Houston Astros owner sues Comcast, NBC, ex-owner

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Astros owner Jim Crane has sued the team's former owner and a pair of media companies, alleging he's lost possibly hundreds of millions of dollars because they misrepresented the value of a regional television network that broadcasts Astros games.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Houston on Thursday, accuses former Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr., as well as Comcast and NBC Universal Media of fraud, misrepresentation and conspiracy. The suit also accuses McLane of breach of contract.

Astros games are broadcast in the Houston area on Comcast SportsNet Houston. When Crane bought the Astros in 2011 for $615 million, part of that included a more than 40% stake in the regional television network.

But only 40% of the city's television households could view games this year; most cable providers in the area did not have carriage agreements.

In his lawsuit, Crane alleges that McLane fraudulently boosted the value of the network by false representing the subscription fees that providers would pay. The lawsuit says McLane knew these rates were "too high and that other distributors would not agree to pay the rate."

At a news conference Friday, Crane said the network's failings have cost the team "tens, probably hundreds" of millions of dollars in revenue and if the network deal stays in place, losses would continue for years.

"We now face a situation where either we accept millions of dollars in loss each year, with the damage to this franchise and this city for next 20 years, or we fight back," Crane said. "I did not buy this team to have a low payroll and be mediocre. We bought this team to win championships and we bought part of this network so our fans can watch the games."

In September, affiliates of Comcast filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition on behalf of Comcast SportsNet Houston. The petition was made after the Astros had indicated the team likely would end its agreement with the network. The Astros are asking that the petition be di! smissed.

Comcast, which owns NBC Universal, said it rejected any claims of wrongdoing.

"It appears that Mr. Crane is suffering from an extreme case of buyer's remorse, and aiming to blame the network's challenges on anything but his own actions," Comcast said in a statement. "Comcast/NBCUniversal looks forward to vindicating itself in this litigation and also remains committed to a reorganization of the network in bankruptcy court."

McLane said in a statement the sale of the Astros was "absolutely transparent" and his side had provided thousands of pages of documents and answers to all questions that Crane and his representatives had.

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"This was one of the most complex and scrutinized transactions of my business career," McLane said. "The accusations that have been reported are hollow and appear to be an attempt to recreate the facts."

The other partner in the network, the Houston Rockets, is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, even though the suit says that Rockets owner Leslie Alexander also was aware the subscription fees the network was proposing were too high.

The Astros had the lowest payroll in the majors this year at about $29.3 million as they finished a major league-worst 51-111, their third straight 100-loss season.

Crane said the network's ongoing problems won't change plans he had to increase the payroll sign free agents.

"We won't let this alter the on field success," he said.

Electronic Arts Tops Estimates, Cuts Tiger Woods Partnership

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) reported a second fiscal quarter 2014 results after markets closed on Tuesday. The games company posted adjusted diluted EPS of $0.33 and $1.04 billion in non-GAAP revenue. In the same period a year ago, EA reported EPS of $0.15 on non-GAAP revenues of $1.08 billion. Second-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.12 and $976.10 million in revenue.

The video game maker offered third fiscal quarter guidance of $1.65 billion in revenue, short of the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion, and adjusted EPS guidance of $1.22, again short of the consensus estimate of $1.32. Full-year guidance for calls for EPS of $1.25 and full-year revenue of $4 billion. Full-year guidance is above the consensus estimate of $1.22 for EPS, but slightly below the consensus revenue estimate of $4.02 billion.

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Non-GAAP revenue estimates include a positive impact of $450 million in full-year expected revenues due to a change in deferred net revenue for online-enabled games. A similar exclusion will add about $875 million to expected fourth-quarter revenues.

Earlier on Tuesday the company said it was parting ways with Tiger Woods and his golf video game after 15 years and $771 million in sales. The decision to end the relationship was mutual according to the company.

Shares are up about 3% in after-hours trading at $24.13 in a 52-week range of $11.90 to $28.13. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $26.90 before today's results were announced.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) Q4 Earnings Preview: A Fifth Wheel About To Come Off?

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) will release 2013 full-year and fourth-quarter financial results at 6:30 a.m. Central Time on Monday, January 27, 2014. The release will be available at http://www.caterpillar.com/earnings, and the full text of the news release will also be available on PR Newswire at about 6:30 a.m. Central Time.

Wall Street anticipates that the Dow Jones member will earn $1.28 per share for the quarter, which is down 12.33% from last year's $1.46 per share. iStock expects the industrial goods company to miss Wall Street's consensus number. The iEstimate is $1.24; four pennies below the street's outlook.

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If the iEstimate is correct or at least on the right side of the surprise, it would be the fifth consecutive bearish surprise from the CAT.  In the twelve previous quarters, Caterpillar delivered 11 bullish surprises with just one misstep. The trend is your friend until it is no longer the trend.

While the heavy/farm equipment maker's bottom-line appears to be streaky, CAT's earnings-driven, stock price performance has split right down the middle for the last 16 quarters with eight red and eight green reactions. However, the January announcement has favored a price increase over a decline by three to one in the last four years.

That being said, gains weren't Earth moving at 1.6%, 2.6% and 3.6% in the three days surrounding earnings. What's with the point six? The lone January dip violated the .6 rule but was tame at -2.40%. Could they find another 0.20%?

[Related -International Business Machines Corp. (IBM): More Potholes In The Road To $20 In 2015]

Caterpillar shareholders have to be concerned with an economic slowdown in China and International Business Machines Corp.'s (NYSE:IBM) Chinese woes. Last quarter, CAT's sales in China improved in a quarter where sales decreased 18% year-over-year. If China starts to slow, the wheels could come off, as they say.

According to the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, agricultural equipment demand is falling;   industrial machinery is growing slightly above average; transportation equipment is experiencing slow to average growth; construction equipment is forecasted for slow to average growth, too.  That's not an encouraging montage, is it? 

On the positive side, Caterpillar's management appears to be readying for slower times as inventory fell 13.86% in Q3. Management also is doing their part to manage the income statement and squeeze as much as possible out of sales. In the third quarter, total operating costs fell 12.27% as sales dropped at a faster clip of 18.16% year-over-year.

Overall: The iEstimate and current market conditions suggest Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) is likely to make it five, five misses in a row. However, CAT's January EPS price-sensitivity could mean the price stays close to home despite another earnings miss.

Icahn sells about 3 million shares in Netflix

Activist investor Carl Icahn on Tuesday sold about 3 million shares of Netflix Inc. (NFLX) , or more than half his stake, reaping a large profit in the process.

Netflix's share price has more than quintupled since Mr. Icahn originally invested in the company at $58 a share just more than a year ago, Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP) said.

In a tweet Mr. Icahn issued on Twitter, which was verified by an Icahn representative, the investor said he sold a block of Netflix shares.

The tweet came around the time of a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that showed Mr. Icahn had sold about 3 million shares in the online streaming and DVD rental company.

Icahn Enterprises, however, said that it believes the stock "remains significantly undervalued," calling Netflix "one of the great consumer bargains of our time."

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Mr. Icahn still owns about 2.7 million shares in Netflix, according to the SEC filing.

Netflix on Monday reported that its third-quarter profit more than quadrupled as it continued to add subscribers across the globe.

Shares of the company were down 1.9% at $316.40 in after-hours trading. The stock has more than tripled this year alone.

Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com

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How Many New iPhones Does Apple Inc. Have Up Its Sleeve?

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) is releasing two new iPhones this year with larger screens, a 4.5-inch model and a 5-inch-plus model. While this wasn't exactly new information, it was more evidence from a reputable source that big iPhones are on the way. The report also said that Apple is "scrap[ping] the plastic exterior" used in the iPhone 5c. There has been no shortage of reports suggesting that the 5c doesn't sell well, and larger iPhones would target an even higher end of the market, so it makes sense that the company would use premium metal casings for these phones, rather than plastic like the 5c.

In this segment of Tech Teardown, Erin Kennedy discusses the two new rumored phones with Evan Niu, CFA, our tech and telecom bureau chief. Shares of Apple rallied on the news, which shows that investors are pretty excited about a larger iPhone. Evan tells investors why now is just the right time for the company to release a larger version of its iPhone, in order to stay competitive with Samsung.

The smartest way to play the smartphone explosion
Want to get in on the smartphone phenomenon? Truth be told, one company sits at the crossroads of smartphone technology as we know it. It's not your typical household name, either. In fact, you've probably never even heard of it! But it stands to reap massive profits no matter who ultimately wins the smartphone war. To find out what it is, click here to access the "One Stock You Must Buy Before the iPhone-Android War Escalates Any Further."

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On Turning Back Your Clock as Daylight Saving Time Ends

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Most people like the extra hour of sleep. Others relish having an extra hour of life to do one thing or another.

Turning back the clock to end daylight saving time has intrigued me ever since I was a young boy growing up in the small western New York hamlet of Niagara Falls. (It's actually not a hamlet.)

As a 38-year-old, I'll be as fascinated by it this weekend as I have ever been.

When I was a youngster, unable to stay up until two in the morning, I always thought something mysterious took place at 2:00 a.m. I just couldn't wrap my head around the notion of the one-o-clock hour going off twice. I used to say to my mother exactly what I say to my wife 30 years later: So it's one in the morning, but right when it hits two, it becomes one again. At some point in my pre-teen life, I stayed up until two, eyes focused on the television screen, to see if it would do a funky dance or self-destruct. Now, I'm enamored by the on-screen guide merely repeating the one-o-clock hour, but with a fresh slate of programming or infomercials. A year out of high school, I worked as a DJ at Q102, the Best Hits Without the Hard Rock and Rap, where, to avoid the obvious clash, I went by "Rich Pendola." I did weekend overnights. One year, on the night we had to turn back the clock, my program director, Rob Lucas, let me pick the music for that extra hour. The playlist went out the window, an oddity for what was, even back in 1993 or thereabouts, an over-programmed adult-contemporary radio station. The year after that, I spent the night we turn the clocks back as an underage drinker in the Allentown section of Buffalo at a famous watering hole called "Mulligan's Brick Bar." The place still exists, complete with a huge poster of Springsteen's The River album cover hanging on the wall. When the clock strikes two in Buffalo on this night, things get wild. At the Brick Bar, shots of Mad Dog 20/20 flowed for an extra hour till last call at four, which, because of the time switch was really five. Now, in my relative old age, I don't care much about the extra hour of sleep. I just like that it gets lighter faster and earlier on in the fall. It's actually light out when I wake up in the morning. Maybe it's my West Coast smug (I live in Santa Monica, just west of Los Angeles), but I relish darkness in the early evening hours. On LA's Westside, much like in my previous stomping grounds of San Francisco, there's just this cozy, cool feel that promotes a festive holiday mood. Of course, if you live on the East Coast or another place that experiences traditional winter you might go so far as feeling depressed when it's time to fall back. You prefer springing ahead, a sure sign that warmer weather is on the way. To each his/her own. In any event, just like there's no excuse for being an hour late to work or school on the Monday morning after we spring ahead, you'll look just as bad if you show up an hour too soon. With that in mind, whether you like or not, be sure to turn your clock back Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. Follow @rocco_thestreet --Written by Rocco Pendola in New York City

Fake $100 bill signed 'Moe Money' used in N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina university student faces charges of possessing almost $13,000 in fake money in her room after she tried to use a counterfeit $100 bill signed "Moe Money," investigators say.

Symone Vannessa Brown, 19, faces felony charges that include obtaining property under false pretense, uttering a forged security and possession of counterfeiting tools. Those are the state equivalent of counterfeiting charges, University of North Carolina Greensboro police Chief James Herring said.

Campus police responded to a call Tuesday from a drugstore where someone tried use to a counterfeit $100 bill to buy a gift card, Herring said. The signature on the bottom corner of the bill read "Moe Money" instead of the name of the secretary of the treasury. Underneath the signature, the bill read "Proprietor of the Counterfeiting."

The store recognized that the bill was counterfeit and called police, Herring said. Brown was arrested when she returned to the store to try to retrieve the bill, he said.

Police then found $12,882 in fake money, mostly $100 bills, in her room, Herring said. While some were better than others, none would have passed the test that stores perform to confirm a bill's authenticity, he said. For example, the backs of some were mirror images, reading 001 instead 100 for $100 bills.

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It was not clear Thursday whether Brown, whose hometown is Charlotte, had an attorney. There was no answer at the phone number listed for Brown in the student directory, although police did seize a cellphone from her. Also seized were a desk jet printer, an ink cartridge, a Wells Fargo platinum card and a Bank of America debit card, along with notebooks.

The Associated Press also sent an email to her student account.

The U.S. Secret Service has joined the investigation. The U.S. Attorney's Office hasn't said if it wants to file! federal charges, Herring said.

17 “Triple A” Stocks to Buy

Popular Posts: 9 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now3 Communications Equipment Stocks to Buy Now4 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now Recent Posts: 17 “Triple A” Stocks to Buy 17 “Triple A” Stocks to Buy 17 “Triple A” Stocks to Buy View All Posts

This week, 17 stocks get A’s (“strong buy”) in Portfolio Grader‘s three main grading categories, Total Grade, Overall Fundamental Grade and Quantitative Grade.

These are the best of the best in the entire Portfolio Grader database. This week, there are 4,307 stocks and only these 17 get top marks in all categories to make the elite “Triple A” stocks list. Here they are:

Aceto Corporation () is engaged in the sourcing, quality assurance, marketing, and distribution of pharmaceuticals and other chemical-based products in the health and crop production sectors. Shares of the stock have risen 3.6% since January 1. This is better than the Nasdaq, which has remained flat. .

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company () is a full service underwriter of fixed annuity and life insurance products through its wholly-owned life insurance subsidiaries. The stock has a trailing PE Ratio of 7.40. .

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. () develops, manufactures and commercializes therapeutic products for tissue protection, healing and repair. The price of ANIK is up 3.6% since the first of the year. .

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. () provides investor communication, securities processing, and clearing and outsourcing solutions to the financial services industry. .

China Distance Education Holdings Ltd. Sponsored ADR () provides online and offline education services, and sells related products in the People's Republic of China. Since the start of the year, DL has increased 11.5%. Trade volume rose notably over the past week, up 249.7%. .

Edwards Group Ltd. ADR () is an industrial technology company that manufactures and sells vacuum products and abatement systems. .

Phoenix New Media Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A () provides content on an integrated platform across Internet, mobile, and TV channels in the People's Republic of China. FENG is up 25.3% since January 1. .

Federal Signal Corporation () manufactures and supplies safety, signaling, and communications equipment. The stock’s trailing PE Ratio is 6.40. .

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. () designs, builds, and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the United States Navy and Coast Guard. Stock prices have risen 9.4% since the first of the year. .

Par Pharmaceutical () develops, manufactures, and distributes generic and branded pharmaceuticals in the United States. .

Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. () develops and commercializes novel central nervous system-focused therapeutics that address significant unmet medical needs. Shares of the stock have risen 11.3% since January 1. .

Qihoo 360 Technology Co., Ltd. ADR Class A () provides Internet and mobile security products in the People’s Republic of China. Since January 1, QIHU has risen 13.3%. The volume of trades has grown significantly in the past week, up 137.1%. .

SouFun Holdings Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A () operates a real estate Internet portal, and a home furnishing and improvement Website in the People's Republic of China. SFUN is 12% higher since the beginning of the year. .

Santarus, Inc. () is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing proprietary products that address the needs of patients treated by gastroenterologists and other targeted physicians. .

Constellation Brands, Inc. Class A () is primarily a wine company that also markets other alcoholic beverages. Shares of STZ have climbed 14.1% since January 1. The stock has a trailing PE Ratio of 8.50. .

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.

More Easy Money Signals Tougher Times Ahead for U.S. Economy

The easy money will continue to be pumped into the economy by the Federal Reserve, but the difference, I think, will be that the soft tone will have less of an impact on the stock market than in the previous years. As was widely expected and to no one’s surprise, the Federal Reserve sat on its hands and did nothing with its current bond buying. So its status quo again as we move ahead and get ready to welcome in Janet Yellen as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Based on the subsequent reaction by the stock market, the news was clearly discounted. The only thing was what the Federal Reserve would say about the economic renewal.

As I have said on numerous occasions, the Federal Reserve, in spite of adding over $3.0 trillion in debt to its balance sheet, continues to see America in flux and unable to shake its demons. By this I mean the economic renewal, while in place, remains at a tepid pace. Consumer spending is just not where you want to see it, and I think the advance reading for the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth on Thursday will point to this. Also, the jobs market continues to be caught in a vacuum.

Also Read: NYSE Holidays 2014

“Available data suggest that household spending and business fixed investment advanced, while the recovery in the housing sector slowed somewhat in recent months,” said the Federal Reserve. Notice the comment on the housing market which I said was heading down.

Of course, for market participants, the cloudy forecast from the Federal Reserve will likely mean the tapering of the monthly bond buying will continue past the December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and into early to mid-2014 before any tapering begins.

As the next head of the central bank, Janet Yellen will likely maintain the quantitative easing as long as she can with her dovish reputation as an economist who supports the backing of loose monetary policy to help economic stalling.

Yet for investors, the direction of the stock market will be less driven by the easy money and the Federal Reserve, and will likely shift more to how the economy and corporate America are faring. The economic renewal will likely be flat throughout 2014, and we know corporate revenue growth continues to be a major issue that helps support the sluggish economy.

Given this, I expect gains will be harder to come by in 2014. And while the stock market could head higher, the easy money made in stocks will have passed. If the upcoming holiday shopping season for the retail sector is as soft as some pundits predict, we could be in for a rough end to the year. As such, a prudent investment strategy would be to take some profits off the table and cut some of your losers prior to the year-end.

This article More Easy Money Signals Tougher Times Ahead for U.S. Economy was originally published at Investment Contrarians

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

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  Around the Web, We're Loving... Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular Earnings Expectations For The Week Of November 4: Disney, Tesla, Groupon And More Black Friday's Hottest Tech Deals: iPad Air, PlayStation 4 Games And More New iPad Air Adoption Rate Five Times Higher Than iPad 4 (AAPL) Samsung To Sell 12-Inch Tablet This Year, Beating Apple To Retail UPDATE: JMP Securities Reiterates on Keryx Biopharmaceuticals on Blockbuster Potential Growing for Zerenex Earnings Scheduled For November 4, 2013 Related Articles () UPDATE: D.A. Davidson & Co. Reiterates as Q3:CY13 Results Fall Short of Estimates Apple's 'Made-in-the-USA' Crusade Continues Buffett Boys Write Book To Help Change World Pros See Twitter's Momentum Prior To IPO UPDATE: AOL Q3 Profit Drops 90% UPDATE: CVS Caremark Posts 25% Rise In Q3 Profit, Lifts Outlook View the discussion thread. Partner Network #marketfy-ae-block { display: none; border: 2px solid #0a3f75; overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 125px; text-align: center; background-color: #45719E; position: relative; z-index: 1; } #marketfy-ae-block a { display: block; width: 300px; height: 125px; position: relative; z-index: 2; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text { color: #f9fc99; padding: 0px 0 0 0; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text-start { font-size: 12px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown { padding: 5px 0 5px 0; font-size: 26px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup { padding: 5px 47px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup:hover { background-color: #457a1a; } #marketfy-ae-block #marketfy-ae-block-logo { display: block; padding: 3px 0 0 0; margin: 0; } #marketfy-ae-block-logo { text-indent: -9999px; } #marketfy-ae-block-free { display: block; position: absolute; top: 7px; right: -23px; width: 80px; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; opacity: 1; -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg); -moz-transform: rotate(45deg); -ms-transform: rotate(45deg); transform: rotate(45deg); font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: #333333; background-color: yellow; z-index: 500; text-shadow: 1px 1px #999999; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow { position: relative; width: 60px; height: 60px; z-index: 10; margin: -80px 0 13px -21px; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow img { height: 60px; width: auto; } Marketfy's International
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U.S. Stocks Have Worst Week Since June Amid Fed Concern

U.S. stocks fell for the week, with benchmark indexes posting the worst losses since June, as better-than-estimated data on trade and service industries fueled concern the Federal Reserve may reduce its stimulus.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. dropped at least 2.6 percent amid federal legal actions tied to their past mortgage-backed bond practices. Homebuilders tumbled 6.6 percent as a group amid concern rising interest rates and slow orders may continue to hurt the industry. International Business Machines Corp. slumped 3.8 percent to its 2013 low on signs of slowing demand for hardware. Tesla Motors Inc. and Groupon Inc. surged as results beat analyst estimates.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.1 percent to 1,691.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 232.85 points, or 1.5 percent, to 15,425.51. Both gauges capped their worst week since June 21 after closing at records on Aug. 2.

"There is still plenty of skepticism and anxiety in the market," Hank Smith, who oversees $7 billion as chief investment officer at Radnor, Pennsylvania-based Haverford Trust Co., said by phone yesterday. "The uncertainty of when will the Fed taper? How much will they taper?" he said. "The market has come a long way this year. It will be interesting to see if investors take advantage of this pullback as they did clearly in the pullback in May-June."

Fed Bets

The weekly drop in stocks came after the S&P 500's valuations jumped to their highest levels in more than three years. The benchmark index trades at 15.3 projected earnings, up from a multiple of 13.1 at the beginning of this year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Speculation that the Fed will pare bond purchases in September as the economy strengthens has whipsawed the market. The S&P 500 sank as much as 5.8 percent over the five weeks ended June 24, before recovering all the losses to hit an all-time high on Aug. 2.

Charles Evans, Sandra Pianalto and Richard Fisher, regional Fed presidents in Chicago, Cleveland and Dallas, said during the week that the central bank may be closer to tapering as the labor market recovers. Fed stimulus has helped propel the S&P 500 up more than 150 percent from its bear-market low in 2009.

Economic Reports

America's trade deficit narrowed in June to the smallest in almost four years, service industries expanded in July at the fastest pace in five months, and jobless claims fell to the lowest monthly rate since before the recession, economic reports showed during the week. In Asia, the Chinese economy is showing signs of improvement, with data on industrial output, trade and service industries topping economist forecasts.

Some 449 companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly results so far this earnings season. Among them, 72 percent have exceeded analysts' profit estimates and 56 percent have beaten sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

"Earnings are pretty much done and tapering is on the way," Rick Fier, director of equity trading at Conifer Securities LLC in New York, said in an interview. "Catalysts to move us higher are done for the short term. We get the sense that the next move will be lower, nothing terrible but lower seems easier than higher at this point."

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX, jumped 12 percent to 13.41 during the week. The equity volatility gauge is down 26 percent for the year.

Nine of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 declined as telephone and financial shares fell the most, sinking at least 1.9 percent.

Federal Investigation

JPMorgan dropped 3.5 percent $54.52. The biggest U.S. bank said it's under federal criminal investigation for practices tied to sales of mortgage-backed bonds. The Justice Department's civil division found in May that sales practices broke civil laws after it examined securities tied to subprime and Alt-A loans sold to investors from 2005 through 2007.

Bank of America erased 2.6 percent to $14.45. The Department of Justice accused the company in a lawsuit of misleading investors about the quality of loans tied to $850 million in mortgage-backed securities. The complaint chronicles friction among bank staff in 2007 and 2008 as they excluded risky Alt-A loans while leaving in wholesale debts once scorned as "toxic waste" by the firm's then-chief.

An S&P index of homebuilders slumped as all of its members retreated at least 4.5 percent. Decelerating orders and potentially higher interest rates may continue to hurt investor sentiment toward the housing industry, Robert Wetenhall, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets LLC, wrote in a note.

PulteGroup Inc. tumbled 9 percent to $15.67 while D.R. Horton Inc. slipped 7.3 percent to $18.89.

Furlough Leave

IBM dropped 3.8 percent to $187.82 for the biggest loss in the Dow. The world's largest computer-services company said U.S. employees in its hardware division will take a furlough week with one-third pay starting either Aug. 24 or Aug. 31.

The company is cutting costs after server demand slowed in the second quarter. Sales in the hardware business, which includes storage devices and microelectronics, slid 12 percent in the period from a year earlier.

First Solar Inc. slid 13 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $41.02. the largest U.S. solar-panel manufacturer reported lower second-quarter profit as sales slipped 46 percent.

J.C. Penney Co. sank 9.9 percent to $12.87. Investor Bill Ackman called for the retailer to oust Chairman Tom Engibous, escalating a public dispute with his fellow directors as he seeks a replacement for Chief Executive Officer Mike Ullman.

China Boost

Raw-material producers were the only group to gain for the week among the S&P 500's 10 main industries, rising 0.9 percent, amid data that showed a stabilizing economy in China, the world's biggest consumer for commodities from iron ore to coal.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., the largest U.S. iron-ore producer, climbed 18 percent to $24.35 in the week. Peabody Energy Corp., the largest U.S. coal producer, advanced 11 percent to $17.90.

Tesla soared 11 percent to $153. The electric-car company led by Elon Musk posted second-quarter results that surpassed analysts' estimates on a surge in Model S sedan deliveries.

Groupon Inc. rallied 22 percent to $10.61. The operator of the largest daily-deals website reported a second-quarter net loss that was narrower than analysts forecast. The company, which lost 87 percent of its value in the year after going public in November 2011, named co-founder Eric Lefkofsky as chief executive officer to lead turnaround plans.

Reducing Stocks

Credit Suisse Group AG cut its holdings of equities after global stocks rallied to a five-year high and Fed policy makers began considering whether to trim stimulus measures. Switzerland's second-largest bank reduced its allocation to stocks to neutral from overweight, meaning it no longer holds more of the asset class than is represented in global benchmarks, according to a note to clients dated Aug. 5.

"The fundamental environment remains attractive, but the markets are overbought in the wake of the recent rally," Michael Strobaek, the Zurich-based global chief investment officer at Credit Suisse, wrote in the report. The "combination of a positive economic outlook and a further supportive monetary policy seems largely priced into the markets. We therefore see limited upside in the near term," he wrote.

Why Best Buy Killed Staples and Office Depot

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) wasn't the only stock hit by its admission that deep discounting failed to boost holiday sales. Investors dumped Best Buy shares heavily in response, and they drove down shares of Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) and Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP) as well. Neither has shown anything along the lines of Best Buy’s holiday disappointment, but investors are shooting them as well.

The heavy promotion and discounts that Best Buy employed to combat intense competition from other retailers of electronics, especially Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), probably forced Staples and Office Depot to knock prices lower on their own products.

Best Buy, Staples and Office Depot offer an assortment of electronics and electronics-related products, from computers, tablets and printers to things like bags for computers, USB hubs and other peripheral products. Sale signs were all over the three stores during the holiday season.

Best Buy and Staples also have been able to make heavy investments in their online businesses. But boosting online sales doesn't necessarily boost margins.

In Best Buy's case, online sales in November and December were 11.5 percent of the company's November and December sales, up from 9 percent a year earlier.  Office Depot is still consolidating its operations after merging with Office Max in 2013.

Amazon.com also competes with the same products and offered low prices and free delivery on higher-ticket items. Moreover, the online retail giant has been adding warehouses and fulfillment centers ever closer to its customers so it can make deliveries in 24 hours or so.

A number of investors appear to sense how the holiday season was going to shape up for Staples and Office Depot. Staples shares have fallen about 15 percent since Nov. 1. Office Depot shares are down nearly 17 percent.

Staples shares were down 74 cents, or nearly 5 percent, to $13.74 Thursday afternoon. Office Depot shares were off 9 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $4.75. Best Buy shares were down $10.79, or nearly 29 percent, to $28.72. Best Buy is down more than 37 percent in the same period. Amazon.com is up more than 10 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is up 5 percent.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now

LONDON -- Alliance Trust (LSE: ATST  ) , a self-managed investment firm, has just had its best first-quarter performance in 15 years. Shares are up 1.7% late in London trading.

Alliance announced today that the shareholder return for the quarter ending in March was 15.2%, while its net asset value increased 13.6%. These results, it says, owed to strong performance from global equities.

The company said that over the quarter, the best-performing sectors were health care, with a 22.3% increase; consumer staples, up 19.5%; and consumer discretionary, lifting 16.4%. Alliance said the weakening of the sterling had a positive impact on its portfolio.

Alliance said its portfolio activity in the quarter was a reflection of management's decision to increase exposure to equities. There have been a number of significant changes to the equity portfolio over the first quarter: Notable new additions (140 million pounds of the 220 million pounds initiated last quarter) include positions in Walt Disney, Zurich Insurance, Barclays, and Infineon Technology.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: ValueClick Inc.(VCLK)

ValueClick, Inc. provides various products and services that enable marketers to advertise and sell their products through online marketing channels primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company?s Affiliate Marketing segment provides technology platforms, advertising network, and customer services, which enable advertisers to create their own commissioned online sales force comprising third-party Website publishers. This segment offers its services under the Commission Junction brand. Its Media segment provides digital marketing services and tailored programs under ValueClick Media brand name that enable marketers to create and increase awareness for their products and brands; attract visitors; and generate leads and sales through the Internet and mobile applications. The company?s Owned & Operated Websites segment offers its services through various Websites comprising Pricerunner and Smarter.com Websites, which enable consumers to research and comp are products from online and/or offline merchants; Couponmountain.com Website that enables consumers to locate coupons and deals related to products and services; and Investopedia.com Website, which provides information on various financial and investment topics, including a proprietary dictionary of financial terms. This segment also operates vertical content Websites that offer consumers information and reference material in various topics in healthcare, finance, travel, home and garden, education, and business services. Its Technology segment operates as an application service provider and offers technology infrastructure tools and consultative services that enable marketers to implement and manage their online display advertising, search engine marketing, and email campaigns. The company serves direct marketers, advertisers, advertising agencies, and traffic distribution partners. ValueClick, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, California.< /p> Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of digital marketing company ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK  ) plummeted 17% today after its quarterly results and outlook disappointed Wall Street.

• [By Rich Smith]

  ValueClick got toggled off
  Google's�mini-rival in the market for online ads, ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK  ) , beat earnings by a couple of cents in yesterday's earnings report. Unfortunately, this good news isn't translating into good grades on Wall Street, as a whole series of analysts cut their ratings on the stock to various flavors of "hold." Stephens and Cantor Fitzgerald, Craig-Hallum and Raymond James -- one and all, the analysts are downgrading ValueClick today -- but why?

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Rosetta Stone(RST)

Rosetta Stone Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology-based language-learning solutions in the United States and internationally. The company develops, markets, and sells language-learning solutions, such as software, online services, mobile applications, and audio practice tools in approximately 30 languages primarily under the Rosetta Stone brand. Its products and services include Rosetta Course, a self-study interactive language-learning curriculum that consists of sequences of listening, speaking, reading, and writing interactions designed to teach, reinforce, and test learners through its software program; Rosetta Studio comprising a series of coach-led practice sessions that provide learners to practice what they have previously learned through the software program; and Rosetta World, an interactive community of language learners, which gives learners the opportunity to play games with other learners. The company also offers Audio Companion, which i s a series of digital audio files that contain lessons aligned to the Rosetta Stone curriculum, allowing users to practice previously learned material; and TOTALe Companion HD, a learning tool that includes a series of practice lessons, which use images, audio, and speech recognition technology to enable users refine their speaking skills. The company also offers SharedTalk, an online peer-to-peer practice environment at sharedtalk.com; and ReFLEX, a solution designed for English learners who want to enhance listening and speaking skills. Rosetta Stone sells its products and services through Websites, call centers, retailers, direct sales force, and a network of kiosks. Its customers include individuals, home school parents, educational institutions, armed forces, government agencies, corporations, and not-for-profit institutions. Rosetta Stone Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matthew Argersinger]

  The following video excerpt was taken from an interview with Steve Swad, CEO of Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST  ) , in which he talks about his business philosophy and how it is driving success both for language learners and for the company itself. In this segment, he discusses how his products are helping people learn through technology.

• [By Matthew Argersinger]

  The following video excerpt was taken from an interview with Steve Swad, CEO of Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST  ) , in which he talks about his business philosophy, and how it is driving success both for language learners and for the company itself. In this segment, he discusses the philosophy for building a successful management team.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of language-software maker�Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST  ) got crushed today, down by as much as 12% after the company reported first-quarter earnings and filed a mixed shelf registration.

Hot Cheap Companies To Own In Right Now: Western Forest Pro Com Stk Npv (WEF.TO)

Western Forest Products Inc. operates as an integrated softwood forest products company. The company is involved in the harvesting of timber; reforestation; forest management; manufacture and sale of lumber and wood chips; sale of logs; and lumber remanufacturing. It processes logs, including western red cedar, douglas fir, hem-fir, yellow cedar, and sitka spruce. Western Forest Products Inc. markets its products directly to lumber distributors, manufacturers, trading houses, and wholesale customers, as well as through sales agencies. The company sells its products approximately in 30 countries worldwide. Western Forest Products Inc. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Informatics Education Ltd. (I03.SI)

Informatics Education Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in franchising and licensing computer and commercial training centers, and examination facilitators primarily in Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Higher Education and Corporate Training. The Higher Education segment offers diploma, advanced diploma, degree, masters, and doctorate qualifications in a range of business, engineering, and technological subjects to college going students and lifelong learners, as well as through an online virtual campus. The Corporate Training segment offers training and skills upgrading and enhancement to the general workforce in technical and non-technical areas. The company also provides computer and business education and training services; business management consultancy, and child development services; and operation system support services. In addition, it engages in the operation of e-learning portal that offers e-learning for higher education, corporations, and education services. The company provides its services through operating 47 franchised centers, 226 licensed centers, and 1 standard center. Informatics Education Ltd. was founded in 1983 and is based in Singapore.

Top 5 Performing Stocks To Own Right Now: Landdrill Intl Inc(LDI.V)

Landdrill International Inc. provides contract drilling services for mining and mineral exploration companies primarily in Canada, Mexico, and Asia. Its drilling services include deep hole diamond drilling, directional drilling, reverse circulation drilling, underground drilling, packer testing, setting of instrumentation, and grouting. The company also offers logistics support services, such as setting up camps for housing and drill crews; providing tractor-trailer vehicles for mobilization and demobilization; tractor rentals for drill pads and road construction; and water trucks for drilling programs, as well as camp cooks, cleaners, and service vehicles. Landdrill International Inc. is headquartered in Moncton, Canada.

David Herro and Bill Nygren Comment on FedEx

FedEx (FDX) was the top contributor for the quarter, returning 26%.  FedEx reported solid second quarter results; its express division alone generated 140 basis points of year-over-year margin improvement.  These results show that their cost-savings plans are continuing to gain traction.  The ground division also performed well, producing 8% year-over-year volume growth.  This marked the 55th consecutive quarter that the ground division has gained market share – a trend that should continue for many more years.  Management also improved profitability and deployed the company's excess capital into what we believe are value-creating activities.  When we initially invested in FedEx, we believed that the company could substantially improve its margins and capital allocation, and we are pleased that management executed on – and the market appropriately recognized – such opportunities for sustained value growth. 

 

From the Oakmark Global Select Fund fourth quarter 2013 commentary.

Also check out: David Herro Undervalued Stocks David Herro Top Growth Companies David Herro High Yield stocks, and Stocks that David Herro keeps buying Bill Nygren Undervalued Stocks Bill Nygren Top Growth Companies Bill Nygren High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Bill Nygren keeps buying

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Sunday, January 12, 2014

Is Groupon A Risky Investment?

With shares of Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) trading around $7, is GRPN an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Groupon offers online retail services. The company provides daily deals on the stuff to do, eat, see, and buy in more than 500 markets in 44 countries. It provides an online service that lets groups of people create campaigns to pool resources, including money and personal commitments to take action, and it allows users to sell products and transact business online. Groupon is poised to see rising traffic as it provides consumers with ways to save on common shopping experiences and activities. Look for Groupon to continue to grow and provide consumers and businesses with new opportunities.

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T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Groupon stock has witnessed its stock almost double in the last year or so. The stock is currently still trending higher but may need some time to consolidate. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Groupon is trading above its rising key averages which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

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

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ETFs, Options

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Groupon Options	64.92%	50%	49%

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

	Top 10 Growth Companies To Watch In Right Now Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
July Options	Flat	Average
August Options	Flat	Average

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

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

E = Earnings Are Improving Quarter-Over-Quarter

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

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	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	50%	0.73%	-100%	-111.43%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	7.53%	29.69%	32.17%	44.77%
Earnings Reaction	11.44%	-24.24%	-29.59%	-27.01%

Groupon has seen improving earnings and rising revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have had mixed feelings about Groupon’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Groupon stock done relative to its peers, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), United Online (NASDAQ:UNTD), and sector?

	Groupon	Facebook	Google	United Online	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	47.12%	-8.45%	25.92%	25.13%	20.51%

Groupon has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Groupon allows consumers and companies to find a happy medium when transacting for goods or services. The stock has been on a strong path to higher prices since establishing lows just last year. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been improving while revenue figures have been steadily rising, overall producing mixed feelings among investors in the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Groupon has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Groupon to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014

Don�� worry about why a stock is cheap. Don�� think of your investment in a stock as a bet for or against the prevailing view that some product, industry, technology, CEO or societal trend will prove good or bad ��durable or temporary.

That isn�� your job. Knowing why other people are betting against a stock is knowledge you don�� need.

The only knowledge you need is the knowledge that you are buying a piece of a business for less than its value to a private owner.

The stock market is not a racetrack pooling bets on the future. It is a store selling pieces of businesses. Some of the merchandise is priced very high. Some very low. Most is priced about the level a reasonably well-informed shopper would pay.

But that doesn�� mean you should assume the listed price has any relationship to the product�� actual value.

You are a bargain hunter. Your job is to find the best merchandise at the lowest price.

Mr. Market

Everybody has heard the story of Mr. Market. At least second hand. Here is the actual tale as told by Ben Graham:

Imagine that in some private business you own a small share that cost you $1,000. One of your partners, named Mr. Market, is very obliging indeed. Every day he tells you what he thinks your interest is worth and furthermore offers either to buy you out or sell you an additional interest on that basis. Sometimes his idea of value appears plausible and justified by business developments and prospects as you know them. Often, on the other hand, Mr. Market lets his enthusiasm or his fears run away with him, and the value he proposes seems to you a little short of silly. If you are a prudent investor or a sensible businessman, will you let Mr. Market�� daily communication determine your view of the value of a $1,000 interest in that enterprise? Only, in case you agree with him, or in case you want to trade with him. You may be happy to sell out to him when he quotes you a ridiculously high price, and equally happy to buy f! rom him when his price is low��rice fluctuations have only one significant meaning for the true investor. They provide him with an opportunity to buy wisely when prices fall sharply and to sell wisely when they advance a great deal. At other times he will do better if he forgets about the stock market and pays attention to his dividend returns and to the operating results of his companies.
It doesn�� matter what other people are doing ��and it certainly doesn�� matter why they are doing it. All you and I need to do is buy a stock when it sells for less than its value to a private owner.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Alliance Holdings GP L.P.(AHGP)

Alliance Holdings GP, L.P., through its subsidiaries, produces and markets coal primarily to utilities and industrial users in the United States. It produces a range of steam coal with varying sulfur and heat contents. The company operates nine underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 697.4 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In addition, the company leases land; and operates a coal loading terminal, with a capacity of 8.0 million tons with ground storage of approximately 60,000 to 70,000 tons, on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. Further, it engages in purchasing and selling coal; and providing services, including ash and scrubber sludge removal, coal yard maintenance, and arranging alternate transportation services. Alliance GP, LLC, serves as the general partner of the company. Allian ce Holdings GP, L.P. is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Aegon NV(AEG)

AEGON N.V. provides life insurance, pensions, and asset management products and services worldwide. The company?s life insurance products include traditional, term, universal, whole, and other life insurance products sold as part of defined benefit pension plans, endowment policies, post-retirement annuity products, and group risk products; supplemental health insurance products comprise accidental death, other injury, critical illness, hospital indemnity, medicare supplement, and student health; specialty lines consists of travel, membership, and creditor products; and long term care insurance products for policyholders who require care due to a chronic illness or cognitive impairment. It also offers a range of savings and retirement products and services, including mutual funds, and fixed and variable annuities, savings accounts and investment contracts, segregated funds, guaranteed investment accounts, and single premium immediate annuities, as well as investment advice to individuals. In addition, the company offers employer solutions and pensions, such as retirement plans, pension plans, and pension-related products and services; investment products, including onshore and offshore bonds, and trusts; reinsurance products and solutions to life insurance and financial services companies; general insurance products comprising house, car, and fire insurance; and asset management products and services, including general account assets, unit-linked funds, and third party activities. AEGON N.V. markets its products through independent and career agents, financial planners, registered representatives, independent marketing organizations, banks, broker-dealers, benefit consulting firms, wirehouses, affinity groups, institutional partners, independent managing general agencies, and specialized financial advisors, as well as through online, direct, and worksite marketing. The company was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherl ands.

Top 5 Casino Companies For 2014: MetroPCS Communications Inc.(PCS)

MetroPCS Communications, Inc., a wireless telecommunications carrier, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless broadband mobile services in the United States. Its services include voice services, such as local, domestic long distance, and international call services; and data services, including domestic and international text messaging, multimedia messaging, mobile Internet access, mobile instant messaging, location based services, social networking services, push e-mail, and multimedia streaming and downloads, as well as services provided through the binary runtime environment for wireless (BREW), Blackberry, Windows, and the Android platforms, including ringtones, ring back tones, games, and content applications. The company also offers custom calling features consisting of caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling, and voicemail services. In addition, it sells mobile handsets. The company offers its products and services under the MetroPCS brand name, directl y through the company-operated retail stores and indirectly through independent retail outlets, as well as through Internet. As of December 31, 2010, it served approximately 8.1 million subscribers, as well as operated 159 retail stores primarily in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando/Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Tampa/Sarasota. The company is headquartered in Richardson, Texas.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: TII Network Technologies Inc.(TIII)

Tii Network Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells products for use in the networks to service providers in the communications industry in the United States. It provides network interface devices (NID), including overvoltage surge protectors, digital subscriber line (DSL) service splitters, and customer bridge modules; building entrance terminals; and accessories comprising station protectors, customer wiring modules, electro-magnetic interference filters, and line test modules. The company also offers broadband products, such as DSL electronic products that include xDSL plain old telephone service splitters to isolate voice and data signals; Outrigger, an outdoor intelligent residential gateway; HomePlug technology that enables networking of voice, data, and audio devices through the consumers? AC power lines. In addition, it provides connectivity products consisting of connector block and terminal block products; voice over I nternet protocol products; switchable voice NID products; voice intercom systems for use in multi-dwelling units; and wire terminals and other connectivity products. Further, the company offers fiber optic products which comprise wall mount enclosures, rack mount enclosures, OSP fiber enclosures, cable assemblies, miscellaneous fiber accessories, and optic network terminals installation accessories. Additionally, it offers overvoltage surge protection products, including two and three electrode gas tubes; station overvoltage surge protectors; protector modules; and protector packs and cat 5 cat 6 protection products, as well as other surge protection products comprising a 75 ohm coaxial protector for cable networks; a 50-ohm coaxial protector for wireless service providers? cell sites; a gel-sealed Ethernet data protector; and power line/data line protectors for personal computers and home entertainment systems. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Edgewoo d, New York.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: First Busey Corporation(BUSE)

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It accepts noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing transaction, savings, money market, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans; individual, consumer, installment, first mortgage, and second mortgage loans; and commercial real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans. It also provides money transfer, safe deposit, fiduciary, automated banking, and automated fund transfer services. In addition, the company provides asset management, brokerage, and fiduciary services, including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and trust and estate advisory services to individuals; investment management, business succession planning, an d employee retirement plan services to businesses; and investment management, investment strategy consulting, and fiduciary services to foundations. Further, it offers pay processing solutions, such as walk-in payments processing for payments delivered by customers to retail pay agents; online bill payment solutions for payments made by customers on a billing company?s Website; customer service payments for payments accepted over the telephone; direct debit services; electronic concentration of payments delivered by the automated clearing house network; money management software and credit card networks; and lockbox remittance processing of payments delivered by mail. The company has 33 locations in Illinois, 7 locations in southwest Florida, and 1 location in Indianapolis, Indiana. First Busey Corporation was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

Volatility and Options in MannKind Shaking Speculators Out

MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD) is a stock that has been on a wild ride for many years. The company’s inhalable insulin has been held up from being approved for years as well. That seems to be coming to a head now, but investors have to understand just how big this game is. It can be a homerun, but it can also be a crusher if the FDA goes against it.

After a huge gain on Thursday, shares tanked on Friday. MannKind announced that AFREZZA’s review date is tentatively scheduled for April 1, 2014. If you have followed this story for as long as we have, you might find the same irony that the date is set for April Fool’s Day. The company’s press release said that the target date for FDA’s AFREZZA review is actually April 15, 2014.

We would point out that the date and details are subject to FDA conformation via a Federal register notice. MannKind had resubmitted its new drug application back on October 13, 2013 to assist in helping adults with Type-1 or Type-2 diabetes.

Be advised that MannKind will be making a presentation to investors at the JPMorgan 2014 Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 15, 2014. The company has maintained for years that AFREZZA is approvable. MannKind has also had close to $900 million in operating losses from expenses and R&D in the last five years or so, with total losses being far higher than that since its inception.

Options trading was elevated on Thursday, and the same thing is true for Friday. This implied volatility is enough to make or break careers.

Based upon the new data, options traders are now moving their bets out to May 2014 because there are not yet active April contracts. A volatility bet at the $6 strike prices for both the put and call combined would be the equivalent of close to $4.25 per share. For that to pay off, investors would have to see the stock fall to under $1.75 or rise above $10.25 by May 17. We won’t bother telling you expensive the options are if you go out later in 2014 or into 2015 (or 2016).

Shares were down 13% at $6.16 on almost 18 million shares with about 90 minutes of trading left on Friday. Thursday’s gain was over 18% to a close of $7.08 on over 24 million shares.

General Mills Is Proud to Celebrate Alternative Lifestyles

Following its surprisingly controversial Cheerios commercial featuring a mixed-race family, cereal maker General Mills (NYSE: GIS  ) came out in support of Gay Pride Month using its Lucky Charms marshmallow rainbow as its rallying flag.

Complete with a website designed around the hashtag #LuckyToBe, where cereal lovers can share stories of why you're "lucky to be you," and a commercial that extols the virtues of individual uniqueness, General Mills continues to be progressive in its ideals.

It's not really a new position the cereal maker has taken, as it has been an advocate in favor of alternative lifestyles for some time, speaking out last year against a Minnesota constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality as well as supporting workplace protections to the LGBT community in testimony before the U.S. Senate and in a company blog post.

Yet for all that, its ad campaign and marketing efforts are surprisingly devoid of any specific reference to LGBT individuals, which apparently is by design. In an interview with industry trade site BakeryandSnacks.com, General Mills said the campaign is not really about any one group and it wants to be inclusive of all individuals.

Best Clean Energy Companies To Buy For 2014

Where companies used to keep their views on social mores to themselves, these days corporations are very publicly wearing them on their sleeves. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX  ) CEO Howard Schultz pushed back at its annual shareholder meeting against the notion that its stance in favor of same-sex marriage hurt company profits, telling the investor who'd posed the question:

If you feel respectfully that you can get a higher return than the 38% that you got last year, it's a free country. You can sell your shares at Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much.

Last year the old Kraft snack foods company (now Mondelez International) stirred up controversy by posting a picture of a rainbow Oreo to its Facebook page. J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP  ) has also come in for sustained criticism for hiring openly gay entertainer Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman, and Whole Foods Markets (NASDAQ: WFM  ) CEO John Mackey has long considered inclusiveness as part of his "conscious capitalism" credo. 

General Mills' efforts show it's willing to tackle large social issues with its marketing, and it's commendable that the company is supportive of a more inclusive society, but it does risk alienating a sizable portion of its consumers who might not agree with its public stance.

While proponents of the positions may believe letting those who disagree go elsewhere is best in the long run, as the very incendiary reaction to Chick-fil-A's CEO comments about same-sex marriage along with Mackey's criticism of Obamacare showed, serving up a bowl of politics may not always sit well with consumers.

Companies should realize there may come a time when their advocacy creates a backlash that sours the milk.

As the debate over social issues shows, retail is undergoing a sea change and only those companies that are the most forward-looking and capable will survive. Investors who understand the new landscape will be handsomely rewarded for their foresight. 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.

Australia’s Central Bank Pauses to Assess Possible Housing Bubble

Although the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) appears to have maintained its easing bias, it may now be in watch-and-wait mode as it monitors how its monetary policy affects the country’s housing market. The central bank has been in an easing cycle since late 2011, and with the most recent 25 basis point cut in August, the cash rate now stands at an all-time low of 2.5 percent.

Following a meeting of the RBA’s board on Oct. 1, Governor Glenn Stevens issued a statement that said the board had decided to leave the cash rate unchanged. However, the central bank chief also noted that it’s still taking time for the economy to show evidence of the full effect of monetary easing, and that the pace of borrowing has remained largely subdued. Stevens also said that even with the decline in the Australian dollar, a further drop will be necessary to boost the economy.

These latter statements suggest that the RBA has maintained its easing bias, and that further rate cuts are forthcoming. However, some analysts and economists are becoming increasingly concerned about the formation of a property bubble. Unlike many of its developed-world peers, Australia’s housing market suffered comparatively minor declines in recent years.

Historically low rates have started to spur greater activity in the real estate sector, including among investors, and prices are on the rise again. In its statement, the RBA was largely silent on the matter, though it may have alluded to the situation by observing that demand for financing had increased among households.

While home prices hit all-time highs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during September, the average change among the country’s five major cities was just 5.7 percent year over year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics also reported that approvals for private-sector home construction rose for the ninth consecutive month in August. On a seasonally adjusted basis, approvals for new homes were up 10.3 percent year over year.

Overall, these data suggest gathering momentum, rather than irrational exuberance. As such, much of the hand-wringing over the prospect of a bubble appears to be anticipatory, rather than based on current prices. Of course, the housing sector is one area that could help lead Australia’s economy until commodities rebound. And Australia can avoid a housing bubble as long as regulators are monitoring the situation carefully.

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As far as the latter goes, Richard Coppleson, a seasoned broker at Goldman Sachs, believes the RBA is very much focused on the housing market. In his daily note, he said the fact that the central bank’s statement on monetary policy did not directly mention rising home prices means that this must be the proverbial elephant in the room, and that it highlights “how concerned they must secretly be.”

Although we don’t believe Australia’s housing market has reached truly frothy levels, one area of legitimate concern is the fact that the unemployment rate is rising at the same time. As the commodities boom peaks, unemployment has been on the rise and now stands at 5.8 percent, which is just a tenth of a percentage point below the level it reached during the Global Financial Crisis. While that trend is worrisome, those numbers would likely make policymakers in the US and other countries in the developed world salivate.

Previously, the conventional wisdom had been that the RBA would make at least one more rate by the end of the year. But now traders and economists believe that the central bank could pause until early next year, which would give the RBA time to calibrate its policymaking should the rebound in the housing sector start to approach unsustainable levels.

According to interest-rate swaps data compiled by Bloomberg, traders believe there’s a 69 percent chance that the cash rate will remain at 2.5 percent through the end of the year. And Westpac Chief Economist Bill Evans has adjusted his rate-cut forecast, with the next round of 25 basis point rate cuts projected to occur in February and May. Other economists have similarly followed suit.

Despite this sudden caution, the RBA has other regulatory levers, beyond tightening monetary policy, to rein in real estate speculation. With the Australian dollar still at relatively high levels, the central bank will need to remain on an easing cycle to force the exchange rate lower. That will help make the export-oriented commodities sector more competitive globally, which should ultimately flow through to our stocks.

Lululemon's Stock Troubles

The following video is from Tuesday's Investor Beat, in which host Chris Hill and analysts Jason Moser and Charly Travers dissect the hardest-hitting investing stories of the day.

lululemon athletica's first-quarter earnings came in better than expected. With same-store sales rising 7% for the quarter, the popular maker of yoga-wear appeared to have put its recent troubles in the rearview mirror. But shares plunged today on the news that CEO Christine Day is resigning. In her five years at the top, Lululemon has grown steadily, and shares of the stock have risen more than 400%. In the lead story from today's Investor Beat, Charly and Jason discuss whether the next CEO will fare as well or if increased competition means the troubles are only beginning for Lululemon. That story, plus a breakdown of four stocks that made major moves on Tuesday's market, and two stocks that our analysts are going to be watching closely in the week to come.

Lululemon has the potential to grow its sales by 10 times if it can penetrate its other markets as it has in Canada, but the competitive landscape is starting to increase. Can Lululemon fight off larger retailers and ultimately deliver huge profits for savvy investors? The Motley Fool answers these questions and more in its most in-depth Lululemon research available. Thousands have already claimed their own premium ticker coverage; gain instant access to your own by clicking here now.

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Why Investors Should Love GameStop Earnings

In this video, Blake Bos describes why investors should be bullish on GameStop (NYSE: GME  ) . This past quarter showed the company beating estimates, which comes on a track record of improving cash flow and an announcement that both Playstation 4 and Xbox One will support used games, which GameStop makes a large portion of its profits from currently. Investors will have to wait to see how the new system launches go at Christmas, but in the meantime should focus on mobile and digital downloads. These represent the some of key areas in the future for GameStop, and investors need to watch carefully how GameStop adapts to the evolving reality that its old business model is becoming a dinosaur.

The retail space is 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.

Most U.K. Stocks Climb as Mining Companies Advance

U.K. stocks rose, with the FTSE 100 Index reaching its highest level in more than five years, as commodity producers advanced and Britain's equity markets reopened following a public holiday.

HSBC Holdings Plc gained 3 percent after Europe's largest bank said first-quarter profit almost doubled. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group climbed more than 1.5 percent, dragging U.K. mining companies higher. G4S Plc plunged 15 percent as the security provider predicted that operating margin will continue to narrow this year after dropping in the first quarter.

The FTSE 100 added 35.84 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,557.30 at the close in London, its highest level since December 2007. The equity benchmark completed an 11-month rally in April, its longest stretch of gains since the index started in 1984. The broader FTSE All-Share Index increased 0.5 percent today, while Ireland's ISEQ Index rose 0.9 percent.

"Now the market buys any dip, and it looks like it's pricing equities as the only asset class that can give us a decent return in this low interest-rate environment," Otto Waser, chief investment officer at R&A Research & Asset Management AG in Zurich, told Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television. "This re-pricing is just not over."

The Bank of England will probably leave its stimulus program on hold this week after the economy avoided a triple-dip recession in the first three months of the year. Policy makers will not expand quantitative easing beyond 375 billion pounds ($580 billion) when they meet on May 9, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists.

Volumes Increase

The number of shares changing hands in FTSE 100-listed companies was 20 percent greater than the average of the past 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

HSBC, the heaviest stock on the FTSE 100 (UKX), rose 3 percent to 735 pence. Pretax profit increased to $8.43 billion in the first quarter, from $4.32 billion the year before as bad loan charges and operating costs declined. That beat the $8.04 billion that analysts had predicted.

An index of U.K. lenders advanced the most in 12 weeks as Barclays Plc climbed 3.8 percent to 307.40 pence and Standard Chartered Plc gained 2.6 percent to 1,700 pence. Lloyds Banking Group Plc added 2.1 percent to 55.19 pence, its highest price in more than 10 weeks.

A gauge of London-listed commodity producers posted its biggest three-day rally since October, paring its decline this year to 12 percent. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, the world's two largest mining companies, added 1.9 percent to 1,883 pence and 1.7 percent to 3,072.5 pence, respectively.

G4S Tumbles

G4S slumped 15 percent to 260 pence, its biggest plunge since October 2011, after saying that its operating margin narrowed by 0.6 percentage points in the first quarter.

"Group margins are expected to continue to be impacted adversely in the short term," G4S said in a statement.

Prudential Plc (PRU), the U.K.'s biggest insurer, lost 0.9 percent to 1,145 pence. The company said that the profit margin on new business at its U.S. unit narrowed to 54 percent of the annual premium equivalent in the first quarter, from 64 percent a year earlier. The annual premium equivalent is calculated as all the regular payments plus 10 percent of any lump-sum payments that the insurer received during the reporting period. The shares have still rallied 33 percent so far this year.

What to Expect from Graco

Graco (NYSE: GGG  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 24. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Graco's revenues will increase 16.1% and EPS will expand 25.9%.

The average estimate for revenue is $271.8 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.73.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Graco recorded revenue of $253.7 million. GAAP reported sales were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter's $215.6 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.68. GAAP EPS of $0.69 for Q4 were 38% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.50 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 54.7%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 23.2%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.7%, 260 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.11 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.96.

Investor sentiment

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Graco is hold, with an average price target of $52.14.

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Will Walgreen Company Earnings Outgrow Rite Aid and CVS Caremark?

Walgreen (NYSE: WAG  ) will release its quarterly report on Friday, and investors have been pleased with the drugstore chain's success lately, bidding its shares to all-time record highs within the past month. Yet with Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD  ) having risen from the ashes to become profitable and with CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS  ) still posing a big obstacle to Walgreen's dominance of the industry, the question investors are asking is whether Walgreen earnings can keep up the pace.

Walgreen has a solid history of leadership among drugstore companies, having made moves to solidify its position in the U.S. market while making aggressive moves to take advantage of opportunities overseas. Yet past mistakes have opened the door to Rite Aid and CVS poaching customers from its doors, and shareholders want reassurances that Walgreen's management won't make those same mistakes again. What will the future hold for Walgreen? Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Walgreen over the past quarter.

Stats on Walgreen

Analyst EPS Estimate	$0.72
Change From Year-Ago EPS	24%
Revenue Estimate	$18.36 billion
Change From Year-Ago Revenue	6%
Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters	2

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

What's next for Walgreen earnings?
In recent months, analysts have gotten a little cautious about Walgreen earnings, trimming November-quarter estimates by about 5% and making smaller reductions to projections for fiscal 2014 and 2015. The stock has kept climbing, posting about a 5% gain since mid-September.

Walgreen's climb to new highs stemmed in large part from its August-quarter earnings report. A 6.1% gain in prescription revenue helped overall sales rise more than 5%, with a greater proportion of generic-drug business helping boost earnings by a whopping 86% from the year-ago quarter. Non-prescription sales had weaker growth but still eked out gains of 1.6%.

But competitors have had success of their own. Rite Aid delivered an unexpected profit last quarter, marking its fourth-straight profitable quarter, and it could well continue its string of good news with a favorable report on Thursday. Just on Wednesday, CVS gave favorable earnings guidance that was in line with fiscal 2014 estimates, and the combination of a 22% boost in its dividend and a $6 billion stock buyback authorization sent the stock soaring today. Walgreen and Rite Aid both rose in sympathy, but until we see their respective reports, investors can only hope that they'll benefit from the same positive trends that CVS experienced.

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In making its case for the status of top drugstore chain, Walgreen has done a better job of taking advantage of international opportunities than CVS and Rite Aid. Its acquisition of U.K. drugstore giant Alliance Boots offers geographical diversification at a time in which the U.S. market is in flux, with the Affordable Care Act changing the landscape of health care domestically. Strategic moves like offering its own prepaid card shows the extent to which Walgreen is willing to innovate in order to differentiate itself from its peers, while moving forward with health-care clinics to serve simple health-care needs proves that Walgreen is willing to stand up to competition from CVS Caremark, Rite Aid, and other players in the drugstore industry.

In the Walgreen earnings report, be sure to compare the company's growth to what Rite Aid reports on Thursday. With competition becoming cutthroat, Walgreen needs to make sure it remembers its core values and keeps giving its customers what they want.

Is Walgreen a great stock?
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