Top Stocks To Invest|Stocks to Invest 2012

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013

The political uproar from the debt-ceiling negotiations has resulted in high volatility and heavy selling in the past week. But despite the uncertainties, along with an economic slowdown in Europe and the United States, stocks are still confined to a trading range that began early this year.
But offsetting the uncertainties is the fact that with more than three-quarters of all companies reporting earnings, almost three-quarters of them have exceeded Q2 earnings estimates. Thus, it appears that the current trading range will be maintained. Patient investors should use the current pullback as an opportunity to acquire undervalued securities.
Here are your top stocks to invest in March:

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN)

Texas Instruments Incorporated engages in the design and sale of semiconductors to electronics designers and manufacturers worldwide. The company?s Analog segment offers high-performance analog products comprising standard analog semiconductors, such as amplifiers, data converters, and interface semiconductors; high-volume analog and logic products; and power management semiconductors and line-powered systems. Its Embedded Processing segment includes DSPs that perform mathematical computations to process and enhance digital data; and microcontrollers, which are designed to control a set of specific tasks for electronic equipment. The company?s Wireless segment designs, manufactures, and sells application processors and connectivity products. Its Other segment offers smaller semiconductor products, which include DLP products that are primarily used in projectors to create high-definition images; and application-specific integrated circuits. This segment also provides handheld graphing and scientific calculators, as well as licenses technologies to other electronic companies. The company serves the communications, computing, industrial, consumer electronics, automotive, and education sectors. Texas Instruments Incorporated sells its products through a direct sales force, distributors, and third-party sales representatives. It has collaboration agreements with PLX Technology Inc.; Neonode, Inc.; and Ubiquisys Ltd. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:

By Fabian At 2011-12-26
Texas Instruments (TXN) has been given an Overweight rating by J.P. Morgan and is the top pick of the industry because it has positive potential to Consensus estimates over the next year. Currently, its stock is trading at $30.42 and is expected to reach a target price of $33. Earnings per share of $2.63 are likely to see a 10% accretion in C12 due to the company’s acquisition of National Semiconductor. Texas Instruments has market capitalization of $34.76 billion and its P/E ratio of 16.6x is likely to rise to 17.4x by the end of next year.
By Fabian At 2011-10-30
Texas Instruments investment returned 46.3% during the past year. The amount of investment is $403 Million. Miller reduced his TXN holdings by 25% during the last quarter of 2010. Since then the stock returned 11.1%. David Tepper also bought TXN during the third quarter.
By Paul Goodwin At 2011-8-26
How do they make their money? TXN makes the PA Duplexer Module and the CDMA PA that goes into every iPhone. With a PEG ratio of 0.2 reveals huge discount compared to peers. This is a cash rich company and one I feel will be a strong performer within the next year.
By Chuck At 2011-8-26
PEG ratio of 0.2 reveals huge discount compared to peers. This is a cash rich company and one I feel will be a strong performer within the next year.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:EZchip Semiconductor Limited (EZCH)

EZchip, a fabless semiconductor company, engages in the development and marketing of Ethernet network processors for networking equipment. Its products include network processor chips, evaluation boards and network-processor based systems, and development software toolkits. The company offers network processors for use in forming the silicon core of networking equipment, such as switches and routers; and for voice, video and data integration in various applications. Its network processors are single-chip solutions, which enable its customers to design multi-port line cards, such as processing and classification engines, traffic managers, media access controllers, as well as a range of specialized hardware blocks that accelerate various functions. The company offers Evaluation systems which enable customers to test NPU-based systems; and toolkits that assist customers in creating, verifying, and implementing solutions based on its network processors. It provides a library featuring data plane code for a range of applications, which include Metro Ethernet protocols, Multi-Protocol Label Switching, IPv4 and IPv6 routing, Access Control Lists, GPON/EPON OLT functionality, Network Address Translation, and Server Load Balancing. The company sells its products directly, and through contract manufacturers and distributors to network equipment vendors. It markets its products in Israel, China, Hong Kong, the Far East, Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company was formerly known as LanOptics Ltd. and changed its name to EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. in July 2008. EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. was founded in 1989 and is based in Yokneam, Israel.
Advisors' Opinion:

By Paul At 2011-8-26
Known for designing high-speed networking equipment chips. They had a solid first quarter as revenue gained 38% and now they are sitting on $75 million of cash with no expenses or debt. I believe this is a strong technology bet and I place a target of $30.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Panera Bread Company (PNRA)

Advisors' Opinion:

By Sy_Harding At 2012-1-11

Panera is a great growth story that continues to get better. Panera is thriving in the casual dining arena with fellow Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). Quick food that is good and good for you. The company is now moving i! nto citi es, which provides another strong revenue stream for the company and continues to build up their image. It has the potential for a lot more stores, and we believe the company is ready to move into new markets. We have a $170 PT on the company, and we see this stock as a growth story about to take off even further in 2012.
Allocation: $2000
Entry: $137.00
Target: $150, $170
By Fabian At 2011-8-26
Most of you have probably eaten at one of these franchise bakery-cafes. If not I highly recommend it, as for the company itself they are exceptional. Profit soared 50% in the first quarter, operating margins rose several percentage points, and Panera is sitting on $300+ million of cash. Right now it’s at a 30% discount to its peer averages and the stock is very cheap when valued against future earnings. Strong buy expect it to rise to $105.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Manitowoc Company Inc. (The) (MTW)

Advisors' Opinion:

By Michael At 2011-8-26
< p>Some are touting this as a home run trade. I agree it has high-risk high reward benefits. With incremental savings from cost cutting initiatives, strong sales outlook, and wider margins this stock could very likely double in the next 12-months.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Rackspace Hosting Inc (RAX)

Advisors' Opinion:

By Sherry Jim At 2011-8-26
This computing specialist that provides web-based IT systems has soared 60%+ in the past year. With a P/S above 3 and Price to Cash of 10 this stock is poised to continue to soar and outperform it’s peers. $25 in a year is a realistic bet.
By Hutchinson At 2011-8-26
This computing specialist that provides web-based IT systems has soared 60%+ in the past year. With a P/S above 3 and Price to Cash of 10 this stock is poised to continue to soar and outperform it’s peers. $10 in a year is a realistic bet.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:OmniVision Technologies Inc. (OVTI)

Advisors' Opinion:

By Karim At 2011-8-26
They make the 5-megapixel sensors in the camera of every iPhone. Along with this they carry a strong balance sheet and upbeat earnings expectations boding well for future growth.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Sify Technologies Limited (SIFY)

Advisors' Opinion:

By Wyatt Rese! arch Sta ff At 2011-8-30

Shares of SIFY skyrocketed last week after the company announced a new partnership with Saudi telecom. SIFY will provide ICT services to the Middle East's largest telecom carrier.
Shares of the Indian-based internet and network services have doubled over the past four months.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:InterDigital Inc. (IDCC)

Advisors' Opinion:

By SmallCap Investor At 2011-8-30
The wireless technology company said it's exploring its options, including a possible sale, following last month's successful auction of Nortel Networks intellectual property which brought in $4.5 billion. IDCC owns about 1,300 patents related to mobile phone technology.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Petroquest Energy Inc (PQ)

Advisors' Opinion:

By SmallCap Investor At 2011-8-30
Shares traded sharply higher after the oil and gas explorer issued an operational update that revealed details of a discovery at its La Cantera site in Louisiana. Raymond James analysts bumped the stock rating to market perform based on the new findings and an improving balance sheet.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Voyager Oil & Gas Inc. (VOG)

Advisors' Opinion:

By SmallCap Investor At 2011-8-30
Shares of this explorer, which has operations in the Western U.S., crossed back above $3 and have risen 40 percent in the past month, amid increasing investor interest in companies drilling in the Bakken region.

Great Small Cap Stocks To Hold In 2013:Abraxas Petroleum Corporation (AXAS)

Advisors' Opinion:

By Guru Focus At 2011-9-20
Former EVP/CFO of Abraxas Petroleum Corp. (AXAS) Chris E Williford sold 100,000 shares on 09/15/2011 at an average price of $3.42. Chris E Williford owns at least 98,974 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 0% since.

Abraxas Petroleum Corporation is an independent energy company engaged primarily in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation and production of crude oil and natural gas. Abraxas Petroleum Corp. has a market cap of $313.9 million; its shares were traded at around $3.42 with and P/S ratio of 5.3.

Abraxas Petroleum Corp recently released its second quarter 2011 results. During this quarter, the company saw revenues of $17.0 million and net income of $8.9 million ($0.10 per share) – compared to $15.0 million and $5.3 million respectively last year. EBITDA was $7.4 million.
By SmallCap Investor At 2011-8-30
The oil and gas company has far-flung operations across North America, including in the hot Bakken region. Shares have popped 60 percent in the past month, regaining some ground lost earlier this year.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Why Trimble Navigation Limited's Earnings Are Outstanding

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.
Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Trimble Navigation Limited (Nasdaq: TRMB ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, Trimble Navigation Limited generated $218.4 million cash while it booked net income of $150.8 million. That means it turned 13.3% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds pretty impressive.
All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and! replica ble in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).
For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.
So how does the cash flow at Trimble Navigation Limited look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.
Trimble Navigation Limited's issue isn't questionable cash flow boosts, but items in that suspect group that reduced cash flow. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in ! the TTM period above, stock-based compensation and related tax benefits provided the biggest boost, at 5.7% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from changes in accounts receivable, which represented 13.2% of cash from operations.
A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.
We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add Trimble Navigation Limited to My Watchlist.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Senate Bill Threatens Life of Stretch IRAs

Industry trade groups are up in arms over a provision in a Senate highway bill that would reduce the value of inherited IRAs, commonly referred to as stretch IRAs, and are determined to have it removed.

The bill, S. 1813, the Highway Investment, Job Creation, and Economic Growth Act, includes a provision that would no longer permit tax deferred stretches of IRAs for beneficiaries other than a spouse, minor children or the disabled. Others, such as adult children, would only be permitted a five-year window to defer.

The provision would require beneficiaries to pay taxes on inherited IRAs over five years instead of spreading them over their lifetime. If passed, the provision would apply to deaths after Dec. 31, 2012.

The proposal is designed to reduce the value of a tax-planning technique that allows inside buildup of tax-deferred funds inside inherited retirement accounts.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, added the provision on Feb. 7 during markup of the bill by his committee, but after pushback he promised to have the provision removed.

During the markup of the bill, Baucus said that “IRAs are intended for retirement,” adding that IRAs are being “used by some taxpayers to give tax-free benefits” to future generations. The taxes from the stretch IRAs provision was to be used to help pay for the highway bill, and would raise $4.6 billion over 10 years.

As it stands now, the provision was adopted by Baucus’ committee and remains intact in the highway bill, which awaits action by the full Senate. Once taken up by the Senate, industry officials believe that the IRA provision will be replaced with one that raises the funds by changing the way assets are valued in defined benefit plans.

Judy Miller, chief of actuarial issues at the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, says that the new provision would likely "reduce the current required contribution to defined benefit plans; when you do that there are fewer deductions taken so it raises money."

But given that the IRA provision has yet to be taken out, the Financial Services Institute is mobilizing its members to have it removed.

Chris Paulitz, spokesperson for FSI, says that FSI “won’t rest" until it's removed. "We’re keeping the pressure on from our members to try and ensure it eventually is indeed stripped out.”

FSI said in a Feb. 15 letter to its members that “while we expect the provision to be removed from the highway bill, it is important that we send the Senate the message that taxes on inherited IRAs should not be used to pay for other governmental spending.”

IRA guru Ed Slott told AdvisorOne on Tuesday that Congress “sees gold in IRAs,” and that the provision on stretch IRAs being inserted into the highway bill “is an indication of where Congress intends to find money to pay for the future.”

Slott said that advisors must “look at the money that their clients may intend to leave over [to heirs] and leverage that now, whether through life insurance or a charitable trust or changing beneficiaries” because Congress believes that IRA money “was never meant to be used as an estate planning vehicle to pass on to beneficiaries.”

Robert Miller, president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, told AdvisorOne that NAIFA "is concerned that changing the tax rules on inherited IRAs and other retirement products would place an added burden on middle-income Americans at a time when numerous studies show that Americans are financially under-prepared for retirement."

At the very least, he said, "legislation changing the rules should receive more study rather than being rushed through as part of a highway bill. NAIFA is pleased that the Senate leadership has proposed to remove changes to inherited IRAs from the current bill.”

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Top Stocks To Hold For May 2014

We have already see that Indians are currently most optimistic investors on back of robust growth in the domestic consumption market and a positive economic outlook.
Having said that the first question that would come to the mind of an investor is which stocks to invest in, now that the markets have gained 60% over the last one year. Stocks are no more cheap or trading at reasonable valuations.
While there are few stocks that are still quoting at lower price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples and some even below their book values, such stocks still need sound research and analysis before moving forward with them as they may be fraught with the danger of derailed growth prospects based on which markets could have assigned lower valuations to them.

Top Stocks To Hold For May 2014:KKR Financial Holdings LLC (KFN)

KKR Financial Holdings LLC, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company with expertise in a range of asset classes. It primarily invests in financial assets consisting primarily of below investment grade corporate debt, including senior secured and unsecured loans, mezzanine loans, high yield corporate bonds, and distressed and stressed debt securities; marketable equity securities; and private equity. The company also invests in other asset classes, including natural resources and real estate. Its corporate debt investments are held in collateralized loan obligation (CLO) transactions that the company uses as long term financing for these investments. The senior secured notes issued by the CLO transactions are owned by third party investors, who are unaffiliated with the company and it owns the majority of the mezzanine and subordinated notes in the CLO transactions. KKR Financial Advisors LLC serves as the manager of the company. KKR Financial Holdings LLC was founded in 2004 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Top Stocks To Hold For May 2014:Bidz.com Inc. (BIDZ)

Bidz.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer of jewelry in the United States and internationally. The company operates a Web Site, bidz.com for the purpose of selling merchandise utilizing an online sales auction platform; and a fixed price online store at buyz.com. It also operates modnique.com for online retailing of designer products and consumer goods through a sale event concept. The company?s product inventory includes gold, platinum, and silver jewelry sets with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and other precious and semi-precious stones; and a selection of jewelry, including rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, jewelry sets, watches, accessories, and brand name merchandises. It also acts as an agent in the sale of certified merchant merchandise owned by third parties; and provides advertising services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Culver City, California.

Top Stocks To Hold For May 2014:Compania Mina Buenaventura S.A. (BVN)

Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A., a precious metals company, engages in the exploration, mining, processing, and development of gold, silver, and other metals in Peru. It also explores for zinc, lead, and copper. The company operates the Orcopampa mine located in the province of Castilla in the department of Arequipa; the Uchucchacua mine located in the province of Oyon in the department of Lima; the La Zanja mine located in the district of Pulan in the province of Santa Cruz; the Antapite mine located in the province of Huaytara in the department of Huancavelica; the Julcani mine located in the province of Angaraes in the department of Huancavelica; and the Recuperada mine located in the province of Huancavelica in the department of Huancavelica. It also holds controlling interests in the Colquijirca and Marcapunta Norte mines located east of the city of Lima; and the Shila-Paula mines located in the province of Castilla in the department of Arequipa. In addition, the company owns interests in various other mining companies. Further, it offers electric power transmission services; and geological, engineering, design, and construction consulting services to the mining sector. Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Lima, Peru.

Top Stocks To Hold For May 2014:Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT)

Permian Basin Royalty Trust owns overriding royalty rights in mineral properties in the United States. It holds a 75% net overriding royalty interest in the Waddell Ranch Properties located in Crane County, Texas; and a 95% net overriding royalty interest in the Texas Royalty Properties in Texas. As of December 31, 2009, the Waddell Ranch properties contained 372 net productive oil wells, 87 net productive gas wells, and 131 net injection wells; and the Texas Royalty properties consisted of approximately 125 separate royalty interests containing approximately 51,000 net producing acres. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Top Stocks To Hold For May 2014:II-VI Incorporated (IIVI)

II-VI Incorporated develops, manufactures, and markets high-technology materials and derivative precision components and products worldwide. It offers a line of precision infrared optical components, such as lenses, output couplers, windows, and mirrors for use in CO2 lasers; and one micron laser components, including modular laser processing heads for fiber lasers, YAG lasers, and other one micron laser systems, as well as beam delivery systems. The company also provides near-infrared optics consisting of waveplates, polarizers, lenses, prisms, and mirrors for visible and near-infrared applications, which are used to control or alter visible or near-infrared energy and its polarization; coated windows used as debris shields in the industrial and medical laser aftermarkets; micro optics and photonic crystal parts for optical communications components; optical and photonic crystal parts for instrumentation and laser applications; optical communication components and functional modules for optical communications; DPSS laser for optical instruments, display, and biotechnology; and components for UV Filters used in early warning missile detection. In addition, it offers military infrared optics comprising missile domes, electro-optical windows and subassemblies, imaging lenses, and other components; and visible materials and fused silica; material processing and refinement products, such as selenium and tellurium metals, and chemicals; and thermoelectric coolers (TECs), including single-stage TECs, micro TECs, multi-stage TECs, planar multi-stage TECs, extended life coolers, thermoelectric thermal reference sources, power generators, and thermoelectric assemblies for use in defense, telecommunication, medical equipment, and other industrial and commercial applications. Further, the company provides silicon carbide products consisting of 6H-SiC (semi-insulating) and 4H-SiC (conducting) poly-types. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania.

Top Stocks To Hold For May 2014:Aixtron SE (AIXG)

Aixtron SE, together with its subsidiaries, engages in developing, producing, and installing deposition equipment for the semiconductor and compound-semiconductor industry. Its technology solutions are used to build components for electronic and opto-electronic applications, which are used in fiber optic communication systems, wireless and mobile telephony, optical and electronic storage devices, computing, signaling and lighting, and display applications. The company offers customized production and research scale compound semiconductor systems for depositing material films on wafers; and peripheral equipment and services, including products capable of monitoring the concentration of gases in the air and for cleaning the exhaust gas from metal organic chemical vapor deposition processes, as well as provides production and research scale deposition systems for silicon semiconductor applications. It also assists its customers in designing the production layouts for the gas supply to thin film deposition systems; and offers process engineering, consulting and training, and customer support services. The company markets and sells its products through its direct sales organization, appointed dealers, and sales and service representatives primarily in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Aixtron SE was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Herzogenrath, Germany.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Five Things Obama Didn'tWant You to Hear in His State of the Union

Seeking to put the best possible spin on his message, President Barack Obama took some liberties with the truth in his State of the Union address.

Although the president never actually lied, he repeatedly left out facts that contradict his claims of success.

President Obama hadn't yet left the House chamber when the reality check started. And it didn't take long to find some pretty big the holes in the State of the Union address.

The bending of reality ranged from domestic oil issues to General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) to tire imports.

Here are just five instances in the State of the Union address in which President Obama didn't tell the whole story:

What the President Said About the Auto Industry:
On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs.

What the President Didn't Tell You:
First of all, President Obama forgot to mention that the GM bailout process started under President George Bush. And Ford Motor Company 's (NYSE: F) success has nothing to do with the government; it never took any government help. Jobs were saved, but the auto industry lost 200,000 workers. Analysts say the industry won't get back to pre-recession job levels until 2015.

President Obama also left out the cost of the bailout to the American taxpayer. Because the Un! ited Sta tes became a major shareholder in GM, the nation still holds 500 million shares of the stock. Given the nation's investment, the U.S. would need to sell those shares at $53 each to break even. GM currently trades at about $25 a share, putting U.S. taxpayers $14 billion in the hole.
What the President Said About Oil:
Right now, American oil production is the highest that it's been in eight years. That's right - eight years. Not only that - last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past sixteen years.

What the President Didn't Tell You:
While U.S. oil production is at its highest levels in eight years, production is only incrementally higher than it was in 2003. And higher production is not, as the president implied, responsible for the nation's reduced reliance on foreign oil. That resulted from years of declining consumption - a trend that started in 2006, two years before President Obama was elected. He also forgot to mention that the price of gasoline has skyrocketed 83% during his term, from $1.79 in January 2009 to $3.28 in December.
What the President Said About Job Growth:
In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s.

What the President Didn't Tell You:
The jobs picture is not quite as rosy as the president described. Total employment is still 1.7 million lower than it was in January 2009, and 6 million lower than the peak in January 2008. And of course, President Obama did not want to remind Americans that the unemployment rate, though it has dropped to 8.5%, was over 9% for most of his presidency.
What the President Said About Government Regulations:
! In fact, I've approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his.

What the President Didn't Tell You:

What the President Said About Chinese Tire Imports:
Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires.

What the President Didn't Tell You:

News and Related Story Links:

Money Morning:
Restoring the Dream: State of the Union Pitches an Economy "Built to Last"
Money Morning:
State of the Union Focused on Income Inequality, Job Creation
Money Morning:
Obama's Rejection of the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline is Pure Politics
The Washington Post:
Fact-checking the 2012 State of the Union speech
The Daily Caller:
Taxpayers still own 500M underperforming GM shares, Obama says "investment was worth it'
Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
FACT CHECK: Obama pushes plans that flopped before
FactCheck.Org:
The State of Obama's Facts
USA Today:
Full Transcript of President Obama's State of the Union Address

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Top Stocks To invest - Is the U.S. Economy Destined for Deflation?

With inflation low and the recovery waning, a growing chorus of analysts is beginning to suspect that U.S. policymakers aren't doing enough to head off deflation.

U.S. producer prices fell for a third straight month in June, sliding 0.5%. That follows declines of 0.1% in May and 0.3% in April. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, managed only a 0.1% increase for the month, and is up just 1.1% in the past 12 months. The U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred target for inflation is 2%.

Meanwhile a high rate of unemployment continues to jeopardize the U.S. recovery, and economists fear that a significant drop in economic growth could tip the scales toward a deflationary spiral.

"If you were to look at the balance of risks and what we could do about those risks, the risk from a downside shock I would view as more of a problem than the risk of an upside shock of inflation or the economy overall," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

"The core inflation rate is right around 1%," he said. "Given the amount of substantial excess capacity that we have in the economy, there is some risk of further disinflation. And I would say the risk of deflation has gone up and is more of a risk than I would like to see at this point."

Rosengren's comments are evidence of a growing divide among members of the Federal Top Stocks To invest - Open Market Committee (FOMC). The Fed, under pressure to pursue an exit strategy, has already taken steps to reign in its balance sheet by abandoning its policy of quantitative easing and ending its bond purchasing program. And most analysts believe Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will stay on the sidelines, barring any economic collapse.

The FOMC said in the minutes of its June meeting that the outlook for the U.S. economy had "softened somewhat," but that it would only consider further stimulus measures "if the out! look wer e to worsen appreciably."

"Fed officials would have to see the economy in a free fall," before resuming bond purchases, Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at Top Stocks To invest - JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) told Top Stocks To invest - Bloomberg. "The economy is not in a free fall. They also see the benefits of additional asset purchases as not that great."

The central bank more than doubled its balance sheet to $2.3 trillion during the financial crisis, as it bought up mortgage bonds and Treasury debt to keep long-term interest rates low. And while those purchases may have helped lower mortgage rates, they did little to broaden credit. Consumer borrowing decreased by $9.1 billion in May after falling by $14.9 billion in April.

However, the Fed's minutes also acknowledged the threat of deflation for the first time in a year.

"Several participants noted that a continuation of lower-than-expected inflation and high unemployment could eventually lead to a downward movement in inflation expectations that would reinforce disinflationary pressure," the minutes read. "By contrast, a few participants noted the possibility that a potentially unsustainable fiscal position and the size of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet could boost inflation expectations and actual inflation over time."

The benchmark Federal Funds rate remains at a historically low range of 0-0.25%. But critics contend that Bernanke could do more to stave off deflation either by resuming purchases of assets or by being more explicit about its intentions to keep interest rates low.

And Rosengren, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, noted that the central bank currently has more tools at its disposal to combat inflation than it does deflation.

"We have plenty of tools to tighten up if it turns out the economy grows faster and inflation becomes more of a concern. But it is a little uncertain how effective our tools are once the economy gets into a deflationary environment," he told The Journal! . "The experience of Japan is sobering. They've spent a decade and a half dealing with an economy that has had falling prices and despite a variety of monetary and fiscal actions taken are still facing a deflation problem."

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is trembling under the weight of high unemployment, low consumer spending, and a public and political push for fiscal conservativism. Retail sales fell 0.5% in June after tumbling 1.1% in May, according to the Commerce Department. And the Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing businesses - which comprise 90% of the economy - fell to a four-month low.

The Fed's minutes revealed the central bank has lowered its economic forecast for U.S. growth to a range of 3.0%-3.5% from 3.2%-3.7%, and openly acknowledged the threat being posed by unemployment. The Fed said the U.S. jobless rate, currently at 9.3%, would remain above 7% for at least the next two years.

"The data over the last couple of months have given pause," Former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Alan Blinder told Bloomberg Television. "Housing has underperformed. The big, big thing that has happened in the last couple of months is a very sharp slowdown in the number of private-sector jobs."

Should such "pessimistic" data be "portents of what's coming, then the Fed needs to be prepared to go back into quantitative easing in a big way," he added.
The federal government should do more to preserve the recovery as well, according to Blinder.

"I think we need a little bit more out of Washington," he said. "There is still room for some more fiscal stimulus. I would like to see it very targeted to jobs creation. That is the real problem we are having now."

Congress last month failed to extend unemployment benefits, leaving some 2 million people without unemployment aid. That figure could grow to 3.3 million by the end of the month if a deal isn't reached.

"We should be concerned about downside risk. I'm c! ertainly in the camp where I'm worried about downside risks and policy needs to be thinking about contingencies," said Rosengren. "Part of central banking is to think about what the risks in both directions are and what the policy response would need to be."

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The best Stock to Watch by DrStockPick.com in 2012

OCZ Technology Group, a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, reports its second quarter results for the fiscal year 2012 (Q2′12), which ended on August 31, 2011. Q2′12 Financial Highlights include the following: Net revenue in Q2′12 was a record $78.5 million, and increased 106% compared with net revenue of $38.0 million reported in Q2′11, and increased 6% compared with the $73.8 million reported in Q1′12; SSD revenue reached a record $71.1 million, an increase of 252% compared with Q2′11 SSD revenue of $20.2 million, and a 3% increase compared with Q1′12 SSD revenue of $69.1 million; Gross margin increased to 21.6% compared with 4.3% in Q2′11, and 20.0% in Q1′12; and GAAP net income in Q2′12 of $3.2 million or $0.06 per share.
GAAP net income for Q2′12 was $3.2 million or $0.06 income per share compared with a GAAP net loss of $7.6 million or $0.29 loss per share in Q2′11. Non-GAAP net loss for Q2′12 was $1.4 million or $0.03 loss per share as compared with a non-GAAP net loss for Q2′11 of $9.7 million, or $0.36 loss per share. The non-GAAP loss for Q2′12 includes a significant increase in R&D expense including approximately $2.3 million related primarily to R&D prototyping, intellectual property and other specific engineering project expenses which are not reflective of R&D expense on a run-rate basis. A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP information is contained in the tables below.
Founded in 2002, San Jose, CA-based OCZ Technology, is a leader in the design, manufacturing, and distribution of high performance and reliable Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and premium computer components. OCZ Technology Group has built on its expertise in high-speed memory to become a leader in the enterprise and consumer SSD markets, a technology that competes with traditional rotating magneti! c hard d isk drives (HDDs). SSDs are faster, more reliable, generate less heat and use significantly less power than the HDDs used in the majority of computers today. In addition to SSD technology, OCZ Technology Group also offers high performance components for computing devices and systems, including enterprise-class power management products as well as leading-edge computer gaming solutions.
For more information about OCZ please visit www.ocztechnology.com
The best Stock to Watch by DrStockPick.com in 2012 - Global Hunter (GBLHF.PK)
Global Hunter’s focus is on strategic and base metals, with an advanced stage copper oxide project in Chile and a highly prospective molybdenum property in British Columbia, Canada. GBLHF teams are working on developing the Corona de Cobre property in Chile and the Rabbit south property in British Columbia.
Copper chemical symbol is Cu. A characteristically reddish metal of bright luster; highly malleable and ductile; high heat conductivity; an excellent conductor of electricity and is celebrated for its corrosion resistance. Copper is believed to have been discovered around 8,000 B.C. Used in the pure state or alloyed by other elements to make brasses and bronzes consumed in building construction, electric and electronic products, industrial machinery, transportation equipment, and numerous consumer and general products. Copper also is alloyed with other metals as nickel (creating cupro-nickel) and beryllium.
Global Hunter Corp. (GBLHF.PK) is pleased to announce initial assay results from its previously announced surface sampling program. The results are encouraging with new gold showings as well as very positive copper oxide assays over wide-spread areas.
Highlights of the entire program
9 mineralized shear! and/or alteration zones sampled total of 13.5 kilometers of strike length along know copper bearing shear and alteration zones tested with 205 rock chip samples
Good grades of soluble copper (oxide) over a significantly large area have been identified, however they represent only about 50% of the total copper grade indicating a mixed oxide-sulphide zone. Numerous iron oxide structures have also been mapped but no iron assays have been received to date.
The Company is planning to re-assay samples for iron to determine if iron is present in significant quantities to represent another target.
For more information http://www.globalhunter.ca
The best Stock to Watch by DrStockPick.com in 2012 - Joe’s Jeans Inc. (Nasdaq:JOEZ) announced that it plans to hold a conference call on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time with the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Marc Crossman, and its Chief Financial Officer, Hamish Sandhu, to discuss financial results for the third quarter ended August 31, 2011.
Joe’s Jeans Inc. engages in the design, development, and marketing of apparel products worldwide. Its product line comprises women’s and men’s denim jeans, pants, shirts, sweaters, jackets, and other apparel products under the Joe’s brand.
Tianli Agritech, Inc. (Nasdaq:OINK) announced the Company has acquired land use rights and facilities in the Osmanthus Village Industrial Park, Xiangfeng Town, Laifeng County, on which it intends to equip a 50,000 ton feed production facility. The Company believes the property, which is approximately 2.1 acres, can be quickly and economically converted into a feed production facility.
Tianli Agritech, Inc., through its subsidiary, HC Shengyuan Limited, engages in breeding, raising, and selling hogs for use in Chinese pork meat production, as well as for breeding by other hog producers.
The best Stock to Watch by DrStockPick.com in 2012 - MAJESTIC GOLD CORP (MJGCF.PK)
Gold is one of the most sought-after precious metals found on the planet. It is obtained in the form of grains in rocks and alluvial deposits. The bright yellow color of pure gold gives it a lustrous finish which adds to the beauty of the metal. Everybody knows that a large part of the total obtained gold is utilized in making jewelry. Now gold is also used in various electronic devices, ranging from calculators to computers. Even the cell phones and television sets you use in your day to day life contain a small amount of this precious metal. Gold is an efficient conductor of electricity, and more importantly, it does not corrode like other metals used in electrical devices. It is used in connectors, soldered joints, connecting wires etc.
MAJESTIC GOLD CORP (MJGCF.PK) engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in China. The company focuses on its gold project located in the prolific gold region of Song Jiagou in eastern Shandong Province. Majestic Gold Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
MAJESTIC GOLD CORP (MJGCF.PK) has arranged a $10,000,000 loan to advance its Song Jiagou project in China. Nine million dollars ($9,000,000) from the proceeds from the loan will be used by the Company to in connection with its Song Jiagou project and the balance of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for general working capital purposes.
The loan will have a one year term and loan principal will be convertible at the option of the lender in whole or in part into common shares (”Shares”) of the Company until twelve months from the date of the loan advance at the price of $0.205 per Share. The loan will bear interest at the rate of 7.5% per annum, payable on maturity, and accrued and unpaid interest will be convertible at the option of the lender in whole or in part into shares of the Company until twelve months from the da! te of th e loan advance at Market Price at the time of conversion.
The lender is at arm’s length from the Company and will not become an insider as a result of any conversion of principal and interest. All shares issued on any conversion of loan principal or interest will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of advance of loan proceeds. The loan is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.
As additional consideration for the loan, the Company has agreed to forward at least $9 million to Majestic Yantai Gold Ltd., a British Virgin Islands company owned 94% by the Company to be used to further advance its Song Jiagou project. The Borrower has also agreed to a 90 day period for reciprocal due diligence reviews and discussions for the possible further involvement of the Lender in the Song Jiagou project.
In the event that no further agreement is reached between the Lender and the Company during the 90 day period, then the loan and a minimum of seven (7) months interest will automatically convert to shares in the Company at a price of $0.205 per share and the interest at Market Price respectively. In addition the Company is pleased to announce that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement of up to 15,000,000 shares to be issued at the price of $0.20 per share for gross proceeds of $3,000,000.
For more information about MAJESTIC GOLD CORP. visit its website: http://www.majesticgold.net
The best Stock to Watch by DrStockPick.com in 2012 - iRobot Corporation (Nasdaq:IRBT) has received an $11 million order from the U.S. Army Contracting Command in Warren, Michigan for 70 of the company’s model 310 SUGV robots and spares kits.
iRobot Corporation designs and builds robots for the consumer, government, and industrial markets.