Say Hello To Hybrid Finance

Attila von Unruh was finished. Or so he thought. A few years after he had sold his small event technology company, it went bankrupt. Through a legal clause, he was liable, and had to file for insolvency. Attila went through a living hell of shame, financial deprivation, and family trouble.

Attila was not alone. There are over 30,000 small business bankruptcies every year in Germany, destroying €50 billion in economic value. Most micro entrepreneurs enter an abyss of isolation until their six year period of suspended income is over. Almost all cut social ties, and many remain scarred for life. Not so for Attila. After a while, he bounced back, launching Insolvents Anonymous, a peer support scheme modelled loosely after Alcoholics Anonymous. From the first moment, the demand was everywhere, and soon he started an association with chapters in 12 major cities. Attila had turned from business entrepreneur to social entrepreneur, and he found a business model that worked: By training experts who had been through the years-long doom period after insolvency and referring them to companies threatened by bankruptcy, he could create a million Euro market and new opportunities for a stigmatised group at the same time.

In the classic story of social entrepreneurship, this would be the chapter in which the entrepreneur undergoes a painful process of searching for growth capital. Though social entrepreneurs are experts at fixing market failures, there is one market failure even the most brilliant haven't been able to overcome: The capital they need to scale is simply not available in the financial ecosystem as we know it.

Frankfurt am Main (Photo credit: D-Stanley)

In much the same way most organisations are either charitable or commercial, the sources of finance neatly divide between non-repayable and repayable. Or, to use a metaphor: The money is all there, originating from private donors, foundations, governments, investors, companies, and of course banks, but each of these sources is like a different planet, each with its own laws of nature. This setup may work for a social and a business sector that each existed in its own silo, but it forces entrepreneurs like Attila to tell a different story about their work on each of the planets

And in this challenge, too, Attila has plenty of company. Increasingly, the most transformational ideas in any field (LINK to HBR article on Hybrid Value Chains) are hybrids: part social, part business. More than half of the leading social entrepreneurs find their market mechanisms (and refusal to think in neat project packages) are at odds with most philanthropic sources of funding, and yet their commitment to solving a social problem alienate investors.

Sounds like a challenge for finance professionals. And in fact, many such folks have brought commercial funding instruments to the world of social entrepreneurship. All across Europe, so-called impact investing funds now compete not only for investors but even more for the few social entrepreneurs that can (and want to) pay back hundreds of thousands Euros, or preferably millions, with investor returns greater than five percent.

Despite this transfer of financial expertise, the dilemma of hybrid organisations being faced by a fragmented financial system remained unsolved—a surprising fact given that commercial markets have long ago solved a similar problem. Most complex projects like, say, a new power plant, are not financed by one source of money but by piecing together several sources of money with often quite different risk-returnprofiles. A pension fund may be invested with a low risk and low return, a venture capitalist with a much higher return for his higher risk, while a public authority provides a guarantee and is happy to lose money for a different kind of benefit. This practice is called syndication, and it has been great business for banks and other intermediaries for more than a century.

So why not syndicate deals for social entrepreneurs?

Marketing entrepreneur Ellinor Dienst and former McKinsey consultant Markus Freiburg started a Financing Agency for Social Entrepreneurship in early 2013. Their first client: Attila von Unruh.

Within a few months, the FASE team had built a database of mostly private (and many of them first time) investors, matched two of them to Attila, and created a deal with terms that no established funder in the market could have offered. The FASE engineered a long term revenue sharing mechanism with an overall cap to the profits going to the investors. The new social business had found its early growth capital where no one had looked before.

Top Food Companies To Watch In Right Now

Health food? �Source: �Chipotle Mexican Grill

Organic healthy food is all the rage, and Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG  ) is right in the center of it. As many consumers ditch unhealthy traditional fast food, such as what comes from McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) , Chipotle finds its sales and income continually busting new records. Its "Food With Integrity" is at the right place at the right time. But is it really a healthy alternative?

Super Size Me
Recall about a decade ago, the anti-McDonald's documentary Super Size Me. To prove a point, the star of the movie ate nothing but McDonald's for a period of 30 days, and consumed the massive calories that came with it. By all measures, Morgan Spurlock, the star of the film, quickly became unhealthy -- he gained more than 24 pounds. He reportedly made the film out of concern about the obesity epidemic going on in the United States.

Top 5 Quality Stocks To Buy For 2015: American Lorain Corp (ALN)

American Lorain Corporation (ALN), incorporated on February 4, 1986, is an integrated food manufacturing company. The Company develops, manufactures and sells food products, which includes chestnut products, convenience foods, including ready-to-cook (RTC) foods, ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and meals ready-to-eat (MRE)), and frozen food products. The Company conducts its production activities in China. Its products are sold in 26 provinces and administrative regions in China and 42 foreign countries. The Company derives its revenues from sales in China, Japan and South Korea. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company produced 254 products, including 16 new products in its chestnut and convenience foods segment. During 2011, it discontinued three products in the convenience segment. In February 2014, American Lorain Corp acquired a 51% interest in Athena Group.

The Company manufactures its products in six facilities in China, three of which are located in Junan County, Shandong Province, one in Luotian County, Hubei Province, one in Miyun County, Beijing City and one leased facility in Dongguan, Guandong Province. As of December 31, 2011, the Company manufactured its products using 26 production lines. Each production line is used to produce between 10 and 50 products. The Company operates three product lines: deep-freezing lines, canning lines and convenience food lines. The Company sells its products in all first-tier cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou. Its export sales destinations include Asia pacific, primarily Japan, South Korea and Malaysia, but also Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Australia; Europe, primarily Belgium and the United Kingdom, but also France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and Denmark the Middle East, primarily Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Israel; North America, including the United States and Canada.

ALN owns 100% of International Lorain Holding, Inc. (ILH). ILH wholly owns two Chinese operating subsi! diaries, Luotian Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Luotian Lorain) and Junan Hongrun Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Junan Hongrun), directly. Junan Hongrun, in turn, wholly owns Dongguan Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Dongguan Lorain). In addition, together with Junan Hongrun, ILH wholly owns Beijing Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Beijing Lorain), Shandong Greenpia Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Shandong Greenpia), and owns approximately 80% of Shandong Green Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (Shandong Lorain) (Shandong Economic Development Investment Co. Ltd. owns approximately 20%).

Chestnut Products

During 2011, the Company produced 57 processed chestnut products. During 2011, this segment contributed 51.7% of its total revenues. The Company's products include its aerated open-bottom chestnuts, which are chestnuts packaged with nitrogen; sweetheart chestnuts, which are sweet preserved chestnuts; chestnuts in syrup, and golden chestnut kernels.

Convenience Foods

The Company's convenience food products include RTC food products, RTE food products and MRE food products. During 2011, the Company's RTCs included beef and lamb products, and its RTEs included bean products and pickle products. The Company's self heating MREs are primarily for military use since no cooking device or other ingredients are needed other than water. The Company also introduced microwavable MREs for civilian uses, such as camping, traveling and other situations. The Company produces various MREs based on Chinese cuisine, which include its pork with garlic sauce over rice and kungpao chicken with rice. The Company produced 138 convenience food products, during 2011, including 14 new products, such as filled buns and fried sweet potato.

Frozen Food Products

The Company produces a variety of frozen foods, including frozen vegetables, frozen fruits, frozen fish, and frozen meats. The Company produced 63 frozen food products in 2011. The Company's frozen foods included, during 2011, were frozen asparagus a! nd frozen! corn.

The Company competes with Hebei Liyuan, Foodwell Corporation, Weifang Langdong Food Co. Ltd., Yuyao Hongji Food Co. Ltd. and Yantai Pengshun Food Co. Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Truth be told, were it just today's 11% pop from American Lorain Corporation (NYSEMKT:ALN), it might not even be worth mentioning. It's not just today's 11% rally from ALN, though, that's made this stock so interesting. It's everything that's happened up until this point that may mean American Lorain deserves a spot at the top of your watchlist, if not in your portfolio.

Top Food Companies To Watch In Right Now: Crumbs Bake Shop Inc (CRMB)

Crumbs Bake Shop, Inc., formerly 57th Street General Acquisition Corp., incorporated on October 29, 2009, is owner of Crumbs Holdings LLC (Crumbs), a neighborhood bakery and a retailer of cupcakes. As of November 1, 2011, Crumbs had 43 locations, including 29 locations in the New York Metro area, nine locations on the West Coast, three locations in Washington, D.C., one location in Virginia and one location in Chicago. The specialty of the house is cupcakes; however, the menu also includes a blend of baked goods. On May 5, 2011, the Company merged with Crumbs.

The Company offers a range of Signature and Taste size cupcakes. Signature cupcakes are ordered in increments of six. One can create its own individual six packs or choose a pre-selected assortment. Its Taste size cupcakes are offered by the dozen in pre-selected favorites assortments. There are more than 60 varieties of cupcakes baked fresh daily with a new cupcake of the week debuting each Monday.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jack Kramer and Nick Martell]

  2. Crumbs Cupcake stock continues to drop
  Pour some sugar on me, baby, because the recent performance of cupcake-makin' chain Crumbs Bake Shop (NASDAQ: CRMB  ) hasn't tasted good for investors. The stock has fallen nearly 30% in the past month, dropped 13.4% in the last week, and dipped almost 2% Monday on growing doubts the company can even stay in business.

Top Food Companies To Watch In Right Now: 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 Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Safeway (NYSE: SWY  ) shares were taking their turn in the dunk today, falling as much as 19% after posting a disappointing quarter.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Safeway (NYSE: SWY  ) now has a new person occupying its chief executive's desk. The company has named Robert Edwards as its CEO, succeeding the retiring Steven Burd. Edwards, currently the president of the supermarket chain, will take up the position when Burd enters retirement on May 14.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Safeway is a grocery and drug retailer operating mainly in the West and Central United States. A recent earnings report has investors excited about the company. The stock has been surging higher and is now trading near highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been mixed, however, investors have been pleased with what they have heard during earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Safeway has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Safeway to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Top Food Companies To Watch In Right Now: Danone SA (BN)

Danone SA is a France-based food company that primarily produces fresh milk products, baby foods, biscuits, cereal products and medical nutrition products. It also co-produces bottled water. The Company's portfolio of brands and products include Danone, a brand of fresh dairy products; Evian, a brand of bottled still water; Volvic, its international brand of bottled still water, and Aqua, a brand of packaged water in Indonesia. It has presence in the infant food market in France through its subsidiary, Bledina. It has also developed two probiotic dairy product lines known under the names Actimel, and Activia, as well as a line of low-fat products under the names Taillefine, Vitalinea and Ser. The Company operates through numerous subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and Americas. In February 2013 it acquired majority stake in Centrale Laitiere SA. In May 2013, it acquired an equity interest of over 90% in Happy Family, a baby food producer. In August 2013, it acquired YoCrunch. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Danone SA (BN) declined 1.6 percent to 56.34 euros after saying baby-nutrition sales will fall in Asia in the third quarter. The company said it had to recall infant-formula products after milk-powder supplier Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. warned of a contaminated ingredient.

Top International Companies To Own In Right Now

With shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) trading around $129, is LMT an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems and products. The company also provides a range of management, engineering, technical, scientific, logistic, and information services. It serves both domestic and international customers with products and services that have defense, civil, and commercial applications with its principal customers being agencies of the U.S. government. It operates in five business segments: Aeronautics, Information Systems & Global Solutions, Missiles and Fire Control, Mission Systems and Training, and Space Systems.

Lockheed Martin has won an order from Holland for 37 of its F35 fighter jets, which the country�� Defense Minister will announce later today, according to sources who spoke to Reuters. The F35 project is several years behind schedule and 70 percent over budget due to technical difficulties, which led to a majority vote in the Dutch parliament to end the country�� involvement in the project.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Meritor Inc (MTOR)

Meritor, Inc. (Meritor), incorporated on March 31, 2000, is a global supplier of a range of integrated systems and components to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the aftermarket for the commercial vehicle, transportation and industrial sectors. The company serves commercial truck, trailer, off-highway, military, bus and coach and other industrial OEMs and certain aftermarkets. Its products are axles, undercarriages, drivelines, brakes and braking systems. Meritor serves a range of customers globally, including medium- and heavy-duty truck OEMs, specialty vehicle manufacturers, certain aftermarkets, and trailer producers. Its new business segments are Commercial Truck & Industrial; and Aftermarket & Trailer. On January 2, 2012, it completed the sale of its Commercial Truck manufacturing facility located in St. Priest, France to Renault Trucks SAS, an affiliate of AB Volvo.

The Company�� Commercial Truck segment supplies drivetrain systems and components, including axles, drivelines and braking and suspension systems, for medium- and heavy-duty trucks in North America, South America and Europe. The Industrial segment supplies drivetrain systems including axles, brakes, drivelines and suspensions for off-highway, military, construction, bus and coach, fire and emergency, and other industrial applications. This segment also includes all of its original equipment (OE) businesses in Asia Pacific, including all on- and off-highway activities. The Aftermarket & Trailer segment supplies axles, brakes, drivelines, suspension parts, and other replacement and re-manufactured parts, including transmissions, to commercial vehicle and industrial aftermarket customers. This segment also supplies a range of undercarriage products and systems for trailer applications in North America.

Axles, Undercarriage & Drivelines

The Company is a supplier of axles for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Its truck axle product line includes a range of front steer axles and! rear drive axles. Its front steer and rear drive axles can be equipped with its cam, wedge or air disc brakes, automatic slack adjusters, complete wheel-end equipment, such as hubs, rotors and drums, and (through its WABCO Holdings, Inc. (WABCO) joint venture) anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and vehicle stability control systems.

The Company supplies heavy-duty axles for use in off-highway vehicle applications, including construction, material handling, and mining. It also supplies axles for use in medium- and heavy-duty military tactical wheeled vehicles in North America. It also supplies axles for use in buses, coaches and recreational vehicles, fire trucks and other specialty vehicles in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe.

The Company manufacturers heavy-duty trailer axles in North America. Its trailer axles are available in more than 40 models in capacities from 20,000 to 30,000 pounds for all heavy trailer applications and are available with its range of suspension modules, brake products, including drum brakes, disc brakes, anti-lock and trailer stability control systems, and ABS (through our WABCO joint venture). Its supplies universal joints and driveline components, including its Permalube universal joint and RPL Permalube driveline, which are lubricated designs used in the mileage on-highway market. It supplies drivelines in a range of global regions, for use in numerous on-highway vehicle applications, including construction, material handling and mining. It supplies transfer cases and drivelines for use in medium- and heavy-duty military tactical wheeled vehicles, principally in North America. It also supplies transfer cases for use in specialty vehicles in North America. Anti-lock brakes and stability control systems are also used in military vehicles and specialty vehicles. In addition, it supplies trailer air suspension systems and products with an increasing market presence in North America. It also supplies advanced suspension modules for use in light-, ! medium- a! nd heavy-duty military tactical wheeled vehicles, principally in North America. Through a joint venture, it develops, manufactures and sells truck suspensions, trailer axles and suspensions and related wheel-end products in the South American market.

Brakes and Braking Systems

The Company is an independent supplier of air brakes to medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle manufacturers in North America and Europe. Through manufacturing facilities located in North America, Asia Pacific and Europe, it manufactures a range of foundation air brakes, as well as automatic slack adjusters for brake systems. Its foundation air brake products include cam drum brakes, which offer lining life and tractor/trailer interchangeability; wedge drum brakes, which are lightweight and provide automatic internal wear adjustment; air disc brakes, and wheel-end components, such as hubs, drums and rotors. Its brakes and brake system components also are used in medium- and heavy-duty military tactical wheeled vehicles, principally in North America. It also supplies brakes for use in buses, coaches and recreational vehicles, fire trucks and other specialty vehicles in North America and Europe, and also supply brakes for commercial vehicles, buses and coaches in Asia Pacific.

Other Products

The Company sells other complimentary products, including third party and private label items, through its aftermarket distribution channels. These products are sold under master distribution or similar agreements with outside vendors and include brake shoes and friction materials; automatic slack adjusters; yokes and shafts; wheel-end hubs and drums; ABS and stability control systems; shock absorbers and air springs; air brakes, air systems, air dryers and compressors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Meritor� (NYSE: MTOR  ) �has launched a cash tender offer for its 8.125% notes maturing in 2015.�The company is offering $1,140 in total for each $1,000 in principal value of the notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Auto-parts supplier�Meritor� (NYSE: MTOR  ) �announced yesterday that it's offering�$250�million worth�of senior unsecured notes in a bid to swap out higher-rate debt for notes that carry a lower rate while extending the terms of maturity.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of Meritor Inc (NYSE: MTOR  ) rallied 2% Thursday after Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on the commercial vehicle equipment company with an overweight rating.

• [By Greg Pugh] When investors think of investing in small-cap stocks, they usually consider a technology driven company that’s changing the market place. Seldom do they look at an automotive parts manufacturer as an engine of growth.
  
  You’ll do a double take when you evaluate Meritor (NYSE: MTOR).

Top International Companies To Own In Right Now: 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 Ploutos]

  U.S. Stocks

  The S&P 500 (SPY) makes a new all-time high, but closes beneath that plateau for the year. The S&P 500 eclipsed its former all-time high close of 1565 on March 28th, faster than I anticipated. With the index now ending the week above 1700 for the first time, closing below 1565 for the year seems a distant memory. Not everyone was calling for a new all-time high to be reached in 2013, and investment bank equity analysts were targeting on average high single digit annual gains at the beginning of the year. I did not expect a 19.9% return through the beginning of August, but I will take it. Grade: BThe equal-weighted S&P 500 (RSP) outperforms its capitalization-weighted alternative. The equal weighted index has produced a total return of 23.34%, besting the market capitalization-weighted S&P 500. Long-time readers know that I have long extolled the virtues of equal weighting. The lagging performance of former top holding Apple (AAPL), which has 1/14th of the weight in the equal weighted index has contributed to the outperformance of the equal weighted strategy. Grade: AThe Russell 2000 (IWM) outperforms the S&P 500 as small caps outpace large caps. The Russell 2000 has bested the S&P 500 by nearly five percent with the small cap index producing an impressive 24.8% return year-to-date. Grade: AThe shares of Bank of America (BAC) outperform J.P. Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) on both an absolute and risk-adjusted basis. Bank of America has outperformed the broader market, producing a 28% total return year-to-date, but it has lagged Wells Fargo (32.1%) and J.P. Morgan (31.1%) while exhibiting higher volatility. Grade: C-The banking sector (XLF) outperforms the S&P 500. The Financial Selector Sector SPDR has produced a 27.9% year-to-date, besting the S&P 500 by roughly 8%. Grade: AHomebuilders (XHB) outperform the S&P 500, but not when adjusting for their variability of returns, which is over twice that of the broad

Top International Companies To Own In Right Now: Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ)

Verizon Communications Inc. provides communication services. The company operates through two segments, Domestic Wireless and Wireline. The Domestic Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data services; and sells equipment in the United States. The Wireline segment provides voice, Internet access, broadband video and data, Internet protocol network, network access, long distance, and other services in the United States and internationally. The company serves consumer, business, and government customers, as well as carriers. As of December 31, 2010, its network covered a population of approximately 292 million and provided service to a customer base of approximately 94.1 million. The company was formerly known as Bell Atlantic Corporation and changed its name to Verizon Communications Inc. in June 2000. Verizon Communications Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Divine]

  On the losing side of the Dow, Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ  ) slipped 1%, ranking as the second-worst blue chip of the day. While Verizon has lost ground in four of the last five trading sessions, the long-term prospects for the telecom giant haven't materially changed. That said, Dish Network continues to negotiate with a growing number of banks for terms to finance a potential buyout of Verizon rival Sprint Nextel, which would make for a much more formidable competitor.

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) announced on Tuesday that it now plans to sell up to $49 billion worth of bonds to fund its $130 billion buyout from Vodafone Group (VOD).

  The company previously made a deal with Vodafone to buy back VOD’s 45% in Verizon Wireless.

  Verizon now plans to sell fixed rate debt, which will have maturities from 3 years to 30 years, and two portions of floating rate securities. Additionally, the company may sell debt in euros, pounds and yen.

  Verizon shares were mostly flat during Wednesday morning trading. The stock is up 7% YTD.

Top International Companies To Own In Right Now: Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (JQC)

Nuveen Multi-Strategy Income & Growth Fund 2 (the Fund), formerly Nuveen Preferred and Convertible Income Fund 2, is a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund intends to invest in a portfolio of preferred securities, securities and, to a lesser degree, high yield securities. The Fund may also invest in other debt instruments and common stocks acquired upon conversion of a convertible security.

On January 1, 2005, Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp. (NIAC), the Funds' previous adviser, and its affiliate, Nuveen Advisory Corp. (NAC), were merged into Nuveen Asset Management (NAM), each wholly owned subsidiaries of Nuveen Investments, Inc. (Nuveen). As a result of the merger, NAM is the Adviser to all funds previously advised by either NIAC or NAC. The investment portfolio of the Fund includes JPMorgan Chase & Company, ING Group NV, Union Planters Corporation, HBSC Holdings Public Limited Company, Wachovia Corporation, Omnicare Capital Trust II, Hanover Compressor Capital Trust and CIT Group Incorporated.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Dowdee]

  The following 10 funds satisfied all of these conditions:

  BlackRock Float Rate Strategies (FRA). This CEF sells at a discount of 3%, which is low compared to an average premium of 2% over the past year. The distribution has been managed at 6.1% and a small amount (less than 10%) has been return of capital (ROC). However, this has not negatively affected net asset value (NAV) so has not been destructive. The fund holds 447 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. FRA utilizes 27% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.7%, including interest payments. Eaton Vance Floating Rate (EFR). This CEF sells at a 1% premium, which is low compared to an average premium of 5% over the past year. The distribution is 6.2%, none of which was ROC. The fund holds 800 securities, with 90% in floating rate loans. About 85% of the securities are from U.S. companies. EFR utilizes 35% leverage and has an expense ratio of 1.8% including interest payments. ING Prime Rate Trust (PPR). This CEF sells for a premium of 2%, which is below the average premium of 5%. It has a distribution of 6.8%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 350 holdings, virtually all in senior loans and from US companies. PPR utilizes 29% leverage and has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Dynamic Credit Opportunities (VTA). This CEF sells for a discount of 5%, which is below the average discount of 1%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has 495 holdings, with 76% in floating rate loans. About 25% of the loans are from non-US companies. VTA utilizes a relatively low 20% leverage but still has a high expense ratio of 2.1%, including interest payments. Invesco VK Senior Income (VVR). This CEF sells for a discount of 1%, which is below the average premium of 3%. It has a distribution of 7.1%, none of which was ROC. The fund has over 500 holdings, with 89% in floating rate loans. Almost all (95%) securities are from US companies. VVR ut

5 Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy For 2015

5 Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy For 2015: Full Circle Capital Corporation (FULL)

Full Circle Capital Corporation is a business development company and operates as an externally managed non-diversified closed-end management investment company. It invests in debt and equity securities of smaller and lower middle-market companies with annual revenues between $3 million and $75 million. The company primarily invests in various categories of debt comprising asset-based senior secured loans, subordinated or unsecured loans, and mezzanine loans. It seeks to invest in a range of industries with a focus on media, communications, and business services. The company primarily seeks to invest between $3 million and $10 million. However, it can also make larger investments.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Full Circle Capital Corp (FULL)

  Over the past week there were two insiders making four buys into Full Circle Capital. These buys come as the companys price has hit its lowest price since Nov. 2011.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-consumer-service-stocks-to-buy-for-2015.html

Top Energy Companies To Own For 2014

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) is the largest and most diversified publicly traded pure-play coal miner. Its first quarter loss of nearly $0.20 a share doesn't inspire confidence in the broader coal market's future. But the company's global footprint does provide a glimpse of what's going on throughout the industry.�

Met coal's stranglehold
A year ago, Peabody lost $0.09 a share in the first quarter. Management had been calling for earnings to fall between $0.14 a share and a loss of a dime. They obviously missed their estimate, though some of that was from one-time items. The biggest detractor, however, was continued supply-driven pricing pressures in metallurgical coal.

(Source: CIA)

Peabody only mines met coal in Australia, where coal revenues fell around 17% in 2013 despite selling nearly 6% more tons of coal from the region. The big problem was an over 20% drop in revenues per ton, largely driven by the oversupply of met coal. The company's Aussie business hasn't improved, with revenues per ton down about 17% year over year in the just-ended quarter.

Top Integrated Utility Stocks For 2015: Cobalt International Energy Inc (CIE)

Cobalt International Energy, Inc., incorporated on August 27, 2009, independent, oil-focused exploration and production company with a salt prospect inventory in the deepwater of the United States Gulf of Mexico and offshore Angola and Gabon in West Africa. The Company operates its business in two geographic segments: the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. The Company�� oil-focused exploration efforts target subsalt Miocene and Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2012, it drilled as operator four exploratory wells in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico (North Platte #1, Ligurian #1 and #2, and Criollo #1) and participated as a non-operator in three exploratory wells (Heidelberg #1, Shenandoah #1 and Firefox #1) and three appraisal wells (Heidelberg #2, Heidelberg #3, and Shenandoah #2R). The Company�� oil-focused exploration efforts target pre-salt horizons on Blocks 9, 20 and 21 offshore Angola and the Diaba Block offshore Gabon.

U.S. Gulf of Mexico Segment

The Company�� oil-focused exploration efforts target subsalt Miocene and Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It also has licensed approximately 78,000 line miles (125,530 kilometers) of 2-D pre-stack depth-migrated seismic data in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2012, it owned working interests in 246 blocks within the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, representing approximately 1.4 million gross (0.7 million net) undeveloped acres. Most of its U.S. Gulf of Mexico blocks have a 10-year primary term.

The Ardennes #1 exploratory well will target a 3-way structure located in both Miocene and Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Green Canyon blocks 895, 896 and 939, where it named operator and owns a 42% working interest. The Aegean #1 exploratory well will target a 3-way structure in Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Keathley Canyon blocks 162, 163 and 207, where it named operator and ow! n a 37.5% working interest. It has 24% working interest in the Racer prospect and its partners include BHP Billiton Petroleum (Americas) Inc. (60%) and Total (16%). South Platte is a 3-way prospect targeting Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Garden Banks blocks 1003 and 1004 and Keathley Canyon blocks 35 and 36, and owns 60% working interest. Its Baffin Bay is a 4-way prospect targeting Inboard Lower Tertiary horizons located in Garden Banks blocks 956 and 957, and owns 60% working interest.

The Company has one drilling rig, the Ensco 8503, that is performing drilling operations on its operated prospect portfolio in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. It has one drilling rig, the Ensco 8503, that is performing drilling operations on its operated prospect portfolio in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. On December 5, 2012, it announced an oil discovery at its North Platte prospect on Garden Banks block 959 in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The North Platte #1 exploratory well is located in approximately 4,400 feet of water and was drilled to a total depth of approximately 34,500 feet. It is a operator of North Platte and own a 60% working interest. Its Heidelberg #1 exploratory well is located in approximately 5,200 feet of water in Green Canyon block 859 within the Tahiti Basin Miocene trend. The Company�� Shenandoah #1 is located in approximately 5,750 feet of water in Walker Ridge block 52, was drilled to approximately 30,000 feet. On February 26, 2013, it announced that the Shenandoah #2R appraisal well had been drilled to a total depth of 31,400 feet in approximately 5,800 feet of water and 1.3 miles southwest of the Shenandoah #1 exploratory well.

West Africa Segment

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had drilled as operator one exploratory well on Block 21 offshore Angola (Cameia #1) and one appraisal well on Block 21 offshore Angola (Cameia #2). As of December 31, 2012, its working interests in Blocks 9, 20 and 21 offshore Angola and the Diab! a Block o! ffshore Gabon consisted of an aggregate 5,652,687 gross (1,840,581 net) undeveloped acres. It has a pre-salt prospect inventory offshore West Africa. This inventory includes dozens of prospects in various states of maturation on Blocks 9, 20 and 21 offshore Angola and the Diaba Block offshore Gabon. The Mavinga #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 21 offshore Angola, where it named operator with a 40% working interest. The Lontra #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 20, and owns 40% working interest. The Bicuar #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 21 offshore Angola, and owns 40% working interest. The Idared #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 20 offshore Angola. The Baleia #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 20 offshore Angola, and owns 40% working interest. The Loengo #1 exploratory well will target pre-salt horizons in Block 9 offshore Angola. Its Diaman #1 exploratory well owns 21.25% working interest. Its Diamon South #1 exploratory well will test pre-salt horizons on the Diaba block offshore Gabon, where Total Gabon is the named operator and we own a 21.25% working interest. The Company has two drilling rigs under contract to support its pre-salt exploratory drilling campaign offshore Angola: the Diamond Ocean Confidence and the Petroserv SSV Catarina. It has the right to use the Ocean Confidence to complete the DST on the lower reservoir penetrated by the Cameia #2 appraisal well and drill two additional wells, which will include its Mavinga #1 exploratory well and one additional well.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) is down 14.3% at $25.18. The independent oil & gas company reported a dry hole in one of its Gulf of Mexico wells.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Cobalt Energy (NYSE: CIE) provided an update on its Gulf of Mexico drilling operations. The company announced that its Aegean #1 exploratory well in Keathley Canyon Block 163 did not encounter commercial hydrocarbons and operations are underway to plug and abandon the wellbore. Shares hit new 52 week lows of $13.75 before closing at $14.84, down 5.24 percent.

Top Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Willbros Group Inc (WG)

Willbros Group, Inc. (Willbros) is a full service engineering and construction company specializing in energy infrastructure serving the oil and gas and power industries. The Company's services include engineering, procurement and construction (individually or as an integrated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) offering), project management, maintenance and lifecycle extension services. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated through three business segments: Upstream Oil & Gas, Downstream Oil & Gas and Utility Transmission and Distribution (Utility T&D), primarily in the United States, Canada and Oman. In January 2012, the Company changed its organization and includes three segments: Oil & Gas, Utility T&D and Canada. During 2011, the Company opened an office in the Houston Ship Channel. On October 11, 2011, the Company completed the sale of all assets and operations of InterCon Construction Inc., a non-strategic subsidiary within the Utility T&D segment.

Upstream Oil & Gas

The Company's core services include the design, construction, and maintenance of hydrocarbon transportation systems. The Company provides a full range of services for the engineering, design, procurement and construction of processing, pumping, compression and metering facilities. It focuses on building these facilities in the North American oil and gas market.

The Company's core services include the design, construction, and maintenance of hydrocarbon transportation systems. The Company provides a full range of services for the engineering, design, procurement and construction of processing, pumping, compression and metering facilities. It focuses on building these facilities in the North American oil and gas market.

The Company�� engineering services include project development, conceptual design, front-end engineering and feasibility studies; project engineering services; definitive design and drafting services; project management, estimating, scheduling! and controls; turnkey EPC arrangements; field engineering and construction liaison services; material and services procurement; planning and management of integrity and maintenance programs, and topographic, hydrographic and engineering as-built surveying, including the establishment of rights-of-way for public utilities and industrial uses. These services are furnished to a number of oil, gas, and pipeline transportation clients on a stand-alone basis, as well as part of EPC contracts undertaken by the Company.

In addition to capital projects, the Company offers its upstream infrastructure construction facilities to its clients through its management and maintenance offerings. The Company operates its fabrication services in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Alberta, Canada.

Downstream Oil & Gas

The Company provides integrated, full-service specialty construction, turnaround, repair and maintenance services, including EPC services, to the downstream energy infrastructure markets, which consists primarily of integrated oil companies, independent refineries, product terminals and petrochemical companies. The Company provides these services primarily in the United States. The Company's principal services include construction, maintenance and turnaround services for downstream facilities, including revamp/reconditioning of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units; tank services for construction, maintenance or repair of petroleum storage tanks, typically located at pipeline terminals and refineries; multi-disciplinary engineering services to clients in the petroleum refining, chemicals and petrochemicals and oil and gas industries, and EPC services through program management and EPC project services. The Company�� construction, maintenance and turnaround services include refractory services, furnace re-tube and revamp projects, stainless and alloy welding services and heavy rigging and equipment setting.

The Company provides services to the above-ground storage tank i! ndustry. ! The Company's capabilities include American Petroleum Institute (API) compliant tank maintenance and repair; floating roof seals; floating roof installations and repairs; secondary containment bottoms, cone roof and structure replacements, and new API compliant aboveground storage tanks. The Company provides these services as stand-alone or in combination, including EPC solutions.

The Company provides project management, engineering and material procurement services to the refining industries and government agencies, including chemical/process, mechanical, civil, structural, electrical, instrumentation/controls and environmental through its subsidiary, Wink Companies, LLC (Wink). The Company provides its engineering services through resources located at the project site or at its offices in Louisiana.

Utility T&D

The Company provides a range of services in electric and natural gases transmission and distribution, including comprehensive maintenance and construction, repair and restoration of utility infrastructure. It maintains and constructs overhead and underground transmission lines. Overhead transmission services include the installation, maintenance and repair of transmission structures involving wood, concrete, steel pole and steel lattice tower configurations. Underground transmission services include the installation and maintenance of underground transmission cable and its associated duct, conduit and manhole systems. Electric power transmission also includes substation services, which includes the maintenance, construction, expansion, calibration and testing of electric power substations and components.

The Company maintains, construct and upgrade underground and overhead electric power distribution lines to household voltage levels. The Company's services consists of electric power distribution systems, including primary and secondary voltage cables, wood and steel poles, transformers, switchgear, capacitors, underground duct, manhole syst! ems, resi! dential and commercial and electric meter installation.

The Company offers two complementary services to utilities and industrial companies for the restoration of electrical power cables and the condition assessment of electrical cable systems. It includes CableCURE and CableWISE. CableCURE is a process for the restoration of aged electric power cables. CableWISE is an online electrical system-condition assessment process that enables electric power utilities and a range of commercial and industrial facilities to evaluate the condition of cable systems, transformers and switchgear. The Company provides a spectrum of natural gas T and D services, from the maintenance and construction of large diameter transmission pipelines through the installation of residential natural gases service. The Company constructs, maintain and upgrade natural gases distribution pipelines. The Company's services include trenching, transporting, welding or fusing and laying pipe, post-construction integrity testing, site restoration and meter setting.

The Company provides other specialty services to customers nationwide. These services include utility-line locating, stray voltage and gas leak detection and telecommunications.

The Company competes with Quanta Services, MasTec, Primoris, Associated Pipeline Contractors, Sheehan Pipeline Construction, U.S. Pipeline, Welded Construction, Henkels & McCoy, Michels Corporation, North American Energy Services, Flint Energy Services, Ledcor, Sunland, Dyess, Jomax, CH2M Hill, Gulf Interstate, Universal Pegasus, Trigon, Mustang Engineering, ENGlobal, AltairStrickland, JV Industrial Companies, Plant Performance Services, KBR, Chicago Bridge & Iron, Matrix Services, MYR Group, Pike Electric and Miller Pipeline.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Willbros Group (NYSE: WG  ) were shining today, gaining as much as 16% after the energy services firm boosted its profit estimate for the current quarter.

Top Energy Companies To Own For 2014: Surge Energy Inc (ZPTAF.PK)

Surge Energy Inc. is an oil focused exploration and production (E&P) company. The Company has projects in Southern Saskatchewan/the Williston Basin, SE Alberta and Valhalla/Nipisi. In January 2014, Surge Energy Inc. announced the SE Saskatchewan light oil acquisition. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Value Digger]

  In late January 2013, I wrote an article about Surge Energy (ZPTAF.PK), an oil-weighted intermediate producer with operations in Canada and US. It was when the price dropped below $4. Actually, I recommended Surge Energy back then at $3.7, for the reasons mentioned here.

Top Energy Companies To Own For 2014: KiOR Inc (KIOR)

KiOR, Inc. (KiOR), incorporated on July 23, 2007, is development- stage company. KiOR is a renewable fuels company engaged in producing cellulosic gasoline and diesel from abundant non-food biomass. Cellulosic fuel is derived from lignocellulose found in wood, grasses and the non-edible portions of plants. The Company generates hydrocarbons from renewable sources . Its end products are fungible hydrocarbon-based gasolines and diesels that can be used as components in formulating finished gasoline and diesel fuels, rather than alcohols or fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) such as ethanol or biodiesel. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company commenced construction of its initial-scale commercial production facility in Columbus, Mississippi, designed to process 500 bone dry ton per day (BDT) of feedstock per day, As of December 31, 2011, the Company had not generated any revenues.

The Company has developed a process that converts non-food lignocellulose into gasoline and diesel that can be transported using the existing fuels distribution system for use in vehicles on the road. Its biomass-to-cellulosic fuel technology platform combines catalyst systems with fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processes that have been used in crude oil refineries to produce gasoline. The biomass fluid catalytic cracking (BFCC) process operates at moderate temperatures and pressures to convert biomass in a matter of seconds into the renewable crude oil that can be processed using standard refining equipment into its cellulosic gasoline and diesel. In its demonstration unit the Company varies its volume output of gasoline from 37% to 61%, diesel from 31% to 55% and fuel oil from 8% to 9% from its renewable crude oil. The Company focuses on its commercialization efforts with respect to its gasoline and diesel. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 76 pending original patent application families containing over 2,300 pending claims.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  KiOR (Nasdaq: KIOR) is one of three advanced biofuel companies that venture capitalist Vinod Khosla took public in 2011. The other two were Amyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) and Gevo (Nasdaq: GEVO). Each of these companies has seen its share price drop sharply since the IPO. While KiOR is one of the few companies to have produced advanced biofuel for sale, the volumes have consistently come in below company guidance, and I expect production costs to remain above the sales price for the foreseeable future.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of renewable fuel company KiOR (NASDAQ: KIOR  ) fell 10% today after reaching an operational milestone.

  So what: The company has made its first shipment of cellulosic gasoline and diesel and has been operating for 30 days. The company's first shipment since March was made on June 28, and now we should see continuous shipments going forward. �

• [By John Udovich]

  As a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report comes out about wasteful spending on biofuels, small cap renewable biofuel stock Gevo, Inc (NASDAQ: GEVO) reported earnings that came in below expectations -�meaning its worth taking a closer look at the GAO report, the stock and the performance of KiOR Inc (NASDAQ: KIOR), Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ: SZYM) and Syntroleum Corp (NASDAQ: SYNM).

• [By Nickey Friedman]

  It has not been a good year for biofuel producer KiOR (NASDAQ: KIOR  ) . Aside from the stock being down over 75%, the company has badly missed its guidance targets virtually every time, and its CFO quit without any explanation. Then, to top off the 12 months of disappointment, KiOR ended the year with another resignation and more production shortfalls.

Top 10 Valued Companies For 2014

Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) announced before markets opened on Tuesday that the company�� board has agreed to a merger with Tokyo-traded Tokyo Electron Ltd., another maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The resulting company will be valued at $29 billion. The merger is expected to be completed in the second-quarter of next year, pending approval by shareholders of both companies and various regulators.

Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders in Tokyo Electron will receive 3.25 shares of the new company for each share they currently hold. Applied Materials shareholders will receive one share for each current share. After the deal closes, Applied Materials shareholders will own approximately 68% of the new company, and Tokyo Electron shareholders will own the remaining 32%.

Tokyo Electron�� chairman/CEO/president will serve as the chairman of the new company, and Applied Materials��current president/CEO will be the new CEO. The new company will get a new name; maintain dual headquarters in Tokyo and Santa Clara, California; have dual listings on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Nasdaq; and be incorporated in the Netherlands.

Top Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Energy: Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB)�crushed earnings by an astonishing 50.9% last quarter. With Mexico changing its policy on oil exploration, the oil field services leader may see continued strong earnings growth in the years ahead. The consensus price target for the stock is posted at $96. Investors are paid a 1.5% dividend.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Not surprisingly, the industry's annual capital spending has more than tripled over the past decade, coming in at $550 billion in 2011, according to oil-field services firm Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) . Yet despite shelling out all that money, the industry as a whole has been unable to secure enough new reserves to offset production.

• [By David Smith]

  Similarly, the company's forward dividend yield could stand some boosting, another possibility made more feasible by an acquisitions slowdown. Currently, however, with a forward yield of 0.80%, Varco falls short of such other big oilfield services providers as Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , with its 1.80% forward yield, or Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI  ) , at 1.40%. On that basis, it would constitute a distinct positive to see National Oilwell Varco's own anticipated yield raised to at least 1.00%, a level that would hardly result in an arduous payout for the company.

• [By Dr. Kent Moors]

  That's why some of the biggest OFS providers - like Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT) - have been buying up oil and gas equipment companies.

Top 10 Valued Companies For 2014: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mani]

  Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) is one of the companies that are set to exploit the ongoing trend of consumers' increasing focus on value with significant opportunity to grow its store base, and expand margins.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Deep discounter Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) announced today that its current chief operating officer, Gary Philbin, will now also carry the title of president, a position previously held by company CEO Bob Sasser.

• [By Richard Stavros]

  For example, Dollar General (NYSE: DG), the nation’s largest dollar-store chain with 11,100 locations, offered a weak profit outlook in the early part of the year after reporting weak fourth-quarter sales. And Dollar Tree (Nasdaq: DLTR), which operates about 5,000 locations, missed profit expectations for the holiday quarter in February. What has happened to the American consumer? Even McDonald�� sales were flat in April.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{display:none}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703,#postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{width:570px;height:411px;display:block} NEW YORK -- The fight for penny pinchers is intensifying. Dollar Tree (DLTR) said Monday it is buying rival discounter Family Dollar (FDO) for $8.5 billion, significantly broadening its reach as it looks to fend off Walmart, which has been stepping up its courtship of lower-income customers The deal makes Dollar Tree the biggest player in the dollar store segment, with its more than 13,000 combined locations eclipsing current leader Dollar General (DG), which has about 11,300. Dollar stores grew during the recession as people across income groups searched for cheaper options. To attract a broader array of customers, they also expanded their offerings to include more groceries and brand-name products, instead of just the party favors and other knickknacks people often associated with them. More recently, however, sales at dollar stores have been suffering because the lower-income customers who go to them are facing persistent job instability and slow wage growth in the aftermath of the recession. Walmart Stores (WMT) and Kroger (KR) also have been opening smaller store formats to directly compete with dollar stores. During its current fiscal year, Walmart plans to open 270 to 300 smaller outlets designed to cater to shoppers looking for more convenience. Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, said because the Dollar Tree deal will allow the company to lower expenses by merging its operations, it will ultimately be able to lower prices to better compete with Walmart. "Now they're going to take the fight back to Walmart," Sozzi said. The deal also gives Dollar Tree more flexibility. Dollar Tree is true to its name, with everything in its stores costing just a buck. The fixed pricing has helped attract more customer

Top 10 Valued Companies For 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, household products company Tupperware Brands (NYSE: TUP  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

Top 10 Valued Companies For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Other areas to focus on are industrials and tech, Greenhaus said. Several industrial Dow components report such as United Technologies Corp. (UTX) �on Tuesday, Boeing Co. (BA) � and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) �on Wednesday, and 3M Co. (MMM) �on Thursday. Also on Thursday after the close, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) �reports results.

Top 5 Oil Service Companies To Own For 2014

Cowen was feeling pretty good about the oil services sector until it surveyed exploration & production firms and found that its original spending estimates were off. Way off. Like a Blaine Gabbert pass.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

As a result, the knives have come out. Cowen’s analysts downgraded six stocks–Baker Hughes (BHI), Cameron International (CAM), Nabors Industries (NBR), CGG (CGG), Superior Energy Services (SPN) and Helmerich & Payne (HP)–and cut their estimates on even more. Its analysts explain why:

Our Original E&P Spending Survey published today estimated just 4% growth globally in E&P spend in 2014. Given our estimates were based upon an 8% gain in 2014 and a similar increase in 2015, we are lowering our estimates for many of the stocks we cover.

As the market digests a slower growth outlook for 2014, we think consensus earnings estimates will come down. It will be difficult for the oil service and drilling stocks to perform well given this scenario. Thus, we are lowering our opinion on six of the stocks we cover.

Top 10 Semiconductor Companies To Buy Right Now: Nokia Oyj (NOK)

Nokia Corporation (Nokia) has three operating segments: Devices & Services; NAVTEQ, and Nokia Siemens Networks. Devices & Services is responsible for developing and managing the Company�� portfolio of mobile products, as well as designing and developing services, including applications and content. NAVTEQ is a provider of digital map information and related location-based content and services for mobile navigation devices, automotive navigation systems, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. Nokia Siemens Networks provides mobile and fixed network infrastructure, communications and networks service platforms, as well as professional services and business solutions, to operators and service providers. In April 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of Novarra, Inc. and MetaCarta Inc. In September 2010, Nokia acquired Motally, Inc. In December 2010, Renesas Electronics Corporation acquired Nokia�� Wireless Modem business. In August 2012, the Company sold a portfolio consisting of over 500 patents and patent applications worldwide to Vringo Inc.

Mobile Phones

Nokia produces a range of mobile phones based on the Series 30 and Series 40 operating systems. These products have voice capability, basic messaging and calendar features, and, increasingly, color displays, radios, basic cameras and Bluetooth functionality. Series 30-based mobile phones do not provide Internet connectivity, access to Ovi or offer opportunities for application development by third parties. During 2010, its portfolio of Series 30-based mobile phones included the Nokia 1616, equipped with a long-lasting anti-dust keypad, frequency modulation (FM) radio, a flashlight, and a display that makes viewing information on the small screen easier. Its Series 40 operating system powers the mobile phone models and supports more functionalities and applications, such as Internet connectivity and access to its services.

Series 40 is open to third-party developers! to build Java and Adobe Flash Lite applications and content, which they can make available through the Ovi Store. It combines a touchscreen and a traditional phone keypad, is equipped with a five megapixel camera, quad-band for voice calling and third generation (3G), high speed packet access (HSPA) and wireless fidelity (WiFi) connectivity for data in a bushed aluminum finish. Other additions to the Company�� portfolio included the Nokia C3 Touch & Type, a stainless steel device, which also combines the touch screen and traditional phone keypad, and the Nokia 2690, memory card slot, and which gives access to Ovi Mail and features an FM radio and video graphics array (VGA) camera. It is also incorporating some of the software features and related services popular in its smartphones into the Series 40-based mobile phones. These include the new Ovi Web browser, which is based on the browser technology. It also offers Ovi Mail, a free e-mail service designed for users in emerging markets with Internet-enabled devices.

Smartphones

Nokia�� smartphones are based on the Symbian operating system, which supports an array of functionalities and provides opportunities for the development of applications and content by third parties. During 2010, Nokia also offered a product built on the Linux-based Maemo operating system. The Company makes smartphones for a range of consumer groups, offering Internet access, entertainment, location-based and other services, applications and content. With smartphones, its product categories include music players, cameras, pocketable computers, gaming consoles and navigation devices.

During 2010, the Company introduced a family of smartphones based on a new generation of the Symbian operating system. These were the Nokia N8, a smartphone crafted from anodized aluminum and available in a range of colors, and which offers imaging, video and entertainment capabilities; the Nokia C7, a sleek, full-touch smartphone crafted from stainless stee! l and gla! ss that is designed to appeal to social networkers; the Nokia C6-01, a smaller, full-touch smartphone that features Nokia ClearBlack display technology for outdoor visibility; and the Nokia E7, a business smartphone equipped with a full keyboard and 4-inch touchscreen display also featuring Nokia ClearBlack technology.

During 2010, the Company introduced a number of models based on the Symbian operating system, including the Nokia C6-00, a messaging-optimized smartphone with a 3.2-inch high definition (HD) touchscreen display, a slide out four-row QWERTY keyboard and a five megapixel camera; and the Nokia E5, a messaging-optimized QWERTY smartphone that builds on the Nokia E71 and Nokia E72. The Company also manufactures and sells luxury mobile devices under the Vertu brand. Vertu has more than 600 points of sale globally, including more than 90 Vertu boutiques, in almost 70 countries worldwide.

NAVTEQ

NAVTEQ Corporation (NAVTEQ) offers context and geographical services through Ovi Maps to a range of location-based services, such as pedestrian navigation, traffic and public transport information, local services and city guides, integration with social networks and contextual advertising. In January 2010, Nokia introduced a new version of Ovi Maps for its smartphones, which includes navigation to the user, and it is using NAVTEQ�� digital map information and related location-based content in this offering. This new version of Ovi Maps includes car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice guidance. During 2010, the Company�� NAVTEQ launched its new advanced mapping collection technology, NAVTEQ True. During 2010, its NAVTEQ launched Natural Guidance, a product to enable guidance in a human manner through the use of descriptive reference cues.

NAVTEQ�� map database enables the Company�� customers to offer navigation, route planning, location-based services and other geographic information-based products and services to con! sumer and! commercial users. NAVTEQ provides its database to mobile device and handset manufacturers, automobile manufacturers and dealers, navigation systems manufacturers, software developers, Internet portals, parcel and overnight delivery services companies and governmental and quasi- governmental entities, among others. The products and services incorporating NAVTEQ map data include Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Dynamic navigation, Route planning, Location-based services and Geographic information systems. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems are in-vehicle applications that require geographic data, such as curve, slope, speed limits and highly detailed geometry. Dynamic navigation is real-time, detailed turn-by-turn route guidance, which can be provided to end-users through vehicle navigation systems, as well as through Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled handheld navigation devices, and other mobile devices.

Route planning consists of driving directions, route optimization and map display through services provided by Internet portals and through computer software for personal and commercial use. Location-based services include location-specific information services, providing information about people and places that is tailored to the proximity of the specific user. The applications using NAVTEQ�� map database include points of interest locators, mobile directory assistance services, emergency response systems and vehicle-based telematics services. Geographic information systems render geographic representations of information and assets for management analysis and decision making. In addition, NAVTEQ has a traffic and logistics data collection network in which it processes traffic incident and event information, along with traffic flow data collected through its network of roadside sensors and from GPS data records from Nokia devices and other NAVTEQ customers, in order to provide detailed traffic information to radio and television stations, in-vehicle and mobile navigation systems! , Interne! t sites and mobile device users.

NAVTEQ�� map database is a representation of road transportation networks in Europe, North America, Australia, Asia and other regions around the world. This database offers geographic coverage, including data at various levels of detail for 84 countries on six continents, covering more than 19 million miles of roadway worldwide. The most detailed coverage includes road, route and related travel information, including attributes collected by road segment that are essential for routing and navigation, such as road classifications, details regarding ramps, road barriers, sign information, street names and addresses and traffic rules and regulations. In addition, the database includes over 50 million points of interest, such as airports, hotels, restaurants, retailers, civic offices and cultural sites.

Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks has three business units: network systems; global services; and business solutions. Nokia Siemens Networks is jointly owned by Nokia and Siemens. Nokia Siemens Networks is a provider of telecommunications infrastructure hardware, software and professional services globally. Nokia Siemens Networks��customers include network operators, such as Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telecom, France Telecom, Telefonica O2 and Vodafone, as well as service providers, such as Unitech and XO Communications. Nokia Siemens Networks has a products and services portfolio designed to address the needs of communication service providers. Nokia Siemens Networks provides its products and services to more than 600 communication service providers in over 150 countries and has systems serving in excess of 1.5 billion subscribers.

Network systems offers communication service providers both fixed and mobile network infrastructure, including Nokia Siemens Networks��Flexi Multiradio base stations, a software defined radio supporting global system for mobile (GSM), 3G and LTE radio technologies, packet product! s, optica! l transport systems and broadband access equipment. For wireless networks, Network Systems develops and manufactures GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA radio access networks for network operators. It also develops products, such as I-HSPA and new technologies, such as LTE to support the uptake of mobile data services. For fixed line networks, Network Systems focuses on transport networks. Network Systems provides the fundamental elements for high-speed transmission through optical and microwave networks, including packet-oriented technologies, such as Carrier Ethernet and traditional protocols, such as time-division multiplexing (TDM).

Global services business unit offers network operators a range of professional services, including network planning and optimization, the management of network operations and the care and maintenance of software and hardware, and a range of network implementation and turnkey solutions. As of December 31, 2010, 180 million global subscribers were managed througt Nokia Siemens Networks��global delivery hubs. Global services consists of three businesses, which include managed services, which offers network planning and optimization and the management of network operations, with the market share position in India, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa; care, which offers software and hardware maintenance, proactive and multi-vendor care and competence development services, dealing with one million global hardware service transactions, and network implementation, which offers project management and turnkey implementations and energy efficient sites, remotely activating a site every two minutes, 365 days per year.

Business solutions offers products to communication service providers for business and operations support systems and customer experience management, such as charging and billing software, service management software and subscriber database management, and products that enable enhancement and delivery of services across multiple networks and d! evices an! d convergent service control and network security, together with services related to consulting, product implementation, support and care, systems integration and managed services. Business solutions offer products for five areas, as well as services relating to consulting, product implementation, support and care, systems integration and managed services includes business support systems; operations support systems; customer experience management; service enablement and delivery, and converged service control.

The Company competes with Google, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Tele Atlas, CISCO, NEC and Motorola.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andrew Tonner]

  Truly monumental changes are in the works at tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) . Or at least that's what we're led to believe. With Microsoft's massive $7.2 billion purchase of Nokia's handset business set to close in the coming months, Microsoft and Nokia are both supposed to be looking toward newer and brighter futures.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) has entered into a definitive agreement with Siemens (NYSE: SI  ) , its partner in Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), to purchase the 50% stake in the joint venture it doesn't already own for $2.23 billion, the companies announced today.

• [By Chris Neiger]

  Yes, you read that headline correctly. Nokia's (NYSE: NOK  ) Symbian is still alive -- but not doing well -- in China. That's not surprising considering the company abandoned Symbian a few years back and has since moved on to the Windows Phone platform. According to a recent report by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Symbian accounts for 23% of installed base mobile OS', while iOS has 19.9%.

Top 5 Oil Service Companies To Own For 2014: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The Jones Industrials rose 0.6% to 16,064.77, a record high, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 1.804.76, also an all-time high. Big Dow winners this week include JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which rose 4.7% this week after agreeing to a $13 billion settlement with the government, Chevron (CVX), which gained 3.3% to $124.03 after it suspended a North Sea oil project, and United Health Group (UNH), which advanced 2.6% to $73.74. In the S&P 500, Biogen Idec (BIIB) rose 17% to $285.62 after the European Union protected one of its drugs from competition and Tyson Foods (TSN), finished up 11% at $31.82 after reporting surprisingly good earnings.

• [By Lawrence Meyers]

  So, which are the best stocks to buy and hold forever?

  Stocks to Buy: Chevron (CVX)

  The first is Chevron (CVX). With certain companies, and this includes Chevron and other big oil stocks, I’m not actually looking for EPS growth. Instead, I’m interested in the role CVX stock plays in the human experience.

Top 5 Oil Service Companies To Own For 2014: Thinspace Technology Inc (THNS)

Thinspace Technology Inc., formerly Vanity Events Holding, Inc., incorporated on November 22, 2006, is a holding company. Utilizing their licensed trademark of America's Cleaning Company, Vanity established a cleaning company offering residential and commercial cleaning services. In October 2012, the Company acquired fineartlender.com. In October 2012, the Company acquired additional URLS, which include Weddinggownlender.com; Suitlender.com and Bridalpartylender.com.

The Company seeks out, licenses, develops, promotes, and brings to market various consumer and commercial products. The Company markets products directly to the consumer and marketplace through one of its own properties www.ThereIsAProductForThat.com.

The Company competes with Rent the Runway, Inc., Rent-A-Center, Inc., Bag, Borrow or Steal, Inc., Aaron��, and Gilt Groupe, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap tech or media stocks Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS), Beamz Interactive Inc (OTCBB: BZIC) and Hannover House Inc (OTCMKTS: HHSE) have been getting some extra attention lately, but it appears that only one of these stocks has been the subject of a paid promotion. Nevertheless, all three stocks have been busy with press releases trying to get the attention of investors or traders. So are these three small cap tech or media stocks worth your attention? Here is a closer look along with a reality check:

  Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: THNS) Was Recently Busy With Press Releases

  Small cap Thinspace Technology Inc is a global provider of reliable, scalable and affordable application delivery, virtualization and cloud client technology to public and private sector companies and organizations of all sizes. On Monday, Thinspace Technology Inc rose 2.80% to $0.330 for a market cap of $30.24 million plus THNS is down 82.6% over the past year and down 89.8% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap biotech or tech stocks Amanasu Techno Holdings Corp (OTCMKTS: ANSU), Bio Matrix Scientific Group Inc (OTCMKTS: BMSN) and Thinspace Technology Inc (OTCBB: THNS) surged 44.74%, 42.31% and 14%, respectively, with only one of these small caps appearing to be the subject of some sort of small paid promotions or investor relations campaign. Given the lack of a big pump from promoters or IR people, will these three small caps keep surging or will the tide go out again this week? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

Top 5 Oil Service Companies To Own For 2014: National Retail Properties (NNN)

National Retail Properties, Inc. is a publicly owned equity real estate investment trust. The firm acquires, owns, manages, and develops retail properties in the United States. It provides complete turn-key and built-to-suit development services including market analysis, site selection and acquisition, entitlements, permitting, and construction management. The firm also focuses on purchasing and financing net-leased retail properties. It was formerly known as Commercial Net Lease Realty, Inc. National Retail Properties was founded in August 1984 and is based in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  ARCP has a shorter trading history than some of its peers, such as Realty Income (O) and National Retail Properties (NNN), which largely explains why its yield is higher. As a relatively new REIT, ARCP stock is largely unfollowed by investors. But once its merger with Cole Properties (COLE) is completed, ARCP will be the largest trip-net REIT by market cap and total square footage, and it will no longer be flying under Wall Street�� radar.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  Here are the three dependable dividend stocks that are up at least 10% year-to-date, as of Feb. 11:

  Dependable Dividend Stocks: National Retail Properties (NNN)

  Dividend Yield: 4.9%
  YTD Gain: 10%

• [By Brad Thomas]

  Finally, here's the report card. Agree has racked up a year-over-year total return of 43.19%. That's not bad, especially when you consider the noise generated by the big boys: Realty Income (O) 32.66%; National Retail Properties (NNN) 47.44%; W.P. Carey (WPC) 57.84%; Spirit Realty (SRC) 35.44%; and American Realty Capital Properties 52.18%.

Top 5 Internet Companies For 2014

Yesterday, shares of this Internet game maker's initial public offering (IPO) suffered a hit, on fears of being a one-trick pony, and MoneyShow's Jim Jubak considers the impact it may have on several US companies.

Yesterday�� rout in the initial public offering (IPO) of King Digital Entertainment (KING), the maker of the Internet game hit Candy Crush Saga, has savaged Internet game stocks across Asia today.

Shares of US game makers such as Electronic Arts (EA) have fallen slightly, but US Internet momentum favorites such as Facebook (FB) have been largely immune. (Maybe because they��e been punished previously in what looks like a top in momentum favorites.)

Yesterday, shares of King Digital, initially priced at $22.50, closed at $19 on fears that the company is a one-trick pony and that this pony, Candy Crush Saga, has already peaked. Gross bookings, a measure of how much players of the game pay for items for sale in the game, fell in the fourth quarter of 2013. King Digital gets 78% of its gross bookings from Candy Crush.

Top European Companies To Invest In 2015: Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)

Amazon.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. It operates retail Web sites, including amazon.com and amazon.ca. The company serves consumers through its retail Web sites and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. It also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its Web sites, and their own branded Web sites. In addition, the company serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various type of business. Further, it manufactures and sells the Kindle e-reader. Additionally, the company provides fulfillment; miscellaneous marketing and promotional agreements, such as online advertising; and co-branded credit cards. Amazon.com, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Woods]

  The Street eagerly awaits Amazon (AMZN) earnings each quarter … but really, why even bother?

  You see, nearly every quarter we get a case of what classic rockers Led Zeppelin call, ��he Song Remains the Same.��That is to say, Amazon earnings come in with big revenue growth and a tiny profit due largely to massive reinvestment of capital into the business that allows it to expand.

• [By Dan Newman]

  Now Amazon.com� (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) has released the same ability for application and website developers to add "Login With Amazon." Not only is this is a perfect complement to Amazon's current services, but it will also beat all of its aforementioned competitors for a majority of sites because of a fundamental difference: Amazon isn't a social network, and it won't share your actions with the world.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Amazon.com (AMZN) might be bringing Amazon Fresh to a city near you–and hammering your grocery stock in the process. Deutsche Bank sees tough times for Supervalu�(SVU) and Safeway�(SWY)� if an when Amazon expands its grocery delivery service beyond its three current test markets, while Kroger (KR) and Whole Foods Markets (WFM) should be able to thrive.

  Bloomberg

  Deutsche Bank’s Karen Short and team explain:

  So, who is most exposed to the Amazon.com competitive threat? To answer this question, we first looked for the U.S. markets that are most structurally economical to an online grocer; that is, markets with: 1) a large population, 2) high population density, and 3) relatively high prices. As identified by Oliver Wyman, the most appealing markets (lowest market share breakeven levels) include NYC (0.3% breakeven share), LA (0.3%), Boston (0.9%), and San Fran (1.0%)…

  …we believe the conventional grocers in our universe ��namely, Safeway, Supervalu, and SpartanNash (SPTN)��re most at risk from Amazon.com’s expansion. Kroger should fare better due to its very strong price positioning and weighted-average market share positions. In addition, we believe that Kroger may actually end up as a net beneficiary of Amazon.com’s expansion, as grocers with lower market share positions (outside the top 5) are likely to exit/close, leaving more share to top players such as Kroger. The natural/organic specialty players are also better positioned to absorb Amazon.com’s expansion, with Whole Food Markets least at-risk due to its product mix (e.g. prepared foods), differentiated format, strong EBIT margins, and very strong balance sheet.

  Morgan Stanley’s�Vincent Sinisi says online is “not a major threat to brick and mortar food retailers.” He explains:

  Surprisingly, our AlphaWise survey showed that consumers��interest in online ordering (either to be picked-up at store, or d

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Amazon.com (AMZN) launched a new streaming music service on Thursday as part of its $99 Prime subscription service that includes free video streaming and free delivery. Overnight the company launched a web page seemingly announcing the new service. "Prime Music" would offer unlimited, ad-free streaming, free with Amazon Prime, according to the site. The company didn't provide further information. Amazon's head of digital music, Steve Boom, told Reuters that because the service is free with Prime, it offers more bang per buck than stand alone streaming services that can cost $10 a month. "If there area few tracks you want to buy, the cost of doing that in our store will be dramatically less than paying $120 a year for, frankly, a lot of music people don't listen to," Boom said in an interview with the news agency. The variety of music offered is expected to be wide but not deep, and wouldn't include the newest hits given a six-month delay after albums are launched. One industry insider called the new service "playlist heavy." Amazon hasn't responded to requests for comment, but a number of industry sources confirm that deals are inked and the press releases have been written. Both Sony Music and Warner Music Group have signed deals to license their music -- neither have commented -- but Universal Music Group, the world's largest music label, isn't on board. There's no question that Amazon is already a huge player in the music business, selling music downloads. But with Apple (AAPL) spending $3 billion to buy Beats and its efforts behind iTunes Radio, and Google (GOOG) with its Play Music Store in reported talks to buy music service Songza, Amazon is under pressure to do more. One source said that while Amazon's launch of streaming music for prime is "certainly not a game changer, it's a step in the right direction." Labels and artists are particularly interested because the 'Prime' service is high visibility

Top 5 Internet Companies For 2014: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO  ) results for the Internet titan's Q1 have been released. For the quarter, revenue was $1.14 billion, a 7% drop from the $1.22 billion in the same period the previous year. Attributable net profit, on the other hand, rose by 36% to $391 million ($0.35 per diluted share) from Q1 2012's $287 million ($0.27).

Top 5 Internet Companies For 2014: Google Inc.(GOOG)

Google Inc. maintains an index of Web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, and Google network members and other content providers. It offers AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense program, which enables Web sites that are part of the Google Network to deliver ads from its AdWords advertisers; Google Display, a display advertising network that comprises the videos, text, images, and other interactive ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a real-time auction marketplace for the trading of display ad space; and YouTube that provides video, interactive, and other ad formats for advertisers. The company also provides Google Mobile that optimizes Google?s applications for mobile devices in browser and downloadable form; and enables advertisers to run search ad campaigns on mobile devices, as well as Google Local that provides local information on the Web; and Google Boost for small businesses to participate in the ads auction. In addition, it offers And roid, an open source mobile software platform; Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system; Google Chrome, a Web browser; Google TV, a platform for the consumers to use the television and the Internet on a single screen; and Google Books platform to discover, search, and consume content from printed books online. Further, the company provides Google Apps, a cloud computing suite of message and collaboration tools, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites; Google Search Appliance that offers real-time search of business and intranet applications, and public Web sites; Google Site Search, a custom search engine; Google Commerce Search for online retail enterprises; Google Checkout to make online shopping and payments streamlined and secure; Google Maps Application Programming Interface; and Google Earth Enterprise, a firewall software solution for imagery and data visualization. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon Friedman]

  The shares of the video-recorder trailblazer tumbled about 20% after the company said it would receive $490 million as a settlement for a patent lawsuit against Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Motorola Mobility and other entities. Some Wall Street professionals had been looking for a settlement of as much as $1.7 billion.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Google is an Internet giant that provides valuable search and advertising services to a growing user base worldwide. The company agreed to pay $17 million to 37 states this week for evading cookie-blocking controls in Apple�� Safari browser. The stock has been exploding higher in recent years and is currently trading near all time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been increasing.�However, investors have had conflicting feelings about recent earnings announcements.�Relative to its strong peers and sector, Google has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Google to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Rex Moore]

  Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) is hoping to take the lowly netbook to a whole new level with its high-end Chromebook Pixel.

  In this first of a two-part series, Motley Fool analyst Rex Moore takes a look at the Pixel's impressive hardware features. Part two looks at the software aspects, and whether this netbook is worth its lofty price tag.

Top 5 Internet Companies For 2014: eBay Inc.(EBAY)

eBay Inc. provides online platforms, services, and tools to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its Marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites, such as StubHub, Fashion, Motors, and Half.com; and classifieds Websites, including Den Bl�Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, mobile.de, Alamaula, Rent.com, eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci, as well as provides advertising services. The company?s Payments segment offers payment and settlement services for consumers and merchants on and off eBay Websites and other merchant Websites. This segment operates PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online and through mobile devices; Bill Me Later that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce and mobile tra nsactions; Zong, which allows users with mobile phones to purchase digital goods and have the transactions charged to their phone bill; and BillSAFE that enables customers pay for purchases upon receipt of an invoice. Its GSI segment offers an ecommerce services suite for enterprise clients that operate in general merchandise categories, including apparel, sporting goods, toys and baby, health and beauty, and home; and marketing services comprising full-service digital agency, enterprise email marketing, mobile advertising, affiliate marketing, advertisement retargeting, and in-depth analytics services. The company also offers X.commerce platform that provides software developers access to the company?s applications programming interfaces to develop functionality for various merchants; and Magento Connect, which allows developers to market and sell add-on functionality and solutions to merchants that use a Magento storefront. eBay Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquarter ed in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Pimentel]

  Shares of eBay Inc. (EBAY) �gained nearly 1% to close at $59.30 as investor Carl Icahn sent another open letter to the company�� shareholders, saying he plans to continue his campaign for a change on the eBay board.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Hointer/APA woman demonstrates shopping technology at a store called Hointer in Seattle. NEW YORK -- When it comes to shopping, more Americans are skipping the stores and pulling out their smartphones and tablets. Still, there's more on the horizon for shopping than just point-and-clicking. No one thinks physical stores are going away permanently. But because of the frenetic pace of advances in technology and online shopping, the stores that remain will likely offer amenities and services that are more about experiences and less about selling a product. Think: Apple's (AAPL) stores. Among the things industry watchers are envisioning are holograms in dressing rooms that will allow shoppers to try on clothes without getting undressed. Their homes will be equipped with smart technology that will order light bulbs before they go dark. And they'll be able to print out a full version of coffee cups and other products using 3-D technology in stores. "Physical shopping will become a lot more fun because it's going to have to be," retail futurist Doug Stephens says. More Services Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru says stores of the future will be more about services, like day care, veterinary services and beauty services. Services that connect online and offline shopping could increase as well, with more drive-thru pickup and order-online, pick-up-in-store services. Checkout also will be self-service or with cashiers using computer tablets. Some stores are taking self-service further: A store in Seattle called Hointer displays clothing not in piles or on racks but as one piece hanging at a time, like a gallery. Shoppers just touch their smartphones to a coded tag on the item and then select a color and size on their phone. Technology in the store keeps track of the items, and by the time a shopper is ready to try them on, they're already at the dressing room. If the shopper doesn't like an item, he tosses it down a chute, which automatically removes the i