The Choppy Path To S&P 1900

The S&P futures (CME:SPM14 ) made yet another all-time new contract high yesterday, as we suspected it would. After opening in the 1894.50 to 1889.00 area the S&P started moving higher again, but after the initial burst the futures started to sell off midday and never regained its footing or the highs.

After trading down to 1892.00 the ESM14 rallied back up the the 1895 area and settled up 1.5 handles at 1894.30. Most of the day's trade was an extremely low-volume chop.

Volume matters

There is little doubt that investors have cut back from trading over the last several years. It is clearly seen in the NYSE volume and the S&P 500 futures volume every day. The NYSE that used to print 500 million shares or more on the open is down to doing just over 700,000 mil shares a day.

In most cases the NYSE total day volume is just over 400,000 mil shares going into 3:30 ET and prints over 200 to 250 million shares on the closing print at 4:00. Most of that is ETFs.

The CME Group's S&P 500 that used to do 2-3 million contracts a day is down to an average of 1.4 million contracts a day, with yesterday's total volume just over 1 million contracts. That included 200,000 contracts traded on the Globex electronic exchange, before the market open.

Where is the money?

Program and algorithmic trading in the index make up nearly 70% of the S&P 500 futures volume. If total volume was 1 million contracts and 200,000 came pre-open, that leaves 800,000 contracts in the day session, and if you take out the 70% for program trading that only leaves 240,000 contracts traded in the day session; that is a far cry from the S&P's all-time volume record of 6.69 million contracts in one day.

Overnight, the Asian markets closed modestly higher, and Europe is trading modestly lower. Today's economic schedule starts with MBA purchase applications, Producer Price Index, Atlanta Fed business inflation expectations, Housing Market Index, EIA Petroleum Report and earnings from Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A), Macy's (NYSE:M), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq:CSCO), and Pinnacle Foods (NYSE: PF).

Our view

Best Machinery Companies To Invest In Right Now

The S&P did pretty much what we thought it would do yesterday. According to the S&P cash study, the Wednesday before the May expiration has been up 16 / down 14 of the last 30 occasions.

Here is how we see it: The S&P is going to 1900 and beyond, but it never does what "everyone" wants it to do when they want it. As bullish as we are, we also want to be cautious. We lean to selling the early rally and buying weakness.

Our friend Cyrus did a study of what I have been talking about for months.
He ran a quick study using the following constraints…
1) New 50-day high
2) Volume below 30-day average
3) Since 1965
He found that the market's price movement under those conditions was bullish over a 6-month time period and 12 months, but mildly bearish for shorter time frames. Cyrus points out, "This matches with your intuition … a pop up to new highs leads to a period of consolidation and pullback …"

As always, please keep an eye on the 10-handle rule and please use stops when trading futures and options.

In Asia, 8 of 11 markets closed higher: Shanghai Comp. -0.14%, Hang Seng +1.03%, Nikkei -0.14%. In Europe, 8 of 12 markets are trading lower: DAX -0.16%, FTSE -0.16% Morning headline: "S&P Futures Seen Lower Ahead of Inflation Data" Fair value: S&P -3.45, Nasdaq -2.19 , Dow -37.87 Total volume: LOW 1mil ESM and 4.7K SPM traded Economic and earnings calendar: MBA Purchase Applications, Producer Price Index, Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations, Housing Market Index, EIA Petroleum Report and earnings from Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A), Macy's (NYSE: M), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), and Pinnacle Foods (NYSE: PF).

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

Posted-In: Previews Markets Trading Ideas

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

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Top Cheapest Stocks To Own For 2015

Shares of CSX (CSX) were slipping Thursday afternoon, after an analyst downgrade citing lack of catalysts for the railroad giant.

Barclays��Brandon Oglenski and Keith Mori cut their rating on the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight and lowered their target price by $2 to $30. They write that while CSX is still the cheapest in the sector, they see marginal upside for the stock given a limited growth outlook in 2015. They also note that a difficult start to 2014 implies further headwinds, as CSX�� cost and margin performance has lagged peers in recent periods, and ��fficiency gains could be masked in the near-term as the network regains fluidity.��/p>

Their downgrade also relates to dynamics in the coal industry:

CSX shareholders have sustained a volatile ride in the past two years, dominated by the loss of nearly $800mm in coal revenue. Dynamics have improved in the near term for domestic coal consumption, but pending environmental regulations and soft export markets make for a difficult long-term outlook. Based on our analysis of future headwinds, we estimate coal revenues could decline a further $380 to $500mm in the coming years. We are encouraged at CSX�� pace of expansion beyond coal markets, which has totaled nearly $1bn in additional revenue or 12% of growth in two years. However, growth has been insufficient to create favorable earnings outcomes given coal�� relatively high profitability. Beyond the near term, coal headwinds signal another slow growth year in 2015, driving our downgrade to Equal Weight.

Hot Healthcare Technology Companies To Buy For 2016: Premiere Opportunities Group Inc (PPBL)

Premiere Opportunities Group, Inc., formerly Premiere Publishing Group, Inc., incorporated on March 25, 2005, was a magazine publishing company. The Company�� primary objective is to identify an operating company with a view to achieving long-term growth.

The Company had operated principally through two wholly owned subsidiaries Sobe Life LLC and Poker Life LLC. The Company has discontinued all publishing activities. As of December 31, 2011, it had not generated any revenues.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  For investors, there are three reasons to be bullish about luxury item stocks, ranging from well-known brands such as Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) and Coach (NYSE: COH), to promising small caps like Premier Opportunities Group (OTC: PPBL).

Top Cheapest Stocks To Own For 2015: News Corporation(NWS)

News Corporation operates as a diversified media company worldwide. Its Cable Network Programming segment produces and licenses news, business news, sports, general entertainment, and movie programming for distribution through cable television systems and direct broadcast satellite operators primarily in the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The company?s Filmed Entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures for distribution and licensing in entertainment media, as well as produces and licenses television programming worldwide. Its Television segment operates 27 broadcast television stations in the United States. The company?s Direct Broadcast Satellite Television segment distributes programming services via satellite and broadband directly to subscribers in Italy. Its Publishing segment provides newspapers and information services, such as publishing national newspapers in the United Kingdom, approximately 146 newspape rs in Australia, and a metropolitan and a national newspaper in the United States; book publishing services, including the publishing of English language books worldwide; and integrated marketing services comprising the publishing of free-standing inserts, which are marketing booklets containing coupons, rebates, and other consumer offers, as well as provides in-store marketing products and services, primarily to consumer packaged goods manufacturers in the United States and Canada. The company also sells advertising, sponsorships, and subscription services on the company?s various digital media properties and outdoor advertising space on various media primarily in Russia and eastern Europe; and provides data systems and professional services that enable teachers to use data to assess student progress and deliver individualized instructions. News Corporation was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) reported a profit of $506 million, or $0.87 per share for the year ended June 30, versus a year-ago loss of $2.08 billion, or $3.58 per share. Its revenue rose 2.7% to $8.89 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.57 per share on revenue of $8.96 billion. News Corp shares fell 1.28% to close at $16.91 on Friday.

Top Cheapest Stocks To Own For 2015: Cheniere Energy Inc.(LNG)

Cheniere Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership and operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals and natural gas pipelines in the Gulf Coast of the United States. The company develops LNG receiving terminal projects on Sabine Pass LNG in western Cameron Parish, Louisiana on the Sabine Pass Channel; Corpus Christi LNG near Corpus Christi, Texas; and Creole Trail LNG at the mouth of the Calcasieu Channel in central Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It also involves in the oil and natural gas exploration and development activities; and LNG and natural gas marketing business. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  The large uptick in domestic production will have some major implications on natural gas markets. With ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) just receiving approval for LNG exports to countries not in free trade agreements with the U.S. at its Freeport facility, and Cheniere Energy's (NYSEMKT: LNG  ) facility due to come on line in 2015, the U.S. natural gas market will have something it doesn't have right now: an outlet for excess supply. U.S. LNG exports, plus all the Canadian gas we are using today, could be an opportunity for European countries to diversify its natural gas sources and in turn reduce the risk of repeating an incident like the U.K. suffered back in March.

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  As the debate over liquefied natural gas exports rolls on, many investors have become intrigued at the idea of investing in U.S. LNG. As far as stock market opportunities go, the only company in the States with all the necessary approvals for such exports is�Cheniere Energy� (NYSEMKT: LNG  ) . If you haven't been following the company, you may have some questions not only about Cheniere itself, but also about how it fits into the global LNG picture. That's why�we created a�premium report�on the company,�to help guide investors on whether or not Cheniere merits consideration for their portfolios.�

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  We're still years away from commercial scale LNG exports, but that hasn't stopped Dominion Resources (NYSE: D  ) or Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP  ) from making plans to drop down their facilities into a master limited partnership. In this video, Fool contributor Aimee Duffy discusses why MLPs could be a good fit for LNG and how Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG  ) has already done this with its existing MLP, Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSEMKT: CQP  ) .

Top Cheapest Stocks To Own For 2015: Mastercard Incorporated(MA)

MasterCard Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides transaction processing and related services to customers principally in support of their credit, deposit access, electronic cash and automated teller machine payment card programs, and travelers? cheque programs. Its payment solutions include payment programs, marketing, product development, technology, processing, and consulting and information services. The company provides transaction processing services comprising transaction switching, which include authorization, clearing, and settlement; connectivity services, such as network access, equipment, and the transmission of authorization and settlement messages; and other payment-related services consisting of products used to prevent or detect fraudulent transactions, cardholder services, professional consulting and research services, compliance and penalty, account and transaction enhancement services, holograms, and publication services. MasterCard Incor porated manages and licenses payment card brands, including MasterCard, MasterCard Electronic, Maestro, and Cirrus. The company?s payment programs, which are facilitated through its brands, include consumer credit, debit and prepaid programs, commercial payment solutions, and contactless payment solutions. It serves approximately 22,000 financial institutions. The company was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jay Jenkins]

  The future, as they say, is now. Equipped with a Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) smartphone in your pocket and a MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) enabled cash register at your favorite store, you can purchase your weekly groceries without opening your wallet.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Nelms is not alone. The heads of American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) have all been dismissive regarding any adverse impact the growth of Bitcoin might have on their businesses.

• [By Jane Edmondson]

  Green Dot (GDOT), a Pasadena, CA-based company, is a leading provider of prepaid MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V) debit cards. Green Dot products are sold in more than 60,000 retail locations including drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, and discount department stores. The company also has a discounted offering available exclusively through Wal-Mart (WMT).

• [By Travis Hoium]

  One of the best competitive advantages a company can create is built using what's called a network effect. The more users a company has, the more users it attracts, which attracts more users and the cycle continues. Visa (NYSE: V  ) has created one of the best network effects in the world with its massive payment processing system, building a lead over Mastercard (NYSE: MA  ) and American Express (NYSE: AXP  ) , who are the two other big players in the business.

Top Cheapest Stocks To Own For 2015: Steel Excel Inc (SXCL)

Steel Excel Inc., formerly ADPT Corp., incorporated in 1981, is primarily focused on capital redeployment and identification of new business operations. The identification of new business operations includes, but is not limited to, the oilfield servicing, sports, training, education, entertainment and lifestyle businesses. The Company operates in two segments: oilfield servicing and sports-related segment. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired two sports-related businesses and one oilfield servicing business. On June 27, 2011, the Company acquired Baseball Heaven LLC and Baseball Cafe, Inc. On August 15, 2011, the Company acquired The Show, LLC. On December 7, 2011, the Company acquired Rogue Pressure Services, LLC. On February 9, 2012, the Company acquired Eagle Well Services, Inc. In May 2012, the Company acquired Sun Well Service, Inc. Effective December 16, 2013, Steel Excel Inc acquired Black Hawk Energy Services Inc, a provider of oil and gas field services.

The Company�� oilfield servicing segment provides services in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Services include snubbing services (controlled installation and removal of all tubulars - drill strings and production strings) in and out of the wellbore with the well under full pressure, flowtesting, and hydraulic work over/simultaneous operations (allows customers to perform multiple tasks on multiple wells on one pad at the same time). The Company�� sports-related services segment provides services related to marketing and providing baseball facility services, including training camps, summer camps, leagues and tournaments, concession and catering events and other events and related Websites. In addition, the Company outfit little league baseball and softball players and coaches in official major league baseball uniforms.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  1. Steel Excel (SXCL)
  2. FormFactor (FORM)
  3. Imation (IMN)
  4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
  5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
  6. Maxygen (MAXY)
  7. Westell (WSTL)
  8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
  9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)

Top Cheapest Stocks To Own For 2015: Continental Resources Inc. (CLR)

Continental Resources, Inc. engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas primarily in the north, south, and east regions of the United States. The company primarily sells its oil and natural gas production to end users, as well as to midstream marketing companies or oil refining companies at the lease. As of December 31, 2011, its estimated proved reserves were 508.4 million barrels of crude oil equivalent, with estimated proved developed reserves of 205.2 million barrels of crude oil equivalent. The company had interests in 3,255 wells and served as the operator of 2,082 of these wells. Continental Resources, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Enid, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  What several oil companies realized, though, is that moving oil by rail did one thing that pipelines could not: reach the East Coast and West Coast markets. Less than six months ago, the price spread between Bakken crude and imported Brent crude -- the primary source for East Coast refiners -- was over $20. So despite the premium to move by rail versus by pipeline, it was still well worth it for the refineries. Refiners and producers from the Bakken region have thus begun to move massive amounts of oil by rail. Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR  ) , the largest producer of crude from the Bakken, now transports about 80% of all its crude by rail, and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) signed on to a five-year contract to receive 50,000 barrels per day of Bakken crude that will get there mostly by rail.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  For instance, Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR  ) , the leading Bakken driller, has seen tremendous initial success from testing tighter spacing between its wells. The company recently drilled 14 horizontal wells spaced 1,320 feet apart in the in the southern part of its Three Forks acreage that produced 50% more oil and gas in their first three months of production than the company's average Bakken well.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Stories like these don't end there. The drilling boom has created a lot of wealth for the founders of oil and gas companies which they've used to diversify into separate entities. Another example of this is found at�Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR  ) whose CEO, Harold Hamm, happens to also own a pipeline company. That company, Hiland Partners, is a former affiliate of Continental that was taken public but subsequently bought by Hamm. That history provides important context because earlier this year Continental signed a $95.8 million deal for pipeline capacity on an unnamed and unbuilt oil pipeline with Hiland. While the deal was fully vetted to avoid conflict of interests, it is one of many recent related-party transaction between Hamm and Continental. Other examples include the $23 million purchase of its headquarters building by Continental and the acquisition $340 million in oil and gas assets from a company owned by Hamm and Continental's vice chairman.

Top Cheapest Stocks To Own For 2015: Timmins Gold Corp (TGD)

Timmins Gold Corp. (Timmins) is a gold mining and exploration company. The Company is engaged in exploration, mine development and the mining and extraction of precious metals, primarily gold. Its primary asset and material mineral property is the San Francisco Gold Property located in Sonora, Mexico, which includes the Company�� only operating mine (the Mine). Its projects include El Capomo Property, Timm Property, El Picacho Property, Patricia and Norma Property, San Onesimo, Zindy and San Fernando Properties, Quila Property and Cocula Property. El Capomo Property is located in Nayarit State, approximately 50 kilometers east of Puerto Vallarta. It acquired Timm Property by staking a 45,000 hectare land package in the Penasquito area. Patricia and Norma Property consists of approximately 20,000 hectares were staked by the Company and are located in the Municipality of Trincheras, Sonora, Mexico. Its Cocula Property is located approximately 50 kilometers west of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anthony Mirhaydari]

  I’ve added shares of BAA to my Edge Letter Sample Portfolio.

  Breakout Gold Stocks to Buy: Timmins Gold (TGD)

  
  Click to Enlarge Timmins Gold (TGD), like the other two gold stocks, is also challenging its 200-day moving average as buyers pour capital into a sector that had been left for dead. An upside breakout here would be the first since early 2013.

Hot Construction Stocks To Watch For 2016

Hot Construction Stocks To Watch For 2016: Granite Construction Inc (GVA)

Granite Construction Incorporated (Granite), incorporated on January 24, 1990, is a diversified heavy civil contractors and construction materials producers in the United States. The Company operates in four segments: Construction, Large Project Construction, Construction Materials and Real Estate. The Company operates nationwide, serving both public and private sector clients. Within the public sector, it primarily concentrates on heavy-civil infrastructure projects, including the construction of roads, highways, mass transit facilities, airport infrastructure, bridges, dams and other infrastructure related projects. Within the private sector, it performs site preparation and infrastructure services for residential development, commercial and industrial buildings, and other facilities. The Company owns and leases substantial aggregate reserves and own a number of construction materials processing plants. It also has contractor-owned heavy construction equipment fleets in the United States. In December 2012, it purchased 100% interest of Kenny Construction Company (Kenny).

Construction

Revenue from its Construction segment was approximately 47% of its total revenue during the year ended December 31, 2012. Revenue from its Construction segment is derived from both public and private sector clients. The Construction segment performs various heavy civil construction projects with a large portion of the work focused on new construction and improvement of streets, roads, highways, bridges, site work and other infrastructure projects. These are typically bid-build projects completed within two years.

Large Project Construction

Revenue from its Large Project Construction segment was 41.4% of its total revenue in 2012. The Large Project Construction segment focuses on large, complex i! nfrastructure projects, which typically have a longer duration than its Construction segment work. These projects in clude major highways, mass transit facilities, bridges, tunn! els, waterway locks and dams, pipelines, canals and airport infrastructure. This segment primarily includes bid-build, design-build and construction management/general contractor contracts. It participates in joint ventures with other construction companies mainly on projects in its Large Project Construction segment. Joint ventures are typically used for large, technically complex projects, including design/build projects, where it is desirable to share risk and resources. Joint venture partners typically provide independently prepared estimates, shared financing and equipment and often bring local knowledge and expertise.

The Company also utilizes the design/build and construction management/general contract methods of project delivery. Under the construction management/general contract method of delivery, it contracts with owners to manage the design phase of the contract with the understanding that it will negotiate a contract on the construction phase when the design nears completion. Revenue from design/build and construction management/general contract projects represented 74.5% of Large Project Construction revenue in 2012.

Construction Materials

Revenue from its Construction Materials segment was 11.1% of its total revenue in 2012. The Construction Materials segment mines and processes aggregates and operates plants that produce construction materials for internal use and for sale to third parties. It has aggregate reserves that it has acquired by ownership in fee or through long-term leases. Aggregate products used in its construction projects represented approximately 42.7% of its tons sold during 2012.

Real Estate

Granite Land Company (GLC) is an investor in a diversified portfolio of land assets and provides real estate services for other Granite ! operation! s. GLC's investment portfolio consists of residential, as well as retail and office site development projects fo r sale to home and commercial property developers. The range! of its i! nvolvement in an individual project may vary from passive investment to management of land use rights, development, construction, leasing and eventual sale of the project. Generally, GLC has teamed with partners who have local knowledge and expertise in the development of each property. GLC's investments are located in Washington, California and Texas. Revenue from GLC was 0.2% of its total revenue in 2012.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Last week, the headlines reporting the U.S. Census Bureau's construction numbers for November were a little alarming. Overall construction spending  fell 03% -- a big deal for this particular industry -- suggesting heavy construction stocks like MasTec, Inc. (NYSE:MTZ) and Granite Construction Inc. (NYSE:GVA) were in big trouble after a lackluster 2014. The headlines were a little (perhaps more than a little) misleading, though.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated "sell." The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn't materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Some of the companies most dependent on government for revenue are Harris Corp. (HRS)  with 80% of revenue government-derived; Granite Construction Inc. (GVA)  with 58%; Flir Systems Inc. (FLIR)  with 54%; and Waste Management Inc. (WM)   and Republic Services! Inc. ! (RSG)  both with 50%, according to Goldman Sachs.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-construction-stocks-to-watch-for-2016.html

Top 5 China Stocks To Own Right Now

Top 5 China Stocks To Own Right Now: Trina Solar Limited(TSL)

Trina Solar Limited, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells photovoltaic (PV) modules worldwide. The company offers monocrystalline PV modules ranging from 165 watts to 185 watts in power output; and multicrystalline PV modules ranging from 215 watts to 240 watts in power output that provide electric power for residential, commercial, industrial, and other applications. It also involves in the design and production of various PV modules, such as colored modules for architectural applications and larger sized modules for utility grid applications based on customers? and end-users? specifications. Trina Solar Limited sells and markets its products primarily to distributors, wholesalers, power plant developers and operators, and PV system integrators. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Changzhou, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is integrated solar-power products maker Trina Solar (TSL), which is set to release numbers on next Monday before the market open. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Trina Solar to report revenue of $645.68 million on earnings of 15 cents per share.

  The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Trina Solar is extremely high at 24.5%. That means that out of the 76.94 million shares in the tradable float, 18.88 million shares are sold short by the bears. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of TSL could easily rip sharply higher post-earnings as the bears move to cover some of their positions.

  From a technical perspective, TSL is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $8.67 to $9.04 a share. ! Shares of TSL have now started to rebound off those support levels and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade post-earnings above some key near-term overhead resistance levels.

  If you're bullish on TSL, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10.72 to $11.19 a share and then above its 50-day moving average of $11.17 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 5.17 million shares. If that breakout materializes post-earnings, then TSL will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day moving average of $12.49 to $14 a share, or even $14.50 to $15 a share.

  I would avoid TSL or look for short-biased trades if after earnings it fails to trigger that breakout and then drops back below some near-term support levels at $10 a share to those double bottom support levels at $9.04 to $8

• [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  Yingli Green said it will continue to fight a U.S. plan to close a loophole that allowed Chinese solar manufacturers to avoid tariffs by assembling their products outside China. Yingli shares dropped 6.4% to $2.76 premarket. Among the other Chinese solar stocks trading lower Wednesday are JinkoSolar Holding Co.(JKS), Trina Solar Ltd.(TSL) and JA Solar Holdings Co.(JASO)

• [By Maria Armental and Tess Stynes var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  Trina Solar Ltd.(TSL) swung to a first-quarter profit, as the China-based solar-panel maker reported stronger shipments and sales. Earnings easily surpassed expectations for the quarter. Shares rose 10% to $11.42 premarket.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topst! ocksblog.! com/top-5-china-stocks-to-own-right-now-5.html

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015

DALLAS ��Mark Cuban told jurors in federal court that he became angry in 2004 when he learned of a pending development that would reduce the value of his investment in an Internet search company.

The CEO of Mamma.com told the billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner that the company planned to sell more shares to the public. That would dilute the value of Cuban's stake.

EARLIER: Focus on 'I'm screwed' quote

"I was upset," Cuban testified Thursday in federal court in Dallas. But he said he couldn't recall other details of the conversation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Cuban, charging him with insider trading for dumping his stock after learning confidential information.

The CEO of Mamma.com Inc., a Canadian search-engine company, testified that he told Cuban about the planned stock offering in a phone call. Cuban, who owned 6% of the company, was angry because he realized he couldn't sell his shares until the company announced the stock offering, the CEO said.

Hot Gold Companies To Watch For 2016: Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE)

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the ownership, operation, management, development, acquisition, and redevelopment of properties for the life sciences industry. Its properties consist of buildings containing scientific research and development laboratories, and other improvements. The company offers its properties for lease primarily to universities and independent not-for-profit institutions; and pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, life science product, service, biodefense, and translational research entities, as well as governmental agencies. As of December 31, 2006, it had 159 properties, including 156 properties located in 9 states in the United States and 3 properties located in Canada. As a REIT, the company is not subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes 100% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in Pasadena, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bill Stoller]

  After a banner 2013, the overall market has had a challenging start to 2014. However, these four companies have been crushing it: Alexander Real Estate (NYSE: ARE  ) , BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE: BMR  ) , CommonWealth REIT (NYSE: CWH  ) , and Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI  ) early on in 2014 vs. the S&P 500. Their relative out-performance can also be seen when compared to the Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSEMKT: VNQ  ) a good yardstick to measure sector performance.

• [By GuruFocus]

  George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) just reported his first quarter portfolio. He buys Citrix Systems Inc, Baker Hughes Inc, Comcast Corp, Spansion Inc, etc during the 3-months ended 03/31/2014, according to the most recent filings of his investment company, Soros Fund Management LLC. As of 03/31/2014, Soros Fund Management LLC owns 305 stocks with a total value of $10.1 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells.New Purchases: BHI, CODE, CTRP, CLI, AVB, COMM, CNQ, AGO, AUY, ATML, ASH, BXMT, CSTM, AEM, CMA, ARE, CHKP, AUQ, BEAV, CX, ADSK, AALCP, BLK, AIG, BIIB, ADEP, AMRI, ARWR, ATHX, BALT, BCRX, BEAT, CFX, CLFD, CUR, CODE,Added Positions: CTXS, CMCSA, CNP, ALTR, BRCD, CBS, CRM, CHTR, CCJ, CIEN, BIDU, ALLE, ABT, CDNS, ACT,Reduced Positions: AAPL, CCI, AMT, ABBV, AAL, BITA, AL, ANGI, ARIA, CBST, BA, BIRT, EXAR,Sold Out: C, BAC, CRI, AMZN, AGN, CF, BRCM, COTY, BMY, AMCX, CAR, A, ADBE, AFL,For the details of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)'s stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=George+SorosThis is the sector weightings of his portfolio:Technology18.9%Energy14%Healthcare8.3%Consumer Defensive8.2%Communication Services8.1%Consumer Cyclical5.4%Industrials5.1%Basic Materials4.9%Financial Services2.5%Real Estate1.9%Utilities0.5%These are the top 5 holdings of George Soros (Trades, Portfolio)1. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) - 10,310,041 shares, 5.4% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 10.67%2. Herbalife Ltd (HLF) - 4,901,337 shares, 2.8% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 52.9%3. EQT Corp (EQT) - 2,573,814 shares, 2.5% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 3.27%4. Adecoagro SA (AGRO) - 25,915,076 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio.5. Halliburton Co (HAL) - 3,596,353 shares, 2.1% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 20.73%New Purchase: Baker Hughes Inc (BHI)George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) initiated holdings in Baker Hughes Inc. His purchase prices were between $51.82 and $65.27, with an estimated

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015: Consolidated Graphics Inc. (CGX)

Consolidated Graphics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides general commercial printing and print-related services in the United States and internationally. The company�s services include traditional print services, such as electronic prepress, digital and offset printing, finishing, and storage and delivery of custom manufactured printed documents; and fulfillment and mailing services for such printed materials. It also offers technology solutions that enable its customers to procure and manage printed materials and/or design, procure, distribute, track, and analyze results of printing-based marketing programs and activities; and multi-media capabilities, which allow customers to supplement the message of their printed materials through other media, such as the Internet, email, or text messaging. The company prints multi-color marketing materials, product and capability brochures, point-of-purchase displays, packaging, direct mail pieces, shareholder communicat ions, trading cards, calendars, and photo books, as well as customized materials for the financial services, insurance, healthcare, and other industries. In addition, it offers e-commerce software solutions and other print-related services. The company�s customers include national and local corporations operating in a range of industries, as well as advertising agencies, graphic design firms, catalog retailers, direct mail marketers, state and local governments and quasi-governmental agencies, educational institutions, not-for-profit associations, and political campaign organizations. Consolidated Graphics, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Consolidated Graphics (NYSE: CGX  ) reported earnings on May 15. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Consolidated Graphics met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) reported a gain in its third-quarter core earnings and lifted its full-year earnings forecast. To read the full news, click here. Procera Networks (NASDAQ: PKT) and Skyfire, a fully-owned subsidiary of Opera Software, today announced a joint solution and partnership to tackle the rapid growth of video traffic on global mobile networks, based on an open, scalable ICAP architecture. To read the full news, click here. R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company (NASDAQ: RRD) and Consolidated Graphics (NYSE: CGX) jointly announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement by which RR Donnelley will acquire Consolidated Graphics, a provider of digital and commercial printing, fulfillment services, print management and proprietary Internet-based technology solutions. To read the full news, click here. Dunkin' Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN) reported a 36% rise in its third-quarter income. To read the full news, click here.

  Posted-In: Jobless Claims JP Morgan US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015: Weatherford International Ltd(WFT)

Weatherford International Ltd. provides equipment and services used in the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. It offers artificial lift systems, which include reciprocating rod lift systems, progressing cavity pumps, gas lift systems, hydraulic lift systems, plunger lift systems, hybrid lift systems, wellhead systems, and multiphase metering systems. The company also provides drilling services, including directional drilling, ?Secure Drilling? services, well testing, drilling-with-casing and drilling-with-liner systems, and surface logging systems; and well construction services, such as tubular running services, cementing products, liner systems, swellable products, solid tubular expandable technologies, and inflatable products and accessories. In addition, it designs and manufactures drilling jars, underreamers, rotating control devices, and other pressure-control equipment used in drilling oil and nat ural gas wells; and offers a selection of in-house or third-party manufactured equipment for the drilling, completion, and work over of oil and natural gas wells for operators and drilling contractors, as well as a line of completion tools and sand screens. Further, the company provides wireline and evaluation services; and re-entry, fishing, and thru-tubing services, as well as well abandonment and wellbore cleaning services; stimulation and chemicals, including fracturing and coiled tubing technologies, cement services, chemical systems, and drilling fluids; integrated drilling services; and pipeline and specialty services. It serves independent oil and natural gas producing companies. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Earlier this week, analysts at Credit Suisse reduced earnings estimates for Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger (SLB) and Weatherford International (WFT).

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc(VRX)

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and markets pharmaceutical products in the areas of neurology, dermatology, and branded generics. It offers Wellbutrin XL to treat depressive disorders; Xenazine to treat chorea associated with Huntington?s disease; CeraVe to rebuild and repair skin barrier; and Kinerase, a cosmetic product. The company also provides Zovirax ointment to treat initial genital herpes; Xerese to treat recurrent herpes labialis; Elidel to treat atopic dermatitis; and Acanya and Atralin gels to treat acne vulgaris. In addition, it offers Cesamet to treat nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy; Tiazac XC to treat hypertension and angina; Wellbutrin to treat depressive illness; Sublinox to treat insomnia; and Lodalis to treat hypercholesterolemia. Further, the company provides Cold-FX to strengthen immune system; Duromine/Metermine for weight loss; Difflam to treat sore throa ts; and Duro-Tuss and Rikodeine to treat dry and chesty cough, as well as various branded generics for treatments, including antibiotics, treatments for cardiovascular and neurological diseases, antifungal medications, and diabetic therapies. Additionally, it offers Bisocard to treat hypertension and angina pectoris; Flucinar, a corticosteroid ointment; and Sachol mouth ulcer gel; Bedoyecta to treat neurotic pain; M.V.I., a hospital dietary supplement for trauma and burns; Tandene to treat fever and headache; Melleril to treat anxiety and depression; and products for therapeutic classes, such as vitamin deficiency, antibacterials, and dermatology. It markets its products in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, southeast Asia, and South Africa. The company was formerly known as Biovail Corporation and changed its name to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. in September 2010. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in M ississauga, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Andrew Yates, AFP/Getty Images LONDON -- The board of AstraZeneca on Monday rejected the improved $119 billion takeover offer from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, a decision that caused a sharp slide in the U.K. company's share price as many investors think it effectively brings an end to the protracted and increasingly bitter takeover saga. The board said in a statement that it "reiterates its confidence in AstraZeneca's ability to deliver on its prospects as an independent, science led business." Pfizer (PFE), which is the world's second-biggest drugmaker by revenue, has been courting No. 8 AstraZeneca (AZN) since January, arguing their businesses are complementary. On Sunday, it raised its stock-and-cash offer by 15 percent to $118.8 billion, or 70.73 billion pounds. That would be the richest acquisition ever among drugmakers and the third-biggest in any industry, according to figures from research firm Dealogic. AstraZeneca didn't take long to reject the new offer, its board arguing Pfizer is making "an opportunistic attempt to acquire a transformed AstraZeneca, without reflecting the value of its exciting pipeline" of experimental drugs. Because Pfizer said it won't raise its offer again or launch a hostile takeover bid over the heads of AstraZeneca's board, the prospect of a deal looks increasingly remote unless AstraZeneca shareholders urge a change of mind. Pfizer has said it hopes AstraZeneca's shareholders will push for a deal. "This has been going on for quite some time and we have been in very deep engagement over the whole of the weekend," AstraZeneca Chairman Leif Johansson told the BBC. "If Pfizer now says this is the final offer I have to believe what they say." Shareholders in AstraZeneca seemed to think a deal is now unlikely, with the company's share price slumping 11 percent to 43.15 pounds. Johansson said his management team had told Pfizer over the weekend that it would need to see a 10 percent improvement over the 53.50 pounds-per-shar

• [By Eric Lam]

  Canadian stocks rose, erasing earlier losses of as much as 0.3 percent to clinch a fifth week of gains, as a surge in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX) offset a slump in oil and gold producers.

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015: Plains All American Pipeline L.P.(PAA)

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation, storage, terminalling, and marketing of crude oil, refined products, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in three segments: Transportation, Facilities, and Supply and Logistics. The Transportation segment transports crude oil and refined products on pipelines, gathering systems, trucks, and barges. As of December 31, 2011, this segment owned and leased 16,000 miles of active crude oil and refined products pipelines and gathering systems; 23 million barrels of above-ground tank capacity used primarily to facilitate pipeline throughput; 67 trucks and 382 trailers; and 82 transport and storage barges, and 44 transport tugs. The Facilities segment provides storage, terminalling, and throughput services for crude oil, refined products, and LPG and natural gas, as well as offers LPG fractionation and isomerization, and natural gas processing services. The Supply and Logistics segment purchases crude oil at the wellhead, and pipeline and terminal facilities; waterborne cargoes at their load port and various other locations in transit; and LPG from producers, refiners, and other marketers. This segment also resells or exchanges crude oil and LPG; and transports oil and LPG on trucks, barges, railcars, pipelines, and ocean-going vessels to various delivery points. It has 622 trucks and 731 trailers, and 2,453 railcars. The company also owns and operates natural gas storage facilities. Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) operates 18,000 miles of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and refined product pipelines, and moves approximately 3.5 million barrels of liquid product per day.

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015: Silvercorp Metals Inc(SVM)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

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

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

Top 10 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2015: PPL Corporation(PPL)

PPL Corporation, an energy and utility holding company, generates and sells electricity; and delivers natural gas to approximately 5.3 million utility customers primarily in the northeastern and northwestern U.S. The company operates in four segments: Kentucky Regulated, International Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Supply. The Kentucky Regulated segment engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity; and the distribution and sale of natural gas to approximately 1.3 million customers in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The International Regulated segment owns and operates electricity distribution businesses in the United Kingdom that deliver electricity to 7.7 million customers. The Pennsylvania Regulated segment delivers electricity to approximately 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania. The Supply segment owns and operates power plants to generate electricity using coal, uranium, natural gas, oil, and water res ources; markets and trades electricity and other purchased power to wholesale and retail markets; and acquires and develops domestic generation projects. It controls or owns a portfolio of generation assets of approximately 11,000 megawatts in Montana and Pennsylvania. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s distribution system included 649 substations with a capacity of 25 million kVA, 28,838 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 24,131 cable miles of underground conductors in the United Kingdom. It also operated 377 substations with a capacity of 31 million kVA, 33,122 circuit miles of overhead lines, and 7,368 cable miles of underground conductors in Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.46 percent. Top gainers in the sector included PPL (NYSE: PPL), Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte SA (NYSE: EDN), and Pampa Energia SA (NYSE: PAM). Telecommunications services sector was the top decliner in the US market on Wednesday.

• [By Paul Vigna]

  PPL Corp.(PPL) said its third-quarter profit grew 21% as its unregulated wholesale energy segment posted a jump in revenue.

  Apple Inc.(AAPL) and Google Inc.(GOOGL) agreed to allow consumers who buy a Walt Disney Co.(DIS) movie from either of their online stores to watch it on smartphones, tablets and other digital devices that run their rival’s operating system.

Windows XP: Prepare for the end

Windows XP is so old, it predates 9/11. The software first landed on personal computers sold to consumers and businesses way back in August 2001. Yet more than 12 years later, a substantial number of PCs with Windows XP as their operating system are still in use.

According to consultant Net Applications, XP machines represented a 29.23% market share last month, ahead of all the PC operating systems that came after it except for Windows 7, which has a 47.49% share. Microsoft's more recent operating systems, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, come in with modest 6.63% and 3.95% market shares, respectively, suggesting an area of concern for new CEO Satya Nadella.

The many folks who still rely on Windows XP will have their own major concern to deal with in a few weeks. On April 8, XP reaches the end of the line. No, your XP computer won't suddenly blow up on that date. But it does mean that official support from Microsoft ceases. Microsoft will no longer issue patches or system updates to protect the machine against viruses, spyware and other malware that could result in crashes, or worse, the theft of personal information. If you run into any other kinds of snags, you won't be able to call Microsoft for technical assistance.

"There is a risk," cautions Microsoft spokesman Tom Murphy. "How big a risk we can't quantify." But Murphy is unequivocal in advising consumers to part ways with the operating system that many have loyally stuck by all these years. "We're really black and white about that," he says.

“There is a risk. How big a risk we can't quantify.”

— Microsoft spokesperson Tom Murphy.

Though some third-party anti-virus software may provide some protection post-April 8, Microsoft still considers the computer system vulnerable.

The April deadline shouldn't come as a rude awakening. Microsoft announced the date that XP support would end as far back as 2007, but a number of people haven't paid close attention.

IS UPGRADING AN OPTION?

What measures! should you take? One option, but only available to a relatively few XP owners, is to upgrade your current machine. You can download Windows 8.1 for $119.99 or 8.1 Pro for $199.99. But make sure your PC meets the minimum system requirements: a 1-GHz processor, 1 gigabyte of RAM (for a 32-bit system) or 2 gigs (for 64-bit) and 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) of storage. If your PC meets the requirements, make sure you install the proper Windows 8.1 software, either the 32-bit or 64-bit installation disc. (This bit about bits refers to how the PC processor handles information). (One way to find the specs on your old XP machine: right-click My Computer and click Properties.)

Another thing to consider is screen resolution, especially on netbooks — remember those? Microsoft points out that many Windows XP-based (or even Windows Vista) netbooks had a screen resolution of 800 x 600. You'll need a resolution of at least 1024 x 768 to take full advantage of the modern Windows interface.

Critical point: Whether you're going to update your current computer or move to a new one, don't forget to back up all your data onto an external hard drive, USB drive, CD or to one of the myriad online storage services.

Even if your older PC can actually run Windows 8, don't count on any kind of screaming fast performance. And keep in mind that software from outside publishers may also run poorly on Windows 8, if such programs run at all. Microsoft provides a tool available at www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/Home that may help you determine which of your programs will work work with Windows 8.1.

Microsoft, of course, would prefer that most of you spring for a spanking new computer, presumably one of the latest models with the 8.1 upgrade, though Windows 7 PCs can still be had. The PC business has been steadily losing ground to smartphones and tablets, so every sale helps. (Windows 8 is designed for both tablet and PC duty).

Top 5 Defense Stocks To Buy Right Now

BUYING A NEW MACHINE

There are surely benefits to modern hardware: The computers are more robust, more secure and better able to exploit the latest networking tools, certainly compared with the XP machine you're about to retire. You're unlikely to get much (if anything) trading in your old XP clunker, but there are deals to be found.

If you're not a serious gamer or plan on engaging in heavy-duty video editing, you can find halfway decent Windows laptops typically starting in the $300 range, though of course, you can spend a lot more for a system equipped with high-resolution touch-screens and state-of-the-art specs. As always, you get more bang for the buck with a desktop PC system, but lose out on the mobility that a portable provides.

If you're feeling bold — that is, you're ready to join the cloud computing age and are willing to eschew Windows altogether — you might consider an entry-level Google Chromebook such as Acer's $299 C720P-2600.

Moving to a Mac is an option, too, but after all your years with Windows XP, that might strike you as particularly radical move. It's certainly more expensive. Apple's MacBook Air laptop, for example, starts at $999.

You may not even remain in your comfort zone sticking with Windows. Windows 8 might make the XP loyalist feel as if he's landed on another planet. The touch-friendly tile-based interface is very different than the standard desktop view in XP and for that matter, other versions of Windows that you've gotten chummy with all this time.

There has also been some scuttlebutt concerning what happens to all the ATMs out there that still run a version of XP, upwards of 95% of the machines, according to Robert Johnston of NCR. Johnston told me he isn't overly worried. Banks have had time to prepare, and protective measures are in place. He says the consumer shouldn't notice any negative impact. "The world is not going to collapse on April 9 f! rom the A! TM point of view," he says. That said, Johnston is planning to upgrade the XP system he still has at home.

E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter.

THE BOTTOM LINE ON XP

Am I at risk by doing nothing with my XP PC after April 8? Microsoft says you are. You won't get any system updates for XP or be able to call tech support.

Should you retire your current XP computer and buy a new computer or upgrade it? It depends. You can upgrade your current machine if it meets the requirements. Even if it does, don't expect screaming fast performance.

How much will a new Windows PC cost? Deals can be had with prices on laptops starting in the $300 range, even less in some cases. Of course, you can spend a lot more. You get more bang for the buck (but lose the mobility) with a desktop PC.

Is there a learning curve to Windows 8? In a word, yes. The live tile-based Windows 8.1 interface will look unfamiliar to folks schooled on the old Windows desktop environment, though for some purposes, you can still summon screens in the new Windows that look like the old interface.

Top 5 Oil Stocks For 2016

Top 5 Oil Stocks For 2016: Renegade Petroleum Ltd (RPL)

Renegade Petroleum Ltd. (Renegade) is an exploitation and exploration focused light oil producer. Renegade's primary focus areas are located in southeast Saskatchewan in various pools, such as Bakken, Souris Valley, Frobisher, Midale and Kisby, as well as the Dodsland area of the Viking play in west-central Saskatchewan. It also has working interests in North Dakota pursuant to a farm-in agreement respecting land in Renville County that is prospective for Bakken, Threeforks/Sanish and Frobisher light oil. In addition the Company has a light oil opportunity in the Spearfish play in Manitoba. It has two geographic segments: western Canada and the State of North Dakota, the United Sates. In December 2012, the Company acquired certain strategic light oil assets. In February 2014, the Company closed the disposition of certain oil and gas assets in southeast Saskatchewan. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Many American oil and gas investors are probably familiar with the major large and small cap players in the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana, but few American investors are probably familiar with the active players further to the north in the oil and gas rich Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta with small cap stocks like Alexander Energy Ltd (CVE: ALX), Renegade Petroleum Ltd (CVE: RPL) and Centor Energy Inc (OTCBB: CNTO) along with large cap Suncor Energy Inc (NYSE: SU) being among those pumping out their share of noteworthy news lately. I should point out that Canada's oil reserves are ranked #3 after to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia with over 95% of these reserves being the controversial oil sands of Alberta while the neighboring province of Saskatchewan (which the Bakken formation actually stretches into) along with offshore areas of Newfoundland also containing substantial production and reserves. Moreover and! excluding the oil sands, Alber ta would have 39% of Canada's remaining conventional oil reserves, followed by offshore Newfoundland with 28% and Saskatchewan with 27%.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-oil-stocks-for-2016.html

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Navistar (NYSE: NAV  ) will release its quarterly report on Wednesday, and investors don't expect good news from the trucking giant. Yet even if Navistar earnings continue to look as bad as they have in recent quarters, relief might not be too far away for beleaguered investors.

Navistar is the company behind a wide variety of industrial vehicles, including trucks for both commercial and military use as well as school buses and recreational vehicles. It also produces diesel engines for vehicles. Yet troubles in meeting regulatory guidelines has led to some huge disruptions in Navistar's business, and even with a solution in place, the company could continue to struggle for a while longer. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Navistar over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its report.

Stats on Navistar

Analyst EPS Estimate

($1.32)

10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: Lonestar Resources Ltd (LNR)

Lonestar Resources Limited is an Australia-based independent oil and gas company involved in exploration, production, and acquisition of oil and gas reserves in the United States. The Company�� operations are focused onshore with primary activity in the Fort Worth Basin (Barnett Shale), Eagle Ford Shale, and the Williston Basin in Montana. The Company is active in sourcing other assets in producing areas. The Company�� Eagle Ford Shale portfolio comprises three separate assets: Beall Ranch, Asherton and Gonzo. The Company�� operations in the Williston Basin are focused on the Roosevelt County, Montana. The Company owns and operates a single lease in the Barnett Shale, a gas producing basin in North Texas. On January 2, 2013, the Company acquired Ecofin Energy Resources plc. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has sold its producing assets outside the state of Texas for its Louisiana assets and for its Oklahoma assets. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  Linamar Corp. (LNR) soared 14 percent to a record C$40.72 for the biggest gain in the S&P/TSX. The Guelph, Ontario-based auto parts maker reported third-quarter adjusted profit of 80 Canadian cents a share, topping analysts��projections for 66 cents.

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ZELTIQ Aesthetics Inc (ZLTQ)

ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc. (ZELTIQ), incorporated on March 22, 2005, is a medical technology company. The Company is focused on developing and commercializing products utilizing its controlled-cooling technology platform. Its commercial product is the CoolSculpting System that reduces stubborn fat bulges. The Company generates revenues from capital sales of its CoolSculpting System and from procedure fees its physician customers pay for each CoolSculpting procedure they perform. As of March 31, 2011, it had an installed base of 346 and 475 CoolSculpting Systems worldwide and over 88,000 CoolSculpting procedures had been sold to its physician customers. The Company markets CoolSculpting to the dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and aesthetic specialists. As of March 31, 2011, ZELTIQ�� North American direct sales force consisted of 23 professionals, and over 88,000 CoolSculpting procedures were sold to ZELTIQ�� physician customers.

CoolSculpting System

ZELTIQ generates revenues from capital sales of its CoolSculpting System and from procedure fees its physician customers pay for each CoolSculpting procedure they perform. Capital sales of ZELTIQ�� CoolSculpting System include the CoolSculpting control unit and its CoolSculpting vacuum applicators. ZELTIQ generates procedure fees through sales of CoolSculpting procedure packs, which include its consumable gelpads and liners and a disposable computer cartridge that it markets as the CoolCard. The CoolCard contains enabling software that permits its physician customer to perform a fixed number of CoolSculpting procedures.

The CoolSculpting control unit is the base of the CoolSculpting System. ZELTIQ�� CoolSculpting control unit also contains software that tracks and collects data about each procedure performed and any error messages that may be generated during the procedure. CoolSculpting System includes three CoolSculpting vacuum applicators. ZELTIQ�� CoolSculpting procedure packs facilitate the pay-per-procedu! re feature of its CoolSculpting System. Its CoolSculpting procedure packs include CoolCard and its consumable gelpads and liners.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  ZELTIQ Aesthetics (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) was also up, gaining 6.92 percent to $18.76. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $28.00 price target.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Wednesday morning, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from ZELTIQ Aesthetics (NASDAQ: ZLTQ) and Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AEGR).

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.(BONT)

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates department stores in the mid-size and metropolitan markets of the United States. Its stores offer brand-name fashion apparel and accessories for women, men, and children, as well as provide cosmetics, home furnishings, and footwear. As of November 1, 2011, the company operated 275 stores under various nameplates, including the Bon-Ton, Bergner?s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger?s, and Younkers in 23 northeastern, midwestern, and upper Great Plains states; and under the Parisian nameplate in Detroit, Michigan. The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q1 2014 earnings report for the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: BONT), a peer of other department store stocks like J.C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP), Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) and Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD), is due out before the market opens on Thursday. Aside from the Bon-Ton Stores' earnings report, it should be said that troubled Sears Holdings Corp is also scheduled to report earnings before the market opens on Thursday while J.C. Penney Company, Inc�and Kohl's Corporation both reported Q1 2014 earnings last Thursday. However, the Bon-Ton Stores is heading into earnings with rather high short interest of 35.05% according to HighShortInterest.com.

Hot Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: ON Semiconductor Corporation(ONNN)

ON Semiconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets semiconductor components for electronic systems and products worldwide. The company provides computing and consumer products, including analog IC solutions for power management in VCORE, DDR, and chipsets for audio, video, and graphics processing subsystems; and AC-DC conversion solutions for the power supplies in computing and consumer applications. It also offers automotive-grade low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulators, drivers, and ignition IGBTs; mixed-signal custom application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and automotive application specific standard products (ASSPs) for industrial, medical imaging, computing, and consumer applications; clock and timing management products for industrial, communications, and consumer applications; ASICs and ASSPs that are used in defibrillators, pacemakers, neurostimulators, hearing health applications, glucose meters and patient monit oring product; and standard-cell ASICs conversions for the military/aerospace, industrial, communications, computing, and consumer markets, as well as serial non-volatile memories (EEPROM) solutions for data parameter storage in a range of electronic products. In addition, the company provides standard products comprising diodes and transistors, configurable analog products, LED drivers, EEPROMs and power MOSFETs for consumer electronics, computing, wireless and wired communications, automotive electronics, industrial electronics, and medical markets. Further, it supplies analog and mixed signal integrated circuits, microcontrollers, DSPs, analog and digital tuners, intelligent power modules, memory, and discrete semiconductors for the consumer, industrial, and automotive markets. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and electronic manufacturing service providers. ON Semiconductor Corporation was founded in 1999 and is headquarter ed in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Bieglmeier]

  Drumroll please, and the #1 favorite, el numero uno stock under $10 is��ON Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:ONNN).� ON designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of semiconductor components that address the design needs of electronic systems and products. The Company operates in three segments: Application Products Group, Standard Products Group, and SANYO Semiconductor Products Group. The Company's power management semiconductor components control, convert, protect and monitor the supply of power to the different elements within a variety of electronic devices. The Company's portfolio of power and signal management, logic, discrete and custom devices focuses customers in automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial, light emitting diode (LED) lighting, medical, military/aerospace, smart grid and power applications. The Company's data management semiconductor components provide clock management and data flow management for precision computing and communications systems.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) shares gained as well, rising 2.84 percent to $9.77 after the company announced it would acquire assets from Platinum Energy for $92 million in cash after the close yesterday.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature a downgrades for both Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) and ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN  ) . But the news isn't all bad, so before we address those two, let's start on a bright note.

Top 5 Insurance Stocks For 2016

Top 5 Insurance Stocks For 2016: Manulife Financial Corp (MFC)

Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC) is a Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. The Company's segments are Asia, Canadian and U.S. Divisions and the Corporate and Other segment. The Company's international network agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to clients. It also provides asset management services to institutional customers. In January 2013, the Company acquired Benesure Canada Inc. In August 2013, John Hancock, the United States division of the Company, announced that it has acquired Landmark Square in Long Beach, California. In December 2013, MFC announced its subsidiary, Manulife (International) Limited, had completed the transaction to sell its life insurance business in Taiwan to CTBC Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe] est Canadian life insurer by market capitalization, offering asset management, wealth management and financial services to customers in Asia, Canada and the U.S. However, the company's annuity and segregated fund business has suffered over the past two years, due to the low interest rate environment, leading to a decline in earnings and operating results. Nonetheless, the firm has been undergoing some changes throughout 2013 and management expects profitability to increase for fiscal 2014, despite its underperformance during fourth quarter fiscal 2013. Thus, many investment gurus like George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons' (Trades, Portfolio) hedge fund remain bullish about Manulife's future outlook, evidenced by their shares purchased in the past quarter.

  Of Hedging and Repricing

  Manulife's capital sensitivity and volatile earnings have made it difficult for the company to maintain steady growth prospects in th! e past, but quarter four's earnings report showed improvements in some aspects, especially regarding EPS growth, which jumped 73% year over year, closing at $1.62 per share. This is largely due to the company's recent strategy of hedging two-thirds of its variable annuity business, and looking forward all newly written businesses in this segment will be hedged. Furthermore, the firm has been gradually trading most of its short-term bonds for long-term bonds, which will improve the bond duration of its investment portfolio, thereby reducing earning sensitivity. While insurance sales were weak for 2013, declining 13% from 2012 and 32% year over year for the quarter, Manulife's shift towards expanding its wealth management business (wealth sales increased 37% over the past fiscal year) and mutual fund sales should help offset declines in t he future.

  In fact, today the company announced that it will be launching a new universal life product for the Canadian market called Manulife UL by May 26 of this year. The new

• [By Eric Lam]

  Air Canada, the nation's largest airline, surged 7.2 percent after reducing costs. Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC), Canada's largest insurer, increased 2.6 percent for a fourth day of gains. Trilogy Energy Corp. plunged 9.8 percent after reporting a loss as sales declined. Detour Gold Corp. plunged 18 percent after saying it will not meet its 2013 production targets. Centerra Gold Inc. and HudBay Minerals Inc. sank at least 3.7 percent as gold dropped to a three-week low in New York.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-insurance-stocks-for-2016.html

Dow Sets 6th Straight Record on Good Jobs News

John Moore/Getty Images NEW YORK -- The stock market continued its upward climb Thursday as traders went back to work after the Christmas holiday, adding to what has already been a historic year for the market. Traders were encouraged by an unexpectedly large drop in claims for unemployment benefits last week, the latest sign that the U.S. job market is improving. Trading volume was very low, however, as most portfolio managers have closed out their positions for the year The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for many kinds of loans, briefly crossed above the psychologically important 3 percent mark. It hasn't been that high since September. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 122.33 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,479.88. It was the 50th record high close for the Dow this year. The index is up 25.8 percent so far in 2013, on pace to have its best year since 1996. The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose 8.70 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,842.02 and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) was up 11.76 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,167.18. With Thursday's gains, the S&P 500 is up 29.2 percent for the year, or 31.3 percent when dividends are included. The S&P is on track for its best year since 1997. Bond prices fell, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 2.99 percent from 2.98 percent Tuesday. The note briefly traded above 3 percent. Yields have been climbing since late November as economic reports have suggested that the U.S. recovery is gaining momentum. The increase accelerated last week after the Federal Reserve announced it was cutting back on its bond-buying program. The yield last touched 3 percent in September. It hasn't been consistently above 3 percent since July 2011. "There's a silver lining to see bond yields rise like this, because it's a sign that the economy is getting stronger," said John De Clue, chief investment officer of U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Yields on Treasury securities like the 10-year note are used to calculate interest rates on student loans, mortgage rates, credit cards, and many other kinds of debt. As the 10-year yield has risen in the last six months, so have mortgage rates. In early May, the average mortgage rate was around 3.35 percent. This week it was 4.48 percent, according the government mortgage agency Freddie Mac. "We are starting to take the medication away from the bond market, but it's important to note that yields are still at historically low levels," said Dan Veru, chief investment officer of Palisade Capital Management, which manages $4.5 billion in assets. Investors cheered the latest signal that the U.S. economy is improving. The Labor Department said the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits fell 42,000 last week to 338,000. The drop was far bigger than economists were expecting and an indication that fewer people were losing their jobs. It was another slow day for Wall Street, with most investors on vacation for Christmas and only three trading days left in 2013. Approximately 1.96 billion shares traded hands on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, well below the daily average of 3.3 billion shares. In Corporate News: T-Mobile (TMUS) rose 74 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $32.93 after The New York Times and other news outlets reported that the Sprint division of Japan's Softbank was looking to buy the wireless carrier. Twitter (TWTR) rose $3.35, or 5 percent, to $72.31. The stock is up 22 percent this week alone and 76 percent so far this month. Investors continue to bid up Twitter's shares on optimism the social media company can increase profits from mobile advertising.

Hot Undervalued Companies To Buy Right Now

Hot Undervalued Companies To Buy Right Now: 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 Lawrence Meyers]

  This isnt some growing new industry set to take the world further into the 21st century. Its an old concept that hasnt innovated, wont innovate, and will slowly but surely die out over this century. When I walk into a Walgreens, I see a miniature Target (TGT), a more expensive Dollar Tree (DLTR), and a provider of prescriptions in a world where everything is becoming mail order.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  WATCH FOR:Weekly Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time): seen 310K; previously 297K. May Markit “Flash” PMI (9:45). April Existing Home Sales (10:00): seen +2.0% at 2.68M; previously -0.2% at 4.59M. April Leading Index (10:00): seen +0.5%; previously +0.8%. May Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey (11:00): seen 8; previously 7. Aeropostale, Best Buy(BBY), Borcade, Buckle, Dollar Tree(DLTR), GameStop(GME), Gap(GPS), Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), Marvell Tech(MRVL), Mentor Graphics(MENT), Ross Stores(ROST) and TiVo are among companies scheduled to repo! rt quarterly results.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Janet S. Carter/AP Dollar General (DG) upped its bid for the rival Family Dollar chain and addressed an earlier roadblock, saying that it will more than double the number of stores it would shed to tamp down the antitrust concerns of its takeover target. The newest bid is worth $9.1 billion, or $80 a share, up from $78.50 a share in the previous offer. Family Dollar (FDO), based in Matthews, North Carolina, rejected the earlier bid in favor of a lesser offer of $8.5 billion from Dollar Tree (DLTR), saying that regulators were less likely to stand in the way. On Tuesday Dollar General, the country's largest dollar-store chain, said it would divest as many as 1,500 stores, well above the 700 that it had originally agreed to, in order to sidestep any anti-monopoly actions that regulators might pursue. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee, company has also said it will pay a $500 million reverse break-up fee to Family Dollar Stores if the deal hits antitrust roadblocks. Dollar General Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling said that a second antitrust review supported its prior bid, but that its offer was revised "to demonstrate the seriousness of our commitment." The businesses of Family Dollar and Dollar General are more similar than Dollar Tree's. The first two sell items at a variety of prices while at Dollar Tree, all items are a buck. Family Dollar has been looking for a lifeline after running into some financial stress, shuttering stores and cutting prices. In June one big shareholder, Carl Icahn, urged the company to put itself up for sale. Family Dollar acted one month later, accepting an offer from Chesapeake, Virginia-based Dollar Tree of $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for each share held. The companies valued the transaction at $74.50 a share at the time. Including debt and other costs, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree estimated the deal to be worth ! approxima! tely $9.2 billion. Shares of Family Dollar added 54 cents to $80.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Like millions of Americans, Darnel Ware needs to save money, even if it's 40 cents on a bag of flour. He searches for those savings during his daily visits to the Family Dollar Store near his home in Fraser, Michigan, sometimes stopping by as many as 10 times a week "if there are things I need," said the 51-year-old home care provider. "I buy a lot of everything; merchandise and food products." He said he typically spends about $30 a trip on items such as the soft drinks, paper cups and cookies he bought on a recent afternoon at the small store in a strip mall alongside other discount retailers and small factories five miles from Detroit. The small but frequent purchases of low-income customers such as Ware add up: Family Dollar Stores (FDO), which operates about 8,200 stores in mainly urban sections of the U.S., is the target of an $9 billion cash takeover offer from rival Dollar General and an $8.5 billion cash and stock offer from Dollar Tree. Both competitors are betting not only on the health of the deep discount retail sector but also on the intractability of poverty in America. Mid-market retailers such as Walmart Stores (WMT), Macy's (M) and J.C. Penney (JCP) have been struggling in recent years as consumers have been slow to return to their pre-recession, freer spending ways. On Wednesday, Target (TGT) said it was cutting its full-year earnings and slashing prices. But the popularity of so-called dollar stores is growing. Shopping by the 46.5 million Americans living below the poverty line poor helped boost the annual U.S. market for deep discount stores by 45.7 percent to $48.2 billion between 2008 and 2013, according to London-based market researcher Euromonitor International. The firm projects the sector to grow to $57 billion in 2018. The U.S. Census sets the poverty line at $24,00! 0 a year ! or less for a family of four. Such forecasts help explain the battle over Family Dollar, the number-two de

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-undervalued-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Top 10 Healthcare Equipment Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top 10 Healthcare Equipment Stocks To Watch Right Now: Curtiss-Wright Corporation (CW)

Curtiss-Wright Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and overhauls precision components and systems. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Motion Control, and Metal Treatment. The Flow Control segment designs, manufactures, and distributes engineered products, including valves, pumps, motors, generators, instrumentation, shipboard systems, and control electronics that manage the flow of liquids and gases, generate power, provide electronic operating systems, and monitor or provide critical functions for naval defense, power generation, oil and gas, and general industrial markets. The Motion Control segment designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains mechanical actuation and drive systems, specialized sensors, motors, electronic controller units, and embedded computing components and control systems for ground defense, aerospace defense, commercial aerospace, and general industrial markets. The Metal Treatment segment provides metallu rgical processing services comprising shot peening, laser peening, specialty coatings and heat treating for commercial and defense aerospace, oil and gas, power generation, automotive, transportation, construction equipment, and miscellaneous metal working industries. The company operates primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Curtiss-Wright Corporation was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Engineered and advanced technical service products manufacturer Curtiss-Wright (CW) raised its quarterly dividend 30% to 13 cents per share, payable April 10 to shareholders of record as of March 27.
  CW Dividend Yield: 0.82%

• [By Alex Planes]

  In 1917, the two major aircraft manufacturers were forced into a patent pool that would offer modest licensing terms for prospective upstarts. By this point, ! the Wrights were out of the industry. Wilbur had died years earlier, and Orville had sold his stake to outside investors, leaving Curtiss with an easier path to the dominance previously denied him. The Wrights' reputation was badly damaged, and competition came to the industry despite their efforts. Years later, on the eve of the Great Depression, Curtiss gained a final measure of victory when his company and the Wrights' namesake business merged to become Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW  ) , which was at the time the largest aviation company in the United States. This company was also briefly a part of the Dow (from 1928 to 1930), making it the first aviation component in the index's history.

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Monday, Curtiss-Wright Corp. (CW) announced that it has completed its acquisition of Arens Controls, LLC for $98 million.

  The newly acquired business will operate under CW’s Controls segment. David C. Adams, President and CEO of CW noted: “The acquisition of Arens complements our previous acquisitions of Williams Controls and PG Drives, further strengthening and growing Curtiss-Wright’s existing industrial controls business.”

  “This is another step toward our vision of being the supplier of choice for operator control subsystems and critical drivetrain components in specialty vehicles. As a leading designer and manufacturer of critical vehicle controls technologies, Arens’ complementary products and long-standing customer relationships position Curtiss-Wright for increased penetration within the commercial and off-road vehicle markets. Additionally, this acquisition allows us to leverage our global manufacturing footprint to create margin expansion opportunities,” Adams added.

  Curtiss-Wright shares were down 46 cents, or 1.00%, during Monday morning trading. The stock is up 39% YTD.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpe! nnystocks! .com/top-10-healthcare-equipment-stocks-to-watch-right-now-3.html

Updating the Bypass Trust

Is the bypass trust dead? Many people believed when the lifetime estate tax exemption rose to $5 million per person (indexed for inflation), the role of bypass trusts in most estates ended. Far from it. Under the current tax law the bypass trust can be turned from a powerful estate tax saver into a tool for optimizing income tax planning and meeting nontax goals.

Let’s first review how the bypass trust traditionally was used in estate plans and still can be used when the estate is valuable enough to be taxable.

The bypass trust (also called a credit shelter trust or A/B trust) was essential for married couples when the estate tax exemption was lower and most estates were at risk of incurring taxes. The will would direct to the bypass trust an amount of wealth equal to the estate tax exemption, and in the standard will the rest of the estate was given directly to the surviving spouse. The bypass trust stated that the surviving spouse would receive all the income from the trust each year and also could receive any principal necessary to maintain his or her standard of living. After the surviving spouse passed away, the children of the couple became beneficiaries of the trust.

The effect of this strategy was to avoid taxes on an amount of the estate of the first spouse to pass away equal to the estate tax exemption, so it passed to the children without being reduced by any estate taxes. Yet, the surviving spouse was provided for with the assets in the trust, though the value of the trust wasn’t included in the surviving spouse’s estate. The surviving spouse also could pass on an equal amount estate tax free using his or her own lifetime exemption.

With the exemption at $5.25 million per person for 2013 and $5,340,000 for 2014, only a few families need a bypass trust to help shield their estates from taxes. Families with estates below the exempt amount still should consider using a bypass trust to meet other non-estate tax goals and adapt the trust terms for today’s circumstances.

The primary goal of a bypass trust now probably should be to minimize the family’s income tax burden over the years. Start by giving the trustee more discretion regarding distributions from the trust and by naming the spouse and children and perhaps grandchildren as current beneficiaries instead of only the spouse.

Also, give the trustee more discretion regarding the investment strategy. Typical trust terms these days require the trustee to use modern portfolio theory or some similar form of diversification. The problem with this language is that under today’s tax code the location of assets matters considerably. It can mean the difference between paying ordinary income tax rates, long-term capital gains rates, or no tax.

Trusts reach the highest tax bracket and have surtaxes, such as the 3.8% net investment income tax, imposed at very low income levels. In addition, when assets are put in a trust they retain the tax basis the original owner had, and when distributed from the trust retain the tax basis the trust had. But assets held by the surviving spouse have their bases increased to current market value when they are bequeathed to the next owners, such as the children.

The trustee can take advantage of current income tax planning strategies and minimize income taxes on the family when given broader discretion regarding investments and distributions than is traditionally allowed.

The trustee can be allowed to consider family-wide asset allocation instead of only the trust’s investment portfolio when making investment and distribution decisions. The trustee also can be empowered to consider family-wide and long-term tax considerations as well.

For example, instead of distributing primarily investment income to the surviving spouse, the trust can distribute assets that have appreciated significantly. Removing them from the trust makes it possible for the surviving spouse to hold them for life and allow the heirs to increase the tax basis to their fair market value at the surviving spouse’s death. The heirs then can sell them and pay no capital gains taxes on all the appreciation.

You might want to put limits on this discretion, because when assets leave the trust there is the potential that they won’t find their way to the children. They might be redirected to charity or the family of a subsequent marriage. So, the trust agreement might give the trustee discretion to distribute to the surviving spouse only assets that have appreciated by, say, 20% or more or put a dollar limit on such distributions.

When the trustee has discretion to take income taxes into account in both portfolio decisions and distributions, he or she might be able to increase family after-tax wealth and income by avoiding the top tax bracket and the 3.8% investment income tax on trust income.  

You also should reconsider the powers of appointment clause of the trust. This clause allows a person, usually the surviving spouse, to decide who among the other named beneficiaries, usually the children and perhaps the grandchildren, will benefit from the remaining trust assets. The clause also might allow the spouse to decide if assets should be distributed outright to beneficiaries or retained in the trust for a period of time.

In the past, there was a bias to using a limited power of appointment. That kept trust assets from being included in the estate of the surviving spouse. But, because of the step-up in basis allowed beneficiaries who inherit and the high estate tax exemption, it might be beneficial to give the surviving spouse a general power of appointment over assets that have appreciated significantly. That puts the assets in the surviving spouse’s estate. That, in turn, allows the heirs to increase their basis in the inherited assets to current fair market value and avoid capital gains taxes when they sell the assets.

A final consideration is state taxes. These are a greater component of the overall tax bill than in the past, and in many states are likely to rise further. You might want to give the trustee or some other person the power to relocate the trust’s state of residence, particularly if the surviving spouse moves to a low income tax state but the trust was set up in a higher income tax state. A move would save money and be convenient.

A bypass trust also will continue to provide its traditional benefits. The surviving spouse has support and the remaining assets eventually go to your intended final beneficiaries. It also can provide professional management, creditor protection, and family-wide financial planning. With the recommended modifications, the bypass trust also helps reduce income taxes.

Bypass trusts should remain key elements of many estate plans. Their estate tax reduction benefits are necessary for fewer people, but they provide other valuable benefits when adapted for current law.