Top European Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Top European Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TotalFinaElf S.A.(TOT)

TOTAL S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemicals. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas. It also involves in the transportation, trade, and marketing of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as in LNG re-gasification and natural gas storage operations. In addition, this segment engages in the shipping and trade of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); power generation from gas-fired power plants, nuclear, or renewable energies; production, trade, and marketing of coal, as well as in solar power systems and technology operations. As of December 31, 2010, it had combined proved reserves of 10,695 Mboe of oil and gas. The Downstream segment involves in refining, marketing, trading, and shipping crude oil and petroleum products. It also produces a range of specialty products, s uch as lubricants, LPG, jet fuel, special fluids, bitumen, marine fuels, and petrochemical feedstock. This segment holds interests in 24 refineries located in Europe, the United States, the French West Indies, Africa, and China, as well as operates a network of 17,490 service stations. The Chemicals segment produces base chemicals, including petrochemicals and fertilizers, as well as engages in rubber processing, resins, adhesives, and electroplating activities. TOTAL S.A. was founded in 1924 and is based in Paris, France.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Yet in this suffering, investors can find some pretty tasty long-term bargains.In this case were referring to French major Total (TOT).

  Like rivals BP and E, Total didnt have a great 2013. However, there are plenty of catalysts that should help propel TOT stock into the future. For investors looking for beat-up bargain, TOT stock could be the key to a great t! otal return in the energy sector.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  Those huge fields are just the kind of plays that the large super-majors –Exxon(XOM), Chevron(CVX) and Total(TOT) and the like — are clamoring to add. And with the downside now known — a max of $14.6 billion dollars — APC could finally be buy-out bait for one of the giants.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  Shares of energy companies without any near-term way to take advantage of any stoppage were off, with Chesapeake Energy (CHK) down 1.2% and France's Total (TOT) off 2.31%.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  You can see the same trends among many individual European stocks. Telecom giant Telefonica (NYSE: TEF  ) has big exposure to Latin America, but investors focus on its home country of Spain in limiting its gains. The same trend has affected French oil giant Total (NYSE: TOT  ) , which shares the same exposure to energy projects around the world yet has been tarnished by its proximity to the crisis-ridden continent. By focusing on value rather than perception, you can get some great values when others are being irrational.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-european-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now.html

3 Cash-Is-King Dividend Stocks

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Apart from bankruptcy, nothing has the ability to hammer dividend stocks like a dividend cut or suspension. Indeed, the entire point of investing in dividend stocks is to find companies that pay reliable and rising dividends over long periods of time.

Revenue can ebb and flow, earnings can come and go, but as long as dividend stocks are buttressed by a gusher of levered free cash flow, there’s little reason to worry that the dividend spigot will be turned off.

Levered free cash flow (LFCF) is too often overlooked as a measure of health in dividend stocks, but it’s arguably the most important factor in determining whether a company will keep up its payouts. After all, levered free cash flow is what’s left after a company pays interest on debts, dividend, capital expenditures, you name it.

LFCF is also a good yardstick for finding cheap stocks. Price-to-earnings (P/E) is more popular, sure, but price-to-levered free cash (P/LFCF) flow can be a better metric. Dividend stocks can dive if a company posts a net loss, screwing up the P/E, but if the company has billions in cash sloshing around, that dividend (now with a higher yield) is abundantly safe.

We decided to scour the market for cheap, high-dividend stocks generating unusually high levered free cash. These dividend stocks had to be in the Russell 1000, have a yield of at least 5% and a P/LFCF multiple of less than 15.

Based on those criteria, here are three great dividend stocks where cash is king, as they have big piles of cash leftover after paying interest and everything else you can think of:

Next Page

Mack-Cali Realty (CLI)

CLI Price/LFCF: 6.5
CLI Dividend Yield: 5.5%

Real estate investment trusts are dividend stocks that tend to have firehoses of levered free cash. That’s because once a month, every month, the rent checks and get paid and those payments pile up.

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A number of REITs look like big-cash dividend stocks, but Mack-Cali Realty (CLI) stands out because of its superior dividend yield relative to its cash flow. CLI pays a dividend yielding 5.5% even as its valuation of price-to-levered free cash flow is in the single digits.

The brutal cold winter in the Northeast hurt Mack-Cali’s results, as expenses piled up for maintaining its portfolio of apartments. Shares in CLI are up just 1% so far this year to lag the broader market.

But that dividend probably couldn’t be safer thanks to the levered free cash CLI generates. During the past 12 months, CLI pumped out nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in free cash — after paying interest expense, capex and $135 million in dividends, according to S&P Capital IQ. With more than twice as much free cash as dividend payments, CLI is not only safe, but looks undervalued too.

Next Page

AT&T (T)

T Price/LFCF: 12.7
T Dividend Yield: 5.2%

Telecommunications stocks generate tremendous cash flow because (most) people pay their phone bills every month. Indeed, the deal in so much cash that there’s still plenty leftover even after gargantuan expenses to build and maintain networks.

With a yield of 5.2%, AT&T (T) is routinely one of the top 10 dividend stocks is in the S&P 500, but given how much free cash the telco generates, it could probably be No. 1 if it wanted to. T had $22 billion in capex over the last 12 months, it paid more than $9 billion to pay off debt and shelled out nearly $10 billion in dividends. Interesting,

And yet, after all that, T still generated more than $14 billion in levered free cash flow in the past year. Not only can investors can feel comfortable with T’s ability to swallow DirecTV (DTV), but the numbers also suggest that T can easily juice its dividend.

T shares are breakeven so far in 2014, but look like they could rise on multiple expansion given that the P/LFCF and P/E both look cheap at about 12. No, slow growth means AT&T won’t get a really big multiple, but the cash flow suggests solid future earnings growth and higher dividends too, and that should buoy T stock.

Next Page

R.R. Donnelley (RRD)

RRD Price/LFCF: 9.4
RRD Dividend Yield: 6.7%

It’s hard to find a more boring company than R.R. Donnelley (RRD). It both prints and creates custom content (e.g., annual reports) for private and public companies.

In other words, RRD could be thought of as a hot tech stock … if we were still in the Middle Ages.

So it’s somewhat of a surprise that RRD also prints cash. Levered free cash flow came to more than a half-billion dollars over the trailing 12 months. Furthermore, because RRD has comparatively few shares outstanding, it only paid $189 million in dividends last year — even with a whopping yield of 6.7%.

R.R. Donnelley also looks extremely cheap. RRD trades at a little more than 9 P/LFCF. The forward P/E is likewise 9. That’s a discount of more than 40% compared to the broader market.  And RRD has a growth trajectory that lags the S&P 500 by only about a percentage point.

Of course part of the reason for the high dividend is a slumping share price. (That’s always something to consider when hunting for dividend stocks.) After a stunning rise in 2013, RRD has lost 23% so far this year, wiping out any gains from the dividend. That’s partly due to weak top-line growth. But the levered free cash flow multiple suggests that shares are beaten down more than enough.

Furthermore, RRD’s strategy hangs on making acquisitions and it certainly generates enough free cash to keep doing deals.

As of this writing, Dan Burrows did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

3 Stocks Spiking on Big Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

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Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

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With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume recently.

Media General

Media General (MEG) owns and operates broadcast television stations and related Web sites and mobile news applications in the U.S. This stock closed up 5.5% to $18.36 in Wednesday's trading session.

Wednesday's Volume: 1.02 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 371,013

Volume % Change: 201%

From a technical perspective, MEG gapped up sharply higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $17.50 to $17.54 with high volume. This move is now pushing shares of MEG within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if MEG manages to take out Wednesday's intraday high of $18.51 and then once it clears more key overhead resistance levels at $18.92 to $19.69 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MEG as long as it's trending above Wednesday's low of $17.86 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 371,013 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then MEG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $23 to its 52-week high at $23.97.

Twitter

Twitter (TWTR) is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. This stock closed up 10.6% to $33.77 in Wednesday's trading session.

Wednesday's Volume: 60.29 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 17.65 million

Volume % Change: 241%

From a technical perspective, TWTR exploded higher here above some near-term support at $30.38 with monster upside volume. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $29.51 to $30.38. Following that bottom, shares of TWTR have now soared higher and the stock is quickly approaching a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if TWTR manages to take out Wednesday's intraday high of $33.84 to some more key overhead resistance at $34.10 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TWTR as long as it's trending above $32 or above Wednesday's low of $31.09 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 17.65 million shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then TWTR will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from earlier this month that started near $40.

Workday

Workday (WDAY) provides enterprise cloud applications for global human resources and finance in the U.S. and internationally. This stock closed up 2.3% at $84.04 in Wednesday's trading session.

Wednesday's Volume: 7.89 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 2.86 million

Volume % Change: 231%

From a technical perspective, WDAY ripped modestly higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $80.13 and back above its 200-day moving average of $82.97 with strong upside volume flows. This spike higher on Wednesday also pushed shares of WDAY into breakout territory, since the stock took out some more key overhead resistance levels at $82 to $83.16. Traders should now look for a continuation move to the upside for shares of WDAY in the short-term if the stock manages to take out Wednesday's intraday high of $87.24 with strong volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in WDAY as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $82.97 and then once it sustains a move or close above $87.24 with volume that hits near or above 2.86 million shares. If that move starts soon, then WDAY will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $96.50 to $100, or even $105.50.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

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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.

3 Convincing Reasons Why Apple Is a Great Buy

Apple traded stagnantly in the short term, but is up 25.6% over the last 12 months, while continuing to pay a dividend to shareholders. When I read over some Apple news last night and got myself caught up on the current events of the company, my perma-bullishness towards the company remained intact, as I found three other specific angles as to why it would be a good time to be an Apple shareholder right now.

Aside from continuing to be the most rock-solid company arguably in existence today, here's three niche reasons that I think Apple still remains a good fundamental buy.

1. Apple TV Will Handle Amazon Fire, Roku and Google (GOOG) Chrome

I'm predicting that Apple TV is going to handily take care of Amazon's new offering in the area. Already, comparisons are being made.

Mashable, which is awesome at doing these comps, was the first to put out an article yesterday comparing the different players — you can read the entire article here.

So, while we can see that Amazon is certainly going to be a competitor, there isn't really much that sets it apart from the others, aside from its direct connection with Amazon users and those passionate about the Amazon brand.

Apple is talking about gaming controller support coming on its new Apple TV model, as I've already reported:

Game controller support is going to be crucial if Apple wants to even begin to think about going after Xbox. Not that the games will all be ported over, or even available at first - but, it's definitely the very beginnings of a foray into video games, the key to what is keeping Microsoft in my, and many other, living rooms.

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The good thing is that Apple has a head start. The success that the company has had over the years with tablet and mobile has created a loyalty and familiarity for the brand name. When Apple launches its new set-top box (expected in the first half of 2014), it's likely to do exceptionally well and be the de facto choice for many consumers that are already part of the growing constituency of customers that have catalyzed Apple's meteoric rise.

I'm predicting that Apple handles Amazon and company for a couple of reasons. Number 1, I think that Apple's recent comments about Apple TV "not being a hobby" anymore are likely alluding to a bigger, better Apple TV coming down the line this year.

"It's a little more difficult to call [Apple TV] a hobby these days."

-Apple CEO Tim Cook

Further, Apple already has the advantage of having its ecosystem in homes everywhere. There aren't too many people that have a house full of Windows PCs that will go out and buy an Apple TV. Conversely, those already hooked on the Apple brand are more likely to choose Apple simply for the simplicity and brand loyalty.

2. There Are Likely More Buybacks Coming

Since Apple released its first enormous buyback, shareholder incentives have been in the headlines non-stop for the past year for Apple. Catalyzed by one Carl "I'm a shareholder so give me everything" Icahn, the buzz around unlocking more cash continues to haunt Apple. Eventually, it's looking like they're going to have to do something about it. That, in turn, will likely be lucrative for Apple shareholders and continue to boost the stock's price.

AppleInsider reported:

Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray said in a note to investors on Wednesday that he expects Apple to announce an increase for its share repurchase program, as well as its quarterly dividend, in its next earnings report on April 23. Munster said most buy-side investors agree with this line of thinking, representing Wall Street's expectations going into the announcement of March quarter results.

According to Munster, this belief is likely already priced into shares of AAPL, so any announcements come April 23 may not have a significant effect on the company's stock price.

Apple has been under investor scrutiny for sitting on a pile of cash that was at one point near $160 billion. Facing pressure from Wall Street, the company responded by buying back billions of dollars worth of its own shares, and also paying out a quarterly dividend that is currently at $3.05 per common share.

3. A Wide Array of New Products Coming

In addition to the system for vehicles that Apple has just laid out, we're seeing the tip of the iceberg of a new catalogue of Apple products that will be coming down the pipeline this year.

Aside from that, those who read me know that I'm predicting Apple's iTunes Radio to be the only streaming music service that people will give a damn about in a couple years' time. With an expanded catalogue and instant reach to everyone who religiously follows the cult of Mac, it's a shoo-in to knock out Pandora (P) — with others like Spotify likely to follow.

Remember, Apple already dominates the entire music industry with iTunes. Its hostile takeover of streaming radio is next.

Finally, let us not forget about Apple's coming foray into biometrics and watches. I've often argued that the reason that Apple is taking so long for a watch offering is due to the fact that when they do release it, I expect it to be worlds better and worlds more functional than the offerings that we currently have. Its obvious competitor would be the Galaxy Gear smartwatch from Samsung (OTC:SSNLF). I'm predicting Apple's offering — similar to how the iPhone was when it came out - will blow the doors off of anything we've seen so far, in true — old school — Apple fashion.

I continue to contend that Apple is one of the best long-term investments you can put your money in and these three reasons should account for reason to keep your money in the company for quarters to come. The company still has massive growth potential, namely through Mac and ecosystem, and it dominates the music business. With the addition of a Spotify-like service that is being rumored, Apple has nothing but continued room for growth and innovation ahead of it. Apple is going to easily handle Amazon's TV offering, will likely continue to buy back stock, and will make an innovative impact with the new products they have coming down the line. I am bullish long term on Apple.

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Real Time Picks	Buffett-Munger Screener
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ETFs, Options	Low P/S Companies
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RSS Feed	Monthly Newsletters
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AAPL STOCK PRICE CHART 626.69 (1y: +41%) $(function(){var seriesOptions=[],yAxisOptions=[],name='AAPL',display='';Highcharts.setOptions({global:{useUTC:true}});var d=new Date();$current_day=d.getDay();if($current_day==5||$current_day==0||$current_day==6){day=4;}else{day=7;} seriesOptions[0]={id:name,animation:false,color:'#4572A7',lineWidth:1,name:name.toUpperCase()+' stock price',threshold:null,data:[[1369803600000,444.95],[1369890000000,451.58],[1369976400000,449.735],[1370235600000,450.72],[1370322000000,449.31],[1370408400000,445.11],[1370494800000,438.46],[1370581200000,441.811],[1370840400000,438.89],[1370926800000,437.6],[1371013200000,432.19],[1371099600000,435.965],[1371186000000,430.05],[1371445200000,432],[1371531600000,431.77],[1371618000000,423],[1371704400000,416.838],[1371790800000,413.5],[1372050000000,402.54],[1372136400000,402.63],[1372222800000,398.07],[1372309200000,393.78],[1372395600000,396.53],[1372654800000,409.22],[1372741200000,418.49],[1372827600000,420.8],[1373000400000,417.42],[1373259600000,415.05],[1373346000000,422.35],[1373432400000,420.73],[1373518800000,427.288],[1373605200000,426.51],[1373864400000,427.44],[1373950800000,430.195],[1374037200000,430.31],[1374123600000,431.758],[1374210000000,424.95],[1374469200000,426.31],[1374555600000,418.99],[1374642000000,440.51],[1374728400000,438.5],[1374814800000,440.99],[1375074000000,447.79],[1375160400000,453.32],[1375246800000,452.53],[1375333200000,456.676],[1375419600000,462.54],[1375678800000,469.45],[1375765200000,465.25],[1375851600000,464.98],[1375938000000,461.01],[1376024400000,454.45],[1376283600000,467.36],[1376370000000,489.57],[1376456400000,498.5],[1376542800000,497.91],[1376629200000,502.33],[1376888400000,507.74],[1376974800000,501.07],[1377061200000,502.36],[1377147600000,502.96],[1377234000000,501.02],[1377493200000,502.97],[1377579600000,488.59],[1377666000000,490.896],[1377752400000,491.7],[1377838800000,487.216],[1378184400000,488.58],[1378270800000,498.691],[1378357200000,495.27],[1378443600000,498.22],[1378702800000,506.17],[1378789200000,494.64],[1378875600000,467.71],[1378962000000,472.69],[1379048400000,464.9],[1379307600000,450.12],[1379394000000,455.32],[1379480400000,464.68],[1379566800000,472.3],[1379653200000,467.41],[1379912400000,490.64],[1379998800000,489.1],[138! 0085200000,481.53],[1380171600000,486.22],[1380258000000,482.75],[1380517200000,476.75],[1380603600000,487.96],[1380690000000,489.56],[1380776400000,483.41],[1380862800000,483.03],[1381122000000,487.75],[1381208400000,480.94],[1381294800000,486.588],[1381381200000,489.638],[1381467600000,492.812],[1381726800000,496.04],[1381813200000,498.68],[1381899600000,501.114],[1381986000000,504.5],[1382072400000,508.89],[1382331600000,521.362],[1382418000000,519.868],[1382504400000,524.96],[1382590800000,531.91],[1382677200000,525.958],[1382936400000,529.876],[1383022800000,516.678],[1383109200000,524.896],[1383195600000,522.702],[1383282000000,520.03],[1383544800000,526.75],[1383631200000,525.449],[1383717600000,520.92],[1383804000000,512.492],[1383890400000,520.56],[1384149600000,519.048],[1384236000000,520.01],[1384322400000,520.634],[1384408800000,528.16],[1384495200000,524.991],[1384754400000,518.629],[1384840800000,519.55],[1384927200000,515],[1385013600000,521.136],[1385100000000,519.8],[1385359200000,523.74],[1385445600000,533.4],[1385532000000,545.96],[1385704800000,556.07],[1385964000000,551.23],[1386050400000,566.322],[1386136800000,565],[1386223200000,567.901],[1386309600000,560.02],[1386568800000,566.43],[1386655200000,565.55],[1386741600000,561.36],[1386828000000,560.54],[1386914400000,554.43],[1387173600000,557.5],[1387260000000,554.99],[1387346400000,550.77],[1387432800000,544.46],[1387519200000,549.02],[1387778

HighTower, Focus Add Wirehouse Advisors

May has been a busy time for recruiters, who are eager to get deals signed before advisors take their summer vacations. While several independent broker-dealers have been successful at attracting breakaway brokers, the wirehouses and other employee channels have drawn their fair share of advisors from rivals.

HighTower said Monday that the Ezzell Group of Sacramento, Calif., has affiliated with the independent advisor group. The team moved from Merrill Lynch and oversees nearly $300 million in client assets.

 “The Ezzell Group will build equity in their own businesses and retain 100 percent autonomy over their practices, while leveraging the HighTower platform to lower operating risk and increase access to world-class investment solutions,” said HighTower CEO Elliot Weissbluth, in a press release. “Network teams have access to the industry’s best investment solutions and a robust services and technology platform to fuel their growth starting on day one.”

The Ezzell Group incluces Jason Ezzell, managing director and founder, and Alec Fisher, senior manager.

Ezzell joined Merrill Lynch in 1999 and specializes in individual wealth management, deferred-compensation plans, concentrated stock and option plans and business-succession planning.

Fisher develops holistic financial plans based on individual client needs, goals and tolerance for risk. The team serves the Sacramento and San Francisco areas.

“HighTower’s culture of transparency and integrity reflects the values that inform every one of our client relationships,” said Ezzell in a statement. “The firm’s sophisticated technology and deep operational resources will be invaluable in driving our growth and enabling us to go above and beyond for our clients.”

Focus Financial said Tuesday that a team of former-Wells Fargo advisors joined its partner firm, LVW Advisors, in Rochester, N.Y. Joseph Zappia and Ted Garofola, CFP, previously part of the Zappia Investment Group at Wells Fargo have joined LVW to launch LVW Family Wealth.

The team previously managed about $400 million in client assets.

“Lori Van Dusen and the team at LVW are truly among the very best in the country, and we are thrilled to support this noteworthy firm achieve their growth objectives through high caliber transactions,” noted Rudy Adolf, CEO of Focus Financial Partners, in a press release. “We remain committed to supporting the transition of advisors, like Lori and Joseph, out of the wirehouses as RIAs continue to gain market share. Our track record with transitions and mergers speaks for itself and we are proud to support this continuing trend.”

The latest advisor move was facilitated by Focus Connections, a program aimed at helping wirehouse teams make successful transitions into independent firms, the firm says. LVW was itself launched through the program in 2011 and now has $2 billion in client assets under management.

“Joe [Zappia] has been an industry peer for years, and I am delighted to have someone with such deep investment and financial planning expertise as part of our team,” said Lori Van Dusen, CEO of LVW, in a press release. “With the ongoing support and counsel of Focus, we continue to look for like-minded partners, like Joe, as we expand our offering and add talent.”

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“As our industry evolves, we felt strongly that becoming fiduciaries and partnering with LVW Advisors would allow us to best serve our clients’ interests,” explained Zappia, in a statement. “I am excited about leveraging this partnership and using our combined experience to serve the needs of high-net-worth families, who will benefit from the firm’s state-of-the-art infrastructure that supports sophisticated investments typically unavailable to private clients.”

Other Recruits

Commonwealth Financial Network said last week that it recruited an advisor team with more than $150 in assets under management. The team used to be affiliated with MassMutual Financial Group.

The Glen Ellyn, Ill.-based advisors, Joe Esposito and Keith Kiker, used Commonwealth’s virtual recruiting platform, the IBD says.

With the moves of Esposito and Kiker, the Advisor Center, which is used by a number IBDs, has facilitated the transition of an estimated $1.22 billion in AUM since its launch in late 2012, according to Commonwealth. A total of 33 advisors have joined 18 different firms in the Advisor Center’s online community.

“Working with the team at the Advisor Center was a great experience from start to finish,” added Keith Kiker, CFP. “Tom [Daley] and his staff were very hands-on throughout the process and willing to meet with us to provide further clarification about our options whenever needed. Most importantly, the team was product agnostic and showed no bias towards certain firms when it came to discussing options with us.”

Wells Fargo Advisors said Wednesday that it added one team from Morgan Stanley (MS) to its independent channel (FiNet), while an advisor from Merrill Lynch and a rep from UBS joined its traditional employee-channel. The team and individual reps each move to the firm with more than $1 million in yearly fees and commissions.

In Salem, Ore., Summit Wealth Management, led by financial advisor Richard Lee, along with Brandon Blair, Mike Costa and Barbara Hacke Resch, moved to Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network from Morgan Stanley on May 2.

Also earlier this month, financial advisor Milton Schwartz joined Wells Fargo Advisors in Sumter, S.C., where he reports to branch manager Roy Creech and South Carolina complex manager Scott Spang.

Most recently, Schwartz served as branch manager for Merrill Lynch’s Sumter branch, where he managed more than $135 million in client assets and produced more than $1.1 million in annual revenue. He has about 27 years of industry experience, according to Wells.

Financial advisor David Spell moved to WFA in nearby Charleston, S.C., where he will report to branch manager Rod Connell, as well as to Spang. He moved from UBS Financial Services, where he managed more than $86 million in client assets and produced more than $1 million in annual revenue.

Spell, who has more than 12 years of experience, joined the firm on March 27.

Earlier in May, Raymond James said it recruited Senior Vice Presidents of Investments Jeffery Tomaszewski and Gary Rigby to the Ocala, Fla., office of Raymond James & Associates, its employee broker-dealer.

The team came to Raymond James from Merrill Lynch, where they managed more than $280 million in client assets and had annual fees and commissions of approximately $1.6 million.

“We looked for a couple years and considered half a dozen firms during our due diligence process,” said Rigby, in a press release. “After meeting with senior leadership, we found the type of customer service Raymond James provides and the corporate culture permeating the firm to be a great fit for our needs and the needs of our clients.”

Buybacks to Dividends at Risk With Record-Low Yields Ending

U.S. companies, which have almost doubled profits since the financial crisis, are losing the benefit of record-low debt expenses as Federal Reserve plans to taper bond purchases send borrowing costs higher.

Borrowing costs for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies fell to 1.4 percent of sales the last 12 months, a record low in 11 years of data compiled by Bloomberg. While interest rates on corporate bonds are below the 5.7 percent average since the start of the financial crisis, yields are increasing the most since 2009 and rose to about 4.3 percent from a 17-year low of 3.35 percent in May, as economists project the Fed will start reducing economic stimulus this month.

Higher debt costs will reduce buybacks and dividend increases that have boosted returns in the four-year bull market, investors say. Companies that repurchased the most shares or regularly increased payouts beat the benchmark for U.S. equity by more than 27 percentage points since 2009. S&P 500 members returned $82.4 billion to shareholders in dividends last quarter, up from $71.2 billion a year earlier, Bloomberg data show.

"Part of the profitability story will start eroding," Paul Zemsky, the New York-based head of asset allocation for ING Investment Management, which oversees $180 billion, said by phone Aug. 28. "It'll have more of an impact on financial transactions, like buybacks and dividends."

August Drop

Stocks dropped last week, sending the S&P 500 down 1.8 percent to 1,632.97 and making August the worst month in more than a year. Tensions rose over possible military action in Syria. Reports showing better-than-estimated consumer confidence and economic growth added to speculation that quantitative easing will end. The index climbed 0.4 percent to 1,639.77 at 4 p.m. New York time today.

Although the benchmark gauge is still up 15 percent in 2013, about $3 trillion was erased from global stock markets in the six days after Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said June 19 that he may reduce bond purchases and halt the program by mid-2014. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to a 22-month high of 2.66 percent on June 24 and stayed above 2.6 percent most of last month.

The central bank will probably cut its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases by $10 billion at its next meeting, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 48 economists conducted Aug. 9-13.

Central bankers have kept the target rate for overnight loans between banks near zero since 2008 to promote economic growth, enticing companies from Apple Inc. (AAPL) to Home Depot Inc. to sell bonds and use the money for share repurchases with their stocks trading at some of the lowest valuations on record.

Debt Financed

Authorized U.S. buybacks reached a six-year high of $505 billion so far this year after more than $1.7 trillion of repurchases since 2009, data from Birinyi Associates Inc. show. The 100 stocks in the S&P 500 with the most buybacks relative to market value have beaten the index since March 2009, advancing 236 percent compared with 141 percent for the benchmark, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Companies that have increased dividends every year for the last 25 years rallied 169 percent in this bull market. The dividend yield on the S&P 500 averaged 2.12 percent for the 12 months through May, about 0.38 percentage points higher than the 10-year Treasury. (USGG10YR) That relationship has shifted the last few months, with bonds yielding 2.74 percent, compared to stocks at 2.14 percent.

Higher Rates

The average rate for high-yield and investment-grade U.S. corporate debt surged almost a full percentage point from May to June, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data. Even with the jump to 4.3 percent, rates are below the average of 6.9 percent in the decade before the start of the bull market.

Buyback plans have slowed as the Fed prepares to curtail the bond-buying program. Less than $50 billion was announced in each of the past two months, compared to more than the $68 billion average of January through June, according to Birinyi data. Repurchases dropped 3.2 percent to $118.5 billion in 2003, the last year before the Fed started raising rates.

Corporate bond sales also have started to slow, after reaching a global record of $3.99 trillion in 2012. After $1.1 trillion was issued in the first quarter this year, sales slipped to $925.8 billion in the second, data compiled by Bloomberg show. June's $196.8 billion was the slowest month since December 2011.

Earnings Slowdown

The rise in borrowing costs has little to do with corporate credit quality as the economy, profits and margins improve. Earnings per share for S&P 500 companies have surged to more than $100 a share last year, compared to about $60 in 2008. One reason is that net income has risen faster than sales, as margins expanded for nine straight quarters from 2009 through 2011.

Falling debt costs are another reason. Interest expense for companies in the S&P 500 totaled $128.2 billion in the last 12 months, or about 1.4 percent of sales, Bloomberg data show. That compares with 2.4 percent in September 2012.

Profit expansion has slowed to an average 4.2 percent the last six quarters, compared with the 28 percent mean during 2010 and 2011 when the economy was recovering for the global credit crisis, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

"Now that profitability has been basically pushed up toward peak levels, in order to get earnings to go higher from here, who else are you going to fire? What else are you going to cut?," Kevin Caron, a Florham Park, New Jersey-based market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which oversees about $150 billion, said by phone Aug. 29. "The trillion-dollar question is what drives the rally from here?"

Better Investment

The Fed has committed to keeping rates low until the economy is expanding fast enough on its own, saying it wouldn't raise rates so long as unemployment is above 6.5 percent and inflation doesn't exceed 2.5 percent.

Any rate increase would be a sign of improving confidence, leading to more corporate investment, according to Jim Paulsen, the Minneapolis-based chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, which oversees about $340 billion. By the time rates get back to normal, U.S. executives will want to reinvest in their business instead of buying stock, he said.

Reports are showing faster improvement. Gross domestic product expanded more than estimated in the second quarter and initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level in five years. Analysts project S&P 500 earnings will bounce back from the slowdown, growing at 10.6 percent in 2014 and 2015, or twice the pace of this year, according to more than 11,000 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Animal Spirits

"When the Fed starts raising rates, and suddenly all these Armageddon stories are no longer Armageddons, that lends itself to corporations acting with more animal spirits," Paulsen said by phone Aug. 28. "Bond yields would rise, but it would reflect greater confidence in the economy so it would lead to an acceleration of corporate activity into capital investment."

Repurchases have been popular during this bull market because valuations have been low relative to past rallies. While price-earnings ratios for the S&P 500 rose 14 percent to 16 times earnings in the last 12 months, they have averaged 15.5 since March 2009, compared to the 18.8 mean in the 2002-2007 rally and 28.1 in the last two years of the 1990s, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, borrowed an unprecedented $17 billion in its first bond sale since 1996 to help fund a $55 billion addition to its capital return plan. The offering was the largest bond sale on record and the first since 1996 for the world's largest company by market value. While the announcement helped the shares rally from the 2013 low, they have underperformed the S&P 500 for this year.

Home Depot

Home Depot, the largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, sold $2 billion of bonds in April for share repurchases. The company boosted its dividend 34 percent and announced the $17 billion stock buyback in February. After outperforming the S&P 500 by 13 percentage points the first six months of the year, the stock dropped 3.9 percent the last two months, while the index is up 1.7 percent.

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The most indebted companies in the S&P 500, which had beaten the index by 6 percentage points through May, are starting to lag behind. In the last three months they have declined 3 percent, compared with a 0.1 percent gain in the gauge, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Corporate executives should have locked in record-low borrowing costs by now, according to Mark Luschini, the Philadelphia-based chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, which oversees about $58 billion of assets, said by phone Aug. 30.

"If they haven't taken advantage of this window of low rates already," he said, "then shame on them."

The top 25 companies for pay and perks

Google (GOOG), Costco (COST) and Facebook (FB) top a new Glassdoor survey of companies with great salaries and benefits. What can we learn from them and the rest of the top 25 about attracting and retaining talent? Why is now the time to study their examples?

Pay is a hot topic, cropping up in all sorts of discussions -- from the fast-food industry to state minimum wage laws and speculation about the why The New York Times recently fired its first woman executive editor.

It's not surprising, then, that 39% of American workers in a recent Glassdoor survey say they believe they don't get paid fairly for their efforts. When that much of the workforce -- 42% of women surveyed and 34% of men -- feel they're under-compensated for their work, employee motivation and performance suffer.

Despite talk at the city and state level about living-wage standards and President Obama's recent executive order on equal pay and a higher minimum wage for federal contract employees, 57% of the workers surveyed said it's up to employers, rather than the government, to take care of the issue. The top items on their wish list are better pay policies, clearer top-down communication, and greater transparency about pay.

But there are companies that earn raves from employees for pay, benefits, and working conditions. On Friday, Glassdoor released its first report on the top 25 companies for compensation and benefits. The results are based on a year's worth of verified feedback from U.S. employees who use the career community website.

Naturally, the list features companies that pay well, but what stands out are the responsive and often creative benefits -- everything from flex-time and work-from-home options to more esoteric perks like pet insurance and onsite hair salons.

Top industries in the top 25

The tech sector makes up almost half of the list, with 12 companies earning top marks for pay and benefits, including Google, Microsoft (MSFT) and Adobe (ADBE).

Pharmaceutical and biotechno! logy make up the second-largest group with three representatives: Genentech, Amgen and Pfizer.

Costco, at No. 2 on the list, is the only retailer to make the chart, along with one company each from the insurance, transportation, energy and travel industries. Not surprisingly, no fast-food companies made the list.

1. Google
2. Costco
3. Facebook
4. Adobe
5. Epic
6. Intuit
7. USAA
8. Chevron
9. Salesforce.com
10. Monsanto
11. Genentech
12. Kaiser Permanente
13. Qualcomm
14. Riverbed
15. Verizon
16. Vmware
17. T-Mobile
18. Microsoft
19. Amgen
20. Pfizer
21. Southern California Edison
22. Orbitz
23. Procter & Gamble
24. Union Pacific
25. eBay

More than money

It's no secret that the tech sector pays well, and companies like USAA and Costco are legendary within their industries for employee satisfaction. But employees also cited interesting perks, beyond health insurance and 401K plans, as part of their satisfaction at work.

More control over their time, in one form or another, topped the wish list of employees in Glassdoor's fair-pay survey. More women than men want flex time and work from home options (men tend to prefer company stock), but the most-coveted perk was more vacation time. More than 60% of survey respondents would claim that benefit if they could.

Among the top 25, 10 companies -- including Chevron, Kaiser Permanente, and Orbitz -- were cited by workers for their vacation and personal day policies, flex-time options, and telecommuting arrangements.

Travel and an awesome home base

Google and salesforce.com in particular were mentioned by employees for fun business-travel destinations and for a home office worth coming back to. Hawaii is a recurring theme.

"I've been on off-sites to Tahoe, Vegas, and Hawaii in the last year," said a Google senior software engineer. And yet "the company creates an environment where you don't really want to leave campus." A Sales! force acc! ount executive was similarly enthusiastic about the office and company off-sites, describing a "very upbeat atmosphere" along with trips to Hawaii.

Working hard may be its own reward sometimes, but extra cash is even more rewarding. Bonuses were a repeated theme among Costco and USAA employees in the top 25 survey. The fair-pay survey didn't break out bonuses specifically as a desired perk, but it's hard to imagine anyone turning them down.

Onsite services for employees

Google and other companies know that employees who aren't leaving frequently for errands and appointments across town are less stressed and distracted. This has given rise to some perks that seem more suited to a resort than an office park, such as the onsite chiropractor and acupuncturist mentioned by a Facebook program manager based in Menlo Park, Calif. Gyms, day care centers, health and dental clinics, fine dining and hair salons helped push other companies onto the list.

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Adobe stood out among the top 25 for offering pet health insurance to its employees along with a long list of pluses, such as a top-notch employee stock purchase plan, onsite gyms and spaces to relax during the work day.

Lessons for companies who want top talent

What can companies who want to attract and keep the best employees take away from these results? Scott Dobroski, Glassdoor community expert, said good salaries are just part of the total package.

"There are other pieces all employers can evaluate for their own company and do their best to offer employees. This can include offering bonuses, flexible schedules, more paid time off, the option to work remotely, health benefits beyond general health and dental, stock options and more."

He noted that what works for one company may not be the best fit for another. "What's key is determining what works best for your workforce and gaugin! g employe! e feedback to determine what they want and what will make them more satisfied in and out of work."

Creating a straightforward compensation structure is a big potential benefit too, according to Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor career and workplace expert. "When employees have a clearer understanding of how they're being compensated without secrecy around salaries, not only can they feel empowered in their current jobs, they're also often motivated to work toward the next level, which can improve productivity."

The payoff for employers

So how do companies justify paying above-average salaries and serving up lavish perks? It's all about getting the best from employees over the long haul, according to Dobrowski.

"Employees value a total compensation and benefits package when it comes to their overall job satisfaction, which can certainly impact how productive they are, how committed they are and how long they potentially stay with a company," he said. And it's not just about salary. "Glassdoor surveys show that employees value career opportunities and interesting work as some of the top considerations when determining where to work."

And if that interesting work happens to reward employees with great pay, flexible scheduling and trips to Hawaii, so much the better.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

How celebrity hacker 'Sabu' helped feds thwart 300 cyber-attacks

  Watch a hacker steal encrypted passwords NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The celebrity hacker "Sabu" helped the FBI imprison his friends and stop more than 300 cyber-attacks in the three years since he betrayed several major hacking groups.

That's according to new U.S. government documents that for the first time provide extensive detail about what they call the "extremely valuable and productive" undercover cooperation of Hector Monsegur.

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Monsegur used the Sabu moniker online, where he was a member of the hacking collectives Anonymous and LulzSec.

He pleaded guilty to charges including identity theft and credit card fraud and is set to be sentenced on Tuesday.

He would face up to 26 years in prison for the $2.5 million in losses connected to his hacks, but the government is seeking leniency -- perhaps no additional prison time beyond seven months he already served.

Prosecutors said his work on behalf of the FBI helped thwart attacks on websites belonging to the U.S. military, NASA and media companies, among others. The FBI relocated him and his family because he received threats for his cooperation, the court documents say.

Monsegur was part of a group of hackers that became notorious in 2011 for breaking into or disabling U.S. government and corporate websites. The Anonymous-affiliated groups LulzSec and Internet Feds targeted sites including PBS, Fox Television, Nintendo and Sony Pictures. Their public boasts on Twitter and elsewhere on the Internet drew them instant celebrity as so-called hacktivists, because they often claimed to make a political point in their activities.

The documents show that in June 2011, FBI agents visited Monsegur's apartment in a public housing project in Manhattan's lower east side. They confronted him about his activities and he immediately agreed to become an informant.

He agreed to a guilty plea, returned to his apartment and was back online in hours -- this time, working for the FBI.

His assistance helped the FBI investigate and net LulzSec and Internet Feds members, including the FBI's most-wanted cybercriminal, Jeremy Hammond, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence, prosecutors said in court documents.

"Working sometimes literally around the clock, at the dir! ection of law enforcement, Monsegur engaged his co-conspirators in online chats that were critical to confirming their identities and whereabouts," prosecutors said. "During some of the online chats, at the direction of law enforcement, Monsegur convinced LulzSec members to provide him digital evidence of the hacking activities they claimed to have previously engaged in, such as logs regarding particular criminal hacks."

His quick cooperation was key, according to the documents, because LulzSec had established a protocol to destroy computer evidence if any of their members went missing or was arrested.

"Monsegur admitted to engaging in hacking activities about which the government had not previously developed evidence," prosecutors said. He hacked thousands of computers, at first in a bid to build a legitimate computer security company and then to steal and pay his bills, prosecutors said.

Monsegur's cooperation with the FBI became public when he was arrested in 2012 for making unauthorized online postings, violating his cooperation agreement.

Upon the news, Anonymous members hacked a computer-security website and posted an open letter to Sabu. It read: "Sabu snitched on us. As usually happens FBI menaced him to take his sons away. We understand, but we were your family too (remember what you liked to say?) It's sad and we can't imagine how it feels having to look at the mirror each morning and see there the guy who shopped their friends to [the] police."

Warren Buffett Is Buying This Dividend Machine. Should You?

What do Warren Buffett, John Paulson, and Daniel Loeb have in common?

Well, yes, they are all really, really, really rich. Fair point.

But they are all also buying Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ  ) , according to required regulatory disclosures this week. The news has the stock trading higher by nearly 2.5% on Friday. 

If these giants of the investing world are buying, should you?

First of all, how much buying are we talking about?
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) bought a stake worth about $524 million as of March 31. An investment of this size likely means that the investment was made not by the Oracle of Omaha himself, but more likely one of his lieutenants, Ted Weschler or Todd Combs.

John Paulson disclosed a new position of about $416 million. Loeb's fund, Third Point LLC, bought about $166 million of Verizon stock. 

Verizon, as of Friday morning, has a market cap of $203 billion. All combined, the Berkshire, Third Point, and Paulson positions represent somewhere around 0.5% of the company.

Why are they buying?
Verizon's fundamentals are pretty fantastic. The company's financials are stable, marked by slow, steady growth and loads of cash flow. It's this cash flow that supports the second largest dividend on the Dow at 4.4%.

Verizon currently trades at about 11 times trailing twelve month earnings, according to Yahoo! Finance. Verizon's largest competitor, AT&T (NYSE: T  ) trades at 10.7 times trailing twelve month earnings. 

Speaking of AT&T
Earlier, I mentioned that Verizon has the second largest dividend on the Dow.

Who is #1?

That's right, AT&T.

AT&T currently has a dividend yield of 5.4%, and overall has a similar profile to Verizon. The company is huge, stable, slowly growing, and throwing off so, so much cash. On the surface, the companies really are very similar.

So what's the difference between AT&T and Verizon? Why are Paulson, Loeb, and Berkshire Hathaway all buying Verizon but not AT&T?

The truth is impossible to say. Perhaps one or all of these investors will speak publicly about their logic. But short of that, we're all just guessing. 

My opinion -- Verizon over AT&T
To me, the decision to buy Verizon over AT&T boils down to a two factors--one negative for AT&T and one positive for Verizon.

AT&T may not see the forest from the trees
Over the past six months, AT&T has been in a price war with smaller rival T-Mobile. The company won't admit this is happening, but a quick search will yield hundreds of articles detailing the subtle changes in AT&T's basic wireless plans targeted directly at T-Mobile.

Price wars, while potentially beneficial for the winner in the long term, can really hurt an organization's bottom line in the interim. And the benefits only really accrue if the company wins the war.

AT&T CFO John Stevens said of T-Mobile, "The competition is more noisey than disruptive."

That may be true, but the competition seems to have AT&T distracted at best, and more likely engaged in a price war despite the corporate public relations spin.

As an investor, I don't want my top executives squabbling semantics with an non-threatening, small competitor. I want them to be ruthlessly focused on the future, on executing, on out innovating the competition.

AT&T seems reactive. The best companies are not reactive, they are proactive.

Consumers simply prefer Verizon
In the world of wireless telecoms, consumer opinion matters. It shapes perception, and it dictates buying decisions. If I come into a decision with a predisposition that option A is better than option B, I'm much more likely to just go with option A. 

This is a huge advantage for Verizon, and a real problem for AT&T. Think back just a few years ago when the iPhone was exclusively available on AT&T's network. Do you remember the slow data? The dropped calls? The lost signals inside buildings?

I remember, and so do consumers across the nation. The experience still lingers in the collective conscious. In a Consumer Reports survey late last year, consumer said that Verizon is far and away the favored carrier among the largest U.S. providers. 

Verizon scored 71 points out of 100. That compares to 64 for AT&T and 65 for T-Mobile. Sprint was last with a score of 59. 

In other words, AT&T scored closer to last place than it did to first place Verizon. 

So, should you be buying?
To me, Verizon makes sense as a buy. The company trades at just 11 times earnings, it's a cash flow and profit machine, and its 4.4% dividend yield is pretty awesome. 

I also like that Verizon is the perennial top pick for consumers when evaluating the quality of the wireless network. Consumers buy what they perceive as the best option; today that option is Verizon.

The world is going mobile driven by smartphones and tablets, and the future of telecom is wireless, high speed broadband. From a big picture perspective, Verizon is positioned perfectly to profit from this transformation.

From the micro perspective to the macro perspective, Verizon makes a lot of sense. Its no wonder that Berkshire, Paulson, and Loeb are all buying.

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Gallagher: SEC Fiduciary Rule Won’t ‘Stave Off’ DOL Redraft

A fiduciary rulemaking by the Securities and Exchange Commission would not “stave off” the planned upcoming release of a fiduciary redraft by the Department of Labor, SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher said Tuesday.

“I don’t necessarily feel that people should take solace in an SEC rulemaking to stave off a DOL rule,” Gallagher said during a one-on-one discussion with Richard Ketchum, CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, during the self-regulator’s annual conference in Washington.

The rerelease of a DOL rule proposal to amend the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is “a very real issue, and we have to take it into account,” he said.

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The SEC is “getting called out by all sectors” for moving slowly on a fiduciary rulemaking, Gallagher continued, “but it’s the best of what the SEC does: acting deliberately.”

Said Gallagher: “Some folks have come to us and said do a rulemaking because it will stave off Labor. I don’t like rulemaking to stave off other people; [An SEC fiduciary rule has] to make sense based on the merits. And I’m not convinced that [an SEC proposal] would” stop the DOL from reissuing a rule proposal.

DOL is “going to do what they do,” and DOL is “dealing with different issues and a very different statutory construct” under ERISA, Gallagher said. Plus, he said, Section 913 of the Dodd-Frank Act is “very limited” in the authority it gives. “It is important that our staffs are working closely together [on the fiduciary rulemaking], and they are.”

While SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White has said the commission would decide this year whether to move forward on a fiduciary rule, Gallagher said that “in many languages, 2014 can mean never.”

Gallagher, a Republican, who reiterated that he has yet to be convinced that an SEC fiduciary rulemaking is needed, also noted that he wasn’t sure whether DOL would stick to its planned August redraft release.

He also said that he worries about moves by special interest groups who see the fiduciary issue as a “great election year issue” to push for roll out of the DOL and SEC fiduciary rulemakings between now and the November elections.

Gallagher also revisited comments he made in a recent speech about the need to boost the number of advisor exams, and that the commission should fix the exam imbalance between brokers and advisors by allowing third-party advisor exams — including “potentially, defining the term ‘third party’ to include SROs in order to allow the SROs currently involved in broker-dealer oversight to conduct examinations of ‘dual hatted’ investment advisors as well.”

Gallagher said during the FINRA event Tuesday that the commission’s current seven-year exam cycle of advisors is leaving the agency vulnerable to missing another Madoff-type fraud. “We are just sitting there as an institution with our chin out waiting to get pummeled,” he said. “We’re not even ‘there’ with advisors” in terms of an adequate number of exams. /* .premium-promo { border: 1px solid #ddd; padding: 10px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px; float: left; } .premium-promo li, .premium-promo ul { list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; } .premium-promo li { margin: 0 0 10px; padding: 0 0 10px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #ddd; } .premium-promo h3 { text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 11px; } .premium-promo h4 { font-size: 16px; } .premium-promo a { text-decoration: none !important; } .premium-promo .btn { background: #0069a1; border-radius: 4px; display: inline-block; padding: 5px 10px; clear: both; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; } .premium-promo .btn:hover { background: #034c92; } */ Gallagher suggested at the FINRA event that the SEC create a rule to allow advisors to have third-party exams. But such a rule, he said, would “not mandate SROs” (such as FINRA) to be the third party, noting that such a rule would “allow choice.”

However, he conceded that how the SEC would oversee those third-party auditors would have to be determined.

In talking with reporters on the sidelines of the FINRA event, Gallagher clarified that given that the SEC already has the authority to examine advisors, the rulemaking regarding allowing third-party audits would delve into “how [the SEC] examines advisors,” giving advisors the option to get a third-party review.  

"I congratulate Gallagher on bringing that issue [of third-party exams] forward," Ketchum said during a coversation with reporters, noting that he see little political appetite for Rep. Maxine Waters' bill, the Investment Adviser Examination Improvement Act of 2013, H.R. 1627, which would allow the SEC to collect user fees from advisors to fund their exams.

Will Microsoft event Surface a small tablet?

SEATTLE — It's been quite a honeymoon for new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The executive, named to the top position in February, has continued the strategic shifts begun under predecessor Steve Ballmer.

But Nadella has also managed to put his own stamp on the company's messaging and tactics, and the reward has been a bump in the stock price. Now comes the hard part: managing Microsoft's substantial investments in hardware and mobile devices.

That continues on Tuesday in New York, when Nadella takes the stage for an 11 a.m. event that many tech observers believe will introduce new Surface and Surface Pro tablets.

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But what kind of Surface tablets? A smaller "mini" tablet with a 7- or 8-inch screen, which has become a popular size in the tablet market?

"The consensus on (Tuesday's) event seem to be centered on the announcement of a new Surface 'mini' running Windows RT, which seems a likely scenario to me," said Charles King, president and principal analyst at industry watcher Pund-IT. "The fact is that the tablet market has evolved to support both mini (7-8 inch) and maxi (10-inch) sized products, to the point where even Apple, the longest major holdout, finally threw in the towel with the iPad mini."

But an Intel-based mini-Surface running the latest version of Windows 8.1, "seems a bit far-fetched to me," King added. "The company may have felt that developing its own hardware was the only way Windows RT would have received proper attention, but the move reportedly irritated some of Microsoft's hardware partners to the point (that they are) throttling back or fully abandoning development of RT devices."

Many of those same companies are finally seeing their smaller Windows 8.1 tablets gaining traction, "so the appearance of a new mini Surface Pro would be unnecessarily provocative."

Then again, why would the company want to go up against other inexpensive Windows tablets coming soon?

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"It is doubtful Microsoft will do a 7-inch or 8-inch product near-term," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. "A number of vendors plan to have Windows tablets in the second half of the year running on Intel and priced around $100, and I just don't think Microsoft wants to play at that price point."

What Enderle is hearing is that Microsoft needs to separate the Surface and Surface Pro products, with the former being positioned more like a tablet and the Pro "closer to a laptop in primary form to better match user needs. My expectation is that they are likely to make a strong move in that direction."With Nadella, they have the opportunity to create a much richer, more differentiated line that is more strongly connected to cloud services and pulls from more of Microsoft," Enderle said.

Microsoft Touches Sky with the iPad Suite

The first quarter for the current fiscal saw Microsoft (MSFT) something people had long waited for. The company launched its flagship productivity application - Office for Apple's iPad - on March 27 as part of its mobile first strategy. This seemed a perfect combination- best Saas application suite on the best tablet. The Office version for iPads, the iPad suite, reportedly hit has hit the 27 million download mark. This was popular with Wall Street and more importantly with consumers, who performed 27 million downloads in a matter of weeks. This number is more than twice the figure the company shared over a month ago. The hotly-anticipated group of apps rocketed to the top of Apple's iOS App Store charts one day after launch and held their high ranking positions for some time. As of this writing, Word is still the fourth most-downloaded free iPad app, while Excel and PowerPoint have dropped to number 22 and 26 in the rankings, respectively. Microsoft has been using the same "freemium" model with Office for iPad. However, to get the full editing and creation experience, users will have to subscribe to Office 365 by paying a monthly or yearly fee.

Performance Of The Office Market:

The Office productivity suite is Microsoft's biggest revenue driver and makes up 40% of its estimated value. According to estimated calculations, this segment generated approximately $24 billion in revenue in calendar 2013 and is expected to grow to $30 billion by 2020. Furthermore, this division has the highest profit margins (65%) for Microsoft primarily due to a dominant 93% market share in the productivity suite market. However, Google, with its Google Docs offering, is chipping away at this market share, especially in the iPad segment. Microsoft Office has a sticky user base that is reluctant to shift to other productivity platforms. As a result, since its launch on iPad, Office has been downloaded by 27 million times. Apple is taking the usual 30% cut of all subscription sign-ups, as is the company's policy for all in-app purchases. Office 365 subscriptions cost $99 per year or $9.99 per month.

However, the firm is struggling with hardware, and has just 3 percent of the global market share in smartphones.

Given that tiny market, some investors believe Microsoft should not waste time and money on the low-margin hardware business.

ValueAct Capital, which led the shareholder revolt last year which culminated in previous CEO Steve Ballmer's retirement, has lobbied against Microsoft's hardware effort, including its costly acquisition of Nokia's handset business. In recent quarters, much of the growth in Office revenues has been due to the growth in Office 365, which has an annual revenue run rate of over $2.5 billion.

To Conclude:

With the Office business going strong, the tech-giant is expected to increase the return on investment pretty soon. The best thing that could have bolstered the revenues or MSFT was definitely the iPad suite which the company successfully went ahead with. With this, I'd like to encourage the investors to buy the MSFT stock.

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Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015

For the first few years of its existence, JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU  ) was the darling of the airline industry. While it had the prices of a low-cost carrier (compared to the lumbering legacy carriers of the day), it actually offered more amenities than most airlines, such as free satellite TV at every seat. Unfortunately, as legacy competitors improved their cost structures and oil prices rose, JetBlue's advantage shrank.

The tipping point was a wave of excruciating delays and flight cancellations -- caused by poor operational practices -- around Valentine's Day of 2007. Over the course of 2007, JetBlue's stock fell into a rut that it has been stuck in for more than six years.

JetBlue Price Chart, data by YCharts

However, brighter days may be ahead for JetBlue. Hurricane Sandy and its aftereffects hurt JetBlue's profitability in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013, but now JetBlue has moved past that tragedy for good. Moreover, after the company posted a steep 9% decline in unit revenue during April -- largely due to the calendar shift of Easter and Passover into March compared to 2012 -- revenue momentum picked up again in May.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: JetBlue Airways Corporation(JBLU)

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides passenger air transportation services in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 700 daily flights to 70 destinations in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico; and 12 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America through a fleet of 120 Airbus A320 aircraft and 49 EMBRAER 190 aircraft. The company, through its subsidiary, LiveTV, LLC, provides in-flight entertainment, voice communication, and data connectivity systems and services for commercial and general aviation aircraft, including live in-seat satellite television, digital satellite radio, wireless aircraft data link service, and cabin surveillance systems. JetBlue Airways Corporation was founded in 1998 and is based in Forest Hills, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The two airlines on the list are JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) and Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV). That any airlines at all make such a list is something of a miracle.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Even though Old Guards[ Southwest Airlines (LUV)] and [JetBlue Airways (JBLU)] have shown momentum in recent RASM trends, SAVE’s RASM strength underscores that there are few scenarios where the New Guard will not perform at least as well as the Old Guard ��and many scenarios where they will outperform, consistent with our view. In fact, the New Guard continue to benefit from the following vis-�-vis other low-cost carriers: (A) Structural cost advantages, (B) Innovative ancillary revenue strategies, (B) Profitable ASM growth in excess of peers due to their small size and ability to stimulate demand through price, and (C) Relatively attractive valuation considering the companies��growth profiles.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: Allegiant Travel Co (ALGT)

Allegiant Travel Company, incorporated on April 4, 2006, is a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of small, underserved cities in the United States. The Company operates a passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in small cities, allowing it to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, it provides air transportation under fixed fee flying arrangements. The Company provides scheduled air transportation on limited frequency nonstop flights between small city markets and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2013, its operating fleet consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft providing service on 191 routes to 85 cities including 13 leisure destinations and 72 small cities and including cities served seasonally. In January 2012, the Company took ownership of two MD-80 aircraft. In October 2012, the Company announced the formation of Allegiant Systems, a joint venture with AvIntel and Lixar IT.

The Company provides unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include use of its Website for purchases, use of its call center for purchases, advance seat assignment, baggage fees, priority boarding, its own travel protection product, change fees, food and beverage purchases on board and other air-related services. The Company offers third party travel products, such as hotel rooms, ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) and attractions (show tickets) bundled with the purchase of its air transportation.

The Company provides air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a seasonal and ad-hoc basis for other customers. As of February 1, 2013, its operating aircraft consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft. D! uring the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has entered into purchase agreements to acquire seven Airbus A320 aircraft and operating lease agreements for an additional nine Airbus A319 aircraft.

The Company competes with AirTran, Frontier, Spirit, Southwest, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Delta, Xtra, United and American.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  First there was Spirit Air (NASDAQ: SAVE  ) , charging for everything from printing a boarding pass to getting a cup of water. Then there was Allegiant Airlines (NASDAQ: ALGT  ) , forcing customers to pay for carry-on bags, pillows, and blankets.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Another key point to Southwest's success has been its constant focus on giving the customer top value among domestic carriers. You'll certainly find a cheaper upfront ticket price if you look around for domestic flights from a small regional carrier like Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT  ) or Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE  ) . Then again, Southwest doesn't charge for the first two checked bags, whereas Allegiant and Spirit charge for both each checked bag as well as carry-on bags! Southwest's keep-it-simple approach and easy-to-understand pricing have been instrumental in winning over passengers.

• [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]

  Rise of the carry-on-bag fee
  In April 2010, ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE  ) became the first airline in the U.S. (and possibly the world) to introduce a fee for carry-on baggage. Spirit's management decided that adding a carry-on baggage fee would allow them to reduce base airfares, stimulating demand, while improving efficiency by discouraging travelers from bringing large carry-on bags. Two years later, Spirit finally got some company as fellow ULCC Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT  ) instituted its own carry-on-bag charge.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Keep in mind that some companies�deserve�their current valuations. Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT  ) , for example, is creating cash flow hand over fist by luring in passengers with low ticket fees and then utilizing hefty optional fees such as on checked baggage, carry-on baggage, and food, which are almost pure margin plays, to add to its bottom line. The beauty of Allegiant's model is that many of these ancillary fees are purchased online or at electronic points of sale, meaning few employee costs.

Best Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: Gogo Inc (GOGO)

Gogo Inc incorporated on December 14, 2009, is a holding company. The Company operates through its two operating subsidiaries, Gogo LLC and Aircell Business Aviation Services LLC. The Company provides in-flight connectivity and wireless in-cabin digital entertainment solutions. It provide turnkey solutions for passengers to extend their connected lifestyles to the aircraft cabin. It operates in two segments: commercial aviation (CA) and business aviation (BA). Its CA business provides in-flight connectivity and digital entertainment solutions to commercial airline passengers through their personal Wi-Fi enabled devices.

The Company provides Gogo Connectivity to passengers to nine North American airlines that provide Internet connectivity to their passengers. It provide Gogo Connectivity to passengers on Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Virgin America, Alaska Airlines, US Airways, Frontier Airlines and Air Tran Airways. It also provide Gogo Connectivity to passengers on a small number of aircraft operated by United Airlines and Air Canada. As of September 30, 2011, the Company had equipped 1,177 commercial aircraft, representing approximately 85% of Internet-enabled North American commercial aircraft, which were operated on more than 4,200 daily flights.

The Company�� BA segment sells equipment and provides services for in-flight Internet connectivity and other voice and data communications under its Gogo Biz and Aircell branded products and services. BA�� customers include original equipment manufacturers of private jet aircraft such as Gulfstream, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, NetJets, Flexjets, Flight Options and CitationAir. It sells equipment for three of the primary connectivity network options in the business aviation market: Gogo Biz, through which it delivers broadband Internet connectivity over its (air-to-ground )ATG network, and the Iridium and Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satellite networks. As of September 30, 2011, the Company had m! ore than 700 Gogo Biz systems in operation and more than 4,600 aircraft with Iridium satellite communications systems in operation, and it has sold more than 100 Inmarsat SwiftBroadband systems. It provides in-flight broadband connectivity across the contiguous United States and portions of Alaska through 3 MHz of FCC-licensed ATG spectrum and its network of cell sites.

Through its Gogo platform, the Company provides passengers with a convenient and easy way to access the Internet, view video content, send and receive email and instant messages, and access corporate VPNs on Gogo-equipped commercial aircraft. It provides Internet access through Gogo Connectivity, on-demand streaming video offerings through Gogo Vision and access to a variety of free entertainment and service offerings, customized for each airline, through Gogo Signature Services.

The Company competes with Panasonic Avionics, Row 44, OnAir, LiveTV and Thales.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Cintolo]

  Gogo (GOGO) is the company behind Internet access on airline flights. About 7,000 daily flights have the company's technology in North America, and it dominates the industry with about an 80% market share; more opportunities exist for Gogo overseas (though competition is greater, too).

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO) were on the rise as well, gaining 11.33 percent to $24.12, despite little news on the name.

  AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) was also up, gaining 19.50 percent to $37.92 after the company reported upbeat Q3 earnings.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA)

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is a Germany-based aviation company with global operations and a total of more than 400 subsidiaries and associated companies. The Company is engaged in passenger transport, airfreight and airline services. The Lufthansa Group operates in five major business segments: scheduled passenger air traffic (Passenger Airline Group) consists of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa CityLine GmbH, Swiss International Air Lines AG, Austrian Airlines AG, Air Dolomiti S.p.A., Eurowings Luftverkehrs AG and Germanwings GmbH; scheduled airfreight services (Logistics) consists of the Lufthansa Cargo group; maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) consists of the Lufthansa Technik group; information technology (IT Services) consists of the Lufthansa Systems group, and catering (Catering) consists of the LSG Lufthansa Sky Chefs group. On April 20, 2012, the Company announced the divestiture of British Midland Ltd. (bmi) to International Consolidated Airlines Group SA. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Stoukas]

  Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA) and Allianz SE (ALV) led airlines and insurers lower, retreating at least 1.5 percent. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) slid 1.6 percent. Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) rose after JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its recommendation on the shares. Gildemeister AG (GIL) added 3.4 percent after Deutsche Bank upgraded the maker of cutting tools.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: US Airways Group Inc (LCC)

US Airways Group, Inc. (US Airways Group) is a holding company whose primary business activity is the operation of a network air carrier through its wholly owned subsidiaries, US Airways, Piedmont Airlines, Inc. (Piedmont), PSA Airlines, Inc. (PSA), Material Services Company, Inc. (MSC) and Airways Assurance Limited (AAL). MSC and AAL operate in support of the Company�� airline subsidiaries in areas, such as the procurement of aviation fuel and insurance. It has hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix and a focus city in Washington, D.C. at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Washington National). During the year ended December 31, 2011, it offered scheduled passenger service on more than 3,100 flights daily to more than 200 communities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. It also has an East Coast route network, including the US Airways Shuttle service.

The Company had approximately 53 million passengers boarding its mainline flights in 2011. During 2011, the Company�� mainline operation provided scheduled service or seasonal service at 133 airports, while the US Airways Express network served 156 airports in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including 78 airports also served by its mainline operation. US Airways Express air carriers had approximately 28 million passengers boarding their planes in 2011. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 340 mainline jets and was supported by its regional airline subsidiaries and affiliates operating as US Airways Express under capacity purchase agreements, which operated 233 regional jets and 50 turboprops. The Company�� prorate carriers operated seven turboprops and seven regional jets at December 31, 2011.

In May 2011, US Airways Group and US Airways entered into an Amended and Restated Mutual Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement (the Mutual APA) with Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta). Pursuant to the Mutual APA, Delta agreed to acquire 132 slot pa! irs at LaGuardia from US Airways and US Airways agreed to acquire from Delta 42 slot pairs at Washington National and the rights to operate additional daily service to Sao Paulo, Brazil. On December 13, 2011, the transaction contemplated by the Mutual APA closed and ownership of the respective slots was transferred between the airlines. During 2011, the US Airways Express network served 156 airports in the continental United States, Canada and Mexico, including 78 airports also served by its mainline operation. During 2011, approximately 28 million passengers boarded US Airways Express air carriers��planes, approximately 44% of whom connected to or from its mainline flights.

The Company competes with Southwest, JetBlue, Allegiant, Frontier, Virgin America and Spirit.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  US Airways Group (NYSE: LCC) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $3.84 billion.

  O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $1.65 per share on revenue of $1.75 billion.