Hot Blue Chip Companies To Invest In 2014

The looming Fed taper has been the talk of Wall Street for months, but it still came as a surprise to investors when it actually happened. Stocks rallied Wednesday following the Fed's decision to cut its $85 billion a month purchase of bonds by $10 billion, beginning in January. Outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy continues to "make progress." The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) soared 292 points on the news, its third biggest one-day gain this year. The Dow also hit a closing high, as did the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC), which gained 29 points. And the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) rose 46 points. Consider it Bernanke's final present to the market before he retires from his position atop the Fed. Among the big blue chip winners, 3M (MMM) rose 3 percent, while Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) and Goldman Sachs (GS) all rose 2 percent. But Microsoft (MSFT) was flat, reflecting across the board weakness in tech stocks. Many of the biggest players on the Nasdaq lost ground despite the overall market rally. Apple (AAPL) and Twitter (TWTR) ended lower and Tesla (TSLA) lost nearly 3 percent. Part of the reason for the tech weakness was an earnings miss and a weak forecast from Jabil Circuits (JBL), a key maker of electronics. Its shares plunged 20 percent. But homebuilders were strong following a report showing that housing starts last month rose to highest level in nearly six years. Lennar (LEN), which also posted strong earnings, jumped 6 percent. William Lyon Homes rose 4 percent, KB Homes (KBH) and Toll Brothers (TOL) each rose 3.5 percent. Ford (F) shares skidded more than 6 percent after lowering its profit forecast for next year. The company also warned that it may not meet its target for 2015 and 2016. In part, Ford blames the high expenses tied its planned launch of a record number of new vehicles next year. Finally, the movie theater chain AMC Entertainment (AMC) rose 5 percent from its $18 a share IPO price. This is expected to the last of 222 IPOs to hit the market this year.

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Invest In 2014: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  Chevron's new baby
  Operations in the deepwater will also benefit as time passes from a technological development called dual-gradient drilling, or DGD. The new advancement is largely the child of Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , and it clearly will benefit the second-biggest U.S.-based oil and gas major.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Hawaiians have perpetually been saddled with high gas prices, and it doesn't look like things are going to get any better. Tesoro intends to shut down its facility in the island state, leaving Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) as the only game in town. That, combined with the high costs to ship crude there, has gas prices well north of $4.00 a gallon. As gasoline prices remain high in Hawaii, don't be surprised if more and more drivers make the switch to alternative fuels�

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Chesapeake is still seeking to raise more cash through further asset sales this year. In February, Chesapeake sold a 50% interest in some of its Mississippi Lime acreage to China's Sinopec (NYSE: SHI  ) . Then, earlier this month, Chesapeake said it's looking to sell further acreage in the Utica Shale play in the U.S. Midwest. Motley Fool contributor Tyler Crowe believes that Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) might be a natural buyer for Chesapeake's Utica property, given its recent commitment to focusing on unconventional domestic energy plays for further growth.

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Invest In 2014: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  Next week, search juggernaut Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) will officially kick off Google I/O, its annual developer conference where it's expected to show off the latest and greatest Android developments. The event will be held at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco, the same venue where Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) and Microsoft are hosting their own respective developer conferences next month.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  What a wild ride for Apple (AAPL) shares in after-hours trading after the company announced earnings yesterday after the market closed.

  Shares spiked to $542 initially in after-hours trading on news that Apple had come in ahead of Wall Street estimates for earnings of $7.94 a share by 32 cents a share. (The shares closed the regular trading session at $529.88.) Revenue climbed to $37.47 billion, slightly ahead of the analyst consensus of $36.87 billion.

• [By Steve Heller]

  JP Morgan's Christopher Danely believes the foundry market is worth $38.4 billion a year and Intel could capture about 11% of that market. The catch is that Intel would have to land the highest of high-profile clients, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) . Since Apple designs custom processors based on ARM designs, it's highly unrealistic that Intel would just give up the goods to Apple.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) isn't doing very well these days.

  The stock broke below $400 on Wednesday, and today the shares are trading at their lowest level since late 2011.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Own For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  Outside the U.S., Dunkin�� situation also looks quite promising. Holding the fourth-largest overseas restaurant business, behind Yum, McDonald's (MCD), and Subway, but ahead of Starbucks (SBUX), expansion potential in emerging markets abounds, and its brand name recognition should certainly help it achieve this goal.

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Invest In 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The name change reflected the company's wish to have consumers and investors see beyond its tobacco business, which at the time was plagued by more substantial legal battles with billions in potential liability hanging in the balance. Shareholders approved the name change in 2002. The irony, of course, is that Altria has since spun off both Kraft and its Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) global tobacco divisions, leaving Altria holding the old core Philip Morris USA division.

• [By Rupert Hargreaves]

  For example, let's take a look at�Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) . Now for the last four quarters, Philip Morris has paid out $3.49 in dividends per share. For the same period, the company has earned $5.28 per share, which gives us a dividend cover of 1.5 times and a payout ratio of 66%.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Altria has topped the tobacco industry for decades, with its leading Marlboro brand retaining its popularity around the world. But with the company having spun off its Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM  ) division, Altria now has to rely on the U.S. market, with its unique challenges and risks. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Altria over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

• [By Fede Zaldua]

  Imperial trades cheaply and pays a great, sustainable and for-ever-growing 4.5% cash dividend yield. The company's 2014 10.4 times P/E multiple represents a 40% discount to what most European consumer staples sell for. Besides, the owner of brands such as Davidoff and Gauloises, trades at a much more conservative level than its direct tobacco peers. Philip Morris International (PM) and British American Tobacco (BTI) sell for 2014 15 and 14.2 times earnings, respectively.

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Invest In 2014: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sam Robson]

  LONDON: Following reports that�Verizon Communications (NYSE: V  ) �has hired advisors on a bid to buy out its stake in Verizon Wireless,�Vodafone (LSE: VOD  ) (NASDAQ: VOD  ) �soared in trading today, pushing 200p -- a height not previously seen since December 2001.

• [By Adam J. Wiederman]

  Alamy They're "the gift most everyone buys for the holidays," according to USA Today. This holiday season alone, nearly 81 percent of shoppers will buy at least one gift card -- totaling nearly $30 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. The benefits of buying gift cards are clear: They make great last-minute gifts (in a way that seems more personal than cash) and they vastly reduce the odds of you getting someone something just don't want or will never use. In fact, the percentage of consumers who made a holiday return has plummeted over the past few years as gift card purchases rose, according to data from America's Research Group. But if you're not careful, these gift cards could end up leaving you -- or your giftee -- with less money than you thought. Hidden Fees and Dates Recent changes to federal law have made gift cards even more consumer-friendly. For example, gift cards must now remain valid for five years. This law has worked as intended -- the amount unused on gift cards now only totals 1 percent of total sales ... down from 6.4 percent just four years ago, according to CEB TowerGroup. But this unused amount still totals more than $1 billion each year. To make sure your gift card purchase (or receipt) isn't included among these sunk costs, here are some tips to remember whether you're on the giving or receiving end of a gift card this year. If You Are Purchasing a Gift Card: 1. Stick to buying store-branded gift cards. Bankrate.com's annual Gift Card Survey uncovered that the major gift cards offered through banks and credit card companies (generic Visa (V) or American Express (AXP), for example) charged either purchase fees or maintenance/inactivity fees (or both). On the other hand, only a small handful of store-branded cards reviewed carried similar fees. 2. Send either an e-gift card or purchase the gift card in store. Many gift cards (even store-branded ones) carry purchase fees disguised as "delivery fees." For example,

• [By Chris Hill]

  Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM  ) reports a 20% increase in first-quarter revenue, but shares fall on weaker-than-expected profits. Visa (NYSE: V  ) hits an all-time high in the wake of strong earnings and raised guidance. General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) rises on gains in its European business. And Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW  ) reports a 33% jump in quarterly profits as it considers selling the company.

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Stocks rallied again on Friday, completing one of the market's best weeks of the year. This rally is tied to growing signs that the pace of U.S. economic growth is finally picking up. The government reported a 4.1 percent jump in GDP over the summer. That was much stronger than expected, and substantially higher than the previous estimate. That came on top of strong reports this month on jobs, manufacturing and housing. At a news conference, President Obama said 2014 could be "a breakthrough year" for the U-S economy. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 42 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) gained 9 -- both ending at record highs yet again. The Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) rallied 46 points. For the week, the Dow was up about 3 percent. Some retail stocks bounced higher as stores brace for the final weekend before Christmas. J.C. Penney (JCP) rose 4.5 percent, Urban Outfitters (URBN) gained 2 percent and American Eagle (AEO) gained 1.5 percent. And Target (TGT) edged higher, one day after acknowledging a massive security breach that exposed the personal information of millions of customers to hackers. It was also a good day for online retailers. Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) both rose by about 2 percent and Overstock.com (OSTK) gained 3 percent. And how do we pay for all of those last minute gifts? Credit cards, of course. MasterCard (MA) and American Express (AXP) each gained 1.5 percent, and Visa (V) edged higher. One of the day's best gainers was Blackberry (BBRY). It shares soared 15 percent even though the smartphone maker posted a bigger loss than expected. But the company's new CEO forecast a profit by 2016 and announced a partnership with the Taiwanese phone maker Foxconn. A big green arrow for software maker Red Hat (RHT). It rallied 14 percent as earnings jumped, easily beating expectations. Textron (TXT) gained 10 percent. The Financial Times reports the company is on the verge of buying the a

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Invest In 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Lately, Johnson & Johnson has presented two different faces to investors. On one hand, the company has faced the challenge of dealing with a weak consumer-products business, as multiple recalls and close regulatory oversight of its production facilities have exacerbated J&J's problems. With its more focused consumer-goods business, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) has worked harder at taking advantage of international growth opportunities than many of its rivals, and Colgate's strong overseas sales, in comparison to J&J's international weakness, show the effectiveness of that strategy. In particular, Asia has been a focus point for Colgate, with revenue from the region having risen 9% year over year compared with less than 3% growth overall. Moreover, Latin America represents Colgate's biggest region for sales, with more than half again the revenue its U.S. segment produces.

Hot Blue Chip Companies To Invest In 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Four Dow stocks reported earnings today with Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) and UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH  ) releasing in the morning, and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) and IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) coming in after hours.

Goldman Sachs Cuts Price Target, Estimates on Mattel (MAT)

Early on Monday, analysts at Goldman Sachs lowered their price target on toy manufacturer Mattel, Inc. (MAT) to reflect reduced earnings estimates due to a downturn in U.S. trends.

The analysts maintain a “Neutral” rating on MAT, but now see shares reaching $38, down from the previous target of $39. This new price target suggests an 11% downside to the stock’s Friday closing price of $42.55.

A Goldman Sachs analyst noted, "We lower our 2013-15 EPS estimates to $2.52/$2.63/$2.83 ($2.54/$2.70/$2.90) to reflect a downturn in recent US trends, offset in part by the weaker USD. This suggests no EPS growth in 2013 after a strong run 2010-12. We lower our P/E and DCF-based 12 month price target by $1 to $38 to reflect our lower estimates. Our Neutral rating is unchanged."

Mattel shares were down $1.06, or 2.49%, during morning trading on Monday. The stock is up 13.03% year-to-date.

Three Good Reasons to Be Cautious on Stocks

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 As the stock market rallies to new all-time highs and the cheerleaders on the financial networks urge investors to "get in while the getting is good," three charts suggest caution...    First is the Volatility Index (the "VIX")...     The VIX is a measure of investor fear, and it closed Friday near its lowest level of 2013. Investors are complacent. They're not fearful of an impending market decline.   From a contrarian point of view, a low VIX is a bad sign for the market. Periods of low volatility are always followed by periods of high volatility and vice versa. So this chart is one reason to be cautious for the short term.    The Nasdaq Summation Index (the "NASI") gives us a reason to be cautious for the intermediate term...     The NASI is a momentum indicator that helps point out overbought and oversold conditions on the Nasdaq stock market. As you can see from the chart, the NASI rallied to its highest level of the year last week. It's well into "nosebleed overbought" territory. Stocks are more overbought now than they were in June, just before we got hit with a fast 7% selloff.   Also, notice that the NASI hasn't been below the "0" line all year. This is unusual. The NASI usually spends about half its time above zero and half its time below.   That it hasn't been below zero all year is a testament to how strong the buying pressure has been. It's also a strong warning that the next decline phase may be more severe and longer-lasting than what we saw a couple months ago.    Finally, there's this long-term, monthly chart of the S&P 500...     The S&P 500 ended July above its monthly upper Bollinger Band.   Bollinger Bands measure the most probable range of prices for a stock or index. Any move outside of the bands indicates an extreme condition – one that is likely to reverse.   It's rare for the S&P to close above the upper Bollinger Band on the monthly chart. The two previous times it happened – in 2011 and 2007 – signaled important intermediate-term tops for the stock market. It's too early to tell if that will be the case this time as well.   But it's a good reason to be careful with stocks trading at new all-time highs.   Best regards and good trading,   Jeff Clark  

Will There Be a Batman-Superman Team-Up in Theaters Soon?

Now that Man of Steel has proven to be a success, fans are wondering if Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX  ) next step will be to pair its two biggest superheroes in a big-screen team-up, says Fool contributor Tim Beyers in the following video.

Fans' interest in a Batman-Superman film comes at an interesting time. Next week, Warner and DC Entertainment will be at San Diego Comic-Con to talk more about its big-screen plans, which presumably include a Justice League film by 2015.

Would such an accelerated schedule make sense? And if not, would a Batman-Superman film make more sense? Tim isn't sure, if only because the logistics of pulling off such an audacious project while also filming Man of Steel 2 might be too much for Warner to do well.

Therein lies the danger, Tim says. The last time Warner tried to do too much on screen, the result was a box office bomb called Green Lantern. And yet Warner may not have the necessary time to mimic Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS  ) measured approach, which means betting on big names, and beloved characters may its best hope for boosting profits.

Now it's your turn to weigh in. Would you prefer Warner stay on track for Man of Steel 2 and then Justice League by 2015? Or would you rather see a Batman-Superman film soon? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take and then leave a comment to let us know what you think.

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MGM Gets a Few New Business Partners

In the following video, Fool contributor Matt Thalman discusses why he believes MGM Resorts' (NYSE: MGM  ) recent move to partner with both Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) and Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H  ) will greatly benefit not only MGM but also its two new partners.

The companies will now all have larger loyalty customer bases, and with few to no additional costs associated with acquiring these new customers, their loyalty rewards will be more appealing and rewarding -- as they should be -- and help Las Vegas attract more tourists with more money burning holes in their pockets.

When MGM Resorts began constructing the CityCenter in Las Vegas, it was an audacious plan that seemed like a sure bet, with its prime location in the center of the Strip. But Las Vegas hit a rough patch during the Great Recession and has yet to fully recover, so MGM has since turned its attention to a new market in Macau. This Chinese gaming enclave now holds the key to the company's future, and a new resort on Cotai may relieve the company from crushing debt. For expert analysis on whether this former high-flying stock can regain its form on the back of a growing presence in Asia, you're invited to check out The Motley Fool's new premium report on MGM Resorts. Simply click here now to claim your copy today.

7 States Wasting the Least Money on Medications

There's always a flip side to any coin. I recently wrote about seven states that pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX  ) identified as the most wasteful when it comes to medication-related spending. Since that article focused on the negative side, it's only fitting that I also highlight the states that are doing the best on this front.

Express Scripts looked at several areas in identifying potential waste. One involved cases where patients purchased higher-cost medications when lower-cost alternatives were available. Another focused on times when patients could have gone with a lower-cost pharmacy, such as a specialty pharmacy or home delivery. The last category of waste related to patients not adhering to medication treatments.

Around $418 billion was wasted in 2012 in these ways, according to Express Scripts' research. While all states were guilty of wasteful spending, some performed much better than others. Here are the seven states wasting the least amount per capita on medication spending.

Source: Express Scripts

Birds of a feather
A quick look at the map reveals that these seven states cluster in one of two areas. Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are all neighbors in the Northeast U.S., while Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin form a block in the North Central U.S.

This geographic proximity for the two groups is interesting, because a similar phenomena was seen with the seven most wasteful states -- all of which were located in the South. However, as with the most wasteful states, my hunch is that other commonalities provide a better explanation for why these states are among the least wasteful.

One common denominator among six of the seven states relates to education attainment. All but Massachusetts ranked in the top 15 states with the highest percentage of residents graduating from high school or receiving additional education. Massachusetts came in 19th among all states in this category.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. 

I don't think that higher high school graduation rates per se make a state less likely to be wasteful. However, increased education attainment could correspond with increased awareness of ways to control costs most effectively.

An even stronger common theme is health status. All seven of the states wasting the least on medications ranked in the top 15 states with the most residents reporting good health.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The logic behind why health status ties to medication spending wastefulness is straightforward. Better health should correlate with lower volume of prescription drugs taken. Less money spent on prescription drugs presents fewer opportunities for wasteful spending. 

There could be other common denominators among these seven states that partially explain why medication spending is less wasteful than elsewhere. However, I don't think that the patterns of the states ranking at the bottom on wasteful medication spending and near the top for education attainment and health status are coincidental.

Lucky seven?
Can the information behind these seven least wasteful states lead investors to ideas for finding luck in the stock market? I think so.

While these states fare better in the analysis, every one of them still shows more than $1,000 per capita in annual wasteful spending on medications. Combined with the other 43 states, the amount wasted by Americans by poor medication spending decisions totals $418 billion. That reflects a big pool of potential savings for companies that specialize in holding down those costs.

Pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, specialize in this very thing. Leading PBMs include Express Scripts, CVS Caremark, UnitedHealth Group's (NYSE: UNH  ) OptumRx subsidiary, Catamaran (NASDAQ: CTRX  ) , and DST Systems' Argus Health Systems. Several of these stocks have performed very well over the last three years.

CTRX data by YCharts.

These aren't exactly apples-to-apples comparisons, though. Express Scripts and Catamaran focus primarily on PBM services, but the others do not. CVS Caremark operates one of the largest retail pharmacy chains in the U.S. UnitedHealth Group is the largest managed care company in the nation. DST Systems provides financial and customer communications services.

For investors hoping to capitalize on the opportunities in controlling wasteful medication spending, Express Scripts and Catamaran present the most focused options. Express Scripts brings scale and in-depth analysis capabilities as the largest PBM in the country. Catamaran ranks as the fourth-largest PBM and appears to have even more room to grow than its larger counterpart. However, its stock is also the pricier of the two, with a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 22 compared to Express Scripts' forward P/E of 12.

Both Express Scripts and Catamaran should be solid picks over the long run. I like the prospects for the PBM industry over the coming years. These investment opportunities shouldn't be wasted.

Do lower costs = profits for your portfolio?
In 2011, a massive shift began. With the first of the baby-boomer generation reaching Medicare age, America's health care landscape was forever changed. Combine the aging population with the impact of Obamacare, and the need for innovative solutions for skyrocketing health care costs is as clear as ever. Express Scripts is part of that solution, and in this brand new premium report on the company, we clearly lay out the opportunity in front of this misunderstood stock. Claim your copy by clicking here now.

These Five Stocks Could Be Taper Losers

One answer: Companies with a lot of debt and little operational leverage, according to a new report from Credit Suisse.

Reuters

Strategist Andrew Garthwaite and team explain why companies like Sprint (S),  American Water Works (AWK), Volcano (VOLC), Southern (SO) and Level 3 Communications (LVLT) could get hit by the taper:

Combining our view that bond yields are set to rise (making life more difficult for companies with high financial leverage), our caution on European credit and our expectation that economic momentum will accelerate lead us to the conclusion that sectors with both high financial leverage and low operational leverage – shown in the bottom right quadrant below – should be avoided.

Those sectors include telecoms, utilities, media, energy and tobacco companies, Garthwaite says. After screening for stocks with net debt to EBITDA greater than 2.5 times–a sign of financial leverage–free-cash-flow yields below 2%–a sign of little operational leverage–in defensive sectors and looking pricy, Credit Suisse came up with a list of 21 stocks that could be at risk, including the aforementioned Sprint,  American Water Works, Volcano, Southern and Level 3 Communications.

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Sprint has gained 2.5% today to $9.17, American Water Works has dipped 0.1% to $42, Sothern is off 0.4% to $40.83, Volcano has fallen 1% to $21.32 and Level 3 Communications is up 4.6% to $32.01.

 

Budget deal will boost 2014 economy

The budget deal now passed by Congress will set the stage for faster economic growth in 2014, reducing the impact of federal budget cutting on the economy by as much as half, economists say.

The measure, adopted by the Senate Wednesday, would reduce the automatic spending cuts scheduled for this year by $45 billion and, partly offset them with different cuts. That could boost growth in 2014 by as much as 0.25%, economist Joel Naroff said.

The package does some, but not all, of what ratings agencies and many private economists have been clamoring for, said Moody's Analytics fiscal-policy economist Brian Kessler. Economists have argued that the U.S. should reduce spending cuts now to push the recovery onto more-solid ground, while preparing for longer-term cuts in Social Security and Medicare spending. The bill does defer some spending cuts, but doesn't address the entitlement issues.

"It's a small deal, but it's kind of exactly what an economist hoped they would do,'' Kessler said. "Reducing the fiscal drag in the near term is a positive thing.''

The deal isn't a negative for entitlement reform — it simply doesn't address the issue, said Marie Cavanaugh, a managing director in S&P's sovereign ratings group.

"This doesn't really go in that direction, but it does show a greater facility for compromise,'' Cavanaugh said. "It would be helpful for creditworthiness if there were a plan in place. You wouldn't need for it to take effect yet because of the fragility of the economy.''

STORY: Senate sends two-year budget deal to Obama

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Most economists believe the U.S. cut as much as 1.5 percentage points off its growth rate in 2013 because of fiscal policy, both tax increases and spending cuts. With growth running about 2% year-over-year, efforts to reduce the federal deficit cut this year's growth almost by half, accord! ing to the International Monetary Fund and other analysts.

With no new tax hikes on the horizon, the drag was expected to fall to as little as 0.5 percentage points of growth in 2014 even before the deal, Naroff said.

That is a big part of the reason many economists expected growth to accelerate anyway in 2014, said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Chicago asset manager Mesirow Financial.

The deal would have had a bigger positive impact if it had included an extension of long-term unemployment benefits, which are set to expire on Dec. 28, Swonk said.

Some details of the deal, including the expiration of tax credits that give incentives for business investment and hiring veterans, may hurt unless they are later restored as part of a larger tax bill, said Tom Windram, a partner in the national tax practice at accounting firm McGladrey.

The expiration of the Work Opportunities Tax Credit "isn't an incentive to hire fewer people. It's an incentive to hire different people,'' Windram said.

10 Stocks Everyone Was Googling This Year – GOOG HLF TWTR

Popular Posts: 4 Reasons Twitter’s Stock Has Gone Crazy9 Hot Toys For Christmas Every Kid Wants This Year15 Biggest Flops In Tech This Year Includes AAPL 5C Recent Posts: 10 Stocks Everyone Was Googling This Year – GOOG HLF TWTR 30 Best Big Stocks To Buy Right Now 4 Reasons Twitter’s Stock Has Gone Crazy View All Posts

Top Tech Companies To Watch For 2014

Google (GOOG) has released its annual “zeitgeist” report showing what the world was searching for in 2013.

In terms of stocks, Google picked out the 10 biggest trending topics — searches with the largest increase in search volume since last year.

From Twitter’s (TWTR) IPO to “activist investor” ego battles, these 10 companies had some of the biggest market stories of 2013.

Now we know what people are searching for.

10. Freddie Mac

Ticker: FMCC

Year-to-date return: 810.71%

Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Capital Management recently announced that he and other investors are willing to buy and recapitalize Freddie Mac, the mortgage-backed security seller and government-sponsored entity that gained fame as it crumbled during the financial crisis.

9. Herbalife

Ticker: HLF

Year-to-date return: 132.39%

Herbalife is “trending” more because big personalities have been going on TV to talk about it (rather than because of the product itself). “Activist investors” Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn have squared off over the diet supplement company all year.

Ackman, of Pershing Square, is short and has said the company is a “pyramid scheme.” Ichan took the other end and went long, and says he’s made $500 million on the bet — which probably was less about the money and more about one-upping Bill Ackman. George Soros is also long Herbalife. In hedge fund land, and otherwise unknown stock can become the perfect arena for big egos.

8. Better Business Bureau

Ticker: (not public)

Year-to-date return: NA

The Better Business Bureau is actually a non-profit. It is a highly-searched company because it provides consumers with information about various businesses. We’re not really sure why this was in Google’s list.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

Top Google Searches of 2013 Jeff Gundlach Takes A Contrarian Stance On Fed Policy In This Sweeping Presentation Wall Street Has Smoked Main Street Since The Financial Crisis

One More Nudge for Prosensa Holding Should do the Trick (RNA)

Anybody who knows at least something about Prosensa Holding NV (NASDAQ:RNA) will at least know the stock turned into a disaster a few weeks ago, plunging from a close of $24.00 on September 19th to a close of $7.14 on September 20th, thanks to the failure of its MS drug drisapersen, which was jointly developed with GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK). Such is the life of a company with only one drug anywhere close to being approved; drisapersen was in Phase 3 trials - RNA shares could have just as easily gained 70% rather than lost 70% had the drug worked.

Yet, now that the dust has settled and the shock has worn off, it may be time to start poking around RNA again. See, the company still has six other programs in the pipeline. Although multiple sclerosis was the biggie, bear in mind that after a 70% beat-down, the new price of Prosensa Holding NV shares may fairly reflect the risk/reward-adjusted value of pipeline as it stands right now, following the failure (and unlikely future) of drisapersen.

In fact, it's the stock more so than the company that's the important part of the Prosensa Holding NV story right now. See, whether they're "supposed to" be doing it now or not, RNA shares are saying the market's testing the bullish waters here, and looking for a reason to get this stock rolling again. More than that, one more nudge could light that fire.... if it hasn't already.

The nearby chart tells the tale. The $4.92 level was a problem in late October, again in late November (though the stock did trade above that level briefly around that time), and it was a resistance line late last week. The bulls aren't giving up, however, and if you look real closely, you'll see that RNA shares traded above the $4.92 ceiling for a while this afternoon. Though they're back under $4.92 now, Prosensa Holding NV shares are well within striking distance of a breakout. Any daily CLOSE above the $4.92 mark should do the trick.

The interesting and encouraging aspect of this brewing breakout is the fact that the media's rhetoric has also changed ... in favor of RNA. That, ironically, is the best thing the stock has going for it - the higher it goes, the more the media and traders talk about it, driving the price even higher, causing more news sources to talk it up. Such is the self-supporting nature of story stocks. Prosensa Holding NV could be one of those stocks, and a close above $4.92 could put the bidding/chatter cycle all the way into self-sustaining mode.

For more trading ideas and insights like these, be sure to sign up for the free SmallCap Network newsletter.

Weekend Edition – Start, Stop, Continue

As 2013 fast approaches its demise we’re squarely in the season of holiday parties, big meals, too much food (and perhaps drink), catching up with friends and family who are around for the season, annual “best of” lists and a mad dash to try to squeeze in any last minute “to-dos” that remain unchecked on your list marked “To-Do In 2013.”

Given the time of year, it’s natural (and healthy) to look ahead to 2014 as discussed here, but also to retrospectively look back on the year that was in terms of how you approached your investments and more broadly your finances.

At Dividend.com we like to use a mental framework whenever we’re looking back and bucket things items into three, simple categories:

1. Stop
2. Start
3. Continue

If you think about this mental exercise in the context of personal finance or investing you will come up with an improved framework for your decision-making going forward. This is less an exercise about specifics of the stocks within your portfolio and more so about your behavior and reaction to circumstances related to your portfolio.

How It Works

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Stop
Upon reflection you might look back on 2013 and realize you prematurely sold a good position in a fundamentally sound stock based on irrational or emotionally charged reasoning. Perhaps you came across one of the many perma-bears online ranting about the imminent crash of the stock's price based on no other rationale than bluster and hand waving. The blog post triggered an emotional reaction–fear of loss–and prompted you to scratch your itchy ‘”sell&#

Benzinga Weekly Preview: Markets Anxiously Await Fed Meeting

Next week the US Federal Reserve will be in the spotlight as investors anxiously wait to see whether or not the US central bank will begin to taper its bond buying plan.

Recent jobs reports coupled with Washington's bipartisan budget deal have both supported the Fed's case to taper sooner rather than later. With that said, many are skeptical about a taper as housing data has been lack luster and the Fed may be hesitant to cut back at the end of the year.

Key Earnings Reports

Next week, investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL), Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE), BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD), and FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX).

Oracle Corporation

Oracle is expected to release second quarter EPS of $0.67 on revenue of $9.8 billion, compared to last year's EPS of $0.64 on revenue of $9.11 billion.

The analyst team at BMO has Oracle with an Outperform rating with a $42.00 target price and said the company is well positioned to continue growing and gaining market share.

"Oracle, as a leading provider of database, middleware, and applications solutions, in our view, is positioned for continued growth and market share gains through leveraging its installed base (cross-sell/up-sell), favorable product refresh cycles, and surrounding the competition in customer environments. We see multiple company-specific drivers: increasing specialized sales force (+3,000), traction of engineered systems and pull-through of related software, and an apps business that is primed for long-term growth. Oracle also appears positioned for continued margin expansion through prudent spending and cost economies of scale in both its core and Sun business."

On December 12, Morgan Stanley has Oracle with an Equal-weight rating, saying the company lacked any major catalysts for growth.

"ORCL now trades near our price target and, in our view, lacks an incremental catalyst to drive the multiple higher. After taking a fresh look at the four key debates on apps, data mgmt and hardware and capital returns that we laid out six months ago, we are hard-pressed to find conviction in further upside to our ests/multiple assumptions over the next year. In particular, our fourth deep-dive customer survey on Fusion Apps indicates momentum is continuing to weaken as competitive drums beat louder, while Engineered Systems growth has faded more rapidly than we expected. Net, until we see signs of product and sales investments yielding stronger returns, ORCL looks fairly valued at ~12x NTM P/E, in line with EPS growth and approaching long-term averages."

Also on December 12, RBC Capital Markets has Oracle with a Sector Perform rating with a $35.00 price target. The analysts at RBC said its reduced rating was attributed to Oracle's share price nearing the firm's Price target.

"ORCL now trades near our price target and, in our view, lacks an incremental catalyst to drive the multiple higher. After taking a fresh look at the four key debates on apps, data mgmt and hardware and capital returns that we laid out six months ago, we are hard-pressed to find conviction in further upside to our ests/multiple assumptions over the next year. In particular, our fourth deep-dive customer survey on Fusion Apps indicates momentum is continuing to weaken as competitive drums beat louder, while Engineered Systems growth has faded more rapidly than we expected. Net, until we see signs of product and sales investments yielding stronger returns, ORCL looks fairly valued at ~12x NTM P/E, in line with EPS growth and approaching long-term averages."

Nike, Inc.

Nike is expected to release second quarter EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $6.44 billion, compared to last year's EPS of $0.57 on revenue of $5.96 billion.

In mid-September, Piper Jaffray has Nike with a Neutral rating with a $71.00 price target, saying the company's outlook in the near term was more positive than its competitors.

"We believe the next several weeks potentially offer a compelling trade opportunity for NKE shares on the long side. The following events over the next four weeks could all be positive catalysts for NKE shares: Dick's Sporting Goods analyst day on September 18th, Nike's FQ1 earnings in late September, Nike's analyst day on October 9 and NKE shares being added to the DJIA on September 23. Furthermore, we believe product innovation such as Flyknit, mildly improving macroeconomic conditions in China and several global sporting events in 2014 provide a favorable backdrop. Lastly, NKE's earnings multiple relative to UA is approaching its historic low, which has typically been a good indicator of NKE's relative outperformance. We have raised our 12-month price target from $64 to $71, but are maintaining our Neutral rating given valuation."

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JP Morgan has Nike with an Overweight rating with an $80.00 price target on October 1. The analysts at JP Morgan noted several risks to Nike's success, including the current employment figures in the US, which could stifle consumer spending.

"The economic climate, particularly the employment picture, can affect consumer spending and the department store industry. A greater than expected downturn in household spending could cause sales trends to decelerate below our current assumptions, rendering our estimates too high. Conversely, an improvement in the economy could render our estimates too low."

BlackBerry

BlackBerry is expected to report a loss of $0.43 per share on revenue of $1.58 billion, compared to last year's loss of $0.22 on revenue of $2.73 billion.

CIBC has BlackBerry with a Sector Underperform rating with a $5.00 price target on November 4. The analysts at CIBC said that although BlackBerry's balance sheet is improving, the company faces a long road to recovery.

"BB's balance sheet is now in good shape. Pro-forma cash (convert & restructuring) is $3.1B or ~$5/share. BB's survival was an issue for many enterprises who have watched the downward spiral. Today's cash up should alleviate the financial concerns, but competitive ones remain. BB's long-term strategy is a return to focus to the enterprise market. There are many issues with BB, but the largest one is BYOD led by iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy. Today it's not clear what a realistic BB response is. Establishing BB's competitive edge here is the largest unknown. We lower our rating to SU and PT to $5 from $12. Our prior thesis was the shares could only be bought for this sale process that has now failed. Current fundamentals are quite weak (Q3 market share 1% vs. 2.7% Q2, 4.3% Q3 LY) and yield a lower price, hence our downgrade to SU."

On the 15 of November, Macquarie also has BlackBerry with an Underperform rating with a price target of $5.50. The analysts at Macquarie noted that although the company's CEO has been praised, they found several red flags upon closer inspection.

"While we have heard very good things about Mr. Chen from his days at Sybase, we are concerned that he is not relocating to Waterloo and that he is not the permanent CEO. Furthermore, a review of the filings suggests that Mr. Chen appears to be incentivized to sell the company as one entity, which would accelerate his vesting on 13mm RSUs upon a change in control, with a further $6mm cash termination payment. We believe investors would prefer Mr. Chen's long-term compensation package to be tied to profitability thresholds and/or share price performance relative to the market or peers."

On the November 5, Societe Generale was more positive about BlackBerry and has a Hold rating with a $7.00 price target. The firm's optimism came from news that BlackBerry had decided not to sell itself.

"Blackberry announced yesterday that it has abandoned plans to sell itself to an investor consortium (which includes its largest shareholder Fairfax) for $9 per share. Instead, a consortium of investors (again including Fairfax) will invest $1bn in Blackberry in the form of convertible debentures. The investment should be completed within the next two weeks. The debentures will have a coupon of 6% and will be convertible into shares at $10 per share. The debentures have a term of seven years. Assuming all $1bn of the debentures are converted, the debenture holders would own 16% of the enlarged share capital. In addition to the financial transaction, it was also announced that the current CEO will resign as CEO from the board once the deal has closed. Peter Chen, the ex-CEO of Sybase, will join the board as the Interim CEO pending the completion of a search for a new CEO."

Rite Aid Corporation

Rite Aid is expected to release third quarter EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $6.29 billion, compared to last year's EPS of $0.07 on revenue of $6.24 billion.

BTIG has Rite Aid with a Buy rating with a $6.00 price target on October 3. The analyst team at BTIG saw a bright long term future for Rite Aid based on changes to healthcare policies in the US.

"We have reason to believe that results will improve from here over the longer term. While second half guidance was strong, it already incorporates the threat of increased reimbursement pressures and the weakness in new generics. What the guidance omits is any positive impact in the second half from the launch of the exchanges associated with the Affordable Care Act – even though that guidance already incorporates the cost of paying for more than two thousand consultants working in RAD's locations to help existing and prospective RAD customers to sign up for ACA coverage."

On October 7, Jefferies has Rite Aid with a Hold rating with a $5.30 price target, noting that although the company has made progress, it faces several headwinds in the future.

"Rite Aid has made progress in its turnaround, but we see declining EBITDA in the near-term as the company faces a fading generic drug wave, and some attrition from the Express Scripts customer wins from last year. Given Rite Aid's financial leverage, and its 30-40% lower store productivity vs. CVS and WAG, we believe the current EV/EBITDA discount vs. these peers is justified."

FedEx Corporation

FedEx is expected to release second quarter EPS of $1.62 on revenue of $11. 43 billion, compared to last year's EPS of $1.39 on revenue of $11.11 billion.

JP Morgan revised its estimate for FedEx from Neutral to Overweight with a price target of $154.00 on October 22. The analysts at JP Morgan noted that FedEx's buyback announcement instilled some confidence in the company.

"What has changed to drive our upgrade to OW? We have been cautious on FDX for the past four months due primarily to concerns regarding the headwind from trade down and excess international airfreight capacity. While we still have concerns about trade down, we now believe that the combination of FDX's Asia / U.S. air capacity reductions and its initial steps to flow IE into commercial lift provide the ability for FDX to absorb trade down pressures. We also read FDX's large and uncharacteristic buyback announcement last week as indicating they are being aggressive and they are willing to change to drive improvement."

Citi's analysts were also optimistic and has FedEx with a Buy rating with a price target of $170.00 on December 10.

"We believe further upside in FedEx shares remains, as the current investor base appears to be playing for a meaningful improvement in profitability, led by cost efforts underway at the company's Express segment. Sentiment is firming around FedEx's ability to produce profit improvement and coupled with accretion from the buyback and help from improving volumes, $10 of earnings power should enter the discussion for F15. We are increasing our target to $170 and reiterate our Buy"

Economic Releases

Although the Fed will be on everyone's mind next week, European PMI data is also due out and will be closely watched. Last month's figures were slightly weaker, but still indicated growth. Most are expecting to see similar figures out this week. France's PMI last month showed a disappointing contraction and if this month's figures follow the same trend, it will signal that last month's data was not a fluke and instead that the nation has fallen off track.

Daily Schedule

Monday

Earnings Releases Expected: No notable releases expected Economic Releases Expected:  US industrial production, Italian trade balance, eurozone manufacturing and services PMI

Tuesday

Earnings Expected From: Jabil Circuit, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSPI), Verifone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) Economic Releases Expected: Japanese trade balance, New Zealand current account, US current account, US CPI

Wednesday

Earnings Expected From: General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS), Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN), FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) Economic Releases Expected: US FOMC meeting announcement, US housing starts, US building permits, British unemployment rate, Indian interest rate decision.

Thursday

Earnings Expected From: Accenture plc. (NYSE: ACN), Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR), ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD), Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE), Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT) Economic Releases Expected: British consumer confidence, US existing home sales, British retail sales, British mortgage approvals, eurozone current account, Swiss trade balance.

Friday

Earnings Expected From:  BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY), CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX), Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), The Finish Line, Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) Economic Releases Expected:  eurozone consumer confidence, US GDP, US consumer spending, Italian trade balance

Posted-In: Federal ReserveNews Previews Economics Federal Reserve Pre-Market Outlook Markets Trading Ideas Best of Benzinga

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Is US Airways Poised to Head Higher?

With shares of US Airways (NYSE:LCC) trading around 22, is LCC an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

US Airways operates and owns passenger and freight airline carriers. Consumers and companies across the nation are now looking to travel at an increasing rate, and since air travel is quicker and less expensive, it is becoming a common transportation method for many. As costs decrease and flights become more efficient, look for business and retail customers to fly more than ever.

US Airways and AMR Corp.'s (AAMRQ.PK) American Airlines began trading as a merged entity when markets opened on Monday, and investors have some big expectations for the company that is now the world's largest airline. Many analysts believe the stock will rise in coming months and that American and US Airways are likely to avoid the pitfalls that plagued other recent mergers in the airline industry, according to a report from Bloomberg. US Airways completed a successful merger with America West Holdings Corp. in 2005, and analysts seem to believe that the knowledge gained from that transaction will help the company undergo a smooth merger with American.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

US Airways stock has been surging higher in the past several years. The stock is currently trading near highs for the year and looks poised to continue. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, US Airways is trading above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of US Airways options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
US Airways options	49.55%	50%	47%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a significant amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
December Options	Flat	Average
January Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on US Airways’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for US Airways look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q3	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-16.13%	-9.09%	-7.14%	63.41%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	9.11%	2.96%	3.45%	3.90%
Earnings Reaction	-2.50%	2.49%	5.02%	1.48%

US Airways has seen decreasing earnings and increasing revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been pleased with US Airways’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has US Airways stock done relative to its peers, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Continental (NYSE:UAL), and sector?

	Best Casino Stocks To Own For 2014 US Airways	Southwest Airlines	Delta Air Lines	United Continental	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	67.04%	82.18%	141.90%	61.89%	71.37%

US Airways has been an average relative performer, year-to-date.

Conclusion

US Airways is an airline that operates passenger and freight planes. The company and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines began trading as a merged entity when markets opened on Monday. The stock has exploded higher in 2013 and is currently trading near highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been decreasing while revenues have been rising, which has left investors pleased. Relative to its peers and sector, US Airways has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for US Airways to OUTPERFORM.

Baron Funds Comments on Bonanza Creek Energy Inc.

Top Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now

Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. (BCEI) is an independent exploration and production company that is most active in the Niobrara Shale play in Northeast Colorado. The stock has performed well this quarter following improving drilling results from projects designed to fully understand the potential prospectivity of its acreage position in the Niobrara play. The stock also has benefited from management's decision to increase capital spending and accelerate the net present value of its resource base.

From Ron Baron's Baron Funds third quarter 2013 commentary.

Also check out: Ron Baron Undervalued Stocks Ron Baron Top Growth Companies Ron Baron High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Ron Baron keeps buying

Currently 4.00/512345 Rating: 4.0/5 (1 vote)

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Akerson dramatically improved GM in just three …

Dan Akerson, 65, announced his retirement Jan. 15 as CEO of General Motors after a remarkable three years of big profits, much-praised new models and an overhaul of the unseen parts of the company that could be even more important.

He'll be succeeded by Mary Barra, 51, GM's head of global product development.

BARRA: First female CEO at major automaker

Akerson said in a message to employees, "I will leave with great satisfaction in what we have accomplished, great optimism over what is ahead and great pride that we are restoring General Motors as America's standard bearer in the global auto industry."

PROFILE: Who is Mary Barra?

COLUMN: Barra excels in male-dominated industry

5 THINGS: Priorities for Barra as GM CEO

FROM SEPTEMBER: GM's Akerson: Female CEO inevitable

Akerson said he had planned to retire "mid- to late '14," but accelerated that because his wife recently was diagnosed with advanced cancer.

"I need to spend all of my time and energy fighting this disease with my wife," he said.

"Every board anticipates the proverbial bus hitting their CEO, so we have to plan for that. It was not my intention for my days at General Motors to end this way. But when you think of life's priorities, my family and my wife rank No. 1."

Akerson oversaw GM's return to the stock exchange as a public company, with an initial public stock offering November 2010, and its recovery from its government supervised 2009 bankruptcy reorganization. He has overseen some of the car company's most profitable quarters.

And cars developed on his watch have won impressive awards.

Cadillac ATS got the North American Car of the Year trophy. The 2014 Chevrolet Impala was called the "best sedan" by Consumer Reports, and is third-best car of any kind in the publication's' view, behind only the pricey Tesla S and BMW 1-series coupe.

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette was named Performance Car of the Year by Road & Track and Automobile of the Year by Auto! mobile magazine.

GM also dominates the finalists for the 2014 North American Car of the Year, taking two of the three spots with the Cadillac CTS and the Chevrolet Corvette. The Chevrolet Silverado is one of three finalists for the 2014 North American Truck/Utility of the Year.

The awards are a particular point of pride for him. He was a surprise pick for CEO and initially was derided for not being a "car guy." His background is in finance, telecommunications and engineering.

Akerson has worked hard on the less-flashy parts of the car business that GM has done poorly. And that might remake GM sufficiently to continue the post-Chapter 11 progress.

•Akerson integrated the company's accounting system so it could tell the source of its profits and losses. Previously the maker assigned those to the factory that made the vehicle, instead of the country in which it was sold.

Best Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014

•Akerson insisted on a business plan to justify new drivetrains, instead of simply accepting engineers' and planners' assertions that a new engine or transmission was necessary for a new car or truck.

•He demanded a streamlined in-house computer system that could more simply back up the company's files and easily track the manufacturing process.

•Akerson pushed hard for quicker adopting of available telecommunications technology. He walked out of a meeting when he was told a feature would be in a few years from now, instead of immediately.

•He dismantled what he considered the overly lavish executive suites, replacing them with smaller, more utilitarian spaces without private bathrooms. "They can walk down the hall to use the bathroom like everybody else," he commented to USA TODAY.

Any one or two of those changes would have been heroic under previous CEOs and GM's infamous bureaucracy of yore. Still, Akerson said, "As far as we've come, we've got tha! t far to ! go."

Top Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014

After early losses stocks are swinging back to positive territory early this afternoon before crashing about an hour before the close. At 3:15 p.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) us down 0.15% and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) is off 0.34% for the day. The big economic news of the day was a 4,000-person drop in jobless claims last week to 323,000. The four-week average, which smoothes out weekly volatility, is down to 336,750, the lowest it's been since November 2007. �

McDonald's� (NYSE: MCD  ) �is one of the big laggards, dropping 1.2% on continued pressure after weak same-store sales numbers. Global same-store sales dropped 0.6% on weakness in Asia. The drop in sales was short-term in nature because of the avian flu concerns in China so I would see the drop as an opportunity to buy. The stock has just a 16 forward P/E ratio and pays a 3% dividend so investors are getting a solid value right now.�

3M (NYSE: MMM  ) is trying its hardest to pull the Dow higher, gaining 1.8% today. There are no huge drivers of the stock, but investors are starting to realize the value in 3M stock and appreciate the small innovations the company is making. Shares trade at just 15 times forward estimates and pay a 2.4% dividend, which has grown for 53 straight years, so there's value there.

Top Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: ENSCO plc(ESV)

Ensco plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry. The company engages in the drilling of offshore oil and natural gas wells by providing its drilling rigs and crews under contracts with international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas companies. As of February 15, 2010, it owned and operated 42 jackup rigs, 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs, and 1 barge rig. The company also has 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs under construction. It operates in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. The company was formerly known as Ensco International plc and changed its name to Ensco plc in March 2010. Ensco plc was founded in 1975 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this segment, Jason and Taylor tell investors why they'll be watching shares of Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) , Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) this week.

• [By David Smith]

  Or there's Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) , owner of the world's second-largest drilling fleet, which earlier this week reported a surprisingly high 20% year-over-year growth in earnings. That's what happens when dayrates climb by 15%. Despite that, the company's forward P/E sits near a paltry 7.4 times. That, despite a forward indicted dividend yield of 3.60%.

Top Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Among individual stocks, Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) is the big winner in the Dow, rising 2.2% after analysts at Jefferies upgraded the stock. Many investors share the analyst firm's opinion that when you consider the various components of Merck's business, their value makes the stock's current price look attractive. So far, Merck hasn't been as aggressive as many of its peers, which have spun off major divisions in order to unlock value. Most recently, rival Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) took steps to divest itself of a larger portion of its stake in animal-health business Zoetis after having made a modest initial public offering of Zoetis shares earlier this year. Given enough pressure to do so, Merck might well join in on the spinoff fun.

• [By Sean Williams]

  More recently there was Merck's (NYSE: MRK  ) suvorexant, which received praise from the FDA's panel by a vote of 12-to-4 in favor of approval, yet also dealt with concerns about some 11% of patients who exhibited somnolence (a state of near-sleep) during the day. Lower doses of the drug reduced this occurrence to just 7%, but it wasn't enough to convince the FDA, which rejected the drug on dosing concerns. The overall consensus among the Street is that suvorexant's approval process could be delayed by one year or more.

Hot Bank Companies To Buy Right Now: Intel Corporation(INTC)

Intel Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of integrated circuits for computing and communications industries worldwide. It offers microprocessor products used in notebooks, netbooks, desktops, servers, workstations, storage products, embedded applications, communications products, consumer electronics devices, and handhelds. The company also provides system on chip products that integrate its core processing functionalities with other system components, such as graphics, audio, and video, onto a single chip. In addition, it offers chipset products that send data between the microprocessor and input, display, and storage devices, including keyboard, mouse, monitor, hard drive, and CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drives; motherboards designed for desktop, server, and workstation platforms, and that has connectors for attaching devices to the bus; and wired and wireless connectivity products consisting of network adapters and embedded wireless cards used to translate and transmit data across networks. Further, the company provides NAND flash memory products primarily used in portable memory storage devices, digital camera memory cards, and solid-state drives; software products comprising operating systems, middleware, and tools used to develop, run, and manage various enterprise, consumer, embedded, and handheld devices; and software development tools that enable the creation of applications. Additionally, it develops computing platforms, which are integrated hardware and software computing technologies designed to offer an optimized solution. The company sells its products principally to original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, PC components and other products users, and other manufacturers of industrial and communications equipment. It has a strategic alliance with Scientific Conservation Inc. Intel Corporation was founded in 1968 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  On the Dow today, all 30 components gained, with tech stocks leading the way, as Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) were up 3.2% and 2.8%, respectively. Intel's gain was, perhaps, driven by a report that said PC sales declined by less than expected last quarter, as computer shipments fell 11% instead of the 14% that economists had expected. That's a good sign because the chip maker is heavily dependent on PC demand. Microsoft, meanwhile, was up, as the company unveiled a major revamp today. CEO Steve Ballmer said the software giant would be organized around functions and development rather than products. The transition should streamline Windows capability for mobile products. Still, the reorganization puts more power in the hands of CEO Steve Ballmer, who has been criticized in the past for a lack of innovation, among other things.

Top Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. (ED)

Consolidated Edison, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides electric, gas, and steam utility services in the United States. It provides electric service to approximately 3.3 million customers and gas service to approximately 1.1 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, as well as provides steam service to office buildings and apartment houses in parts of Manhattan. The company also provides electric service to approximately 0.3 million customers in southeastern New York and in adjacent areas of northern New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania; and gas service to approximately 0.1 million customers in southeastern New York and adjacent areas of northeastern Pennsylvania. In addition, Consolidated Edison involves in the sale and related hedging of electricity to wholesale and retail customers; operation of generating plants; participation in other infrastructure projects; and provision of energy-efficiency services, including the design and installation of lighting retrofits, high-efficiency heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment, and other energy saving technologies to government and commercial customers. It serves residential, industrial, and large commercial customers. The company was founded in 1884 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) is an electric and gas utility holding company that serves parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1885 and has increased its dividend payments for 40 consecutive years. Yield: 3.2%

• [By Fredrik Arnold]

  The balance of the top ten included one technology firm, AT&T Inc. (T) in fourth place; one consumer goods, Altria Group Inc. (MO), placed fifth; Bowl America Class A (BWL.A) in seventh place was the lone service dog. Two utilities, Northwest Natural Gas (NWN), and Consolidated Edison (ED), in ninth and tenth places completed the representation of market sectors in the champions index.

Top Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Qualstar Corporation(QBAK)

Qualstar Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells automated magnetic tape libraries used to store, retrieve, and manage electronic data primarily in network computing environments worldwide. Its tape libraries consists of cartridge tape drives, tape cartridges, and robotics to move the cartridges from their storage locations to the tape drives under software control. The tape libraries also provide data storage solutions for organizations requiring backup, recovery, and archival storage of critical electronic information. The company also offers ancillary products related to its tape libraries, such as tape media, tape magazines, cables, bar code labels, and fiber channel adapters. In addition, it designs, develops, and sells switching power supplies that are used to convert alternate current line voltage to direct current voltages for use in electronic equipment, such as telecommunications equipment, servers, routers, switches, lighting, and gaming devices. Qualstar Corporation sells its tape drive products primarily to value added resellers and original equipment manufacturers, as well as switching power supplies primarily to original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, and distributors. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Simi Valley, California.

Top Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014: Pepsico Inc.(PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of foods, snacks, and carbonated and non-carbonated beverages worldwide. The company operates in four divisions: PepsiCo Americas Foods (PAF); PepsiCo Americas Beverages (PAB); PepsiCo Europe; and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA). The PAF division offers Lay?s and Ruffles potato chips, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips and dips, Cheetos cheese flavored snacks, Fritos corn chips, Quaker Chewy granola bars, and SunChips multigrain snacks in North America; Quaker oatmeal, Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Cap?n Crunch cereal, Quaker grits, and Life cereal, as well as Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Roni, and Near East side dishes in North America; and various snack foods under Doritos, Marias Gamesa, Cheetos, Ruffles, Emperador, Saladitas, Sabritas, and Lay?s brands in Latin America. The PAB division provides carbonated soft drinks, beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, 7UP, Tropicana Pure Premium, Electropura, Sierra Mist, Epura, and Mirinda brands; ready-to-drink tea, coffee, and water products through joint ventures with Unilever and Starbucks; and sells concentrate to authorized bottlers, and branded finished goods directly to independent distributors and retailers. This division also manufactures third-party brands, such as Dr Pepper, Crush, Rock Star, and Muscle Milk. The PepsiCo Europe division offers Frito Lay Snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices, and Quaker foods in Europe. The AMEA division provides snack food under the Lay?s, Kurkure, Chipsy, Doritos, Smith?s, Cheetos, Red Rock Deli, and Ruffles brands; Quaker-brand cereals and snacks; and beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under the Pepsi, Mirinda, 7UP, and Mountain Dew brands. PepsiCo, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 Dan Caplinger]

  On Thursday, PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) 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 Rick Munarriz]

  PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) introduced the berry-flavored soda in 2002. It turned heads originally, but it was doomed. Did I mention that it was Windex blue? PepsiCo tried to be edgy -- just as Coca-Cola thought it was being clever by appealing to Pepsi fans with the sweeter New Coke -- but at the end of the day, the product was just flat out undrinkable.