Top Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2014: April 2014

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Amazon Launches Jet City Comics - Analyst Blog

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Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) publishing division has launched Jet City Comics, a new imprint offering graphic novels and comics.

Jet City will contain new works from George R.R. Martin, Neal Stephenson and Hugh Howey among others. Jet City issues will be published on Kindle both as standalone and serialized comics. Further, Amazon will also offer them as bundled graphic novels. The printed versions will be available at amazon.com as well as through other comic retailers.

Jet City Comics will join other Amazon publishing titles such as 47North, AmazonCrossing, AmazonEncore, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, Little A, Day One, Two Lions and Skyscape.

By offering digital versions of comics and graphic novels on its Kindle range of tablets, Amazon is striving to grab more market share from Apple, which is currently dominating the tablet space. It also provides an entry point for young readers, getting them hooked to its ecosystem.

Amazon Publishing, the publishing arm of Amazon.com, started in May 2009. It is a self-publishing platform that allows the publication of a series of books under any name. In Jun 2012, Amazon acquired Avalon Books, a 62-year-old publishing company for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition provided Amazon with 3,000 titles, which helped it to further expand its titles in the romance, mystery and Western genres.

Amazon Publishing allows authors to earn 70% of revenues from their work. It publishes within minutes and the books appear on Amazon sites within two days. Since the books are available for all Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps, they immediately reach a large number of the reading population. Moreover, because it offers publishing in multiple languages, authors are able to reach non-English speaking people in any country where Amazon's Kindle has a presence.

With the recent boom in! technology and the popularity of ebooks, Amazon needs to put in its best to have a successful publishing business with high quality books in its list. Over the past year, Amazon has been taking every possible step to expand its catalog and remains one of the favorite players for book lovers in the fast-growing e-commerce market.

Amazon has increased focus on its own publishing business to boost the company's margins in the book-selling business. However, this places Amazon in direct competition with publishers, who are also the principal suppliers (middle-men) for this business. Amazon's strategy has the potential to push publishers out of business because it is offering books faster and cheaper thus satisfying both writers and readers.

Amazon is one of the leading players in the extremely fast-growing retail e-commerce market. While the strong growth prospects are making the market more competitive by the day, Amazon continues to maintain and even grow its share on the back of its consistent and reliable services. Amazon's scale of offerings, its broad reach and platform approach are the key to its success.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2013, Amazon reported revenues of $16.07 billion, down 24.4% sequentially but up 21.9% from the year-ago quarter. This was in line with management guidance of $15.0–$16.6 billion (down 25.7% sequentially but up 19.8% year over year at the mid-point). Reported revenues narrowly missed our expectations. Year-over-year revenue growth was 24%, excluding unfavorable currency impact.

Amazon currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other stocks that are worth considering include Rambus Inc. (RMBS), Omnivision Tech Inc. (OVTI) and Diodes Inc. (DIOD) all of which have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Monday, April 28, 2014

Micron: The Best Stock To Buy After The Sell-Off

It is not a rare phenomenon that a company's financial figures rally at a rocket speed because of some favorable changes at the industry-level. Well, Micron (MU) is one such case where the company has gained well in revenue because of an increase in the overall prices of DRAM modules complemented by a reduction in industry supply because of a fire at one of the factories owned by SK Hynix. Also, the acquisition of Elpida gave the much required leverage to Micron in terms of expansion of production capacity.

The strong quarterly result

The first quarter saw reasonably good results because of a robust combination of Elpida and Micron that was aided by a consistent increase in the demand for DRAM chips. The giant reported a quarterly revenue of approximately $4 billion and an EPS of 77 cents per share, which beat the Street estimates by a sizable margin. As highlighted by the management in the earnings call, these record results were achieved because of timely amalgamation and efficient execution of Elpida's operations.

Heavy insider activity

Lately, there has been an unusually high amount of insider activity on Micron's shares as some big stakeholders have diluted their stake in the company in a span of approximately 30 days. Traditionally, heavy insider selling is a point of worry because it becomes a big judging point for investors and the stock price then becomes a subject of erratic actions driven by psychology rather than factual analysis. Though Micron has not succumbed to a high amount of volatility on the stock exchange, the recent insider selling should not be made a reasoning point by investors.

It is quite clear that Micron reaped huge gains from the buoyancy in DRAM demand with Elpida's production capacity on its side but the coming year can see a bit of a slowdown in demand. Additionally, the peak pricing would take a hit as the SK Hynix facility has commenced its production after recovering from the fire accident.

Industry demand and peers

Micron's biggest competitor, Samsung (SSNLF) had stepped up its DRAM production in wake of huge demand and there has been no guidance from the company on its retraction. Thus, such an expansion in overall level of production will definitely exert a downward pressure on the average price of DRAM chips and also pave way for fierce competition. Samsung's semi-conductor division recently posted a decrease of 3% in operating profits on a sequential basis but for the coming quarters the company is optimistic on the industry's potential.

As leading experts have pointed out, mobile is going to be the big thing in technology for next few years and this is going to pump up the demand for DRAM chips. Samsung is already the global leader in smartphone production and if the company is able to implement cost-effective innovation in production of DRAM chips, it would pose a considerable threat for Micron.

A discussion on NAND

Since the beginning of this article I have focused on DRAM chips in the analysis of Micron's future revenue potential but a considerable chunk of its revenue also comes from the NAND memory segment. As per reports, the company is set to test the 3D NAND memory in the first half of the year which will definitely generate reasonable activity on the Street. Samsung is the largest player in this segment and has already commenced mass production of its 3D V-NAND product making Micron a pretty late entrant to the party.

The NAND memory industry is expected to boom in the next few years because of growing demand for reliable and compact memory that is offered by Solid State Drives. This report from Trefis highlights the increasing importance of SSD offerings because massive corporations are working on colossal amount of data which requires adequate storage mechanism. As of now, Micron has good exposure to both enterprise SSD and consumer SSD markets and a huge scope to effect exponential growth by sampling with different technology. For instance, the company shipped its first 20 nanometer enterprise drive to a large OEM in the first quarter.

Final words

The quarterly results of Micron have been impressive and the acquisition of Elpida at a bargain price has catapulted the semiconductor devices giant to a better position in the industry. Additionally, the company also has a robust financial position with cash and short-term investments over $3 billion and a D/E ratio of around 0.63. The management of Micron did a commendable job with Elpida's acquisition without the requirement of incurring additional cash outlay in developing its facilities.

As I already mentioned, Micron has been subject to reasonable insider selling activity over the past month but it should not be a judging point for investors as the company has strong fundamentals and reasonable financial position. The memory industry will see some swings in demand and prices over the year but there is huge long-term potential and it is prudent to have Micron in your portfolio.

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BEL-AIR - 7 hours ago

MU looks like it is topping, any good chart reader can see that.... It's latest base is wide and sloppy, plus it is a late stage base, classic signs it is topping. It had a nice run, up 600% in the last 3 years, but nothing goes straight up forever.

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Sunday, April 27, 2014

This Is How Nokia Will Help Microsoft

After dragging on for nearly half a year, tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) and Finnish mobile maker Nokia (NOK) finalized their merger. On Friday, April 25, Microsoft announced that it had completed its acquisition of Nokia, including hardware and services. The deal, originally set to be a $7.2 acquisition of all of Nokia's assets, may not have gone as planned, but it was a definite step-up from the waiting game investors were being subjected to.The specifications of the deal

The merger between the two companies had been in the works since September, but hit many a bump on the road. The two major obstacles in the path were the Chinese regulations and the ongoing tax investigation regarding Nokia's Indian plant, operating in Chennai. While China green-lighted the deal easily, the Indian authorities were less obliging. The end result is that the Indian facility was not a part of the acquisitions and will be retained by Nokia. Although Nokia has not announced any conclusive plans, the fact that it offered its 7500+ Indian workers early retirement scheme suggests that the plant may soon be shut down. Also, noticeably absent from the terms of the merger was the "state of the art" South Korean plant in Masan. The deal closed for $7.5 billion. As previously decided, Nokia's former CEO Stephen Elop will be reporting to Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella and will be appointed executive vice president of Microsoft Devices Group. He will be overseeing the division that, from hence on, will be in charge of expanding the business of Lumia smartphones and tablets, Xbox hardware, Perceptive Pixel (PPI) products and accessories. Microsoft also plans to export more than 25,000 of Nokia's former 90,000 employees.What does it mean for Microsoft's future?

According to a 2013 IDC report, Windows OS holds a 3.3% share in the smartphone market, compared to Google Android's (GOOG) 78.6% and Apple's (AAPL) 15.2%. However, now that this latest acquisition puts the company in charge of its own hardware and software, analysts presume this may change. Like Apple, Microsoft will now have exclusive rights over its devices, software as well as online presence, giving it an advantageous opportunity to further its position. Windows boasts of the fastest growing smartphone market, as well as the fastest growing platform with a 91% YoY gain. The company has continuously turned out award winning devices and has firmly carved its niche in the smart phone world. An IDC report of the fourth quarter of 2013 puts it among the top three smart phone makers of the world. Furthermore, continuing the trend of the Nokia mobile phone business, Microsoft plans to target the mid to lower end of the consumer spectrum in its range of affordable phones. This provides an opportunity of a $50 billion market annually.Concluding thoughts

The company has assured users of delivering new and improved products, and it will work closely with a plethora of hardware partners, operators, developers and retailers, providing platforms, applications and services that enable them to create outstanding devices. With hardware and software falling under the same network, the company has proclaimed that it will achieve an edge over its competitors. The windows phone now seeks to create an integrated ecosystem that will strengthen the platform and enable the growth of demand for Windows devices overall. In such an enticing scenario, many are optimistic that the Windows Phone may prove to be the device that finally challenges Samsung and Apple's hold over the market.

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Friday, April 25, 2014

Will Wall Street Remain the World's Financial Capital?

Wall Street sign against New York Stock Exchange, New York City, USA. Getty Images "People think you can just walk right in," the bemused security guard said to his co-worker, who snickered, shook his head and returned to his outpost under the tented area outside the otherwise-regal entrance to the New York Stock Exchange. The dejected tourist walked away after learning that, no, there is no visitors' gallery at the exchange where he could watch what was happening inside 11 Wall Street. He then disappeared into a dense crowd of tourists. Nearby, folks posed in front of the George Washington statue at Federal Hall, across the walkway from the exchange. They aimed their camera phones curiously around Broad and Wall streets, many drawn to the enormous American flag that flies in front of the NYSE, where it has stood since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. And they wondered what was going on inside. This is supposed to be the financial capital of the world. Truth is, there's really not that much to see anymore inside these majestic halls. An exchange that used to house more than 5,000 traders shouting out their business now is a mostly docile habitat in which those still left on the floor quietly tap out orders on hand-held computers and barely make a peep at swift changes in market activity. Things indeed have changed a lot for the exchange over the past 25 years. The next 25 years-well, things could get dicey. The Future of Trading Will the exchange still exist? Will it be a museum? An office complex? An automated emporium run by robots? More importantly, will New York still be the financial capital of the world? Nobody seems quite sure, though the building itself does maintain its nostalgic appeal even if it's lost much of its relevance as a trading center. "Symbols matter," said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at New York-based brokerage ConvergEx. "It's important to have a symbol that people can relate to, and it's much easier to relate to a physical space. It will be important for the New York Stock Exchange to maintain some relevance with investors." Prospects for the building and what happens inside it hinge on three things: Just how far the trading community pushes automation, how hard regulators push back and how well the 80 or so locations now where stocks are traded can maintain their trust and credibility with the investing public. A Rapidly Changing Ecosystem New York faces a bevy of challenges. Automated trading has taken up about four-fifths of the market's volume. Dark pools -- privately run trading centers away from the NYSE -- are scattered around the metropolitan area. Exchanges around the world -- such as those in Tokyo, London and Shanghai -- are seeing their volumes increase, though they still draw just a fraction of the volume seen in New York at the NYSE and the Nasdaq. The current market is dealing with one whale of a black eye caused by suspicion over high-frequency trading and its stranglehold on market activity. The proliferation of trading aberrations such as 2010's "Flash Crash" and the intense debate over "Flash Boys," Michael Lewis' 2014 HFT-centered book, has underscored the credibility problem, which will have to be rectified -- and soon. Conversations with the folks who help make the market machinery work reveal some interesting-and surprising-thought trends. For instance, there is a pervasive belief that the market will become less fractured and perhaps even a bit slower than the current incomprehensible millisecond-moving speeds. While automation is a fact of life, there is no widely shared dystopian view of a market run by faceless machines without accountability. There's even a bit of whimsy. Look Into a Hypothetical Crystal Ball Market veteran Art Hogan sees two megamergers that could shake Wall Street. One would see Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) take over the NYSE; the other would have Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) wrest control of the Nasdaq, which trades mostly tech stocks. In the Hogan scenario, the two mammoths blow out the rest of the 80 or so exchanges and dark pools where trades currently take place and defragment the market. At the same time, regulators change trading "ticks," or the increments in which stocks can trade, from the current decimalization to nickel sizes, eliminating the benefits that high-frequency traders enjoy from capitalizing on moves of pennies. Hogan is kidding ... sort of, but in a way that indicates the general direction the market needs to trend to win back investor confidence. "You've got a world [in 25 years] where technology, social media and financial markets have come together to increase investor confidence in markets," said Hogan, the chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. In his future vision, "Wall Street gets to play its role again as the greatest place to form capital for emerging companies, and to research those emerging companies." Don't laugh too loudly. Hogan's scenario of a market that undergoes massive transformation that actually benefits the retail investor and re-establishes some sanity in a market that has lost so much of its trading volume over the years is a widely shared vision. "We're moving faster and faster. The speeds are incredible, but we're going to get to the point where it doesn't go any faster," said Peter Costa, president of Empire Executions and an NYSE governor with 33 years of trading experience. A Quieter Street In the Costa scenario, trading changes completely. In a future world where cash becomes marginalized and digital "credits" take over as a system of payments, companies find stock issuance a trite method of raising funds. Stocks, meanwhile, start to more closely resemble mutual funds, with very little if any price movement during market hours and instead "a final pricing at the end of the day," Costa said. "There will be more financial options for investors," said Todd Schoenberger, managing partner at LandColt Capital. "For example, we now have stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. Look for new products to enter the market, which will be a real hassle for regulators. But, expanded options is what you get when you have too many players transacting business." Whatever form trading takes -- high speed, low speed or no speed -- what will matter most is fairness, and many Wall Street pros expect Washington regulators to continue their pursuit of an equitable environment. "What they're realizing is money managers like myself don't care about getting a sell in half a second," said Michael Cohn, chief market strategist at Atlantis Asset Management. "I don't care about the pennies; I care about the perception and the fairness. It affects my business if people think the market is not fair." If there is a common theme in terms of hopes for the future, it indeed would be some simple fairness. "You can still have automation, but it would be nice to bring back some sort of ecosystem into it," said Joe Saluzzi, co-founder of Themis Trading and an ardent campaigner against the ills of high-frequency trading. He hopes the next 25 years hold a greater emphasis on human involvement, not less. "You like to have someone involved. The investor relations officer, the chief financial officer, really has no idea what's going on in their stock," he said. "There are no specialists involved. They need more information as to what's going on. It's not there anymore." While the amount of bodies on the exchange floor indeed has dimmed considerably over the years, the level of employment in financial services has remained fairly and surprisingly resilient. Financial services jobs peaked out in late 2006 at about 8.4 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While that level certainly has declined, the nearly 6 percent drop to 7.9 million as of March 2014 could have been much worse considering the way Wall Street banks cut jobs en masse during the crisis. A Shift to Markets Abroad Expectations, though, are for even fewer footsteps on the Street. "The amount of employees that will be working on Wall Street, if you want to call it that, is going to continue to go down year after year," said Marc Pfeffer, a former trader at Goldman Sachs (GS) and the defunct Bear Stearns who now works as a portfolio manager at CLS Investments. "I am perplexed till today to understand why there are that many people at these firms. I think they're going to be cut by a huge percentage, if they even exist at all."

"I don't think the NYSE exists anymore period." Dick Bove

So where does that leave the exchange as a physical property? If you close your eyes tightly enough you can almost see the tumbleweeds rolling across the cobblestones past the Wall Street subway station, past the Deutsche Bank (DB) building and gliding on a path to nowhere. After all, what possible use could there be for such a structure in the next age of trading? "I don't think the NYSE exists anymore period," said Dick Bove, the outspoken banking analyst and vice president of equity research at Rafferty Capital Markets. "I think it's a good television set" for appearances in the media. But is it possible the building will serve no function? Bove sees the global financial center shifting from New York to wherever countries are committed to a thriving banking sector and not obsessed with handcuffing "too big to fail" institutions. He also points out that the exchange isn't even owned by a New York firm anymore, and that most of the trading happens at high-frequency nerve centers in New Jersey.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Will Nissan's Next Electric Car Finally Challenge Tesla?

The all-electric Infiniti LE concept car was shown in New York in 2012. Photo credit: Nissan

We've been hearing for a while that Nissan (NASDAQOTH: NSANY ) is planning an all-electric luxury car to be sold under the Infiniti brand. It's expected to look a lot like the Infiniti LE concept car, shown above, which the company first unveiled last year.

Many have speculated that this could be the first direct competitor to Tesla Motors' (NASDAQ: TSLA ) hot Model S sedan, coming from the company that had the first successful mass-market electric car with its Nissan Leaf. But more recently, Nissan has said that the program could be delayed, hinting that other (non-electric) new models might take precedence.

A few weeks ago, Fool.com contributor John Rosevear asked if the real reason for the car's delay might have to do with Nissan's worries about competing with Tesla. Now, new information on the real reasons for the car's delay has come out -- and in this video, Rosevear explains what's going on and how this is likely to play out.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

GM recall issues run long, deep, and wide

(Fortune) So General Motors' Dan Ammann says the recall of 2.6 million Chevrolets and other models has made no dent in GM's car sales so far. Citing his company's 4% U.S. sales gain in March and a "decent start" in April, the new president says, "It's hard to say there's a measurable impact there."

Ammann may be singing a different tune in 10 days or so when GM (GM, Fortune 500) reports April sales results. Its performance so far in 2014 has been shaky, with market share seven-tenths of a point below 2013 and overall sales down 2%. Some brands are already showing weakness. In March, sales of high-profit Cadillacs and pickup trucks looked shaky. GM finished the month with just 16.7% of the market, less than a percentage point ahead of Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500). GM investors aren't waiting to see the numbers and are already heading for the exits. They have sold down GM shares 17.3% since the beginning of the year.

All shoppers, even weekend tire-kickers, should be paying attention to the recall. While none of the recalled cars are still in production and they are long gone from dealer showrooms, there has been a steady drip of disturbing information about what really goes on inside GM. It brings back memories of the company that investigated Ralph Nader in the '60s and quietly put Chevy engines in Oldsmobiles in the '70s, and suggests that GM is not nearly the upstanding corporate citizen it has portrayed itself to be for more than a half-century.

Critics have been unchained. In a blistering broadside posted on the investor website Seeking Alpha, Michael Blair, retired CEO of Canadian parts supplier Automodular went right to what he sees as the heart of the GM problem. "In my view," he wrote, "GM has a culture that is puerile, focused solely on short-term profits and replete with bad practices and weak governance."

MORE: What Mark Fields faces at Ford

Blair knows firsthand. He says Automodular got burned after it invested millions of dollars in equipment and training to fulfill a contract for the subassembly of cockpits for the Chevy Camaro. As soon as production was about to begin, by his account, GM demanded a 50% reduction in price or threatened it would move the business to another supplier. When Automodular refused, GM dropped the hammer, and it was forced to shut down production -- at a loss of millions of dollars. He concludes: "It seems that GM knew of the [ignition switch] problem, hid it from sight until it could not be hidden any longer, and now profusely apologizes for the "terrible things" their actions gave rise to. The apology is likely hollow."

Blair isn't the only one who doesn't think GM walks the talk. Similar examples dot the 619 pages of GM engineering documents released by the House Energy and Commerce committee that I first saw posted on The Truth About Cars website.

GM's CEO: Cost of fix 'not my focus'

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Here's just one: Less than a year ago, a member of NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigation wrote an unusually candid memo to GM about its tardy response to NHTSA inquiries. "The general perception is that GM is slow to communicate, slow to act, and at times requires additional effort that we do not feel is necessary with some of your peers."

That's a damning assessment for a company that purports to be a responsible corporate citizen. But it came after GM has spent the better part of decade sidestepping responsibility for the faulty ignition.

Like Captain Renault discovering that there is gambling going on in Rick's Café, Mike Robinson, GM's vice president for environment, energy and safety policy, is shocked, by the criticism. "This note from NHTSA, both the content and tone, comes like a bolt out of the blue," he states in reply. "We worked way too hard to earn a reputation as the best, and we are not going to let this slide."

MORE: 10 things I learned at the New York auto show

To me, the most shocking disclosure in the documents is not that GM prevaricated owning up to the defect, then decided that a fix was uneconomical, and didn't move on a recall until the evidence of a safety danger was overwhelming. GM is, after all, a large, lumbering, corporation under acute financial pressure. Budgets -- and, more important, careers -- were at stake with the small cars, and GM was determined to make them successful. The evidence in the accident reports was confusing because many of the fatalities involved alcohol and improper use of seatbelts. NHTSA isn't blameless either, since it needed years to get to the root of the problem.

No, what really ! worries m! e is evidence of deliberate fraud by a GM engineer. In a violation of standard industry practice, the engineer signed off on a design change that included a stronger spring and a longer plunger -- and didn't assign a new part number to the switch -- thus covering up the defect. Since there was no documentation of the change, GM didn't find out about it until a lawsuit led to a junkyard investigation of discarded models. During depositions in the suit in 2013, the engineer responsible for the Cobalt switch said he didn't recall ever authorizing such a change. (He has since been suspended).

MORE: The General Motors you want to sue no longer exists, says GM

CEO Mary Barra, a GM lifer, has vowed to fully vet GM's failures, and to do so, she has named another GM lifer, Jeff Boyer, to the newly created post of global safety chief. His experience may be valuable, but to some observers his appointment is like asking a goldfish to critique the water it swims in. "When people are within an organization for a long time, there is a certain institutional myopia that sets in" says Gary S. Vasilash, longtime editor of Automotive Design & Production. "There is a certain ingrained notion of "this is how we do things."

Barra is going to have to dig deeply to find out what is rotten at GM's core. And car buyers are going to have to play close attention.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Citigroup's Michael Corbat: Not Your Average Wall Street CEO

If you want to crack the code of a company -- to really understand what makes it tick as a business and, therefore, as an investment -- one of the things you have to get your head around is who's at the top: the person making the day-to-day and long-term decisions that will eventually make or break the company and, possibly, your portfolio.

For Citigroup (NYSE: C ) , that person is CEO Michael Corbat. Here's the second of two articles taking an in-depth look at this relative newcomer to the superbank's top spot: where he came from, some of the important things he's said or done, and why you could arguably buy stock in the country's third-largest bank solely because of his ascendancy to CEO.

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Say what you mean
Right off the bat, Corbat did something that impressed me, or rather said something that impressed me: "I am ... humbled by the confidence the board has placed in me," Corbat said the day he became CEO. "I look forward to taking on the challenge of continuing what Vikram started."

Corbat didn't have to use the word "humbled." Can you imagine this word coming out of the mouth of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, or Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein? Now, I happen to like both of those guys, and think they're top notch CEOs, but each in their own way has a certain master-of-the-universe arrogance about them. Blankfein's is more subdued, and Dimon's is more brash, but it's there in both of them. I haven't seen that tendency, yet, in Corbat.

In the above statement, Corbat also demonstrated humility just by the mere mention of his predecessor, Vikram Pandit. Pandit saw Citi through the darkest days of the financial crisis, and began the process of stabilization that Corbat is still building on. By giving credit where credit was due, Corbat not only demonstrated humility, but fundamental decency -- rare qualities on Wall Street.

Mean what you say
Following up that auspicious beginning to his tenure as CEO, in March of this year, Corbat was addressing a group of 300 Citi executives at a Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, NJ, where he told them: "You are what you measure." Upon reading this, my initial thought was, "How boring." But then it dawned on me that this was exactly the kind of thinking Citi needed at the top.

Again, you'd never hear Jamie Dimon uttering a phrase like this, but Jamie Dimon is exactly the kind of leader Citi doesn't need right now. Four years out from the financial crisis, when Pandit departed, Citi was still, to some degree, like a rudderless ocean liner. As such, Citi didn't need a swashbuckling, seat-of-the-pants captain. Citi needed a steady hand, one that was going to calmly reassert order, and give employees concrete metrics to live and work by. Boring? Maybe, but it was just what the situation required, and still does.

Corbat had the opportunity to impress me again in March of this year, this time, with his actions following the superbank's 2013 stress tests. If you recall, Citi failed its 2012 stress test, but, in 2013, it not only passed its stress test, but also outperformed lean, mean banking powerhouse Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) -- not to mention investor darling and fellow post-crisis banking basket case Bank of America.

To make a long story short, based on its performance, Citi had every right to ask the Federal Reserve to increase its shareholder dividend following its successful 2013 stress test, but it didn't. Why? To the best of my knowledge, Corbat never commented, but my best guess is he was more concerned with conserving capital and repairing the bank's balance sheet than ingratiating himself with shareholders by way of capital return.

Foolish bottom line
Corbat is a Citi lifer, and takes great pride in his bank. He wants to see Citi's health and reputation as a great financial institution restored, even if that mean asking shareholders to be patient. That's the kind of long-term thinking any Fool can get behind.

In addition to the above, Corbat knows the bank like the back of his hand, having worked in many different areas of Citi's vast financial empire, including critical businesses like Citi Holdings, and foreign operations.

I would never tell a potential investor to only consider leadership when deciding whether or not to invest in a company, but leadership has become my top consideration. The CEO is the captain of the company ship, and can, quite literally, sail it into clear waters, or into the mouth of a hurricane, as we clearly saw happen with many banks in the run-up to the financial crisis.

Certainly, do the rest of your due diligence on Citigroup before deciding whether or not to invest; but when push comes to shove, also give Michael Corbat his due.

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Sunday, April 20, 2014

HLSS Floats New Stock Issue for Ocwen Unit Buy

Home Loan Servicing Solutions (NASDAQ: HLSS ) is servicing its capital base with a new share offering that should total nearly $300 million. The company is floating 13 million shares of its stock in an underwritten public issue at a price of $23 per share. All told, the gross proceeds of the offering should amount to roughly $299 million.

HLSS said it plans to use its share of the proceeds of the issue to purchase the mortgage servicing assets of Ocwen's (NYSE: OCN ) loan servicing arm, plus expenses related to the transaction.

The joint book-running managers of the issue are Barclays' Capital division, JPMorgan Chase's (NYSE: JPM ) J.P. Morgan Securities, Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC ) Merrill Lynch, and the Securities unit of Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) . The offering is expected to close on June 26.

At the moment, HLSS has nearly 57 million shares outstanding, and its stock trades at $23.01 per share.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Harsh Weather Hurt DuPontâ€™s Q1

DuPont (DD) slipped on Thursday after its first quarter missed analysts' estimates.

The conglomerate said it earned $1.44 billion or $1.54 a share; excluding one-time items, per-share earnings were $1.58 a share, up two cents from the year-ago period but a penny below the $1.59 consensus.

Revenue slipped 2.7% to $10.1 billion, also below the $10.45 analysts were expecting.

The company noted that the extraordinarily harsh winter in many parts of the country hurt the results, to the tune of seven cents a share, as farmers delayed buying seeds and other agricultural products. Political uncertainty also disrupted sales in Ukraine, one of the world's largest corn and wheat exporters.

S&P Capital IQ's Christopher Muir was downbeat about the prospect of DuPont's outlook improving in the near term, lowering his rating on the stock to Sell from Hold, and lowered his target price by $1 to $64. "We negatively view the 3.4% year-over-year drop in sales, though the drop was more than offset by strong cost control efforts. Q1 recurring EPS of $1.58, vs. $1.56, missed our $1.76 estimate and the $1.59 Capital IQ consensus. The shares are yielding 2.7%.

By contrast, Citigroup's P.J. Juvekar reiterated a Buy rating and $78 price target, noting that the company executes as well as could be expected in poor weather conditions, and that its full-year guidance and share repurchase plan are positives: "DD reported 1Q14 EPS of $1.58 vs. our $1.56 and consensus of $1.58. The company explicitly called out a 7c/share impact from adverse weather conditions in 1Q, reflecting a combination of higher operating costs and lost sales. 2014 EPS guidance of $4.20-$4.45 was reaffirmed, with an estimated 70% of FY14 EPS expected in 1H. DD repurchased ~$1B of stock in 1Q, more than we anticipated, and is well-positioned to complete the targeted $2B of stock this year. The Perf Chemicals separation is on track for mid-2015, with physical separation of manufacturing sites underway and initial regulatory filings expected in 4Q14."

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Top Heal Care Companies To Own In Right Now

Top Heal Care Companies To Own In Right Now: Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A.(SQM)

Chemical and Mining Company of Chile Inc. engages in the production and sale of fertilizers and specialty chemicals in Chile and internationally. The company?s specialty plant nutrients include potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, and specialty blends for crops, such as vegetables, fruits, flowers, potatoes, and cotton, as well as Ultrasol for application via fertigation; Qrop for field application; Speedfol for foliar application; Allganic for organic farming; and Nutrilake for aquaculture. It also produces iodine and iodine derivatives, which are used in a range of medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial applications, including X-ray contrast media, polarizing films for liquid crystal displays (LCDs), antiseptics, biocides, and disinfectants; and in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, herbicides, electronics, pigments, dye components, and heat stabilizers. In addition, the company provides lithium carbonate for use in various applicat ions comprising batteries, frits for the ceramic and enamel industries, heat-resistant glass, primary aluminum, lithium bromine for use in air conditioner equipment, and continuous casting powder for steel extrusion, pharmaceuticals, and lithium derivatives; and lithium hydroxide, which is used as a raw material in the lubricating grease industry. Further, it offers various industrial chemicals, such as sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and boric acid; and potassium chloride and potassium sulfate. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Santiago, Chile.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Jim Jubak]
His choice for the 2014 Top Stock Pick to watch out for in the coming year, is the Chemical and Mining Company of Chile (SQM).

This company's stock plunged 59% in 2013 due to weak fertilizer and phosphate prices. Howev! er, both Conrad and Jubak feel it is beginning to bounce back this year, due to a return to normalized pricing and earnings.
[By Carlton Delfeld]
Chemical and Mining Company of Chile (SQM) has long been a darling of global investors looking for plays for more productive farmland. However, the stock has plunged 59% in 2013, due to weak fertilizer and phosphate prices.
[By Dan Newman]
Resilient resources
While weakness in fertilizer markets hurt Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE: SQM ) this year, higher sales volume and margins in other businesses helped the company grow earnings 19% over 2012. Sociedad has a hand in many industrial resources, from iodine to lithium, and it boasts healthy double-digit profit margins. It is also expanding its production capacity to keep up with a world hungry for more fertilizer-based food and lithium-based batteries. Still, the company failed to meet recent expectations and has missed the market rally this year. If markets get spooked and head downward, investors could find peace of mind in the intrinsic value of Sociedad's physical resources, as well as its 2.6% dividend yield.
[By Dan Caplinger]
Amid the boom in Latin America lately, Chile has produced substantial amounts of economic success. But the drop in commodities markets around the world has weighed on resource-reliant industries, and Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE: SQM ) is one of the companies that has suffered from that trend. On Tuesday, the company will release its latest quarterly results, and investors are nervous about whether SQM will be able to meet the growth expectations they have for the chemical company.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-heal-care-companies-to-own-in-right-now-2.html

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015

Popular Posts: 17 Stocks With Ex-Dividend Dates to Put on Your RadarThe Only 2 Retail Stocks to Buy NowLUV – Southwest Stock Soars Above the Airline Crowd Recent Posts: GM – General Motors Looks Toward a Smoother Road 3 Stocks Building on Strong Fundamentals Into 2014 End 2013 on a High Note With These 58 Stock Trades View All Posts

This is the time of year when everyone is going to start looking for tax loss candidates to buy hoping for a quick recovery in the early weeks of 2014.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: Latam Airlines Group SA (LFL)

LAN Airlines S.A. (LAN), incorporated in 1983, is the international and domestic passenger airline in Latin America and the cargo operator in the region. As of February 9, 2012, LAN and its affiliates provided domestic and international passenger services in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia and cargo operations through the use of belly space on its passenger flights and cargo freighter aircraft through its cargo airlines in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. LAN and its affiliates offered passenger flights to 15 destinations in Chile, 59 destinations in other South American countries, 15 destinations in other Latin American countries and the Caribbean, five destinations in the United States, two destinations in Europe and four destinations in the South Pacific and, through various codeshare agreements, service to 25 additional destinations in North America, 16 additional destinations in Europe, 27 additional destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean (including Mexico), and two destinations in Asia, as of February 9, 2012. LAN and its affiliates provide cargo service to all of their passenger destinations and to 20 additional destinations served only by freighter aircraft. LAN also offers other services, such as ground handling, courier, logistics and maintenance. LAN and its affiliates operated a fleet, with 135 passenger aircraft and 14 cargo aircraft as of December 31, 2011. On February 15, 2011, Lan Pax Group S.A., subsidiary of Lan Airlines S.A. acquired 100% of Colombian society AEROASIS S.A.

LAN is primarily involved in the transportation of passengers and cargo. Its operations are carried out principally by Lan Airlines and also by a number of different subsidiaries. As of February 28, 2011, in the passenger business the Company operated through six main airlines: Lan Airlines, Transporte Aereo S.A. (which does business under the name Lan Express), Lan Peru S.A. (Lan Peru), Aerolane Lineas Aereas Nacionales del Ecuador S.A. (Lan Ecuador), Lan Argentina S.A. (Lan ! Argentina, previously Aero 2000 S.A.) and the Aerovias de Integracion Regional, Aires S.A. (Aires). As of February 28, 2011, the Company held a 99.9% interest in Lan Express through direct and indirect interests, a 70.0% interest in Lan Peru through direct and indirect interests, a 71.9% indirect interest in Lan Ecuador, a 99.0% indirect interest in Lan Argentina and a 94.99% indirect interest in Aires (a Colombian entity which was acquired on November 26, 2010). Its cargo operations are carried out by a number of companies, including Lan Airlines and Lan Cargo. As of February 28, 2011, the Company held a 69.2% interest in Aero Transportes Mas de Carga S.A. de C.V. (MasAir), through direct and indirect participations, a 73.3% interest in ABSA through direct and indirect participations, and a 90.0% interest in LANCO through direct and indirect participations. In the cargo business, the Company markets itself primarily under the Lan Cargo brand. In addition to its air transportation activities, the Company provides a series of ancillary services. It offers handling services, courier services and logistics, small package and express door-to-door services through Lan Airlines and various subsidiaries.

Passenger Operations

As of February 28, 2011, the Company operated passenger airlines in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia. As of February 28, 2011, our passenger operations were performed through airlines in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia where we operate both domestic and international services. As of February 28, 2011, the Company�� network consisted of 15 destinations in Chile, 14 destinations in Peru, four destinations in Ecuador, 14 destinations in Argentina, 24 destinations in Colombia, 14 destinations in other Latin American countries and the Caribbean, five destinations in the United States, one destination in Canada, three destinations in Europe and four destinations in the South Pacific. Within Latin America, it has routes to and from Argentina, B! olivia, B! razil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Company also flies to a variety of international destinations outside Latin America, including Auckland, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Mount Pleasant (Falkland Islands), New York, Toronto, Papeete (Tahiti), Paris, San Francisco, and Sydney. In addition, as of February 28, 2011, through its various code-share agreements, the Company offered service to 25 additional destinations in North America, 16 additional destinations in Europe, 25 additional destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean (including Mexico), and two destinations in Asia. As of February 28, 2011, the Company operated scheduled international services from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina through Lan Airlines; Lan Express in Chile; Lan Peru in Peru; Lan Ecuador in Ecuador; Lan Argentina in Argentina and Aires in Colombia. Its international network combines the Company�� Chilean, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Argentinean and Colombian affiliates. It provides long-haul services out of its four main hubs in Santiago, Lima, Guayaquil and Buenos Aires. It also provides regional services from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina.

Cargo Operations

The Company�� cargo business operates on the same network used by the passenger airlines business, which is supplemented by freighter-only operations. The Company carries cargo for a variety of customers, including other international air carriers, freight-forwarding companies, export oriented companies and individual consumers. As of February 28, 2011, the Company operated a fleet of 140 aircraft, comprised of 126 passenger aircraft and 14 cargo aircraft.

The Company competes with UPS, FedEx, Centurion, Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos S.A., Polar Air, Cargolux, Lufthansa Cargo, Martinair and Air France-KLM.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Laura Brodbeck]
Notable earnings releases expected on Monday include:
LAN Chile S.A. (NYSE: LFL) is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.24 on revenue of $3.50 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.02 on revenue of $3.48 billion. JA Solar Holdings, Co. Ltd (NASDAQ: JASO) is expected to report EPS of $0.03 on revenue of $291.75 million, compared to last year�� loss of $2.65 per share on revenue of $268.09 million. Sterling Construction Company, Inc�(NASDAQ: STRL) is expected to report a fourth quarter loss of $1.47 per share on revenue of $153.07 million, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.18 on revenue of $158.09 million.
Economics

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: AMR Corp (AAMRQ)

AMR Corporation (AMR), incorporated in October 1982, operates in the airline industry. The Company�� principal subsidiary is American Airlines, Inc. (American). As of December 31, 2011, American provided scheduled jet service to approximately 160 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. AMR Eagle Holding Corporation (AMR Eagle), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR, owns two regional airlines, which do business as American Eagle - American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines, Inc. (collectively, the American Eagle carriers). American also contracts with an independently owned regional airline, which does business as AmericanConnection (the AmericanConnection carrier). As of December 31, 2011, AMR Eagle operated approximately 1,500 daily departures, offering scheduled passenger service to over 175 destinations in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

American, AMR Eagle and the AmericanConnection airline served more than 250 cities in approximately 50 countries with, on average, 3,400 daily flights and the combined network fleet numbered approximately 900 aircraft as of December 31, 2011. American Airlines is also a founding member of the oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LAN Airlines, Iberia, Qantas, JAL, Malev Hungarian, Mexicana, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. Together, oneworld members serve 750 destinations in approximately 150 countries, with about 8,500 daily departures. American is also one of the scheduled air freight carriers in the world, providing a range of freight and mail services to shippers throughout its system onboard American�� passenger fleet.

To improve access to each other�� markets, American has established marketing relationships with other airlines and rail companies. As of December 31, 2011, American had marketing relationships with Air Berlin, Air Pacific, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cape Air, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern Airl! ines, Dragonair, Deutsche Bahn German Rail, EL AL, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, GOL, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jet Airways, JetStar Airways, LAN (includes LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru), Niki Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.

American has established the AAdvantage frequent flyer program (AAdvantage). AAdvantage members earn mileage credits by flying on American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection carrier or by using services of other participants in the AAdvantage program. Mileage credits can be redeemed for free, discounted or upgraded travel on American, American Eagle or other participating airlines, or for other awards. American sells mileage credits and related services to other participants in the AAdvantage program. There are over 1,000 program participants, including a credit card issuer, hotels, car rental companies, and other products and services companies in the AAdvantage program. As of December 31, 2011, AAdvantage had approximately 69 million total members.

The Company competes with Alaska Airlines (Alaska), Delta Air Lines (Delta), Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways (JetBlue), Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines (Southwest) and AirTran Airways (Air Tran), Spirit Airlines, United Airlines (United) and Continental Airlines (Continental), US Airways and Virgin America Airlines.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Ben Levisohn]
Earlier, the Justice Department said it would sue AMR Corp. (AAMRQ) and U.S. Airways (LCC) to block their merger, citing competitive concerns. AMR has dropped 48% to $2.99 on the news, while U.S. Airways has fallen 10% to $13.38.
Associated Press
The losses for AMR are enormous and its not too difficult to see why. The company is emerging from bankruptcy and this deal was a big part of the plan. Cowen’s Helane Becker and Conor Cunningham consider the implications:

AMR Corp’s POR focused on merging with US Airways. With the DoJ blocking the merger, AMR will need to go back to the drawing board. In our opinion, if the US Airways/AMR deal were to be permanently blocked, AMR would need to address its issues on the standalone basis, likely through capacity and headcount reductions. AMR needs to address its operations in LA and the overall network, which would result in capacity reductions and higher ticket fares. Worst case scenario, AMR would need to liquidate, resulting in significant capacity and headcount reduction. In any scenario, we believe the capacity reductions would benefit the entire industry and result in improved supply/demand environment and PRASM trends.

Becker and Cunningham, however, believe that the selloff in other airlines on the news is “overdone.” They recommend focusing on Delta Air Lines (DAL), which has dropped 9.2% to $19.09, and United Airlines (UAL), which has fallen 6.5% to $31.06.

UPDATE:

S&P Capital IQ analyst Jim Corridore says he’s surprised by the suit. He writes:

We are surprised by the suit, as regulators allowed several other airline combinations over the past few years. We think the planned merger would provide major benefits to LCC, as it would greatly improve what we see as an inferior foreign route network, but we also think LCC is a low-cost carrier with a favorable valuation. Our target price stays $26.

10 Best Japanese Stocks To Own Right Now: Allegiant Travel Co (ALGT)

Allegiant Travel Company, incorporated on April 4, 2006, is a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of small, underserved cities in the United States. The Company operates a passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in small cities, allowing it to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, it provides air transportation under fixed fee flying arrangements. The Company provides scheduled air transportation on limited frequency nonstop flights between small city markets and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2013, its operating fleet consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft providing service on 191 routes to 85 cities including 13 leisure destinations and 72 small cities and including cities served seasonally. In January 2012, the Company took ownership of two MD-80 aircraft. In October 2012, the Company announced the formation of Allegiant Systems, a joint venture with AvIntel and Lixar IT.

The Company provides unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include use of its Website for purchases, use of its call center for purchases, advance seat assignment, baggage fees, priority boarding, its own travel protection product, change fees, food and beverage purchases on board and other air-related services. The Company offers third party travel products, such as hotel rooms, ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) and attractions (show tickets) bundled with the purchase of its air transportation.

The Company provides air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a seasonal and ad-hoc basis for other customers. As of February 1, 2013, its operating aircraft consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft. D! uring the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has entered into purchase agreements to acquire seven Airbus A320 aircraft and operating lease agreements for an additional nine Airbus A319 aircraft.

The Company competes with AirTran, Frontier, Spirit, Southwest, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Delta, Xtra, United and American.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
While Frontier's industry-leading load factor is something to be proud of, the company still has work to do in order to approach the profitability of its ultra-low-cost-carrier rivals -- Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT ) and Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE ) . In April, Republic's management forecast that Frontier would achieve an operating margin of 2%-4% in Q2. By contrast, Spirit's Q2 2012 adjusted operating margin was 16.3%, while Allegiant's Q2 2012 operating margin was a whopping 18.1%. This shows how far Frontier is behind the other ULCCs, but it also highlights the promise of the ULCC operating model.
[By Brian Stoffel]
First there was Spirit Air (NASDAQ: SAVE ) , charging for everything from printing a boarding pass to getting a cup of water. Then there was Allegiant Airlines (NASDAQ: ALGT ) , forcing customers to pay for carry-on bags, pillows, and blankets.
[By Ben Levisohn]
DeNardi also rates Alaska Air (ALK), Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and Allegiant Travel (ALGT) as Buys and Southwest, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) and Hawaiian Holdings (HA) as holds.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: Indonesia Transport & Infrastructure Tbk PT (IATA)

PT Indonesia Transport & Infrastructure Tbk, formerly PT Indonesia Air Transport Tbk, is an Indonesia-based air transport service provider. The Company provides air transportation, hiring and/or leasing aircrafts, repairs and maintenance of aircrafts and trading of aviation technical equipment and related spare parts. It also provides medical evacuation services, tourism and scheduled flight services to several routes in central and eastern Indonesia. The Company operates various types of fixed wing aircrafts and helicopters, such as EC 155 B1, AS 365 Dauphin N2 twin turbine helicopter, Beechcraft 1900D, ATR 42-300, ATR 42-500 and Fokker 50. Advisors' Opinion:

[By Shereen El Gazzar]
The forecast, from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), sees the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region with the strongest international passenger growth, with a compound average growth rate of 6.3% and 5.7% respectively.

Top 5 Airline Stocks To Invest In 2015: Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL)

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta) provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States and around the world. The Company�� route network gives it a presence in every domestic and international market. Delta�� route network is centered around the hub system it operate at airports in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Each of these hub operations includes flights that gather and distribute traffic from markets in the geographic region surrounding the hub to domestic and international cities and to other hubs. The Company�� network is supported by a fleet of aircraft that is varied in terms of size and capabilities.

Delta has bilateral and multilateral marketing alliances with foreign airlines to improve its access to international markets. These arrangements can include code-sharing, reciprocal frequent flyer program benefits, shared or reciprocal access to passenger lounges, joint promotions, common use of airport gates and ticket counters, ticket office co-location, and other marketing agreements. Its international code-sharing agreements enable it to market and sell seats to an expanded number of international destinations. The Company has international codeshare arrangements with Aeromexico, Air France, Air Nigeria, Alitalia, Aeroflot, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, CSA Czech Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Olympic Air, Royal Air Maroc, VRG Linhas Aereas (operating as GOL), Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Australia and WestJet Airlines.

In addition to the Company�� marketing alliance agreements with individual foreign airlines, it is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Delta also has frequent flyer and reciprocal lounge agreements with Hawaiian Airlines, and codesharing agreements with American Eagle Airlines (American Eagle) and Hawaiian Airlines. It has air service agreements with multiple do! mestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to its route system by serving passengers primarily in small-and medium-sized cities.

Through the Company�� regional carrier program, it has contractual arrangements with 10 regional carriers to operate regional jet and, in certain cases, turbo-prop aircraft using its DL designator code. In addition to Delta�� wholly owned subsidiary, Comair, it has contractual arrangements with ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. and SkyWest Airlines, Inc., both subsidiaries of SkyWest, Inc.; Chautauqua Airlines, Inc. and Shuttle America Corporation, both subsidiaries of Republic Airways Holdings, Inc.; Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Mesaba Aviation, Inc. (Mesaba), both subsidiaries of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (Pinnacle); Compass Airlines, Inc. (Compass) and GoJet Airlines, LLC, both subsidiaries of Trans States Holdings, Inc. (Trans States), and American Eagle.

The Company�� SkyMiles program allows program members to earn mileage for travel awards by flying on Delta, Delta�� regional carriers and other participating airlines. Mileage credit may also be earned by using certain services offered by program participants, such as credit card companies, hotels and car rental agencies. In addition, individuals and companies may purchase mileage credits. The Company reserves the right to terminate the program with six months advance notice, and to change the program�� terms and conditions at any time without notice.

SkyMiles program mileage credits can be redeemed for air travel on Delta and participating airlines, for membership in the Company�� Delta Sky Clubs and for other program participant awards. Mileage credits are subject to certain transfer restrictions and travel awards are subject to capacity controlled seating. During the year ended December 31, 2011, program members redeemed more than 275 billion miles in the SkyMiles program for more than 12 million award redemptions. During 2011, 8.2% of revenue miles flown on Delta were from a! ward trav! el.

The Company generates cargo revenues in domestic and international markets through the use of cargo space on regularly scheduled passenger aircraft. Delta is a member of SkyTeam Cargo, an airline cargo alliance. SkyTeam Cargo offers a network spanning six continents and provides customers an international product line.

The Company has several other businesses arising from its airline operations, including aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO); staffing services for third parties; vacation wholesale operations, and its private jet operations. Delta�� MRO operation, known as Delta TechOps, is an airline MRO in North America. In addition to providing maintenance and engineering support for its fleet of approximately 775 aircraft, Delta TechOps serves more than 150 aviation and airline customers. Its staffing services business, Delta Global Services, provides staffing services, professional security, training services and aviation solutions to approximately 150 customers. The Company�� vacation wholesale business, MLT Vacations, is the provider of vacation packages in the United States. Its private jet operations, Delta Private Jets, provides aircraft charters, aircraft management and programs allowing members to purchase flight time by the hour.

The Company competes with SkyTeam, United Air Lines, Continental Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways and Qantas.

Advisors' Opinion:

[By Lauren Pollock]
Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Tuesday’s session are Delta Air Lines Inc.(DAL), NuPathe Inc.(PATH) and YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)
[By Lauren Pollock]
Among the companies with shares actively trading in Tuesday’s session are Delta Air Lines Inc.(DAL), Whirlpool Corp.(WHR) and Netflix Inc.(NFLX)
[By Rich Smith]
So quipped SNL's Seth Meyers recently, after hearing about Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL ) plan to buy 100 new 737-900 aircraft from Boeing (NYSE: BA ) , outfitted with a new, space-saving lavatory built by B/E Aerospace (NASDAQ: BEAV ) . Funny joke, but will airplane passengers appreciate the move? Will investors?

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Hot or Not? Three (Promoted) Small Cap Stocks: BANJ, AMZZ & GRDH

Hot Gas Companies To Invest In Right Now

Small cap stocks Banjo & Matilda, Inc (OTCMKTS: BANJ), Amazonica Corp (OTCBB: AMZZ) and Guardian 8 Holdings (OTCMKTS: GRDH) have been getting some extra attention in various investment newsletters or email alerts. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed promotion or investor relations type of activities but they can cause problems for unwary investors and traders alike. So how hot are these three small cap stocks? Here is a closer look and a reality check:

Banjo & Matilda, Inc (OTCMKTS: BANJ) Was Recently Acquired

Small cap Banjo & Matilda, Inc recently acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Banjo & Matilda - a designer, retailer and wholesaler of contemporary luxury knitwear that draws its inspiration from Australian heritage and beach lifestyle. On Monday, Banjo & Matilda, Inc rose 17.11% to at $0.410 for a market cap of $9.46 million plus BANJ is down 59% over the past year and up 2.5% since February 2013 according to Google Finance.

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What's the Catch With Banjo & Matilda, Inc? According to various disclosures, a transaction or transactions of $5k have or will occur to mention Banjo & Matilda, Inc in various investment newsletters. Back in November when the listed entity was still known as Eastern World Solutions, there was a Share Exchange Agreement with Banjo & Matilda Pty Ltd - a corporation organized under the laws of Australia and the shareholders of Banjo & Matilda. In addition, there was an agreement made between the company and Brendan Macpherson who will be the CEO with a base salary of $125,000. Then last Monday, Banjo & Matilda, Inc issued a welcome letter from the CEO which noted:

As we celebrate our public listing and welcome new investors into the Banjo & Matilda family, it's important to note that I believe that this is just the beginning. We have a solid record of constant growth and very manageable debt. Our funding efforts will be targeted on expansion and growth, to position us to benefit from current and future opportunities, not to pay off past due debt loads.

A quick look on Yahoo! Finance reveals the latest posted financials date from the end of last September – before Banjo & Matilda, Inc acquired the listed entity, meaning investors might want to wait for some updated financials to appear that reflect the change in direction.

Amazonica Corp (OTCBB: AMZZ) Recently Got Out of Brazilian Hardwood Flooring and Into Pure Hydrogen

Small cap Amazonica Corp is developing a breakthrough, low cost technology to make 99.999% pure hydrogen. On Monday, Amazonica Corp fell 7.62% to $0.0388 for a market cap of $8.34 million plus AMZZ is down 96% since last June according to Yahoo! Finance.

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What's the Catch With Amazonica Corp? According to various disclosures, transactions of $1.5k, $2k, $4k, $25k and $50k have or will occur to mention Amazonica Corp in various investment newsletters. At the end of last August, Amazonica Corp had a complete change in management and discontinued the distribution of Brazilian hardwood flooring to concentrate completely on the development of pure hydrogen for commercial applications. Last Tuesday, Amazonica Corp announced the filing of a combustion mixture patent for its ultra-pure hydrogen production technology – the third patent filed by the company based on ongoing research and development work led by Dr. Gennadiy Petrovich Glazunov, a "world renowned" scientist at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the National Science Center of the National Academy of Science, located within the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology in the Ukraine. A day earlier, Amazonica Corp announced that it had recently added an upgrade to a previously submitted patent application for the manufacture of ultra-pure hydrogen while in early April, the company had announced it had completed the filing of a second patent for its ultra-pure hydrogen production technology. A quick look at Amazonica Corp's financials reveals no revenues; net losses of $111k (most recent reported quarter), $48k, $7k and $2k for the past four reported quarters; and $10k in cash to cover $56k in current liabilities and $325k in long term debt at the end of last January. So maybe investors should wait for more financials that show pure hydrogen is a better business than Brazilian hardwood flooring.

Guardian 8 Holdings (OTCMKTS: GRDH) Has Something Better Than a Gun

Small cap Guardian 8 Holdings through its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Guardian 8 Corporation, is the developer and manufacturer of the G8 Pro V2, a unique and innovative product which combines eight non-lethal technologies designed to prevent and protect an individual from aggressors and assailants, while notifying law enforcement or others of the situation. On Monday, Guardian 8 Holdings closed at $0.510 for a market cap of $19.80 million plus GRDH is up 27.5% over the past year and down 15% since October 2011 according to Google Finance.

z?s=GRDH&t=5y&q=l&l=on&z=l&a=v&p=s&lang=

What's the Catch With Guardian 8 Holdings? According to various disclosures, a transaction of $3k has or will occur to mention Guardian 8 Holdings in various investment newsletters. At the beginning of last week, Zacks Small Cap Research issued a detailed press release summarizing its research report on Guardian 8 Holdings. This came after the company made its Form 10-K/A filing containing end of the year financials. Then in early April, Guardian 8 Holdings announced it had received a positive account of a documented use of its Pro V2 enhanced non-lethal device by security personnel in a hospital setting after a violent patient threatened hospital staff. Otherwise and at the end of March, Guardian 8 Holdings announced it will showcase an enhanced ProV2 non-lethal device and how it addresses the risks and liabilities associated with hospital security response during the International Association of Hospital & Safety (IAHSS) 2014 Annual General Meeting, which is scheduled for May 18-21 at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla in San Diego. A quick look at Guardian 8 Holdings' financials reveals revenues of $18k (most recent reported quarter), $23k, $3k and zero for the past four reported quarters and net losses of $1,465k (most recent reported quarter), $878k, $702k and $580k. At the end of last December, Guardian 8 Holdings had $306k in cash to cover $1,409k in current liabilities. So maybe investors and especially traders should keep an eye on the stock as it heads to the IAHSS meeting.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Mid-America Apartment Communities on New Buying Spree

Apartment-only real estate investment trust Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE: MAA ) once again is snapping up properties, this time announcing Monday that it is adding multifamily housing operator Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE: CLP ) to its portfolio in an $8.6 billion transaction.

MAA is a self-administered, self-managed apartment-only REIT currently owning, or having ownership interest in, 49,873 apartment units across states in the Sunbelt region of the United States. Colonial is a Sunbelt-focused REIT owning or having partial ownership interest in 35,181 apartment units.

Mid-America CFO Albert M Campbell said, "Our goal is to create one of the strongest balance sheets in the sector, providing us the financial flexibility in the capital markets to manage our cost of capital, allowing us to capitalize on business opportunities, ultimately supporting the growth of the combined company, and the security of our dividend to our shareholders."

Under the terms of the agreement, each share of Colonial Properties Trust will be converted into 0.36 shares of newly issued MAA stock, and the combined company will be an UPREIT, an umbrella partnership real estate investment trust, which allows partners the opportunity to convert their ownership of one or more of their properties into an interest that can be converted into a security.

Following the merger, former MAA equity holders will hold approximately 56% of the combined company's equity, and former Colonial equity holders will hold approximately 44%. The all-stock merger is intended to be a tax-free transaction. With both boards of directors having unanimously approved the transaction, the deal is expected to close during the third quarter of 2013.

The new company will have a combined asset base consisting of approximately 85,000 multifamily units in 285 properties. It expects to realize savings of $25 million over an 18-month period during which the companies will become fully integrated. The combined company is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalization of approximately $5.1 billion and a total market capitalization of $8.6 billion.

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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Are You Expecting This from Modine Manufacturing?

Modine Manufacturing (NYSE: MOD ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on May 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Modine Manufacturing's revenues will wither -6.9% and EPS will drop -50.0%.

The average estimate for revenue is $361.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.17.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Modine Manufacturing recorded revenue of $326.1 million. GAAP reported sales were 13% lower than the prior-year quarter's $373.3 million.

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

EPS details
Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.02. GAAP EPS were -$0.19 for Q3 compared to $0.19 per share for the prior-year quarter.

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

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 14.8%, 130 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 1.8%, 340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -2.7%, 510 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.38 billion. The average EPS estimate is $0.39.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 75 members out of 91 rating the stock outperform, and 16 members rating it underperform. Among 26 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 21 give Modine Manufacturing a green thumbs-up, and five give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Modine Manufacturing is hold, with an average price target of $8.00.

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Saturday, April 12, 2014

Cutting the Cord: Few part with pay TV but some…

Cord cutting is a popular topic — and the genesis of this column — but the reality is that so far there is no full-fledged exodus from pay TV.

However, a lot of subscribers are thinking about the move.

Only 6% of all online adults have cut the cord in favor of Net-delivered video, a Forrester Research report from February found in a survey of more than 4,600. And since nearly all adults are online (91%) that covers most of the subscriber market.

But Forrester did find that the amount of cord cutters rose to 10% when it narrowed results to younger adults ages 18-24. And there's another 14% of the 18-24-year-olds who are thinking seriously about dropping pay TV for Net TV. Among all online adults, 9% are considering cutting the cord.

A similar finding comes from Digitalsmiths, a TV tech company owned by TiVo. Its report, released in March and surveying more than 3,140 adults, found that 10.8% of respondents could potentially leave their current pay TV provider in the next six months. Most said they plan to change providers, while others plan to cut their pay TV service altogether or switch to a third-party app.

Such attitudes and behavior will likely cause overall pay TV homes to decline from 82% in 2013 to 79% in 2018, an overall drop in pay TV homes of 4.7 million, Forrester estimates. The rising number of new households will keep the decline respectable, as the 91.8 million U.S. pay TV households in 2013 will fall to 91.5 million in 2018.

On a similar note, financial firm SNL Kagan says that pay TV providers saw their first full-year decline ever in 2013, with a loss of 251,000 subscribers to about 100 million total.

A decline for sure, but not a Chicken Little scenario for pay-TV providers. "Our data shows that these fears have been overblown and that any reduction in pay-TV subscriptions has been driven more by economic downturn than by new technologies," says Forrester analyst Jim Nail in the report "Marketers: Don't Worry About Cord-Cutting." "For most ! viewers, the ease of knowing exactly where their favorite programs are, the improved content access, and the annoyance of managing multiple small subscriptions will outweigh what, in the end, will be minimal savings."

Those who are cutting the cord are "a virtual drop in the bucket," agrees Erik Brannon, senior TV analyst at research firm IHS. "Cord cutting isn't happening."

Pay TV providers' rapid embrace of TV Everywhere – the ability to watch paid-for content on computers, tablets and smartphones — helped prevent defections, he says. But Brannon adds that "let's face it, there's a growing number of households that don't connect their set to pay TV," instead opting to use broadband connections to get TV over the Net from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon or other online outlets.

Traditional pay TV providers can offset the trickle of defections with subscribers who pay more, Brannon says. The average spending on video by pay TV subscribers is expected to rise from $71.40 per user in 2012 to $74.06 this year, IHS estimates.

And pay TV providers can continue to court those who've shaved or cut the cord — and those yet to subscribe. One way to do so would be to make it easier for paying customers to better peruse the content they already pay for, according to the survey from Digitalsmiths, which designs video discovery features for pay TV platforms. Nearly half of potential cord cutters would consider staying if their service had improved search functions, its survey found.

Another retention strategy: increase live sports programming and create original content, just as Amazon, Netflix, Yahoo and YouTube have — and Microsoft is planning. "That means as a customer you get something special," says Joel Espelien, senior analyst at The Diffusion Group. "These are all things sounded crazy talk a couple years ago."

Competition for eyeballs and subscribers is resulting in waves of new programming, from cable networks like AMC (The Walking Dead) and pay networks such as HBO (Game o! f Thrones! ) and Net TV outlets Amazon (Alpha House) and Netflix (House of Cards). And all that competition is putting more pressure on traditional networks. "We're entering a golden age of television," he says. "There's more original shows being created than ever."

That explosion of choice — in TV delivery and programming — puts the onus on viewers, he says. "If you have chosen to be a Netflix customer, you may not get to see the Amazon shows, and if you've chosen to be an Apple customer, you are not going to get to see the Microsoft shows."

And it's more than that, Espelien says. "You have to be so much more of a sophisticated consumer because these services are part-technology, part-user interface and part-original content."

"Cutting the Cord" is a new regular column covering Net TV and ways to get it. If you have suggestions or questions, contact Mike Snider via e-mail. And follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.