Corning shares surge on Samsung deal

CORNING, N.Y. (AP) -- Shares of Corning jumped Tuesday after it announced a new tie-up with a Samsung Electronics subsidiary that will boost the glass maker's earnings immediately and guarantees that it will supply Samsung with liquid crystal display glass through 2023.

Corning, the maker of Gorilla Glass screens for smartphones and tablets, will acquire the South Korean company's 43 percent stake in Samsung Corning Precision Materials, an LCD glass joint venture in Korea, and will buy out other minority shareholders.

The joint venture makes glass substrates, the key material in high-end LCD televisions, monitors and mobile devices.

In exchange for giving up its stake in the venture, Samsung Display will receive $1.9 billion worth of Corning preferred shares. It will also invest another $400 million in preferred shares of Corning. If converted, the shares would give Samsung Display a 7.4 percent stake in Corning. They are not convertible for seven years.

The transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

Corning said its board had also approved buying back $2 billion worth of its shares, which it expects will cover the dilutive effect of issuing preferred shares to Samsung Display.

Taking over the venture gives Corning immediate access to $1.2 billion in cash on the joint venture's balance sheet. The company believes it will add $2 billion in annual sales and 20 percent to earnings, excluding one-time items, in 2014 and 2015.

Part of the benefit comes from the share buyback as well as $100 million in expected cost savings in 2015.

Shares of the Corning, N.Y.-based company rose 25 percent to $19.24 in after-hours trading.

Corning also said Tuesday that it expects to earn 33 cents per share in the third quarter, excluding one-time items. That beats Wall Street's prediction by a penny. It also said revenue rose 5 percent to $2.1 billion, in line with analysts' expectations. The company will release full results for the July-September qu! arter on Oct. 30.

Emerging Stocks Rise 5th Day on China as Petrobras Soars

Emerging-market stocks advanced for a fifth day after China called for reform measures to consolidate the nation's recovery. Brazil's Ibovespa rallied to the highest level since May as Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4) soared.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 0.1 percent to 1,042.66. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.6 percent. The Ibovespa rallied as Petrobras surged 5.3 percent after a group led by the state-run oil company won a license to develop Brazil's biggest oil discovery under terms that exceeded estimates. The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index climbed 3.5 percent, while Poland's WIG20 Index jumped to a nine-month high.

China will boost financial support to small businesses, cut overcapacity and look for new engines to drive consumption, the State Council said in a statement yesterday. The nation's leaders will meet in November to map out policies to reform the economy and sustain long-term growth at about 7 percent. The Federal Reserve won't taper bond purchases until March as the government shutdown slowed growth, a Bloomberg survey showed.

"It improves the China story, it takes some of the risk and volatility out of it," Peter Sorrentino, who helps manage about $14.7 billion at Huntington Asset Advisors in Cincinnati, said by phone. "That in a way will benefit the global story. With the U.S. taper being on hold, we're pretty favorably disposed towards emerging markets right now."

The benchmark gauge for developing nations has slid 1.2 percent this year to trade at 10.8 times projected earnings, compared with the valuation of 14.3 for the MSCI World Index.

Options Prices

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index exchange-traded fund dropped 0.2 percent to $43.24. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index, a measure of options prices on the fund and expectations of price swings, declined 5.6 percent to 18.86.

The Ibovespa (IBOV) rose 1.3 percent as Petrobras jumped the most since Aug. 22. The company and partners Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA, Cnooc Ltd. and China National Petroleum Corp., pledged to the government the minimum 41.65 percent of profit oil, or the barrels remaining after all costs are covered, to win the 35-year project in deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Bank of America Corp. said in an Oct. 14 report that profit oil of less than 50 percent would be seen as beneficial for Petrobras.

Most Russian equities retreated as crude oil, the nation's main export earner, declined. The Borsa Istanbul National 100 Index gained for a fourth day as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS jumped the most in a month. Poland's WIG20 Index climbed to the highest level since Jan. 24 as Bank Pekao SA extended a three-day rally to 5 percent.

China, India

China's stocks rose the most in a week. Shanghai Metersbonwe Fashion & Accessories Co. jumped 10 percent, leading gains in consumer companies reliant on economic growth. Shanghai Baosight Software Co. (600845) paced the rally in technology shares after signing a contract to provide data-center services to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

India's S&P BSE Sensex rose, holding at a three-year high, amid better-than-estimated corporate earnings. Engineering company Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (LT) rallied to a three-month high and Asian Paints Ltd. (APNT) surged about 6 percent after reporting profit that beat forecasts.

Thailand's SET Index dropped the most among 94 world gauges tracked by Bloomberg amid speculation that a bill granting amnesty for political offenses will spur protests against the government.

Nineteen out of the 24 developing-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg retreated. The rand depreciated for the first time in four days against the dollar on bets Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will revise fiscal targets this week.

The premium investors demand to own emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries slid three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 308 basis points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Young readers’ news appetite not growing

Today's younger and middle-aged audience isn't as interested in consuming daily news as older people and exhibits little evidence that its interest levels would rise with age, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.

In 2012, Gen-Xers -- those ages 33 to 47 -- watched, read or listen to 66 minutes of news, on average, the day before they were queried by Pew, relatively unchanged from eight years ago. The survey is conducted every two years, and Gen-Xers said in 2004 that they consumed 63 minutes of news per day.

Millennials -- ages 18 to 31 -- reported 46 minutes of news last year vs. 43 in 2004.

"News organizations have been confronting the problem of a shrinking audience for more than a decade, but trends strongly suggest that these difficulties may only worsen over time," wrote Andrew Kohut, founding director of the Pew Research Center in its survey results released Friday.

Hot Value Stocks To Buy For 2015

That older readers are more interested in news is hardly surprising. But the results undermine the news industry's general assumption that consumers' appetite for news grows as they start families, buy homes and enroll their children in local schools.

More distractions - streaming video, cable TV, tablets and other forms of digital media - are partly to blame, Kohut said. And "the older generations grew up during the Cold War and World War II, when people were more engaged with what's going on in the world," he said. "We saw a spike in interest in foreign news after 9-11 but it was short lived."

In 2012, members of the Silent generation, ages 67 to 84, spent 84 minutes a day consuming the news, according to the survey. Boomers, ages 48 to 66, averaged 77 minutes.

Less than half of Xers and Millennials -- 45% and 29%, respectively -- said they enjoy following the news. But 58% of Silents and Boomers said they do. "This generational difference has been consiste! ntly apparent in the surveys over the years," Kohut said. "Older people simply enjoy the news more than the young do."

Other findings:

* Not surprisingly, the Internet as a news source jumped dramatically in the 8-year period between 2004 and 2012. The percentage of Xers who said they consumed news on the Internet the day before the survey query jumped to 49% from 29% in 2004, roughly equaling the 2012 total for TV news audience (52%).

* Xers who read a newspaper fell to 21% vs. 30% in 2002. Only 14% of Millennials read newspapers, down from 20% in 2002.

* Radio was more popular than newspapers among the younger audience, with 38% of Xers saying they listened to news from radio the day before the survey. And 27% of Millennials said the same. Both measures are little changed since the middle of the last decade, the survey said.

Will Lawmakers Beat the Looming Budget Deadline?

J. Scott Applewhite/APSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid. WASHINGTON -- With a week left to hammer out a deal to avoid a government shutdown, some lawmakers seem resigned -- if not rushing -- to that end. Most say they don't want the first government shutdown since 1996. But if the government happens to shut down, so be it. Republicans say it is part of their effort to dismantle Democrats' health care overhaul, while Democrats defending the law recall that similar standoffs gave them political gains. And fingers were already being pointed just to be on the safe side. "I believe we should stand our ground," said Sen. Ted Cruz, a tea party darling from Texas who pushed fellow Republicans to link a temporary budget bill with a provision to defund the Affordable Care Act. Some Republicans have vowed to shut down the government unless they can stop the law from taking hold. Cruz and fellow tea party conservatives on Sunday said President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies would be to blame if they don't accede to demands to strike the national health care law. "If Harry Reid kills that [demand], Harry Reid is responsible for shutting down the government," Cruz said Sunday. The tactic won sharp criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans, well aware the shutdown in the-mid 1990s helped President Bill Clinton regain his political footing and win a second term. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called supporters of the defund-or-else strategy "legislative arsonists." Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the effort would not accomplish its goal and was unrealistic. And the president had a direct message to those backing efforts to roll back his health law: "Let me say as clearly as I can: It is not going to happen." The Republican-led House on Friday approved legislation designed to wipe out the 3-year-old health care law. Yet Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid vowed to keep the health law intact despite Republicans' attempts. And there's virtually no chance Obama would sign such a measure if it were to ever reach his desk. That doesn't mean conservatives -- especially the younger lawmakers closely aligned with the tea party -- are going to stop with their demands. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., said the goal was to defund the president's health care legislation for at least one more year, if not forever. If the government shuts down, it will be because Obama refused to compromise, he said. "We do have eight days to reach a resolution on this, and I propose an idea that kept the government operating and opened for an entire year while delaying and defunding Obamacare for a year so that we could work out those differences," Graves said, appearing on his first national Sunday program. Left unsaid: It would require Obama to abandon his chief domestic accomplishment. "We don't want to shut down the government," said Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz. "I want to make it clear: We want to shut down Obamacare." The unyielding political posturing comes one week before Congress reaches an Oct. 1 deadline to dodge any interruptions in government services. While work continues on a temporary spending bill, a potentially more devastating separate deadline looms a few weeks later when the government could run out of money to pay its bills. Lawmakers are considering separate legislation that would let the United States avoid a first-ever default on its debt obligations. House Republicans are planning legislation that would attach a 1-year delay in the health care law in exchange for ability to increase the nation's credit limit of $16.7 trillion. "I cannot believe that they are going to throw a tantrum and throw the American people and our economic recovery under the bus," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat Even within his own party, Cruz faced skepticism. "It's not a tactic that we can actually carry out and be successful," Coburn said. Cruz and McCaskill were interviewed on "Fox News Sunday." Pelosi spoke to CNN's "State of the Union." Coburn and Salmon were on CBS' "Face the Nation." Graves was on ABC's "This Week."

Could Refiners Regain Their Swagger?

Somewhere in the US, there is a refinery executive staring into a drink and longing for the days of 2012. Back then, domestic crude prices were trading at a deep discount to the international benchmarks thanks to big bottlenecks in infrastructure, and retail prices remained relatively high. These factors led to almost comical refining margins. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time till enough infrastructure was in place to bring down the gap between these two prices. 

For that wistful executive out there, I have good news for you. There may be another bottleneck building in US crude supply, but it's not an infrastructure one. Let's take a look at what is happening in the US oil markets that may bring back memories of 2012.

Unclogging the Pipes

Pipelines in red represent oil and other liquids pipelines (Source: US Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration)

Oil and gas producers learned their lesson; production can't outpace infrastrucutre. Luckily for them, that is becoming less and less of a problem. One of the largest bottlenecks in our energy infrastructure took place at the hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. Now, with the reversal of Enterprise Products Partners' Seaway pipeline and Transcanada's Gulf Coast project coming online, there will be an additional 1.1 million barrel per day capacity flowing from Cushing to the heart of America's refining capacity in the Gulf Coast. These projects, several other pipelines, and the addition of rail have essentially wiped out the difference in price between the domestic benchmark West Texas Intermediate and the foreign standard Brent.

Brent Crude Oil Spot Price data by YCharts

For refiners, though, that spread in price led to very lucrative refining margins. As that spread has narrowed, so too has margins for refiners.

Refining Margins	Q4 2012	Q2 2013
Valero (NYSE: VLO  )	$12.27	$9.26
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  )	$13.67	$9.88
HollyFrontier (NYSE: HFC  )	$24.00	$20.28
CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR  )	$28.08	$20.30

Source: Company Earnings releases

Both HollyFrontier's and CVR's refining capacity are found in the mid-continent region of the country, whereas Phillips 66 and Valero has much more of its refining centered in the Gulf Coast Region. So when all of that oil was found in the mid-continent region, the local refiners were the only game in town. That simply isn't the case anymore, and producers can find more advantageous prices for their crudes by moving to any of the coastal regions of the US. 

The New Bottleneck
Between all the additional pipeline capacity coming online and rails increasing role in moving oil. It's not very likely that any particular region will see pricing problems because of physical restraints. However, a new bottleneck is about to emerge: The United States itself. A recent study from Deutsche Bank estimates that the US will produce another 700,000 barrels of light, sweet oil per day within the next 12 months. This would actually be enough oil to meet all of the light, sweet capacity at US refiners. To compound that emerging trend, the US government bans the export of crude oil. This means that any additional production of light, sweet crude won't have anywhere to go unless we see some big upticks in light oil processing capacity.    

If this were to happen and we don't see any major policy changes regarding oil exports, then it is very likely that we will see domestic oil prices sink. According to the Deutsche Bank report, producers in the Bakken could see prices slump to the $75-$80 a barrel range. This would be extremely discouraging for some of the smaller producers like Kodiak Oil & Gas (NYSE: KOG  ) . The company is currently getting about $90 a barrel, and a potential 17% cut in prices could be a wet blanket for a company that is trying to grow faster than its current earnings dictate.

For refiner's though, it could mean a return to the glory days of 2012. Since America can export refined petroleum products but not crude, it would give refiners the ability to somewhat dictate the price of gasoline and crude at the same time. Since Valero, Phillips 66, and other major coastal refiners can send refined products overseas to get premium prices in markets like Europe and South America, it can keep prices high while being the gatekeeper for any oil production in the US.

What a Fool Believes
Production growth for oil and gas in the US has been so fast that we find ourselves running up against problems we couldn't have even conceived less than a decade ago. The next big hurdle in creating a more fluid oil market in the US will require us to revisit the current ban on crude exports. Since this decision will happen in Washington and not in a corporate board room, you can be assured that it will take much longer. In the meantime, refining executives may get a little sparkle in their eyes as they see light crude supply starts to outgrow our capacity to refine it. 

More Compelling Companies
The rapidly changing energy landscape in the US makes it one of the most exciting investment opportunities out there today. But finding the companies that will thrive beyond this growth spurt is like finding a needle in a pile of rusty needles. For this reason,we have put together a comprehensive look at the energy landscape today and three energy companies that are set to soar during this transformation. Let us help you sift through the whirlwind in the energy space by checking out out special report, "3 Stocks for the American Energy Bonanza." Simply click here and we'll give you free access to this valuable report. 

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015

If you're a long-time reader of StreetAuthority, you know by now that we almost never recommend stocks with yields higher than 10%. 

If the yield is higher than that, it's usually a sign that the company's fundamentals are sagging, investors are bracing for a dividend cut -- or worse...

But today, I'm going to show you how to break one of the cardinal rules of safe income investing and buy a stock yielding 17% without losing a single night's sleep.

 

All you have to do is think more like a trader. Now, I know that doesn't come easy to most income investors, but it's easier than it sounds. In fact, I'm going to show you how one simple tool allows you to know when it's safe to buy stocks with ridiculously high yields, hold them for a period of time and collect any dividends you might receive, and then know when it's time to get out before the rest of the crowd loses their shirts.  

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Pacific Gas & Electric Co.(PCG)

PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility company that engages in electricity and natural gas distribution primarily in northern and central California. The company also involves in the generation, procurement, transmission, and distribution of electricity; and procurement, transportation, storage, and distribution of natural gas. It owns and operates electricity generation facilities, transmission and distribution lines, and substations; and an integrated natural gas transportation, storage, and distribution system, as well as has underground natural gas storage fields in California. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, public street and highway lighting, and other electric utility customers. As of December 31, 2009, it served approximately 5.1 million electricity distribution customers and approximately 4.3 million natural gas distribution customers. The company also operated 18,650 circuit miles of intercon nected transmission lines and 141,213 circuit miles of distribution lines for electricity; and 42,142 miles of distribution pipelines, 6,438 miles of backbone and local transmission pipelines, and 3 storage facilities for natural gas. PG&E Corporation was founded in 1905 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Stavros]

  The Top Low-Carbon Utilities

  PG&E Corp (NYSE: PCG) Exelon Corp (NYSE: EXC) Entergy Corp (NYSE: ETR) Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (NYSE: PEG) NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE: NEE) Dominion Resources Inc (NYSE: D) Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE)

  But that is not to say that, over the long term, high-carbon utilities might not be able to crack the technology and cost issues that would make “clean coal” competitive with other low-carbon energy sources. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz has said, “No discussion of US energy security and reducing global CO2 emissions is complete without talking about coal and the technologies that will allow us to use this resource more efficiently and with fewer greenhouse gas emissions.”

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Utility operator�PG&E (NYSE: PCG  ) announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.455 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2010.

• [By Alex Planes]

  The CELC grew throughout the 19th century, but it was nearly destroyed by the catastrophic earthquake that struck San Francisco in 1906. It became part of Pacific Gas and Electric (NYSE: PCG  ) shortly after the city rebuilt. Today, PG&E is not only the largest public utility company in the United States, but it's also continued the legacy of the CELC as one of the world's most innovative utilities. It was the first utility in the United States to operate a nuclear power plant, and it currently commands by far the largest solar-energy capacity of any utility in the country.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Abbott Laboratories(ABT)

Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of health care products worldwide. The company offers adult and pediatric pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease; dyslipidemia; HIV infection; prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and anemia caused by uterine fibroids; respiratory syncytial virus; adult males who have low or no testosterone; secondary hyperparathyroidism; hypothyroidism; and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, as well as anesthesia products. It also provides diagnostic products, such as immunoassay systems; chemistry systems; assays used for screening and/or diagnosis for drugs of abuse, cancer, therapeutic drug monitoring, fertility, physiological, and infectious diseases; instruments that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infections agents; genomic-b ased tests; hematology systems and reagents; and point-of-care diagnostic systems and tests for blood analysis. In addition, the company offers a line of pediatric and adult nutritional products. Further, it provides coronary, endovascular, vessel closure, and structural heart devices, such as drug-eluting stent systems, coronary metallic stents, balloon dilatation products, coronary guidewires, vessel closure devices, carotid stent systems, percutaneous valve repair systems, and drug eluting bioresorbable vascular products. Additionally, the company provides blood glucose monitoring meters, test strips, data management software, and accessories for people with diabetes; and medical devices for the eye, including cataract surgery, lasik surgery, contact lens, and dry eye products, as well as branded generic pharmaceutical products. Abbott primarily serves retailers, wholesalers, hospitals, and health care facilities. Abbott was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Third Point reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Murphy Oil�and Yahoo! Among holdings in which it increased its stake were AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA  ) . AbbVie was split off from�Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT  ) and kept the pharmaceutical business. Detractors don't like its heavy debt or the impending patent expiration of its rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, which is expected to generate more than $10 billion in annual sales. It has other drugs on the market and in its pipeline, tackling Hepatitis C, among other conditions. (A Hep C treatment just received FDA breakthrough designation.) It also sports a 3.5% dividend yield, and its chief scientific officer is retiring, which should interest investors.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: TotalFinaElf S.A.(TOT)

TOTAL S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemicals. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas. It also involves in the transportation, trade, and marketing of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as in LNG re-gasification and natural gas storage operations. In addition, this segment engages in the shipping and trade of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); power generation from gas-fired power plants, nuclear, or renewable energies; production, trade, and marketing of coal, as well as in solar power systems and technology operations. As of December 31, 2010, it had combined proved reserves of 10,695 Mboe of oil and gas. The Downstream segment involves in refining, marketing, trading, and shipping crude oil and petroleum products. It also produces a range of specialty products, s uch as lubricants, LPG, jet fuel, special fluids, bitumen, marine fuels, and petrochemical feedstock. This segment holds interests in 24 refineries located in Europe, the United States, the French West Indies, Africa, and China, as well as operates a network of 17,490 service stations. The Chemicals segment produces base chemicals, including petrochemicals and fertilizers, as well as engages in rubber processing, resins, adhesives, and electroplating activities. TOTAL S.A. was founded in 1924 and is based in Paris, France.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sara Murphy]

  HSBC�recently conducted an analysis of European oil majors' at-risk carbon reserves. The study found Norway's�Statoil� (NYSE: STO  ) to be the worst affected, with approximately 17% of its market capitalization at risk. HSBC also calculated that 6% of�BP's (NYSE: BP  ) reserves are at risk, along with 5% of�Total's (NYSE: TOT  ) .

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Total (NYSE: TOT  ) announced today that its upstream Nigeria-based joint-venture partnership subsidiary has received regulatory approval to being awarding contracts to develop the offshore Egina field.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: PMC Commercial Trust(PCC)

PMC Commercial Trust operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT). It primarily originates loans to small businesses, principally in the limited service hospitality industry, collateralized by first liens on the real estate of the related business. The company has elected to be treated as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code and would not be subject to federal income tax, provided it distributes approximately 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. PMC Commercial Trust was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG)

Constellation Energy Group, Inc. operates as an energy company in the United States and Canada. The company develops, owns, operates, and maintains fossil and renewable generating facilities. As of December 31, 2010, it holds interests in qualifying facilities and power projects totaling to 9,030 megawatt (MW), as well as manages approximately 1,100 MW associated with long-dated tolling agreements. The company also provides operation and maintenance services, including testing and start-up to the owners of electric generating facilities. In addition, it offers electricity, natural gas, and other energy products and services to wholesale and retail electric and natural gas customers. The company supplies approximately 119 million megawatt hours (MWH) of aggregate electricity to distribution utilities, municipalities, residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers; approximately 334 million British Thermal Units of natural gas to residential, commercial, ind ustrial, and governmental customers; and approximately 7.8 million tons of coal primarily to its own fleet. Further, it manages generation facilities and natural gas properties; provides risk management services; trades energy and energy-related commodities; manages upstream natural gas activities; designs, constructs, and operates renewable energy, heating, cooling, and cogeneration facilities; provides home improvements; and engages in the sale of electric and gas appliances, and servicing of heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical, and indoor air quality systems. Additionally, the company purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity, as well as purchases, transports, and sells natural gas in central Maryland. It maintains approximately 240 substations and approximately 1,300 circuit miles of transmission lines, and approximately 24,800 circuit miles of distribution lines. The company was founded in 1906 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Sysco Corporation(SYY)

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, distributes food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in North America and Europe. The company offers a line of frozen foods, such as meats, fully prepared entrees, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; a line of canned and dry foods; fresh meats, custom-cut fresh steaks, other meat, seafood, and poultry; dairy products; beverage products; imported specialties; and fresh produce. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products, such as disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware, which include china and silverware; cookware comprising pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. In addition, the company offers personal care guest amenities, equipment, housekeeping supplies, room accessories, and textiles to the lodging industry. It serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, schools and colleges, hotels and mote ls, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Sysco Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jacob Roche]

  Still, even a crushing fourth-quarter miss would give United Natural some growth for the year. That's more than can be said for the company's conventional counterparts. Safeway (NYSE: SWY  ) is estimating essentially flat sales growth, and analysts estimate that Sysco (NYSE: SYY  ) , the world's largest food distributor, will see an actual drop in sales this year.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lu Wang]

  Mining stocks are bargains after declines in the past two years, said Hodges, who recently bought shares of Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and U.S. Steel Corp. The selloff since the start of 2011 has erased almost half of the market value from a gauge of seven S&P 500 metal producers, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The price-earnings ratio for Phoenix-based Freeport, the world�� largest publicly traded copper producer, has dropped 24 percent since the beginning of 2010 to 11.5.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Barclays analyst�David Gagliano is out with a report on his dinner meeting with� Jim Flores, CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold’s (FCX) energy division.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: TECO Energy Inc.(TE)

TECO Energy, Inc., an electric and gas utility company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy. It provides retail electric service to approximately 672,000 customers in West Central Florida with a net winter system generating capability of 4,684 megawatts. The company also engages in the purchase, distribution, and marketing of natural gas. It serves approximately 336,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and electric power generation customers in Florida. In addition, the company owns mineral rights, owns or operates surface and underground mines, and owns interests in coal processing and loading facilities. TECO Energy, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  TECO Energy (NYSE: TE  ) has agreed to purchase Continental Energy Systems' New Mexico Gas Co. for $950 million, the company announced today.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: ONEOK Inc.(OKE)

ONEOK, Inc., a diversified energy company, operates as a natural gas distributor primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: ONEOK Partners, Distribution, and Energy Services. The ONEOK Partners segment engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing, and marketing natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) principally in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions, which include Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma, Fort Worth Basin of Texas, Hugoton and Central Kansas Uplift Basins of Kansas, Williston Basin of Montana, and North Dakota and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. This segment offers its services to oil and gas production companies; natural gas gathering and processing companies; petrochemical, refining, and NGL marketing companies; Local distribution companies (LDCs) and power generating companies; and natural gas marketing and NGL gathering companies, and propane distributors. The Distribution segment provides natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers, as well as public authority customers, such as cities, governmental agencies, and schools in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Energy Services segment delivers physical natural gas products and risk management services through its network of contracted transportation and storage capacity, and natural gas supply. This segment?s customers primarily comprise LDCs, electric utilities, and industrial end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GuruFocus] ref="http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=Tom+Gayner">Tom Gayner initiated holdings in ONEOK, Inc.. His purchase prices were between $41.16 and $52.13, with an estimated average price of $46.98. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.1%. His holdings were 70,000 shares as of 06/30/2013.

  New Purchase: Blackstone Group LP (BX)

  Tom Gayner initiated holdings in Blackstone Group LP. His purchase prices were between $19.1 and $23.45, with an estimated average price of $21.2. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.09%. His holdings were 116,900 shares as of 06/30/2013.

  New Purchase: BlackRock Inc (BLK)

  Tom Gayner initiated holdings in BlackRock Inc. His purchase prices were between $245.3 and $291.69, with an estimated average price of $267.9. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.08%. His holdings were 9,100 shares as of 06/30/2013.

  New Purchase: KKR & Co LP (KKR)

  Tom Gayner initiated holdings in KKR & Co LP. His purchase prices were between $17.8 and $21.15, with an estimated average price of $19.85. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.08%. His holdings were 115,000 shares as of 06/30/2013.

  New Purchase: Eni SpA (E)

  Tom Gayner initiated holdings in Eni SpA. His purchase prices were between $40.39 and $48.96, with an estimated average price of $45.85. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.04%. His holdings were 30,000 shares as of 06/30/2013.

  New Purchase: Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST)

  Tom Gayner initiated holdings in Ross Stores, Inc.. His purchase prices were between $59.26 and $66.5, with an estimated average price of $64.05. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.04%. His holdings were 18,000 shares as of 06/30/2013.

  New Purchase: Carlyle Group LP (CG)

  Tom Gayner initiated holdings in Carlyle Group LP. His purchase prices were between $24.19 and $32.87, with an estimated average price of $29.5

• [By John Divine]

  Lastly, shares of utilities company ONEOK (NYSE: OKE  ) shed 6.8% after Morgan Stanley�downgraded shares from overweight to equal weight, lowering its price target to $53 per share. The downgrade comes after an earnings report that showed a nearly 6% earnings spike as natural gas became more popular. So even as revenue advanced nearly 4%, the fact that the number was more than 7% below forecasts added downward pressure on the stock.�

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ)

H. J. Heinz Company manufactures and markets food products for consumers, and foodservice and institutional customers in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company primarily offers ketchup, condiments and sauces, frozen food, soups, beans and pasta meals, infant nutrition, and other food products. It sells its products through its sales organizations, independent brokers, agents, and distributors to chain, wholesale, cooperative, and independent grocery accounts; convenience stores; bakeries; pharmacies; mass merchants; club stores; foodservice distributors; and institutions, including hotels, restaurants, hospitals, health-care facilities, and government agencies. The company was founded in 1869 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Brugger]

  An investment consortium comprised of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) and a 3G Capital investment fund has completed the acquisition of H.J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ  ) for $72.50 per share and a new CEO has taken over Heinz, the company announced today.

• [By Matt Koppenheffer]

  But despite the 50% stake in a joint venture to buy H. J. Heinz (NYSE: HNZ  ) , which was announced recently, Berkshire's cash pile is building up again. I was hoping to hear Buffett say, "We've just bagged another "elephant."

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2015: Microchip Technology Incorporated(MCHP)

Microchip Technology Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products for various embedded control applications. It offers a family of microcontroller products that include 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit PIC microcontrollers; and 16-bit dsPIC digital signal controllers, which feature on-board flash memory technology. The company also provides a set of application development tools that enable system designers to program a PIC microcontroller and dsPIC DSC for specific applications. In addition, it offers analog and interface products, which consist of various families with approximately 600 power management, linear, mixed-signal, thermal management, safety and security, and interface products. Further, the company provides memory products comprising serial electrically erasable programmable read-only memory. Its products are used in various applications in automotive, communications, computing, consumer, and industrial contr ol markets. Microchip Technology Incorporated markets its products primarily through a network of direct sales personnel and distributors in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded in 1989 and is based in Chandler, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Beth Piskora]

  They are listed below:

  Altera (ALTR)��ielding 1.7%
  
  Apple (AAPL)��ielding 2.5%
  
  Applied Materials (AMAT)��ielding 2.6%
  
  Cisco (CSCO)��ielding 2.9%
  
  EMC Corp. (EMC)��ielding 1.5%
  
  International Business Machines (IBM)��ielding 2.0%
  
  KLA-Tencor (KLAC)��ielding 3.2%
  
  Microchip Technology (MCHP)��ielding 3.6%
  
  Oracle (ORCL)��ielding 1.5%
  
  Qualcomm (QCOM)��ielding 2.1%
  
  Texas Instruments (TXN)��ielding 2.9%
  
  Xilinx (XLNX)��ielding 2.3%
  
  

  Subscribe to S&P's The Outlook here��/P>

LyondellBasell Industries

Oil and gas companies' overzealous production of natural gas, and natural gas liquids, has restored the fortunes of domestic chemical producers, an energy-intensive industry that relies on these commodities to generate power, and as feedstock, explains Peter Staas, editor of Capitalist Times.

Within this space, olefin producers have benefited the most from trends in the energy patch. The two most prominent olefins, ethylene and propylene, serve as the basic building blocks for three-quarters of all chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers.

Not only do shares of well-positioned US olefin producers stand to benefit from depressed ethane prices and near-term investments in capacity expansions, but, more importantly, the group also enjoys a substantial cost advantage over peers with production facilities in Asia and Europe.

Holland-based petrochemical outfit LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) remains the best bet for income-seeking investors to profit from persistently weak ethane prices in North America.

About 80% of the company's annual earnings, before interest, taxes, interest, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), come from business lines that benefit from favorable NGL and natural gas prices in the US.

Ethane prices plummeted by 70% in 2012. A 28% rally in 2013 reflected a seasonal recovery in natural gas prices. But regardless of this recent uptrend, the US ethane market should remain oversupplied for, at least, the next three years.

We also expect LyondellBasell Industries' intermediates and derivatives business to benefit from strong profit margins on its oxygenated fuel products, a business where profit margins have grown significantly, because of elevated oil prices and the depressed price of natural gas in North America.

Europe's strengthening economy will also provide a tailwind to these operations, while the firm's refinery on the Gulf Coast stands to benefit from the increasing availability of discounted heavy crude oil from Canada's oil sands—an upside catalyst that will likely occur toward the end of 2014.

The temporary updraft in ethane prices in the fourth quarter, coupled with an explosion at the company's Gulf Coast refinery, could give investors a limited opportunity to buy this name on a pullback. Don't pass it up.

With an improving growth outlook and a solid track record of dividend increases and share repurchases, LyondellBasell Industries rates a buy up to $82 per share.

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For More 2014 Top Stock Picks

Handcuffs And Smoking Guns: The Criminal Elements Of Wall Street

Criminals are found throughout the corporate world and plenty of "white collar," or corporate, criminals are filling pretty posh minimum-security jail cells. With that in mind, let's look at the "criminal" lingo used in the dark alleys around Wall Street.

Perp Walk

The perp walk has become an increasingly common and popular media phenomenon. While wearing handcuffs, a suspect is arrested in full view of the news media and paraded about by the police. The media are often "tipped off" before the arrest, so they can set up their cameras and get the suspect with his or her jacket over the face, or sometimes proudly displaying handcuffs. Although the perp walk was once reserved for notoriously violent and inhumane crimes, it has been extended to CEOs and businessmen accused of crimes.

Golden Handcuffs

As many of us know from our cops and robbers days, handcuffs are used for restraining someone. In the corporate world, companies will offer valuable employees very favorable incentives to retain their loyalty. These incentives usually come as stock options in the company and can only be collected if the employee remains with the company for a specified time period (vesting). So, the incentives act like handcuffs for the employee, albeit golden handcuffs.

Godfather Offer

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." -Don Corleone (Marlon Brando), the Godfather.

In the cinematic masterpiece "The Godfather," Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) explains his father's simple way of making offers: "Sign or lose you life." It's not exactly ethical business, but it is extremely effective. In the corporate realm, a godfather offer is an offer made by a bidding company that is so generous it cannot be refused. If the target company does refuse, shareholders may initiate a lawsuit against management for cutting them out of good profits (which is every bit as effective as the Godfather's threats).

Smoking Gun

The expression "smoking gun" comes from the early 1900s, when the legal system began to solidify into a standard model. The burden of proof was placed on prosecutors and police rather than the defendant (suspect), meaning that some of the previous strong-arm tactics by police had to go. Naturally, the police and prosecutors were quite displeased, lamenting that they'd "have to catch criminals with the smoking gun [as in just fired] still in their hands." Fortunately, the legal system withstood the strain of having to prove people were guilty of a crime. Since then, a smoking gun has grown to represent any irrefutable evidence of wrongdoing. In the corporate world, smoking guns can include everything from office memos with compromising statements to complex accounting paper trails. Corporate criminals aren't usually stupid enough to leave smoking guns lying around, but it does happen.

Forensic Accounting

With the growing interest in forensic investigation, it was only a matter of time until "investigative" accounting was renamed "forensic" accounting. Much like its gritty crime-scene cousin, forensic accounting tries to piece together a crime's circumstances by reviewing physical evidence. In the case of accounting, the physical evidence is found in the numbers. Forensic accountants search for the elusive smoking gun in the company's financial statements. Even manipulators of numbers leave a palpable "fingerprint" behind when they change things.

Loan Sharking

Pure and simple, loan sharking is the illegal practice whereby a lender charges a super high interest rate on a loan. The level of interest legally permitted to be charged may vary, and it generally does not exceed 60%, but loan sharks typically lend out money at rates higher than these limits. Where does this tie into the corporate world? The Consumer Federation of America calls some pay day loans legal loan sharking. The Federation states that through payday loan companies, cash-strapped consumers run the risk of becoming trapped in repeat borrowing due to triple-digit interest rates, unaffordable repayment terms, and coercive tactics made possible by check-holding. These places get away with it by disguising interest payments as fees. If these fees were counted as interest, the rates would be enormous.

Whistle-Blower

Before radio communication made it possible for police to call into a central dispatch, foot patrols prowled the streets armed with billy clubs and whistles. When these patrols came upon a crime or a disturbance they couldn't handle alone, they'd blow their whistle and any policemen within hearing distance would rush over to help. A whistle-blower in the corporate echelons works much the same way. Whistle-blowers are employees inside a corporation who know about the company's unscrupulous activities and then go to the public with that knowledge. This public admission brings on the media and usually legal repercussions for the company. Unfortunately, whistle-blowers also suffer, as they find it very hard to find jobs afterward despite being legally protected.

Corporate Espionage and Spies

Many of us have enjoyed watching Sean Connery shoot up bad guys with vaguely German accents, but espionage has changed a lot. The new spies are more likely to be wearing glasses and a "Star Wars Forever" T-shirt than a three-piece suit. At first glance, having your office memos read by an outsider seems harmless, but corporate spies sift through piles of junk for the one gem that can help their employer sink your company. This can be as simple as stealing R&D information, or it can get as dastardly as finding out job bids and undercutting them to the customer. Companies have to remain vigilant, because not all bad guys have steel jaws or pseudo-futuristic uniforms: most look just like you or me. Cyber-hacking and cyber spying are also a form of corporate espionage tactics. The problem of corporate espionage has become big enough for companies to employ counter-espionage agencies.

Conclusion

Well, that's all for our exciting trip down the thug-infested alleys of Wall Street. We hope you've found this informative and entertaining.

Norwegian Air Returns Broken Dreamliner To Boeing

The Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner has broken off and on since the aircraft maker began work on the plane over a decade ago. The most well-publicized recent problem involved batteries and caused the 787 to be pulled out of service worldwide. Finally, one of Boeing’s customers has taken significant action. Norwegian Airlines returned a 787s to Boeing to fix them. If other airlines follow, Boeing’s problems with the plane, which it has downplayed with investors, could become a big deal with investors.  It is already clear that Boeing’s main competitor Airbus has tried to take advantage of the 787′s trouble.

It would not be surprising if Boeing runs into a mushrooming issue which could trigger a drop in share price.

According to Reuters:

Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle is returning one of its brand new Dreamliners to Boeing, demanding repairs after the jet has suffered repeated breakdowns, it said on Saturday.

Norwegian Air Shuttle will instead lease an Airbus A340 from HiFly to keep its long-haul business going and will not take back the Boeing 787 Dreamliner until it is more reliable, a spokesman said.

“The aircraft’s reliability is simply not acceptable, our passengers cannot live with this kind of performance,” spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen told Reuters.

“We are returning the aircraft to Boeing to improve its reliability.”

Based on Boeing’s luck with the 787, it may find more problems that it can fix.

Built to save airlines fuel costs, particularly on long haul flights, and to give passengers a better flying experience, the 787 has turned out to be a lemon

 

 

 

Family Offices’ Top Concerns: Systems Security and Integration

Systems security was a chief concern of single- and multi-family office participants in a recent survey by Family Office Exchange.

Survey participants answering questions about their technology practices said another big concern was finding a software solution that integrates financial data across multiple functions.

Family offices’ sensitivity to security applied to both data and the communication of data. Seventy-one percent of participants said they did not send financial information to clients’ mobile devices.

In spite of these concerns, 56% expressed confidence in their security practices.

The FOX survey found that the desire for a reporting solution that aggregates data across key functions such as investments, tax, accounting and philanthropy remained a key challenge for family offices. Eighty-eight percent said they still relied on Excel to serve as the bridge between software packages.

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014

“Integration remains the Holy Grail for family offices,” FOX senior consultant Jane Flanagan said in a statement.

Other key findings:

Sysco Corporation (SYY) Dividend Stock Analysis

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of Sysco Corporation (SYY). Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis:

Company Description: Sysco Corporation is a large distributor of food and related products, primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry.

Fair Value: In calculating fair value, I consider the NPV MMA Differential Fair Value along with these four calculations of fair value, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

1. Avg. High Yield Price
2. 20-Year DCF Price
3. Avg. P/E Price
4. Graham Number

SYY is trading at a premium to all four valuations above. The stock is trading at a 37.5% premium to its calculated fair value of $26.26. SYY did not earn any Stars in this section.

Dividend Analytical Data: In this section there are three possible Stars and three key metrics, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

1. Free Cash Flow Payout
2. Debt To Total Capital
3. Key Metrics
4. Dividend Growth Rate
5. Years of Div. Growth
6. Rolling 4-yr Div. > 15%

SYY earned two Stars in this section for 2.) and 3.) above. The stock earned a Star as a result of its most recent Debt to Total Capital being less than 45%. SYY earned a Star for having an acceptable score in at least two of the four Key Metrics measured. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1970 and has increased its dividend payments for 43 consecutive years.

Dividend Income vs. MMA: Why would you assume the equity risk and invest in a dividend stock if you could earn a better return in a much less risky money market account (MMA) or Treasury bond? This section compares the earning ability of this stock with a high yield MMA. Two items are considered in this section, see page 2 of the linked PDF for a detailed description:

1. NPV MMA Diff.
2. Years to > MMA

The NPV MMA Diff. of the $282 is below the $500 target I look for in a stock that has increased dividends as long as SYY has. If SYY grows its dividend at 3.6% per year, it will take 3 years to equal a MMA yielding an estimated 20-year average rate of 3.41%. SYY earned a check for the Key Metric 'Years to >MMA' since its 3 years is less than the 5 year target.

Memberships and Peers: SYY 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: G. Willi Food-International Ltd. (WILC) with a 0.0% yield, Spartan Stores Inc. (SPTN) with a 1.5% yield, and United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) with a 0.0% yield.

Conclusion: SYY did not earn any Stars in the Fair Value section, earned two Stars in the Dividend Analytical Data section and did not earn any Stars in the Dividend Income vs. MMA section for a total of two Stars. This quantitatively ranks SYY as a 2-Star Weak stock.

Using my D4L-PreScreen.xls model, I determined the share price would need to decrease to $31.32 before SYY's NPV MMA Differential decreased to the $500 minimum that I look for in a stock with 43 years of consecutive dividend increases. At that price the stock would yield 3.7%.

Resetting the D4L-PreScreen.xls model and solving for the dividend growth rate needed to generate the target $500 NPV MMA Differential, the calculated rate is 5.1%. This dividend growth rate is lower than the 3.6% used in this analysis, thus providing no margin of safety. SYY has a risk rating of 1.75 which classifies it as a Medium risk stock.

SYY operates in a relatively stable industry and has the largest market share in the United States and Canada. Over the last 40 years ago, SYY has developed an extensive distribution network that no other competitor has been able to replicate. SYY consults with its customers on how they can drive sales and minimize costs.

In December 2013, SYY agreed to acquire US Foods for $8.2 billion. U.S. Foods is the second largest food distributor in the U.S. The combined company should gain significant synergies in purchasing power, supply chain efficiencies and the overhead consolidation. Also, the refinancing of US Foods $4.2 billion debt could boost the combined EPS.

SYY is trading above my fair value price of $26.26. In addition, its free cash flow payout of 70% (down from 90% in the last review) is above my maximum level. The company has improved its FCF payout over the last several quarters. I will continue to wait until the SYY's dividend fundamentals improve before adding to my position.

Disclaimer: Material presented here is for informational purposes only. The above quantitative stock analysis, including the Star rating, is mechanically calculated and is based on historical information. The analysis assumes the stock will perform in the future as it has in the past. This is generally never true. Before buying or selling any stock you should do your own research and reach your own conclusion. See my Disclaimer for more information.

Full Disclosure: At the time of this writing, I was long in SYY (1.4% of my Dividend Growth Portfolio). See a list of all my dividend growth holdings here.

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Currently 5.00/512345 Top 10 Companies To Invest In Right Now Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes)

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Aggre Wednesday, January 15, 2014 Why everyone was wrong about these banks's… If there was anything curious about the results from Wells Fargo (ticker: WFC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) today, it's that the results didn't line up with the general "ugh" feeling that investors seem to have about the banking environment right now. Not that investors are wrong -- it's not a stellar environment for banks. And not that the earnings reports were knock-the-cover-off good. But they were fine, and that was good enough to top analyst expectations in both cases. Still on the mend If you're looking for a reason that both banks were able to tread water, one answer is that they're still shaking off the after-effects of the financial crisis. That's right: Six years later, that's still true. In fact, it's probably more true today than it was last year. Pre-release coverage of JPMorgan's earnings focused on the bite that legal costs would take out of earnings. Go back a year, though, and you find $1.2 billion in legal costs for the fourth quarter of 2012. So $800 million is certainly a hit to 2013's final quarter, but it's actually a year-over-year improvement. We don't hear as much about Wells Fargo's legal costs, but in reviewing Q4 results from its community banking segment results, the company noted: "Noninterest expense declined $960 million ... from a year ago largely due to costs in 2012 associated with the OCC's [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] Independent Foreclosure Review settlement." Beyond the lawyers It's not just settlement activity. Provisions for loan losses plummeted for both banks versus last year. When the sky was falling on the housing market, the banks built up big cushions. Now, as the picture improves, they're reversing some of that safety blanket. Combine the drop in legal costs and loan-loss provisions, and you get to some serious numbers. For JPMorgan we're talking about something in the neighborhood of $1 billion in pre-tax income for the last quarter. Sustaining profits The concern, of course, is the sustainabi! lity of these earnings supports. There's little reason to believe that the wave of crisis-era settlements is completely over. But there will come a time when the banks can say that more or less with a straight face. That will make the unadjusted cost structure of the biggest banks look much better. This isn't a route to indefinite profit growth, but it's an improvement that -- assuming lawsuit-worthy practices have been cleaned up -- will stick. The provisions aren't quite as straightforward. Setting aside reserves against loan losses is business as usual for a bank. And by basically any measure, the level of provisions in the recent quarters has been below a long-term sustainable level. In other words, provisions will come up. Eventually. However, between now and eventually, there may still be considerable reserves that can be released. That means that -- especially as we watch a continued improvement in the economy and housing market -- we may not see provisions suddenly spike back up to a "normal" level. And by the time they do make that climb, improved conditions for banks may bring the top-line improvements that investors are missing right now. The flip side of awful Even as the stocks of the big banks have been on a tear, the commentary around the banks has continued to be conservative. Call it concern over court cases. Or new regulations. Or fixed-income trading. Or the low interest rates. Whatever. The bottom line is that the dour view of the sector continues to set up the banks to outperform on the basis of simply not being as bad as the prior year. Or even not being all that much worse than the prior year. When do you worry, then? Easy -- when things start actually looking good. The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY. <SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1'SRC="http! ://ad.dou! bleclick.net/adj/N4538.USAToday/B2304017.8;abr=!ie;sz=550x300;ord=[timestamp]?"></SCRIPT><NOSCRIPT><AHREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N4538.USAToday/B2304017.8;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=550x300;ord=[timestamp]?"><IMGSRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N4538.USAToday/B2304017.8;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=550x300;ord=[timestamp]?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=550 HEIGHT=300ALT="Advertisement"></A></NOSCRIPT> Tuesday, January 14, 2014 5 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014 Summer and the slow news for the market that usually comes with it�is over with and both stem cell researchers or small� cap stem cell stocks like Advanced Cell Technology, Inc (OTCBB: ACTC), Neuralstem, Inc (NYSEMKT: CUR), NeoStem Inc (NASDAQ: NBS), International Stem Cell Corp (OTCMKTS: ISCO)�and BioRestorative Therapies (OTCBB: BRTX) having news for investors and traders alike. Consider the following: Stem Cells and Heart Attack Victim Study. The Globe & Mail has reported that Canadian researchers have begun a trial using genetically enhanced stem cells they hope can�repair a patient�� heart muscle after a major heart attack. The researchers believe they are the first in the world to test genetically boosted stem cells as a possible means of rejuvenating severely damaged heart muscle with the�experimental therapy using stem cells extracted from a patient�� blood within days to a few weeks after a major heart attack. Advanced Cell Technology Gets Mentioned By Bloomberg. Advanced Cell Technology was briefly mentioned in a Tuesday Bloomberg article about plans by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to fast track regulatory approval for cell-based products and to set new research guidelines.�Japan is also�funding a $1.12 billion study of a type of stem cell free from ethical concerns over embryo harvesting�and it was noted that Advanced Cell Technology�� human trials are using cells harvested from embryos. Advanced Cell Technology�� shares appear to be trending upwards since the mention while the long term performance is more mixed. 5 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014: Safeway Inc.(SWY) Safeway Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and drug retailer in North America. The company operates stores that provide an array of grocery items, food, and general merchandise, as well as features specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral, and pharmacy, as well as coffee shops and fuel centers. It also offers SELECT line of products that include baked goods, sparkling ciders and lemonades, salsas, whole bean coffees, frozen pizzas and entrees, and fresh and dry pastas and sauces, as well as an array of ice creams, hors d'oeuvres, and desserts; O ORGANICS line, which comprises milk, chicken, salads, juices, and entrees; Lucerne line of dairy products; Eating Right line of better-for-you products; Bright Green line of home care products; Total Pet Care line of pet foods and pet care products; and Value Red line of value-priced paper goods. As of December 31, 2009, Safeway operated approximately 1,725 stores in California, Oregon, Wash ington, Alaska, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba/Saskatchewan. In addition, the company owns and operates GroceryWorks.com Operating Company, LLC, an online grocery channel, doing business under the names Safeway.com, Vons.com, and Genuardis.com; and Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., which provides third-party gift cards, prepaid cards, telecom cards, and sports and entertainment cards to North American retailers for sale to retail customers. Additionally, it engages in gift card businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, and Australia. Further, the company, through a 49% ownership interest in Casa Ley, S.A. de C.V. operates 156 food and general merchandise stores in Western Mexico. The company was formerly known as Safeway Stores, Incorporated and changed its name to Safeway Inc. in February 1990. Safeway was founded in 1915 and is based in Pleasanton, California. Advisors' Opinion: [By Andrew Marder] Empire Co, the buyer of Safeway's (NYSE: SWY  ) Canadian property, saw its stock jump 11% in early trading the day after the sale. Meanwhile, Safeway's stock was up 10%, on the announcement of the $5.7 billion deal. All in all, not a bad setup for investors. [By Monica Gerson] Safeway (NYSE: SWY) reported a 58% drop in its third-quarter net income and announced its plans to exit the Chicago market by 2014. Safeway shares surged 5.64% to $33.35 in after-hours trading. 5 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014: TotalFinaElf S.A.(TOT) TOTAL S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemicals. The Upstream segment engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas. It also involves in the transportation, trade, and marketing of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as in LNG re-gasification and natural gas storage operations. In addition, this segment engages in the shipping and trade of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); power generation from gas-fired power plants, nuclear, or renewable energies; production, trade, and marketing of coal, as well as in solar power systems and technology operations. As of December 31, 2010, it had combined proved reserves of 10,695 Mboe of oil and gas. The Downstream segment involves in refining, marketing, trading, and shipping crude oil and petroleum products. It also produces a range of specialty products, s uch as lubricants, LPG, jet fuel, special fluids, bitumen, marine fuels, and petrochemical feedstock. This segment holds interests in 24 refineries located in Europe, the United States, the French West Indies, Africa, and China, as well as operates a network of 17,490 service stations. The Chemicals segment produces base chemicals, including petrochemicals and fertilizers, as well as engages in rubber processing, resins, adhesives, and electroplating activities. TOTAL S.A. was founded in 1924 and is based in Paris, France. Advisors' Opinion: [By Dividend] Total (TOT) has a market capitalization of $133.63 billion. The company employs 97,126 people, generates revenue of $246.559 billion and has a net income of $14.662 billion. Total�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $44.973 billion. The EBITDA margin is 18.24 percent (the operating margin is 12.29 percent and the net profit margin 5.95 percent). [By Arjun Sreekumar] Given current oil prices, that means several projects are barely profitable, leading some oil sands operators to reconsider new ventures. For instance, Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU  ) , one of the largest oil sands producers by output, has been mulling over the profitability of three mining-related ventures jointly proposed with French oil major Total (NYSE: TOT  ) . 10 Best Value Stocks To Buy Right Now: Iamgold Corporation(IAG) IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada. Advisors' Opinion: [By Michael Blair] IAMGOLD (IAG) is one of my favorite gold stocks principally because it is a relatively high cost producer with long lived mines. That paradox arises since high cost producers have the most volatility when gold prices change. If they are operating close to break even, a relatively small rise in gold prices makes them quite profitable. Conversely, when prices fall they bleed all over the floor. [By Daniel Putnam] The second factor working in gold stocks��favor is that analysts are growing optimistic again. Yesterday, HSBC put out a bullish note on gold and upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Yamana Gold (AUY), Barrick Gold, Iamgold (IAG), and Goldcorp. Most gold stocks are ranked ��old��or ��uy��(as opposed to ��trong Buy�� by the majority of analysts, meaning that there�� plenty of room for continued positive news flow on this front. [By Eric Volkman] IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) might specialize in a precious metal, but it's continuing to pay its dividend in hard currency. The company has declared its latest semi-annual distribution at $0.125 per share of its common stock. 5 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company(DD) E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company operates as a science and technology company worldwide. It operates in seven segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Electronics & Communications, Performance Chemicals, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, and Pharmaceuticals. The Agriculture & Nutrition segment provides hybrid seed corn and soybean seed, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, value enhanced grains, and soy protein under the Pioneer brand name. The Electronics & Communications segment supplies materials and systems for photovoltaic products, consumer electronics, displays, and advanced printing. The Performance Chemicals segment offers fluorochemicals, fluoropolymers, specialty and industrial chemicals, and white pigments for various markets, such as plastics and coatings, textiles, mining, pulp and paper, water treatment, and healthcare. The Performance Coatings segment supplies high performance liquid and powder coatings for motor vehicle origi nal equipment manufacturers (OEM); the motor vehicle after-market; and general industrial applications, such as such as coatings for heavy equipment, pipes and appliances, and electrical insulation. The Performance Materials segment provides polymers, elastomers, films, parts, and systems and solutions for the automotive OEM and associated after-market industries, as well as electrical, electronics, packaging, construction, oil, photovoltaics, aerospace, chemical processing, and consumer durable goods. The Safety & Protection segment primarily offers nonwovens, aramids, and solid surfaces for the construction, transportation, communications, industrial chemicals, oil and gas, electric utilities, automotive, manufacturing, defense, homeland security, and safety consulting industries. The Pharmaceuticals segment represents its interest in the collaboration relating to Cozaar/Hyzaar antihypertensive drugs. The company was founded in 1802 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Dela ware. Advisors' Opinion: [By Dan Caplinger] DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report tomorrow, and with its stock at its highest levels in more than a decade, investors are pleased with the company's success lately. But some recent concerns about DuPont's earnings make this quarterly report crucial for the company's future prospects, and a disappointment could set the stage for a reversal in the stock's strong performance. [By Rich Duprey] All told, Monsanto,�DuPont� (NYSE: DD  ) ,�and�Syngenta� (NYSE: SYT  ) control 53% of the world's seed production, yet their control of our food supply is almost all-encompassing, because they�cross-license�their technology between themselves and with other companies. 5 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2014: Sun Life Financial Inc.(SLF) Sun Life Financial Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides various life and health insurance, savings, investment management, retirement, and pension products and services to individuals and corporate customers. It offers individual life insurance policies, including individual term life, universal life, critical illness, disability, accident, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance policies; and group life insurance policies. The company also provides individual health insurance, long-term care insurance, group health benefits, dental benefits, and group insurance; and various individual and group annuity, retirement, and investment income products and services, such as mutual and pooled funds, variable and fixed annuities, savings, retirement and pension plans, and education savings. In addition, it offers asset management services for corporate retirement plans, separate accounts, public or government funds, and insurance company assets to institutional clients; and advisory services to individual investors. Further, the company provides run-off reinsurance services. Sun Life Financial Inc. distributes its products through direct sales agents, independent and managing general agents, financial intermediaries, broker-dealers, banks, pension and benefit consultants, and other third-party marketing organizations. The company operates primarily in Bermuda, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, the Philippines, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Sun Life Financial Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Toronto, Canada. Advisors' Opinion: [By Amanda Alix] Insurance companies have created an entire industry based upon risk, and except for AIG (NYSE: AIG  ) during the financial crisis, it has worked out pretty well. So, it's not a stretch to imagine a large life insurer like Canada's Sun Life Financial (NYSE: SLF  ) assuming the pension liability for the Canadian Wheat Board's defined benefit plan in a recent $147 million deal, the first such accord in Canada's history. [By Monica Gerson] Sun Life Financial (NYSE: SLF) shares gained 2.47% to create a new 52-week high of $34.80 on Q3 results. Sun Life reported its Q3 operating net income from continuing operations of $422 million. Monday, January 13, 2014 Is Lockheed Martin Headed for Blue Skies in 2013? The federal budget sequester went into effect March 1, but given the strong performance defense giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has experienced over the past five months, you wouldn't know it. However, the company has compressed its 2013 outlook to reflect impending spending reductions spurned by sequestration. Will Lockheed Martin be able to keep its momentum despite reduced government funding? Let's use our CHEAT SHEET investing framework to decide whether Lockheed Martin is an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY. C = Catalysts for the Stock's Movement Because around 82 percent of Lockheed Martin's sales are to the U.S. government, the company is highly dependent on the domestic defense budget. Sequestration measures enacted earlier this year require the government to reduce defense spending by $500 billion over the next 10 years. The Department of Defense projects automatic cuts will reduce its budget by around $37 billion this year and $52 billion in 2014. Lockheed Martin announced along with its 2013 earnings report that these budget cuts could reduce its sales by $825 million this year. Luckily for Lockheed Martin, its industry-leading F-16, F-22, and F-35 fighter jet models may be in the clear — at least for now — as the Pentagon decides how to reduce its budget. Lockheed Martin continues to receive funding from the Department of Defense, including an additional $8.4 billion in funding this year to develop its turbulent F-35 joint strike fighter, a program that is seven years behind schedule. As a result of the domestic spending cuts, CEO Marillyn Hewson indicated that the company might begin concentrating its efforts on its overseas business, which currently makes up around 17 percent of its revenues. Recently, Lockheed Martin announced large contracts to bring its F-35 stealth fighter to both Japan and Israel. E = Earnings are Increasing Year-Over-Year  The automatic spending cuts, which began March 1, did not seem to impact Lockheed Martin's first quarter. In fact, the company posted strong earnings per share of $2.33 — a 14.78 percent increase from the previous year's quarter. Lockheed Martin has increased earnings in four of the last five quarters, but with revenue growth decreasing in the last three quarters, the company has increased profitability by reducing expenses. These cost-cutting initiatives come mainly in the form of job cuts, but as revenues continue to fall with sequestration measures, Lockheed Martin may not be able to keep reducing its costs. Lockheed Martin announces its second quarter earnings Tuesday. 2013 Q1 2012 Q4 2012 Q3 2012 Q2 2012 Q1 Qtrly. EPS $2.33 $1.74 $2.21 $2.38 $2.03 EPS Growth YoY 14.78% -16.97% 5.24% 11.22% 35.33% Revenue Growth YoY -1.97% -0.92% -2.06% 3.27% 6.28% E = Exceptional Performance Relative to Peers? The entire defense industry is in a tough spot with looming sequestration of the Pentagon’s budget. Let's see how Lockheed Martin, the biggest government contractor by contracts, stacks up against the other major players: Boeing (NYSE:BA), Northrup Grumman (NYSE:NOC), and Raytheon (NYSE:RTN). All of the companies are trading at a relatively low price-to-equity ratio besides Boeing, mainly because Boeing also has exposure to the commercial aviation industry. Lockheed Martin has a significantly higher return on equity than its peers. Part of this higher ROE has to do with its substantial leverage. However, with a high credit rating and a strong interest coverage ratio, the company's high debt level should not worry investors for now. Lockheed Martin has a very attractive dividend yield of 4.1 percent and has increased its dividend by at least 10 percent in each of the last 10 years. LMT BA NOC RTN Trailing P/E 13.01 19.69 11.08 12.20 Operating Margin 9.15% 17.37% 12.31% 12.22% ROE 302.40% 64.43% 19.60% 22.91% Dividend Yield 4.10% 1.90% 2.80% 3.2% T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong Lockheed Martin is currently trading at around $112.80, well above both its 200-day moving average of $97.53 and its 50-day moving average of $107.44. The stock has been on a tear since the beginning of March — it’s up around 30 percent since March 4. Additionally, Lockheed Martin experienced a “golden cross” — when the 50-day moving average crosses over the 200-day moving average — right around its first-quarter earnings announcement. A golden cross usually indicates strong investor sentiment. Conclusion Lockheed Martin has a lot to prove in its second-quarter earnings announcement, which is less than a week away. As the sequester continues to decrease profit margins and revenues on native soil, the defense giant must look elsewhere in order to grow its revenues. Additionally, in order to continue generating earnings growth, Lockheed Martin must keep reducing its costs. The stock currently trades at a relatively low price-to-earnings multiple of 13.01 and has an attractive dividend yield. The automatic spending cuts have not significantly affected Lockheed Martin, but the company could see some reduction in earnings growth and changing investor sentiment over the coming quarters. For now, Lockheed Martin is a WAIT AND SEE. Sunday, January 12, 2014 Is Your Portfolio Resilient? The very act of investing is an act of faith in the future. But is your faith well placed? Are the companies in your portfolio prepared to confront the risks and opportunities that climate change poses? Consider the following examples from the recent report "Physical Risks From Climate Change," provided here with permission from Calvert Investments, the report's publisher. VF (NYSE: VFC  ) , owner of such brands as The North Face and Lee, acknowledged that the 2010 "once-in-a-century" floods in Pakistan and Australia, coupled with wet weather and freezes, "ravaged cotton crops resulting in drastic increases in the price of cotton," which had "a material effect on our business as we sought a balance between absorbing the cost and raising prices on our cotton goods." On the flip side, Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) enjoyed elevated retail inventory levels for the 2011-2012 winter due to "the impact of unseasonably warm weather," accounting for about 2 percentage points of growth coming out of the fourth quarter 2011 into 2012. Guess? (NYSE: GES  ) experienced an unexpectedly low growth rate in Asia during the third quarter of fiscal year 2012, partly because of reduced outerwear sales in South Korea caused by "weather that was much warmer than we had anticipated. John Vechey of PopCap Games recently joined The Motley Fool for a climate change summit. Among his guests was Stu Dalheim, Vice President of Shareholder Advocacy at Calvert Investments. In the video below, Dalheim discusses some of the ways that Calvert seeks out companies that have or are developing strategies for success in a changing world. Top 5 Growth Stocks To Watch For 2014 Climate change isn't the only factor buffeting the retail space: It's in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more. Friday, January 10, 2014 2014 Already Produces Plenty of Good News for Small Cap Biotech Investors (ICPT, EPZM, TNXP & TNIB) It's a new year and the first one and a half trading weeks of 2014 has not disappointed biotech investors as the sector and mid cap or small cap biotech or pharma stocks like Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ICPT), Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM), Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (NASDAQ: TNXP) and TNI BioTech Inc (OTCQB: TNIB) either surging or producing some news plus there have been IPO filings for future listings for Flexion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FLXN), Aldexa Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ALDX), Retrophin (NASDAQ: RTRX) and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: DRNA). Consider the following news so far this year: Biotech Showcase 2014. A large number of small cap biotech stocks will be presenting at the Biotech Showcase 2014 this coming Monday, January 13th to 15th in San Francisco. The full list of companies presenting can be viewed here while all the companies participating in the "showcase" can be viewed here. Goldman Sachs Downgrades the Biotech Sector. In a 61-page research note published last Sunday, Goldman Sachs' biotechnology analysts downgraded the sector from Buy to Neutral, saying the sector is "fairly valued." Given that the biotech sector is trading at more than 25 times estimated 2014 earnings and has more than doubled in value over the past two years, it currently trades at a premium to the broader stock market. And while the biotech sector deserves some sort of premium, biotech stocks will increasingly need strong earnings to justify their lofty stock prices. More Biotech IPO Filings. So far this week, small cap Flexion Therapeutics, which is developing injectable pain therapies for osteoarthritis, has filed to raise up to $86 million in an IPO plus Aldexa Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech developing treatments for rare skin and eye diseases, filed raise up to $20 million in an IPO. No pricing terms were disclosed. Retrophin, which is developing treatments for postpartum milk let-down, Schizophrenia and Autism, also announced plans to raise $40 million by offering 4.8 million shares at $8.30 per share to command a market value of $193 million. In addition and late last week, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, which is developing RNAi therapeutics for a range of diseases including cancer, filed to raise up to $69 million in an IPO. Dicerna Pharmaceuticals initially filed confidentially on November 8, 2013, and no pricing terms have been disclosed. Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc Surges. Small cap Intercept Pharmaceuticals became a mid cap yesterday when it surged 281.09% after the company stopped a clinical trial of a liver disease drug early, saying there was clear evidence the treatment worked. Intercept Pharmaceuticals was studying the effects of experimental drug, obeticholic acid, on treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a type of chronic liver disease caused by excessive fat accumulation in the liver that can cause inflammation and scarring – leading to cirrhosis, liver failure and death. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is the leading cause of liver transplants in the US with about 22 million Americans having the condition and about 8 million suffering from its advanced stages. There are no approved drugs for the illness. Intercept Pharmaceuticals is now up 708.3% over the past year and up 1,348.2% since October 2012. Epizyme Inc Earns a $25 Million Payment. On Tuesday, small cap biopharmaceutical company Epizyme Inc surged 75.56% after it announced that EPZ-5676, a DOT1L inhibitor for acute leukemias, had reached its proof-of-concept milestone - earning a $25 million payment under the company's collaboration with Celgene Corporation. Although Epizyme Inc did not release a bunch of data, Celgene Corporation's $25 million payment must mean the data was good. However, Epizyme Inc did get crushed by more than 40% in one day back in November when the company issued a press release to say that results were positive enough to warrant further study, but apparently they were not positive enough for investors to not dump shares. Epizyme Inc is up 61.4% since last June. Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp Keeps Rising Steadily Higher. Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp is already up 57% since the start of the year in a steady daily increases and on no real news or announcements. It should be mentioned that Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp's most advanced product candidate is sublingual TNX-102 (TNX-102 SL) for fibromyalgia (FM) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In September 2013, Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp began enrollment in a pivotal trial of TNX-102 SL for the treatment of FM and is expected to enter a Phase 2 trial in 2014 for the treatment of PTSD. TNI BioTech Announces More Deals. Small cap TNI BioTech International, which acquires patents, develops treatments, markets and licenses immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS and autoimmune diseases, has been producing a steady stream of news. Last December, TNI BioTech International announced that the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health had granted a certificate of free sale to the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, TNI BioTech International Ltd., for Lodonal, the company's Low Dose Naltrexone product (LDN) for the treatment of patients with autoimmune diseases HIV/AIDS, Crohn's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and certain cancers. Then back in October, TNI BioTech had announced that TNI BioTech International, Ltd. had a distribution agreement with a Nigerian company called AHAR Pharma to market Lodonal in Nigeria for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. The company says this deal will generate just over $53,000,000 in gross revenue in 2014 with approximately $21,000,000 in available cash flow to meet TNIB's financial clinical trial commitments plus AHAR Pharma had also pre-paid for the API necessary for the soft launch and has committed to purchase a minimum of $1,000,000 worth of capsules between now and January 2014. Since then, TNI BioTech has also received a Certificate of Free Sale and export licenses for the Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Malawi and the Republic of Gabon plus the company is having discussions with a number of other emerging countries concerning the approval of Lodonal and hopes to receive approvals in these countries for this year. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Blog Archive ►  2019 (34) ►  March (17) ►  February (17) ►  2018 (19) ►  August (1) ►  July (7) ►  June (3) ►  May (8) ►  2016 (2) ►  November (2) ►  2015 (116) ►  July (7) ►  June (14) ►  May (17) ►  April (12) ►  March (21) ►  February (20) ►  January (25) ▼  2014 (332) ►  December (18) ►  November (23) ►  October (35) ►  September (39) ►  August (30) ►  July (42) ►  June (35) ►  May (25) ►  April (27) ►  March (25) ►  February (10) ▼  January (23) Corning shares surge on Samsung deal Emerging Stocks Rise 5th Day on China as Petrobras... 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Kohl's Q1 Net Drops, but Beats EPS Estimates 5 Reasons Not to Worry This Week 3 FTSE Shares Hitting New Highs Designer Funds: 4 Fundamental Favorites ►  2013 (107) ►  December (23) ►  November (24) ►  October (22) ►  September (20) ►  August (18) About Me Ruby View my complete profile Ethereal theme. Powered by Blogger.