Top 5 Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Top 5 Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS)

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA is an Italy-based company engaged in the banking sector. It provides traditional banking services, asset management and private banking, including life insurance, pension funds and investment trusts. It operates though three business segments. The Retail Banking segment covers consumer lending, insurance, provision of financial and non-financial services to retail customers, wealth management, tax planning, financial advisory and planning for private customers. The Corporate Banking division oversees the Group's business strategies targeted to small and medium enterprises, institutions and large corporate for which it offers leasing, factoring, lending and financial products, among others. The Corporate Center segment includes the cancellation of intergroup entries, treasure, governance and support functions. In January 2014, the Company completed the sale of its entire shareholding in Sorin SpA, equal to approximately 5.7%. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Kesko Oyj, Finland's biggest publicly traded retailer, rallied 9 percent. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS) added 2 percent as Italy's third-largest lender set out a plan to return to profit after cutting costs and raising capital as part of its restructuring plan. Speedy Hire Plc sank the most since 2009 after the construction-equipment leasing company said it found evidence of false accounting at one of its units.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-bank-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Hot High Tech Companies To Own For 2016

Hot High Tech Companies To Own For 2016: Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (LYV)

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. operates as a live entertainment company. The company operates through Concerts, Ticketing, Artist Nation, and Sponsorship & Advertising segments. The Concerts segment engages in the promotion of live music events in its owned and/or operated venues, and in rented third-party venues; operation and management of music venues; and production of music festivals. The Ticketing segment operates an agency business that sells tickets for its events and third-party clients across various live event categories through its Websites, telephone services, and ticket outlets. This segment provides ticketing services for arenas, stadiums, amphitheaters, music clubs, concert promoters, professional sports franchises and leagues, college sports teams, performing arts venues, museums, and theaters. The Artist Nation segment offers management services to music artists; sells merchandise associated with musical artists at live performances to retailers and dire ctly to consumers through the Internet; and provides other services to artists. The Sponsorship & Advertising segment offers online advertising services; and online sponsorship programs for corporate clients. As of December 31, 2012, the company owned, operated, or leased 93 entertainment venues and 100 other facilities in North America; and 22 entertainment venues and 82 other facilities internationally. The company was formerly known as Live Nation, Inc. and changed its name to Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. in January 2010. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Michael Tullberg/Getty Images Los Angeles County's fabled Sunset Strip -- home to numerous legendary nightclubs -- is going corporate. Goodbye, Ra! t Pack and Guns N' Roses; hello, Marriott International (MAR). Gangsters and Guitarists Through a quirk of urban planning, the Strip -- a 1.6-mile stretch of Sunset Boulevard -- was part of unincorporated land within Los Angeles city limits (these days, it belongs to the micro-city of West Hollywood). As such, it was overseen not by the L.A. Police Department, but by the more lax County Sheriff's department. Entrepreneurs took advantage of this, and in the early 20th century the Strip soon became the hottest entertainment destination in the L.A. area, home to clubs, bars and the occasional house of ill repute. In the 1940s and 1950s its nightclubs frequently hosted the top stars of the era. Many a band across the subsequent decades rose to prominence playing joints like The Roxy, Whisky A Go Go (still going strong at 50), and the Viper Room. Throughout the world, the Strip was nearly synonymous with nightlife. So much so that, according to some, its name was cribbed by the burgeoning city of Las Vegas to title the strategic section of its main thoroughfare. For many years now, the heart of Las Vegas Boulevard has been known simply as "The Strip." The City That Sometimes Sleeps The Strip is not the only game in town for visitors. Close by is the gay mecca of West Hollywood's "Boy's Town" neighborhood, while the tiny city's location in the kernel of L.A. makes it the perfect springboard for visiting Hollywood, L.A.'s beaches, and the neighboring Beverly Hills. Tourism is big business for West Hollywood. Twenty percent of the municipality's fiscal 2013 take came from the transient occupancy (i.e., lodging) taxes levied on those visitors. This brought in a cool $18 million that year -- 18 percent higher year over year, by the way -- making it WeHo's No. 2 revenue source. And there's more where that came from. Las

• [By Bloomberg]

  To spark a bidding contest for World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE), all Vince McMahon needs to do is wave a "for sale" sign. McMahon, 68, contro! ls the vo! ting power of the $2.3 billion company that's been entertaining spectators with staged fights for decades. The stock is at a record after WWE launched its own subscription streaming network and became the subject of takeover speculation. Should McMahon ever decide he's ready to sell, companies from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) to Madison Square Garden Co. (MSG) may line up with offers, Albert Fried & Co. and National Alliance Capital Markets said. "What is McMahon's succession plan and who will he pass the keys of the kingdom to?" Robert Routh, an analyst at National Alliance, said in a phone interview. "WWE would be very attractive to many different types of buyers. What they've built can't be recreated. But without McMahon's blessing, it doesn't matter how much somebody is willing to pay for the company." The franchise that thrust Hulk Hogan and The Rock into stardom owns the television shows "Raw" and "Smackdown," which have a dedicated following and command high cable-TV ratings, Vertical Group said. The company, which is hosting its annual WrestleMania event in three weeks, will post its best revenue and profit growth in more than a decade next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Stock Surge The stock has climbed 35 percent this month, in part because of takeover speculation, to close at $30.94 last week. WWE isn't in merger talks, Chief Financial Officer George Barrios said in an interview March 6. A representative for the Stamford, Connecticut-based company, declined to comment last week beyond Barrios' earlier statement. WWE's programs, which air on Comcast's USA and SyFy cable networks, may find a new home by the end of April, Barrios said. He said the company is in discussions on future domestic TV distribution with "multiple parties." It has held distribution tal

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Breaking news

  Weyerhaeuser Co (NYSE: WY) reported a 34% rise in its third-quarter profit. Weyerhaeuser's quarterly profit surged to $157 million, or $0.27 p! er share,! from $117 million, or $0.22 per share, in the year-ago period. To read the full news, click here. Sorrento Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SRNE) announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 4,150,000 shares of common stock at an offering price of $7.25 per share. To read the full news, click here. Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) has acquired Voodoo Music & Arts Experience, New Orleans' critically-acclaimed music festival. To read the full news, click here. B/E Aerospace (NASDAQ: BEAV) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Werner Lieberherr, who is currently President and Chief Operating Officer of B/E Aerospace, Inc., as co-Chief Executive Officer of B/E Aerospace, Inc. effective as of January 1, 2014. To read the full news, click here.

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

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-high-tech-companies-to-own-for-2016.html

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) doesn't seem to draw much of a crowd these days, but Mr. Softy's hoping that free concert tickets will do the trick.

When the software giant's newest retail store opens at Dadeland Mall in Miami later this month, don't be surprised if it's mobbed by a crowd of hipsters.

No one's mistaking the new store with Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) larger namesake retail hub in the same mall. Mr. Softy is just giving concert tickets -- a lot of concert tickets -- to catch the Gym Class Heroes performing in town later that night.

The first 200 people in line for Microsoft's store opening on May 18 will receive a pair of premier tickets to the Saturday night show as well as a single ticket for a meet and greet with the band after the show. Yes, the 200 folks accompanying the early risers to the concert will just have to wait outside.

However, it would be no fun if Microsoft capped the queue at 200 people. The next 1,350 folks in line -- "at a minimum" -- will also receive a pair of tickets to the performance.

Top 5 Food Companies To Buy For 2016: Cardica Inc.(CRDC)

Cardica, Inc. engages in the development of an endoscopic microcutter product line for use by thoracic, bariatric, colorectal, and general surgeons primarily in the United States and internationally. Its microcutter product line under development includes Microcutter XPRESS 30, a multi-fire endolinear microcutter device based on the company?s proprietary ?staple-on-a-strip? technology; Microcutter XPRESS 45, a multi-fire endolinear microcutter device with a 45 millimeter staple line; Microcutter XCHANGE 30, a cartridge based microcutter device; Microcutter FLEXCHANGE 30, a cartridge based microcutter device with a flexible shaft to facilitate endoscopic procedures requiring cutting and stapling; and Microcutter XPRESS 60, a cutting and stapling device for the bariatric and thoracic surgery markets. The company also designs, manufactures, and markets automated anastomotic systems for use by cardiac surgeons to perform coronary bypass surgery. It offers C-Port Distal Anas tomosis Systems, such as C-Port xA Anastomosis System to perform an end-to-side distal anastomosis by attaching the end of a bypass graft to a coronary artery downstream of an occlusion or narrowing; C-Port Flex A Anastomosis System to enable automated anastomoses to be performed as part of coronary artery bypass grafting procedures; C-Port X-CHANGE System, a cartridge-based reloadable C-Port system; and PAS-Port Proximal Anastomosis System to perform an end-to-side proximal anastomosis between a saphenous vein and the aorta. In addition, the company licenses its intellectual property in the robotics field in diagnostic or therapeutic medical procedures. Cardica, Inc. sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors and manufacturers? representatives. The company was formerly known as Vascular Innovations, Inc. and changed its name to Cardica, Inc. in November 2001. Cardica, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Redwood C ity, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Neither Acorn Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ACFN) nor Cardica, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRDC) may look all that compelling with just a passing glance. The longer one examines CRDC and ACFN, however - and really gets a grasp of their underlying stories - the more compelling each one becomes. In fact, newcomers may want to go ahead and put both budding stocks on their watchlists, if not in their portfolios.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS)

T-Mobile US, Inc., formerly MetroPCS Communications, Inc., incorporated on March 10, 2004, is a wireless telecommunications carrier, which offers wireless broadband mobile services primarily in metropolitan areas in the United States, including the Atlanta, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando/Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa/Sarasota metropolitan areas. Its flagship brands include T-Mobile and MetroPCS. As of December 31, 2012, it held licenses for wireless spectrum suitable for wireless broadband mobile services covering a total population of 144 million people in and around many of the metropolitan areas in the United States. It provides its services using code division multiple accesses (CDMA) networks using 1xRTT technology and evolution data optimized (EVDO) and fourth generation long term evolution (4G LTE).

The Company has roaming agreements with other wireless broadband mobile carriers that allow them to offer its customers service in many areas when they are outside its service area. These roaming agreements, together with the area it serve with its own networks, allows its customers to receive service in an area covering over 280 million in total population under the Metro USA brand. The Company sells products and services to customers through its Company-owned retail stores, as well as indirectly through relationships with independent retailers and third party dealers. Its service allows its customers to place unlimited local calls from within its local service area and to receive unlimited calls from any area while in its service area, for a flat-rate monthly service fee. For additional usage fees, it also provide certain other value-added services. All of these plans require payment in advance for one month of service. If no payment is made in advance for month of service, service is suspended at the end of the month that was paid for by the customer and, if the customer does not pay within 30 day! s, the customer is terminated. It believes its service plans differentiate them from the more complex plans and long-term contract requirements of traditional wireless carriers.

The Company voice services allow customers to place voice calls to, and receive calls from, any telephone in the world, including local, domestic long distance, and international calls. Its voice services also allow customers to receive and make calls while they are located in areas served by its networks and in those geographic areas served by the networks of certain other wireless broadband mobile carriers with whom it has roaming arrangements. The Company�� data services include text messaging services (domestic and international); multimedia messaging services; mobile Internet access; mobile instant messaging; location-based services; social networking services; push e-mail; multimedia streaming and downloads; and services provided, depending on the network and locale, through the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, or BREW, Blackberry, Windows, and the Android platforms, such as ringtones, ring back tones, games, content, and applications.

The Company�� Custom calling features offers custom calling features, including caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling and voicemail. Its Advanced handsets sells a variety of feature phones, and increasingly, smartphones, predominately manufactured by nationally recognized manufacturers for use on its network, including models that have cameras, include HTML browsers, play music, play streaming audio, display streaming video and downloaded video, and have other features facilitating digital data. It sells a variety of handsets using vendor or handset specific operating systems, such as BREW, Blackberry, Windows, and the Android operating system.

The Company provides its wireless broadband mobile services using paired personal communications services (PCS), spectrum and advanced wireless services, or AWS, spectrum. In addition, it holds a! license ! for 12 MHz of paired 700 MHz Lower Band A spectrum in the Boston-Worcester, MA/NH/RI/VT basic economic area (BEA), which, unless it receives a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), of the four year construction requirements, it plans to construct in the first half of 2013. In each of its metropolitan areas where irt provides service. As of December 31, 2012, it holds between 10 mega hertz (MHz) and 60 MHz of paired spectrum and on average it has approximately 22 MHz of paired spectrum in the metropolitan areas it serves. In the aggregate, as of December 31, 2012, it offers wireless broadband mobile services using its own network.

The Company operates 1xRTT CDMA networks in all of the metropolitan areas it serves and it has upgraded its networks to 4G LTE in all of metropolitan areas. It also has deployed EVDO at selected high use sites in its CDMA network to increase network data capacity to meet the growing data needs of iy customers. Its network includes a mobile switching center (for CDMA), enhanced packet core (for 4G LTE), and IP core. These serve several purposes, including routing traffic, managing call handoffs, and managing access to the public switched telephone network (for CDMA) or the Internet (CDMA and 4G LTE). These network elements also provide access to voicemail and other value-added services, base stations (for CDMA) or eNodeBs (for 4G LTE), cell sites or distributed antenna system (DAS), nodes, and backhaul facilities, which carry traffic to and from its cell sites and its switching or enhanced packet core facilities, consisting of a combination of dedicated circuits, cable, fiber, and microwave facilities.

Its cell sites in the network are co-located, meaning its equipment is located on leased facilities that are owned by third parties who retain the right to lease the locations to additional carriers and in many cases other wireless broadband mobile service providers already have facilities at such locations. The switching centers and na! tional op! erations center provide around-the-clock monitoring of its network. Its switches connect to the public switched telephone network through fiber rings leased from third-parties, which transmit originating and terminating traffic between its equipment and local exchange and long distance carriers. It also has negotiated interconnection agreements with relevant local exchange carriers, or LECs, in its service areas. It uses third-party providers for domestic and international long distance services, international SMS interconnection with the public switched network and other carriers, roaming services, and the majority of its backhaul services.

The Company competes with AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA , Deutsche Telekom, Clearwire, Dish Network , Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications, Cricket Communications, Leap Wireless International and Google.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Berr]

  Shares of Sprint (S) and T-Mobile US (TMUS), which have been also-rans in the U.S. wireless market for as long as most people can remember, enjoyed spectacular 2013 returns as investors bet that the third- and fourth-largest players would combine forces to take on larger rivals Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T).

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Impax Laboratories Inc.(IPXL)

Impax Laboratories, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of bioequivalent pharmaceutical products. The company operates in two divisions, Global Pharmaceuticals and Impax Pharmaceuticals. The Global Pharmaceuticals division develops, manufactures, sells, and distributes generic pharmaceutical products. It provides its generic pharmaceutical prescription products directly to wholesalers and retail drug chains; and generic pharmaceutical over-the-counter and prescription products through unrelated third-party pharmaceutical entities. The Impax Pharmaceutical division develops proprietary brand pharmaceutical products that address central nervous system disorders, including Alzheimer?s disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, epilepsy, migraines, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson?s disease, and schizophrenia, as well as promotes third-party branded pharmaceutical products. As of May 2, 2011, the com pany marketed 101 generic pharmaceuticals, which represent dosage variations of 29 different pharmaceutical compounds; and another 16 of its generic pharmaceuticals representing dosage variations of 4 different pharmaceutical compounds. It markets and sells its generic pharmaceutical prescription drug products in the continental United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The company has a strategic alliance agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals Curacao N.V. Impax Laboratories, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Hayward, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Ho]

  These heavy hitters include Sanofi's (NYSE: SNY  ) Renagel, Fresenius' Phoslo, and generic calcium acetate versions of Phoslo. Additionally, Impax Laboratories (NASDAQ: IPXL  ) intends to market a generic sevelamer product following for Renagel's 2014 patent expiration.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Encore Wire Corp (WIRE)

Encore Wire Corporation (Encore), incorporated on April 5, 1989, is a manufacturer of electrical building wire and cable. The Company is a supplier of building wire for interior electrical wiring in commercial and industrial buildings, homes, apartments, and manufactured housing. Encore offers an electric building wire product line that consists of nonmetallic-building ( NM-B) cable, underground feeder-building (UF-B) cable, thermoplastic high heat resistant nylon coated/thermoplastic heat and water resistant nylon coated (THHN/THWN)-2 and other types of wire products, including metal clad and armored cable. All of these products are manufactured with copper or aluminum as the conductor. The principal customers for Encore�� wire are wholesale electrical distributors, who sell building wire and a variety of other products to electrical contractors. The Company sells its products primarily through 31 manufacturers��representatives located throughout the United States. The Company also purchases small quantities of other types of wire to re-sell to customers that buy products that the Company manufactures. The manufacturing process for the Company�� various products involves multiple steps, including: casting, drawing, stranding, compounding, insulating, jacketing and armoring.

The Company�� non-metallic sheathed cable is used primarily as interior wiring in homes, apartments and manufactured housing. NM-B cable is composed of either two or three insulated copper wire conductors, with an un-insulated ground wire, all sheathed in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) jacket. UF-B cable is an underground feeder cable is used to conduct power underground to outside lighting and other applications remote from buildings. UF-B cable is composed of two or three PVC insulated copper wire conductors, with an un-insulated ground wire, all jacketed in PVC. THHN/THWN-2 cable is used primarily as feeder, circuit and branch wiring in commercial and industrial buildings. It is composed of a copper or aluminu! m single conductor, either stranded or solid, and insulated with PVC, which is further coated with nylon.

Cross-linked high heat water resistant insulated wire (XHHW)-2 Cable is a XHHW-2 wire used for general purpose applications utilized in conduit or other recognized raceways for service, feeders, and branch-circuit wiring. It�� composed of a copper or aluminum single conductor, either stranded or solid, and with a single layer of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation. Underground service entrance (USE)-2 Cable. USE-2 or rubber high heat-resistant (RHH) or RHW-2 wire is used for general purpose applications utilized in conduit or installed in underground applications or in recognized raceways for service, feeders, and branch-circuit wiring. It�� composed of a copper or aluminum single conductor, either stranded or solid, and with a single layer of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation suitable for wet locations.

Metal clad and armored cable is used primarily as feeder, circuit and branch wiring, primarily in commercial and industrial buildings. It is composed of multiple conductors, either stranded or solid, and insulated with PVC, which are further coated with nylon and then fully encased in a flexible aluminum or steel armored protective sheath that eliminates the need to pull the wire through pipe or conduit. The Company�� photovoltaic style cables are designed to meet the different needs of the emerging solar industry by providing connections between photovoltaic (PV) panels, collector boxes and inverters; and where also allowed by the National Electric Code (NEC). Its bare copper conductors are used in overhead electrical transmission and distribution systems for grounding electrical systems and circuit grounding.

The Company competes with Southwire Company, Cerro Wire LLC, United Copper Industries, BICC General and AFC Cable Systems, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Basic guidelines
  In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Encore Wire (Nasdaq: WIRE  ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Encore Wire doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue decreased 9.2%, and inventory increased 0.3%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks decent. Revenue grew 3.9%, and inventory expanded 0.3%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks healthy. Revenue dropped 4.1%, and inventory dropped 5.1%.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Encore Wire (NASDAQ: WIRE  ) , like a strip of its namesake product, seems to believe in keeping its shareholder payouts long and straight. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, to be paid on July 19 to shareholders of record as of July 5. That amount is in line with every one of the firm's previous distributions stretching back to early 2007.�

Hot Forestry Stocks To Buy Right Now

Ho t Forestry Stocks To Buy Right Now: Primeserv Group Ltd (PMV)

Primeserv Group Limited (Primeserv) is an investment holding company. The Company focuses on delivering human resources (HR) products, services and solutions through its operating pillar, Primeserv HR Services. The Companys products and services are provided through its HR Solutions, Colleges and Outsourcing divisions. These incorporate human resources (HR) solutions, consulting, skills training centers, corporate and vocational training programmes, as well as resourcing and flexible staffing services, including skills, labor, wage bureau and HR logistics outsourcing operations. The Company operates in two segments: Human Capital Outsourcing, Human Capital Development and Central Services. The Human Capital Outsourcing segment provides flexible staffing solutions. The Human Capital Development segment provides vocational skills training, a range of corporate and technical training services and HR Consulting solutions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  As always, in volatile times, our process remains unchanged. We conduct bottom-up research on companies and industries in order to uncover undervalued businesses we would be happy to own for many years. Our Private Market Value (PMV) with a Catalyst stock selection process identifies potential acquisition targets and likely candidates for financial engineering. Should volatility return and Mr. Market provide us with an opportunity, we remain prepared to increase our ownership of businesses that fit these characteristics, as well as invest in new opportunities as they become available.

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

Top Telecom Stocks To Buy Right Now

Top Telecom Stocks To Buy Right Now: Chi na Unicom (CHU)

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (Unicom), incorporated on February 8, 2000, is an integrated telecommunications operator in China providing mobile voice and value-added, fixed-line voice and fixed-line broadband, data communications and other telecommunications services to its customers. The Company operates in two business segments consisting of mobile services and fixed-line services. The Company is engaged in global system for mobile communications (GSM) and wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) cellular business in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, the provision of fixedline voice, broadband and other Internet-related services, information and communications technology services, business and data communications services, and other related telecommunication value-added businesses. As of 30 June 2011, Unicom Group held 57.81% of the shares in the Company through China United Network Communications Limited (A Share Company), China Uni com (BVI) Limited and China Netcom Group Corporation (BVI) Limited, and Telefonica Internacional S.A.U. held 9.01% of the shares in the Company.

Mobile Business

Unicoms mobile business consists of GSM and third generation (3G) mobile business. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had a total of 167.43 million mobile subscribers. As of December 31, 2010, its total number of mobile subscribers included 167.43 million. Unicom operates the 3G business based on the WCDMA technology nationwide in China. As of December 31, 2010, the total number of its 3G subscribers included 14.06 million, and had 1.35 million wireless data card subscribers, 2.41 million mobile television (TV) subscribers and over seven million mobile reading subscribers. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the total 3G voice usage was 55.47 billion minutes and the average data usage per subscriber per month was 178M. GSM mobile business primarily consists of GSM voice busi! ness an d value-added business.

The Companys mobile voice business enables its subscribers to make and receive phone calls with a mobile handset at any point within the coverage area of its mobile telecommunications networks. Its mobile voice business includes local calls, domestic long distance calls, international long distance calls, intra-provincial roaming, inter-provincial roaming and international roaming. As of December 31, 2010, the Companys total number of GSM mobile subscribers was 153.37 million. Unicom offers a range of GSM value-added services nationwide, including short message service (SMS), Cool Ringtone (a personalized ring-back tone service), mobile Internet and other wireless information services. During 2010, a total of 78.31 billion SMSs were transmitted by its GSM mobile subscribers. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had a total number of 67.26 million subscribers to its Cool Ringtone service. In addition, as of December 31, 2010, it had a total number of 55.81 million mobile Internet subscribers.

Fixed-Line Business

Unicom is a fixed-line broadband and communications operator in northern China. The Company offers a range of fixed-line services nationwide in China, including fixed-line broadband services and data communications services; fixed-line voice services, include local and long distance fixed-line voice services and value-added services, and other services. The Company is a provider of fixed-line broadband services in its fixed-line northern service region. Unicom is a provider of data communications services in its fixed-line northern service region. It offers managed data products, such as those based on digital data networks (DDN), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and Internet protocol-virtual private network (IP-VPN). The Company also offers leased line products, including domestic and international leased circuits. Its customers for these services include government entities, large financial institutions and! other do! mestic and multinational businesses, Internet service providers and other telecommunications operators.

As of December 31, 2010, the Company had established business cooperation relationships with more than 160 overseas operators to provide various international data communications products and services, such as international voice and data services. During 2010, it continued to offer full-scale data communications services to international operators and domestic and international corporate customers. The Companys fixed-line voice services consist of local voice, domestic long distance, international long distance, value-added, interconnection and personal handyphone system (PHS) services. In addition to fixed-line telephone voice services, it offers a range of value-added services on its fixed-line networks. The Companys fixed-line, value-added services include Personalized Ring and caller iden tification services. Personalized Ring services enable its fixed-line subscribers to personalize the ring-back tone for incoming calls. As of December 31, 2010, the number of its Personalized Ring subscribers reached 23.79 million.

Interconnection and Roaming Arrangements

The Company earns interconnection fees for terminating or transiting calls that originate from other domestic telecommunications operators networks and pay interconnection fees to other operators for calls originating from its networks that are terminated on their networks. It earns and pays such fees in respect of mobile calls, local and domestic and international long distance calls and Internet services, except for the interconnection by fixed-line subscribers calling its mobile subscribers in the same region where no interconnection fee will be charged.

The Company provides roaming services, which allow its subscribers to access its mobile services while they ar e physically outside of their registered service area or in the coverage areas of other mobile networks in other countries and ! regions w! ith which it has roaming arrangements. As of April 30, 2011, Unicom had roaming arrangements for GSM international voice and SMS services with 242 operators in 521 countries and regions; GPRS international inbound data services with 179 operators in 400 countries and regions and for international GPRS outbound data services with 164 operators in 357 countries and regions, and 3G services with 104 WCDMA operators in 245 countries and regions.

Mobile Networks

The Companys mobile network consists of cell sites, which are physical locations, each equipped with a base station that houses transmitters, receivers and other equipment used to communicate through radio channels with subscribers mobile handsets within the range of a cell; base station controllers, which connect to, and control, the base stations, and mob ile switching centers, which control the base station controllers and the routing of telephone calls. Its mobile network also consists of a transmission network, which links the mobile switching centers, base station controllers, base stations and the public switched telephone network. It has deployed GSM and WCDMA mobile networks. The Companys GSM mobile network mainly operates at 900 megahertz. It has also deployed GSM technology that operates at 1,800 megahertz in metropolitan areas to supplement the capacity of its existing mobile network. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had approximately 329,000 GSM base stations.

The Company competes with China Mobile and China Telecom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Telecommunications services shares gained around 0.83 percent in the US market on Monday. Top gainers in the sector included China Telecom Corp. (NYSE: CHA), Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (NYSE: TKC), and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (NYSE: CHU). In trading on Monday, basic materials shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.75 percent.

• [By ! Garrett C! ook]

  Telecommunications services shares fell by 0.74 percent in Wednesday’s trading. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included RRSat Global Communications Network (NASDAQ: RRST), down 5.9 percent, and China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), off 4.6 percent.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-telecom-stocks-to-buy-right-now.html

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own In Right Now

Top 10 Computer Hardware Companies To Own In Right Now: Lenovo Group Ltd (LNVGY)

Lenovo Group Limited (Lenovo) is a personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries. The Company is a personal computer (PC) vendor. The Company develops, manufactures and markets technology products and services. Its product lines include Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile Internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo operates seven research and development centers and more than 46 world-class labs, including research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina, the United States. The Company is also engaged in investment holding. It operates in three segments: China, emerging markets (excluding China) and mature markets. Lenovo offers a range of commercial desktops to businesses of all sizes.

The Companys products include laptops, tablets, desktops, workstations and servers. In May 2010, it launched the LePhone smartphone in China. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 (fiscal 2011), China accounted for 46.4% of the Companys total sales. During fiscal 2011, Emerging Markets (excluding China) accounted for 17.9% of the Companys total sales. During fiscal 2011, Mature Markets accounted for 35.7% of the Companys total sales. Its brands include ThinkPad notebook, as well as products carrying the ThinkCentre, ThinkStation, ThinkServer, IdeaCentre and IdeaPad sub-brands.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Timothy Green]

  PCs are much lower margin, but they still contributed about $1 billion in operating profit in 2013. HP is the second-largest PC vendor in the world, and the more focused HP will be better-suited to compete with Lenovo Group (NASDAQOTH: LNVGY  ) in the PC market without being tied to the enterprise business.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Alamy Late last month, Chinese ha! rdware giant Lenovo (LNVGY) was the subject of many headlines -- not all of them complimentary -- when it signed a high-profile deal to buy the Motorola Mobility smartphone unit from Google (GOOG). The Asian firm is ponying up a cool $2.9 billion to acquire the business, which is monstrously unprofitable to the tune of a $645 million operating loss in the first nine months of 2013. The market didn't appreciate this. Disturbed by the idea of gallons of red ink spilling from Motorola Mobility onto Lenovo's results, investors traded down the firm's stock by as much as 14 percent after the deal was made public. This might have been compounded by the firm's previous announcement, made only days earlier, that it was spending $2.3 billion to purchase IBM's (IBM) x86 -- read: lower-end -- line of servers. Was such a sell-off, in reaction to either or both, justified? At Home Abroad Lenovo is one of those companies that likes to expand by acquisition. Few Westerners had ever heard of the IT manufacturer in 2005 when it closed its first big buy -- the personal computing division of IBM, for total consideration of around $1.75 billion. The purchase seemed a counterintuitive move when everyone knew that a future stuffed with wireless Internet and portable computing was just around the corner. But guess what? Lenovo not only sold plenty of notebooks and desktops, it managed to grow into the top PC manufacturer in the world. According to figures from Gartner (IT), in Q4 2013 the company was the clear market leader in terms of PC vendor unit shipments. It moved nearly 15 million PCs during the quarter, a figure 6.6 percent higher than in the same period the previous year. This was particularly impressive considering that total shipments for the industry dropped by almost 7 percent over that time frame. Lenovo was able to do this because, for most of its life, it's made big strides in less affluent markets and is continuing to do so. In

source from Top Penn! y Stocks ! For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-computer-hardware-companies-to-own-in-right-now-2.html

Toyota stocks SpongeBob SUV with giant fish tank

LAS VEGAS -- Toyota found a fun way to make a splash at the SEMA aftermarket auto parts trade show here: fill the back of an SUV with a fully-stocked fish tank.

The 2014 SpongeBob Highlander looks like it is right out of SpongeBob SquarePants' underwater neighborhood, Bikini Bottom, as seen on the long-running Nickelodeon cartoon series. .The entire rear of the crossover SUV is an 800-gallon salt-water tank teaming with tropical finned friends. It was unveiled Tuesday at the SEMA aftermarket car parts trade show here.

The tank is huge, stretching from behind the front seats to the vehicle's rear. To see the 32 species, you just peer through the rear glass. There are 115 fish, including starfish (like the SpongeBob character, Patrick), squirrelfish, Fiji foxface, flame angel, clownfish and pilot fish.

As you might expect, there is also a fancy filtration system to try to keep them alive, at least until the trade show ends. Toyota says there is an overflow system, sterilizer, UV filter, temperature regulator and additional elements. The fish were brought to Las Vegas from Los Angeles and had two days to acclimate to the tank before going on display.

The SpongeBob theme carries throughout the interior details and the exterior wrap of the vehicle.

The tank was designed by Wayde King and Brett Raymer, who own a company called Acrylic Tank Manufacturing. They are co-stars of an Animal Planet show called Tanked and plan to feature the build on the show. They build fancy fish tanks for celebrities, luxury hotels, casinos and others.

"Brett and I love the challenge of designing aquariums in every shape and size and welcomed the opportunity to bring living art like this to SEMA," King said in a statement. "The teams at Toyota and Nickelodeon gave us great platforms in the Highlander and SpongeBob SquarePants to create something fun and inspiring for fans."

Top Valued Companies To Own For 2016

Top Valued Companies To Own For 2016: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  It's now two to one among the big oil-field services companies regarding the North American oil and gas markets. Through Monday, Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , the largest company in the sector had expressed concern about the market and its short-term prospects, while Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) , the second-biggest member of the group, joined Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI  ) in assessing our continent's activity levels more positively.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Schlumberger(SLB) has become the latest company to say that it will get hit by Russian sanctions on U.S. companies today.

  Sterne Agee’s Stephen Gengaro and Ivan Suleiman assess the potential impact:

  Schlumbergerexpects that the economic sanctions in Russia will have a small financial impact on Schlumberger’s Russian operations. The company estimates that it could be up to $0.03 per share due to a short-term impact in operational efficiencies and costs in Russia.

  Schlumbergerremains confident that it can support its Russian clients without material disruption and will continue to work closely with its Russian customers.

  Although other large-cap service companies have exposure to Russia, we believe the effect is also minimal. Specifically, Weatherford (WFT) has noted that the Russian sanctions are not a concern as this is a very small portion of its business. In addition, this business is not impacted by the sanctions which are against Arctic and shale-related technologies. We estimate that Weatherford’s revenue in Russia is less than 3% of our estimated 2014 revenue.

  Other companies with large exposure to Russia include Nabors Industries (NBR), Halliburton (HAL) and Baker Hughes (BHI).

  RBC’s Kurt Hallead and Robert Pinkard use the occasion to assess the potential impact onSchlumberger from Iraq instability:

  We estimate roughly $600mn in annua! l Iraq re! venue ($0.06-$0.08 in EPS) forSchlumberger with operating margins of ~20%. The situation due to political unrest is still very fluid in the country and EPS impact at this point is unknown.

  We are risk adjusting the next 6 quarters which we believe could be characterized by activity disruptions, higher security expenses and unabsorbed fixed costs.

  Hallead and Pinkard lowered their 2014 earnings-per share forecast to $5.56 from $5.64, and cut their 2015 prediction to $6.63 from $6.70. They did, however, leave their pric

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Opportunities for oilfield services firms
  Not surprisingly, Halliburton and other major energy companies view Chinese shale gas development as a significant opportunity for future growth. Many of them, including Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI  ) , ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) , and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , have already developed strategic relationships with Chinese firms to better evaluate the nation's shale gas potential.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-valued-companies-to-own-for-2016.html

Top 5 Long Term Companies To Watch In Right Now

Getting the most out of Social Security is an essential part of planning for your retirement finances. But deciding how to coordinate benefits among married couples can get extremely complicated. With decisions affecting not just you but your entire family, you can't afford to make mistakes.

In the following video, Fool contributor and retirement expert Dan Caplinger goes through a key Social Security strategy for married couples to consider. By following this strategy, couples can open the door to receiving some benefits now while boosting their monthly payments later. Dan goes through the strategy and gives some pointers on which retirees can get the most benefit from using it.

The best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool's free report "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich" names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of.�Click here now�to keep reading.

5 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2016: adidas AG (ADDYY)

adidas AG designs, develops, produces, and markets through its own retail activities a range of athletic and sports lifestyle products. The Company operates in six segments: Wholesale, Retail, TaylorMade-adidas Golf, Rockport, Reebok-CCM Hockey and Other Centrally Managed Brands. adidas AG is the ultimate parent if the adidas Group. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had 169 subsidiaries worldwide. In June 2012, the Company announced that its TaylorMade-adidas Golf business segment completed the acquisition of Adams Golf, Inc.

The Wholesale segment consists of all business activities relating to the distribution of adidas and Reebok products to retail customers. The Retail segment consists of all business activities relating to the sales of adidas and Reebok products directly to consumers through own retail and own e-commerce platforms. adidas and Reebok branded products include footwear, apparel and hardware, such as bags and balls. TaylorMade-adidas Golf includes the three brands: TaylorMade, adidas Golf and Ashworth. TaylorMade designs, develops and assembles golf clubs, balls and accessories. adidas Golf branded products include footwear, apparel, and accessories. Ashworth designs and distributes men�� and women�� lifestyle sportswear. Rockport designs and markets leather footwear for men and women. Reebok-CCM Hockey designs, produces and markets hockey equipment, such as sticks and skates, as well as apparel mainly under the brand names, Reebok Hockey and CCM. The Other Centrally Managed Brands segment primarily includes the business activities of the Y-3 label, under which premium footwear and apparel are designed and distributed.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake Mann]

  Enter Rich Froning
  Rich Froning, the sport's equivalent of Michael Jordan, recently won a record fourth-straight CrossFit Games title. The victory came days after he signed a�long-term endorsement contract with�Adidas� (NASDAQOTH: ADDYY  ) �subsidiary�Reebok.

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Then there are funds with an even bigger weighting in Europe, like the Vanguard International Growth Fund (VWIGX). About 55% of this fund is invested in European stocks, such as French cosmetics leader L'Oreal (LRLCF) and German athletic brand Adidas (ADDYY).

• [By Tom Taulli]

  As I pointed out about a year ago, SKUL stock would face some tough headwinds, such as:

  Competition: It is intense, with operators like Beats by Dre, Incase, Urbanears, Soul, Sony (SNE), JVC, Bose and even Adidas (ADDYY). Fickleness: This is the bane of the fashion business. The Skullcandy brand isn’t too hip — that can change overnight, but success can be fleeting, too. Market Size: For the most part, Skullcandy has focused on the youth crowd, such as those who are snowboarders or skateboarders. The problem is that it’s a niche market, and one where the crowd rapidly moves on as it gets older.

  These issues all remain for SKUL stock, as evidenced by the steep drop in the revenues in 2013.

Top 5 Long Term Companies To Watch In Right Now: Eaton Vance Municipal Bond Fund (EIM)

Eaton Vance Insured Municipal Bond (the Fund) is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Fund's investment objective is to provide current income exempt from federal income tax, including alternative minimum tax. Eaton Vance Insured Municipal Bond primarily invests in high-grade municipal obligations that are insured as to the timely payment of principal and interest.

The Fund invests primarily in bonds with stated maturities of 10 years or longer. The Fund's portfolio includes tax-exempt investments. Eaton Vance Management acts as the Fund's investment advisor and administrator. Investors Bank & Trust Company serves as the custodian of the Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Abbott]

  OpenText is a software company that operates in the field of Enterprise Information Management (EIM). Think of EIM as a catch-all category for companies that provide various kinds of infrastructure for business information, data, and tools.

Top 5 Long Term Companies To Watch In Right Now: Universal Electronics Inc.(UEIC)

Universal Electronics Inc. develops and manufactures pre-programmed wireless remote control products, audio-video accessories, and software products. The company offers infrared and radio frequency remote controls; audio-video accessories; integrated circuits; and software, firmware, and technology solutions, which enable devices, such as televisions, set-top boxes, stereos, automotive audio systems, cell phones, and other consumer electronic devices to wirelessly connect and interact with home networks and interactive services to deliver digital entertainment and information. It is also involved in intellectual property licensing activities. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Middle East, Mexico, Asia, and Latin America under the One For All and Nevo brands. It primarily serves cable and satellite television service providers, original equipment manufacturers, retailers, custom inst allers, software development companies, private label companies, and personal computing companies. Universal Electronics Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Cypress, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By , Zacks Investment Research]

  Universal Electronics (UEIC) makes a broad line of pre-programmed universal remote control products, audio-video accessories, and software that are marketed to enhance home entertainment systems. Its customers include subscription broadcasters (i.e., DirecTV (DTV)), original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), international retailers, private labels, and companies in the computing industry. Approximately 63% of its sales came from outside the U.S. in the first quarter of 2014. It has a market cap of $645 million.

Top 5 Long Term Companies To Watch In Right Now: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated(COKE)

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of nonalcoholic beverages, primarily products of The Coca-Cola Company. The company offers sparkling beverages, such as energy drinks; and still beverages, including bottled water, tea, ready-to-drink coffee, enhanced water, juices, and sports drinks. It holds cola beverage agreements and allied beverage agreements, under which it produces, distributes, and markets sparkling beverage products of The Coca-Cola Company in certain regions. The company also distributes and markets still beverages of The Coca-Cola Company, such as POWERade, vitaminwater, and Minute Maid Juices To Go, as well as produces, distributes, and markets Dasani water products under still beverage agreements. In addition, it holds agreements to produce and market Dr Pepper. Further, the company distributes and markets various other products, including Monster energy productsand Sund rop, as well as its own products, such as Country Breeze tea, diet Country Breeze tea, and Tum-E Yummies, a vitamin C enhanced flavored drink, Bean & Body, and Simmer and Bazza energy tea. Additionally, it produces beverages for other Coca-Cola bottlers; and provides restaurants and other immediate consumption outlets with fountain products. The company sells and distributes its products directly to retail stores and other outlets, including food markets, institutional accounts, and vending machine outlets. It operates in North Carolina, South Carolina, south Alabama, South Georgia, middle Tennessee, western Virginia, and West Virginia. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  Other bellwethers scheduled to report earnings this week include Coca-Cola (COKE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500), and General Electric (GE, Fortune 500).

10 Best Construction Material Stocks To Own For 2016

10 Best Construction Material Stocks To Own For 2016: Texas Industries Inc (TXI)

Texas Industries, Inc., incorporated on April 19, 1951, is a supplier of construction materials in the southwestern United States. The Company operates in three segments: cement, aggregates and consumer products. Its cement segment produces gray portland cement and specialty cements. The Company's cement production and distribution facilities are concentrated primarily in Texas and California. Its aggregates segment produces natural aggregates, including sand, gravel and crushed limestone. The Company's consumer products segment produces ready-mix concrete. It is also a supplier of natural aggregates and ready-mix concrete in Texas and northern Louisiana and in Oklahoma and Arkansas. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 123 manufacturing facilities in five states.

Cement Segment

The Company produces specialty cements, such as masonry and oil well cements. Its cement production facilities are located at Midlothian, Texas, south of Dallas/Fort Wo rth, Hunter, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio, and Oro Grande, California, near Los Angeles. It also operates a cement terminal and packaging facility at its Crestmore plant near Riverside, California, and the Company operates its gray portland cement grinding facility on an as needed basis. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2013 (fiscal 2013), it produced approximately 4.3 million tons of finished cement. The Company shipped approximately 4.4 million tons during fiscal 2013, of which 3.8 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers.

Aggregates Segment

The Company's operations are conducted from facilities primarily serving the Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin areas in Texas; the southern Oklahoma area, and the Alexandria and Monroe areas in Louisiana. The Company produced approximately 14.2 million tons! of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013. It shipped approximately 14.8 million tons of natural aggregates during fiscal 2013, of whi ch 11.3 million tons were shipped to outside trade customers! . The Company shipped approximately 1.0 million cubic yards of lightweight aggregates during fiscal 2013, of which approximately 0.9 million cubic yards were shipped to outside trade customers.

Consumer Products Segment

The Company's ready-mix concrete operations are situated in three areas in Texas (the Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton area of north Texas, the Austin area of central Texas and from Beaumont to Texarkana in east Texas), in north and central Louisiana, and in southwestern Arkansas. It is also a 40% partner in a joint venture that has ready mix concrete operations in the northern part of central Texas area centered around Waco, Texas. It shipped approximately 2.8 million cubic yards of ready-mix concrete during fiscal 2013. The Company manufacture and supply a substantial amount of the cement and aggregates raw materials used by our ready-mix plants. The Company also marketed its Maximizer packaged concrete mixes in southern California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Competitively advantaged holdings continued to demonstrate the value of moats at FedEx (FDX), Melco, and Texas Industries (TXI). These holdings were among our largest contributors to performance, and they exemplify activity prevalent across most of our holdings throughout the year.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Texas Industries (NYSE: TXI) was down, falling 4.36 percent to $65.78 after Longbow Research downgraded the stock from buy to neutral.

  Commodities
  In commodity news, oil traded down 1.37 percent to $97.07, while gold traded up 1.73 percent to $1,223.10. Silver traded up 3.69 percent Thursday to $20.09, while copper fell 0.34 percent to $3.39.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:h! ttp://www! .topstocksblog.com/10-best-construction-material-stocks-to-own-for-2016.html

10 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now

Leading economists are voicing growing concern about the flagging U.S. housing recovery, raising doubts about a key pillar of economic growth.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, told Congress Wednesday that the recent housing slowdown "could prove more protracted" than expected.

More than half of 40 top economists surveyed by USA TODAY May 2-6 are more pessimistic about the housing recovery than they were in December.

Neither Yellen nor the surveyed economists expect a housing rebound that began in 2011 to reverse course. Rather, economists say the turnaround will likely be more gradual, crimping economic gains in 2014.

Both home sales and starts have weakened in recent months, and economists only partly blame adverse weather.

Yellen cited "very slow household formation" as young adults saddled with student debt continue to live with their parents. "My expectation is that as the job market strengthens ... we'll see household formation pick up, but it's hard to know here what exactly the new normal is," she told the Joint Economic Committee.

Best European Companies To Own In Right Now: Smiths Group PLC (SMGKF.PK)

Smiths Group plc is a technology company. It has five divisions: Smiths Detection, Smiths Medical, John Crane, Smiths Interconnect and Flex-Tek. The Company and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture, sale and support advanced security equipment, including trace detection, millimeter-wave, infrared, biological detection and diagnostics; mechanical seals, seal support systems, engineered bearings, power transmission couplings and specialist filtration systems, and medical devices aligned to specific therapies, principally airway, pain and temperature management, and vascular access. It also develops, manufactures, sells and supports specialized electronic and radio frequency products for the global wireless telecommunications, aerospace, defense, space, medical, rail, test and industrial markets, and engineered components, including ducting, hose assemblies and heating elements. In May 2011, it acquired the entire issued share capital of SDBR Comercio De Equipamentos De Seguanca LTDA. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Lauchheimer]

  Currently, three main companies supply security equipment to the TSA - Safran (SAFRY.PK), Smiths (SMGKF.PK), and Level-3 Holdings (LLL). All three of these companies sell the whole range of their products to the TSA, with an ETD offering included. Recently, however, a new company, Implant Sciences Corporation (IMSC.PK) received approval from the TSA to begin selling their ETD equipment to airport security professionals. This approval has opened the door for IMSC to begin taking some market share away from the more established players in the US and beyond.

10 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHVYF)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is a diversified manufacturer. The Energy and Environment segment offers boilers, turbines, gas turbines, diesel engines, water wheels, windmills, nuclear power equipments, nuclear power peripheral devices, among others. The Traffic and Transportation segment offers various ships, including cruise ships, liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) ships, car ferry, special purpose vessels, automobile carriers, oil tankers, container ships and others, as well as marine structures, among others. The Defense and Space segment offers ships, fighters, helicopters, aircraft fuselage parts, defense aircraft engines, induction flying objects, torpedoes, among others. The Machinery and Equipment systems segment offers waste treatment and exhaust gas treatment equipments, transportation equipments, steel machinery, compressors, bridges, among others. As of March 31, 2014, the Company had 290 subsidiaries and 39 associated companies. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japan's Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) traded 0.5% higher in the early minutes Tuesday, extending the previous day's 0.9% advance, with the market getting some support from overnight gains for U.S. shares and a slightly weaker yen (dollar at 楼101.56 vs. 楼101.40 at Monday's open). Among the gainers, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) rose 1.7%, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) gained 1.5%, NEC Corp. (JP:6701) (NIPNF) improved by 2.5%, Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) added 2.7% to extend gains over the past couple weeks following the company's purchase of U.S.-based Masthead Industries, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7011) (MHVYF) traded 1.1% higher as a Wall Street Journal report said the industrial major's Mitsubishi Aircraft unit had reached a tentative deal to sell 40 jets for the planned revival of defunct U.S. carrier Eastern Air Lines Group Inc. Auto makers were firmer as well, with Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) up 1.3%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) up 0.5%, and Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267)

10 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KWHIY)

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI), incorporated on October 15, 1896, is a global manufacturer of transportation equipment and industrial goods. KHI manufactures ships, rolling stock, aircraft and jet engines, gas turbine power generators, environmental and industrial plants, and range of manufacturing equipment and systems. KHI also produces consumer products, such as Kawasaki-brand motorcycles and personal watercraft. KHI�� business is divided into seven operations: shipbuilding, rolling stock and construction machinery, aerospace, gas turbines and machinery, plant and infrastructure engineering, consumer products and machinery, and hydraulic machinery.

Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation, which is the company of this segment, is engaged in building gas carriers and submarines, which require advanced design and construction technologies. It offers

a range of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, extending from small carriers with cargo tank capacities of 19,000 cubic meters to large carriers with capacities of 177,000 cubic meters. It also developed and offered in its lineup a pressure build-up type LNG carrier for short distance and small-volume transportation. The Company�� shipbuilding operations include products, such as LNG carriers, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, container ships, very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and other types of tankers, bulk carriers, high speed vessels, submarines, maritime application equipment.

KHI�� rolling stock production systems are located in Hyogo and Harima in Japan and in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Yonkers, New York, in United States. Kawasaki completed its light rail vehicle (LRV), dubbed SWIMO. It also is developing efSET (Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train) which achieves a service speed of 350 kilometers per hour (km/h). Regarding the construction machinery business, Kawasaki has arranged a business alliance with Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., and TCM Corporation. As of April 1, 2009, the Compa! ny split off its construction machinery business as a wholly owned subsidiary of KHI, KCM Corporation.

KHI is the prime contractor for the development of the MOD�� large-scale XP-1 and C-X aircraft. In the commercial aircraft field, KHI delivered a test model of Boeing�� 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft. KHI is a partner corporation in the development and production of the 787 Dreamliner.

The Gas Turbines & Machinery segment has a range of products for the energy and transportation equipment field. KHI focuses to expand its global business by offering solutions for its customers that include a lineup of in-house developed gas turbines together with product support and maintenance. During the year ended December 31, 2008, the 8MW-class power-generating capacity Kawasaki Green Gas Engine had 4,000 hours of operational testing.

The plant and infrastructure engineering segment encompasses the operations of Kawasaki Plant Systems, Ltd. (K Plant), which undertakes projects to supply energy-related, industrial infrastructure, environmental preservation systems and equipment, and the operations of the parent company�� Industrial Facilities and Tunneling Equipment Division, which mainly focuses on LNG tanks and diverse other storage tanks along with shield machines and tunnel-boring machines. The Anhui Conch Kawasaki Energy Conservation Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (CKM) is engaged in the manufacturing of PH boiler parts that are employed in waste heat power plants. CKM has commenced the manufacturing and sales of environmental preservation related products, including cement plant components, such as vertical mills, boilers for waste heat recovery power generation systems, and waste gasification systems and sewage treatment systems that can be integrated with cement kilns to enable municipal waste recycling.

The consumer products and machinery segment includes the manufacture of motorcycles, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility vehicles, personal! watercra! ft, general purpose gasoline engines and industrial robots. In the motorcycle line, Kawasaki launched the ZRX1200 DAEG and the Ninja ZX-6R. In the cruiser segment, Kawasaki launched its Vulcan 1700 series with developed engine and chassis. This series includes the Vulcan 1700 Voyager, a full-dress V-twin engine tourer with a load of long-distance touring equipment. In the utility vehicle category, KHI equipped the Teryx 750 series with an electronic fuel injection system, mainly for recreational use. The MULE utility-oriented vehicle series was restyled with the launch of the MULE 4010 series.

The hydraulic machinery operations include Kawasaki Precision Machinery Ltd. (KPM). It has five manufacturing and marketing facilities, which comprises KPM�� headquarters plant and the facilities

of Kawasaki Precision Machinery (U.K.) Limited; Kawasaki Precision Machinery (U.S.A.), Inc.; China based Kawasaki Precision Machinery (Suzhou) Ltd.; and Korea-based Flutek, Ltd.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks have ended with losses in every session this week, and sure enough, the Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) was down 0.6% in early Friday trade, though off an opening 0.8% defecit, while the Topix carried a 0.7% loss. Overnight losses for the U.S. and further strength in the yen (with the dollar falling to 楼101.28 from 楼101.56 a day earlier) helped drag the market lower, as did results from Fast Retailing Co. (JP:9983) (FRCOF) , the shares of which hold the heaviest weighting on Nikkei Average. Fast Retailing said that while its Uniqlo brand was doing great business, weakness for its J Brand luxury demin label helped send September-May profit down 4% and prompted another cut to Fast's full-year outlook. Consequently, its shares traded 0.7% lower, though rivals Takashimaya Co. (JP:8233) and J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) (JFROF) also saw losses of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Among other decliners, Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) lost 0.7%, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) fell 2.1%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7012) (KWHIY) fell 1.5%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201)

10 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Siemens AG (SIEGY)

Siemens AG (Siemens), incorporated on August 28, 1996, is a globally operating technology company with core activities in the fields of energy, healthcare, industry and infrastructure. Siemens business activities focus on four sectors, Energy, Healthcare, Industry and Infrastructure & Cities. These sectors form four of Siemens reportable segments. In addition to the four sectors, Siemens has two additional reportable segments: Equity Investments and Siemens Financial Services (SFS). The Energy sector comprises four divisions: Power Generation, Wind Power, Power Transmission and Energy Service. The Healthcare Sector includes four divisions: Imaging & Therapy Systems, Clinical Products, Diagnostics and Customer Solutions; and one sector-led Business Unit, Audiology Solutions. The Industry sector consists of three divisions: Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services; and one sector-led Business Unit, Metals Technologies. The Infrastructure & Cities sector consists of five divisions: Rail Systems, Mobility and Logistics, Low and Medium Voltage, Smart Grid, and Building Technologies. In July 2013 Siemens sold its stake in the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) joint venture to Nokia and OSRAM Licht AG was spun off from Siemens.

Industry

The Industry Sector offers a broad spectrum of products, solutions and services that help customers use resources and energy. The Sector�� integrated technologies and holistic solutions primarily address industrial customers, particularly those in the process and manufacturing industries. The portfolio spans industry automation, industrial software, drive products and services, system integration, and solutions for industrial plant businesses. The Industry Sector consists of three Divisions: Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services. The Sector also includes a sector-led Business Unit, Metals Technologies. In addition to its Sector-level financial results, Industry also breaks out financial results for the Indust! ry Automation Division and the Drive Technologies Division. The Industry Automation Division offers a range of standard products and system solutions for automation technologies used in the manufacturing and process industries. The Division�� offerings include automation systems and software, motor controls, machine-to- machine communication products, sensors, product and production lifecycle management products, and software for simulating and testing mechatronic systems. The Drive Technologies Division offers products and comprehensive systems across the entire drive train. These offerings are customized to the respective application and include numerical control systems, inverters, converters, motors (geared and gearless), drives and couplings. In addition, Drive Technologies supplies integrated automation systems for machine tools and production machines. The Division also offers integrated lifecycle solutions and services for industries such as shipbuilding, cement, mining, and pulp and paper. The Customer Services Division offers a comprehensive portfolio of services and supports industrial customers.

Energy

The Energy Sector offers a spectrum of products, solutions and services for generating and transmitting power, and for extracting, converting and transporting oil and gas. The Fossil Power Generation Division offers products and solutions for fossil-based power generation. The Division concentrates on products and solutions for gas and steam turbines, turbo generators, heat recovery steam generators including control systems, with an emphasis on combined-cycle power plants. It also develops solutions for instrumentation and control systems for all types of power plants and for use in power generation. The Wind Power Division manufactures wind turbines for onshore and offshore applications, including both geared turbines and direct drive machines. The product portfolio is based on four product platforms, two for each of the onshore and offshore applications. The Oil ! & Gas Div! ision has a comprehensive portfolio of rotating machinery (gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors with associated equipment) and electrical, instrumentation and telecommunication (EIT) solutions. The Power Transmission Division provides customers with turnkey power transmission solutions as well as discrete products, systems and related engineering and services. It covers high-voltage transmission solutions, power and distribution transformers, high-voltage switching and non-switching products and systems, and alternating and direct current transmission systems. The Energy Service Division offers comprehensive services for products, solutions and technologies, covering performance enhancements, maintenance services, customer trainings and consulting services for the Divisions Fossil Power Generation, Wind Power and Oil & Gas. The Wind Power Division is active in both the onshore and the offshore market segments globally. Power Transmission Division is expanding infrastructure in emerging countries, equipment replacement and modernization in mature economies, and integration of renewable energies.

Healthcare

The Healthcare Sector offers customers a comprehensive portfolio of medical solutions across the treatment chain-ranging from medical imaging to in-vitro diagnostics to interventional systems and clinical information technology systems-all from a single source. In addition, the Sector provides technical maintenance, professional and consulting services, and, together with Financial Services (SFS), financing to assist customers in purchasing the Sector�� products. The Healthcare Sector includes four Divisions: Imaging & Therapy Systems, Clinical Products, Diagnostics and Customer Solutions. The Sector also includes one sector-led Business Unit, Audiology Solutions. In addition to its Sector-level financial results, Healthcare also separately breaks out financial results for the Diagnostics Division.

The Imaging & Therapy Systems Division provides large-scale! medical ! devices for diagnostic imaging and for image-guided therapies. Imaging equipment includes computed tomographs, magnetic resonance imaging equipment, angiography systems for diagnostics, and positron emission tomography. The Clinical Products Division mainly comprises the business with ultrasound and X-ray equipment including mammography. The Diagnostics Division offers products and services in the area of in-vitro diagnostics. The Division�� product portfolio represents a comprehensive range of diagnostic testing systems and consumables, including offerings for clinical chemistry and immunodiagnostics, molecular diagnostics, hematology, hemostasis, microbiology, point-of-care testing and clinical laboratory automation solutions. The Customer Solutions Division provides healthcare information technology (HIT) systems. It is responsible for the Sector�� service business and customer relationship management on a global level.

Equity Investments

The Equity Investments comprises equity stakes held by Siemens that are accounted for by the equity method, at cost or as current available-for-sale financial assets and for strategic reasons are not allocated to a Sector, SFS, Centrally managed portfolio activities, Siemens Real Estate (SRE), Corporate items or Corporate Treasury. Its main investments within Equity Investments are its stake of 50% in BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate GmbH (BSH), its stake of 17% in OSRAM Licht AG (OSRAM) as well as its 49% stake in Enterprise Networks Holdings B.V. (EN).

Financial Services

Financial Services provides a variety of financial services and products to other Siemens units and their customers and to third parties. SFS has three strategic pillars: supporting Siemens units with finance solutions for their customers, managing financial risks of Siemens and offering third-party finance services and products. SFS��business can be divided into capital business and fee business. The Commercial Finance Business Unit offers! a compre! hensive range of solutions for equipment financing, leasing, rental and related financing for equipment supplied by Siemens or third-party providers. The Venture Capital Business Segment�� main task, together with Siemens��Sectors, is to identify and finance young companies worldwide. The Treasury Business Unit operates the global Corporate Treasury of the Siemens Group, with SFS employee�� thereby managing liquidity, cash and financial risks (interest, foreign exchange, commodities) on behalf of Corporate Treasury. The Financing & Investment Management Business Unit manages fee-based receivables and offers investment management services. The Insurance Business Unit acts primarily as an insurance broker for Siemens and external customers.

Infrastructure & Cities

The Infrastructure & Cities Sector offers a range of technologies for the sustainability of metropolitan centers and urban infrastructures worldwide, such as integrated mobility solutions, building and security systems, power distribution equipment, smart grid applications and low and medium-voltage products. The Sector consists of five Divisions: Rail Systems; Mobility and Logistics; Low and Medium Voltage; Smart Grid; and Building Technologies. The Rail Systems Division comprises Siemens��rail vehicle business, encompassing the entire spectrum of rolling stock-including high-speed trains, commuter trains, passenger coaches, metros, people movers, light rail vehicles, locomotives, bogies, traction systems and rail-related services. The Mobility and Logistics Division primarily provides products, solutions (including IT solutions) and services for rail transportation operating systems, such as central control systems, interlockings and automated controls. The Division also provides offerings for road traffic, including traffic detection, information and guidance systems.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Dresser-Rand Group (NYSE: DRC) shares were also up, gaining 2.6 percent to $81.97 after Siemens AG (OTC: SIEGY) announced its plans to acquire Dresser-Rand for $7.6 billion.

10 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA)

ThyssenKrupp AG is a Germany-based technology holding company operating in seven business areas. The Steel Europe division produces carbon steel flat products. The Steel Americas division is engaged in production, processing and marketing of high-grade carbon steels. The Materials Services division is engaged in global distribution of materials and the provision of complex technical services for the production and manufacturing sectors. The Elevator Technology division is engaged in the area of passenger transportation systems. The Plant Technology division focuses on specialty and large-scale plant construction. The Components Technology division is engaged in manufacturing components for the automotive, construction and engineering sectors as well as for wind turbines. The Marine Systems division focuses on naval and civil shipbuilding. Apart from its business areas, it provides business services, which are diversified into Business Services and Information Technology (IT) Services. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Telekom Austria (TKA) slid 1.6 percent to 5.63 euros. Second-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to 330.3 million euros ($439 million) from 364.8 million euros a year earlier. That compared with the average 332.7 million-euro analyst estimate.

10 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Orkla ASA (ORK)

Orkla ASA is a Norway-based company active in various sectors. The Company�� operations are structured into two segments: Branded Consumer Goods and Other Businesses. The Branded Consumer Goods segment is divided into five units: Orkla Foods, which comprises the Company�� food businesses in the Nordic region and the Baltics; Orkla Confectionery, which comprises five branded consumer goods businesses which serve the Nordic region and the Baltics as their home markets; Orkls Home & Personal consists of five branded consumer goods businesses, including Lilleborg, Lilleborg Profesjonell, the Axellus Group, Pierre Robert Group and House Care; Orkla Food Ingredients cover product categories, including margarine, marzipan, bread improvers and mixes, and yeast, and Orkla International includes branded consumer goods companies outside the Nordic region and the Baltics. The Other Businesses segment covers the Company�� operation in aluminum, real estate and hydropower sectors, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Orkla ASA (ORK), the Norwegian industrial conglomerate transforming itself into a consumer-goods producer, slumped 11 percent to 46.78 kroner, the largest drop since November 2011. The company reported second-quarter pretax profit of 514 million kroner ($86 million), missing estimates of 965 million kroner in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.

10 Best Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Own Right Now: Wartsila Oyj Abp (WRT1V.HE)

Wartsila Oyj Abp is a Finland-based company. Its operations are divided into four segments: Power Plants, Ship Power, Services and PowerTech. The Power Plants segment offers multi-fuel solutions for power generation markets, such as gas power plants, dual-fuel power plants, oil power plants and liquid biofuel power plants, among others. The Ship Power segment offers a range of products and services to both shipyards and ship owners, such as medium-speed and low-speed engines, seals and bearings, automation systems, ship design and ballast water treatment systems, among others. The Services segment offers solutions, such as basic support, installation and commissioning, performance optimization and upgrades, among others. The PowerTech segment comprises research and development for medium-speed engines and other operations, with a focus on gas, environmental solutions and Smart Power Generation drives. It has operations in more than 160 locations in over 70 countries around the world. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Wall var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(fu]

  The British company tried to strengthen its maritime engine business through a $10 billion takeover of Finland�� W盲rtsil盲 Oyj (WRT1V.HE) which rebuffed Rolls-Royce’s preliminary approach. The attempted acquisition of a company of that size surprised investors who hadn�� realized expansion was on management�� agenda so soon after its full takeover of Tognum, a German engineering company originally acquired in partnership with Daimler.

Top 5 Beverage Companies To Buy Right Now

With shares of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) trading around $62, is SBUX an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock�� Movement

Starbucks is a roaster, marketer ,and retailer of coffee operating worldwide. The company purchases and roasts coffees that it sells, along with handcrafted coffee, tea and, other beverages and a variety of fresh food items, through its stores. It also sells a variety of coffee and tea products and licenses its trademarks through other channels, such as licensed stores and national food service accounts. In addition to its flagship Starbucks brand, the company�� portfolio also includes Tazo Tea, Seattle�� Best Coffee, Starbucks VIA Ready Brew, Starbucks Refreshers beverages, and the Verismo System by Starbucks. Starbucks has developed an amazing reputation over the last several years, which has generated a lot of buzz for its products. Consumers continue to enjoy Starbucks branded products around the world which will surely lead to rising profits.

Top Services Companies To Buy Right Now: Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (CCE)

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. produces, distributes, and markets non-alcoholic beverages in Europe. It provides a range of beverage categories, including energy drinks, still and sparkling waters, juices, sports drinks, fruit drinks, coffee-based beverages, and teas. The company primarily offers its products under Coca-Cola, Diet Coke/Coke light, Fanta, Coca-Cola Zero, Capri Sun, Schweppes, Sprite, Chaudfontaine, MinuteMaid, and Dr. Pepper brands. It provides its products to customers and consumers through licensed territory agreements in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE  ) -- the regional bottler of pop that rules over Western Europe -- hosed down its near-term prospects last month.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) was raised to the prized Conviction Buy List from Neutral with a $47 price target at Goldman Sachs, sending shares up almost 3% to $38.50 on the upgrade.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Berkshire’s ownership position in�Coca-Cola may set the stage for something similar to Duracell��ith Berkshire’s 400 million�Coca-Cola shares currently worth $17.8 billion, and an estimated value for CCR (Coca-Cola’s North American bottling assets) of $12.8 billion (based on 8x estimated EBITDA of $1.6 billion), this would not be a large enough transaction for Berkshire to completely transfer its�Coca-Cola stake. Of course, we do not think�Coca-Cola needs to capitalize the business with $5 billion in cash, as Procter & Gamble did for Duracell to “plug the gap” between the valuation of the business and Berkshire’s stake, but that may be a possibility in this instance as well. However��all us crazy��e think Berkshire could also take a look at CCEAG, Coca-Cola’s German bottling business. We valued this at $2.75 billion three years ago6, based on $3.8b of revenue, a 10.4% EBITDA margin and a 7.0x multiple. We think there is upward bias to a current valuation given likely cost rationalization that has occurred in the intervening years. If we wanted to get even more creative, we could even envision Berkshire taking a look more broadly at European bottlers like Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) and Coca-Cola HBC (CCH), which have similar industry dynamics to the U.S. bottlers. We note that some type of swap transaction, � la Duracell, could save Berkshire Hathaway nearly $5 billion in income taxes.

Top 5 Beverage Companies To Buy Right Now: CirTran Corp (CIRC)

CirTran Corporation, incorporated on March 23, 1987, manufactures, markets, and distributes internationally an energy drink under a license with Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (Playboy) through its subsidiary, CirTran Beverage Corporation. It operates in Beverage Distribution and Contract Manufacturing segments. In the United States, it provides a mix of high- and medium-volume turnkey manufacturing services and products using various high-tech applications for electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the communications, networking, peripherals, gaming, law enforcement, consumer products, telecommunications, automotive, medical, and semiconductor industries. The Company�� services include pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, and post-manufacturing services.

Beverage Distribution

CirTran Beverage Corporation (CirTran Beverage) manufactures, markets, and distributes Playboy-licensed energy drinks, flavored water beverages, and related merchandise through various distribution channels. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 65 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Australia, the Pacific, and the Middle East.

Contract Marketing

CirTran Products Corp. pursues contract-manufacturing relationships in the domestic consumer products markets, including products in areas, such as home/garden, kitchen, health/beauty, toys, licensed merchandise, and apparel for film, television, sports, and other entertainment properties. The Company concentrates its product development efforts into three areas: home and kitchen appliances, beauty products, and licensed merchandise. Through CirTran - Asia, Inc., the Company designs, manufactures, and supplies products in the international electronics, consumer products, and general merchandise industries for various marketers, distributors, and retailers selling overseas. This subsidiary provides manufacturing services to the direct-response and retail consumer markets.

The Company competes with Hansen�! � Energy, Diet Red, Monster Energy, Lost Energy, Joker Mad Energy, Ace Energy, Unbound Energy, Rumba energy juice, Red Bull, Rockstar, Full Throttle, No Fear, Amp, Adrenaline Rush, 180, Extreme Energy Shot, Red Devil, Rip It, NOS, Boo Koo, and Vitaminenergy.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Last Friday, CIRC remained (0.00%) +0.000 at $.0005 at the close (ref. google finance August 30, 2013 ��Close).

  CirTran Corporation has recently filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2013, showing continued growth in sales and a dramatic improvement in profits. CirTran�� sales were again driven by its Playboy Energy Drink line, which has grown to represent nearly 98% of revenues.

  For the quarter, CirTran previously reported sales of $1,096,691, a 247% increase over the $315,755 reported for the same period a year ago. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, CirTran reported sales of 1,964,843, a 110% improvement over the $934,455 reported for the first half of 2012.

Top 5 Beverage Companies To Buy Right Now: Attitude Drinks Inc (ATTD)

Attitude Drinks Incorporated (Attitude), incorporated on May 10, 1988, is a brand-development company. The Company focuses on the non-alcoholic single serving beverage business, developing and marketing of milk based products in two segments: sports recovery and functional dairy. The Company does not directly manufacture its products but instead outsources the manufacturing process to third party packers.

Attitude has developed its second product, which is branded as Phase III Recovery is a milk-based protein drink which is available in chocolate and vanilla flavors. The Company�� co-packer for its dairy based product is O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative, Inc. in Batavia, New York. This product contains 35 grams of protein that are inherent in filtered milk. The product is packaged as a retort-processed shelf stable dairy-based 100% milk-based sports recovery drink in both chocolate and vanilla flavors.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsico Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Attitude Drinks Inc (OTCMKTS: ATTD), Axiologix, Inc (OTCMKTS: AXLX) and Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) have all been getting some attention lately in investment emails or investor alerts thanks in part to paid promotions. And while there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relations activity, such activity can backfire on unwary investors or traders. With that in mind, here is a closer look at all three small cap stocks to help you decide whether they are truly hot or not:

Top 5 Beverage Companies To Buy Right Now: Celsius Holdings Inc (CELH)

Celsius Holdings, Inc., incorporated on April 26, 2005, is engaged in the development, marketing, sale and distribution of functional calorie-burning beverages under the Celsius brand name. The Company focuses to combine nutritional science with mainstream beverages by using its thermogenic (calorie-burning) MetaPlus formulation. The Company does not directly manufacture its beverages, but instead outsource the manufacturing process to established third-party co-packers. The Company provides its co-packers with flavors, ingredient blends, cans and other raw materials for its beverages purchased by the Company from various suppliers. Celsius, Inc. and Elite FX, Inc. are the wholly owned subsidiaries of the Company.

The Company�� Celsius is a calorie-burning beverage. Celsius is available in seven flavors, lemon-lime, ginger ale, cola, orange and wild berry (which are carbonated) and non-carbonated green tea raspberry/acai and green tea/peach mango. Its beverages are sold in 12 ounce cans, although it has begun to market the ingredients in powdered form in individual On-The-Go packets. The Company�� customer�� include on-the-go women, age 25 to 54, who are looking for a way to burn calories and gain energy with beverages and natural alternatives to diet sodas, as well as sports enthusiasts of both sexes, who are seeking low sodium, preservative-free alternatives. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company developed its MetaPlus formulation into a powder that can be mixed with water.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, PepsiCo, Inc., Nestl茅, Waters North America, Inc., Hansen Natural Corp., and Red Bull.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), a mid cap marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages, has been a monster of a performer since the end of the financial crisis as the stock is up around 308% over the past five years, but could new or overlooked players like small cap beverage stocks�Jones Soda Co (OTCMKTS: JSDA), Celsius Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: CELH) and Konared Corp (OTCBB: KRED) repeat that performance? A look strictly at the long term performance of all three small caps might have you thinking otherwise. After all, none of these small cap beverage stocks are profitable while�the beverage industry can be a long hard expensive slog just to increase market share by one or two points when you are competing for shelf space with industry giants like Pepsi and Coke. But past performance is just that���the past and only part of the story as there is much more to consider about these small cap beverage stocks which could also make them potential acquisition targets by larger beverage players seeking to expand their product line up with innovative products: