What to watch: S&P 500 milestone a bellwether?

The U.S. stock market is flying high. It's hitting closing records on a daily basis. And most Wall Street forecasters are saying there's nothing out there -- at least right now -- that can stop the bull market.

With that bullish storyline, it's a good time to keep an eye out for what could portend an end, or a temporary pause to the good times in the stock market. While it normally takes a recession or a super-spike in interest rates or a massive tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve to take the market down in a major way, a sign of weakening momentum often signals a coming dip.

One simple tracking exercise that Main Street investors can employ to spot waning momentum (and this market has been driven in large part by momentum) is to keep an eye on key levels in the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 stock index.

TRACK STOCKS : Get real-time quotes with our free Portfolio Tracker

The level to watch now on the large-company stock index is 1800, according to Bryan Sapp, a senior trading analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The index closed above that key psychological level for the first time on Friday, Nov. 22. And Wall Street analysts are watching very closely to see if it can hold that level or whether the big, round number will turn out to be a near-term top for stocks.

"The broad-market barometer has recently found support near this level," says Sapp. "A break below could likely be a sign that a correction is underway." The S&P 500, up 27% this year, hasn't suffered a 10% drop since 2011.

Follow Adam Shell on Twitter: @adamshell.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY): Upcoming Gaming Consoles Should Boost Sales, Traffic For Best Buy

The soon to be launched new video game consoles from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) should provide a nice sales and traffic boost for retailers such as Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY).

Sony will be releasing its PlayStation 4 video game console on Nov. 15 with a retail price of $399, while Microsoft's Xbox One will hit the market on Nov. 22 with a retail price of $499.

Prior console launch volumes were somewhat subdued for a couple reasons, which led to slower initial traction from the release for a retailer like Best Buy. Notably, there were shortages of certain components for the Xbox 360 at launch, which restrained its initial uptake.

[Related -Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY): Still A Good Buy?]

"We think the upcoming console refresh cycle will exceed volumes achieved during the seventh generation launch (though, some supply might be constrained at the outset to create additional "buzz" from the scarcity)," UBS analyst Michael Lasser wrote in a note to clients.

Both Sony and Microsoft have become better at predicting consumer demand, which should lead to a better supply / demand match this time around. Sony is targeting to sell 5 million PS4 units between its November 15th U.S. launch date and the end of the company's fiscal year on March 31st. Microsoft expects to sell 1 billion units over the next five years.

[Related -Best Buy (BBY) Is Fighting Back -- But Is It A Buy?]

For Best Buy, the stabilization of its domestic entertainment business is key for driving comp. Best Buy's domestic entertainment division includes video gaming hardware and software, DVDs, Blue-rays, CD's, digital downloads, and computer software.

While the segment only accounted for 12 percent of its fiscal 2013 total domestic revenue, it declined at a 16 percent CAGR from fiscal 2009 through fiscal 2013, accounting for about an average of 180-200 basis points (bps) of the company's total domestic comp decline over the last three years.

"Assuming that the gaming category achieves a 30 percent growth rate & BBY can sustain its ~17% market share, it should contribute 150 bps–200 bps to its domestic comp in the next several Qs," Lasser noted.

For the fourth quarter, Best Buy is expected to generate 16 percent growth in new video console and game sales growth. If Best Buy holds share, there should be about 145bps benefit to its fourth quarter comparable sales from video games. If Best Buy achieves 20 percent in total video game market share, it would see a 300bps benefit to its comps.

Best Buy is well positioned to capture more than its historic share of the gaming market. Its closer relationship with Microsoft means that it is in a better spot to get a preferential inventory allocation. Plus, its improved operational efficiency should give the vendors greater comfort that it will manage its allocation well.

While consoles have a margin rate that is well below Best Buy's average, software is closer to the mean. Thus, the profitability impact will depend in part on the company's ability to cross-sell accessories, warranties, and other products to the hearty traffic that should result from the gaming resurgence.

"Using our sales estimates from the analysis shown above, we estimate FY'14 video game hardware and new software sales of $2.4B for BBY. Assuming a 5% gross margin on the hardware sales and 18% on software sales, this leads to a gross margin rate of 12%, well below the company average," Lasser said.

That said, the excitement surrounding the new video game console launches is going to be a significant driver of traffic, and Best Buy is well positioned to cross-sell higher margin products. The obvious add-on would be video game accessory products (controllers, memory cards, headsets, etc.), which carry much more attractive gross margin rates at around 30 percent.

"We assume a 30% attachment rate for video game accessories and hardware sales. This alone raises the gross margin rate from 12! % to 15%.! Further, the gross profit contribution from BBY's total gaming (incl. hardware, software, and game accessories) business, should more than triple from 2013 to 2014," Lasser added.

Should I Buy STX? 3 Pros, 3 Cons

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For the fiscal first quarter, Seagate Technology (STX) could not keep up with analysts’ expecations. Seagate earnings came to $1.29 per share and revenues were $3.49 billion while the Street was looking for EPS of $1.31 and revenues of $3.56 billion. Seagate stock fell by about 5% after hours.

It looks like the weakness was mostly due to a soft global economy. But again, Seagate stock has already had a big run, up about 64% for the year, so it’s not surprising that the stock is pulling back now.

Is this a buying opportunity, or could the stumble be a sign of things to come? To see, here's a look at the pros and cons:

STX Pros

Massive Operator: STX has a diverse set of storage products, including hard drives, solid state hybrid and solid state drives. STX also has a thriving service business that provides online backup, data protection and recovery. A key advantage for the company is actually its vertical integration — STX controls the design, assembly and manufacturing of its storage products. Because of this, the company has better control over quality and can also be quicker in getting to market. But that comes at heavy R&D costs, amounting to roughly 8% or $1.1 billion per year. Still, the company has 5,570 U.S. patents and 1,965 patents issued in various foreign jurisdictions.

Secular Trends: The amount of existing data continues to grow at an incredible pace, driven by the proliferation of mobile devices, cloud computing, social networking and Big Data. These things all require high-performance storage solutions like the ones STX offers. And going forward, there are likely to be even more megatrends that will boost growth. Wearable technology — like watches or Google (GOOG) glasses — and driverless cars will both be heavy users of data.

Shareholder Friendly: STX has a policy of returning 70% of operating cash flow and 90% of free cash flow in the form of dividends and stock buybacks. The current yield is an attractive 3.1%. And the company should have no problems keeping up the payments — after all, STX remains a cash machine. In the latest quarter, operating cash flows came to $682 million.

STX Cons

Cyclical: The performance of STX is highly sensitive to the global economy. Even a small deceleration of growth can turn into a material impact. Unfortunately, there are already signs of some headwinds. Consumer confidence in the U.S. dropped to the lowest levels in about a year, with the culprit likely being the 16-day shutdown of the federal government. This is even more troubling as companies gear up for the Christmas season.

PC Industry: The prospects do not look good for PCs. According to Gartner, shipments are forecasted to plunge by 11.2% in 2013 as growth in tablets is soars by an expected 53.4%. That’s bad news for STX. After all, the company gets about 13% of its revenues from Dell alone, and another 10% from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). And tablets rely more and more on cloud-based memory, which hurts STX even more.

Competition: STX must compete against larger operators like Western Digital (WDC), Hitachi Global and Toshiba. They all have tremendous scale and top-notch products. As a result, the competition is often based on prices, which can pressure margins. But the storage industry also includes a spate of well-funded startups using next-generation technologies like Flash memory. Those startups could ultimately be key players for markets like tablets and smartphones.

Verdict

For the long haul, the prospects for STX look promising. The company has the scale and technology to benefit from megatrends like mobile, Big Data and cloud computing. What's more, it has the resources to pull off acquisitions of emerging startups that offer cutting-edge technologies.

In the meantime, STX continues to generate substantial operating cash flows. Of course, this means the company can pay strong dividends, which should help alleviate downside pressure on the stock. In fact, the valuation remains attractive, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of a mere 8X.

So should you buy STX? Yes, in light of the factors above, the pros outweigh the cons on the stock for now.

Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook. He is also the author of High-Profit IPO Strategies, All About Commodities and All About Short Selling. Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

AsepticSure Hospital Disinfection Technology Receives US Patent Protection (OTCBB:MZEI)

Medizone International, Inc. (MZEI)

Today, MZEI surged (+5.64%) up +0.0048 at $.0899 with 21,900 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:32PM EDT October 16, 2013).

Medizone International, Inc. previously reported that its WHO award-winning green infection control technology, AsepticSure has been Granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark office. (US 61/223,219) titled “Healthcare Facility Disinfecting System”. The AsepticSure infection control system has repeatedly demonstrated 100% microbial kill rates when used to decontaminate hospital rooms of the causative agents of HAI (hospital acquired infections).

“With patent protection now established in the United States, Canada and Singapore and pending applications in process for the 37 member countries of the EU as well as Korea, Japan, China, India, Brazil and Mexico, our patent momentum is clearly gaining strength,” stated Edwin Marshall, Medizone’s CEO.

Medizone International, Inc. (MZEI) 5 day chart:

Morningstar's ETF conference</font> iShares, Vanguard top Morningstar ETF awards"><font color=red>Morningstar's ETF conference</font> iShares, Vanguard top Morningstar ETF awards

In the exchange-traded-fund world, it's BlackRock Inc.'s iShares and The Vanguard Group Inc., followed by everyone else.

iShares was named the top provider of U.S. stock, international stock and taxable-bond ETFs at the second annual Morningstar ETF Awards. Vanguard was named the top provider of sector ETFs, the only other broad category.

Morningstar ranked the best-in-class ETFs in 40 categories, both for buy-and-hold investors and those who trade more frequently. Combined, iShares and Vanguard were named the best in class in 54 of the 80 categories Morningstar ranked.

“It's becoming increasingly difficult to compete in the core categories,” said Ben Johnson, director of passive fund research at Morningstar. “Over time, as these particular categories become more and more commoditized, it won't be winner takes all, but it will be winner takes most.”

For iShares and Vanguard, their size has enabled them to do so well in the awards, as they've passed the benefits of their scale on to investors, Mr. Johnson said.

iShares and Vanguard are the biggest and third-biggest ETF companies, respectively, and combined, they manage more than $875 billion in ETF assets, or just over 57% of all ETF assets.

Even though newer entrants to the ETF world, such as Charles Schwab Investments, were able to nab some awards — the Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB) was named best large-cap-blend ETF in the investor category, for example — iShares and Vanguard aren't expected to lose their stranglehold on the top categories.

“The incumbents are firmly entrenched, and I don't see that changing anytime soon,” Mr. Johnson said.

One area where there could be a shake-up is between iShares and Vanguard.

Because Vanguard changed the underlying index of 22 of its ETFs last October, those ETFs weren't eligible for the main categories since they don't have a full year of tracking the new indexes, which Morningstar requires to be eligible.

Maybe There Is a Market for the Lincoln MKZ

Ford Motor (NYSE: F  ) and cross-town rival General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) have recently set their sights on regaining ground in the ultra-competitive luxury market. Ford's Lincoln brand was the best selling luxury brand in America as recently as the 1990s, selling as many as 230,000 vehicles a year. By contrast, Lincoln managed to sell just 82,150 cars, crossovers, and SUVs last year. GM's Cadillac brand has fared somewhat better, but Cadillac still only managed to sell 149,782 vehicles in 2012. By contrast, luxury leader BMW sold 281,460 vehicles in the U.S. in 2012, and Mercedes-Benz was not far behind with 274,134 vehicles sold.

Having a strong luxury brand is incredibly helpful in today's auto industry, because luxury vehicles tend to produce higher profit margins. Moreover, as my colleague Daniel Miller recently wrote, Ford needs to have a solid luxury offering so that existing customers stay within the Ford "family" as they become wealthier. As Daniel wrote earlier this week, Ford's management had hinted last week that Lincoln sales were finally improving. Lincoln's April sales results, released on Wednesday, showed that the brand's first new model, the Lincoln MKZ, is finally available to customers and selling well. If the MKZ can maintain its April sales pace and Lincoln can score similar success with some of its upcoming vehicle launches, it will give Ford a big boost.

Lincoln's comeback plan
In late 2012, Ford relaunched Lincoln under its original name: "The Lincoln Motor Company". Ford rolled out new ad campaigns designed to re-energize the brand. Some of these highlighted its first new product, the redesigned 2013 Lincoln MKZ, which began arriving in dealer showrooms in late December. The new MKZ is a sleek midsize car, and its signature feature is a large retractable glass roof. While the MKZ is built on the same platform as the Ford Fusion, the company did a good job of giving it a distinctive look.

The 2013 Lincoln MKZ, courtesy of Ford

Ford executives also highlighted plans to introduce a redesigned MKS full-size sedan and MKT crossover in 2013, followed by other new models. However, the Lincoln brand's momentum was quickly put to the test. Ford had suffered some quality control problems in 2012, and was determined to avoid tarnishing the Lincoln brand with recalls. Accordingly, executives decided to implement heightened quality control checks for the MKZ. Unfortunately, the plant in Mexico that builds the MKZ fell behind on the quality checks, forcing Lincoln to ship many of the cars to the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan for quality inspection.

This process dramatically slowed the distribution of the MKZ, upsetting customers who had pre-ordered the vehicle and leading to a disappointing Q1 performance for Lincoln. Total Lincoln brand sales were down nearly 24% in Q1, as the company was only able to sell 3,758 MKZs, compared to more than 7,000 MKZs sold in Q1 2012. This drop of nearly 50% was clearly a disappointment for a new model that was supposed to revitalize the Lincoln brand.

April shows major progress
However, Ford seems to have addressed the supply constraints, as MKZ sales shot up in April to 4,012: more than double the prior-year sales total and more than Lincoln had sold in the whole first quarter. This was also a faster sales pace than Cadillac achieved for any of its models in April. Lincoln still needs to show that this sales pace is reproducible, but the brand's April performance suggests that there is plenty of demand for the new Lincoln MKZ. If some of Lincoln's other new models become equally successful, it will return the Lincoln Motor Company to a sustainable competitive position within the luxury segment.

So what?
To be sure, Lincoln will remain a small contributor to revenue and profit for Ford. For example, Ford has recently been selling 55,000-60,000 of its high-margin F-Series trucks each month. While the luxury segment also provides good margins, even market leader BMW has averaged fewer than 25,000 vehicle sales per month. Lincoln is likely to remain well behind BMW and Mercedes for the foreseeable future even in a best-case scenario. Nevertheless, building Lincoln into a source of high margin sales will help diversify Ford's profit generation. Today, F-Series sales produce as much as 90% of Ford's global profit. New initiatives like the Lincoln relaunch and growth investments in Asia will create a more stable and profitable Ford in the future.

Worried about Ford?
If you're concerned that Ford's turnaround has run its course, relax – there's good reason to think that the Blue Oval still has big growth opportunities ahead. We've outlined those opportunities in detail, in the Motley Fool's premium Ford research service. If you're looking for some freshly updated guidance to Ford's prospects in coming years, you've come to the right place – click here to get started now.

Stocks Going Ex-Dividend on Friday, December 20 (KAMN, AWH, PNY, More)

Ex-dividend dates are very important to dividend investors, since you must purchase a stock prior to its ex-dividend date in order to receive its upcoming dividend payout. For more information, check out Everything Investors Need to Know About Ex-Dividend Dates.

Below we highlight five big-name stocks going ex-dividend on December 20, 2013.

1. Kaman Corp

Kaman Corp (KAMN) offers a dividend yield of 1.66% based on Wednesday's closing price of $38.51 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 16 cents. The stock is up 0.86% year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates KAMN as “Neutral” with a DARS™ rating of 3.4 stars out of 5 stars.

2. Alliance World Assurance

Alliance World Assurance (AWH

Hot or Not? Three Small Cap Stocks Getting Attention: SOUL, GSAT & SHPR

Small cap stocks Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc (OTCBB: SOUL), Globalstar, Inc (OTCMKTS: GSAT) and Poly Shield Technologies Inc (OTCBB: SHPR) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or investor alerts with at least two of these stocks being the subject of some sort of paid stock promotional or investor relations type of activities. With that in mind, just how hot are these three small cap stocks for investors or traders? Here is a quick reality check:

Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc (OTCBB: SOUL) Recently Gave a Shareholder Update

Small cap Soul and Vibe Interactive is a publisher of games and games-related content for consoles, mobile devices and personal computers. Soul and Vibe Interactive specializes in the creation of original intellectual properties and has extensive experience licensing world-renowned brands from influential companies. On Friday, Soul and Vibe Interactive rose 4.42% to $0.295 for a market cap of $4.61 million plus SOUL is down 89.6% since the start of the year according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Soul and Vibe Interactive? According to various disclosures, transactions of $20k and $25k have or will occur to mention Soul and Vibe Interactive in various investment newsletters. Near the beginning of the month, Soul and Vibe Interactive issued a letter to its shareholders saying that the third quarter and the first month of fourth quarter 2013 proved to be "very exciting." The CEO noted that he personally cancelled 64,459,292 shares of his own common stock and that the company also completed a 1-for-3 reverse split. In addition, Soul and Vibe Interactive has maintained its "valuable" video game console publishing and development agreements with Microsoft and Sony plus its licensed brand agreement with General Mills. However, a quick look at Google Finance reveals that Soul and Vibe Interactive has no revenues; net losses of $0.16M (most recent reported quarter), $0.25M, $0.02M and $0.01M for the past four quarters; and $0.01M in cash to cover $0.21M in current liabilities at the end of last June – financials that are not particularly exciting.

Globalstar, Inc (OTCMKTS: GSAT) Keeps Issuing Shares….

Small cap Globalstar is a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data services to commercial customers and recreational consumers in more than 120 countries around the world. On Friday, Globalstar fell 1.01% to $1.97 for a market cap of $1.48 billion plus GSAT is up 545.9% since the start of the year and up 795.5% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Globalstar? According to various disclosures, no transactions have occurred to mention Globalstar in various investment newsletters. Last Friday, Globalstar filed an 8-k to disclose an agreement with Hughes Network Systems LLC, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, which allowed Hughes (at their sole option) to elect to receive shares of the company's common stock (at a 7% discount based upon a trailing volume weighted average price calculation) in lieu of cash related to certain milestone payments under Globalstar's 2008 contract with Hughes for ground network equipment and software upgrades and satellite interface chips. The filing also mentioned that:

On November 15, Hughes exercised an option to receive approximately $4.3 million in Globalstar voting common stock. On November 18, Globalstar issued 3,166,474 shares of voting common stock to Hughes at $1.35 per share in a private placement. On December 11, Hughes exercised its remaining options to receive approximately $10.1 million in Globalstar voting common stock. On December 13, Globalstar issued 6,334,141 shares of voting common stock to Hughes at $1.60 per share in a private placement.

A quick look at Globalstar's financials reveals revenues of $22.55M (most recent reported quarter), $19.84M, $19.33M and $19.06M for the past four quarters along with net losses of $204.97M (most recent reported quarter), $126.27M, $25.08M and $18.95M. At the end of last September, Globalstar had $6.64M in cash to cover $142.63M in current liabilities and $675.69M in long term debt for one ugly income statement and balance sheet.

Poly Shield Technologies Inc (OTCBB: SHPR) Makes a Divestiture and Will Open a R&D Facility Soon

Small cap Poly Shield Technologies develops and markets environmental, pollution emissions, energy saving, corrosion and durability solutions to a worldwide market. On Friday, Poly Shield Technologies rose 2.68% to $1.15 for a market cap of $216.19 million plus SHPR is up 150% since the start of the year and up 114,900% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

What's the Catch With Poly Shield Technologies Inc? According to various disclosures, a promoter has disclosed that a company they are an "investor in expects to receive an advertising contract from Digital Development Group in the near future, creating a potential conflict of interest." About a week ago, Poly Shield Technologies announced it had entered into a divestiture and share purchase agreement by and amongst Poly Shield, Poly Shield's wholly owned subsidiary New World Technologies Group, Inc. and Octavio Viveros. Poly Shield Technologies sold to Mr. Viveros all of the issued and outstanding shares of NWT in exchange for a royalty on 5% of NWT's gross revenues, expiring on December 31, 2018, plus NWT may buy out the Royalty at any time for $1,000,000 without credit for amounts previously paid under the Royalty. Otherwise, it should be noted that Poly Shield Technologies' research and development facility in the British Virgin Islands is scheduled to begin operations by the end of this year. A quick look at Poly Shield Technologies' financials reveals revenues of $334k (most recent reported quarter), $4k, $10k and $0 for the past four quarters along with net losses of $275k (most recent reported quarter), $331k, $432k and $287k. At the end of last September, Poly Shield Technologies had $357k in cash to cover $2,580k in current liabilities. So perhaps investors should revisit Poly Shield Technologies and its financials early next year.

Will Twitter Follow Facebook Home?

Social networker Facebook  (NASDAQ: FB  ) recently launched its Home suite of software and services, which sits on top of Google  (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android as a secondary layer. A Twitter executive recently hinted that the rival social platform has been exploring similar strategies on Android, which could put competitive heat on Facebook.

This level of integration is only possible on Android, since Apple  (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Microsoft  (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) exert much more control over their respective mobile platforms.

In the video below, Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, discusses the possibility of Twitter following Facebook Home.

After the world's most hyped IPO turned out to be a dunce, most investors probably don't even want to think about shares of Facebook. But there are things every investor needs to know about this company. We've outlined them in our newest premium research report. There's a lot more to Facebook than meets the eye, so read up on whether there is anything to "like" about it today, and we'll tell you whether we think Facebook deserves a place in your portfolio. Access your report by clicking here.

Work the (office party) room

  Office holiday party fiascos (Money Magazine) Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend at the top of the corporate ladder? Mark your calendar for the office holiday party, your annual chance at cocktail chatter with company brass.

"Take advantage of being in the same room as your CEO or division director," says Miriam Salpeter, co-author of 100 Conversations for Career Success. Making nice with key executives can help you gain visibility you can leverage later for new projects or even promotions. Use these tricks to make no-stress small talk with the big shots.

Study your prey. Make a list of three execs you'd like to meet, focusing on those with influence to help you ascend. Research each one's background online.

"Look for commonalities you can use as conversation starters," says Salpeter. (Maybe you both attended a Big East college, for example.) Ply co-workers for more information. (Does the veep follow basketball?)

Make a calculated approach. The best way in: Ask your supervisor for an introduction. This establishes instant credibility, says Hallie Crawford, a career coach in Atlanta.

Boss not game? Approaching the target one-on-one is ideal but may not be possible. To join a group conversation, "simply ask if you can increase the size of the circle," says Terri Griffith, a management professor at Santa Clara University. Introduce yourself by making what Diane Windingland, author of Small Talk Big Results, calls a "role pitch": Sum up in a sentence what you've done for the company of late. So rather than "I'm a sales director," add on "I developed the campaign for our new product line."

Steer the conversation. Remember, this isn't a meeting, but a party. "It's about building relationships, not about making transactions," says Ivan Misner, chairman of business networking organization BNI. So quickly shift away from shop talk; personal conversation makes for a more memorable connection.

Use your research to formulate an open-ended question like, "Do you think Marquette has a shot this year against Georgetown?"

  Who's getting hired and what does it pay?

Exit gracefully. Keep the conversation brief so you don't monopolize the person's time. Debra Fine, author of The Fine Art of Small Talk, recommends signaling that the chat is almost over. For example, "I must get another of the! se canapés, but before I do, I'd love to know which NCAA player you think is the one to watch this year."

In January -- when everyone's back to business -- follow up with an email recapping the meeting and offering a big idea or help on future projects. Says Windingland: "Never miss a chance to solidify a relationship with a decision-maker."

Hot Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now

The jobless claims report is issued by the Employment and Training Administration within the U.S. Department of Labor at 8:30 a.m. EST each Thursday. The latest release can be viewed on the Department of Labor website, officially titled the "Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report." Published since 1967, the report highlights the number of first-time claims for jobless insurance benefits nationwide, covering the week ended the prior Saturday.

The initial claims figure is compiled using data collected by local unemployment offices. Local offices pass the information to the state unemployment offices, which in turn report the data to the Department of Labor in Washington. While an applicant for unemployment insurance may not qualify to receive benefits, all applications are filed as a claim regardless of the applicant�� eligibility. For this reason the new claims from one week are not always consistent with the following week�� change in continuing jobless claims.

Hot Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now: Cincinnati Financial Corporation(CINF)

Cincinnati Financial Corporation engages in the property casualty insurance business in the United States. Its Commercial Lines Property Casualty Insurance segment provides coverage for commercial casualty, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers? compensation. It also offers specialty packages, including coverages for property, liability, and business interruption for specific industry classes, such as artisan contractors, dentists, or street businesses. In addition, this segment provides contract and commercial surety bonds, fidelity bonds, and director and officer liability insurance, as well as machinery and equipment coverage. The company?s Personal Lines Property Casualty Insurance segment offers coverage for personal auto and homeowners, as well as other insurance products, such as dwelling fire, inland marine, personal umbrella liability, and watercraft coverages to individuals. Cincinnati Financial?s Excess and Surplus Lines Property Casualty Insurance s egment offers commercial casualty insurance that covers businesses for third-party liability from accidents occurring on their premises or arising out of their operations, including products and completed operations; and commercial property insurance, which insures loss or damage to buildings, inventory, equipment, and business income from causes of loss, such as fire, wind, hail, water, theft, and vandalism. The company?s Life Insurance segment provides term insurance; universal life insurance; whole life insurance; and worksite products, which include term, whole life, universal life, and disability insurance offered to employees through their employer. This segment also markets disability income insurance, deferred annuities, and immediate annuities. Its Investment segment invests in fixed-maturity investments, equity investments, and short-term investments. Cincinnati also offers commercial leasing and financing services. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquarte red in Fairfield, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Loew’s, however isn’t just cheap on its own terms. It’s also cheap relative to other investor insurers, including Markel (MKL), Cincinnati Financial (CINF) and Berkshire Hathaway. Shanker and Stefano write:

• [By Dividends4Life]

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Hot Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now: MGIC Investment Corp (MTG)

MGIC Investment Corporation (MGIC), incorporated June 21, 1984, is a holding company and through wholly owned subsidiaries is a private mortgage insurer in the United States. As of December 31, 2012, its principal mortgage insurance subsidiaries, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC) and MGIC Indemnity Corporation (MIC), were each licensed in all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. During the year ending December 31, 2012, the Company wrote new insurance in each of those jurisdictions in MGIC and/or MIC. The Company capitalized MIC to write new insurance in certain jurisdictions where MGIC no longer meets, and is unable to obtain a waiver of, those jurisdictions��minimum capital requirements. Private mortgage insurance covers losses from homeowner defaults on residential mortgage loans, reducing and, in some instances, eliminating the loss to the insured institution if the homeowner defaults.

Mortgage Insurance

Primary insurance provides mortgage default protection on individual loans and covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest and certain expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure. Primary insurance is written on first mortgage loans secured by owner occupied single-family homes, which are one-to-four family homes and condominiums. Primary insurance is also written on first liens secured by non-owner occupied single-family homes, which are referred to in the home mortgage lending industry as investor loans, and on vacation or second homes. Primary coverage can be used on any type of residential mortgage loan instrument approved by the mortgage insurer.

When a borrower refinances a mortgage loan insured by the Company by paying it off in full with the proceeds of a new mortgage that is also insured by it, the insurance on that existing mortgage is cancelled, and insurance on the new mortgage is considered to be new primary insurance written. Therefore, continuation of its coverage fr! om a refinanced loan to a new loan results in both a cancellation of insurance and new insurance written. When a lender and borrower modify a loan rather than replace it with a new one, or enter into a new loan pursuant to a loan modification program, its insurance continues without being cancelled assuming that the Company consent to the modification or new loan.

The borrower�� mortgage loan instrument requires the borrower to pay the mortgage insurance premium. There are several payment plans available to the borrower, or lender, as the case may be. Under the monthly premium plan, the borrower or lender pays it a monthly premium payment to provide only one month of coverage. Under the annual premium plan, an annual premium is paid to it in advance, and it earns and recognizes the premium over the next 12 months of coverage, with annual renewal premiums paid in advance thereafter and earned over the subsequent 12 months of coverage. Under the single premium plan, the borrower or lender pays it a single payment covering a specified term exceeding twelve months.

Pool insurance is used as an additional credit enhancement for certain secondary market mortgage transactions. Pool insurance covers the excess of the loss on a defaulted mortgage loan which exceeds the claim payment under the primary coverage, if primary insurance is required on that mortgage loan, as well as the total loss on a defaulted mortgage loan which did not require primary insurance. Pool insurance is used as an additional credit enhancement for certain secondary market mortgage transactions. Pool insurance covers the excess of the loss on a defaulted mortgage loan, which exceeds the claim payment under the primary coverage, if primary insurance is required on that mortgage loan, as well as the total loss on a defaulted mortgage loan which did not require primary insurance. In general, the loans insured by it in Wall Street bulk transactions consisted of loans with reduced underwriting documentation; cash out! refinanc! es, which exceed the standard underwriting requirements of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively GSEs); A- loans; subprime loans, and jumbo loans.

Other Products and Services

The Company has participated in risk sharing arrangements with the GSEs and captive mortgage reinsurance arrangements with subsidiaries of certain mortgage lenders, which reinsure a portion of the risk on loans originated or serviced by the lenders, which have MGIC primary insurance. It provides information regarding captive mortgage reinsurance arrangements to the New York Department of Insurance (known as the New York Department of Financial Services), the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, (HUD). It performs contract underwriting services for lenders, in which it judges whether the data relating to the borrower and the loan contained in the lender�� mortgage loan application file comply with the lender�� loan underwriting guidelines. It also provides an interface to submit data to the automated underwriting systems of the GSEs, which independently judge the data. These services are provided for loans, which require private mortgage insurance, as well as for loans that do not require private mortgage insurance. It provides mortgage services for the mortgage finance industry, such as portfolio retention and secondary marketing of mortgages.

The Company competes with Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration, PMI Mortgage Insurance Company, Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corporation, United Guaranty Residential Insurance Company, Radian Guaranty Inc., CMG Mortgage Insurance Company, and Essent Guaranty, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  MGIC Investment (MTG) was not to supposed to turn a profit during the quarter. If the analysts were right, the mortgage insurer’s second-quarter profit was supposed to be a blip and MGIC would return to its money-losing ways.

  Associated Press

  That’s not quite what happened. MGIC reported a profit of 4 cents a share versus forecasts for a loss of 10 cents, according to FactSet and MGIC’s shares popped 14% to $8.29.

  Its big day has also boosted other insurers. Radian Group (RDN) has risen 7.2% to $14.39, while Old Republic International (ORI) has advanced 2.1% to $15.24, Genworth Financial (GNW) is up 3.6% at $13.41 and MBIA Inc. (MBI) has jumped 4.3% to $10.76.

  Susquehanna’s Jack Micenko credits a better economy with boosting earnings:

  The beat was driven by lower loss reserving – $180 mln versus our estimate of $225 and the consensus estimate of $240, as favorable economic trends helped drive their default book claim rate and severity lower…

  Micenko expects MGIC’s shares to hit $13, a 57% gain from its current price.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The Paulson story
  John Paulson made his name by making investments that gained in value when subprime mortgages crashed in the lead-up to the financial crisis. Even now, Paulson is keeping a close eye on housing, but lately, he's been playing the space from the other direction with bullish bets on mortgage insurance companies MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG  ) and Radian Group (NYSE: RDN  ) . His argument is basically that as long as the housing market has hit bottom, prospects for further losses are minimal, allowing mortgage insurers to make up for past losses.

• [By David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer]

  In this segment of The Motley Fool's everything-financials show,�Where the Money Is, banking analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson dicuss earnings from MGIC Investment Corp. (NYSE: MTG  ) and look ahead to Radian (NYSE: RDN  ) 's (NYSE: RDN  ) quarterly results.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Up first is CNO Financial Group (CNO), a mid-cap financial stock that's rocketed close to 60% higher since the calendar flipped over to January. Yup, it's been a great year for the market, but it's been a far better one for investors who own CNO. But that strong performance isn't showing any signs of slowing yet. In fact, CNO looks primed for even more upside in the fourth quarter.

  That's because CNO is currently forming a bullish pattern called an ascending triangle. The ascending triangle pattern is formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares -- in this case at $14.75 -- and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as CNO bounces in between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $14.75 resistance level. When that breakout happens, it's time to become a buyer.

  ACCO's price action isn't exactly textbook. After all, the pattern is coming in at the bottom of a downtrend, not after an uptrend. But ultimately, that doesn't change the trading implications of a move through that $7.50 level.

  Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Ascending triangles and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That $7.50 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant. The move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

  Don't be early on this trade.

• [By Vanin Aegea]

  I have heard many people comment about the insurance policies for cars, houses, life, assets, etc. The arguments always revolve around the same issue: Is it really necessary? What are the chances to be hit by a Hurricane, or to meet a sudden death? Well, nobody really knows. Some individuals however, sleep better when they know a policy backs their life investments. Here, I will look into three insurance companies that concentrate on different policies, or geographies. These are: China Life (LFC), and Conseco (CNO).

Hot Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now: ING Groep NV (ING)

ING Groep N.V. (ING), incorporated in 1991, is a global financial institution offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to meet the needs of the customers. The Company�� segments include banking and insurance. Banking segment includes retail Netherlands, retail Belgium, ING direct, retail central Europe (CE), retail Asia, commercial banking (excluding real estate), ING real estate and corporate line banking. Insurance segment includes insurance Benelux, insurance central and rest of Europe (CRE), insurance United States (US), Insurance US closed block VA, insurance Asia/Pacific, ING investment management (IM) and corporate line insurance. In February 2011, the Company divested its real estate investment operation ING Real Estate Investment Management (ING REIM) to CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. In June 2011, the Company sold Clarion Partners. In July 2011, ING announced the completion of the sale of Clarion Real Estate Securities. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company divested its interests in ING Car Lease and ING IM Philippines. In February 2012, Capital One Financial Corp. acquired ING Direct business in the United States from the Company.

In June 2011, ING had completed the sale of its interest in China�� Pacific Antai Life Insurance Company Ltd. In June 2011, ING announced the completion of the sale of real estate investment manager of its United States operations, Clarion Partners, to Clarion Partners management in partnership with Lightyear Capital LLC. In October 2011, ING announced that it had completed the sale of REIM�� Asian and European operations to CBRE Group Inc. In December 2011 ING completed the sale of its Latin American pensions, life insurance and investment management operations.

Retail Netherlands

Retail Banking reaches its individual customers through Internet banking, telephone, call centers, mailings and branches. Using direct marketing methods, it is a provider of current account services an! d payments systems to provide other financial services, such as savings accounts, mortgage loans, consumer loans, credit card services, investment and insurance products. Mortgages are offered through a tied agents sale force and direct and intermediary channels. ING Bank Netherlands operates through a branch network of approximately 280 branches. It offers a range of commercial banking activities and also life and non-life insurance products. It also sells mortgages through the intermediary channel.

Retail Belgium

ING Belgium provides banking, insurance (life, non-life) and asset management products and services to meet the needs of individuals, families, companies and institutions through a network of local head offices, 773 branches and direct banking channels (automated branches, home banking services and call centers). ING Belgium also operates a second network, Record Bank, which provides a range of banking products through independent banking agents and credit products through a multitude of channels (agents, brokers, vendors).

ING Direct

ING Direct offers a range of financial products, such as savings, mortgages, retail investment products, payment accounts and consumer lending products. It operates in Canada, Spain, Australia, France, Italy, Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom. In June 2011, ING Group announced the sale of ING Direct USA to Capital One Financial Corporation.

Retail Central Europe

Retail Central Europe has a presence in Poland, and Romania and Turkey. ING in Poland is an Internet bank. During 2011, ING Bank Turkey launched the Orange account, the variable savings product. ING in Turkey also launched a mobile phone banking application. ING Bank Romania carried out its Internet banking site, Home��ank. In September 2011, a mobile version of the Home��ank Website was introduced.

Retail Asia

Retail Banking has a presence in Asian markets of India, China and Thailand. As o! f Decembe! r 31, 2011, the Company had 44% interest in ING Vysya and 30% interest in TMB Bank in Thailand. Bank of Beijing (BoB), in which ING has the largest single interest (16.07%) is a commercial bank in China. ING provides principally risk management and retail banking to BoB.

Commercial Banking

ING Commercial Banking supports the banking needs of its corporate and institutional clients to invest both retail and commercial bank customer deposits. It is a commercial bank in its home markets in the Benelux, as well as in Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to the banking services of lending, payments and cash management and treasury, it also provides solutions in other areas, including specialized and trade finance, derivatives, corporate finance, debt and equity capital markets, leasing, factoring and supply chain finance. Payments and Cash Management (PCM) and General Lending are its some of the product lines. Structured Finance (SF) is a specialist commercial lending business, providing loans to support capital intensive investments and working capital. It is managed in three groups: the Energy, Transport and Infrastructure Group; the Specialized Financing Group; and International Trade and Export Finance. Leasing and Factoring (L&F) provides financial and operating leasing services for a range of equipment, as well as receivables financing and other factoring solutions for commercial banking clients. The Financial Markets (FM) is the global business unit that manages ING�� financial markets trading and non-trading activities. FM is managed along three business lines: ALCO manages the interest rates exposures arising from the traditional banking activities, Strategic Trading Platform incorporates the primary proprietary risk taking units, and Clients and Products is the primary customer trading facilitation business line.

Real Estate

During 2011, Real Estate Finance (REF) maintained its credit portfolio. Real Estate Development (ING RED) and! Real Est! ate Investment Management (ING REIM) has a controlled wind down of activities.

Insurance Benelux

Duirng 2011, Nationale-Nederlanden introduced bank pension savings products and annuities. ING Life Belgium introduced a new Universal Life product. Nationale-Nederlanden also received a license from the Dutch Central Bank to launch a defined contribution DC company pension product PPI in Europe. NN Services introduced a processing and information technology system (business process management layer) for several legacy lines of retail Life businesses. NN Services IT manages all the closed book business of Nationale-Nederlanden. ING�� life insurance products in the Benelux consist of a range of traditional, unit-linked and variable annuity policies written for both individual and group customers. ING is also a provider of (re-insured) company pension plans in the Netherlands.

NG Benelux��non-life products, mainly in the Netherlands, include coverage for both individual and commercial/group clients for fire, motor, disability, transport and third party liability. Nationale-Nederlanden has also a central product manufacturing service for property and casualty insurance, which has developed products for ING Bank in Belgium and ING Bank in the Netherlands. ING offers a range of disability insurance products and complementary services for employers and self-employed professionals (such as dentists and general practitioners).

Insurance Central and Rest of Europe

Insurance Central and Rest of Europe has life insurance companies in Hungary, Poland, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Turkey. It has pension funds in Poland, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republics, Bulgaria, Romania and in Turkey. ING offers a range of individual endowment, unit linked, term and whole life insurance policies designed to meet specific customer needs. It also has employee benefits products, as well as pension funds, that manage individu! al retire! ment accounts for individuals. The latter comprise both mandatory and voluntary retirement savings.

Insurance United States (Excluding US Closed Block Va)

ING Insurance US offers retirement services (primarily defined contribution plans), life insurance, fixed annuities, employee benefits, mutual funds, and broker-dealer services in the United States. ING Insurance US operates four businesses: Retirement Plans, Individual Retirement, Individual Life and Employee Benefits. ING Insurance US�� Retirement Plans business is a contribution providers, which offers a range of retirement solutions to all sizes and types of employers, including businesses for-profit ranging from start-ups to large corporations, public and private school systems, higher education institutions, state and local governments, hospitals and healthcare facilities, and not-for-profit organizations. ING Insurance US�� Retirement Plans business is a provider of defined contribution (DC) retirement plans in the United States based on assets under management and administration.

Insurance US Closed Block Va

ING US Closed Block VA consists of variable annuities issued in the United States that are primarily owned by individuals and were designed to address the demand for tax-advantaged savings, retirement planning, and wealth-protection. These annuity contracts were sold in the United States, primarily through independent third party distributors, including wirehouses and securities firms, independent planners and agents and banks.

Insurance Asia/Pacific

ING Insurance Asia/Pacific (IAP) is a provider of life insurance products and services. It is a life insurer in the region, with nine life operations in eight markets. IAP has ip operations in Japan and South Korea, operates a nt business in Malaysia, and is well in China, Hong Kong, Macau, India and Thailand. In April 2011, IAP, together with Public Bank Berhad and Public Islamic Bank Berhad, launched a joint ! venture i! n Malaysia, ING PUBLIC Takaful Ehsan Berhad, which will develop Takaful insurance products. In June 2011, IAP completed the sale of its 50% interest in Pacific-Antai Life Insurance Company Limited (PALIC).

The business units of IAP offer select types of life insurance, wealth management, and retail products and services. These include annuities, endowment, disability/morbidity insurance, unit linked/universal life, whole e, participating life, group life, accident and health, term life and employee benefits. In Hong Kong non-life insurance products (including medical, motor, fire, marine, personal accident and general liability) are also offered.

Insurance Latin America

ING completed the sale of its pensions, life insurance and investment management operations on December 29, 2011. These operations were in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

ING Investment Management

ING IM is an investment manager of ING Group with activities in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. In October 2011, ING IM sold ING IM Australia. ING IM provides a range of actively-managed strategies, investment vehicles and advisory services in all major asset classes and investment styles. It delivers a range of investment strategies and services to ING�� global network of businesses and third-party clients.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

  Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James, based on valuation after the stock went over $21 recently. Stifel Nicolaus also downgraded shares to Hold from Buy. These calls are after earnings, and the stock is down about 6% so far on Friday.

Hot Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now: Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC)

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., a professional services company, provides advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy, and human capital. It operates in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. The Risk and Insurance Services segment provides risk management and insurance broking, reinsurance broking, and insurance program management services for businesses, public entities, insurance companies, associations, professional services organizations, and private clients. The Consulting segment offers advice and services to the managements of organizations in the area of human resource consulting, comprising retirement and investments, health and benefits, outsourcing and talent; and strategy and risk management consulting, such as management, economic, and brand consulting. The company also provides investment consulting services for endowments and foundations in the United States; health and benefit recordkeeping, and employee enrollment technology; human resource knowledge, data, and solutions for professionals in various industries; and Medicaid policy consulting services. It principally serves customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Asia Pacific, and Continental Europe. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) held its annual meeting of shareholders, at which the Company announced that its Board of Directors has voted to increase the Company�� quarterly cash dividend by 5 percent to $.23 per share on outstanding common stock.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The real test for Obamacare
  In any event, the biggest challenge that Obamacare faces is getting its Health Insurance Marketplace up and running by Oct. 1. Although private exchanges from Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC  ) subsidiary Mercer as well as Towers Watson (NYSE: TW  ) have done a good job of getting Aetna, UnitedHealth, and other popular insurers to participate in their programs, the reception that public exchanges have gotten has been far less favorable. Without a smooth launch in less than three months, Obamacare could find itself facing much greater criticism than it is today.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Flourishing
  While the federal Obamacare exchanges flail, private health insurance exchanges are flourishing. For example,�Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC  ) ,�announced in April that several large insurers -- including Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare -- would be part of its Mercer Marketplace private exchange. Mercer Marketplace allows employers to contribute a defined amount for its employees to use on health coverage. Employees use the system to shop around for the insurance plans that best meet their needs.

Hot Insurance Companies To Buy Right Now: Genworth Financial Inc (GNW)

Genworth Financial, Inc., a financial security company, provides insurance, wealth management, investment, and financial solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers various insurance and fixed annuity products, including life and long-term care insurance products; payment protection insurance products for consumers primarily to meet specified payment obligations; and wealth management products, such as managed account programs with advisor support and financial planning services. It also provides mortgage insurance products and related services to insure prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans or flow mortgage insurance; and mortgage insurance on a structured or bulk basis, as well as offers services, analytical tools, and technology that enable lenders to operate and manage risk. In addition, the company provides institutional products consisting of funding agreements, funding agreements backing notes, and guaranteed in vestment contracts. Genworth Financial, Inc. distributes its products and services through financial intermediaries, advisors, independent distributors, affinity groups, and sales specialists. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The first list of 24/7 Wall St. stocks under book value for the month of August are Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA), Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE: FDP), Genworth Financial Inc. (NYSE: GNW), Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM) and JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU). We generally have�focused on net asset values and tangible book values, as well as forward price-to-earnings multiples, share price performance, analyst expectations via the Thomson Reuters consensus price target and more.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW  ) plans to to eliminate roughly 400 positions, which includes 150 open jobs that it will not fill, the company announced Thursday.

Best Stocks To Buy

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Griffin Reinhard recognizes that if investors rely on the crowd when it comes to crowdfunding, they're probably going to wind up all by their lonesome.

"It's not like people with money get up and go to Kickstarter or Indiegogo at 8 o'clock in the morning and decide, 'Oh, I'm going to give money to this idea,'" Reinhard said to me on the phone. The man is as close to a crowdfunding pro as I could dig up: He's director of digital media at The Crowdfund Mafia, a thriving San Diego-based crowdfunding marketing company.

"What really happens is backers hear about a campaign through their network," he said. "So you have to be out there promoting your service, or even the best idea has little chance."

Best Stocks To Buy: Storm Resources Ltd(SRX.V)

Storm Resources Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia in Canada. It owns interests in undeveloped lands totaling approximately 117,200 net acres in the Horn River Basin, Umbach, and Cabin/Kotcho/Junior areas in north eastern British Columbia; undeveloped land in the Red Earth area of Alberta; and a property at Mica in north eastern British Columbia. As of December 31, 2011, the company had proved plus probable reserves of 8,322 thousands barrels of oil equivalent. Storm Resources Ltd. is based in Calgary, Canada.

Best Stocks To Buy: Medical Marijuana Inc (MJNA)

Medical Marijuana Inc. (MJNA), incorporated on May 23, 2005, is the publicly held company vested in the medical marijuana and industrial hemp markets. The Company is comprised of a diversified portfolio of products, services, technology and businesses solely focused on the cannabis and hemp industries. These products range from patented based cannabinoid products, to whole plant or isolated high value extracts specifically manufactured and formulated for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industries. In March 2013, it sold certain equipment and inventory, web domain names, phone numbers, and all existing and pending agreements with hemp production and processing facilities to CannaVEST Corp.

The Company�� services are varied, ranging from medical clinic management to the capitalization and development of existing industry business and product leaders. Services include development of cannabinoid based health and wellness products, and the development of medical grade compounds. MJNA provides over 50 and patented cannabinoid delivery methods that are more socially and medically acceptable than smoking.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Although its summer, there has been a steady stream of good news about medical marijuana even though important small cap marijuana stocks�Medical Marijuana Inc (OTCMKTS: MJNA) and Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS: CBIS) have been fairly quietly lately while Growlife Inc (OTCBB: PHOT), a more indirect play on the spread of legalized marijuana, has produced�some news for investors:

10 Best Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Vidrala SA (VID)

Vidrala SA is a Spain-based company principally, which is engaged in the glass industry. The Company�� activities include the production, distribution and sale of glass bottles and containers used in the food and beverages industries. The Company conducts its own research and development (R&D) operations. It operates six production plants and 12 melting furnaces located in such countries, as Portugal, France, Belgium and Italy. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned such subsidiaries as Crisnova Vidrio SA, Inverbeira Sociedad de Promocion de Empresas SA, Gallo Vidro SA, Castellar Vidrio SA, Corsico Vetro SRL, MD Verre SA, Omega Immobiliere et Financiere SA, Investverre SA and CD Verre SA.

Best Stocks To Buy: Reef Casino Trust (RCT.AX)

Reef Casino Trust owns and leases The Reef Hotel Casino complex located in Cairns, Australia. The Reef Hotel Casino complex consists of a casino, which includes table games and approximately 500 electronic gaming machines; a 5 star hotel with 128 luxury guest rooms and suites, as well as with rooftop swimming pool, sauna, and a gymnasium; and various facilities, such as bars, conference and banqueting facilities, spas, sports arena, and a nightclub. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Brisbane, Australia. Reef Casino Trust is a subsidiary of Reef Casino Investments Pty Ltd.

Best Stocks To Buy: Willis Group Holdings Limited(WSH)

Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company provides a range of insurance brokerage, reinsurance, and risk management consulting services to its clients worldwide. The company offers various insurance brokerage services, including property damage, offshore construction, liability, and control of well and pollution insurance to the energy industry; and marine insurance and reinsurance brokerage services consisting of hull, cargo, and general marine liabilities. It also provides its services to aerospace clients, including aircraft manufacturers, air cargo handlers and shippers, airport managers, and other general aviation companies; and advisory services comprising claims recovery, contract and leasing risk management, market information, and safety services. In addition, the company offers risk management advice and brokerage services to the construction industry; brokerage for directors' and officers' insurance, as well as professional indemnity insurance for corporation s and professional firms; and specialist risk management and insurance services to fine art, diamond, and jewelry businesses, and operators of armored cars. Further, it provides special contingencies packages; services for horse racing and breeding industry, and agriculture/crop sector; and advice to companies involved in the insurance and reinsurance industry on capital markets products. Additionally, the company offers health, welfare, and human resources consulting and brokerage services to small, medium, and large corporations, as well as the employee benefits practice. It serves clients located in approximately 190 countries, including multinational and middle-market companies operating in various industries, as well as public institutions and individual clients. The company was formerly known as Willis Group Holdings Limited and changed its name to Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company in January 2010. The company was founded in 1828 and is headquartered in Lond on, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  $11 billion UK insurer Willis Group Holdings (WSH) is another uptrending channel. The big difference with Willis is that this name is actually at its trendline support level this week. Better still, shares are bouncing higher -- and it makes sense to buy the bounce here.

  Buying off a support bounce makes sense for two big reasons: It's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong). Remember, all trend lines do eventually break, but by actually waiting for the bounce to happen first, you're ensuring WSH can actually still catch a bid along that line.

  The 50-day moving average has been a good proxy for support on the way up, so it's a solid place to put a protective stop if you decide to be a buyer at this point.

Best Stocks To Buy: Bel Fuse Inc.(BELFB)

Bel Fuse Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of products used in local area networking, telecommunications, business equipment, and consumer electronic applications in North America, Europe, and Asia. It offers various magnetic products, including MagJack integrated connector modules that provide the signal conditioning, electromagnetic interference suppression, and signal isolation for networking, telecommunications, and broadband applications; diplexer and triplexer filters used in high speed, home networking applications that utilize excess bandwidth available on existing coax cabling; power transformer products comprising standard and custom designs for use in alarm, security, motion control, elevator, and medical products; and discrete magnetic components consisting of transformers and chokes for use in networking, telecommunications, and broadband applications. The company also offers modules, such as power conversion mo dules comprising standard and custom isolated and non-isolated DC-DC converters designed to power low voltage silicon devices; and integrated modules that condition, filter, and isolate the electronic signal to ensure accurate data/voice/video transmission, as well as circuit protection products, including board level fuses and polymeric positive temperature coefficient devices for use in televisions, consumer electronics, power supplies, computers, telephones, and networking equipment. In addition, it provides a line of modular connectors, such as RJ45 and RJ11 passive jacks, plugs, and cable assemblies; and compression interfaces, high speed cables, connectors, and enclosures and harnesses. Bel Fuse Inc. sells its products through direct strategic account managers, regional sales managers working with independent sales representative organizations, and authorized distributors. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Stocks to Watch: Toll Brothers, Navidea Pharma, Micron Tech

Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Tuesday’s session are Toll Brothers Inc.(TOL) and Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc.(NAVB)

Toll Brothers’ fiscal fourth-quarter income fell 77% as the homebuilder posted fewer tax-related adjustments, though home deliveries and revenue improved. The bottom line still beat expectations, helping send shares up 2.6% to $34.45 premarket.

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted fast-track status to Lymphoseek for sentinel lymph node detection in patients with head and neck cancer, providing a boost for the biopharmaceutical firm. Shares jumped 15% premarket to $2.10.

Micron Technology Inc.(MU) and Rambus Inc.(RMBS) said they have ended a series of court battles that stretched for 13 years, with Micron agreeing to pay up to $280 million to Rambus over seven years. The deal announced late Monday gives Micron, one of the biggest makers of memory chips, rights to use Rambus patents in certain products. Rambus shares surged 9.7% to $9.36 premarket, while Micron was inactive.

Chip maker Broadcom Corp. raised its fourth-quarter revenue outlook on better-than-expected results in all segments, particularly in infrastructure and networking. Shares edged up 1.3% to $28.25 premarket.

Pep Boys-Manny Moe & Jack swung to a fiscal third-quarter profit as the auto-care company reported fewer charges, though overall sales inched lower due to weak merchandise sales. Shares slumped 12% to $11.75 in premarket trading as results missed Wall Street’s expectations.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 29% on lower revenue but the maker of advanced communications systems unveiled plans for additional stock repurchases and a dividend increase. Shares were up 7.7% at $33.69 in premarket trading as the results beat expectations and the company raised its fiscal-year guidance.

Analogic Corp. swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss as the electronics-component maker reported a steep decline in medical-imaging sales and higher expenses. Shares slid 9.9% to $83.50 in premarket trading.

Activist investor Carl C. Icahn‘s firm said Monday it will sell two million depositary units. Shares of Icahn Enterprises LP(IEP) were down 10% at $133.68 premarket.

Two dry-bulk shipping companies — Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. and Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. — have enlisted restructuring advisers after key creditors sold large blocks of debt to distressed investors amid balance sheet concerns, The Wall Street Journal reported. Eagle Bulk shares dropped 14% to $3.09 premarket, while Genco declined 21% to $1.95.

ABM Industries Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 13% on higher expenses that helped mask growth in revenue. Results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

AutoZone Inc.’s fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 7.2% on continued sales growth and slightly stronger margins. Results were generally in line with expectations.

Buckle Inc. unveiled a special dividend of $1.20 a share and raised its quarterly dividend. The special dividend, though, was considerably lower than from a year ago, when the company gave $4.50 a share.

Burlington Stores Inc.’s fiscal third-quarter loss widened, as the clothing retailer reported a handful of charges related to debt and its recent initial public offering, though revenue grew. Results just edged past estimates.

Casey’s General Stores Inc. fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 26% as the convenience-store operator reported broad revenue growth and benefited from improved gasoline sales and margins.

Dominion Resources Inc. closed on deals with two natural-gas producers to lease about 100,000 acres of Marcellus share rights under several of its natural-gas storage fields in West Virginia. Dominion expects the move to result in payments of about $200 million over nine years, as well as royalties.

Duke Energy Corp. said it has submitted to U.S. regulators plans to decommission its Crystal River nuclear plant in Florida, a plan that it expects to commence next year at estimated cost of $1.18 billion. The premature retirement of the plant–which operated from 1977 to 2009–was the result of structural problems and was announced last February.

Fidelity National Financial Inc. said it is pursuing strategic options for its portfolio-company investments, including a possible spinoff or sales. In addition to being a title insurer and mortgage services company, Fidelity has major investments in the restaurant industry and a 51% stake in electrical parts manufacturer Remy International Inc.

Fifth & Pacific Cos. agreed to sell its Lucky Brand denim business to an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners L.P. for $225 million, inking a second deal with the private-equity firm.

Honeywell International Inc. said it will spend about $300 million to build a new, environmentally friendly automobile refrigerant manufacturing plant in response to increasing demand overseas. The industrial conglomerate is working with key suppliers to increase production capacity for HFO-1234yf, a new refrigerant for automobiles with a global-warming potential of less than 1.

John Wiley & Sons Inc.’s fiscal second-quarter profit slid 16% as the publishing company’s results were dinged by restructuring costs, though revenue improved thanks to higher digital book sales.

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc., a hardwood flooring retailer that has faced recent questions about its sourcing practices, issued rosier 2013 targets a day before the company was due to present at a conference in New York City.

Merck & Co. said it received approval to continue recruiting patients for a trial of its Alzheimer’s treatment currently in development.

MRC Global Inc. has inked two separate international acquisitions, including an agreement to buy Norway-based Stream AS, a pipe and valve distributor for the offshore oil and gas industry, for about $260 million.

Northrop Grumman Corp. has paid $11.4 million to the U.S. to settle a claim that the aerospace and defense company made improper charges to its federal contracts, the Justice Department said Monday.

Outerwall Inc. unveiled a leadership change at its Redbox video-rental kiosk business and is reducing its workforce as the company continues to restructure its business. Also, Outerwall said it will discontinue three concepts: Rubi, a coffee kiosk; Crisp Market, a kiosk distributing prepared foods; and Star Studio, an interactive photo booth.

PVH Corp.’s fiscal third-quarter profit grew 17% as sales were again boosted by the acquisition of Warnaco Group Inc. earlier this year, though the clothing company warned of challenges during the holiday season.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. provided two outlooks for next year, one that assumes that its top selling drug, multiple-sclerosis treatment Copaxone, will face competition from the introduction of at least two generic rivals in the U.S. and another that assumes no generic competition.

Vail Resorts Inc.’s loss widened in its fiscal first quarter on higher expenses pegged to acquisitions.

Waters Corp.’s chief financial officer, John Ornell, will resign from the role effective Feb. 1, and Eugene G. Cassis will take over the position on an interim basis, the company said Monday.

Hot Undervalued Companies To Buy For 2014

The main purpose of equity valuation is to estimate a value for a firm or security. A key assumption of any fundamental value technique is that the value of the security (in this case an equity or a stock) is driven by the fundamentals of the firm�� underlying business at the end of the day. There are three primary equity valuation models: the discounted cash flow (DCF), cost and comparable approaches. The comparable model is a relative valuation approach and is explained in more detail below.

Comp Models Introduced
The basic premise of the comparables approach is that an equity�� value should bear some resemblance to other equities in a similar class. For a stock, this can simply be determined by comparing a firm to its key rivals, or at least those rivals that operate similar businesses. Discrepancies in the value between similar firms could spell opportunity. The hope is that it means the equity being valued is undervalued and can be bought and held until the value increases. The opposite could hold true, which could present opportunity for shorting the stock, or positioning one�� portfolio to profit from a decline in its price.

Hot Undervalued Companies To Buy For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  Molex (NASDAQ: MOLX  ) is up big after Koch Industries agreed to buy the company for $7.2 billion in cash. Yum! Brands' (NYSE: YUM  ) same-store sales in China fall 10% in August. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) shares are up on news that China's exports grew more than 7% in August. And Middleby (NASDAQ: MIDD  ) closes in on a new all-time high. In this segment, the guys discuss four stocks making big moves.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

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

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Caterpillar Inc.(CAT), Boeing Co.(BA) and Motorola Solutions Inc.(MSI)

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Capstone has had huge potential for a long time, even if it hasn't delivered on that potential. The company's microturbines have tapped into the trend toward on-site power generation, and its flexible-fuel equipment makes it a more viable option for smaller projects that the larger generators that giants General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) have developed. GE and Caterpillar aim instead for high-efficiency products and have done an excellent job of delivering, with Caterpillar's power-generation equipment reaching 96% efficiency ratings. But Capstone's solutions are better for residential and smaller commercial customers.

Hot Undervalued Companies To Buy For 2014: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Deutsche Bank is making a change in its coverage of dollar store themes on Monday: Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Buy from Hold and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO)�was downgraded to Hold from Buy, but the price target was raised to $74 from $70.

• [By Brendan Byrnes]

  Brendan: Not a problem at all. What about the surprising amount of dollar-store companies that are public? You have Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) , Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) , Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) . You mention, in particular, Family Dollar, which is the lowest market cap out of all of those, as doing the best, an exceptional company. Why?

• [By Rising Dividend Investing]

  Falling Stock Correlation: What It Says About Consumer Spending

  As we mentioned in the Take Aways from the August 26th Investment Policy Committee meeting, the correlation index has been steadily declining. In 2008-09, macroeconomic events drove nearly every stock downwards. Specific sectors and stocks moved in tandem with one another. Today, stocks and sub-industries within each sector are performing very differently – which indicates a return to a more normal stock market environment.
  The Consumer Discretionary (also known as Consumer Cyclicals) sector is an example of an industry that has been rewarded for its fundamental success over the past 12 months. As a whole, the sector grew sales 6.1% and earnings 9.2% in the second quarter - much better than the 1.4% sales and 3.3% earnings growth of the S&P 500. While the overall sector did well in the second quarter, the table below shows how differently the 5 sub-categories of Consumer Discretionary performed:
  
  (click to enlarge)
  As we drill down even further, sub-categories of sub-sectors differ even more dramatically. Below is a snapshot of the Retailing sub-sector and its notable components:
  
  (click to enlarge)
  Specific stocks within each sub-category are varying in performance as well. General Merchandise retailers were significantly differentiated in the second quarter. Target’s (TGT) adjusted EPS were up 6.1% from 2012, while Dollar General (DG) and Dollar Tree’s (DLTR) earnings were up nearly 12% and 9%, respectively.
  The differences in sales and earnings growth amongst these different industries tell a story. The economy is not improving enough that people feel like they can let go and spend money on pure pleasures, but it is improving enough that they can afford to replace their cars and fix the doors on their houses. As these items wear out and need to be replaced, we expect the pent up demand will drive increased economic activity from cons

Top 10 Penny Stocks To Buy Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) reported earnings on July 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Schlumberger met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Dr. Kent Moors]

  That's why some of the biggest OFS providers - like Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) - have been buying up oil and gas equipment companies.

Hot Undervalued Companies To Buy For 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.03 per share on revenue of $623.34 million.

  Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $779.02 million.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Where growth will come from
  One area that Newell Rubbermaid still has to tap fully is emerging markets. The company has done a good job of expanding overseas, with 17% annual growth in Latin America. But with barely a quarter of its sales coming from outside the U.S. and Canada, the company has a lot further to go. Storage rival Tupperware (NYSE: TUP  ) gets fully 60% of its total revenue from emerging markets, and it too has seen impressive gains in South America as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

• [By John Udovich]

  Everyone is familiar with�the Tupperware brand from�consumer products stock Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) and you are probably familiar with the brands�of mid cap stock Jarden Corp (NYSE: JAH) along with small cap stocks Libbey Inc (NYSEMKT: LBY) and Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ: LCUT); but what about the stocks themselves? Chances are, their brands or products are right under your nose at home and you probably don�� know anything about the mid cap or small cap stock behind them.

• [By Arie Goren]

  After running this screen on May 21, 2013, before the markets' open, I discovered the following eight stocks: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL), Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG), Copa Holdings SA (CPA), RPC Inc. (RES), Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), Herbalife Ltd. (HLF), John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW.A) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW).

Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX): Should Astrazeneca Plc Buy Forest Labs?

Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX) is now moving to an M&A story like other specialty pharma companies, and much of this move is anticipation of further accretive deals starting to get discounted in FRX shares.

Financial Times reported that London-based AstraZeneca plc  (ADR)(NYSE:AZN) is eyeing Forest Labs, which makes antidepressants and Alzheimer's drugs. However, takeover talks may have stalled following the recent surge in Forest Labs shares.

Skeptics wondered why Forest announced a major restructuring on Monday if it planned to sell itself.

[Related -Forest Laboratories, Inc. (FRX): Will The Force Switch Of Namenda XR Be Successful?]

Forest Laboratories plans to save $500 million over the next two years as part of its plans to cut about 500 jobs. The company expects to achieve 65-75 percent of the cost savings from Project Rejuvenate by the end of fiscal 2015 and the remainder by the end of fiscal 2016.

The drugmaker has authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion of shares, of which $400 million would be completed by the end of 2013. It also agreed to pay $240 million to Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) for the U.S. marketing rights to Saphris, which is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar mania.

[Related -Forest Laboratories, Inc. (FRX): Key Reasons Why Forest Won't Slim Down]

New York-based Forest Labs will fund the buyback and acquisition with the help of the sale of $1 billion in debt due in 2021. The company said it would focus more on merger, acquisition and licensing deals that would add to its profits.

All these actions suggest that Forest Labs is not trying to sell itself but expanding its horizons. The added $1 billion in debt for share repo and M&A is a smart strategy and long overdue.

The Saphris deal may be a thorn in the road for Forest. Despite, the drug is expected to add about 35 cents to EPS next year, it has been disappointing for Merck, and would be tough for Forest to fix it. The sublingual tablet had sales! of $150 million in the last twelve months ending September 2013. The gross margin should be about 65 percent.

On future M&A, Forest Labs expects to focus on filling the company's white space to better leverage its existing sales organizations in five key therapeutic areas – gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, central nervous system, respiratory, or infectious disease.

While the Saphris deal was not directly related to Project Rejuvenate, management noted that this was an example of how it plans to become more nimble with opportunities to do deals that are both near-term accretive and bolt-on acquisitions to better leverage the sales forces. The marketing of Viibryd, Fetzima, and Saphris highlight the CNS space.

On the other hand, AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharma and biologics company, has kept investors in the suspense over its M&A strategy since suspending the buyback last year.

The patent expiration of AstraZeneca's key drugs has led to a 4 percent revenue drop on a constant currency basis in the third quarter. These brands were contributing up to $350 million in annual constant exchange rate sales. The company's profit from its core operations has also plunged by 29 percent to $2.21 billion million. The company continues to expect core EPS to decline at a rate that is significantly higher than the decline in revenue in 2013 and forecasts full year revenue to drop in mid-to-high single-digits.

Although AstraZeneca's diabetic and oncology portfolios are showing nice developments, a company like Forest Labs would provide the much needed impetus with its impressive portfolios in cardiovascular, central nervous system and respiratory treatments.

Moreover, Forest Labs has a long history of successful product approvals and commercial success, and the growth potential from a series of newly launched products. Its products are broadly prescribed by primary care physicians.

Forest recently launched a number of promising new products that hav! e the pot! ential for substantial revenue and cash flow, which is critical given the upcoming loss of Namenda exclusivity in January 2015.

Forest will steadily convert this franchise to Namenda XR, which faces long-term patent protection, but conversion back to generics of the original version will pressure the franchise. Moody's has a 'Ba1' rating on the company. Moody's expectation is that the Forest Labs' debt/EBITDA will be sustained below 3.0 times even as EBITDA is reduced by the January 2015 Namenda patent expiration.

But, as we said before, FRX shares have climbed 30 percent in the last three months and are trading $56ish, more than the mean target of $54.27.

At the current levels,Forest Labs may ask more than $15 billion from AstraZeneca if there is a takeover interest (and if it agrees to it). A valuation of $15 billion plus for Forest Labs may not be currently feasible for AstraZeneca as the U.K. company would have to pay at least $3 billion more now than in October when FRX shares were trading at $43 levels.

At Sept. 30, 2013, AZN's outstanding gross debt (interest-bearing loans and borrowings) was $10.275 billion, and cash and cash equivalents totaled $7.45 billion.

Other than Forest Labs, AstraZeneca may target the diabetes portfolio of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) which has announced to stop its early research and development activity in diabetes, hepatitis C and neuroscience. Citi analysts have predicted that the consideration demanded can range in between $4 billion - $6 billion and is likely to add an increment of 1-5 percent to the company's earnings in the future.