila-Paula mines located in the province of Castilla in the department of Arequipa. In addition, th e company owns interests in various other mining companies. Further, it offers electric power transmission services; and geological, engineering, design, and construction consulting services to the mining sector. Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Lima, Peru.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Yesterday, for instance, the Wall Street Journal reported that local opposition to the Minas Conga project in Peru, a joint venture between Newmont Mining and Compania de Minas Buenaventura (BVN), could be dissipating. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: AAON Inc.(AAON)

AAON, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of air conditioning and heating equipment primarily in the United States and Canada. The company offers rooftop units, chillers, air-handling units, make-up air units, heat recovery units, condensing units, commercial self contained units, and coils. It serves the commercial and industrial new construction and replacement markets. AAON, Inc. sells its products through manufacturers representatives and internal sales force. The company was founded in 1987 and is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  We're seeing the exact same setup in shares of small-cap HVAC firm Aaon (AAON). The biggest difference is that in AAON's case, the ascending triangle pattern is coming in at the top of this stock's recent price action, not at the bottom. That makes this a more textbook trade for September.

  Another important difference is the fact that AAON hasn't triggered yet. Shares have been coiling below $26 resistance since the middle of the summer; a breakout above that $26 level is the indicator that it's time to buy. Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of buyers and sellers. Triangles and other price pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in this stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That resistance line at $26 is a price where there's an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to take recent gains and sell their shares than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes the move above it so significant -- a breakout indicates that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

  Wait for that to happen before you put your money on this trade.

Hot Logistics Stocks To Watch Right Now: On Track Innovations Ltd (OTIV)

On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) designs, develops and markets solutions based on its secure contactless microprocessor-based smart card technology to address the needs of a range of markets. The Company�� products combine the benefits of both microprocessors and contactless cards. In addition to contactless microprocessor-based smart cards, it also sells products that are based on other card technologies. The Company has focused on the development of its technologies and its products based on its technological platform that consists of smart cards, smart card readers, software tools and secure communication technology. As of December 31, 2012, it offers three lines of solutions, each of which constitutes a complete system, as well as components (such as smart cards and readers) that we sell to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), for incorporation into their own products. OTI�� three vertical markets include Payment Solutions, Petroleum Systems and SmartID Solutions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markman Advisors]

  Public companies leveraging their patent portfolios, (aka "patent plays"), are getting the market's attention. Companies such as Vringo (VRNG), ParkerVision (PRKR), MGT Capital (MGT), Worlds Inc. (WDDD.OB) and others have presented trading opportunities due to their volatility while retaining the chance for a big payoff to those investors who stay the course. Yet there exist viable patent plays that are still undiscovered. Some of these so called "plays," which are not getting enough attention, are actually real companies making and selling real products or services in contrast to pure patent monetization companies. Some known examples are Single Touch Interactive (SITO.OB) and Blue Calypso (BCYP.OB). This article is focused on another one of these patent plays, On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTIV).

Mid-Day Market Update: Pandora Shares Tumble After Q1 Results; Weatherford Spikes Higher

Top Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now

Related BZSUM Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Ford Profit Misses Street View #PreMarket Primer: Friday, April 25: More Sanctions On Russia Likely

Midway through trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.79 percent to 16,370.72 while the NASDAQ tumbled 1.43 percent to 4,088.84. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.70 percent to 1,865.40.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
Utilities sector was the only gainer in the US market on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) and Wisconsin Energy (NYSE: WEC). Technology shares declined around 1.53 percent in Friday's trading.

Top losers in the sector included CommVault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT), off 28 percent, and Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX), down 13 percent.

Top Headline
Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) reported a drop in its first-quarter profit. Ford's quarterly profit slipped to $989 million, or $0.24 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.61 billion, or $0.40 per share. Its revenue rose to $35.9 billion versus $35.6 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.31 per share on revenue of $34.54 billion.

Equities Trading UP
Gigamon (NYSE: GIMO) shares shot up 7.77 percent to $17.33 after the company announced Q1 results. Gigamon reported a Q1 loss of $0.07 per share on revenue of $31.80 million. Needham upgraded the stock from Buy to Strong Buy.

Shares of Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) got a boost, shooting up 10.02 percent to $20.25 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Weatherford reported its Q1 earnings of $0.13 per share on revenue of $3.60 billion.

SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) shares were also up, gaining 5.15 percent to $33.67 after the company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. SunPower reported its earnings of $0.49 per share on revenue of $683.70 million.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of CommVault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT) were 28.32 percent to $49.16 after the company reported downbeat quarterly revenue. CommVault reported earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue of $156.80 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.47 per share on revenue of $160.16 million.

Pandora Media (NYSE: P) shares tumbled 13.01 percent to $24.53 on weak Q1 earnings and Q2 outlook. Pandora reported a Q1 loss of $0.13 per share.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (NYSE: YGE) was down, falling 14.25 percent to $3.62 after the company priced follow-on public offering of 25 million ADSs at $3.50 per ADS.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.08 percent to $100.84, while gold traded up 0.84 percent to $1,301.50.

Silver traded up 0.01 percent Friday to $19.72, while copper rose 0.05 percent to $3.09.

Eurozone
European shares were lower today.

The Spanish Ibex Index dropped 1.47 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index fell 2.07 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX tumbled 1.53 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.80 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.38 percent.

Economics
The preliminary reading of Markit Services PMI came in at 54.20 in April, versus economists' expectations for a reading of 55.50.

The final reading of Reuter's/University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 84.10 in April, versus a prior reading of 82.60. However, economists were expecting a reading of 83.00.

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Forex Global Econ #s Economics Intraday Update Markets Movers Tech

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Most Popular Apple Could Slide Towards $420, Creative Global Says Apple Soars Following Q2 Top & Bottom Line Beat, Stock Split, Dividend Raise, Increased Buyback Market Wrap For April 23: S&P 500 Ends Winning Streak, Apple Announces 7-for-1 Stock Split Earnings Scheduled For April 24, 2014 Apple Earnings Roundup: iPhone Strength, Stock Split, Buybacks And More Apple Earnings Preview: Will iPhone Sales Disappoint Investors? Related Articles (CVLT + BZSUM) Mid-Day Market Update: Pandora Shares Tumble After Q1 Results; Weatherford Spikes Higher Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Open Lower; Ford Profit Misses Street View Stocks Hitting 52-Week Lows #PreMarket Primer: Friday, April 25: More Sanctions On Russia Likely Market Wrap For April 24: Apple's Smashing Earnings Overshadowed By Ukraine Concerns Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Apple Hangs onto Gains as Fusion-io Drops on Earnings

5 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Own For 2014

5 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Own For 2014: iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR)

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of publicly traded securities in the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The Index serves as the underlying index for the S&P 600/Citigroup Growth and Value Index series. The component stocks are weighted according to the total float-adjusted market value of their outstanding shares. The component stocks in the Index have a market capitalization between $300 million and $1 billion (which may fluctuate depending on the overall level of the equity markets), and are selected for liquidity and industry group representation. The Index is adjusted to reflect changes in capitalization resulting from mergers, acquisition, stock rights, substitutions and other capital events.

The Fund inves ts in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray]

  I still think the emerging markets may be the surprise in 2014 as the technical outlook has improved but a bottom has not yet been confirmed. The more active investor should consider investing in several index-tracking ETFs, but in volatile areas, like the emerging markets, the percentage commitment should be kept low. One should consider not only the large-cap S&P 500 but also the small-cap sectors like iShares S&P 600 Small-Cap (IJR), which I recommended last Wednesday.

• [By Chris Ciovacco]

  In Thursday's ETF analysis, eviden! ce is presented that supports increasing demand for assets that get a tailwind from a weak U.S. dollar, including emerging markets (EEM) and foreign stocks (EFA). Casting a wider economic net, our market model told us to start buying stocks last week even with the threat of a U.S. default. Wednesday, we continued with our incremental allocation shifts by adding some exposure to the energy sector. Thursday, we sat tight holding long positions in small caps (IJR), Europe (FEZ), emerging markets and technology (QQQ). The upper bounds of the bullish S&P 500 trend channel shown below may offer some resistance to the market's near vertical ascent.

• [By John Udovich]

  One of the most famous scenes in the cult classic, the Graduate, was when Mr. McGuire took Dustin Hoffman's character aside and said "Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics"; but what about the Berry Plastics Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) and its performance verses that of the iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV), iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: IWR) and iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IJR)? I should mention that plastics and the Berry Plastics Group was not the place to be yesterday as the stock took a tumble on reduced guidance.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-life-sciences-stocks-to-own-for-2014.html

Why Coach Is Ready to Rebound

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, luxury handbag maker Coach (NYSE: COH  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

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

Coach facts

Headquarters (founded)	New York, N.Y. (1941)
Market Cap	$16.6 billion
Industry	Apparel, accessories, and luxury goods
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$5.0 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO Lew Frankfort (will step down in January 2014) President/COO Jerry Stritzke
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years)	52%
Top 5 Undervalued Companies To Invest In Right Now Cash / Debt	$928.5 million / $22.6 million
Dividend Yield	2.3%
Competitors	Michael Kors Holdings  Ralph Lauren Tiffany

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 94% of the 3,120 members who have rated Coach believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last week, one of those bulls, fellow Fool Jason Moser (TMFJMo), tapped Coach as a particularly attractive value opportunity:

Still a very powerful brand in retail, plenty of international appeal and transformation into lifestyle brand should give it a longer lifespan. Change in management is a big question mark as Lew Frankfort is a major reason for the company's success to date and [chief creative director Reed Krakoff] leaving is also concerning. However [Stuart Vevers] should bring plenty of experience and a fresh set of eyes. The stock today isn't assuming much growth at all. Plenty of room to run.

If you want market-thumping returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Of course, despite a strong five-star rating, Coach may not be your top choice.

After all, the retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

A Small-Cap Stock With Very Big Potential

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- My favorite way to trade small-cap stocks is to look for beaten-down names with potential catalysts that also have bullish charts or technical setups.

Many traders and investors avoid small-cap stocks because they think they're just too risky to play. But some of the largest gains can come from small-cap stocks, and they can happen in very short timeframes. These are the type of gains that can build great wealth, but like anything else in the markets, they must be attacked with a disciplined trading approach.

To illustrate how great trading small-caps can be, take a look at the returns investors have racked up in small-cap alternative energy player Plug Power (PLUG) over the last six months. This small-cap stock was trading at 45 cents per share last November and have since exploded higher, tagging a new 52-week high at $11.72 a share. Shares of PLUG have racked up an incredible gain of 1,017% over the last six months. You're not going to capture gains like that in shares of Microsoft (MSFT) or Apple (AAPL).

One small-cap stock that could have monster potential from current levels is American Apparel (APP), which designs, manufactures, distributes, retails and sells branded fashion basic apparel products, and clothing and accessories for women, men, children, and babies. This stock is a small-cap equity all around since its current market cap is just $92 million and it enterprise value is $346 million. Shares of American Apparel have been hit hard by the bears so far in 2014, with the stock down sharply by 56%.

 

Shares of American Apparel have been slammed lower by the bears for good reason. The CEO, Dov Charney, is very controversial, and the company has failed to execute on its business plan. The firm has been in such dire straits that the risk of defaulting on its debt was a serious concern. However, American Apparel recently won the confidence of FiveT Capital AG, a Switzerland-based asset management firm that has accumulated a 12.69% stake in the struggling retailer. FiveT took its stake in American Apparel by purchasing 26 million shares from the company's recent stock offering of 61 million shares at 50 cents per share. That offering has helped the company raise over $28 million in cash to help pay down its high-interest debt. FiveT's large stake could be a vote of confidence that the company is on the right track to a successful turnaround story.

American Apparel recently had more good news. Last week, the New York Stock Exchange said that American Apparel was in compliance with the continued listing standards of NYSE MKT. American Apparel had been warned in February that it could be delisted if it didn't get its financial situation in order, but it now looks like the offering has taken care of that concern.

American Apparel also recently announced its preliminary sales for the month ended on March 31. The firm said comparable sales dropped 5%, but its net sales from its online business were up 16%. Wholesale net sales increased 11% for the month, and total sales were $49.6 million, which was unchanged vs. the same period in 2013. American Apparel is clearly driving online sales by using popular social media sites like Instagram, where it has 921,000 followers and Twitter, where it has 481,000 followers.

If American Apparel can get its balance sheet in order and find more creative ways to drive sales both on the U.S. and abroad, then this company could well be on its way to finding some momentum for an already popular brand. The old ways of doing things for American Apparel, which included shock marketing and a loud CEO, will have to change, and it looks like that's happening. American Apparel can now leverage its brand with trending celebrities and social media to reinvent itself and enter a new age for the company.

As much as I like to glance at the fundamentals of any company, the main driving factor that's going to get me into a trade or an investment is the technical chart setup for the stock. This is what's piquing my interest in shares of American Apparel here, since the chart is starting to look extremely attractive, especially in the short-term for a large move higher.

If you take a look at the chart for American Apparel, you'll notice that this stock has formed a major bottoming pattern over the last month, with shares finding support and buying interest each time it has traded down towards 46 to 47 cents per share. Those support levels have held for shares of APP on all the recent pullbacks. Shares of APP are now starting to spike higher today with heavy upside volume. Volume so far has already eclipsed 3.8 million shares, which is well above its three-month average action of 1.70 million shares. This spike is quickly pushing shares of APP within range of triggering a major breakout trade above some key near-term overhead resistance levels.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in APP as long as its trending above those key support levels at 47 to 46 cents per share and then once it breaks out above some major near-term overhead resistance at 54 cents per 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 1.70 million shares. If that breakout materializes soon, then APP will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from March that started at 80 cents per share. That 54 cent level also happens to coincide with another key technical indicator: APP's 20-day exponential moving average.

Shares of APP could easily explode higher if it can take out 54 cents per share on a closing basis. The reason being, then the stock will have a shot at trending into that gap-down-day zone and anyone who's shorted the stock recently might get a little concerned seeing a high-volume move into that gap. You also have to consider how beaten-down shares of APP are here, since the stock has been hammered lower by the bears over the last year from over $2 a share to its recent low of 46 cents per share. If APP can start to move into that gap with volume, then this stock can rocket higher easily. Some possible near-term targets are 65 to 70 cents per share, or even 80 cents per share.

The bottom line: Shares of APP are starting to look very attractive from a technical basis in the short-term and the company now has the backing of a large asset manager that has infused the firm with the cash needed to handle some of its debt problems. A longer-term turnaround story could also be at play here, offering investors an attractive entry point with the stock currently trading near the offering price of 50 cents per share. A multi-bagger return might be setting up for APP, so put this name on your radar traders and investors.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

 

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>>4 Stocks Rising on Big Volume

 

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Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

 

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

 

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Today's 3 Best Stocks

The second-half of the year started off very similarly to the first-half for the broad-based S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) -- with big gains!

Following the best first half of the year for stocks in roughly the past decade and a half, the S&P 500 powered higher on the first trading day of the third quarter thanks to a better-than-expected ISM report. The ISM reading of 50.9 came in higher than the Street had expected and signals faster-than-expected manufacturing activity in the United States. Any figure of 50 signals expansion, which would speak to the slow but steady nature of this recovery.

When all was said and done, the S&P 500 trudged higher by 8.68 points (0.54%) to finish at 1,614.96. The S&P 500 may have had a great start to the second half, but the following three stocks really rocketed to the upside.

Leading the charge is cable operator Cablevision (NYSE: CVC  ) again found itself in the spotlight, up 9.6%, following the completion of its sale of Optimum West to Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR  ) for $1.625 billion. While shareholders are likely to be pleased seeing this deal completed, shares are really ramping up in expectation that Charter may make a bid for Cablevision. Rumors have been circulating for a week based on a report from Bloomberg News that Charter may look to make a bid for Time Warner Cable or Cablevision. My stance remains not to chase rumors higher, so I'd suggest watching Cablevision from the sidelines.

Following closely was big-box electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY  ) , which jumped 8.8% after research firm Credit Suisse resumed coverage on the company with an "outperform" rating and a $40 price target, implying 46% upside from Friday's close. Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter commented that Best Buy is optimally using its price-matching policy to its advantage, and that it could ultimately lead to $5 in EPS. Although I would exercise caution chasing any stock higher based on the comments of an analyst as price movements based on upgrades and downgrades are often fleeting, I do agree wholeheartedly with Balter. With more states adopting a bill which requires the collection of Internet sales tax -- removing Amazon.com's biggest pricing advantage -- Best Buy looks like it could return to its old form.

Finally, video streaming company Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) advanced 6.3% after signing a multi-year streaming deal with Twentieth Century Fox for TV series New Girl. Netflix is putting nearly all of its chips on future streaming content deals and is counting on subscription growth in overseas markets to drive its bottom line profits. However, I'm not nearly as convinced that Netflix is an intriguing value with the company valued at 73 times forward earnings, still burning through high-margin DVD subscribers, and facing the potential for increased competition from Amazon and Coinstar.

The television landscape is changing quickly, with new entrants like Netflix and Amazon.com disrupting traditional networks. The Motley Fool's new free report "Who Will Own the Future of Television?" details the risks and opportunities in TV. Click here to read the full report!

Where's the Cash Coming From at SeaChange International?

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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 SeaChange International (Nasdaq: SEAC  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, SeaChange International generated $13.6 million cash while it booked net income of $0.3 million. That means it turned 8.7% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds OK.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at SeaChange International look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

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

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

Best Beverage Companies To Watch In Right Now

With 41.8% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, SeaChange International investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, stock-based compensation and related tax benefits provided the biggest boost, at 24.0% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from changes in accounts receivable, which represented 36.9% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Software and computerized services are being consumed in radically different ways, on new and increasingly mobile devices. Many old leaders will be left behind. Whether or not SeaChange International makes the coming cut, you should check out the company that Motley Fool analysts expect to lead the pack in "The Next Trillion-dollar Revolution." Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add SeaChange International to My Watchlist.

Major Airlines Continue to Flounder in May

Over the past two months, I have reported on weakening unit revenue trends within the airline industry. While the industry bottomed out in April, results in May were still fairly unsatisfactory at most carriers. Airlines are benefiting somewhat from lower fuel prices and planes are more packed than ever before, but pricing power has been extremely weak. As a result, most carriers suffered a second straight monthly decline in unit revenue.

Airline

Unit Revenue Change

Capacity Change

AMR (NASDAQOTH: AAMRQ  )	Down 1.8%	Up 0.3%
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL  )	Up 0.5%	Up 0.7%
Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  )	Down 2.0%	Up 3.4%
United Continental (NYSE: UAL  )	Flat-Down 1.0%	Down 1.7%
US Airways (NYSE: LCC  )	Down 1.0%	Up 3.6%

Source: Airline press releases 

Unit revenue is a very important indicator of performance for airlines, because it includes the effects of both "load factor" (the percentage of seats filled with paying passengers) and "yield" (the average ticket price). For several years, airline industry unit revenue had shown continuous growth as the U.S. economy rebounded from the Great Recession. However, that trend seems to have been broken this spring. If unit revenue continues to stagnate, airlines will have trouble producing meaningful profit growth.

Where's that capacity discipline?
Much of the bull case for the major airlines has been built on the premise that consolidation has improved capacity discipline and pricing power within the industry. As CNBC's Jim Cramer put it, the U.S. airline industry is essentially an "oligopoly". Assuming that the American-US Airways merger is completed, four airlines will control more than 80% of the domestic market. That fact formed the basis for Cramer's buy recommendation on the sector.

The past few months of revenue results have thrown cold water on the theory that consolidation has significantly improved capacity discipline or pricing power. Most major airlines have been replacing smaller planes in their fleets with larger ones, which is making it difficult to prevent capacity creep. For example, while Southwest's capacity increased 3.4%, it actually few 2.3% fewer trips last month than it did in May, 2012. In other words, the capacity growth was the result of larger planes making longer flights: not operating more flights.

The problem for the industry is that while "upgauging" helps keep costs in check, the beneficial effect is negated if capacity creep leads to lower unit revenues. In fact, that seems to be exactly what is happening today. Carriers are offsetting normal cost inflation through upgauging tactics, but the market is unable to absorb the additional capacity, leading to modest declines in unit revenue.

What remains to be seen is whether the airlines can drive enough cost savings through upgauging to fully offset unit revenue weakness. For the moment, lower fuel prices are providing an additional tailwind and may permit some of the carriers to continue their profit growth. Looking forward, though, airlines may need to implement additional schedule cuts to keep profits moving in the right direction.

The bottom line is the bottom line
Airlines have recently become "hot" in the stock market for the first time in many years. Don't get burned! It's critical to pay attention to company fundamentals, rather than day-to-day stock fluctuations. Delta, which was the only major airline to post unit revenue growth last month, still looks like the strongest of the bunch. The other carriers could be setting investors up for a letdown if they continue to post declines in unit revenue, which could in turn lead to lower earnings.

With the American markets reaching new highs, investors and pundits alike are skeptical about future growth. They shouldn't be. Many global regions are still stuck in neutral, and their resurgence could result in windfall profits for select companies. A recent Motley Fool report, "3 Strong Buys for a Global Economic Recovery" outlines three companies that could take off when the global economy gains steam. Click here to read the full report!

IPO market is casualty of stock market pullback

Weibo, better known as China's answer to Twitter, was the big winner among five initial public offerings that made their debuts Thursday. Yet, it wasn't exactly a high-flying performance to make investors chirp.

The IPO market, which is coming off its best year since 2000, is showing unmistakable signs of returning to earth — the latest casualty of last week's stock market plunge, which prompted investors to dial back risk-taking.

That slowdown may take some of the excitement out of the coming IPO for Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which could submit its official filing to U.S. regulators as early as next week. . It's being widely touted as the biggest IPO since Facebook raised more than $16 billion in May 2012.

The five IPOs that started trading Thursday posted an average return of just 8.7%, below the average 17% first-day pop so far this year and for 2013, according to IPO investment advisory firm Renaissance Capital.

Chinese microblogging site Weibo jumped 19.1%. Three of the deals were priced below their projected range, while two priced at the low end of the range. Chinese real estate site Leju rallied 18.6%, but travel industry player Sabre, sporting goods retail chain Sportsman's Warehouse and drugmaker Vital Therapies all finished flat or with low single-digit percentage gains.

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The fact that Weibo had to price its IPO at $17, which was the bottom end of the $17 to $19 range, and slash the number of shares it was offering by more than 3 million, signals that the IPO market is coming back to earth, says Kathleen Smith, a principal at Renaissance Capital. She called it a "necessary correction."

The days of eye-opening day one pops, such as the 206.7% gain that Dicerna Pharmaceuticals posted on Jan. 30, and Castlight Health's 148.8% jump on March 14, seem to be fading.

The IPO market has lost som! e of its luster since a major correction in high-price biotech and Internet stocks last week. As the stock market goes, so goes the IPO market, says John Fitzgibbon, founder of IPOScoop.com. Last week, the Nasdaq suffered its worst weekly swoon in nearly two years and was down 9% from its recent high before rebounding.

"You need a healthy stock market to have a good IPO market," says Fitzgibbon. "The market (turbulence) is what put this (IPO rally) to bed this week. Without the wind at your sails, you can't go anywhere."

The more bearish tone is best illustrated by the recent performance of the Renaissance IPO Exchange Traded Fund. At its 2014 high on March 5, it was up 8.4% for the year. But it has since given up all

In the past week, the IPO market has gone from a seller's market favoring the bankers to a buyer's market that favors individual investors, says Josef Schuster, founder of IPOX Schuster.

The IPO window, he adds, hasn't closed completely, but if bankers want to get deals done, they'll have to price the shares more conservatively going forward. Alibaba's IPO might not be as gargantuan as many analysts believe due to the recent market jitters, he adds.

"It is definitely going to hurt Alibaba on its initial valuation," said Schuster.

Gen Y Prices ‘American Dream’ at $3 Million

A survey released on Tuesday tried to put a price tag on young investors' financial goals. Gen Y workers estimate it will cost more than $3 million to achieve the “American Dream,” which, according to them, means being financially secure, having freedom and owning their home, according to The Principal.

The firm surveyed retirement plan participants between 18 and 34 for the report. It found that almost two-thirds of respondents said they started saving for retirement by age 25.

About 80% of millennials have — and follow — a monthly budget, and two-thirds have an emergency savings fund.

“Millennial workers are clearly growing up and taking responsibility with a passion and keen focus on their financial future," Greg Burrows, senior vice president of retirement and investor services for The Principal, said in a statement. "In control of more than $10 trillion in assets, these workers have very quickly become an important group to watch.”

Unfortunately, while many Gen Y participants started saving early, some are a little unmoored. Almost half haven’t calculated a savings goal or even set an arbitrary one. Sixty-three percent plan to work past age 65.

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Still, almost 80% are confident they’ll be better off financially when they reach their parents’ age.

“This generation has seen parents cope with the recession and the impact of not saving enough. Based on those experiences, they are realistic about the challenges ahead, but optimistic because they plan to take charge of their own retirement nest egg,” Burrows said.

Another survey released Tuesday found millennials are more likely than older investors to consider themselves “highly disciplined” or “disciplined” financial planners. Northwestern Mutual found more than 60% of people between 18 and 29 said they were disciplined planners, compared with 54% of those over 60.

Northwestern Mutual surveyed more than 2,000 Americans online in late January and early February for the report.

This survey confirms others’ findings that young investors tend to be conservative. Almost a third of respondents said they take a “slow and steady” approach to investing. Another 30% said they would like to be more cautious, but feel like they have too much “catching up” to do to take that approach.

In fact, the biggest barriers to creating a financial plan were not knowing where to get help and not having enough time.

Interestingly, while 14% of millennial investors said they “aim high” to get as much growth as possible, only 11% said they were comfortable with the risk associated with growth strategies.

In Review

Today I would like t provide a handy strategy review. Helping to translate your market vision into a hedged option strategy. Note that I say hedged. I do not believe in buying or selling stocks and futures naked, ie with no protection. The same goes with buying options outright. Always spread, is my motto.

Mega Bullish? Buy stock with puts. Just plain Bullish? Buy vertical call spread, sell vertical put spread.

Bullish at lower level with an eye to dividend yield or short term cash generation? Sell cash covered put. Bullish on current dividend yield? Buy stock with Collar.

Particular price target? Do Butterfly with short strike at target.

Neutral to range bound?  Condor, Iron Condor, Iron Butterfly.

First down, then up? Buy call calender spread. First up then down? Buy put calender spread.

Mega Bearish? Sell stock or deep ITM call short with long protective call above it. Just plain  Bearish? Buy vertical put spread, sell vertical call spread.

If any of these strategies are unfamiliar or strange to you, please fell free to contact me at any time. Click the Contact heading above.

Finally, do note that with the possible exception of the short cash covered put, all these strategies are hedged with a well defined maximum loss. I hope this review has been helpful and Happy Trading!


......

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Markets Trading Ideas

Originally posted here...

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Has Greece Returned To Former Glory?

After five years of severe recession and declining credit worthiness, Greece's improving macroeconomic data has created a more reliable environment for investments.

Reflecting that improvement, people are again depositing their money in Greek financial institutions and buyers have returned to the Greek stock market. The data below detail this improvement.

Macro

From 2008 (first year of recession) until 2011, Greek GDP declined by 7.3 percent. The average rate of decline these years was 7.76 percent per year.

In 2012 however, the recovery began. The GDP increased by 0.7 percent.

Furthermore, the government deficit is the lowest it's been since 2008 (-9.00 percent of GDP). At the same time, industrial production has significantly improved since January 2011. Retail sales are up since December 2012.

See also: Greece Rumored To Be In Line For 8.3B Rescue Payment IMF Will Consider 3.6b Tranche

Inflows

While the macroeconomic data are improving, the relationship between depositors and the government is strengthening even more. Greek private sector deposits increased 1.4 percent month on month (mom) for the second straight month in December. Balances reached 163.25 billion Euros, according to the Bank of Greece (BoG). Net inflows stood at 2.35 billion in December.

December's performance made the net flow for whole year positive to 2.24 billion in 2013. In contrast outflows of 12.76 billion were recorded in 2012. As the central banker of Greece stated "Greek banks are well capitalized". The CEO of Piraeus bank (ASE: TPEIR) also underlined that "the Greek banks will end up being some of the best capitalized banks in Europe."

The improving macroeconomic environment explains why the Greek stock Market is surging. The ATHEX Composite has skyrocketed by 82.17 percent since March 2012. Investors are picking the undervalued companies that were affected by the crisis.

Even more impressive is the continuous decline of the Greek premium. The Greece risk premium is the spread between 10-year Greek government bond, and the benchmark,10-year German bond). It is now 512bps.

As appears in the graph below, the big drop in the premium from 2012 till now, signifies that creditors as well as investors appear to trust the Greek economic change. The Greek Government bond yield has sunk to the lowest since at least 2010, as the recovery from the sovereign-debt crisis gains momentum.

Recent news

Another indicator that perceptions of Greece are much better is the exceptional performance of the Greek banks. The enormous demand of foreign investor for the unsecured bond that Piraeus Bank issued, as well as for the capital increases of both the Alpha bank (ASE:ACB) and Pireaus bank, represent a vote of confidence for the Greek banking system.<

Sources:

OECD Library

Macropolis

CNBC

Posted-In: News Forex Global Markets Best of Benzinga

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Here's How Morningstar Is Making You So Much Cash

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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 Morningstar (Nasdaq: MORN  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, Morningstar generated $136.9 million cash while it booked net income of $117.6 million. That means it turned 20.5% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds pretty impressive.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at Morningstar look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

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

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

With questionable cash flows amounting to only 7.7% of operating cash flow, Morningstar's cash flows look clean. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, stock-based compensation and related tax benefits provided the biggest boost, at 8.0% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures, which consumed 18.1% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Looking for alternatives to Morningstar? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

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We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add Morningstar to My Watchlist.

There Goes the Market: Nasdaq Falls Most Since 2011, Dow Industrials Drop 266 Points

The good feelings from the Fed’s minute yesterday has evaporated as stocks plunge, led by American Express (AXP), Visa (V), Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN), Facebook (FB) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY).

REUTERS

The S&P 500 fell 2.1% to 1,833.08 today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 266.96 points, or 1.6%, to 16,170.22 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 3.1% to 4,054.11, its largest one day drop since 2011. At the same time, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.63%, while the 30-year bond yield dropped to 3.51% after a very successful auction.

Lower bond yields helped clobber American Express fell 3.8% to $85.36, while Visa dropped 2.9% at $201.55, as both would benefit from higher interest rates. Alexion Pharmaceuticals plunged 7.5% to $144.19 as the selloff in biotech stocks resumed, while Bed Bath & Beyond declined 6.2% to $63.72 after forecasting disappointing earnings. Facebook fell 5.2% to $59.16.

Even today’s stellar jobless claims data–300,000 Americans filled for first time unemployment insurance last week–was taken not as an indicator of good times ahead, but a sign of still how far there is to go. RBC Capital Market’s Tom Porcelli and team explain:

There was a time when hitting a fresh cycle low in initial jobless claims was something to cheer. That doesn't seem like the appropriate response this cycle. The labor backdrop at present is punctuated not by the fact that layoffs are diminishing, but rather by the sheer lack of hiring. We have gone through this calculus ad nausea but it bears repeating. The pace of hiring (as measured by the hiring rate, which is hiring relative to employment) at present is not just lower than the previous cycle low, it also shows a stunning lack of momentum. Make no mistake, the level of hiring is trending in the right direction, but at best the pace is quite modest. Part of the problem is the difficulty filling job openings…while the hiring rate remains weak by any standard, the ratio of hires-to-job openings continues to print cycle lows and remains at levels that are more consistent with a very tight labor backdrop

The Lindsey Group’s Peter Boockvar explains what lower bond yields are telling us:

Bottom line, the rally in the longer end of the curve lately is telling a message of still ordinary economic growth, not the acceleration that many are estimating. I will AGAIN bring this back to the process of ending QE in that Treasuries also rallied after QE1 and QE2 ended as the equity markets rolled over which in turn impacted the economy and was followed by another round of monetary stimulus. The Fed has created a construct where the equity market has driven the economic bus (via wealth effect, etc…) so while the macro conditions in the US don't point to a threat of economic slowing, an equity market selloff can be just the concern for growth that the US Treasury market is sniffing out.

Rhino Trading Partners’ Michael Block notes that not only is the S&P 500 getting hammered, but Brazil’s stock market is rallying. He explains why:

The liquidation and violent rotation going on is not only hurting popular longs (read:  liquid U.S. large cap stocks) but it is also squeezing popular shorts (read:  emerging markets stocks and ETF like that in Brazil.)  This is not a fundamental paradigm shift driving this bizarre negative correlation this week.  It's all about flow of funds and who is long and short which securities.

I continue to see this as a pain/risk driven trade, and think this is a false dawn for emerging markets ETFs.  When fundamentals reign again, we do think U.S. large caps should outperform emerging markets.  The anomaly of this week's action is all about pain but it certainly got our attention.

U.S. investors better hope that’s all it is.

Thursday’s Analyst Moves: International Business Machines Corp., Advance Auto Parts, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corp., More (IBM, AAP, ABC, More)

Before Thursday’s opening bell, a number of big name dividend stocks were the subject of analyst moves. Below, we highlight the important analyst commentary.

AmerisourceBergen Upgraded to “Outperform”

AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC) has been upgraded to “Outperform” at FBR Capital Markets as the stock has pulled back. The firm currently has a $75 price target on ABC, suggesting a 15% upside from the stock’s current price of $65.64. ABC has a dividend yield of 1.43$.

Best Defense Companies To Watch In Right Now

Barclays Downgrades CF Industries

Barclays has cut its rating on CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (

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See Also: 10 Ways to Waste Your Refund

Step 2

Provide your Social Security or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, your filing status (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow) and the exact amount of your refund. All of this information should be on your federal tax return.

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Get the status of your refund. Potential responses include "return received," "return approved" and "refund sent." If you receive a notice that the IRS has been unable to deliver your refund because of an incorrect address, you may be able to use the online tool to make changes or corrections. You'll also receive information on how to launch a trace if you haven't received your refund within 28 days of filing your return.

The payoff

Top Industrial Disributor Companies To Own In Right Now

You can plan when -- and how -- to use your money.

Should You Invest in Nucor?

Steelmaker Nucor (NUE) presents a good investment opportunity for investors to initiate a position as its shares have displayed some weakness of late. Nucor was able to report profitability in a sluggish steel market that is gradually working in its favor and the company expects a turnaround in the current fiscal year.

Good Performance

In spite of a challenging market and plant downtimes, Nucor has done well as its revenue grew 10% to $4.89 billion in the fourth quarter. Net income also jumped to $170.5 million from $136.9 million last year. Cost-cutting strategies and operational efficiencies drove Nucor's performance.

The resurgence of the auto industry in the U.S. has helped Nucor as car sales in the U.S. grew to 15.6 million units in 2013, up 7.6% from a year ago. Car sales are projected to grow to 16 million units in fiscal 2014, and this will help Nucor's top and bottom line performance as demand for steel will rise subsequently.

Nucor plans to make its operations more profitable. It has recently opened a facility in Louisiana that will produce direct reduced iron, supplementing the existing facility the company has at Trinidad. Nucor has lately witnessed better performance at its Louisiana plant compared to that of the facility at Trinidad, with better DRI quality.

Growth Ahead

The company can be benefit from procuring low-cost long term natural gas supply from this facility, thus leveraging the cost-structure. It will also improve its operating flexibility with a shorter supply chain for high quality iron users.

In addition to this, Nucor has seen substantial improvements after the successful implementation of its strategy to increase participation in higher margin special bar quality products. Expansion in this line will help Nucor achieve stronger productivity in energy, heavy equipments and various other markets. Nucor has also upgraded its mill in Nebraska, which will help it expand its SBQ market.

Nucor has installed a new quality assurance line that will provide engineered bars for various applications. Nucor's Hertford facility has displayed positive signs of profitability due to investments in the heat treatment facility, vacuum tank degasser, and a normalizing line.

Nucor also expects to see better results from its Nucor-Yamato structural mill that is scheduled to start its production in the second half of 2014. This strategic investment will certainly help the company to gain market share and increase its profitability.

As the government imposes sanctions on imports, Nucor's prospects should get better in the long run as capacity utilization has remained low in the U.S market with foreign steel makers dumping their steel products due to gloomy pricing. The International Trade Commission has rolled out a five-year sunset review to keep in place existing anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders after seeing that imports have hurt U.S. steel companies. So, this is another reason why investors can expect Nucor to sustain its solid performance this year.

The company is expanding at Berkeley by investing $100 million for the enhancement of its caster and hot mill as per capacity expansion initiatives. This development will assist Nucor to improvise its product mix.

Conclusion

Nucor is one of the largest manufacturers of steel in the U.S. by volume. Its recent performance has been good and the future looks bright due to its strategies.

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