The party line from Wall Street and the Fed is that the process of tapering will be relatively painless. My take? Fuhgeddaboudit. It will be anything but smooth, says Mike Larson of Money and Markets.
Quantitative easing is unlike anything the Fed has previously done in the last century. It was an untested, fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants policy when policymakers rolled it out in the midst of 2008's full-scale credit market emergency.
No one at the Fed—or anywhere else—had any idea what the long-term consequences would be. But they did it anyway because they had nothing else up their sleeve.
That made it inherently risky from the start. Things went okay for a while, which encouraged the Fed to keep at it...despite the fact the real economy didn't respond all that much.
But beginning this spring, everything started to change. In fact, the last few QE and QE-like moves that overseas central banks have tried have utterly backfired.
Take Japan. An initial pop in Japanese stocks due to that country's massive QE effort has now resulted in some of the worst declines—and crazy volatility—in several years. In just two recent weeks, for instance, Nikkei 225 futures plunged more than 3,300 points. That was a whopping 21% move!
5 Best Chemical Stocks To Own Right Now: Transcept Pharmaceuticals Inc.(TSPT)
Transcept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of proprietary products that address therapeutic needs in the field of neuroscience. Its principal product is the Intermezzo, a low dose sublingual formulation of zolpidem as a sleep aid for use in the middle of the night at the time a patient awakens and has difficulty returning to sleep. The company has a collaboration agreement with Purdue Pharmaceutical Products, L.P. for the commercialization of Intermezzo in the United States. It is also developing TO-2061, a low dose ondansetron adjunctive therapy, which is in Phase II study for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Point Richmond, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Transcept Pharmaceuticals (TSPT) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary products that address important therapeutic needs in neuroscience. This stock closed up 6% to $2.98 in Thursday's trading session.
Thursday's Range: $2.81-$2.99
52-Week Range: $2.77-$6.77
Thursday's Volume: 138,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 158,095From a technical perspective, TSPT spiked sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $2.77 and back above its 50-day moving average at $2.95 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of TSPT within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if TSPT manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.16 to $3.25 with high volume. If that breakout hits, it would also push TSPT outside of a large consolidation pattern the stock has been in for the last three months.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TSPT as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at $2.77 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 158,095 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then TSPT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.23 to its 200-day moving average at $4.50. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $4.89 to $5 into range for shares of TSPT.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
An under-$10 biotech stock that's trending very close to triggering a near-term breakout trade is Transcept Pharmaceuticals (TSPT), which is focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary products that address important therapeutic needs in neuroscience. This stock has been hit hard by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off by 36%.
If you take a look at the chart for TSPT, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways inside of a big consolidation pattern for the last three months, with shares moving between $2.71 on the downside and $3.25 on the upside. Shares of TSPT are counter-trending higher today in the face of a very weak tape. This move is starting to push the stock within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TSPT if it manages to break out above its 50-day moving average at $2.91 a share and then once it takes out more near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.16 to $3.25 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 138,444 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then TSPT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.23 to its 200-day at $4.39 a share. If those levels get taken out with volume, then TSPT could easily hit its next major overhead resistance levels at $5 to $5.50 a share.
Traders can look to buy TSPT off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its recent low of $2.71 a share. One can also buy TSPT off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
Top 10 Japanese Companies For 2014: Horsehead Holding Corp.(ZINC)
Horsehead Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells specialty zinc and zinc-based products in North America. The company?s products include PW zinc metal, which is used to provide a protective coating to various fabricated products, including pipe and guard rails, heat exchangers, and telecommunications towers, as well as for the production of brass; and SSHG zinc metal that is used as feed for the manufacture of high-purity zinc powder and zinc alloys. It also offers zinc oxide for the production of tire and rubber products, chemicals, ceramics, plastics, paints, lubricating oils, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, the company recycles electric arc furnace dust, a hazardous waste generated by steel mini-mills. Further, it provides special zinc powders, which are used in general chemical and metallurgical applications, as well as in friction applications, such as brake linings for automobiles; battery grade zinc powders that are used in alkaline, me rcuric oxide, silver oxide, and zinc-air batteries; and copper-based powders, including brass, bronze, and nickel-silver powders, which are used in various applications comprising brazing, infiltrating, and powdered metallurgical hardware, such as lock bodies, valves, and gears. Additionally, the company offers short-line railroad service for the movement of materials. It primarily serves galvanizers and brass producers; alkaline battery industries; and manufacturers of tire and rubber products, lubricating oils, chemicals, paints, ceramics, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Basic materials shares jumped about 1.72 percent in Monday's trading. Leading the sector was strength from Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ: CENX) and Horsehead Holding (NASDAQ: ZINC). In trading on Monday, utilities shares dropped by 0.13 percent. - [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Basic materials shares jumped about 1.72 percent in Monday's trading. Leading the sector was strength from Century Aluminum Co (NASDAQ: CENX) and Horsehead Holding (NASDAQ: ZINC). In trading on Monday, utilities shares dropped by 0.13 percent.
Top 10 Japanese Companies For 2014: Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (LL)
Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc. (Lumber Liquidators) is retailer of hardwood flooring, and hardwood flooring enhancements and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of wood flooring, which includes prefinished domestic and exotic hardwoods, engineered hardwoods, unfinished hardwoods, bamboo, cork and laminates, as well as resilient flooring. Its flooring enhancements and accessories include moldings, noise-reducing underlay and adhesives. Lumber Liquidators and Bellawood are it brands. Its hardwood flooring products are available in various widths and lengths. It offers approximately 350 different flooring product stock-keeping units. In September 2011, it acquired certain assets of Sequoia Floorings Inc. (Sequoia) relating to Sequoia�� quality control and assurance, product development and logistics operations in China.
In June 2013, Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc announced that the Company has opened its 300th store, located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company opened 40 stores. As of February 20, 2012, the Company operated 266 stores located in 46 states and Canada. During 2011, Lumber Liquidators opened its first stores in Canada. It operates a central distribution center located in Hampton, Virginia, supplemented by its facilities in Toano, Virginia. In addition, it operates a facility in Toronto, Canada, with both a store front and a small warehouse serving that metropolitan market. In 2011, Lumber Liquidators finished approximately 79% of its Bellawood products at its finishing facility in Toano, Virginia.
Solid Hardwood
The Company�� solid hardwood products are milled from one thick piece of wood, which can be sanded and refinished numerous times. It offers flooring products made from more than 25 wood species, including both domestic woods, such as ash, beech, birch, hickory, northern hard maple, northern red oak, pine and American walnut, and exotic woods, such as bloodwood, cherry, cypress, e! bony, koa, mesquite, mahogany, rosewood and teak. Lumber Liquidators sells these products either prefinished or unfinished.
Engineered Hardwood
The Company�� engineered hardwood products are produced by bonding a layer of hardwood to a plywood or fiber board backing. Its engineered hardwood floors are offered in domestic and exotic wood species, and in either glue down or floating application. All of its engineered hardwood products are prefinished. Engineered flooring is designed primarily to be installed in areas where hardwood is not conducive, such as slab construction, basements and areas where moisture may be a factor.
Laminates
Lumber Liquidators Holdings, Inc.�� laminate flooring is constructed with a fiber board core, inserted between a melamine laminate backing and photographic paper displaying an image of wood and a ceramic finish, abrasion-resistant laminate top. Its laminate flooring brands allow for easy-click installation, and some include a pre-glued undersurface, moisture repellent, soundproofing, single-strip format or a handscraped textured finish.
Moldings and Accessories
Lumber Liquidators offer a variety of wood flooring moldings and accessories. It sells stair treads and risers in both finished and unfinished versions. Accessories include underlayments that are placed between the new floor and the sub-floor, insulating sound and cushioning the floors. In addition, it sells installation supplies, such as sealers, adhesives and trowels, floor cleaning supplies, and butcher-block kitchen countertops.
Bamboo and Cork
The Company�� bamboo products, harvested from the bamboo plant, are offered as a prefinished, natural or stained, solid or engineered floor. Its cork flooring is produced by harvesting the outer bark of the cork oak tree.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jeremy Bowman]
Despite the broad market gains, not every stock was a winner today. Shares of Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL ) were getting taken to the woodshed, falling 12% after Whitney Tilson, head of the Kase Capital Management hedge fund, announced a short position in the high-flying wood-flooring specialist. At an investor conference, Tilson noted a government investigation into potentially illegal timber imports by Lumber Liquidators, and suggested the company's gross margins, which have improved to better than 40% lately, were too good to be true. The hedge fund manager also cited a report from the non-profit Environmental Investigative Agency that said Lumber Liquidators' purchases "have fueled rampant illegal logging in Eastern Russia." Shares of the flooring retailer had more than doubled this year before today's drop, riding the broader housing recovery.
Top 10 Japanese Companies For 2014: Exide Technologies (XIDEQ)
Exide Technologies, incorporated on November 23, 1966, is engaged in stored electrical energy solutions, and is a manufacturer and supplier of lead-acid batteries for transportation and industrial applications in the worldwide. Exide operates in four business segments: Transportation Americas, Transportation Europe and ROW, Industrial Energy Americas, and Industrial Energy Europe and ROW. The Company�� operations in the Americas as well as Europe and Rest of World (ROW) represented approximately 42% and 58%, respectively, during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), net sales.
Transportation
The Company�� transportation batteries include starting lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries for cars, trucks, off-road vehicles, agricultural and construction vehicles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, marine, and other applications including Micro-hybrids. The Company�� principal batteries sold in the transportation markets are represented by brands: Exide, Exide Extreme, Exide NASCAR Select, Centra, DETA, Orbital, Fulmen, and Tudor, as well as other brands under various private labels. The market for transportation batteries is divided between sales to aftermarket customers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Transportation segments represented approximately 61% of the Company�� net sales in fiscal 2013. Within the transportation segments, aftermarket and OEM net sales, including original equipment service (OES) represented approximately 72.1% and 27.9% of fiscal 2013 net sales, respectively.
Some of the Company�� aftermarket customers include Pep Boys, Bosch, Tractor Supply, Canadian Tire, ADI, ATR International, and GroupAuto International. In addition, the Company is also a supplier of authorized replacement batteries for OEMs including the BMW Group, Fiat Group, Honda, Iveco, John Deere, PSA Group, Scania, Volvo Trucks, Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Renault-Nissan, PACCAR, and many others. Some of the Company�� OEM customers include t! he BMW Group, Fiat Group, International Truck & Engine, the PSA group (Peugeot S.A./Citroen), Case/New Holland, John Deere, Renault, Nissan, Scania, Volvo Trucks, Volkswagen Group, Chrysler, Toyota, Jaguar, Land Rover, among others.
In the Americas, the Company sells aftermarket transportation products through various distribution channels, including mass merchandisers, auto parts outlets, wholesale distributors, and battery specialists. The Company sells its OEM transportation replacement products principally through dealer networks. The Company�� Americas operations include a network of 74 branches which sell and distribute batteries and other products to the Company�� distributor channel customers, battery specialists, national account customers, retail stores, and OEM dealers. In addition, these branches collect spent batteries for the Company�� recycling facilities. These operations supply recycled lead for approximately 75 to 80% of Exide�� Transportation and Industrial Energy products manufactured in North America. The recycling facilities also recover and recycle battery acid as well as plastic materials that are used to produce new battery covers and cases.
In Europe and ROW, the Company sells OEM batteries to the light vehicle, light commercial vehicle and commercial vehicle industries. The commercial vehicle industry includes truck manufacturers as well as construction and agriculture vehicle manufacturers. Exide supplies its OEM batteries directly to the assembly plants of its customers. The Company also delivers service and replacement batteries into this segment. Those are either distributed by the OEM customers themselves or delivered directly to the service points through the Exide logistics network. The Company also supplies advanced lead-acid batteries for microhybrid vehicles equipped with carbon dioxide reducing technologies such as Start & Stop with and without regenerative braking systems. It sells Europe and ROW aftermarket batteries primarily th! rough aut! omotive parts and battery wholesalers, mass-merchandisers, auto centers, service installers, and oil companies. Battery specialists sell and distribute batteries to a network of automotive parts retailers, service stations, independent retailers, and garages throughout Europe.
The Company competes with Johnson Controls, Inc. and East Penn Manufacturing.
Industrial Energy
The Company�� Industrial Energy segments supply both motive power and network power applications. Motive power batteries are used in the material handling industry for electric forklift trucks, and in other industries, including floor cleaning machinery, powered wheelchairs, railroad locomotives, mining, and the electric road vehicles market. The battery technologies for the motive power markets include flooded flat plate products, tubular plate products, absorbed glass mat (AGM) products, and gel electrolyte products. The Company also offers a complete range of battery chargers and related equipment for the operation and maintenance of battery-powered vehicles. Network power batteries are used to provide back-up power for use with telecommunications systems, computer installations or data centers, hospitals, air traffic control systems, security systems, utilities, railway and military applications. Telecommunications applications include central and local switching systems, satellite stations, wireless base stations and mobile switches, optical fiber repeating boxes, cable television transmission boxes, and radio transmission stations. The Company�� strongest network power battery brands, Absolyte and Sonnenschein, offer customers the choice of AGM or gel electrolyte valve regulated battery technologies and deliver among the highest energy and power densities in their class.
In the Americas, the Company distributes motive power products and services through multiple channels. These include sales and service locations owned by the Company that are augmented by a network of indep! endent ma! nufacturers��representatives. The Company serves a wide range of customers including OEM suppliers of lift trucks, industrial companies, retail distributors, warehousing companies, and manufacturers. Motive power customers in the Americas include Toyota, MCFA, NACCO, Sears, Toyota, Walmart, and Target. The Company distributes network power products and services through sales and service locations owned by the Company augmented by a network of independent manufacturers��representatives. The Company�� primary network power customers in the Americas include AT&T, APC, Emerson Electric, and Verizon Wireless.
The Company distributes motive power products and services in Europe through in-house sales and service organizations and utilizes distributors and agents for the export of products from Europe to ROW countries. Motive power products in Europe are also sold to a wide range of customers in the aftermarket, ranging from industrial companies and retail distributors to small warehousing and manufacturing operations. Motive power batteries are also sold in complete packages, including batteries, chargers, and increasingly through on-site service. The Company�� OEM motive power customers include Toyota Material Handling, the KION Group, and Jungheinrich. The Company distributes network power products and services in Europe and batteries and chargers in Australia and New Zealand through in-house sales and service organizations. In Asia, products are distributed through independent distributors. The Company utilizes distributors, agents, and direct sales to export products from Europe and North America to ROW. The Company�� primary Network Power customers in Europe and ROW include Deutsche Telecom, Alcatel, Emerson Electric, Ericsson and Siemens Nokia Networks.
The Company competes with EnerSys Inc., East Penn Manufacturing, Hoppecke, MIDAC, GS/Yuasa, Shinkobe and C&D Technologies.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
A real car wreck on the horizon
Already crashing and burning was lead-acid battery maker Exide Technologies (NASDAQOTH: XIDEQ ) , which confirmed it had hired a restructuring specialist to help it cope with is financial situation ahead of some of its debt maturing this fall. It's shares fell almost 48% on the news.
Top 10 Japanese Companies For 2014: Encana Corporation(ECA)
Encana Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the exploration for, development, production, and marketing of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids. The company owns interests in resource plays that primarily include the Greater Sierra, Cutbank Ridge, Bighorn, and Coalbed Methane resource plays located in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as the Deep Panuke natural gas project offshore Nova Scotia in Canada. It also holds interests in resource plays comprising the Jonah in southwest Wyoming, Piceance in northwest Colorado, Haynesville in Louisiana, and Texas resource play, including east Texas and north Texas. The company serves primarily local distribution companies, industrials, energy marketing companies, and other producers. Encana Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By David Smith]
Tending to a tiny town
Fossil fuel companies and the EPA have hardly formed a mutual admiration society during the past four years. The Wall Street Journal maintained as much 18 months ago in an editorial precipitated by an interminable -- and still ongoing -- look into the possibility that fracking by Encana (NYSE: ECA ) has fouled the water table�at minuscule (population 175) Pavillion, Wyo. As the paper observed: "The agency is dominated by anticarbon true believers, and the Obama Administration has waged a campaign to raise the price(s) and limit the production of fossil fuels."� - [By Bruce Kennedy]
The EIA examined annual reports from 42 oil and natural gas companies, from giants like Brazil's Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) to smaller firms like Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM) and Encana (NYSE: ECA) ��companies that reportedly made up about 40 percent of non-OPEC production last year, and that had combined market capitalization of over $2.4 trillion.
- [By Monica Wolfe]
Encana (ECA)
Manning & Napier�� fifth largest holding is in Ecana. The guru holds on to 27,376,066 shares of Unilever, representing 2.4% of their total holdings and 3.71% of the company�� shares outstanding. Over the past quarter, Manning & Napier increased their position 0.22% by purchasing 60,930 shares. They purchased these shares in the first quarter price range of $17.25 to $21.42, with an estimated average quarterly price of $18.90. Since then the price per share has increased approximately 21.8%.
Top 10 Japanese Companies For 2014: Precision Drilling Corp (PDS)
Precision Drilling Corporation (Precision) is a provider of contract drilling and completion and production services primarily to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in Canada and the United States. The Company operates in two segments: Contract Drilling Services, and Completion and Production Services. In Canada, the Contract Drilling Services segment includes land drilling services, directional drilling services, procurement and distribution of oilfield supplies and the manufacture and refurbishment of drilling and service rig equipment, and the Completion and Production Services segment includes service rigs for well completion and workover services, snubbing services, camp and catering services, wastewater treatment services and the rental of oilfield surface equipment, tubulars, well control equipment and wellsite accommodations. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lee Jackson]
Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE: PDS) is Canada’s leading oilfield services firm, which provides contract drilling, well servicing and strategic support services to its customers. The company was formed as a private drilling contractor in the early 1950s and has grown on the back of fleet expansion and acquisitions, most notably the $2 billion purchase of Grey Wolf in 2008. The company pays investors a 2.1% dividend. The Jefferies price objective goes from $11 to $13. The consensus stands at $12.78. The stock closed Friday at $10.39.
Top 10 Japanese Companies For 2014: First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund (FGB)
First Trust Speciality Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund, formerly First Trust/Gallatin Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund, is a non-diversified, closed-end fund that seeks a high level of current income. The Fund�� secondary objective is to seek total return. The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its managed assets in a portfolio of securities of specialty finance and other financial companies that offer opportunities for income and capital appreciation. The Fund will invest at least 25% of its total assets in securities of companies within industries in the financial sector. First Trust Advisors L.P. (First Trust Advisors) is the Fund's investment adviser.
Specialty finance companies provide capital or financing to businesses and consumers within specified market segments. Specialty finance companies often engage in asset-based and other forms of non-traditional financing activities. The Fund intends to invest primarily in business development company�� (BDC) shares, which are trading in the secondary market on a United States securities exchange but may, in certain circumstances, invest in an initial public offering of BDC shares or invest in certain debt instruments issued by BDCs. The Fund is not limited with respect to the specific types of real estate investment trusts (REITs), in which it invests and intends to invest primarily in REIT shares, which are trading in the secondary market on a United States securities exchange but may, in certain circumstances, invest in an initial public offering of REIT shares or invest in certain debt instruments issued by REITs.
The Fund may invest in commercial mortgage-related securities issued by corporations. These are securities that represent an interest in, or are secured by, mortgage loans secured by commercial property, such as industrial and warehouse properties, office buildings, retail space and shopping malls, multi-family properties and cooperati! ve apartments, hotels and motels, nursing homes, hospitals, and senior living centers. Other mortgage-related securities, in which the Fund may invest include mortgage pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), mortgage dollar rolls, CMO residuals (other than residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits), stripped mortgage-backed securities (SMBSs) and other securities that directly or indirectly represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans on real property. The Fund may invest in other types of asset-backed securities that are offered in the marketplace. Other asset-backed securities may be collateralized by the fees earned by service providers.
The principal industry groups of financial companies include banks, savings institutions, brokerage firms, investment management companies, insurance companies, holding companies of the foregoing, and companies that provide related services to such companies. Banks and savings institutions provide services to customers such as demand, savings and time deposit accounts and a variety of lending and related services. Brokerage firms provide services to customers in connection with the purchase and sale of securities.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Shaji Mathew]
JPMorgan also raised the price estimate of First Gulf Bank, (FGB) its top pick among banks in the Middle East and North Africa, to 18 dirhams from 13.50 dirhams. The overweight recommendation was maintained. The stock has risen 25 percent this year to 14.55 dirhams last week.
No comments:
Post a Comment