Hot Construction Material Companies To Own For 2014

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This week, these five stocks have the worst ratings in Operating Margin Growth, one of the eight Fundamental Categories on Portfolio Grader.

Synutra International, Inc. (NASDAQ:) manufactures infant formula and other nutritional products. SYUT also gets F’s in Earnings Growth, Earnings Momentum, Analyst Earnings Revisions, Equity, Cash Flow, and Sales Growth. The stock’s trailing PE Ratio is 834.80. .

Top 5 Defensive Companies To Own For 2015: Holcim Ltd (HOLN)

Holcim Ltd (Holcim) is a Switzerland-based holding company that specializes in the manufacture, distribution and marketing of building materials. The Company operates four business segments, including Cement, Aggregates, Other construction materials and services, and Corporate. The Cement segment is engaged in the development of cement and comprises clinker and other cementitious materials, among others. The Aggregates business segment includes crushed stone, gravel and sand. The Other construction materials and services business segment comprises ready-mix concrete, concrete products, asphalt, construction and paving, and trading, among others. Additionally, other construction materials and services segment provides environmental services, including waste management, among others. The Corporate segment is engaged in holding activities and general management. It operates through subsidiaries in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa and Middle East regions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Holcim Ltd. (HOLN) lost 0.9 percent to 68.15 francs in Zurich. Bank of America Corp.�� Merrill Lynch unit cut its rating on the world�� largest cement maker to underperform, similar to a sell recommendation, from neutral. Merrill Lynch cited the company�� exposure to emerging markets.

Hot Construction Material Companies To Own For 2014: CEMEX SAB de CV (CX)

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (CEMEX), incorporated on January 20, 1931, is a global cement manufacturer with operations in North America, Europe, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The Company is a holding company engaged through the operating subsidiaries in the production, distribution, marketing and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and clinker. As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� cement production facilities were located in Mexico, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Egypt, the Philippines and Thailand.

The Company manufactures cement through a closely controlled chemical process, which begins with the mining and crushing of limestone and clay, and, in some instances, other raw materials. The clay and limestone are then pre-homogenized, a process which consists of combining different types of clay and limestone. The mix is typically dried, then fed into a grinder, which grinds the various materials in preparation for the kiln. The raw materials are calcined, or processed, at a very high temperature in a kiln, to produce clinker. Clinker is the intermediate product used in the manufacture of cement.

Ready-mix concrete is a combination of cement, fine and coarse aggregates, admixtures (which control properties of the concrete including plasticity, pumpability, freeze-thaw resistance, strength and setting time), and water. The Company is a supplier of aggregates primarily the crushed stone, sand and gravel, used in virtually all forms of construction.

Mexican Operations

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Mexican operations represented approximately 21% of the Company�� net sales. CEMEX Mexico is a direct subsidiary of CEMEX and is both a holding company for some of the operating companies in Mexico and an operating company involved in the manufacturing and ma! rketing of cement, plaster, gypsum, groundstone and other construction materials and cement by-products in Mexico. CEMEX Mexico, indirectly, is also the holding company for the international operations. The Company owns Tolteca, Monterrey, Maya, Anahuac, Campana, Gallo, and Centenario brands in Mexico. As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned 100% of CEMEX Mexico.

The Company competes with Holcim Ltd., Sociedad Cooperativa Cruz Azul, Cementos Moctezuma, Grupo Cementos Chihuahua and Lafarge Cementos in Mexico.

U.S. Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� operations in the United States represented approximately 19% of the Company�� net sales. As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX, Inc. As of December 31, 2009, CEMEX had a cement manufacturing capacity of approximately 17.9 million tons per year in the United States operations. As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated 14 cement plants located in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. As of December 31, 2009, it also had 48 rails or water served active cement distribution terminals in the United States. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had 336 ready-mix concrete plants located in the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington and aggregates facilities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

Spanish Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the operations in Spain represented approximately 5% of the Company�� net sales. As of December 31, 2009, the Company held approximately 99.8% of CEMEX Espana, the main operating subsidiary in Spain. The cement activities in Spain are conducted by CEMEX Espana. The ready-mix concrete activities in Spain are conducted by Hormicemex, S.A., a subsidiary of CEMEX Espana, and the aggregates activities in Spain ar! e conduct! ed by Aricemex S.A., also a subsidiary of CEMEX Espana.

U.K. Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company�� operations in the United Kingdom represented approximately 8% of the Company�� net sales. As of December 31, 2009, it held 100% of CEMEX Investments Limited, the holding subsidiary in the United Kingdom. The Company is a provider of building materials in the United Kingdom with vertically integrated cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and asphalt operations. It is also a provider of concrete and precast materials solutions, such as concrete blocks, concrete block paving, roof tiles, flooring systems and sleepers for rail infrastructure.

The Company competes with Lafarge, Heidelberg, Tarmac, and Aggregate Industries in the United Kingdom.

German Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the operations in the Rest of Europe consisted of the operations in Germany, France, Ireland, Poland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Austria and Hungary, as well as the other European assets. The Company is a provider of building materials in Germany, with vertically integrated cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and concrete products operations (consisting mainly of prefabricated concrete ceilings and walls). It maintains a network for ready-mix concrete and aggregates in Germany. As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX Deutschland AG, the holding subsidiary in Germany.

The Company competes with Heidelberg, Dyckerhoff, Lafarge, Holcim and Schwenk in Germany.

French Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX France Gestion (S.A.S.), the holding subsidiary in France. It is a ready-mix concrete producer and aggregate producer in France. As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated 239 ready-mix concrete plants in France, one maritime cement terminal located in LeHavre, on the northern coast of France, 20 land distribution centers and 42 aggregates quarries.

The Company competes with Lafarge, Holcim, Italcementi, Vicat, Lafarge, Italcementi, Colas (Bouygues) and Eurovia (Vinci) in France.

Irish Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held approximately 61.2% of Readymix Plc, the operating subsidiary in the Republic of Ireland. The operations in Ireland produce and supply sand, stone and gravel, as well as ready-mix concrete, mortar and concrete blocks. As of December 31, 2009, we operated 43 ready-mix concrete plants, 27 aggregates quarries and 15 block plants located in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. The Company imports and distributes cement in the Isle of Man.

The Company competes with CRH, the Lagan Group and Kilsaran in the Republic of Ireland.

Polish Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX Polska Sp. z.o.o. (CEMEX Polska), the holding subsidiary in Poland. It is a provider of building materials in Poland serving the cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates markets. As of December 31, 2009, CEMEX operated two cement plants and one grinding mill in Poland, with a total installed cement capacity of three million tons per year. As of December 31, 2009, the Company also operated 39 ready-mix concrete plants and nine aggregates quarries in Poland. As of December 31, 2009, the Company also operated 10 land distribution centers and two maritime terminals in Poland.

The Company competes with Heidelberg, Lafarge, CRH and Dyckerhoff in Poland.

Southeast European Operations

As of December 31, 2009, the Company held 100% of CEMEX Hrvatska d.d. (Hrvatska), the operating subsidiary in Croatia. As of December 31, 2009, it operated three cement plants in Croatia, with an installed capacity of 2.4 million tons per year. As of December 31, 2009, the Company also operated ten land distribution centers, three maritime cement terminals, eight ready-mix concrete facilities and one aggregates quarry! in Croat! ia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Cemex SAB de CV (CX)

  As of the close of the third quarter there were nine guru owners of Cemex. These gurus held a combined weighting of 5.30%. During the third quarter, there were three gurus making buys and nine making sells of their stake in CX.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Even now, though, it's far from clear whether the recent rebound has staying power. Earlier this month, peer Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC  ) reported 5% lower shipments of aggregates, although rising prices helped offset the impact, and the company noted double-digit-percentage increases in shipments to hot housing areas including Arizona, California, and Florida. Similarly, Cemex (NYSE: CX  ) posted a substantial loss for its March quarter on with 5% lower revenue, but the Mexican company pointed to strength in the U.S. and Asian markets as offsetting weakness in Mexico, Europe, and Latin America.

• [By GuruFocus]

  George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his first quarter portfolio. He buys Citrix Systems Inc, Baker Hughes Inc, Comcast Corp, Spansion Inc, etc during the 3-months ended 03/31/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC. As of 03/31/2014, Soros Fund Management LLC owns 305 stocks with a total value of $10.1 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: BHI, CODE, CTRP, CLI, AVB, COMM, CNQ, AGO, AUY, ATML, ASH, BXMT, CSTM, AEM, CMA, ARE, CHKP, AUQ, BEAV, CX, ADSK, AALCP, BLK, AIG, BIIB, ADEP, AMRI, ARWR, ATHX, BALT, BCRX, BEAT, CFX, CLFD, CUR, CODE,Added Positions: CTXS, CMCSA, CNP, ALTR, BRCD, CBS, CRM, CHTR, CCJ, CIEN, BIDU, ALLE, ABT, CDNS, ACT,Reduced Positions: AAPL, CCI, AMT, ABBV, AAL, BITA, AL, ANGI, ARIA, CBST, BA, BIRT, EXAR,Sold Out: C, BAC, CRI, AMZN, AGN, CF, BRCM, COTY, BMY, AMCX, CAR, A, ADBE, AFL,For the details of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+SorosThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio:Technology18.9%Energy14%Healthcare8.3%Consumer Defensive8.2%Communication Services8.1%Consumer Cyclical5.4%Industrials5.1%Basic Materials4.9%Financial Services2.5%Real Estate1.9%Utilities0.5%These are the top 5 holdings of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)1. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) - 10,310,041 shares, 5.4% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.67%2. Herbalife Ltd (HLF) - 4,901,337 shares, 2.8% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 52.9%3. EQT Corp (EQT) - 2,573,814 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 3.27%4. Adecoagro SA (AGRO) - 25,915,076 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio.5. Halliburton Co (HAL) - 3,596,353 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 20.73%New Purchase: Baker Hughes Inc (BHI)George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Baker Hughes Inc. His purchase prices were between $51.82 and $65.27, with an estimated

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Vulcan have gained 7.6%, and given a lift to other cement makers today, including Martin Marietta Materials (MLM), which has risen 4.9% and reports earnings on Thursday, Cemex (CX), which has advanced 1.5%, and Texas Industries (TXI), which is up 4.9%.

Hot Construction Material Companies To Own For 2014: Eagle Materials Inc (EXP)

Eagle Materials Inc., incorporated on January 27, 1994, manufactures and distributes gypsum wallboard and also manufactures and sells cement. Gypsum wallboard is distributed throughout the United States with particular emphasis in the geographic markets nearest to its production facilities. The Company sells cement in six regional markets, including northern Nevada and California, the greater Chicago area, the Rocky Mountain region, the Central Plains region and Texas. Its gypsum wallboard business is supported by its recycled paperboard business, while its cement business is supported by its concrete and aggregates business. The Company operates in Cement and Concrete and Aggregates, and Gypsum Wallboard and Recycled Paperboard segments. As of March 31, 2013, the Company operated six cement plants (one of which belongs to its joint venture company), five gypsum wallboard plants, one recycled paperboard plant, seventeen concrete batching plants and four aggregates facilities. The Company�� products are used in the construction and renovation of houses, roads, bridges, commercial and industrial buildings and other, newer generation structures like wind farms.

Cement, Concrete and Aggregates Operations

The Company�� cement production facilities are located in or near Buda, Texas; LaSalle, Illinois; Laramie, Wyoming; Sugar Creek, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fernley, Nevada. The Company�� cement subsidiaries are wholly-owned except the Buda, Texas plant, which is owned by Texas Lehigh Cement Company LP, a limited partnership joint venture owned 50% by the Company and 50% by Lehigh Cement Company LLC, a subsidiary of Heidelberg Cement AG. Its LaSalle, Illinois plant operates under the name of Illinois Cement Company; the Laramie, Wyoming plant operates under the name of Mountain Cement Company; the Fernley, Nevada plant operates under the name of Nevada Cement Company and its Sugar Creek, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma plants operate under the name Central Plains Cement Com! pany. The Company produces and distributes ready-mix concrete from Company-owned sites north of Sacramento, California; Austin, Texas and the greater Kansas City area. The Company�� activities in its frac sand business are in the Utica, Illinois area and in south Texas. The Company sells aggregates to building contractors and other customers engaged in a variety of construction activities.

Gypsum Wallboard and Recycled Paperboard Operations

The Company owns five gypsum wallboard manufacturing facilities. As of March 31, 2013, the Company�� gypsum wallboard production totaled 1,950 million square feet. Total gypsum wallboard sales were 1,909 million square feet during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013). The Company also manufactures alternative products, including containerboard grades (such as linerboard and medium) and lightweight packaging grades (such as bag liner). In addition, recycled industrial paperboard grades (tube/core stock and protective angle board stock) are produced to maximize manufacturing efficiencies. The Company�� manufactured recycled paperboard products are sold to gypsum wallboard manufacturers and other industrial users.

The Company competes with USG Corporation, National Gypsum Company and Koch Industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Cement and building materials maker�Eagle Materials� (NYSE: EXP  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.10 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2008.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Tomorrow, Eagle Materials (NYSE: EXP  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top decliners in the sector included Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), off 6.3 percent, and Eagle Materials (NYSE: EXP), down 4.3 percent.

  Top Headline
  Forest Laboratories (NYSE: FRX) announced its plans to buy Furiex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: FURX) for up to $1.46 billion. Forest will pay around $95 per share, or around $1.1 billion in cash. Forest Labs will also pay up to $30 per share, or around $360 million in a contingent value right. The deal is projected to close in the second or third quarter of 2014.

Hot Construction Material Companies To Own For 2014: Amcol International Corp (ACO)

AMCOL International Corporation (AMCOL), incorporated on December 3, 1959, is focused on the development and application of minerals and technology products and services to various industrial and consumer markets. It operates in five segments: performance materials, construction technologies, energy services, transportation and corporate. Its performance materials segment previously referred to as its minerals and materials segment is a supplier of bentonite related products. Its construction technologies segment previously referred to as its environmental segment provides products for non-residential construction, environmental and infrastructure projects worldwide. Its energy services segment previously referred to as its oilfield services segment offers a range of patented technologies, products and services for both upstream and downstream oil and gas production. Its transportation segment serves domestic subsidiaries, as well as third parties, is a dry van and flatbed carrier and freight brokerage service provider.

Performance Materials Segment

The Company supplies chromite and leonardite, and operates more than 25 mining or production facilities worldwide. It mines chromite, an iron chromium oxide, from open cast mines in South Africa and transport it to our nearby processing facility. Its primary uses include metalcasting, drilling fluid additive, and agricultural applications. Its performance materials segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and investments in affiliates and joint ventures throughout the world. It consists of four product lines: metalcasting; specialty materials; basic minerals, and pet products. Its principal products are marketed under various registered trade names, including VOLCLAY, PANTHER CREEK, PREMIUM GEL, ADDITROL, ENERSOL, and Hevi-Sand.

The Company�� metalcasting products include blended mineral binders containing sodium and calcium bentonite and organic additives sold under the trade name ADDITROL. I! n the ferrous casting market, the Company specializes in blending bentonite of various grades by themselves or with mineral binders containing sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite, seacoal and other ingredients. It also has a line of formulated additives that introduce silicon and carbon in the melt phase of the casting process. In the steel alloy casting market, it sells a chromite product with a particle size distribution specific to a customer�� needs.

The Company�� specialty materials products contain bentonite and synthetic additives offering solutions for consumer and industrial applications. It also offers products for bio-agricultural applications. The markets and applications of its specialty materials products include fabric care, personal care, basic materials and pet products. It supply high-grade, agglomerated bentonite and other mineral additives used in fabric care products. It manufactures adsorbent polymers and purified grades of bentonite for sale to manufacturers of personal skin care products. The adsorbent polymers are used to deliver high-value actives in skin-care products. Microsponge and Poly-Pore are the principal trade names under which these products are sold. Its basic minerals product line supplies minerals to a variety of markets and industrial applications, including drilling fluid additives, ferro alloys and other industrial.

The Company�� pet products include sodium bentonite-based scoopable (clumping), traditional and alternative cat litters, as well as specialty pet products sold to grocery and drug stores, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs and pet specialty stores throughout the United States. It is primarily a private-label producer of cat litter, and its products are marketed under various trade names. These products are sold solely in the United States from three principal sites from which it package and distribute finished goods. Its transportation segment provides logistics services and is a component of its capability in supplyi! ng custom! ers on a national basis.

Construction Technologies Segment

The Company�� construction technologies segment serves customers engaged in a range of construction projects, including site remediation, concrete waterproofing for underground structures, liquid containment on projects ranging from landfills to flood control, and drilling applications including foundation, slurry wall, tunneling, water well and horizontal drilling. Its construction technologies segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout the world. This segment consists of four product lines: building materials; contracting services; drilling products, and lining technologies.

The Company sells lining and other products for a variety of applications, most of which are directed to preserving or remediating environmental issues. It helps customers protect ground water and soil through the sale of geosynthetic clay liner products containing bentonite. It market these products under the BENTOMAT and CLAYMAX trade names principally for lining and capping landfills, mine waste disposal sites, water and wastewater lagoons, secondary containments in tank farms, and other contaminated sites. It also provides associated geosynthetic materials for these applications, including geotextiles and drainage geocomposites.

The Company�� lining technologies product line also includes specialized technologies to mitigate vapor intrusion in new building construction. It also provides reactive capping technologies and solutions to contain residual contamination, reduce costs associated with ex-situ remedies, and aid in environmental protection. Products offered include Liquid Boot, a liquid applied vapor barrier system; REACTIVE CORE-MAT, an in-situ sediment capping material; ORGANOCLAY, which absorbs organic containments, and QUIK-SOLID, a super absorbent media.

The Company offer a variety of active and passive waterproofing and greenroof technolog! ies for u! se in protecting the building envelope of non-residential constructions, including buildings, subways, and parkway systems. Its products include VOLTEX, a waterproofing composite comprised of two polypropylene geotextiles filled with sodium bentonite; ULTRASEAL, an advanced membrane using a active polymer core, and COREFLEX, featuring heat-welded seams for protection of critical infrastructure. In addition to these membrane materials, it also provides roofing products and a variety of sealants and other accessories required to create a functional waterproofing system.

The Company drilling products are used in environmental and geotechnical drilling applications, horizontal directional drilling, mineral exploration and foundation construction. The products are used to install monitoring wells, facilitate horizontal and water well drilling, and seal abandoned exploration drill holes. VOLCLAY GROUT, HYDRAUL-EZ, BENTOGROUT and VOLCLAY TABLETS are among the trade names for products used in these applications. It also offer a range of drilling products used in the excavation of foundations for large buildings, bridges and dams; these products include SHORE PAC and PREMIUM GEL. Contracting services, which involve installation of products, are occasionally offered to customers for select projects.

Energy Services Segment

The Company�� energy services segment provides services to improve the production, costs, compliance, and environmental impact of activities performed in the oil and gas industry. Operating as CETCO Energy Services, it offer a range of patented technologies, products and services for all phases of oil and gas production, transportation, refining, and storage throughout the world. It provide both land-based and offshore water treatment, well testing, pipeline separation, nitrogen, coil tubing and other services to the oil and gas industry. The Company provides its services through subsidiaries located in Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, the United Ki! ngdom, an! d the United States, principally in the Gulf of Mexico and the surrounding on-shore area. Its principal services include water treatment, coil tubing, well testing, nitrogen services and pipeline. The Company helps customers comply with regulatory requirements by providing equipment, technologies, personnel and filtration media to treat waste water generated during oil production.

The Company's coil tubing services utilize metal piping, which comes spooled on a large reel. It provide both equipment and operating personnel to perform services ranging from acid stimulation, reverse circulation, cementing, pressure control, nitrogen injection, and other operations that involve pumping fluids into a well. Horizontal wells and shale completions are a large component of its operations. It provide equipment and personnel to help customers control well production, as well as to clean up, unload, separate, measure component flow, and dispose of fluids from oil and gas wells. Nitrogen services are provided in jetting wells that are loaded with fluid; stimulating wells, including fracturizing and acidizing; displacing completion fluids prior to perforating; inflating flotation devices for offshore installations, and pressure testing and other maintenance activities.

Transportation Segment

The Company operates a long-haul trucking business through Ameri-Co Carriers, Inc., and a freight brokerage business through Ameri-Co Logistics, Inc. primarily for delivery of finished products throughout the continental United States. These services are provided to its subsidiaries, as well as third-party customers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  In trading on Friday, Basic Materials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by 0.78 percent. Top gainer in the sector was AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO), up 9 percent.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 26. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict AMCOL International's revenues will grow 1.6% and EPS will wither -16.9%.

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch For 2014

SAN FRANCISCO -- YouTube has been a huge success in terms of traffic and even social impact since Google acquired it for $1.65 billion in 2006. But the online video service has not been a big source of revenue, and certainly not profit, for the world's largest Internet search provider.

This may be about to change as Susan Wojcicki, the long time head of Google's huge advertising business, becomes head of YouTube, replacing co-founder Salar Kamangar.

Wojcicki and Sridhar Ramaswamy have been jointly running the ads business at Google for a while and he will continue in that role when she moves to YouTube.

Wojcicki was Google's 16th employee and she famously rented her garage to co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as they built their search engine in the late 1990s in Silicon Valley.

5 Best Defensive Stocks To Invest In 2015: Altec Holdings SA (AXY)

Altec Holdings SA the parent company of Altec Group, is a Greece-based company engaged in the information technology and telecommunications fields. The Company's range of activities includes the manufacture, import, export, trade, distribution, leasing and support of computers and telecommunication materials, as well as the design, production, development, import, export, leasing and trading of software for computers and electronic cash registers. Its hardware products include a range of personal computers, servers and related equipment. Its software products include systems for enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, accounting, human resource management, payroll and data warehousing, insurance brokerage software and equipment for call centers. It operates a retail network under the brand Microland. The Company has established subsidiaries in Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Yesterday, small cap geothermal stock U.S. Geothermal Inc (NYSEMKT: HTM) produced a geyser of a return when it surged 26.79%, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock verses the performance of other geothermal stocks like small cap Ormat Technologies, Inc (NYSE: ORA) and mid cap Calpine Corporation (NYSE: CPN).�First of all, I should mention there are some other geothermal stocks out there like Alterra Power Corp (CVE: AXY) and Ram Power Corp (TSE: RPG) who have their primary listing on Canadian exchanges with secondary ones on the OTC���meaning they may not be a good deal for American investors or easy to invest in. Second, U.S. Geothermal Inc itself is a good geothermal proxy as its�focused on developing, owning, and operating clean, sustainable electric power from geothermal energy resources and its�operating geothermal power projects at Neal Hot Springs, Oregon; San Emidio, Nevada; and Raft River, Idaho plus El Ceibillo, an advanced stage, geothermal prospect located within a 24,710 acre energy rights concession area near Guatemala City, the largest city in Central America.

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch For 2014: IceWEB Inc (IWEB)

IceWEB, Inc. (IceWEB), incorporated in 1994, manufacture and market unified data storage, purpose built appliances, network and cloud attached storage solutions and deliver on-line cloud computing application services. The Company�� customer base includes the United States government agencies, enterprise companies, and small to medium sized businesses (SMB). The Company has three product offerings: Iceweb Unified Data Network Storage line of products, Purpose Built Network/Data Appliances and Cloud Computing Products/Services. In October 2013, IceWEB Inc completed its acquisition of Computers and Tele-Comm, Inc. and KC-NAP, LLC of Kansas City (collectively CTC).

IceWEB Unified Data Storage line of products

IceWEB is a provider of Unified Data Storage solutions. Its storage systems make it possible to operate and manage files and applications from a single device and consolidate file-based and block-based access in a single storage platform, which supports Fibre Channel SAN, IP-based SAN (iSCSI), and NAS (network attached storage). A unified storage system simultaneously enables storage of file data and handles the block-based I/O (input/output) of enterprise applications. One advantage of unified storage is reduced hardware requirements. The IceWEB Storage System is an all-inclusive storage management system, which includes de-duplication; unlimited snapshots; thin provisioning; local or remote, real-time or scheduled replication; capacity and utilization reporting, and integration with virtual server environments.

Purpose Built Network and Data Appliances

Purpose Built Network and Data Appliances are devices, which provide computing resources (processors and memory), data storage, and specific software for a specific application. The primary appliance products that IceWEB has built have been centered on a single large business partner, ESRI Corporation. IceWEB and ESRI have collaborated to create ultra-high performance IceWEB/ESRI GIS systems tha! t allow customers to access data with speed. ESRI Corporation takes responsibility for marketing to their customers and business partners, via their worldwide sales and consultancy organization.

Cloud Computing Products and Services

Cloud computing products and services consist of cloud computing services and cloud storage appliances. IceWEB provides IceMAIL, a packaged software service that provides network hosted groupware, e-mail, calendaring and collaboration functionality. Online services were expanded to include IcePORTAL, which provides customers with a complete Intranet portal and IceSECURE a hosted e-mail encryption service. Originally such hosted services were referred to as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Such services, hosted across the Internet are commonly referred to as Cloud Computing. A cloud storage appliance is a purpose built storage device configured for either branch office or central site deployment, which allows the housing and delivery of customer data across not only their internal networking infrastructure, but also to make that data available to employees or business partners securely via the Internet (often called the cloud).

The Company competes with EMC, Network Appliance, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, Compellent Technologies and Isilon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  So far the brewing recovery effort from IceWEB, Inc. (OTCBB:IWEB) has remained off most traders' radars. That may be about to change, however. That's why you may want to go ahead and take a speculative plunge on IWEB now, on faith that the clues we're seeing now will indeed end up as they're suggesting.

• [By Peter Graham]

  What�� the Catch with Dephasium Corp? According to various disclosures, transactions of $2k, $2.5k, $3k, $4k, $7.5k, $12.5k and $15k have or will occur to mention Dephasium Corp in various investment newsletters. Dephasium Corp has been getting plenty of off and on attention for a couple of months now, but what�� been pretty strange is the company issuing a press release to announce that an unidentified third party, without the DPHS�� approval, has listed its shares on the Boerse Berlin Stock Exchange. The press release warned that this could be the first salvo in a ��ignificant naked shorting attack directed at the Company��given that the Berlin exchange is one of few stock exchanges in the world that allows listing and trading of a company's stock without the consent or authorization of the company being listed in order to facilitate short-selling. A quick look at Dephasium Corp�� financials reveals no revenues; net losses of $10k (most recent reported quarter), $17k and $11k plus net income of $388k; and $51k to cover $9k in current liabilities at the end of March. In other words, Dephasium Corp isn�� making money but someone else is trying to make some from it.

  IceWEB, Inc. (OTCBB: IWEB) Seems to Be Making Progress

  Small cap IceWEB is a provider of Unified Data Storage appliances for cloud and virtual environments, as well as the highly secure, scalable IceBOXTM BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Private Digital Cloud Solution. On Friday, IceWEB fell 8.57% to $0.0320 for a market cap of $9.01 million plus IWEB is down 54.3% over the past year and down 81.7% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch For 2014: Diebold Inc (DBD)

Diebold, Incorporated, incorporated in August 1876, is engaged in providing integrated self-service delivery and security systems and services to the financial, commercial, government and retail markets. Sales of systems and equipment are made directly to customers by the Company�� sales personnel, manufacturers��representatives and distributors globally. The sales and support organizations work closely with customers and their consultants to analyze and fulfill the customers��needs. The Company has two lines of business: Self-Service Solutions and Security Solutions. The Company�� segments are consisted of two sales channels: Diebold North America (DNA) and Diebold International (DI). In September 2012, it acquired GAS Tecnologia (GAS).

The DNA segment sells and services financial and retail systems in the United States and Canada. The DI segment sells and services financial and retail systems over the remainder of the globe through wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and independent distributors in countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan and Korea.

Self-Service Solutions

The Company offers an integrated line of self-service technologies and services, including comprehensive automated teller machine (ATM) outsourcing, ATM security, deposit and payment terminals and software. The Company is a global supplier of ATMs and related services. The Company offers a range of self-service solutions. Self-service products include a range of ATMs and teller automation, including deposit automation technology, such as check-cashing machines, bulk cash recyclers and bulk check deposit. The Company offers software solutions consisting of multiple applications, which process events and transactions. These solutions are delivered on the appropriate platform. From analysis and consulting to monitoring and repair, the Company provides value and support to its customers every step of the way. ! Services include installation and ongoing maintenance of its products, OpteView remote services, branch transformation and distribution channel consulting. Outsourced and managed services include remote monitoring, troubleshooting for self-service customers, transaction processing, currency management, maintenance services and full support through person to person or online communication.

Security Solutions

The Company provides its customers with the technological advances to protect their assets. The Company provides physical and electronic security systems, as well as facility transaction products, which integrate security, software and assisted-service transactions, providing total security systems solutions to financial, retail, commercial and government markets. The Company provides security solutions and facility products, including in-store bank branches, pneumatic tube systems for drive-up lanes, vaults, safes, depositories, bullet-resistive items and undercounter equipment. The Company provides a range of electronic security products, including digital surveillance, access control systems, biometric technologies, alarms and remote monitoring and diagnostics. The Company provides security monitoring solutions, including fire, managed access control, energy management, remote video management and storage, as well as logical security.

Integrated Solutions

The Company provides end-to-end outsourcing solutions with a single point of contact for customer�� self-service channel. Its solution includes hardware, software, services or a combination of all three components. The Company provides value to its customers by offering a range of integrated services and support. The Company�� service organization provides analysis and planning of new systems, systems integration, architectural engineering, consulting and project management, which encompass all facets of a financial self-service implementation. The Company also provides design, products, ser! vice, ins! tallation, project management and monitoring of electronic security products to financial, government, retail and commercial customers.

Election Systems

The Company is a provider of voting equipment and related products and services in Brazil. The Company provides elections equipment, networking, tabulation and diagnostic software development, training, support and maintenance.

The Company competes with NCR Corporation, Wincor-Nixdorf, Grg Equipment Co., Nautilus Hyosung, Itautec and Perto.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold (NYSE: DBD  ) has a new CEO.

  On Thursday, the manufacturer of "ATM" machines announced it has named Andy W. Mattes as the company's new president and chief executive officer. Mattes was chosen after a four-month search, and plucked from a position as senior vice president for global strategic partnerships at flash memory maker Violin Memory. He is keeping an advisory role at Violin, even as he takes over the top job at Diebold.

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By Mark Morelli]

  How will the potential disruption impact business and affect investors? Should the executives at ATM manufacturers such as Diebold (NYSE: DBD  ) �be worried? Credit�and debit card processors like MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) and Visa (NYSE: V  ) �are already benefiting from the trend to a cashless society. Could things get even better?

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch For 2014: George Risk Industries Inc (RSKIA)

George Risk Industries, Inc. (GRI), incorporated on February 21, 1961, is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of computer keyboards, push button switches, burglar alarm components and systems, pool alarms, thermostats, EZ Duct wire covers and water sensors. GRI is a diversified manufacturer of electronic components, consisting of the security industries variety of door and window contact switches, environmental products, proximity switches and custom keyboards. The Company operates in two segments: security alarm products and security alarm products GRI�� security burglar alarm products comprise approximately 84% of net revenues and are sold through distributors and alarm dealers/installers. These products are used for residential, commercial, industrial and government installations. Its products include security products/ magnetic reed switches, data entry peripherals, pushbutton switches, custom engraved keycaps and proximity sensors.

The security segment has approximately 3,000 customers. One of the distributors, ADI accounts for approximately 40% of the Company's sales of these products. The keyboard segment has approximately 800 customers. Keyboard products are sold to original equipment manufacturers to their specifications and to distributors of off-the-shelf keyboards of proprietary design. GRI owns and operates its main manufacturing plant and offices in Kimball, Nebraska with a satellite plant 40 miles away in Gering, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] or even just above book value. It's a darn good business so I'm getting high quality assets and earnings power. That gets less clear when looking at lower quality businesses.

  For example:

  Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch For 2014: Emulex Corp (ELX)

Emulex Corporation (Emulex) is a provider of a range of network convergence solutions that connect servers, storage, and networks within the data center. The Company�� product portfolio includes Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), Converged Network Adapters (CNAs), Network Interface Cards (NICs), mezzanine cards for blade servers, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), embedded storage bridges, routers, and switches, Input/Output Controllers (IOCs), and connectivity management solutions. The Company is a designer, developer and supplier of HBAs, CNAs, NICs, mezzanine cards, Pass-Through Modules (PTM), embedded storage switches, embedded bridges, embedded routers, I/O ASICs, switch-on-a-chip (SOC) ASICs, Internet Baseboard management controllers (iBMC��) and connectivity management solutions. On August 25, 2010, Emulex acquired ServerEngines Corporation. In February 2013, Emulex acquired 89% ownership of Endace Ltd. In April 2013, Emulex Corp announced the completion of acquisition of Endace Limited.

Host Server Products

The Company�� Host Server Products include the development of chip level and board level server-based I/O adapters, including HBAs, Universal Converged Network Adapters (UCNAs), and mezzanine cards that connect servers and storage to networks using a range of products. Its products support Internet protocol (IP) and storage networking, including transmission control protocol (TCP)/IP, Internet small computer system interface (iSCSI), network attached storage (NAS), Fibre Channel, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). Host Server Products (HSP) include LightPulse HBAs, OneConnecttm UCNAs, custom form factor solutions for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) blade servers, and ASICs. These products enable servers to connect to local area networks (LANs), storage area networks (SANs), and NAS by offloading data communication processing tasks from the server as information is delivered and sent to the network.

Its Fibre Channel H! BAs connect host computers to a Fibre Channel network. The Company�� adapters support a range of operating systems and host computer system interfaces, including Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and PCI Express-based platforms. Its Fibre Channel HBA offerings include single, dual, and quad port adapters at throughput speeds of two gigabyte per second, four gigabyte per second, and eight gigabyte per second for use in enterprise, large, medium, and small-sized organizations. The Emulex OneConnect UCNA is a single chip 10 gigabyte per second Ethernet platform designed to address the challenges of data center networks. The Emulex UCNA platform enables data center managers to consolidate multiple one gigabyte per second Ethernet links on to a single 10 gigabyte per second Ethernet link. Emulex HBAs and UCNAs are based upon its internally developed Fibre Channel and Ethernet IOCs. In addition, these IOCs can be used in embedded I/O environments, such as disk and tape storage arrays and storage appliances. Revenues from these applications are included in the Company�� Embedded Storage Products.

Embedded Storage Products

The Company�� Embedded Storage Products include the development of chip level, board level, and box level array based products that are deployed inside storage arrays, tape libraries, and other storage products to provide connectivity and protocol emulation functions. These products include embedded IOCs, I/O Processors (IOPs), SOCs, embedded bridges (FC/SATA/SAS), and embedded routers (FC/SATA/SAS). Emulex offers a range of integrated, embedded storage networking products for enterprise storage systems that deliver improved performance, reliability and storage connectivity. InSpeed is an advanced switching architecture that results in a single chip capable of handling multiple Fibre Channel devices operating at two, four, or eight gigabyte per second speeds. Its embedded router and bridge products consist of chip and firmware solutions.

! The Compa! ny competes with QLogic Corporation, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., Broadcom Corporation, Intel Corporation, Chelsio Communications, Inc., Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., LSI, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. and PMC-Sierra, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Mid cap networking solutions company Brocade Communications Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: BRCD) has pretty much been a sleeper for investors since the dot.com bust, but that has changed over the past year���meaning its worth revisiting the stock along with potential performance benchmarks�like QLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QLGC), Emulex Corporation (NYSE: ELX) and iShares North American Tech-Multimedia Networking ETF (NYSEARCA: IGN). I should mention that we have recently Brocade Communications Systems to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio because the company has successfully transitioned from being a hardware company to supporting virtual networks via software and it continues to offer best-of-breed technology.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  A top-level promotion has taken place at Emulex (NYSE: ELX  ) . The company announced that it has appointed Jeffrey Benck to be its CEO, effective immediately. He replaces James McCluney, who was named executive chairman of the board. In turn, McCluney displaces ex-chairman Paul Folino, who is to continue to serve as a director.

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch For 2014: Timios National Corp (HOMS)

Timios National Corporation, formerly Homeland Security Capital Corporation, incorporated on August 12, 1997, provides radiological, nuclear, environmental, disaster relief and electronic security solutions to government and commercial customers. The Company is engaged in the strategic acquisition, operation, development and consolidation of companies operating in the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive, (CBRNE), incident response and security marketplaces within the homeland security industry. It is building consolidated enterprises (platform companies) through the acquisition and integration of businesses in the homeland security industry, particularly businesses focused on CBRNE incident response. In August 2011, the Company sold its Nexus Technologies Group. In October 2011, the Company sold its Safety and Ecology Holding Corporation subsidiary to Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. In May 2012, the Company announced the acquisition by its subsidiary Timios, Inc. of Glenn County Title Company. In June 2013, Timios National Corp announced that it has completed the purchase of Glenn County Title Company (GCTC). In September 2013, Timios National Corp announced that it had executed a purchase agreement for the assets of Adobe Title, LLC.

The Company offers a range of management and operational services to each of its subsidiaries through a team of dedicated professionals. Its subsidiaries compensate its holding company for such services. Its core services include environmental remediation and restoration, regulatory compliance, facilities management, facility deactivation, decommissioning and demolition, emergency response, design and construction services and security integration to the United States government agencies, such as the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United states Army Corps of Engineers and the National Aeronautics and Space ! Administration (NASA). It conducts its operations through Safety & Ecology Holdings Corporation (Safety), its wholly owned subsidiary; Nexus Technologies Group, Inc. (Nexus), its 93% owned subsidiary, and Polimatrix, Inc. (PMX), its joint venture. Safety is an international provider of environmental, nuclear and radiological infrastructure remediation, disaster relief solutions and advanced construction services. Nexus designs, develops and installs integrated security systems for government and commercial clients. PMX markets, sells and distributes radiological detection equipment.

Safety & Ecology Holdings Corporation

Safety is a provider of global environmental, hazardous and radiological infrastructure remediation, upgrades and nuclear services in the United States and the United Kingdom. Safety�� main business areas and service offerings include decommissioning and remediation environmental and remedial consultancy services; environmental and consultancy services; nuclear energy design, build, refurbishment and operational support services, and instrumentation and measurement technologies. Safety offers a range of services that include characterization, decontamination, decommissioning of facilities, soil and groundwater remediation, infrastructure reduction and demolition, site preparation, excavation, and remedial system construction; underground and overhead utility installation; electrical and mechanical installation; security fencing and device installation and upgrades; building renovation; piping; roadways, parking lots, and drainage system construction/repair, and landfill remediation and capping.

Safety engages in facility deactivation, demolition and closure solutions, including project investigation; radiological pre-engineering; demolition planning; removing above ground structures and structural components; storing, testing, certifying, processing and shipping nuclear waste, and abatement of hazardous materials. Safety focuses its service offe! ring on t! he application and integration of health physics, industrial hygiene, hazardous material consultancy and safety and health. In addition, Safety couples its technology with its instrumentation offering, on-site radiological laboratory capabilities and mobile radiological materials license to provide radiological services and consultation. Safety provides integrated services to the nuclear energy industry. Safety provides specialized services to a customer base, including government agencies, commercial customers and major engineering and construction companies around the world that are focused in the nuclear new plant deployment initiative, facility operation, decommissioning and refurbishment. The elements of Safety�� technology offering are instrumentation services and instrumentation technology, both of which are targeted to field investigations, characterizations of contaminants and clean-up and material management and disposal solutions.

The Company competes with Stoller, Cabrera, Portage, LATA Northwind, Demco, Eagle, Pro2Serv, PMTech, Navarro, Energy Solutions, the Washington Group, Tetra Tech, Shaw Environmental and C2HM Hill.

Nexus Technologies Group, Inc.

Nexus is a mid-Atlantic security integrator for the corporate and governmental security markets that specializes in the engineering and installation of custom designed integrated electronic security solutions, including access control, alarm, closed circuit television (CCTV), video, communication, perimeter protection and bomb and metal detection security systems. Nexus provides solutions to protect people, property and assets. As a systems integrator, Nexus designs, customizes, installs, integrates and maintains closed CCTV, access control, video and communication systems for its customers. Nexus has undertaken projects in a range of markets, including financial services, corporate and commercial, healthcare, government, nuclear utility services, public transportation, airports, industrial complexes,! museums,! prisons, higher education and data centers. As a provider of custom engineered integrated security solutions, including access control, alarm/intrusion, CCTV, communication, perimeter protection and bomb and metal detection security systems, Nexus is aligned with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Nexus has focused on five sectors in which it intends to expand, both vertically and horizontally. These sectors are Financial Institutions, Infrastructure Security, Government Facilities, Education Facilities and Corporate Markets.

Financial Institutions include banks, brokerage facilities, trading facilities and foreign currency exchange centers. Infrastructure Security include nuclear power generating facilities, water processing facilities, electricity generating facilities, power transfer stations and transportation centers, which include highway, bridge, tunnel, airport, rail and port security. Government Facilities include federal, state and local government buildings and offices, domestic and foreign embassies, military installations and police and fire department operations centers. Education Facilities include grammar, high school and college buildings, dorms and campuses, satellite learning centers and daycare centers. Corporate Markets include office buildings and grounds, parking lots, garages, retail locations, warehouses and apartment and condominium complexes.

The Company competes with Henry Brothers Electronics, Inc., Diebold, Inc. and ADT.

POLIMATRIX, INC.

PMX is a total solutions provider delivering radiation and nuclear protection and detection services through several engineered portable and stationary devices. PMX�� business plan is the development and marketing of radiological detection products and services. PMX has developed a range of domestic and international marketing initiative in Washington, DC, Virginia and Illinois. These states have used the PMX detection devices for a range of detection, prevention and first respon! der activ! ities. PMX�� product line of portable detection devices are designed to detect potential threats and can be positioned along transportation routes or carried by nuclear power generating facility security personnel. It operates PMX with the assistance of Safety�� personal.

The Company competes with Thermo Scientific and Canberra.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  However, there have been no further updates since then. A quick look on both Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance reveals the latest financials date from the end of September 2012 ��meaning its investor beware.

  Timios National Corp (OTCMKTS: HOMS) Has No News Beyond Filings

  Small cap Timios National Corp is involved in the strategic acquisition, development and consolidation of real estate service businesses. Former Maryland Congressman C. Thomas McMillen, who served three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 4th Congressional District of Maryland, heads the company. On Friday, Timios National Corp sank 32.28% to $1.28 for a market cap of $3.01 million plus HOMS is up 54.2% over the past year and up 1,013% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Timios National Corp (OTCMKTS: HOMS) and Lattice Inc (OTCMKTS: LTTC) surged 54.29% and 20.83%, respectively, while Unique Pizza & Subs Corp (OTCMKTS: UPZS) sank 27.27% last Friday. But today is a new trading week with the last two trading days for the year. So what will these three small caps do today, tomorrow and after New Years�� Here is a closer look:

Best Computer Hardware Companies To Watch For 2014: Lenovo Group Ltd (LNVGF.PK)

Lenovo Group Limited is principally engaged in investment holding. It is a personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries. The Company is a personal computer (PC) vendor. The Company develops, manufactures and markets technology products and services. Its product lines include Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. It offers a range of commercial desktops and notebooks to businesses of all sizes that feature cutting-edge technology, customer-centric innovation and productivity features. It operates in three segments: China, Emerging Markets (excluding China) and Mature Markets. Lenovo has research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina, the United States. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Investometrica]

  x86: With regards to the specific x86 server business, it seems that IBM is considering the possibility of fully divesting it. According to Morgan Stanley, the server business generated about $4.9 billion of the company's $15.4 billion in server sales last year. This enormous volume is due to the fact that IBM may be producing the overall market's highest volumes, at the lowest profit level; which suggests this segment is doomed. Finally, IBM has a history of aggressive shifts to areas with better growth prospects and margins. For example, the company agreed to sell off the PC business to Lenovo (LNVGF.PK) at a moment where the PC still seemed attractive.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now

Since the summer, we've advocated transitioning out of overvalued defensive sectors such as consumer staples in favor of cyclical groups such as industrials and consumer-discretionary names that stand to benefit from a strengthening U.S. economy.

Although the length of the government shutdown will affect U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter, recent data points reinforce our confidence in this weighting and macro outlook.

Consider, for example, the recent strength exhibited by the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), and indicator has a long track record of signaling major inflection points in the domestic economy.

(Click to enlarge)

Source: Bloomberg

This index is based on a survey of managers at manufacturing companies. Readings greater than 50 indicate an expansion in manufacturing activity; PMI values less than 50 correspond with a contraction. As a rule of thumb, investors should be wary of a recession when the manufacturing PMI drops to 45 or 46.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Nortech Systems Incorporated(NSYS)

Nortech Systems Incorporated operates as a contract manufacturing company. It manufactures wire harness cable and printed circuit board assemblies, electronic sub-assemblies, higher level assemblies, and complete devices. The company also provides value added services and technical support, including design, testing, prototyping, and supply chain management; and repair services on circuit boards used in machines in the medical industry. In addition, it engages in the design, manufacture, and post-production service of electronic and electromechanical medical devices for diagnostic, analytical, and other life-science applications. Nortech Systems Incorporated serves various industries that include aerospace and defense; medical; and the industrial markets, which include industrial equipment, transportation, vision, agriculture, and oil and gas. The company markets its products through sales force and independent manufacturers? representatives. Nortech Systems Incorporated was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Wayzata, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  In a perfect world stocks would move in predictable, manageable ways. We don't live - nor do we trade in - a perfect world. In the real world we have to adapt to and deal with the curve balls the market throws us, and there are no two stocks that illustrate that point better than Document Security Systems, Inc. (NYSEMKT:DSS) and Nortech Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:NSYS) to today. While both NSYS and DSS are up today, one's overbought and ripe for a pullback, while the other is likely at the beginning of a trade-worthy rally.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Legacy Reserves LP(LGCY)

Legacy Reserves LP, an independent oil and natural gas limited partnership, engages in the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties primarily located in the Permian Basin, Mid-Continent, and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2010, it owned interests in producing oil and natural gas properties in 370 fields in the Permian Basin, Texas Panhandle, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and several other states; operated 2,132 gross productive wells; and owned non-operated interests in 3,227 gross productive wells, as well as had proved reserves of approximately 52.8 million barrels of crude oil equivalent. Legacy Reserves GP, LLC operates as the general partner of the partnership. Legacy Reserves LP was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  VNR is one of 14 companies/partnerships that are categorized as exploration and production, or ��pstream.��Other notable entries in this category include BreitBurn Energy Partners (Nasdaq: BBEP), Linn Energy (Nasdaq: LINE), Memorial Production Partners (Nasdaq: MEMP), QR Energy (NYSE: QRE), Legacy Reserves (Nasdaq: LGCY), EV Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EVEP), and Mid-Con Energy Partners (Nasdaq: MCEP).

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Legacy Reserves Lp (Nasdaq: LGCY  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings around July 19. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Legacy Reserves Lp's revenues will grow 46.8% and EPS will expand 42.9%.

5 Best Beverage Stocks To Own For 2015: Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc (BEE)

Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (SHR), incorporated on January 27, 2004, operates as a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� portfolio included 18 full-service hotel interests located in urban and resort markets in the United States; Punta Mita, Nayarit, Mexico; Hamburg, Germany, and London, England. SHR conducts its operations through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including its operating partnership, Strategic Hotel Funding, L.L.C. (SH Funding), which holds all of the Company�� assets. SHR is the sole managing member of SH Funding and held approximately 99% of its membership units as of February 27, 2013. SHR manages all business aspects of SH Funding, including the sale and purchase of hotels, the investment in these hotels and the financing of SH Funding and its assets. In September 2012, it acquired the JW Marriott Essex House Hotel in New York City. In October 2013, the Company announced that it has sold the Lakeshore Athletic Club property adjacent to the Fairmont Chicago hotel.

As of December 31, 2012, SH Funding owned interests in or leased 18 hotels, which included Fairmont Chicago, Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Four Seasons Jackson Hole, Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort, Four Seasons Silicon Valley, Four Seasons Washington, D.C., Hotel del Coronado, Hyatt Regency La Jolla, InterContinental Chicago, InterContinental Miami, JW Marriott Essex House Hotel, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Marriott Hamburg, Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, Marriott London Grosvenor Square, Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel and Westin St. Francis.

The Hotel del Coronado is operated by a specialty management company, KSL Resorts. As of February 27, 2013, the Company wholly owned or leased 14 hotels, had a 53.5% and 51.0% interest in an affiliate that owned a hotel where it asset managed such hotel, and had 50.0% and 36.4% interests in, and acted as asset manager for, two affiliates that eac! h owned one hotel, and owned land held for development, including 20.5 acres of oceanfront land adjacent to its Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort, Nayarit, Mexico and 60 acres of oceanfront land near the Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort; a 20,000 square-foot parcel of land on the ocean in Santa Monica, California adjacent to its Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel entitled for development and residential units; a 50% interest in an affiliate that owned 10 acres of land adjacent to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel, and a 31% interest in an affiliate with two parties that was developing the fractional ownership program known as the Four Seasons Residence Club Punta Mita.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Strategic Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: BEE  ) raised its takeover defenses in 2008 in order to ward off opportunistic raiders amid general market turmoil. The REIT, which specializes in high-end hotels, extended its poison pill last year as the "lingering economic uncertainty" never went away. Six months later, in May 2013, the extension was cut short. No real explanation, but you could take this action as a vote of confidence in an improving economy. The stock has gained 14% in the seven months since, just ahead of the S&P's 11% improvement. No takeover bids here.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Luxury hotel and resort operator�Strategic Hotels & Resorts� (NYSE: BEE  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend on three series of cumulative redeemable preferred stock.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  In a perfect world, an investor could simply look at a company's history and its plausible earnings forecasts, and jump in (or out) knowing the stock's current price basically made sense with respect to past and future performance. We don't live or trade in a perfect world though. In the world we're actually in right now, most stocks, sectors, and industries have run up far beyond a justifiable value... perhaps except for hotel and lodging REIT stocks Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE:HST), Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE:BEE), and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB).

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  Well, that's exactly the case with Strategic Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: BEE), the only publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses exclusively on the luxury hotel and resort markets.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Basf SE (BASFY)

BASF SE is a chemical company. The Company operates in six segments: Chemicals, Plastics, Performance Products, Functional Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. Chemicals segment offers products in the chemical, electronic, construction, textile, automotive, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Plastics segment offers a range of products, system solutions and services. Performance Products help its customers to improve their products and processes. Functional Solutions segment bundles system solutions and products for customers and industries. The Company�� Agricultural Solutions segment includes crop protection products, which guard against fungal diseases, insects and weeds. Its Oil & gas segment is a producer of oil and gas. On April 9, 2009, the Company acquired Ciba Holding AG. In April 2010, Intertek Group plc acquired the Regulatory and Safety Testing businesses of Ciba Expert Services (Ciba ES) from the Company. In December 2010, the Company completed its acquisition of Cognis Holding GmbH from Cognis Holding Luxembourg S.a r.l.

Chemicals

The Company�� Chemicals segment portfolio ranges from basic chemicals, glues and electronic chemicals for the semiconductor and flat panel display industry, to solvents and plasticizers, as well as starting materials for detergents, plastics, textile fibers, paints, coatings and pharmaceuticals. This segment is organized into three divisions: Inorganics, Petrochemicals and Intermediates. The important basic products of the Inorganics division are ammonia, methanol, sodium hydroxide, chlorine, as well as sulfuric and nitric acid. The Petrochemicals division produces products, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene and benzene, which are produced in steam crackers from naphtha or natural gas. In further processing stages, it produces alcohols, solvents and plasticizers for the chemicals and plastics industries. BASF SE�� Intermediates division develops, produces and markets a range of intermediates of all produc! ers worldwide. The product lines include amines, diols, polyalcohols, acids and specialties. They serve as starting materials for products, such as coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textile fibers, crop protection products, as well as detergents and cleaners.

Plastics

BASF�� Plastics segment is organized into two divisions: Performance Polymers and Polyurethanes. The Performance Polymers division is a supplier of engineering plastics, polyamides and polyamide intermediates, foams and specialty plastics. The Company offers its customers a portfolio of engineering plastics based on polyamide 6 and polyamide 6,6. This is complemented by products Ultradur, Ultraform and Ultrason. For the packaging, textile and food industries, it offers Ultramid, a base product for the manufacturing of fibers and foils. BASF SE�� product range also includes Ecoflex and Ecovio, biodegradable specialty plastics for the packaging industry. Styropor and its refinement Neopor are styrene-based precursors for foams used in insulating material for construction and packaging. The Polyurethanes division is a supplier of basic products, systems and specialties. The Company offers polyurethane products for numerous customer applications. Under brand names, such as Elastoflex and Elastopor, polyurethanes are used, as rigid or flexible foams in construction for furniture and household appliances.

Performance Products

The Performance Products segment consists of the Acrylics & Dispersions, Care Chemicals and Performance Chemicals divisions. Acrylics & Dispersions produces acrylic acid, as well as its derivatives superabsorbents and polymer dispersions. Superabsorbents are used particularly in diapers. Polymer dispersions are used in the production of glues, coatings, nonwoven materials and construction chemicals. The Company�� product portfolio for the paper industry consists of binders, process chemicals and kaolin pigments. Its Care Chemicals portfolio consists of products f! or cleani! ng, care, cosmetics and hygiene. Performance Chemicals pools specialties for various customer industries. The product portfolio consists of antioxidants, pigments, light stabilizers and specialty additives. The division also makes chemicals for the production and finishing of leather and textiles.

Functional Solutions

The Functional Solutions segment consists of the Catalysts, Construction Chemicals and Coatings divisions. The Catalysts division develops catalysts and adsorbents. It produces catalysts that transform pollutants in the exhaust flows of vehicles into harmless chemical and plastics. The Construction Chemicals division is engaged in development of concrete admixtures, such as concrete plasticizers, deferrers and curing agents. It also produces and markets construction systems. The Coatings division is a provider of coatings solutions for automotive and industrial applications. Its brands Glasurit and R-M are for the car refinish business.

Agricultural Solutions

The Agricultural Solutions segment consists of the Crop Protection division. The Company develops and produces active ingredients and formulations for the improvement of crop health and yields, and markets them worldwide. Its portfolio includes fungicides, insecticides, herbicides and seed treatments. Its product Headline contains the active ingredient F500, which is not only used for corn and soybean, but also for numerous other crops.

Oil & Gas

BASF�� oil and gas activities are bundled in the Wintershall Group. Wintershall and its subsidiaries operate in the business sectors exploration and production, and natural gas trading. In the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, the Company focuses on oil and gas regions in Europe, North Africa and South America, as well as Russia and the Caspian Sea region. The Mittelplate oil field in the North Sea tidal flats is the cornerstone of the Company�� oil production in Germany. Wintershall and RWE-D! EA each h! old a 50% interest in this field. During the year ended December 31, 2009, it acquired 25% interest in Cuxhaven concession. It operates 26 offshore platforms in Mittelplate region, of which 19 are actually controlled. In Libya, Wintershall operates eight onshore oil fields in the concessions 96 and 97 and exploits the associated gas released during crude oil production in a gas utilization plant for the local demand. In Mauritania, it operates two onshore exploration blocks. In 2008, Wintershall acquired stakes of 50% each in two exploration areas in the Canadon Asfalto Basin. It supplies Germany and several other European countries. The gas pipeline network operated by WINGAS TRANSPORT connects the markets in Western Europe with a natural gas infrastructure that runs through Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation all the way to the gas fields in Siberia. Other components portfolio include natural gas storage facility in Western Europe, in Rehdn, Germany, and the natural gas storage facility in Haidach, Austria.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  It was only a matter of time. Last month BASF (NASDAQOTH: BASFY  ) , the world's largest chemical company, announced three separate developments that will thrust it from being a mediocre player in industrial enzymes to a dominant force. BASF acquired Henkel's detergent enzyme technology, licensed the C1 biotechnology platform from Dyadic, and befriended Direvo Industrial Biotechnology from Germany for a next-generation animal feed enzyme.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Firms across Germany's DAX have caught on. BASF (NASDAQOTH: BASFY  ) shares haven't had a great year so far, but the world's largest chemicals firm is looking around the world for growth. The company seeks to double its customer base in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 in its chemicals and materials business, projecting sales in Asia to double from last year's 12.5 million euros to 25 million euros by that year. That kind of global growth will benefit investors, and the less BASF and other German stocks rely on Europe for sales, the better shareholders will do.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Edelman Financial Group Inc(EF)

The Edelman Financial Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides wealth management and institutional services principally to individuals, corporations, and financial institutions. Its Wealth Management segment provides investment advisory, wealth and investment management, and financial planning services to high net worth and mass affluent individuals and institutions, including investment strategies and alternatives, tax efficient estate and financial planning, trusts, and agent/fiduciary investment management services, as well as private client brokerage services. The company?s Institutional Services segment provides institutional equity brokerage and hedge funds research to various institutions, which include banks, retirement funds, mutual funds, endowments, investment advisors, and insurance companies; and prime brokerage services, such as trade execution, clearing, bookkeeping, reporting, custodial, securities borrowing, financing, research, and fund raising to hedge fund clients. This segment also maintains asset management accounts on behalf of individual asset managers; and provides research, sales, and trading services to institutional investors. In addition, the company provides sports representation and management services to professional athletes, principally professional football players. It was formerly known as Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc. and changed its name to The Edelman Financial Group Inc. on May 26, 2011. The Edelman Financial Group Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  The Edelman Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:EF) reported that Ric Edelman will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer. For the past year, both Mr. Edelman and George L. Ball had served as Co-Chief Executive Officers of the Company. Mr. Ball will continue in his position as Chairman.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Compressco Partners LP (GSJK)

Compressco Partners, L.P. is a provider of wellhead compression-based production enhancement services (production enhancement services). The Company provides its services to a base of natural gas and oil exploration and production companies operating throughout many of the onshore producing regions of the United States, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Its production enhancement services primarily consist of wellhead compression, related liquids separation, gas metering, and vapor recovery services. It also provides ongoing well monitoring services, and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services in connection with its primary production enhancement services. It design and manufacture most of the compressor units it use to provide its production enhancement services. Compressco Partners GP, Inc. is the general partner of the Company. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Compression assets for gas lift markets as part of its defined strategic growth objectives.

GasJack unit fleet

The Company�� GasJack unit allows it to perform compression, liquids separation and optional gas metering services all from one skid. The Company focuses on the natural gas wells in its operating regions that produce between 30,000 and 300, 000 cubic feet of natural gas per day (Mcf/d) and less than 50 barrels of water per day. The Company primarily utilize its natural gas powered GasJack compressors, or GasJack units, to provide wellhead compression services. Its GasJack units increase gas production by reducing surface pressure, which allows wellbore fluids that would normally block gas flow to produce up the well. The 46-horsepower GasJack unit is an integrated power/compressor unit equipped with an industrial 460-cubic inch, V-8 engine that uses natural gas from the well to power one bank of cylinders that, in turn, powers the other bank of cylinders, which provide compression. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a fleet of 3,145 GasJack units.!

VJack unit fleet

The Company utilizes its electric VJack compressors, or VJack units, to provide its production enhancement services on wells located in larger, mature oil fields, such as the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, and in environmentally sensitive markets, such as California, when electric power is available at the production site. Its VJack unit is designed for vapor recovery applications (to capture natural gas vapors emitting from closed storage tanks after production and to reduce storage tank pressures) and backside pumping applications on oil wells (to reduce pressures caused by casing head gas in oil wells with pumping units). Based on GasJack unit technology, the VJack unit is capable of full wellbore stream production, and can handle up to 50 barrels per day of liquids on a standard skid package. As of December 31, 2011, it had a fleet of 50 VJack units. Its GasJack and VJack compressor units are mounted on steel skids.

ePumper system

Utilizing its ePumper system, SCADA satellite telemetry-based reporting system, it remotely monitor in real time, whether its services are being continuously provided at each well site. The ePumper system improves the response time of its field personnel.

Well Monitoring and Automated Sand Separation Services

The Company also provides ongoing well monitoring services and, in Mexico, automated sand separation services. Its well monitoring services consist of ongoing testing and evaluation of wells to determine how its wellhead compression services are optimizing the production from a well.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Energy sector gained 0.85 percent in the US market today. Among the energy stocks, McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) was down more than 9.3 percent, while Compressco Partners LP (NASDAQ: GSJK) tumbled around 5.3 percent.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Wellhead compression products manufacturer Compressco Partners (GSJK) raised its quarterly dividend 1.7% to 43.75 cents per share, payable on Feb. 14 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 31.
  GSJK Dividend Yield: 7.60%

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Energy sector gained 0.85 percent in the US market today. Among the energy stocks, McDermott International (NYSE: MDR) was down more than 9.3 percent, while Compressco Partners LP (NASDAQ: GSJK) tumbled around 5.3 percent.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Wisdomtree International Energy Sector Fund (GNAT)

WisdomTree International Energy Sector Fund (The Fund) is a non-diversified fund. It seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree International Energy Sector Index (The Index). The Fund is managed by WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc.

The Index is derived from WisdomTree Index of Europe, Far East Asia and Australasia (DEFA) Fund. It measures the performance of dividend-paying companies in developed markets outside of the United States and Canada within the international energy sector. The companies are weighted in the Index based on regular cash dividends paid. The Index includes companies from oil and gas producers, oil and gas services, pipelines, alternative energy sources, and coal industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  Unusual volume (at least 5X ADV): Market Vectors Gaming ETF (NYSE: BJK), Guggenheim Timber ETF (NYSE: CUT), WisdomTree Global Natural Resources ETF (NYSE: GNAT), iShares MSCI Global Gold Miners (NYSE: RING) and the Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ: SOCL).

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc.(KTOS)

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. provides mission critical products, services, and solutions in the United States. The company?s Kratos Government Solutions segment offers various services comprising weapon systems sustainment, lifecycle support, and extension; command, control, communications, computing, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services, including cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, information assurance, and situational awareness solutions; military range operations and technical services; missile, rocket, and weapons systems test and evaluation; mission launch services; modeling and simulation; unmanned aerial vehicle products and technology; advanced network engineering and information technology services; and public safety, security, and surveillance systems integration. Its Public Safety & Security segment provides independent integrated solutions for homeland security, public safety, critical information, and security and su rveillance systems. This segment?s solutions consists of designing, installing, and servicing building technologies that protect people, critical infrastructure, assets, information, and property in various areas, such as the design, engineering, and operation of command and control centers; design, engineering, deployment, and integration of access control; building automation and control; communications; digital and closed circuit television security and surveillance; fire and life safety; maintenance services; and product support services. The company primarily serves the United States government agencies, including the department of defense, classified agencies, intelligence agencies, other national security agencies, and homeland security related agencies. The company was formerly known as Wireless Facilities, Inc. and changed its name to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. in September 2007. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, Cali fornia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) shot up 7.19 percent to $7.75 after the company reported that it has been awarded a five-year seaport-e contract.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) shot up 7.74 percent to $7.79 after the company reported that it has been awarded a five-year seaport-e contract.

Hot Defensive Companies To Invest In Right Now: Dycom Industries Inc.(DY)

Dycom Industries, Inc. provides specialty contracting services in the United States and Canada. The company?s services include engineering services, which comprise the design of service area concept boxes, terminals, buried and aerial drops, transmission and central office equipment, administration of feeder and distribution cable pairs, and fiber cable routing and design for telephone companies; and make-ready studies, strand mapping, field walk-out, computer-aided radio frequency design and drafting, and fiber cable routing and design for cable television multiple system operators. The company also provides construction, maintenance, and installation of splice fiber, copper, and coaxial cables to telephone companies; installation and maintenance of customer premise equipment, including set top boxes and cable modems to cable television multiple system operators; and premise wiring services, which include installation, repair, and maintenance of telecommunications infrast ructure within improved structures to various corporations, and state and local governments. In addition, Dycom offers underground utility locating services, such as locating telephone, cable television, power, water, sewer, and gas lines to various utility companies. Further, it provides construction and maintenance services for electric utilities and others, which include installing and maintaining overhead and underground power distribution lines, as well as maintenance and installation of underground natural gas transmission and distribution systems. The company was founded in 1969 and is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Harsco have gained 4.7% to $26.43 today at 1:16 p.m., outpacing other construction & engineering companies. Dycom (DY) has advanced 0.5% to $30, KBR Inc. (KBR) has ticked up 0.1% to $33.03, Worthington Industries�(WOR) has risen 2.8% to $38.85�and Tutor Perini (TPC) has rallied 3.6% to $22.46.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Dycom Industries (NYSE: DY  ) reported earnings on May 21. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended April 27 (Q3), Dycom Industries beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Dycom Industries (NYSE: DY  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of telecom contractor Dycom Industries (NYSE: DY  ) climbed 11% today after its quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street expectations.

Best Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014

Alamy Let's imagine you've done what you can to teach your college student about responsibly using credit -- and have tried to help that young adult work toward good credit scores. And it has worked -- she behaved responsibly as an authorized user on your credit card. Good habits, instilled early, can pay big dividends later. Now imagine you're showing your son how to check his free annual credit reports. (You can do this when you're checking yours -- you do check them, right?) And just for fun, you decide to use a free online tool (like the Credit Report Card) to check his credit score -- and yours. And you discover your kid's score is higher than yours. What's up with that? Credit scoring expert Barry Paperno says that the very same tradeline can give the kid more points than the parent gets. "By having an old, perfectly paid and utilized credit card on a child's report, she may be at the head of the class credit scoring-wise compared with others having a similar overall length of credit history and number of trade lines. Whereas that same account may just be considered average for her parents when compared with people having a longer history and thicker credit file," he explains. In a case like this, your kid's record is likely very thin, to say the least, but doesn't have negative information on it (yet). Your thicker file just might. Or you may have a higher credit utilization rate than your adult child, or maybe you recently applied for a store credit card and the hard inquiry dinged your credit score. So is your kid more likely to get approved for a loan than you? Not necessarily. If your student doesn't have an income, nobody's going to want to extend credit to him or her. Lenders want to have proof that borrowers can repay them. (Would you want to risk extending credit to someone who had no way to pay you back, even if the person had a good reputation? Lenders don't, either.) So your kid with the enviably high score may have less access to credit than you do. But once your kid has an income, that good credit reputation can help him or her get a credit card on his own. Why get one? Because credit is easier to get when you don't need to have it in a hurry. And when you do, it's good to have it. It's one more lesson you can teach your kid before he enters the "real world."

Best Airline Companies To Watch In Right Now: Scana Corporation(SCG)

SCANA Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity to retail and wholesale customers in South Carolina. It owns nuclear, coal, hydro, oil and gas, and biomass generating facilities. The company also purchases, sells, and transports natural gas; offers energy-related risk management services; acquires, owns, and provides financing for nuclear fuel, fossil fuel, and emission allowances; and offers service contracts on home appliances, and heating and air conditioning units. In addition, SCANA Corporation owns two liquefied natural gas plants, including one located near Charleston, and the other in Salley, South Carolina; and provides tower site construction, management, and rental services in South Carolina and North Carolina. As of December 31, 2010, the company supplied electricity to approximately 660,000 customers; and natural gas to approximately 482,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers i n North Carolina, and 313,500 customers in South Carolina, as well as to approximately 460,000 customers in Georgia. Further, SCANA Corporation owns and operates a 500-mile fiber optic telecommunications network and Ethernet network, and data center facilities in South Carolina. Through a joint venture, it builds, manages, and leases communications towers with interest in 2,280 miles of fiber in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company?s retail customers comprise municipalities, electric cooperatives, other investor-owned utilities, registered marketers, and federal and state electric agencies. It primarily serves chemicals, educational services, paper products, food products, lumber and wood products, health services, textile manufacturing, rubber and miscellaneous plastic products, and fabricated metal products industries. The company is based in Cayce, South Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Dittman]

  Answer: I like NextEra Energy, which has significant renewables exposure and operates in a region with solid economic fundamentals. I also like smaller utes that operate in smaller footprints with solid long-term fundamentals, including Cleco (NYSE: CNL), Pinnacle West, Vectren (NYSE: VVC) and SCANA (NYSE: SCG).

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on SCANA (NYSE: SCG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  In March 2012, Southern Company (NYSE: SO  ) received the first construction approval in over 30 years for two new units at its Vogtle plan in Georgia totaling 2,200 MW of electric capacity. SCANA (NYSE: SCG  ) wasn't far behind with approval for two units of its own in South Carolina totaling around 2,100 MW. Southern expects its units to come on line by 2017, while both of SCANA's will power up by 2019.

Best Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: Linear Technology Corporation(LLTC)

Linear Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets a line of linear integrated circuits. The company's products include amplifiers, comparators, voltage regulators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, power over Ethernet controllers, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brendan Byrnes]

  Then finally, "Found It" Miracle Workers, companies that bounced around for a while -- kind of like wayward teenagers -- and then found their way. A company like Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC  ) , for example, a semiconductor manufacturer, would fall into that category. It started out as a second source supplier for the USDOD [and] now makes a vast array of highly customized, very highly differentiated analog microprocessors.

• [By Damian Illia]

  Although the stock has done pretty well, investors can have another option of investing in the tech sector with Linear Technology Corporation (LLTC) because there is no other semiconductor company that can be able to match the company's profitability. Linear Technology offers thousands of analog products to original equipment manufacturers. The company麓s plan is to specialize in market segments that require high-performance analog with focus on industrial and automotive products. Customers base decisions on quality and Linear麓s chip are considered to be products that have long life and superior technology. This is considered in prices and makes attractive margins to the company.

Best Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: Chimera Investment Corporation (CIM)

Chimera Investment Corporation operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States. The company, through its subsidiaries, invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), residential mortgage loans, commercial mortgage loans, real estate-related securities, and other asset classes. Its targeted asset classes include agency or non-agency RMBS; prime, jumbo prime, and Alt-A mortgage loans; first or second lien loans secured by multifamily properties, mixed residential or other commercial properties, retail properties, office properties, or industrial properties; and asset-based securities (ABS), including commercial mortgage-backed securities, debt and equity tranches of collateralized debt obligations, and consumer and non-consumer ABS. The company has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its share holders. Chimera Inve stment Corporation was founded in 2007 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Maxfield]

  Well, it just so turns out that there is. And Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY  ) , the parent company in our nonhypothetical tale, has figured out how -- for the record, the publicly traded subsidiary is Chimera Investment Management (NYSE: CIM  ) .

• [By John Maxfield]

  "Nepotism has never been unknown in American banking," Martin Mayer wrote in The Greatest-Ever Bank Robbery, his 1990 book about the savings-and-loan crisis. While Mayer was referring to American Continental, the notoriously corrupt holding company run into the ground by the infamous Charles Keating in the 1980s, his point rings true today in the case of Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY  ) and its publicly traded portfolio company Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM  ) .

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Berkshire isn't the only company where book value plays an important role. In the mortgage REIT realm, the value of the investment portfolio for a given mortgage REIT reduced by the REIT's outstanding debt, sometimes referred to as net asset value rather than book value, gives valuable information about its relative valuation. Industry leader Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY  ) currently sports a price-to-book ratio of 0.96 based on its most recently provided figures, reflecting in part investor skepticism about whether the REIT's agency-issued mortgage-backed securities will hold their value once the Federal Reserve stops making extensive bond purchases as part of its quantitative easing program. By contrast, Annaly's non-agency-issued counterpart, Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM  ) , sports a price-to-book ratio of nearly 1.1, indicating a significant premium to the REIT's stated net asset value that could be due to the fact that the Fed hasn't focused its efforts on the alternative securities that Chimera tends to choose for its portfolio.

Best Dividend Companies To Watch For 2014: SPX Corporation(SPW)

SPX Corporation provides flow technology products, test and measurement products, thermal equipment and services, and industrial products and services worldwide. The company?s Flow Technology segment provides products and solutions that are used to process, blend, filter, dry, meter, and transport fluids. This segment?s primary offerings include engineered pumps, mixers, process systems, heat exchangers, valves, and dehydration and drying technologies for food and beverage, general industrial, and power and energy markets. Its Test and Measurement segment provides diagnostic service tools, fare-collection systems, and portable cable and pipe locators for the transportation, telecommunications, and utility industries. The company?s Thermal Equipment and Services segment engineers, manufactures, and services cooling, heating, and ventilation products, including dry, wet, and hybrid cooling systems for the power generation, refrigeration, HVAC, and industrial markets, as well as boilers, heating, and ventilation products for the commercial and residential markets. This segment also provides thermal components and engineered services. Its Industrial Products and Services segment designs, manufactures, and markets power systems; industrial tools and hydraulic units; precision machine components for the aerospace industry; crystal growing machines for the solar power generation market; television, radio, and cell phone and data transmission broadcast antenna systems; communications and signal monitoring systems; and precision controlled industrial ovens and chambers. SPX Corporation markets its products through various channels, including stocking distributors, manufacturing representatives, third-party distributors, direct sales, and retailers. The company was formerly known as Piston Ring Company and changed its name to SPX Corporation in 1988. SPX Corporation was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damon Churchwell]

  These companies manufacture processing products used by industries such as food and beverages, oil & gas, and wastewater treatment, among others. They serve a wide range of end markets that are mostly poised for increased earnings and are likely to spend on capital projects. While these positive trends persist, flow technology companies' prospects ought to remain favorable. Let's�highlight several sector participants, starting with a top selection,�SPX�(NYSE: SPW),.

• [By CRWE]

  SPX Corporation (NYSE:SPW) reported that Jeremy Smeltser, currently transitioning into the CFO role at SPX, will present at the Nomura Inaugural U.S. Industrials Summit in New York City on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time.