3 Capital Markets Stocks to Sell Now

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For the current week, the overall ratings of three capital markets stocks are worse, according to the Portfolio Graderdatabase. Each of these rates a “D” (“sell”) or “F” overall (“strong sell”).

This week, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. () falls to a D (“sell”), worse than last week’s grade of C (“hold”). Affiliated Managers operates as an asset management company providing investment management services to mutual funds, institutional clients, and high net worth individuals in the United States. The stock has a trailing PE Ratio of 29.40. .

This week, GFI Group () drops from a C to a D rating. GFI Group provides brokerage services and data and analytics products to institutional clients. The stock also gets an F in Earnings Revisions. The stock price has fallen 8.8% over the past month, worse than the 1.7% decrease the S&P 500 has seen over the same period of time. .

Medallion Financial’s () rating weakens this week, dropping to a D versus last week’s C. Medallion Financial is a specialty finance company that originates and services loans financing the purchase of taxicab medallions and related assets. The stock also rates an F in Earnings Surprise. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Show Me the Money, EnPro Industries

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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 EnPro Industries (NYSE: NPO  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, EnPro Industries generated $82.6 million cash while it booked net income of $41.0 million. That means it turned 7.0% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds OK.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

Top Mid Cap Stocks To Buy For 2014

So how does the cash flow at EnPro Industries look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

With questionable cash flows amounting to only 9.7% of operating cash flow, EnPro Industries's cash flows look clean. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, other operating activities (which can include deferred income taxes, pension charges, and other one-off items) provided the biggest boost, at 5.0% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures, which consumed 30.1% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Looking for alternatives to EnPro Industries? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add EnPro Industries to My Watchlist.

Short Interest In SolarCity Spikes, First Solar Falls (AEIS, FSLR, SCTY)

Among the leading U.S. solar-related stocks, Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ: AEIS), First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) and SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY) saw the largest swings in the number of shares sold short in the first two weeks of March.

Short interest in GT Advanced Technologies, SunEdison and SunPower Holdings increased modestly between the Feb. 28 and March 14 settlement dates. Short sellers shied away from RGS Energy, formerly Real Goods Solar, during the period.

Furthermore, the number of U.S.-listed shares (or ADRs) sold short of foreign-based company Canadian Solar increased by a double-digit percentage, while in China Sunergy, Trina Solar and Yingli Green Energy they grew somewhat. But short interest in Hanwha SolarOne, JA Solar Holdings, JinkoSolar, LDK Solar and ReneSola shrank in the period.

Related: Short Interest In Social Media On The Rise

Here is a quick look at how Advanced Energy Industries, First Solar and Solar City have fared, and what analysts expect from them.

Advanced Energy Industries

After this maker of power conversion products saw short interest retreat more than 11 percent in the previous period, it happened again: down about five percent to around 1.12 million shares by mid-March. That was about three percent of the float. The days to cover was more than two.

One of the company's co-founders announced his retirement from the board of directors in early March. The Colorado-based company has a market capitalization near $1 billion. Its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is higher than the industry average, and its return on equity is less than eight percent.

Four of the seven analysts who follow the stock and were surveyed by Thomson/First Call recommend buying shares. Their mean price target, where the analysts expect the share price to go, suggests there is more than 10 percent potential upside. But shares traded higher than that in early March.

The share price has fallen more than six percent over the past month, falling below the 50-day moving average. It is still up more than 16 percent year to date. The stock has outperformed competitor MKS Instruments and the broader markets over the past six months.

First Solar

Short interest in this Tempe, Arizona-based company dropped more than 18 percent from a year-to-date peak in the previous period, to around 10.60 million. The number of shares sold short represented more than 14 percent of the float. It would take less than three days to sell out all short positions.

First Solar recently announced the completion of a solar photovoltaic power plant in Japan. The company has a market cap of almost $7 billion. It offers no dividend. While the P/E ratio is less than the industry average, the operating margin is greater than the industry average.

The consensus recommendation of the analysts surveyed is to hold First Solar shares, and it has been for at least three months. The current share price is higher than the analysts' mean price target, meaning they see no upside potential at this time. One analyst sees 21 percent upside, however.

The share price is more than 36 percent higher than a month ago, most of that gain coming on release of optimistic guidance. Shares reached a new 52-week high this week. The stock has outperformed the likes of Linear Technology and Sharp, as well as the Nasdaq, over the past six months.

Related: Celgene, Pharmacyclics Lead Biotech Short Interest Trend

SolarCity

Short interest in this provider of solar energy systems to residential and commercial customers jumped more than 16 percent to more than 11.33 million shares. That was more than four times the number of shares short a year ago and represents almost 35 percent of the float. Days to cover was about two.

In March this San Mateo, California-based company announced plans to sell its wares in some Best Buy stores. SolarCity now has a market cap of more than $5 billion, but it does not offer a dividend. Note that both the return on equity and the operating margin are still in the red.

Only four of the 10 polled analysts recommend buying shares, with five of them rating the stock at Hold. A move to the analysts' mean price target would represent a gain of about 20 percent for investors. However, that consensus target is less than the 52-week high reached back in February.

The share price has pulled back more than 25 percent in the past month, falling below the 50-day moving average. But it is still almost 83 percent higher than six months ago. The stock has outperformed the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in that time, but underperformed smaller competitor RGS Energy.

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

Posted-In: Advanced Energy Industries Alternative Energy canadian solar China Sun Energy First Solar GT Advanced Technologies JA Solar Holdings ldk solar linear technology MKS Instruments Real Goods Solar ReneSola RGS Energy Sharp Solar Power SolarCity SunEdison SunPower Holdings Suntech Power Holdings Trina Solar yingli green energyNews Emerging Markets Guidance Short Ideas Global Markets Trading Ideas Best of Benzinga

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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King Digital CEO Confident In Future Following Rough IPO

King Digital Entertainment (NYSE: KING) CEO Riccardo Zacconi isn't crushed about anything. Maybe it's because he's sweet on mobile and social media.

"We developed a model which is pretty unique in industry to launch — to find, first of all, to create games which are successful," Zacconi said on CNBC's Squawk on the Street program, the day of Digital King's IPO.

"And the model is very simple," he continued, "so people say that the games business is a hit-driven business. This is 100 percent true. It is a hit-driven business. The only way to find a hit is to launch many games. And this is what we do on the web. We launch many, many games; we've been doing this now for more than 11 years and we've launched a portfolio of 180 games."

Related: 'Candy Crush' Maker King Digital Entertainment Gets Crushed: IPO Review For March 26

Zacconi explained their model is unique, in that they take their successful games and transfer them to mobile and social networks -- a process which they've replicated several times. These are spaces where their games can be easily accessed and are more profitable.

He cited Bubble Witch as the largest game on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) for PC users, with a total of three Digital King titles ranked in Facebook's top ten games. Farm Heroes, meanwhile, became one of the top ten grossing games for Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android in 11 days, and in less than six weeks for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS.

Zacconi said they're a very product-focused company, with most employees being developers; and their number of employees doubled as of last year. He called good employees the "biggest anchor for our growth."

"We think if the game is good, than the marketing is easy," said Zacconi.

King Digital has been down in trading since Wednesday's opening, with many media pundits and analysts alike calling the stock "sour."

"Today is the start of a marathon," said Zacconi regarding the King Digital IPO. "And I think the opportunity is great. If you believe in mobile, I don't think they're many ways to play mobile. So, games is a number one application, or sector in mobile…time spent with games is more than 70 percent on tablets; 40 percent on smartphones."

With confidence in the future as King Digital continues to churn out games, Zacconi isn't letting a bit of bad news leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Jason Cunningham had no position with the mentioned entities while writing this article.

Posted-In: Bubble Witch Candy Crush CNBC CNBC's Squawk on the Street Farm Heroes Riccardo ZacconiCNBC News Futures IPOs Hot Markets Tech Media Best of Benzinga

5 Best Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Are health insurance premiums tax deductible?

With the April 15 tax deadline fast approaching, you probably have questions. Fortunately, we have answers. Every day until April 15, members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants have agreed to answer selected tax questions from USA TODAY readers. Submit your questions to jwaggoner@usatoday.com.

Q. I work for a company, and do pay some (30%) of health insurance cost. Where can I deduct this expense on my federal tax forms?

A. All medical expenses paid out-of-pocket, including health insurance premiums, are reported as an itemized deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A, line 1. If you file a Form 1040A or 1040EZ, you cannot claim this expense.

Getting an actual tax benefit, though, is challenging.

First, total medical expenses are reduced by 10% of your AGI (2013 Form 1040, line 37) if you were born on or after 1/2/1949 (7.5% of AGI if born before that). Any remaining expenses are allowed as an itemized deduction.

Second, your total itemized deductions must be greater than your standard deduction in order for you to claim them. Your standard deduction depends on your filing status and age; it can be found in 1040 instructions or Publication 501, Table 6.

NEED HELP: Get all the latest tax news and advice

If your medical expenses can't clear these hurdles, you are not alone. Consider participating in your employer's flexible benefits plan if one is offered. These plans allow you to pay for medical expenses on a pre-tax basis, and bypass the 1040 hoops.

Christine A. Romsdahl, CPA/PFS, CFP Houston, TX

Previous questions:

Should my daughters file taxes?

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Deducting medical costs for an injury

A Taxing Proposition

A friend of mine recently had $5,000 he wanted to invest, and asked what I thought about Emerge Energy Services (NYSE: EMES). He wasn't familiar with how master limited partnerships are structured, or with the tax implications of investing in an MLP. With the tax season upon us, many of you are dealing with these issues right now. Some of you may be considering your first MLP. But you need to be sure you understand the trade-offs associated with MLP investing.

The first MLP was formed by Apache Oil Company in 1981. In 1987 Congress legislated the rules for publicly traded partnerships in Internal Revenue Code Section 7704. The rules state that at least 90 percent of an MLP's income must come from qualified sources, such as real estate or natural resources. Section 613 of the tax code requires qualifying energy sources to be depletable resources or their derivatives such as crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and coal.

Recent case-by-case Internal Revenue Service rulings have expanded the range of activities qualifying for MLP treatment. The MLP Parity Act — which I discussed in Is MLP Parity Act a Game Changer? — would further expand the definition of "qualified" sources to projects involving wind and solar power, as well as closed and open loop biomass, geothermal, municipal solid waste, hydropower, marine, fuel cells, and combined heat and power.

MLPs and Taxes

An MLP issues units rather than shares, and MLPs aren't taxed at the corporate level. MLPs pass profits directly to unitholders in the form of quarterly distributions. This arrangement avoids the double taxation of corporate income and dividends affecting traditional corporations and their shareholders and, all things being equal, should deliver more money to unitholders.

But the distributions aren't fully taxed either. Because of the depreciation allowance, 80 to 90 percent of the distribution is cons! idered a "return of capital" and thus not taxable when received. Instead, returns of capital reduce the cost basis of an investment in the MLP.

The rest of the distribution — typically 10 to 20 percent — is taxed at the recipient's income tax rate. But being able to defer the rest of the tax until the investment is sold is an advantage, since the income can be reinvested to generate compound returns that could more than pay for the eventual tax bill.

When you ultimately sell the units or the cost basis drops to zero, a portion of the capital gain is taxed at the special long-term capital gains tax rate, and the remainder at your normal income tax rate.

MLPs issue Schedule K-1 forms instead of the 1099 forms you may receive from a corporation, and the K-1 will reflect your share of the taxable income. Partnerships are not required to report their results until the April 15 following the calendar year-end. Most K-1′s are issued between late February and early April, which could certainly delay a tax return. You may not have to file for an extension, but you also may not be able to file before March.

The other thing to understand about MLPs and taxes is that the K-1 package will include a state schedule. This schedule details the MLP's share of income or loss attributed to each state in which it operates. For example, a pipeline may cut across 5 states and have reportable income in each state. You may be required to file state tax returns for each of these states, which means your tax reporting may be more complex and costlier, though most individual investors fall well under the threshold for having to do so .

Top Blue Chip Companies To Own For 2014

Cost-Benefit Analysis

What all of this means is that you have to weigh the additional complications against the income you can expect to receive. Let's consider the example of my friend's $5,000. Eme! rge Energ! y Services is probably not a good MLP to use for this example, because its distribution and appreciation were highly atypical over the past year. Instead we will consider Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), the largest publicly traded MLP and one more representative of the "typical" partnership.

Assume that my friend made this investment one year ago. Over the past year, EPD has yielded about 4 percent. So for an investment of $5,000, my friend would have received a total distribution of $200. As much as 90 percent of this could have been treated as a return of capital, leaving him with $20 of taxable income on his $5,000 investment. EPD also appreciated by 17 percent over the past year, which would have increased the size of his investment to $5,850. His cost basis would have been reduced to $4,820 (the initial $5,000 investment minus $180 of the distribution treated as a return of capital).

So my friend in this case would have been about $1,000 better off, but he now has to weigh that against tax complications. Further, that 17 percent appreciation is certainly not a sure thing, so he could end up with tax hassles over a mere $200 of income.

Alternatives Abound

Every person's threshold is different, but $5,000 is definitely on the low side to invest in an MLP given the tax complications. If you are an investor seeking capital appreciation, I would instead invest in a corporation. If you have $5,000 and want exposure to an MLP structure, you can either invest in a mutual fund or an exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in MLPs. See my recent article An Enticing Discount on MLPs for more information on these investments.

Or you could invest in an MLP that has chosen to be taxed like a corporation. I detail some of these options in Marshalling the Marines. In both cases you will receive a 1099 instead of a K-1, but you give up some of the tax advantages from the MLP structure. However you retain the potential to still benefit if you believe the MLP sector will ! strongly ! advance this year. These sorts of investments are also more suitable if you want MLP exposure within an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a 401(k) plan.

Conclusions

The MLP sector has grown dramatically over the past decade, and now garners attention from less-experienced investors. It is very important that those who are unfamiliar with the basics of MLPs take time to understand their tax implications. It is also important to understand that the value of an MLP — just like that of shares in a corporation — can fluctuate.

MLPs are most advantageous when held for long periods, because you get more time to compound the tax-deferred income. But make sure the income you do expect to receive is worth the trouble when it is time to pay your taxes.

(Follow Robert Rapier on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.)

 

Apple In Talks with Comcast for Streaming TV Service

cinz/Flickr Apple (AAPL) is in talks with Comcast to enter into a deal for a streaming-television service that would allow Apple set-top boxes to bypass congestion on the Web, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The discussions are in early stages and there are a lot of hurdles to be crossed before a definitive agreement could be reached, the Journal said. Apple, which wants its TV service's traffic to be separated from public internet traffic over the "last mile" for faster transmission, is looking for special treatment from Comcast's (CMCSA) (CMCSK) cables to bypass congestion, the report said. Comcast and Apple declined to comment on the report. Apple has been in talks for a faster TV set-top box with Time Warner Cable (TWC), which recently agreed to be bought by Comcast. Apple's $99 TV box competes with similar streaming devices from Roku and Google (GOOG). Netflix agreed last month to pay Comcast for faster speeds, throwing open the possibility that more content companies will have to shell out for better service.

5 Dangerous High-Yield Dividend Stocks

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Dividend stocks are often most alluring when they are at their most dangerous.

Sure, it’s hard resist dividend stocks yielding more than, say, 10%, but it’s critical that you know where that yield comes from. Crazy-high yields on dividend stocks are usually a sign of trouble — even for real-estate investment trusts, utilities and telecommunications companies that are supposed to sport fat yields.

As with bonds, the yield on dividend stocks will rise as the price falls. If a stock’s price falls so much that the dividend is hitting double-digits, the market is probably trying to tell you something about its health.

Recognizing that relationship is critical because troubled companies have a nasty habit of cutting or suspending their dividends in order to conserve cash, and anything that messes with dividends is guaranteed to dividend stocks tumble. JCPenney (JCP), for example, dropped 20% in a single session following a divided cut back in 2012 (and it hasn’t been a worthwhile buy ever since).

There is no shortage of dividend stocks yielding more than 10% — a yield that’s essentially the same as a junk bond. We found more than 85 of them after running a simple screen, and many of them are large, legitimate companies — not unstable, speculative microcaps. But that doesn’t mean you should buy them.

Here are five dividend stocks with dangerously high yields that you would do well to avoid:

VimpelCom (VIP)

Market Cap: $15.4 billion
Dividend Yield: 10%
YTD Price Performance: -32%

VimpelCom (VIP), a sprawling Russian telecommunications company with more than 200 million mobile subscribers, is not having a good couple of years.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Dutch authorities are investigating the company over alleged fraud in its Uzbekistan unit. Additionally, the telecom controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman just wrote down the value of its Ukrainian business by $2 billion because of the political unrest there.

With all those troubles, the company posted a net loss of $1.4 billion on a 7% drop in sales for its full fiscal year. Don’t be surprised if this dividend stock falls further on more write-offs and dividend cuts in the near future.

Alto Palermo (APSA)

Market Cap: $497 million
Dividend Yield: 10%
YTD Price Performance: -22%

Alto Palermo (APSA) is a REIT that owns and operates shopping centers as well as residential and commercial complexes. As a REIT, it is required to pay out most of its earnings in dividends, and there’s nothing inherently fishy about a REIT with a yield of 10%.

The only thing really wrong with Alto Palmero is beyond its control: It’s located in Argentina. With an unofficial inflation rate running as high as 25% (no one believes the official figures), capital flight and currency controls, rapidly rising wages, and an interventionist government, Argentina isn’t particularly attractive to investors these days.

Regardless of the fundamentals, the sentiment on Argentina is too negative to take a risk with APSA stock.

Atlantic Power (AT)

Market Cap: $326 million
Dividend Yield: 13%
YTD Price Performance: -19%

Atlantic Power (AT) is a small-cap electric utility that sells power to other utilities and corporate customers. Shares have plummeted because a weak power market forced AT to cut its dividend by 65% last year. What’s worse is that even though Atlantic Power refinanced its heavy debt load, the market is still worried that it could cut the dividend again in the not-too-distant future.

Furthermore, some restive shareholders didn’t want the company to buy time by restructuring its debt (a very expensive way to go). Rather, they wanted the company just to sell itself to a bigger operator.

As attractive as the 12.6% yield might be, you can’t count on it — and that’s always a dealbreaker when it comes to dividend stocks.

Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras Eletrobras (EBR)

Market Cap: $3 billion
Dividend Yield: 18.4%
YTD Price Performance: -14%

Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras (EBR) — also know as Eletrobras, Latin America’s largest utility company — is also taking a hit for reasons well beyond its control.

Brazil had the third-highest electricity prices in the world until the government targeted a reduction of 20% as part of stimulus program. That took a huge bite out of Elertrobras’s margins. For the most recent fiscal year, Electrobras posted a net loss of $3.4 billion, all because the government forced to accept lower prices. Analysts forecast Electrobras to book a net loss this year, too.

The current economic and political environment makes it hard to see what possible catalyst could pull EBR stock out of negative territory any time soon. EBR’s payouts have been erratic, so the stock’s dividend yield is basically a roll of the dice. Worst of all, EBB still has no profits. For dividend stocks, that’s another dealbreaker.

Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico (BSMX)

Market Cap: $14.9 billion
Dividend Yield: 11.4%
YTD Price Performance: -20%

Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico (BSMX) is the Mexican arm of Banco Santander (SAN), the sprawling Spanish bank. Like its parent, BSMX is having a tough time. BSMX plans to issue $1.18 in dividends in the next 52 weeks, which would be a yield of 11.4%, based on current prices. But even that isn’t enough to make up for the troubles it’s facing.

Profit fell 29% for the most recent fiscal year on much higher provisions for loan losses, and analysts aren’t expecting business to get better this year. Indeed, BSMX stock has suffered a slew of analyst estimate cuts and downgrades recently.

Most worrisome is that the Mexican banking sector and economy is doing fairly well. The profitability problems at BSMX are company-specific, including “an inflated 2013 profit base,” according to analysts at Citigroup.

Like what you see? Sign up for our Dividend Insights e-letter and get income investment advice delivered to your inbox every Friday!

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

Coach: A Champion Among Luxury Retailers

As a luxury brand retailer, Coach Inc. (COH) enjoys strong pricing power, sourcing and distribution advantages, as well as capital efficiency, making it one of the top companies in the industry with a narrow economic moat. Its high quality handbags and accessories, sold at a more attractive price than its competitors, have garnered a large customer base with strong brand loyalty, resulting in a business with excess economic profits. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that investment gurus like John Griffin (Trades, Portfolio) and David Rolfe (Trades, Portfolio) recently acquired over 1 million shares in this company, hoping to gain long term rewards.

Of Capital Efficiency and International Expansion

The year 2014 is set to be a year of change for Coach, as former CEO Lew Frankfort was replaced by Baccarat's ex-CEO Victor Luis, who is set on strengthening the company's international business segment, as well as the expanding into the ready-to-wear and footwear market categories. However, while Luis has conveyed a new team of designers, including a new creative director, to efficiently penetrate the market, the firm's luxury bags and leather accessories are likely to remain the core business. Nonetheless, Coach's international business will provide strong growth opportunities, as 60% of sales currently come from the 550 North American retail stores. The company entered the European market in 2012 via department store partnerships, and management is expecting ongoing penetration (20 retail stores acquired in 2014) to result in $500 million in sales over the next five years.

The luxury retailers Japan business has also been a long-run success, maintaining single-digit growth rates for the past ten years, while competitors reported declines in the same market. Furthermore, Coach's efficiency in designing, distributing, and sourcing its products have led to impeccable industry leading operating margins above 30% and gross margins of 72%, evidencing some pricing power in its competing category. Also, while China's business is still lagging behind other luxury brands in sales, the firm sees significant growth potential in this segment, due to lower operating costs and higher gross margins. Thus, fiscal 2014's projection of $530 million in sales for China seems accurate and should contribute to the firm's excess returns on capital, which have averaged 40% over the past five years (currently at 42.9%).

Valuation and Future Outlook

I believe Coach's efforts to develop the underpenetrated international market is a clever strategy, as revenue for same-store sales in North America is expected to decline by -4%. Moreover, the current operating margin of 31% is bound to drop to 27%, consequence of general and administrative spending, as well as control of selling. Nonetheless, the 10-year forecast period predicts these margins to stay above 27%, which seems plausible given the company's historical values. Revenue growth also remains healthy, at a 15.8% growth rate, which should increase as the Chinese market segment blossoms.

Best Value Stocks To Buy Right Now

Although Coach runs some risk of damaging its core image through its ambitious expansion plan to become a full lifestyle brand, I remain bullish that the affordable prices for luxury goods will retain most of the company's customer base. On another note, investors should keep in mind that this firm's sports a healthy 2.69% dividend yield, in addition to its 29.3% ROA and 15.7% EPS growth rate. When added to the 0-debt levels and the stocks trading price discount of 21% relative to the industry average of 18.4x, I think it's clear that Coach is an absolute champion investment.

Disclosure: Patricio Kehoe hold no position in any stocks mentioned.

Also check out: David Rolfe Undervalued Stocks David Rolfe Top Growth Companies David Rolfe High Yield stocks, and Stocks that David Rolfe keeps buying
About the author:Patricio KehoeA fundamental analyst at Lone Tree Analytics

Currently 5.00/512345 Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote)

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SIFMA, Chamber give thumbs down to Finra's data collection proposal

Two more financial industry groups have called on Finra to rethink a proposal to collect reams of brokerage account information that the organization says will help it better detect fraudulent sales practices.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the trade group for large broker-dealers, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed comment letters Friday and late Thursday, respectively, opposing Finra's Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System. They join the Financial Services Institute Inc., a lobbying group for independent broker-dealers, in criticizing the idea.

The broker-dealer regulator put out a concept proposal in December. The comment deadline was Friday.

SIFMA warned that financial firms would be burdened with significant technology and compliance costs and that customers' financial privacy would be put at risk.

“CARDS would require firms to develop new systems and/or dramatically modify existing systems to collect data elements that they do not have currently, create storage capacity to store vast amounts of new data, develop methods to standardize data format … and save the data for an unspecified period of time,” wrote Ira Hammerman, SIFMA executive vice president and general counsel. “The information that will be requested through CARDS is a road map to an individual's financial life and virtually all investors' information will be housed in one place.”

The Chamber said the system's costs would outweigh its benefits.

“While efforts to streamline and standardize this data collection are laudable, the [Chamber] remains very concerned that any wholesale changes to the way in which broker-dealers provide data to Finra will come at a significant cost not only to broker-dealers but also to their customers,” wrote David Hirschmann, president and chief executive of the Chamber's Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.

5 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014

5 Best Low Price Stocks To Own For 2014: Drinks Americas Holdings Ltd (DKAM)

Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd., incorporated in February 14, 2005, develops, produces, markets and/or distributes alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for sale primarily in the continental United States. Through its majority-owned subsidiaries, Drinks imports, distributes and markets premium wine and spirits and alcoholic beverages to beverage wholesalers throughout the United States and internationally. The alcoholic products distributed by the Company are KAH Tequila, Old Whiskey River Bourbon (R), Rheingold Beer, Damiana, a Mexican liqueur, Mexicali Beer, Agave 99, Chili Devil Beer, Crazy PigAle and Red Pig Ale. In June, 2011 the Company acquired the rights to distribute and market existing brands and products from Fabrica De Tequilas Finos S.A. de C.V. (Finos) and Cervecera Mexicana, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Cerveceria). In June 2011, the Company acquired the rights to distribute and market existing brands and products through a licensing agreement with Worldwide Beverage Imports, LLC, (WBI). On November 2, 2011, the Company acquired worldwide licensing and distribution rights on both the spirits and beer products owned or licensed by WBI. In June 2013, the Company announced the development of Drinks Americas Consumer Beverage Consulting Division.

The Company owns, distributes or licenses or collects royalties from a number of Spirits Brands to include Old Whiskey River Bourbon, Damiana Liqueur and Rheingold Beer. The Company owns 25% interest in Old Whiskey River Distilling Company, LLC which owns or licenses the related trademarks and trade names associated with the Old Whiskey River products.

The Company compets with Diageo, Allied Domecq, Pernod Ricard, Brown-Forman and Bacardi & Company, Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Say whatever you want about Drinks Am! ericas Holdings, Ltd. (OTCMKTS:DKAM), but one thing is undeniable... this company is producing a lot of revenue despite being a very small company. More specifically, the DKAM market cap is abnormally low relative to the sales figures the company is putting up.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd (OTCMKTS: DKAM), 7 Star Entertainment Inc (OTCMKTS: SAEE), Rising India Inc (OTCMKTS: RSII) and Big Tree Group Inc (OTCMKTS: BIGG) have all been attracting attention thanks to paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed and paid for promotions or investor relation activities, but they can backfire on unwary investors and traders alike. So are stock promoters blowing a bunch of hot air regarding these four small cap stocks or are they actually potential winners? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide:

  Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd (OTCMKTS: DKAM) Has One of the Top Beers of 2013

  Small cap Drinks Americas Holdings mission is to identify and invest the majority brand-building resources on beers and spirits with the greatest growth potential. Currently, Drinks Americas is the exclusive United States broker for leading premium authentic Mexican beers currently available in over 32 states, hundreds of chain retailers and restaurants and is on target to be the leading broker for this growing category in each of the markets in which it operates. On Friday, Drinks Americas Holdings rose 2.15% to $0.0095 for a market cap of $280,110 plus DKAM is down 89.3% over the past year and down 94.6% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Even though you're reading this now, odds are that three weeks ago you'd never even heard of Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd. (OTCMKTS:DKAM). And, like so many other young, nano-cap stocks, it would be easy to assume the current strength being exhibited by DKAM is nothing but a short-term phenomenon, meaning there's no! particul! ar reason to jump on the stock now. If there was ever a reason to jump onto a micro cap name for a quick trade though, this may be it.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap stocks MedCAREERS Group Inc (OTCMKTS: MCGI), USmart Mobile Device Inc (OTCMKTS: UMDI) and Drinks Americas Holdings, Ltd (OTCMKTS: DKAM) were all over the place with the first two sinking 54% and 48.05%, respectively, while the last one rose 10.81%. It should be mentioned that all three small cap stocks have been the subject of paid promotions albeit none of these stocks have been over promoted. So where can investors and traders expect these stocks to head this week? Here is a quick look at what you might expect:

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/5-best-low-price-stocks-to-own-for-2014.html

Top Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014

Top Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: Silvercorp Metals Inc(SVM)

Silvercorp Metals Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of silver mineral properties in China and Canada. The company holds interests in four silver, lead, and zinc mines, including the Ying Project, the HPG Project, the TLP Project, and the LM Project at the Ying Mining Camp in the Henan Province of China. It also holds interests in the GC Project, a silver, lead, and zinc mine in the Guangdong Province; and the BYP gold, lead, and zinc mine project in Hunan province, as well as the Silvertip silver, lead, and zinc mine project in northern British Columbia, Canada. The company was formerly known as SKN Resources Ltd. and changed its name to Silvercorp Metals Inc. in May 2005. Silvercorp Metals Inc. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of silver miner Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM  ) plunged 12% yesterday after its quarterly results disappointed Wall Street.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Silver: This industry jumped 2.71% by 10:40 am. The top performer in this industry was Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM), which rose 5%. Silver futures jumped 3.28% to trade at $20.01 an ounce.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM) shares fell 1.30% to touch a new 52-week low of $2.19. Silvercorp's PEG ratio is 5.18.

  Bancolombia SA (NYSE: CIB) shares touched a new 52-week low of $47.94. Bancolombia's trailing-twelve-month ROA is 1.45%.

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  The recent sell-off in precious metals has boosted the dividend yield on various silver companies, including Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) . Current conditions give investors the chance to own this best-in-class silver streaming company with both a strong income element and plenty of upsid! e. Unlike miners Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) and Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM  ) , which offer higher dividend yields, Silver Wheaton has important advantages.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-canadian-companies-to-watch-for-2014.html

Retirement Confidence Up for No Good Reason: EBRI

Confidence in retirement security is up, according to EBRI’s 24th annual Retirement Confidence Survey, but the organization was reluctant to declare victory. Although more Americans reported feeling confident in 2014 than in the last five years, EBRI did not find they’re more prepared.

The survey found 37% of Americans are at least somewhat confident about their ability to retire comfortably, with 18% saying they are very confident, up from 13% last year. However, the percentage who said they were not at all confident is statistically unchanged at nearly a quarter, according to the report.

On the bright side (and not very surprising), the survey found confidence is higher among those who participate in a retirement plan, either through their workplace or in an individual account.

“When we compare the shifts in confidence between the 2014 and 2013 surveys, the increase in confidence was almost exclusively among those with a retirement plan,” Jack VanDerhei, research director for EBRI, said on a call discussing the results on Tuesday.

However, savings are still low and few respondents reported taking basic steps to prepare for retirement. The survey found 35% of workers have not saved any money at all for retirement, and only 57% are actively saving.

“Beyond participation in a retirement plan, there appeared to be no significant behavioral change to account for the change in confidence,” VanDerhei said. “Indeed, many clear warning signs about Americans’ lack of preparation for retirement have not changed. In aggregate, workers were no more likely to have done a retirement needs calculation, to have saved for retirement or to report savings amounts significantly larger than that captured in 2013.”

Greg Burrows, senior vice president of retirement and investor services for The Principal, spoke about the survey results in an interview with ThinkAdvisor on Monday. He noted how important it is for workers to assess what their actual retirement needs will be, rather than just guessing.

“One thing we look at is the percentage of workers using calculators, and still only about 44% use them, which means over half are still guessing at what their needs are,” Burrows said. “Amongst our clients and participants, we find that those who use retirement calculators, 40% of them take positive action and on average they’re saving about 40% more.”

Almost half of workers without a retirement plan said they were not at all confident about their retirement prospects, compared with about one-tenth of people who do have a plan.

Not only are those without a plan worried about their retirement, they’re not showing any improvement. Among workers who have a retirement plan, those who reported feeling very confident nearly doubled from 14% in 2013 to 24% this year, while those without a plan dropped one point to 9%.

The bad news keeps piling up for workers who don’t have a retirement plan. EBRI found that almost three-quarters of those who say they or their spouse don’t have a plan have less than $1,000 in total assets saved.

Burrows noted that percentage of workers with such meager savings has increased over the past five years by more than 50%. “There’s a disconnect between an awareness of the need to save versus the action behind the saving itself,” he said. “We’d recommend people really concentrate on understanding their expenses so they can make saving part of their lifestyle and they can think about savings as a consumption item to incorporate in their planning process.”

The worst part is workers know they need to save more. More than 20% of workers said they needed to save at least 30% of their income. Almost a quarter of those without a retirement plan said they needed to save at least 50% or that they had no idea how much they should be saving.

EBRI credited the confidence boost to market improvements.

“One possible reason for the improved confidence is the rising stock market and property values, and to the extent that those factors carry forward to retirement savings account balances, there may be merit to that assessment,” VanDerhei said.

Mathew Greenwald, president of Mathew Greenwald & Associates, which conducted the survey for EBRI, agreed with the assessment that economic improvements drive investors’ optimism. “It appears that people make some assumptions about how financially secure they will be in the future based on how well the economy is performing now,” he said on the call. However, “with economic conditions being somewhat cyclical, this obviously is not a good way of making judgments or predictions about the future.”

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014

There were the same familiar obstacles to saving—cost of living, day-to-day expenses—but the study found debt is another major impediment. Of workers who said debt was a major problem for them, just 3% said they are very confident about their ability to retire. By comparison, 29% of workers who said debt was not a problem reported feeling very confident.

Debt affects retirees, too. Forty-four percent of retirees said they were uncomfortable with their level of debt. Nearly 60% of workers agreed.

Burrows urged advisors to work with their clients on a budget to identify where they can cut back and address problems with debt.

“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of understanding the expense side of the ledger in order to put yourself in a position to save,” he said. “Saving’s not an easy thing. It’s not unlike a diet. When you start a diet you think about what you eat and monitoring what you do. With more information, people can be in a better position to make decisions that might be helpful to them. It really does start with some of the basics. We understand that the basics can be really hard, but they’re really important, especially over the long term.”

Another troubling finding in the 2014 survey is that current workers may rely too much on their chances of just working longer if they reach retirement age and don’t have enough. Two-thirds of workers said they plan to work for pay in retirement. However, only 27% of retirees said they do so.

“We seem to be in the midst of a redefinition of retirement,” Greenwald said. “The biggest shift we have seen in the 24 years we have conducted the Retirement Confidence Survey is the movement of workers toward planning to work later in life.”

Greenwald noted that in 1991, 84% of workers planned to retire at 65 or younger, and just 9% planned to work to 70. Now, 50% plan to stop by age 65 and 22% plan to work until at least 70. Furthermore, “Even with the planned delay in retirement, three in four expect that either they or their spouse work for pay after they retire.”

Greenwald said that this represents a “change in the very life course” for many people. “The goal of retiring reasonably young and enjoying retirement when they’re, as they say, ‘young enough to enjoy it’ is being replaced by an expectation by many of working to an age that has been considered by many to be fairly old.”

That’s a consistent theme among workers, too, according to Burrows. “Where advisors can be very helpful when they build a long-term plan is to not necessarily depend on being able to work in retirement as the backbone of their retirement strategy. Let that be a bonus to a retirement strategy.” Burrows noted that more than 60% of retirees indicated they couldn’t work in retirement for their own personal health reasons or those of a family member.

A Gallup survey conducted last spring found that, on average, current retirees left the work force at 61.

VanDerhei said that with proposals to alter the limits and tax preferences currently provided to workplace plans this year, respondents were asked how they would respond if the law was changed so they could no longer contribute to retirement plans on a pre-tax basis. “Perhaps responding to their already expressed sense of shortfalls or concerns about the future tax environment, two-thirds say they would continue to contribute at their current rates, though 10% indicate they would reduce the amount they contribute and 5% say they would quit contributing altogether,” he said.

EBRI released the 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey, conducted in January by Mathew Greenwald & Associates, on Tuesday. The survey is based on information gathered in 20-minute phone interviews with 1,000 working Americans and 501 retirees.

Top Gold Companies To Buy For 2014

Top Gold Companies To Buy For 2014: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe] ating price of the commodity, along with the geopolitical risks involved in mining in African nations such as Ghana, are just two of the obstacles the firm is facing. In addition, as one of the smallest gold mining firms in the industry, with a market cap of just $122 million, Golden Star has had a very difficult time financing its latest expansion projects. With share prices tumbling towards all-time lows, gurus such as Steven Cohen, Chuck Royce and Arnold Schneider have already sold out their positions in the troubled firm.

  Why Have Gurus Lost Faith in Golden Star?

  Despite aggressive expansion over the past decade, the Toronto-based gold mining firm has not been able to take advantage of its increased production output. Gold prices might have exploded over a ten-year period, yet the recent six-month decline has put a huge strain on Golden Star. The expedited maturation of its mines is particularly troubling, since the accelera! ted extraction rates, which allowed for short-term profits, are now falling considerably. The impact of the company's excessive overproduction on profits and growth is clear: decreasing gold reserves mean less production, and thus reduced revenue for the gold miner. When the decline in metal prices are taken into account, the outlook is even more grim.

  In addition to overexpansion at the wrong time, Golden Star's position has weakened due to its comparably less efficient operations. Unlike industry peers, such as IamGold Corp. (IAG) or Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI), the majority of the Toronto-based miner's assets contain refractory ore, which is far more expensive to extract than non refractory ore. And, in an attempt to switch production to the lower cost gold ore, and thus increase margins, Golden Star has depleted its mines' non refractory ore. With low reserves and mounting cash costs, the firm inevitably turned to new acquisitions.

  Overpriced Acquisitions and Geopolitical Risk

  The purchase

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Clash of the titans
  When bears are raging on the gold bullion market, it's not surprising to see gold stocks getting mauled as well. Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  ) was the biggest loser in the sector, losing a quarter of its market cap on no company-specific news, though a report last Friday indicated that a large number of hedge funds had recently dumped their positions in the mid-tier miner. Yet it wasn't all that much better among the majors, either, as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) fell almost 13% and Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC  ) was down 14%.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  )
  It's simple physics: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. When gold prices nosedived earlier this week, gold miners with historically higher operating costs took the brunt of the hit. For the most part, that meant that development-stage miners, and those o! perating ! in Africa, where labor and political costs make cost-effective mining a challenge, took it on the chin. Possibly no stock was hammered more than Golden Star Resources, a gold miner in Ghana, which lost about one-quarter of its value on Monday alone.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-gold-companies-to-buy-for-2014.html

Kodak taps tech investment exec as CEO

Eastman Kodak Co. has a new CEO.

Jeffrey J. Clarke, 52, is managing partner of Augusta Columbia Capital, a New York investment firm specializing in technology companies. Prior to that, he was chairman of Travelport Inc., a travel technology firm.

Clarke is a State University College at Geneseo graduate with a bachelor's degree in economics.

Special report: Out of bankruptcy, into a new era

In a statement, Kodak board Chairman James V. Continenza said, "Jeff is the right person to lead Kodak forward. His combination of strengths and experience in technology, transformation, finance, operations, and international business is precisely what we set out to find in the next leader of Kodak. His past leadership positions have included businesses selling hardware, software and services, and printing — with B2B customers as well as consumers."

Clarke's hiring ends the tumultuous tenure of CEO Antonio M. Perez, who has headed the iconic Rochester company since 2005. Under Perez's tenure, Kodak shed numerous businesses and legions of employees and went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of the company's efforts to reinvent itself from its traditional, film and photography roots. Under Perez, Kodak has now positioned itself as a printing technology company, specializing in inkjet and packaging printing and in using printing-related processes for manufacturing such products as touchscreen thin films.

Perez announced in July that he would leave Kodak within a year.

In a statement, Clarke said Kodak "has some extraordinary opportunities, especially those presented by the company's proprietary technology in commercial printing, packaging and functional printing. Kodak has made excellent progress, building on one of the most successful reorganizations in recent years, and I look forward to continuing the work underway in transforming Kodak into a global B2B technology leader.

"My first priority is to spend my time listening to Kodak's employees, customers, partners a! nd other stakeholders as part of a detailed evaluation of our operations, market opportunities and approach for success. Once that work is complete, I look forward to sharing our conclusions."

According to paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Clarke was hired with an annual base salary of $1 million. He also received $3 million in restricted stock and $1 million in stock options. And he is eligible for bonuses under the company's Executive Compensation for Excellence and Leadership Plan.

Daneman also reports for the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

The worst-paying cities for women

Despite improving since the 1960s, the gender pay gap is still quite wide in the United States. Moreover, the gap seems to have leveled off in recent years, remaining at a substantial level. In 2012, women's median earnings were just 78.3% those of men's median earnings. In dollar terms, women made $10,404 less than men that year.

Income disparity between men and women is not even across the country. Female workers in Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., made nearly as much as men in the area in 2012. On the other hand, women in Provo-Orem, Utah, had median earnings of just 63.4% of what their male counterparts earned in 2012. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed America's 100 most populous metro areas to find the cities with the smallest and widest gender wage gap.

Several factors have an impact on gender pay gap, including women's participation in the workforce, the dominant industry, life choices, and labor laws, to name a few. Some industries pay men and women more equally than others. Most notably, in the construction sector, women's median earnings were nearly identical to men's in 2012. Still, across the U.S. women earned considerably less than men in a number of industries, including finance and insurance, where the median earnings for women were just 56% those of men.

Industries that paid women poorly tended to be less prominent in the cities with the narrowest wage gap. One such industry is manufacturing, where nationwide women had median earnings equal to just 73% those of men in 2012. In seven of the nation's 10 metro areas with the narrowest gap, manufacturing comprised 25% or less of total employment.

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Similarly, jobs with the wider gender pay gaps were less prominent in cities with a narrow gap. According to Ariane Hegewisch, study director at the Institute For Women's Policy Research (IWPR), in many cases commission-based jobs, such as sales jobs, can have larger pay gaps. "A lot of it depends on whether you have access to fungible issues such as bo! nus, commission, end of year [compensation]," Hegewisch told 24/7 Wall St.

Culture may also play a role in determining women's pay in some parts of the country. Hegewisch gave Utah as an example. "The state has a very large wage gap but has very well educated women, and I'm sure that has something to do with the ideas of women and family and work," Hegewisch said. Indeed, both the Provo and Ogden, Utah, metro areas are among the 10 metro areas with the widest wage gap.

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A small gender wage gap in a particular city does not necessarily mean women are paid well compared with women in other cities. For example, women working full-time in Bridgeport — where the gender gap was among the worst — earned a median of $51,649 in 2012, considerably more than in other cities. Female residents of the McAllen metro area, on the other hand, earned less than $30,000, but the area's gender wage gap was among the smallest nationwide.

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Based on figures published by the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 2012, 24/7 Wall St. identified the metropolitan statistical areas with the largest and smallest differences in median earnings between men and women. We also considered median earnings for specific sectors, sub-sectors, and occupations, as well as median household income. Data on the percentage of women and men in specific sectors, as well as the contribution of such sectors to total employment in a metro area was also reviewed.

THESE ARE THE WORST-PAYING CITIES FOR WOMEN

10. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn., metro area

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 72.6%
> Median earnings for men: $71,109 (2nd highest)
> Median earnings for women: $51,649 (4th highest)

Women living in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area were among the highest paid in the country in terms of median earnings. Despite this, they earned only about 73 cents for every dollar men in the ar! ea earned! — among the widest gender income gaps in the country. The area is home to some of the top performing hedge funds in the world, and women in the area working in the finance and insurance sector had higher median earnings than women working in this sector among the 100 largest metro areas. Still, the pay gap between men and women working in the finance sector in the area was even worse, with women earning a little less than 53 cents for every dollar men earned.

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9. Pittsburgh metro area

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 72.5%
> Median earnings for men: $50,825 (31st highest)
> Median earnings for women: $36,876 (46th lowest)

Pittsburgh was one of the best-paying cities in the transportation and utilities sector, which includes jobs in freight, storage, and power generation, among others. The sector paid a median salary of $55,725 in the area during 2012. Jobs in the sector, however, were predominantly held by men, who accounted for almost 78% of the sector's headcount. Salaries in the sector were similarly skewed towards men, whose median earnings exceeded $58,000, while women were paid barely $47,000 in 2012. Even in the educational services, health care and social assistance sector, where women accounted for 69% of all employees, pay was still higher for men. The median earnings for a woman in the sector were more than $10,000 lower than those of men in 2012.

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8. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 71.5%
> Median earnings for men: $49,879 (41st highest)
> Median earnings for women: $35,687 (35th lowest)

Women's median earnings in the Ogden metro area were just $35,687 in 2012 , ranking 66th among the nation's 100 largest metro areas. By contrast, the median earnings for men in the area were nearly $50,000, ranking 41st. The area's real estate sector was the best paying of any major metro area, with medi! an earnin! gs of $63,963 in 2012. In this sector, too, women were paid far less than men. Women working in real estate earned slightly more than $55,000 in 2012, versus the $81,278 that men earned.

BEST-PAYING CITIES FOR WOMEN? There's a list for that, too -- at 24/7 Wall St.

7. St. Louis metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 71.2%
> Median earnings for men: $51,788 (23rd highest)
> Median earnings for women: $36,884 (47th lowest)

Women in the St. Louis area had median annual earnings of just $36,884 in 2012, in the bottom half among the 100 largest metro areas. Men in the area had median annual earnings of $51,788 that year, in the top 25% of all major metro areas. Even in the educational and health care sector, in which women outnumbered men roughly three to one, women still made only 74 cents for every dollar men made, which ranked in the bottom third in terms of pay gap. The gender gap was also quite large in management, business and financial jobs, where the median earnings for women were just 64% of the median earnings for men. This was one of the largest disparities in the nation that year.

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6. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala., metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 71.0%
> Median earnings for men: $50,099 (38th highest)
> Median earnings for women: $35,593 (34th lowest)

Women living in the Birmingham metro area had median earnings of $35,593 in 2012, lower than in roughly two thirds of other metro areas. Women also made just 71 cents to every $1 that men made. One particularly notable example is the finance, insurance and real estate sector, in which women accounted for 57% of total employment. Despite this, women earned just 55 cents for every dollar men working in the sector made. This was worse than the pay gap in all but five other major areas nationwide.

5. Augusta, Ga., metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 70.7%
> Median earnings for men: $46,089 (35th lowest)> M! edian earnings for women: $32,565 (11th lowest)

Women were actually fairly well-represented in the Augusta workforce in 2012, accounting for 45% of all jobs — higher than in most major metro areas. Still, the median earnings for a woman that year were just 70% those of a man. In the educational services, and health care and social assistance sector, which accounted for one-quarter of the area's total employment, women's median earnings were just $35,783 in 2012. This was one of the sector's lowest female median wages in the country, and was just 70% of the median earnings for area men employed in the sector.

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4. Bakersfield-Delano, Calif., metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 70.3%
> Median earnings for men: $45,390 (26th lowest)
> Median earnings for women: $31,924 (3rd lowest)

Women in the Bakersfield metro area had median earnings of just $31,924 in 2012, lower than in nearly any other major metropolitan area in the country that year. Women were not only paid less than men, but they were also far less likely than men to hold a job. Women accounted for just 37.5% of the employed civilian population. Outside of the military, which is a major employer in Kern County, where the Bakersfield metro area is located, a number of the area's major employers are in agriculture. Men accounted for nearly 90% of Bakersfield's' agricultural employment in 2012, and had median earnings of $36,902 — double the median for women.

3. Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, Penn., metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 69.9%
> Median earnings for men: $45,951 (34th lowest)
> Median earnings for women: $32,121 (7th lowest)

Women living in the Scranton area earned less than 70 cents for every dollar men earned. Even in industries where women made up much of the employment total, the wage gap persisted. One sector where women were especially well-represented was in finance, insurance, and real estate. But even! in this ! sector, women still earned just 62 cents to every dollar men earned. In education, where women made up nearly 63% of all workers, they still earned 13 cents less for each dollar men earned. This may have had an outsized effect on the overall wage gap as well. Scranton is a college town and education, along with health care and social services, made up 26% of total employment as of 2012.

Top 5 European Companies To Own For 2015

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2. Baton Rouge, La., metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 65.7%
> Median earnings for men: $51,758 (24th highest)
> Median earnings for women: $34,028 (20th lowest)

Women working in the information sector in Baton Rouge were actually paid considerably more than their male peers, earning $62,796 in 2012, among the highest in the nation. However, women working in other industries were grossly underpaid relative to men that year. While 13.1% of Baton Rouge construction workers were women in 2012 — more than all but three other cities — female construction workers earned $31,721, just 65% of what men earned, a larger wage gap than in any other city. Similarly, women working in the manufacturing sector were paid a little more than half of what men working in the same sector were paid in 2012, a larger pay gap than nearly any other major metro area.

1. Provo-Orem, Utah, metro

> Women's pay as a pct. of men's: 63.4%
> Median earnings for men: $50,583 (33rd highest)
> Median earnings for women: $32,082 (5th lowest)

The Provo metro area had larger disparities in pay between men and women than any other large metropolitan area in the U.S. While men's median earnings in the Provo area were $50,583 in 2012, higher than in two-thirds of all major metro areas, women's earnings were far less. That year, the median earnings for women employed full time, year round in Provo! was just! $32,082, lower than in nearly all other large metro areas. Women accounted for less than one third of all workers in the area in 2012, much less than their 47% share of the workforce nationwide.

24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now: Exelixis Inc.(EXEL)

Exelixis, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer. It focuses on developing Cabozantinib, an inhibitor of tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis that target MET, VEGFR2, and RET, which are key kinases involved in the development and progression of various cancers. The cabozantinib is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment for medullary thyroid cancer. The company also engages in various clinical programs for cabozantinib focused on the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular cancer, and melanoma. In addition, Exelixis, Inc. involves in developing a portfolio of other novel compounds to address serious unmet medical needs through collaborations with various pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, sanofi-aventis, Genentech, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Gm bH, and GlaxoSmithKline and Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited. Its products under development through collaborations include XL475, XL281, XL139, and XL413 inhibitors; ROR antagonists; therapies targeted against LXR, a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in various cardiovascular and metabolic disorders; XL147, XL765, and isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors; XL518, a small-molecule inhibitor of MEK; sphingosine-1-phosphate type 1 receptor; XL880 inhibitor; and therapies targeted against the mineralocorticoid receptor, a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in various cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The company was formerly known as Exelixis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Exelixis, Inc. in February 2000. Exelixis, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena M! aranjian]

  Companies that stand a good chance of surging in coming years are also good Roth candidates. Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL  ) , for example, is a smallish biotech company tackling various cancers. It even has an approved thyroid cancer drug on the market, and the formula may end up approved to treat other conditions, as well. The downside, though, is that the drug is expensive, and the segment of thyroid-cancer patients who might take it is very small.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Where investment dollars are headed
  Thyroid cancer is treated in nearly every case with a full or partial thyroid removal since the majority of thyroid cancers aren't aggressive. However, in those rare cases where surgery isn't an option or the disease has metastasized to other parts of the body, there are two drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration to choose from.

  Caprelsa: AstraZeneca's (NYSE: AZN  ) Caprelsa was approved to treat unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer in April 2011. In trials, AstraZeneca's pill increased progression-free survival over the placebo and delivered an overall response rate of 44%, compared with just 1% for the placebo -- although it should be noted that all responses were partial. However, Caprelsa also comes with a laundry list of side effects that range from something as simple as rash, nausea, and hypertension, to having resulted in death from respiratory arrest and cardiac failure with arrhythmia.  Cometriq: Exelixis' (NASDAQ: EXEL  ) Cometriq was approved last November to treat progressive metastatic medullary thyroid cancer. The capsules work by inhibiting multiple tyrosine kinases, which are crucial to blood vessel growth in solid and metastasizing tumors. In late-stage trials, patients receiving Cometriq demonstrated an astounding 11.2 months of progression-free survival compared with just four months for the placebo. Further, the objective response rate was 27% in the Comet! riq arm a! nd a goose egg for the placebo arm. Similar to AstraZeneca's Caprelsa, severe adverse reactions tended to increase for Cometriq users relative to the placebo.

  Just as we've witnessed with every previous cancer in this series, not every drug trial proves successful. Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE  ) Sutent, for instance, is a very successful treatment for kidney cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and pancreatic endocrine tumors, but it didn't fare as wel

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  The biggest new holdings are The Finish Line and Aeropostale. Other new holdings of interest include biotech company Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL  ) , which received FDA approval last year for its thyroid cancer drug, Cometriq. The drug may also get approved to treat prostate cancer, and the company is looking at treating as many as nine different cancers with it. On the other hand, Cometriq is expensive, and the company's debt has been growing, along with its share count.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL  )
  Yesterday was a big day for Exelixis shareholders, as it gave them their first glimpse of Cometriq sales. Designed for the treatment of metastatic medullary thyroid cancer, or MTC -- a rare but particularly aggressive form of thyroid cancer -- Cometriq, which is Exelixis' first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, nearly tripled progression-free survival in trials relative to AstraZeneca's (NYSE: AZN  ) Caprelsa, the current standard of treatment (11.2 months compared to four months). Based on those stats alone, I expect Cometriq to take practically all sales from AstraZeneca in MTC.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-warren-buffett-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015

Late night snacking is about to get ugly.

Nutritionally speaking, that is. A gut-stuffing line-up of four late-night meals -- including one that actually stacks a grilled cheese sandwich atop an already gloppy cheeseburger -- is rolling out at Jack in the Box restaurants nationwide.

The nighttime meal offerings ��which also come packed with two tacos, a mixed order of French fries and seasoned curly fries and a 20 oz. beverage ��almost make Hardee's once-heckled Monster Burger look, well, tame. They're called Jack's Munchie Meals ��only sold between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Price-tag: $6.

"They are a disaster," says registered dietitian Robyn Flipse. "They must have hired some very stoned Millennials to dream this stuff up."

Not at all, says Keith Guilbault, vice president of menu innovation at Jack in the Box, which has 2,250 locations in 21 states. "This is targeted at folks looking for indulgent treats," he says. Among them: late-night shift workers and Millennials who get the munchies at odd hours.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: C&C Group PLC (CCGGY)

C&C Group plc, incorporated on March 19, 2004, is engaged the production, marketing and selling of cider and beer. The Company operates in five segments: Republic of Ireland (ROI), Cider United Kingdom (Cider UK), Tennent�� United Kingdom (Tennent�� UK), International, and Third Party Brands United Kingdom (Third Party Brands UK). The Company�� cider brands include Bulmers, Magners, Gaymers Cider, Blackthorn Cider, Olde English, Addlestones, Woodchuck Hard Cider, Wyder�� Cider and Hornsby��. Its other cider brands include Bulmers Berry, Bulmers Pear, Magners Pear, Magners Specials, Special Vat, K, Natch and Diamond White.

ROI includes the results from sale of all products in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), including Bulmers, Tennent��, Caledonia Smooth and third party brands. Cider UK segment includes the results from sale of the Company�� cider products in the United Kingdom, with Magners, Gaymers and Blackthorn the principal brands. Tennent�� UK segment includes the results from sale of the Company�� owned beer brand Tennent�� in the United Kingdom and sales of Caledonia Best in the United Kingdom. International segment includes the results from sale of the Company�� cider and beer products, principally Magners, Blackthorn, Hornsby��, Woodchuck and Tennent�� in all territories outside of the ROI and the United Kingdom. Third Party Brands UK segment relates to the distribution of third party brands and the production and distribution of private label products in the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The growth in 2012 follows the success of hard cider sales the year before, which saw a 40% increase. Yet the industry leader remains C&C Group's (NASDAQOTH: CCGGY  ) Vermont Hard Cider, whose Woodchuck Hard Cider has a 41% share of the market, though analysts say Angry Orchard owns nearly half of the on-premises market at the end of the first quarter.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  While�Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD  ) introduced some fruit-flavored margarita drinks and even Beam offered flavored bourbons to water down the market more,�the bigger threat may be coming from the explosive growth being witnessed in�hard cider.�Brewer Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM  ) rolled out its Angry Orchard cider brand just last year and has already catapulted to the top of the market, surpassing C&C Group's (NASDAQOTH: CCGGY  ) Vermont Hard Cider, the previous market leader.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  At C&C Group's (NASDAQOTH: CCGGY  ) annual meeting earlier this month, it was revealed that when it bought the Hornsby brand two years ago, it paid $25 million and got a 20% share of the market for its efforts. It paid more than 10 times that amount, or about $300 million, for Vermont Hard Cider and its top Woodchuck brand, and got another 42% share of the market. So C&C had almost two-thirds of the cider market all to itself.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: Remy Cointreau SA (RCO)

Remy Cointreau SA is a France-based company engaged in the production and distribution of wines and spirits. The Company's activities are divided into two segments. Cognac, which offers a range of products under the Remy Martin brand and Liqueurs and Spirits, distributing liquors under the Cointreau, Izarra and Passoa brand names, as well as spirits under such brand names as Mount Gay (rum), St Remy (brandy), Ponche Kuna (rum) and Metaxa (brandy). The Company is a sole distributor of the Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck brands, as well as Piper Sonoma (the sparkling wine brand). The Company's subsidiaries include production companies, such as E. Remy Martin & Cie, and distribution companies, such as Remy Cointreau USA Inc. In August 2013, it completed the sale of Larsen Cognac to the Finnish group Altia. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Remy Cointreau SA (RCO) jumped 6 percent, the most since January. Chinese cognac shipments increased 20.5 percent in August, rising for the first time since January, according to UBS AG, citing from BNIC, a trade association of cognac makers.

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  European stocks dropped, following a two-day gain, as Remy Cointreau SA (RCO) and Pernod Ricard SA dragged food-and-beverage makers lower. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were little changed.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  EasyJet Plc and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA climbed as oil prices fell after the U.S. and Russia agreed on a plan to destroy Syrian chemical weapons. Hennes & Mauritz AB (HMB) advanced to a three-year high after sales topped estimates. Remy Cointreau SA (RCO) soared the most in almost four years as Chinese cognac shipments increased.

Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayii AS (AEFES)

Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayii AS is the holding company of Efes Beverage Group, based in Turkey. Its activities consist of production, bottling, selling and distribution of beer under a number of trademarks and also production, bottling, selling and distribution of sparkling and still beverages with the Coca-Cola company trademark. The Company owns and operates a number of breweries in Turkey and abroad, malt production facilities in Turkey and Russia, and also a number of facilities in Turkey and in other countries for sparkling and still beverages production. It has joint control over Coca-Cola Icecek AS (CCI), which undertakes production, bottling and distribution facilities of Coca-Cola products in Turkey, Pakistan, Central Asia and the Middle East. Also the Company has joint control over Anadolu Etap Tarm ve Gda Urunleri San. ve Tic. AS, which undertakes production and sales of fruit juice concentrates and purees in Turkey. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andras Gergely]

  The Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange National 100 Index slid a second day after reaching a record on May 22. Anadolu Efes (AEFES) sank the most since September 2011. Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi AS, a Turkish producer of civilian and military vehicles, rose to an all-time high after Hurriyet Daily News reported the company could sell tanks to Saudi Arabia.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV (FMX)

Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), incorporated on May 30, 1936, is a holding company. The Company conducts its operations through principal holding companies, each of which it refers to as a principal sub-holding company. These companies are Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (Coca-Cola FEMSA), which engages in the production, distribution and marketing of soft drinks, and FEMSA Comercio, S.A. de C.V. (FEMSA Comercio), which operates convenience stores. The Company�� convenience store chain OXXO operated a total of 7,492 stores as of March 31, 2010. Compania Internacional de Bebidas, S.A. de C.V. (CIBSA) owns a 53.7% interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA. On April 30, 2010, FEMSA announced the closing of the transaction, pursuant to which FEMSA agreed to exchange 100% of its beer operations conducted by FEMSA Cerveza for a 20% economic interest in the Heineken Group. In February 2009, Coca-Cola FEMSA acquired with The Coca-Cola Company the Brisa bottled water business in Colombia from Bavaria, a subsidiary of SABMiller. Coca-Cola FEMSA acquired the production assets and the rights to distribute in the territory, and The Coca-Cola Company obtained the Brisa brand.

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V.

Coca-Cola FEMSA is a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. Coca-Cola FEMSA operates in various territories, including Mexico, a substantial portion of central Mexico (including Mexico City and the states of Michoacan and Guanajuato) and southeast Mexico (including the Gulf region); Central America, including Guatemala (Guatemala City and surrounding areas), Nicaragua (nationwide), Costa Rica (nationwide) and Panama (nationwide); Colombia; Venezuela; Argentina, including Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, and Brazil, including the area of greater Sao Paulo, Campinas, Santos, the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the state of Minas Gerais and part of the state of Goias.

Coca-Cola FEMSA produces, markets and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages, own brands and b! rands licensed from the Company. The Coca-Cola trademark beverages include sparkling beverages (colas and flavored sparkling beverages), water, and still beverages (including juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and isotonics). Out of the more than 100 brands and line extensions of beverages sold and distributed by Coca-Cola FEMSA, its most important brand, Coca-Cola, together with its line extensions, Coca-Cola light, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola light caffeine free, accounted for 61.4% of total sales volume during the year ended December 31, 2009. Coca-Cola FEMSA�� next largest brands, Ciel (a water brand from Mexico), Fanta (and its line extensions), Sprite (and its line extensions), ValleFrut and Hit, accounted for 10.5%, 5.8%, 2.6%, 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively, of total sales volume in 2009. Coca-Cola FEMSA uses the term line extensions to refer to the different flavors in which it offers its brands.

Coca-Cola FEMSA produces, markets and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in each of its territories in containers authorized by The Coca-Cola Company, which consist of a variety of returnable and non-returnable presentations in the form of glass bottles, cans and plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephtalate (PET). Coca-Cola FEMSA uses the term presentation to refer to the packaging unit in which it sells its products. Presentation sizes for its Coca-Cola trademark beverages range from a 6.5-ounce personal size to a 3-liter multiple serving size. For all of its products excluding water, Coca-Cola FEMSA considers a multiple serving size as equal toor larger than one liter. In addition, it sells some Coca-Cola trademark beverage syrups in containers designed for soda fountain use, which it refers to as fountain. It also sells bottled water products in bulk sizes, which refers to presentations equal to or larger than five liters, which have a much lower average price per unit case than its other beverage products.

In Mexico, Coca-Cola FEMSA�� product portfolio consis! ts of Coc! a-Cola trademark beverages, and includes Mundet trademark beverages licensed from FEMSA in some Mexican territories. Coca-Cola FEMSA�� product sales in Latincentro consist predominantly of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. Per capita consumption of its sparkling beverages products in Colombia and Central America was 92 and 146 eight-ounce servings, respectively, in 2009. Its product portfolio in Venezuela consists of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. Sparkling beverages per capita consumption of its products in Venezuela was 174 eight-ounce servings during 2009. Coca-Cola FEMSA�� product portfolio in Mercosur consists mainly of Coca-Cola trademark beverages, and the Kaiser beer brand in Brazil, which Coca-Cola FEMSA sells and distributes on behalf of FEMSA Cerveza. Sparkling beverages per capita consumption of its products in Brazil and Argentina was 214 and 359 eight-ounce servings, respectively, in 2009.

The Company competes with Pepsi Beverage Company, Grupo Embotelladores Unidos, S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Jumex, Groupe Danone, Cadbury Schweppes, Big Cola, Consorcio AGA, S.A. de C.V., Postobon, Florida Ice and Farm Co. S.A., Cerveceria Nacional, S.A., Pepsi-Cola Venezuela, C.A., AmBev and Quilmes Industrial S.A.

FEMSA Comercio, S.A. de C.V.

FEMSA Comercio operates a chain of convenience stores in Mexico, under the trade name OXXO. OXXO stores are concentrated in the northern part of Mexico, but also have a presence in central Mexico and the Gulf coast. FEMSA Comercio is the largest single customer of FEMSA Cerveza and of the Coca-Cola system in Mexico. During 2009, a typical OXXO store carried 1,954 different store keeping units (SKUs) in 31 main product categories.

The Company competes with 7-Eleven, Super Extra, Super City, Circle-K and AM/PM.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: KO is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) with a 3.2% yield, Pepsico Inc (PEP) with a 2.6% yield and Fomento Economico ADR (FMX) with a 1.7% yield.

• [By Robert Martin]

  South Africa, China, Mexico and Brazil collectively make up 68% of ECON�� holdings. The top three holdings are Naspers LTD (NPSNY) at 10%, AmBev (ABV) at 8% and FEMSA (FMX) at 5.6%.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX), better known as FEMSA, isn't another ascending triangle trade this week, unfortunately for shareholders. Instead, FEMSA is currently forming the bearish opposite of the pattern in Wells Fargo and Citi: a descending triangle.

  The descending triangle is formed by downtrending resistance above shares and a horizontal support level to the downside. In this case, that price floor comes in just below $90. The lower highs that form resistance in FMX signal that buying pressure is waning above the $100 level as long-suffering sellers opt to take gains near the high-end of this stock's recent range. Once that glut of demand at $90 gets taken out, a lot more downside looks likely for FMX.

  But now, MTB is forming a rounding bottom, a bullish setup that indicates a gradual shift in control of shares from sellers to buyers. The rounding bottom pattern looks exactly like it sounds, and even though MTB's pattern is actually at the top of its recent range, the trading implications are exactly the same. A breakout above $118 is the signal that the pattern is completed and it's time to be a buyer.

  With high short interest in MTB right now, a short squeeze could add some fuel to the fire on a breakout. Support looks reasonably strong at $110 -- that's the spot to keep your stop.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: Celsius Holdings Inc (CELH)

Celsius Holdings, Inc., incorporated on April 26, 2005, is engaged in the development, marketing, sale and distribution of functional calorie-burning beverages under the Celsius brand name. The Company focuses to combine nutritional science with mainstream beverages by using its thermogenic (calorie-burning) MetaPlus formulation. The Company does not directly manufacture its beverages, but instead outsource the manufacturing process to established third-party co-packers. The Company provides its co-packers with flavors, ingredient blends, cans and other raw materials for its beverages purchased by the Company from various suppliers. Celsius, Inc. and Elite FX, Inc. are the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company.

The Company�� Celsius is a calorie-burning beverage. Celsius is available in seven flavors, lemon-lime, ginger ale, cola, orange and wild berry (which are carbonated) and non-carbonated green tea raspberry/acai and green tea/peach mango. Its beverages are sold in 12 ounce cans, although it has begun to market the ingredients in powdered form in individual On-The-Go packets. The Company�� customer�� include on-the-go women, age 25 to 54, who are looking for a way to burn calories and gain energy with beverages and natural alternatives to diet sodas, as well as sports enthusiasts of both sexes, who are seeking low sodium, preservative-free alternatives. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company developed its MetaPlus formulation into a powder that can be mixed with water.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, PepsiCo, Inc., Nestl茅, Waters North America, Inc., Hansen Natural Corp., and Red Bull.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), a mid cap marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages, has been a monster of a performer since the end of the financial crisis as the stock is up around 308% over the past five years, but could new or overlooked players like small cap beverage stocks�Jones Soda Co (OTCMKTS: JSDA), Celsius Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: CELH) and Konared Corp (OTCBB: KRED) repeat that performance? A look strictly at the long term performance of all three small caps might have you thinking otherwise. After all, none of these small cap beverage stocks are profitable while�the beverage industry can be a long hard expensive slog just to increase market share by one or two points when you are competing for shelf space with industry giants like Pepsi and Coke. But past performance is just that���the past and only part of the story as there is much more to consider about these small cap beverage stocks which could also make them potential acquisition targets by larger beverage players seeking to expand their product line up with innovative products:

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: 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 Rick Munarriz]

  Shares of SodaStream (NASDAQ: SODA  ) opened higher this morning after an overnight report in Israeli's Calcalist daily business newspaper indicated that PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) might be trying to acquire the company behind the fast-growing carbonated beverage maker.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Pepsi provides convenient and affordable food and beverage items to consumers in a multitude of countries around the world. The stock has been a great performer for investors as it is now trading at all-time high prices. Earnings and revenue figures have sent mixed signals, but regardless, investors have been pleased with what they’ve heard during earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Pepsi has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Pepsi to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Tamara Rutter]

  PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) stock is already up more than 22% on the year. However, a potential merger between Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ  ) and Pepsi could send Pepsi stock into the stratosphere. As the world's largest snack-food company, Pepsi is finding new growth opportunities in emerging markets where snack-food consumption is just starting to take hold. Pepsi's strong position in the global snacks business has led to speculation that the company could make a bid for Mondelez.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: MOJO Organics Inc (MOJO)

MOJO Organics, Inc., incorporated on August 2, 2007, engages in product development, production, marketing and distribution of CHIQUITA TROPICALS. CHIQUITA TROPICALS are a 100% fruit juice, produced under license agreement from Chiquita Brands. The Company�� product flavors include Banana Strawberry, Mango, Passion Fruit, and Pineapple.

The Company�� juices are produced without preservatives and without added sugar. The Company produces and packages the CHIQUITA TROPICALS products through production facilities and services on a contract basis.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Catalog & Mail Order Houses: The industry gained 1.13% by 10:15 am. The top performer in this industry was Mojo Organics (OTC: MOJO), which gained 6.6%. Mojo Organics shares have jumped 361.54% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 16.18% in the same period.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: Brown-Forman Corp (BFB)

Brown-Forman Corporation, incorporated on October 19, 1933, primarily manufactures, bottles, imports, exports, markets, and sells a variety of alcoholic beverage brands. The Company�� principal brands are Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Whiskey, Pepe Lopez Tequilas, Jack Daniel�� Single Barrel, Woodford Reserve Bourbons, Jack Daniel�� Ready-to-Drinks, Canadian Mist Blended Canadian Whiskies, Jack Daniel�� Tennessee Honey, Chambord Liqueur, Jack Daniel�� Winter Jack Chambord Vodka, Gentleman Jack, Collingwood Canadian Whisky, Southern Comfort, Early Times Bourbon, Southern Comfort Ready-to-Drinks, Early Times flavored line extensions, Southern Comfort flavored line extensions, Early Times Kentucky Whisky, Finlandia Vodkas, Korbel California Champagnes, Finlandia Ready-to-Drinks, Little Black Dress Vodkas, Antiguo Tequila, Maximus Vodkas, el Jimador Tequilas, Old Forester Bourbon, el Jimador New Mix Ready-to-Drinks, Sonoma-Cutrer Wines, Herradura Tequilas, and Tuaca Liqueur.

The Company�� products are sold in more than 150 countries around the world. The Company�� international markets include Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Germany, Poland, France, Russia, Japan, Turkey, Canada, Spain, Czech Republic, South Africa, Brazil and Italy.

The Company competes with Bacardi Limited, Beam Inc., Davide Campari-Milano S.p.A., Diageo plc, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.A., Pernod Ricard S.A., and Remy Cointreau S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Wednesday

  Earnings Expected From: Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE: CBK), Brown Forman Corporation (NYSE: BFB), Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR), Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO) Economic Releases Expected: US nonfarm employment change, US trade balance, Canadian trade balance, US new home sales, US ISM non-manufacturing PMI

  Thursday

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Brown-Forman (NYSE: BFB  ) reported earnings on June 5. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended April 30 (Q4), Brown-Forman met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: WhiteWave Foods Co (WWAV)

WWF Operating Company, incorporated on March 14, 1988, is a consumer packaged food and beverage company. The Company manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy products throughout North America and Europe. The Company operates in two segments: North America and Europe. The North America segment offers products in the plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, and dairy product categories throughout North America. Europe segment offers plant-based food and beverage products throughout Europe. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dean Foods Company (Dean Foods).

The Company�� brands distributed in North America include Silk plant-based foods and beverages, International Delight and LAND O LAKES coffee creamers and beverages, and Horizon Organic dairy products, while its European brands of plant-based foods and beverages include Alpro and Provamel. The Company sell its products to a variety of customers, including grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and convenience stores, as well as various away-from-home channels, including restaurants and foodservice outlets, across North America and Europe. The Company sells its products in North America and Europe primarily through its direct sales force and independent brokers. The Company utilizes five manufacturing plants, two distribution centers, and three co-packers across the United States. Additionally, it has four plants across Europe in the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, each supported by an integrated supply chain.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Pendulum]

  Organic / Health Foods companies:

  Hain Celestial (HAIN)WhiteWave (WWAV)Annie's

  Best In Class Food Companies:

  Coca-Cola (KO)Pepsico (PEP)Mondelez (MDLZ)Kraft Foods (KRFT)General Mills (GIS)Kellogg (K)ConAgra Foods (CAG)Hershey (HSY)J.M. Smucker (SJM)McCormick (MKC)Dean Foods (DF)

  A few comments about this analysis:

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Dairy pure-play Dean Foods (NYSE: DF  ) is flirting with its 52-week high after an encouraging earnings report released earlier this week. As it so often goes in special situations, investors deemed the company relatively uninteresting after a high profile spin-off of plant-based food segment WhiteWave (NYSE: WWAV  ) and divestiture of Morningstar -- purveyor of staples such as International Creamer. Skeptics cited declining milk consumption and heavy debt as detractors to the stock, but, post spin-off, Dean Foods is a cash-generating, inexpensive pick in an otherwise difficult sector. With the recent earnings report in mind, let's take a closer look.

10 Best Beverage Stocks For 2015: Molson Coors Brewing Company(TAP)

Molson Coors Brewing Company brews, markets, sells, and distributes beer brands. It sells its products in Canada, under the Coors Light, Molson, Rickard's Red, Carling, Pilsner, Keystone Light, Creemore Springs, and Granville Island brands. The company also brews or distributes products under license from third parties, which include Heineken, Amstel Light, Murphy's, Asahi, Asahi Select, Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Chill, Milwaukee's Best, Milwaukee's Best Dry, and Foster's. In addition, it imports, distributes, and markets the Corona, Coronita, Negra Modelo, and Pacifico brands, through a joint venture agreement with Grupo Modelo. Further, the company sells various brands in the United States, which include Coors Light, Miller Lite, Coors Banquet, Miller Genuine Draft, MGD 64, Miller Chill, Sparks, Miller High Life, Miller High Life Light, Keystone Light, Icehouse, Mickey's, Milwaukee's Best, Milwaukee's Best Light, Old English 800, Blue Moon, Henry Weinhard 's, George Killian's Irish Red, Leinenkugel's, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch, Coors Non-Alcoholic, and Sharp's. Additionally, it sells various brands in the United Kingdom comprising Carling, C2, Coors Light, Worthington's, White Shield, Caffrey's, Kasteel Cru, and Blue Moon, as well as various regional ale brands. The company also sells the Grolsch brands through a joint venture with Royal Grolsch N.V. and the Cobra brands through a joint venture called Cobra Beer Partnership Ltd.; and distributes brands sold under license, including Corona, Coronita, Negra Modelo, Pacfico, Singha, and Magners Draught Cider. In addition, it markets and sells Zima, Si'hai, Coors Gold, and Coors Extra brands to various international markets. The company was formerly known as Adolph Coors Company and changed its name to Molson Coors Brewing Company as a result of its merger with Molson Inc. in February 2005. Molson Coors Brewing Company was founded in 1873 and is headquartere d in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  The bar is open and the dividends are continuing to flow at Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP  ) . The brewer has declared the latest common stock payout for both its Class A and B shareholders. This is $0.32 per share, to be handed out on September 16 to shareholders of record as of August 30. That amount is in line with each of the company's preceding quarterly distributions stretching back to September 2011.