Thursday, October 31, 2013

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014

Broadening its focus on web-based information programs that meet the regulatory, operational, continuing education, and internal training needs of companies, Xerox (NYSE: XRX  ) announced this morning it is acquiring digital education solutions provider LearnSomething for an undisclosed sum.

The e-learning specialist focuses particularly on the�food, drug, and health care industries, and delivers programs to�85% of all U.S. retail pharmacy chains, reaching more than 110,000 retail pharmacists.

Xerox COO of Commercial Services Business�Connie Harvey said: "Xerox became one of the largest providers of�customer care services�to the pharmaceutical, biotech and health care industries when we acquired�TMS Health�in 2010.�The addition of LearnSomething broadens our capabilities tailored for these fast-growing industries and gives our clients the advantage of a progressive e-learning platform for the rapid deployment of relevant information and education tools."

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: CEL-SCI Corp (CVM)

CEL-SCI Corporation (CEL-SCI), incorporated on March 22, 1983, is engaged in the business of Multikine cancer therapy; New cold fill manufacturing service to the pharmaceutical industry, and ligand epitope antigen presentation System (LEAPS) technology, with two products, hemagglutinin type 1 and neuraminidase type 1 (H1N1) swine flu treatment for H1N1 hospitalized patients and CEL-2000, a rheumatoid arthritis treatment vaccine.

Multikine

CEL-SCI's Multikine, is being developed for the treatment of cancer. It is a cancer immunotherapy drugs called Combination Immunotherapy because it combines active and passive immunity in one product. It is the only cancer immunotherapy that both kills cancer cells and activates the general immune system to destroy the cancer. Multikine target the tumor micro-metastases for treatment failure. Multikine is also applicable in many other solid tumors.

New Manufacturing Facility

CEL-SCI's facility manufactures Multikine for CEL-SCI's Phase III clinical trial. CEL-SCI offers the use of the facility as a service to pharmaceutical companies and others, particularly those that need to fill and finish their drugs in a cold environment. Fill and finish is the process of filling injectable drugs in a sterile manner.

LEAPS

CEL-SCI's patented T-cell Modulation Process uses heteroconjugates to direct the body to choose a specific immune response. The heteroconjugate technology, referred to as LEAPS, is intended to stimulate the human immune system to fight bacterial, viral and parasitic infections, as well as autoimmune, allergies, transplantation rejection and cancer. Administered like vaccines, LEAPS combines T-cell binding ligands with small, disease associated and peptide antigens.

Using the LEAPS technology, CEL-SCI has created a peptide treatment for H1N1 (swine flu) hospitalized patients. This LEAPS flu treatment is designed to focus on the conserved, non-changing epitopes of the di! fferent strains of Type A Influenza viruses, including swine, avian or bird, and Spanish Influenza. CEL-SCI's LEAPS flu treatment contains epitopes.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Elan Corporation PLC (ELN)

Elan Corporation, plc (Elan), incorporated in December 1969, is a neuroscience-based biotechnology company. The Company is focused on discovering and developing advanced therapies in neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. Elan�� business focuses on neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer�� disease and Parkinson�� disease; autoimmune diseases, including MS and Crohn�� disease and neo-epitope based targets for treatments across a range of therapeutic indications. Tysabri is a treatment for MS and Crohn�� disease that the Company markets and distributes with Biogen Idec. On September 16, 2011, Elan sold its EDT business to Alkermes, Inc. In November 2011, Elan launched a collaboration with the University of Cambridge, England, the Cambridge-Elan Centre for Research Innovation and Drug Discovery (Cambridge-Elan Centre). On December 21, 2012, the Company completed the demerger of Prothena Corporation plc. In April 2013, it closed the TYSABRI (natalizumab) Collaboration Transaction with Biogen Idec.

Tysabri

Tysabri, which is an alpha-4 integrin inhibitor, is a therapy for MS, a neurological disorder involving central nervous system dysfunction among adults. Tysabri is approved in more than 65 countries. Tysabri is approved in the United States as a monotherapy for relapsing forms of MS, for patients who have had an inadequate response to, or are unable to tolerate, an alternative MS therapy. In the European Union, it is approved for relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) in adult patients who have failed to respond to beta interferon or have rapidly evolving, severe RRMS. As of December 31, 2011, there were approximately 64,400 patients on Tysabri therapy worldwide.

In June 2011, the European Commission (EC) approved the inclusion of the anti-JCV antibody status as an additional factor in stratifying patients at risk for developing PML in the Summary of Product Characteristics��(SmPC) for Tysabri in the European Union. The Company has developed a two-step ! enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), STRATIFY JCV, with Biogen Idec. The assay detects anti-JCV antibodies in the blood of patients, and is commercially available in Europe. In January 2012, the FDA cleared the assay for commercial use in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, over 80,000 tests had been administered using the assay. Tysabri is marketed and distributed by Elan and Biogen Idec. The Company�� research group, Neotope, is focused on creating monoclonal antibodies based on neo-epitope targets for the treatment of a range of therapeutic indications.

Beta Amyloid Immunotherapies (AIP)

Beta amyloid immunotherapy includes the treatment of Alzheimer�� disease by inducing or enhancing the body�� immune response in order to clear toxic species of beta amyloid from the brain. The AIP includes bapineuzumab (intravenous and subcutaneous delivery) and ACC-001, as well as other compounds. Bapineuzumab is an experimental humanized monoclonal antibody delivered intravenously that is being studied as a treatment for mild to moderate Alzheimer�� disease. It is designed to provide antibodies to beta amyloid directly to the patient (passive immunotherapy).

ELND005, an A� Aggregation Inhibitor

The small molecule ELND005 (Scyllo-inositol) is a beta amyloid anti-aggregation agent. Preclinical data suggest that ELND005 may act through the mechanism of preventing and reversing the fibrilisation of beta amyloid (the aggregation of beta amyloid into clumps of insoluble oligomers). ELND005 may have additional applications in psychiatric indications, such as bipolar disorder. In November 2011, the Company entered into a manufacturing agreement for the supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient for ELND005 with Lonza Group AG.

Neotope Biosciences Limited

Neotope Biosciences Limited (Neotope) is the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary that focuses on the discovery and development of antibodies to neo-epitope related targ! ets for t! he treatment of a range of indications. It includes amyloidosis, diabetes, cancer and macular degeneration. Neotope�� portfolio of targets includes alpha-synuclein for the potential treatment of synucleinopathies, such as Lewy body dementia and Parkinson�� disease, tau for Alzheimer�� disease and other tauopathies. It also has a program for type 2-diabetes.

Onclave Therapeutics Limited

Elan�� wholly owned subsidiary Onclave Therapeutics Limited (Onclave) was formed to develop assets originating from Elan that have application in oncology related diseases. Onclave�� program, NEOD001, which originated from Neotope, is being investigated for the treatment of AL amyloidosis, which is a fatal disease involving abnormal accumulation of amyloid in organs and tissue. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Onclave filed for orphan drug designation of NEOD001. Onclave�� pipeline includes additional compounds with relevance in diverse cancer indications.

The Company competes with Biogen Idec, Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Bayer Schering Pharma, Merck Serono, Pfizer, Teva Neurosciences, Inc., Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis AG.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Tim Brugger]

    After confirming an unsolicited takeover bid from privately held investment firm Royalty Pharma in late February, Ireland-based Elan (NYSE: ELN  ) announced today that its board has unanimously rejected the offer.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    Elan (NYSE: ELN  )
    Having a lot of cash in the biotech sector doesn't mean that a company's clinical trials will translate into success. Elan's claim to fame was the development of multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, which it licensed out to Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB  ) . Sales of the drug hit $1.6 billion last year.

  • [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

    Elan is a biotechnology company that is looking for ways to improve and better the lives of people with neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. The stock has struggled over the last couple of years and looks to be comfortable at these prices. Over the last four quarters, investors in the company have been disappointed as earnings have decreased while revenue figures have increased. Relative to its peers and sector, Elan has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what Elan does in coming quarters.

  • [By Tim Brugger]

    After consulting with outside financial advisors, in conjunction with the Elan (NYSE: ELN  ) board of directors and executive management team, the Ireland-based biotechnology company has determined the recent $12.50-a-share buyout offer from Royalty Pharma undervalues select Elan assets by as much as $4.3 billion, the company announced Wednesday.

Top 5 Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: Oxford BioMedica PLC (OXB)

Oxford BioMedica plc is a biopharmaceutical company developing gene-based medicines and therapeutic vaccines. The Company�� LentiVector platform products include ProSavin, RetinoStat, StarGen, UshStat, EncorStat, Glaucoma-GT and MoNuDin. Its 5T4 Tumour Antigen produces TroVax and Anti-5T4 antibody. The Prime Boost�� product includes Hi-8 Mel. Its GDEPT platform produces MetXia and Anti Angiogenesis platform produces EndoAngio-GT. The Company is developing four LentiVector platform product candidates for the treatment of ocular diseases: RetinoStat for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD); StarGen for Stargardt disease; UshStat for Usher syndrome type 1B, and EncorStat for corneal graft rejection. TroVax is a therapeutic vaccine that stimulates the immune system to destroy cancerous cells expressing the 5T4 tumour antigen. On February 25, 2011, the Company purchased a freehold property, United Kingdom comprising a manufacturing facility.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Algeta ASA (ALGETA)

Algeta ASA is a Norway-based biotechnology company engaged in the development of targeted cancer therapies based on its alpha-pharmaceutical platform. The Company�� principal product is Alpharadin for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from castration-resistant prostate cancer. The Company�� pipeline also includes Alpharadin for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from breast cancer, a combination of Alpharadin with Taxotere for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from prostate cancer and Thorium-227 showing various cancer indications. The Company develops Alpharadin in a development and marketing cooperation with Bayer Schering Pharma. Algeta ASA is active through the two wholly owned subsidiaries, Algeta Innovations AS and Algeta UK Limited. On April 12, 2012, the Company announced that it estabilished a subsidiary active in the United States, Algeta US.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc (RNN)

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Rexahn) is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company focuses on the development of cures for cancer to patients worldwide. The Company�� pipeline features one drug candidate in Phase II clinical trials. The Company also has several other drug candidates in pre-clinical development. In addition, the Company has two renal cell carcinoma (CNS) candidates, Serdaxin, CNS Disorders drug for depression and neurodegenerative diseases and Zoraxel, which is a erectile dysfunction (ED) and sexual dysfunction drug that are in clinical stages and the Company is are exploring options for further development . The Company�� drug candidate, Archexin is an anticancer Akt inhibitor.

Archexin

Archexin is potent inhibitor of the Akt protein kinase (Akt) in cancer cells. Archexin has FDA orphan drug designations for five cancers (RCC, glioblastoma, and cancers of the ovary, stomach and pancreas). Multiple indications for other solid tumors can also be pursued. Archexin inhibit both activated and inactivated forms of Akt, and to reverse the drug resistance observed with the protein kinase inhibitors. Archexin is an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) compound that is complementary to Akt mRNA, and selective for inhibiting mRNA expression and production of Akt protein. As of December 31, 2011, Archexin was in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of pancreatic cancer with enrollment completed in September, 2011.

Serdaxin

Serdaxin is an extended release formulation of clavulanic acid, which is an ingredient present in antibiotics approved by the FDA. The Company had been developing Serdaxin for the treatment of depression and neurodegenerative disorders. From January to September, 2011, the Company conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study compared two doses of Serdaxin, 0.5 milligram and 5 milligram, to placebo over an eight-week treatment period for major depressive disorder (MDD) patients. As of Dec! ember 31, 2011, the Company had not made a determination of Serdaxin�� future paths or resource allocations to further develop Serdaxin to treat MDD.

Zoraxel

Zoraxel is an orally administered, on-demand tablet to treat sexual dysfunction. Zoraxel is a dual enhancer of neurotransmitters in the brain that play a key role in sexual activity phases of motivation and arousal, erection and release, and may be the ED drug to affect all three of these phases of sexual activity. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was evaluating how to proceed with the Phase IIb study of Zoraxel.

The Company�� Pre-clinical Pipeline Drug Candidates includes RX-1792, which is a small molecule anticancer EGFR inhibitor; RX-5902, which is a small molecule anticancer ribonucleic acid (RNA) helicase regulator; RX-3117, which is a Small molecule anticancer deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis Inhibitor; RX-8243, which is a small molecule anticancer aurora kinase inhibitor; RX-0201-Nano, which is a nanoliposomal anticancer Akt inhibitor; RX-0047-Nano, which is an nanoliposomal anticancer HIF-1 alpha inhibitor and RX-21101, which is a nano-polymer Anticancer.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James E. Brumley]

    With just a quick glance at a chart of Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSEMKT:RNN), it would be easy to conclude it's nothing but a volatile mess. When you take a step back and look at a long-term weekly chart of RNN, however, it starts to become clear that this small cap biopharma name is on the verge of a monster-sized breakout. First things first, however.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    One under-$10 biopharmaceutical player that's just starting to move into breakout territory is Rexahn Pharmaceuticals (RNN), which is engaged in the development of novel treatments for cancer to patients. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up sharply by 62%.

    If you take a look at the chart for Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of 36 cents per share to its intraday high of 53 cents per share. During that uptrend, shares of RNN have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of RNN into breakout territory above some near-term overhead resistance levels at 49 cents to 50 cents per share. It's worth noting that volume today is tracking in extremely strong with over 3 million shares traded, versus its three-month average action of 1.22 million shares.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RNN if it manages to break out above Thursday's intraday high of 53 cents per share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.22 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then RNN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at 64 cents to its 52-week high at 66 cents per share. Any high-volume move above 66 cents to 67 cents per share could then send RNN towards its next major overhead resistance levels at 81 cents per share.

    Traders can look to buy RNN off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average at 47 cents per share. One can also buy RNN off strength once it clears 53 cents per share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Brian Orelli]

    All the cool kids are doing it
    Abbott isn't the only large health care company trying to increase earnings per share by reducing share count through buybacks. Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) recently announced plans to accelerate the purchase of $5 billion worth of Merck stock as part of a $15 billion repurchase. After Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) sold its nutrition business, it pledged to use the cash in a $10 billion repurchase.

  • [By Jeremy Bowman]

    Another stock pushing the Dow higher today was Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) , which jumped 3.8% after revealing positive results in a new melanoma study that said its new drug, lambolizumab, shrunk the tumors of 38% of patients with the late-stage form of the skin cancer and 52% of patients who received the highest dosage of the drug. One analyst said the drug may be able to do $5 billion sales. Rival Bristol-Myers Squibb also gained 3.4% as it demonstrated its own potent combination for treating melanoma.

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Incyte Corporation(INCY)

Incyte Corporation focuses on the discovery and development of proprietary small molecule drugs for hematologic and oncology indications, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Its product pipe line includes INCB18424, which is in Phase III clinical trial for myelofibrosis; Phase III trial for polycythemia vera; Phase III trial for essential thrombocythemia; Phase I/II trial to treat solid tumors/other hematologic malignancies; and Phase IIb trail for the treatment of psoriasis. The company?s portfolio also includes INCB28050, a Phase IIb clinical trial product for rheumatoid arthritis; INCB28060, a Phase I/II product for solid tumors; INCB7839, a Phase II product for breast cancer; and INCB24360, a Phase I/II product for solid tumors. It has a collaborative research and license agreements with Novartis International Pharmaceutical Ltd.; Eli Lilly and Company; and Pfizer Inc. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    The company was also hoping to crack into the rheumatoid arthritis market with tabalumab, which kept the streak of ineffective treatments going for shareholders. Despite losing out on this massive market initially, Eli Lilly does have a promising JAK inhibitor (baricitinib) being developed with Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY  ) for the disease and an additional trial for psoriasis. If successful, safe, and effective, the oral treatment could be more convenient for patients currently taking injectable biologics. �

  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    Pfizer will turn its immediate focus to Xeljanz, a novel JAK3 inhibitor, as it awaits phase 3 data from ertugliflozin several years from now. The drug class has swept the pharmaceutical industry by storm. Novartis (NYSE: NVS  ) and Eli Lilly are developing JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitors for several applications with Incyte (NASDAQ: INCY  ) , while a handful of other companies have molecules of their own. While companies have high hopes for the cancer-fighting potential of JAK inhibitors, such as Jakafi from Novartis and Incyte, the biggest opportunities may lie in the immunology market.

  • [By John McCamant]

    Incyte's (INCY) crackerjack medicinal chemistry team continues to show that they can create better and differentiated drug candidates from the competition.

    The key near-term driver for INCY is Jakafi growth, and with the increased sales guidance, the company is delivering. The drug's overall profile continues to improve and the recent survival data proves that Jakafi does much more for myelofibrosis patients than just control symptoms.

  • [By Jay Silverman]

    Steve Halpern: One of your long-standing recommendations is Incyte (INCY), which recently reported some positive news and saw a huge jump in the price-up close to 30% in one day. What happened there and what's your outlook for the stock?

Top Biotech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Transition Therapeutics Inc.(TTHI)

Transition Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops novel therapeutics for various disease indications primarily in Canada. Its lead products include ELND005 (AZD-103), a Phase II clinical trial product for the treatment of Alzheimer?s disease; TT-301 and TT-302, which are Phase I clinical trial products, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer?s disease, traumatic brain injury, and intracerebral hemorrhage; and TT401/402, a preclinical stage product to treat diabetes. The company also has an emerging pipeline of preclinical and clinical drug candidates for the treatment of anti-inflammatory and metabolic indications. It has strategic collaborations with Elan Pharma International Limited to develop and commercialize ELND005 (AZD-103); and a licensing and collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to develop and commercialize gastrin based therapies, and the preclinical compound TT401/402. The company was formerly known as Transition T herapeutics and Diagnostics Inc. and changed its name to Transition Therapeutics Inc. on December 2000. Transition Therapeutics Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The Top Bank Prospect Isn't One of the Majors (BAC, SBCF, C)

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) is certainly no Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) or Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), but then again, that may be a good thing - both larger banks are still dealing with the headaches of their sheer size. The smaller bank is far more nimble, and better still, appears to be on the verge of doling out a huge reward for shareholders.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is a (as the name implies) a Florida-based regional banking company. For perspective, the $212 million market cap SBCF boasts is dwarfed by the Citigroup market cap of $152 billion, and the Bank of America market cap of the same... $152 billion. As they say, though, all things are relative - SBCF is still packing a potential punch that C or BAC shares aren't right now.

There are a couple of reasons and clues this is so, one of which is simply the shape of the chart - SBCF bushed a key support level a couple of weeks ago, and has since pushed up and off that floor on higher volume.

Best Medical Companies For 2014

The daily chart of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida tells the tale. That key line in the sand that prodded a reversal of a lethargic pullback was the 200-day moving average line (green) in early October. All it took was a touch, and poof - the bulls were running again. In the mean time, we've seen no major setbacks, but we have seen two decided accumulation (high-volume buy-in) days since the brush of the 200-day moving average line. Better still, it looks as if all of the shorter-term moving average lines have started to act as a technical floor for SBCF shares.

That's not even the most technically-compelling aspect of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares right now. When you take a step back and look at a much longer-term weekly chart, you'll see there's a paradigm shift for the better underway. Click here an appropriately-sized image of said chart. What you'll see is a stock that consolidated for more than a couple of years between $1.10 and $1.95, and over the course of the past ten months or so has wiggled its way out of a sideways range and into a rising/bullish channel. The brewing effect of that consolidation phase has already been put into place, though, and we're due for a lot more upside than the 15% rally we've seen above the upper edge of that range at $1.95. The added upside of getting into SCBF right now is that we've just kissed the lower edge of the new rising trading range; there's a lot of near-term upside potential to get us started on the right foot.

The clincher for all the bullishness is the fact that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is supporting it with legitimate earnings growth. The company is projected to swing to a profit of $0.07 per share this year versus a loss of $0.05 per share last year, and continue at that pace in 2014 when it's expected to earn $0.09 per share. It's only 2 cents per share, but it's a 28% increase. Eat your hearts out Bank of America and Citigroup.

If you'd like to receive more trading ideas and insights like this one, you want to subscribe to the free daily SmallCap Network e-newsletter.

Monday, October 28, 2013

4 Biotech Stocks Under $10 to Trade for Breakouts

 DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

Coronado Biosciences

Coronado Biosciences (CNDO) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on novel immunotherapy biologic agents for autoimmune diseases and cancer. This stock closed up 4.9% to $8.22 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $7.84-$8.29

52-Week Range: $4.00-$12.70

Thursday's Volume: 323,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 390,192

From a technical perspective, CNDO spiked higher here right above its 200-day moving average of $7.63 with decent upside volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months, with shares falling from its high of $12.70 to its recent low of $7.32. During that move, shares of CNDO have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. Shares of CNDO now look ready to reverse that trend and potentially trigger a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if CNDO manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $8.56 to $8.94 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CNDO as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $7.63 or above more support at $7.32 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 390,192 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CNDO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $9.50 to $10.35. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put its next major resistance level at $11 into range for shares of CNDO.

Transcept Pharmaceuticals

Transcept Pharmaceuticals (TSPT) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary products that address important therapeutic needs in neuroscience. This stock closed up 6% to $2.98 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $2.81-$2.99

52-Week Range: $2.77-$6.77

Thursday's Volume: 138,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 158,095

From a technical perspective, TSPT spiked sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $2.77 and back above its 50-day moving average at $2.95 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of TSPT within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if TSPT manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.16 to $3.25 with high volume. If that breakout hits, it would also push TSPT outside of a large consolidation pattern the stock has been in for the last three months.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TSPT as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at $2.77 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 158,095 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then TSPT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.23 to its 200-day moving average at $4.50. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $4.89 to $5 into range for shares of TSPT.

Astex Pharmaceuticals

Astex Pharmaceuticals (ASTX) is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics with a focus on oncology and hematology. This stock closed up 5.9% to $5.54 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $5.27-$5.59

52-Week Range: $2.14-$6.95

Thursday's Volume: 1.25 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.42 million

From a technical perspective, ASTX bounced sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $5.10 with decent upside volume. This stock pulled back recently from $5.85 to $5.10 and it now looks ready to resume its uptrend and possibly trigger a breakout trade. That trade will if ASTX manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $5.85 to $5.90 and then once it clears more resistance at $6.25 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ASTX as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $5.10 or its 50-day at $4.89 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.42 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ASTX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $6.95. Any high-volume move above $6.95 will then give ASTX a chance to trend north of $7 as the stock enters new 52-week-high territory.

Ventrus Biosciences

Ventrus Biosciences (VTUS) is engaged in the late-stage clinical development of gastrointestinal products in areas of unmet need, anal fissures and fecal incontinence. This stock closed up 6.2% to $2.54 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $2.41-$2.58

52-Week Range: $1.91-$4.15

Thursday's Volume: 266,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 202,803

From a technical perspective, VTUS soared higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $2.37 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last month and change, with shares moving higher from its low of $1.91 to its intraday high of $2.58. During that move, shares of VTUS have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of VTUS within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if VTUS manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.61 to its 200-day moving average at $2.62 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in VTUS as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $2.37 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 202,803 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then VTUS will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2.83 to $3. Any high-volume move above $3 will then put its next major overhead resistance levels at $3.43 to $3.92 within range for shares of VTUS.

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

AEM Spikes - Agnico Eagle Pours Gold

The once-troubled Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM) is hitting a new record for gold production in the third quarter at 315,828 ounces, according to the Financial Post, and the company's executives are buying. Here's a third quarter company update and a look at billionaire stakeholders of AEM, a stock that spiked 23.66% over the past five days.

U.S. Industry Sector: Metals & Mining

Highlight: Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM)

The current AEM share price is $31.10. The dividend yield is 2.82%.

Down 44% over 12 months, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has a market cap of $5.39 billion, and trades at a P/E of 29.00 and a P/B of 1.60.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. is a gold producer that also explores for silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Agnico's LaRonde mine, located in the Abitibi region of Quebec, estimates reserves of around 4.2 million ounces of gold. The company was incorporated in Canada in 1972.

Agnico Eagle Mines Inc. reported financial results for the third quarter of 2013 with adjusted earnings at $60.5 million and earnings per share at $0.35. Quarterly net income was down year-over-year at $47.3 million. In the same quarter last year, Agnico reported net income of $106.3 million.

Guru Stakeholders: As of the second quarter of 2013, Jean-Marie Eveillard of First Eagle Investment Management is the top guru owner with 18,154,432 shares, representing 10.48% of shares outstanding. The firm increased its position by 60.58% in the second quarter of 2013, buying 6,849,198 shares at an average price of $31.59, for a loss of 7.5%.

The five-year trading history shows all losing quarters. Overall, the firm averaged a loss of 26% on 19,035,721 shares bought at an average price of $39.52 per share. The firm also lost 44% on 881,289 shares sold at an average price of $52.49 per share.

Guru Ray Dalio also increased his position in the second quarter by 369.18%, buying 81,958 shares at an average price of $31.59 per share, losing 1.6%.

Dalio averaged a loss of 17%! on 112,399 shares bought at an average price of $37.55 per share. Selling 8,241 shares at an average price of $44.25 per share, Ray Dalio took a loss of 30%.

His current shares of 104,158 represent 0.06% of shares outstanding.

Guru Steven Cohen was the only guru to sell out his AEM holding in the second quarter of 2103. After five years of mostly double-digit losses, Cohen unloaded 31,816 shares at an average price of $31.59 per share, taking a loss of 1.6%.

Top 5 Tech Stocks To Buy For 2014

Check out the other AEM stakeholders and very active insider trading.

Read more about John Paulson's AEM and Agnico's Goldex mine.

Historical share price, revenue and net income tracking:

[ Enlarge Image ]

If you are not yet a Premium Member, try a 7-day Free Trial.

Use the GuruFocus Value Screen to find 52-Week Lows and discover potentially deep value stocks held by billionaire Guru investors.


Friday, October 25, 2013

Could booze be a tonic for Ohio cities?

CINCINNATI -- Better known for loosening inhibitions, booze may soon be used to lubricate the wheels of economic development in some Ohio communities.

A growing number of cities nationwide, including Memphis, Louisville and Montgomery, Ala., allow people to openly drink on the streets, a la New Orleans, to encourage economic development.

Now, a bipartisan "open container" bill giving that option to Ohio cities is given a good chance of passage in coming months. Sponsoring Democratic state Sen. Eric Kearney is tweaking it after a committee hearing, with a committee vote likely late this year or when the General Assembly returns in March.

It has strong support from the Ohio Wholesale Wine and Beer Association, one of the most powerful lobbies in the state capital, said Republican state Sen. Bill Seitz, a bill co-sponsor and ardent supporter.

"It would be the first time in years that I can enjoy a drink and a cigarette at the same time," Seitz said.

Memphis' Beale Street is the ultimate success story. The hotbed of blues music died in the 1960s as businesses and residents left downtown for the suburbs, according to Leslie Gower, spokeswoman for the Downtown Memphis Commission – a scenario that also played out in Cincinnati. But in the 1980s a revitalization plan closed Beale Street to traffic and opened it to alcohol-carrying pedestrians, bringing it back to life as a destination for live music.

"Beale Street is Tennessee's top tourism destination, and that's largely because of the alcohol," Gower said. "It goes into creating a festive environment."

Ohio's three Cs – Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland – already have had some success with urban revitalization, but this would give them another tool, Kearney said.

"Over-the-Rhine (in Cincinnati) is vibrant, but it's not as crowded as it once was," he said, as an example. "Just think how the nightlife would feed into the residential areas, which would feed into the retail areas, which would cause the whole a! rea to experience more success."

More than a dozen Ohio cities and townships would be able to create up to three open-container districts each, depending on their population. Cincinnati, just shy of the 300,000 population threshold for three districts, could have two.

Communities are just beginning to learn about the bill and what it could mean for them. So far, local leaders and bar owners seem supportive of the state giving communities the right to create open-container districts.

"There's no downside," said Julie Calvert, spokeswoman for the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It allows cities to make their own determinations for how and where they want to do it."

Whether neighborhood business owners and residents actually want to be part of a district is less clear. Bar owners question how the flow of alcohol would be contained within the district and whether closed streets would jam traffic.

"The devil's in the details," said Jim Moehring, owner of Holy Grail at the Banks in Cincinnati. "It's going to be tricky to manage."

Members of the Downtown Residents Council have mixed views on Kearney's bill, according to President Craig Hudson.

"Anything that creates more activity we're in favor of, but from a trash and rowdiness standpoint there was some concern," he said.

Even bar patrons don't see open-container laws changing their entertainment plans.

"I could see it being kind of cool, but I don't think it would make me more likely to come to the Banks," said Brian Albrecht, 25, of Oxford. He works downtown and sometimes visits the riverfront entertainment district.

Picking just two open-container districts could become a challenge if neighborhoods warm up to the idea.

Cincinnati already has eight community entertainment districts, a designation that opens up more liquor licenses for about $1,500 each instead of $25,000 each

Still, some people aren't sure their neighborhood is ready for public drinking.

The $300 m! illion-pl! us redevelopment of Over-the-Rhine might make it an obvious candidate for an open-container district, but Peter Hames, president of the community council, says not so fast.

Neighborhood development includes condos and apartments above many of the first-floor shops, restaurants and bars.

"We don't want to be an entertainment district, in my opinion," Hames said. "We want to be a really nice mixed-use neighborhood."

Beale Street has no residents to worry about, according to Gower. There are some offices above bars, but otherwise the 1.8-mile street is all about the music and entertainment.

The Alley was the first open-container district in Alabama, sought in 2010 to bring and keep people in downtown Montgomery after business hours.

Buildings on either side of the two-block stretch were bought by the city and resold for development as first-floor entertainment with housing above.

Developers are now working on building more apartments at one end of the Alley.

"We have seen increased attendance numbers for all downtown events," said Dawn Hathcock, vice president of the Montgomery Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We are also getting positive response from meeting planners."

Early results were positive enough that Alabama quickly passed legislation to allow other cities to create open-container districts.

The size of open-container districts varies widely, from Louisville's one-block Fourth Street Live to several cities in Montana that allow public drinking anywhere. Erie, Pa., has a 70-block downtown open-container district, and Savannah, Ga., allows open containers in its historic district.

Cities have settled on different approaches, as well. Louisville's Fourth Street Live, a private development of mostly chain restaurants and stores, has a detailed dress code banning "excessively torn clothing" and forbidding men from wearing shirts that are either sleeveless or too long, among other restrictions.

Beale Street uses barriers and police cars ! to mark t! he boundaries of the entertainment area, and no one under 21 is allowed inside after dark. After several fights earlier this year, dozens of security cameras were added.

Most communities allow traffic through the district part of the time, becoming pedestrian-only on evenings or weekends. Many require drinks to be in plastic containers.

If Ohio lawmakers pass Kearney's bill allowing open-container districts, it likely won't take effect until late 2014 or early 2015, he said.

Time for local communities to size up the possibilities and risks, and decide whether they want in.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

A Million Dollars Isn’t What It Used To Be

Best Insurance Companies To Watch In Right Now

Tweet 0 Disqus Email Print Feedback Share Tweet 0 Disqus Email Print Feedback 0 Disqus A Million Dollars Isn't What It Used To Be October 23, 2013 | Filed Under » Retirement Budgeting, Retirement Income, Retirement Planning, Retirement Saving Plan, Certificates of Deposits (CDs), Social Security Dennis Miller More from: Dennis Miller A Million Dollars Isn't What It Used To Be We all share a common goal: to grow our nest eggs and make sure they last over the long haul. Our generation was taught to live off the interest and never touch the principal, but interest rates for CDs and Treasuries no longer allow for that. Frankly, they don't even keep up with inflation, so we have to invest our money elsewhere if we want it to last.

It is a challenge to keep up with inflation and earn enough income to supplement our Social Security. Also, when our respective parents died, my wife and I each inherited a bit of money to add to our retirement fund, and we hope to do the same for our children. Many of you likely have a similar goal.

In 2007, an investor with $1 million could earn $60,000 annually on a certificate of deposit. Today, that same CD would earn $12,000, which makes things a lot more difficult. We will use $1 million in our examples simply because it's an easy number to follow and do math with in our heads. However, the principles we'll discuss apply no matter what size your retirement portfolio happens to be.

The Old Rule of Thumb Back in the good old days, there were four estimates that worked well for conservative retirement planning:

Return on your portfolio: 6% Inflation rate: 2% Age your money needs to last to: 120 years old Percentage of your portfolio to invest outside of CDs and high-quality bonds: 100 minus your age at retirement Will 100 Minus Your Age Work Today? A retiree who invests 65% or more of his or her nest egg in Treasuries or CDs will not earn enough to keep up with inflation, let alone pay the bills. Furthermore, while fixed-income investments were once considered safe, they carry significant risk, as rising inflation rates could destroy their value. So, retirees are under a two-sided attack.

How Should We Factor in Inflation? This is really a twofold question: what is the inflation rate; and how does it affect our personal buying power?

Regardless of what the inflation rate is, to maintain the buying power of our nest egg, our principal must be adjusted every year. If we have $1 million and plan for 4% inflation to leave a little room for error (that's a little over twice the official September 2013 annual rate), we need to earn $40,000 at the end of the year to cover inflation. Anything above that is supplemental income, or we can keep it in our portfolio.

There has been a lot of discussion about what the real rate of inflation actually is. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics' (BLS) formula is quite complicated, and takes into consideration housing costs, food, and health care, etc. However, the BLS inflation rate can seem irrelevant when your costs are increasing much faster than it suggests they should.

In our reader poll, folks estimated their personal inflation rate at 8.1%, on average. Using that number, you would need to earn $81,000 on $1 million dollars just to stay even. Depending on your personal expenses, inflation will affect you differently. So, take a good look at your expenses and find a reasonable rate that suits the rising costs in your life.

Inflation varies from year to year. Most folks think the increase to our 2013 Social Security checks did not even come close to covering the true inflation rate for 2012. While inflation over the last 30 years may have been 2-3%, it is much better to err on the side of caution. I'd rather overshoot the number than not. So, set a reasonable inflation target that's somewhere above the official 2.0% rate.

Personally, I believe there is a commonsense rule that applies. A few years ago my wife Jo and I had a terrific year, with overall returns in excess of 25%. When that sort of windfall occurs, a retiree who wants to stay retired will use some common sense and not go on a spending binge. They will take out only what they need to mee! t regular expenses and leave the balance in their portfolio to grow. When a lean year comes along, we may fall a percent or two short. Life is much less stressful if during most years we bank a little extra to build a cushion.

What About 4% to Supplement Your Income? Unlike inflation and CD rates, there are some variables over which we do have control. Income and 4% are great examples.

Many baby boomers and retirees are choosing to exercise caution here. I recently heard of a baby boomer who sat down with his analyst and saw that while he had enough money to retire, it would be close. He enjoyed his job and wanted to enjoy retirement without worry, so he decided to keep working for a couple of years to build up a cushion.

In addition, a lot of retirees are now back in the work force. While some may have to work in order to put food on the table, others have simply taken part-time employment doing something they enjoy. A friend of mine who needed a new car decided to go back to work to pay for it instead of taking the money out of his nest egg. He didn't have to, but thought it better to err on the side of caution.

During the first few years of our retirement, taking out 4% to cover living expenses was no problem at all. Now I see lots of folks, Jo and myself included, who are looking at expenses much more critically. They are cutting back on a lot of things that really don't affect their lifestyle. Maybe we don't need to pull out 4% anymore.

As an illustration, we used to have XM radio. It was cool because we could listen to '50s and '60s music without a bunch of CDs falling all over the place. When we bought it, it was $9.95/month – no big deal. Now it is close to $15/month per vehicle. My son pointed out I could download all of our music onto our cellphones, and it can play through the Bluetooth on the radio. Now we sing along to the same music without the monthly cost.

Controlling Financial Risk If you feel extremely behind in your retirement, you may have made some mistakes in the past. However, remember there's only one thing worse than making one big mistake – it's making two big mistakes.

We cannot put more of our life savings in high-risk investments to try to pick up the slack. That is like a gambler doubling his bet to make up for his losses – and we all know how that story ends. We are at a point in life where a do-over is unlikely. The consequences of losing a major portion of our nest egg are too catastrophic to justify foolhardy risks.

So, while it's tempting to play catch up by taking on more risk, we recommend staying safe instead of possibly getting yourself in even deeper trouble. You may have to adjust your lifestyle a bit, but that is much better than losing a major portion of your life savings to a poor investment decision.

Some of my Money Forever regular readers are already retired and some are a few years out. Either way, they have all committed the time and resources necessary to become their own money managers—to continually learn more about handling their money. Remember: no one has more of a vested interest in you getting this right than you do.

From the very first issue of Money Forever our goal—my mission—has been to help those who truly want to take control of their retirement finances. I want our subscribers to have more wealth, a better understanding of how to create an income-producing portfolio, and confidence their money will last throughout retirement.

With that in mind, I'd like to invite you to give Money Forever a try. The current the subscription rate is affordable – less than that of your daily senior vitamin supplements. The best part is you can take advantage of our 90-day, no-risk offer. You can cancel for any reason or even no reason at all, no questions asked, within the first 90 days and receive a full, immediate refund. As you might expect, our cancellation rates are very low, and we aim to keep ! it that way. Click here to find out more.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

David Rolfe Interview with The Wall Street Transcript


TWST: Tell us about Wedgewood Partners and the inception of your current strategy.

Mr. Rolfe: Wedgewood Partners was founded in 1988 by our partner Tony Guerrerio — 1988 is also is the year I started our current investment strategy. In 1988, I was working as a portfolio manager at the old Boatmen's Trust Co. in Saint Louis, Missouri. I'm the architect of our strategy, and I had the fortunate opportunity to begin this strategy on full discretionary accounts at my former employer.

Starting back in 1984 while still in college, I had begun studying and researching the successful investors of the day and became quite enamored with focus investing either on both the growth side and value side. By the time 1988 rolled around, I had an opportunity to put those theories and philosophies to work. So essentially the foundational underpinnings of this strategy was the synthesis of the best tenets of growth and value investing, plus the proper temperament and behavior of a successful business owner, all through the advantaged structure of focus investing.

Best Dividend Companies To Invest In Right Now

Then in 1992, the founding CIO that started Wedgewood with our partner Tony Guerrerio retired. So in May of 1992 I was hired as Chief Investment Officer. The strategy has been in place for 25 years, and 21 of those years have been at Wedgewood. Along the way, Dana Webb and Michael Quigley joined Tony and I to become part of our investment team in 2002 and 2005, respectively.

TWST: Tell us more about your investment philosophy and strategy, and how that translates into making investments.

Mr. Rolfe: In this big wide world of active management, there are now hundreds of active management strategies. In our view, far too many of these firms emphasize the "active" part of active versus passive investing, active trading and/or countless securities in their portfolio. We beli! eve that the key differentiating factor of an active manager versus your peer group or the benchmark is being different — and at best, significantly different.

Continue reading here.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Will a Tentative Agreement Offer JPMorgan Chase a Boost?

With shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) trading around $54, is JPM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

JPMorgan Chase is a financial holding company that provides various financial services worldwide. The company is engaged in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. Financial services companies like JPMorgan Chase are essential for well-functioning economies around the world.

JPMorgan Chase has reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to settle the many investigations against the bank, The New York Times reports. The agreement involves JPMorgan paying a $13 billion fine and contains no promise that the DoJ won't pursue a criminal investigation. The JPMorgan settlement would be a record one for the government agency, as no single company has ever paid such a steep settlement, but the Times cautioned that talks could still fall apart.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

JPMorgan Chase stock has done relatively well in the past couple of years. The stock is currently trading sideways as it digests the flurry of recent news it has received. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, JPMorgan Chase is trading slightly above its rising key averages, which signals neutral to bullish price action in the near term.

JPM

Source: Thinkorswim

Taking a look at the implied volatility and implied volatility skew levels of JPMorgan Chase options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

Implied Volatility (IV)

30-Day IV Percentile

90-Day IV Percentile

JPMorgan Chase Options

22.7%

6%

5%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very small amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

Put IV Skew

Call IV Skew

November Options

Flat

Average

December Options

Flat

Average

As of Monday, there is average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very small amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter Over Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on JPMorgan Chase’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for JPMorgan Chase look like and, more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

2013 Q3

2013 Q2

2013 Q1

2012 Q4

Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)

-112.14%

32.23%

33.61%

54.89%

Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)

-7.67%

13.67%

-3.57%

10.16%

Earnings Reaction

-0.01%

-0.3%

-0.6%

1.01%

JPMorgan Chase has seen increasing earnings and mixed revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have not been pleased with JPMorgan Chase’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has JPMorgan Chase stock done relative to its peers – Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) — and sector?

JPMorgan Chase

Bank of America

Citigroup

Wells Fargo

Sector

Year-to-Date Return

23.31%

25.11%

29.08%

25.04%

25.53%

JPMorgan Chase has been an average relative performer, year to date.

Conclusion

JPMorgan Chase is a bellwether in the banking space that forms an essential part of the United States financial system. The company is reportedly reaching a tentative agreement with the Justice Department to settle its many investigations. The stock has done relatively well in recent months but is now trading sideways as it digests recent news. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been increasing while revenues have been mixed, which has not pleased investors in the company. Relative to its peers and sector, JPMorgan Chase has been an average year-to-date performer. WAIT AND SEE what JPMorgan Chase does this quarter.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Microsoft Expands Iowa Data Center for $678 Million

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) is expanding its West Des Moines Data Center in Iowa for the third time, according to a press release from the Greater Des Moines Partnership released today. The new addition will have a minimum investment of $677.6 million, and comes four years after Microsoft opened its first Des Moines data center in 2009.

Microsoft General Manager of Data Center Services Christian Belady said in a statement today:

Microsoft has enjoyed a strong working relationship with the state of Iowa and West Des Moines and we are excited about our latest expansion project. The expansion of the West Des Moines data center is a win-win, bringing both new jobs to Iowa while supporting the growing demand for Microsoft's cloud services. The new facility is designed to provide fast and reliable services to customers in the region and features our latest efficient data center thinking.

Code-named "Project Mountain" by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the final agreement includes eligibility for up to $20 million in tax credits. "Local incentives" from West Des Moines were also approved, but financial details were not disclosed in the release.

The center will focus primarily on Microsoft's cloud services. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the expansion completed by 2016.

It's been a frustrating path for Microsoft investors, who've watched the company fail to capitalize on the incredible growth in mobile over the past decade. However, with the release of its own tablet, along with the widely anticipated Windows 8 operating system, the company is looking to make a splash in this booming market. In a new premium report on Microsoft, a Motley Fool analyst explains that while the opportunity is huge, so are the challenges. The report includes regular updates as key events occur, so make sure to claim a copy of this report now by clicking here.

Top Undervalued Stocks To Own Right Now

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Is HP Back From the Grave?

Being slow to adapt isn't the most desirable quality in an international tech company. This is a space that's about as Darwinian as it gets: either adapt, or face the consequences. 

And the consequences for longtime shareholders of Hewlett-Packard  (NYSE: HPQ  ) have been dire. The stock has fallen by nearly 50% over the last five years due to its failure to succeed in a little thing called the mobile revolution. However, everyone loves a comeback story, and HP shares have rallied over the last year. So what's an investor to make of this? In the video below, Fool contributor Andrew Tonner and analyst Brendan Byrnes examine whether investors should shun this Silicon Valley fallen star -- or hop on the bandwagon before they get left behind.

10 Best Bank Stocks For 2014

HP's rapidly shifting its strategy under the new leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor blip on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool's technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.

Friday, October 18, 2013

True Unemployment Is 17.6%, Not 7.6%

The government Friday reported that the unemployment rate was 7.6% in May, but I dispute that for two critical reasons. When incorporating underemployed Americans into the count, and when accounting for the 7.26 million Americans I estimate are missing from the labor force count due to their very long-term joblessness, the real unemployment rate could be as high as 17.6%, and is probably at least 11.7%. Thus, the economy is not as healthy as one might hope based on the government's account. It is also greatly dependent on the Federal Reserve's synthetic aid and is highly vulnerable in its current state. So, considering this, I have to wonder if America understood the current state of affairs, would the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) and the PowerShares QQQ (QQQ) each be up in the mid-teens year to date?

The Employment Situation Report, published this Friday, is a report regularly contested on many fronts. It has its issues that are well understood, the results of how we define unemployment. It also misguides because of how it measures the data. The resulting product is understated unemployment. This month's tenth of a point change for the worse, despite a 175K increase in nonfarm payrolls, illustrates its misgivings. That is because, in what seems like an improving situation, the unemployment rate measure deteriorated.

The factors involved:

May 2013

April 2013

Change

Civilian Population

245,363,000

245,175,000

+188K

Civilian Labor Force

155,658,000

155,238,000

+420K

Participation Rate

63.4%

63.3%

+0.1%

Employed

143,898,000

143,579,000

+319K

Unemployed

11,760,000

11,659,000

+101K

Unemployment Rate

7.6%

7.5%

+0.1%

REAL Unemployment

11.7%

11.8%

-0.1%

Part-Timers Who Prefer Full-Time Employment

7,904,000

7,916,000

-12K

Marginally attached to the Labor Force

2,164,000

2,347,000

-183K

U-6 Underemployment

13.8%

13.9%

-0.1%

REAL Underemployment

17.6%

17.8%

-0.2%

In a situation where the number of people em! ployed in! creased by 319K in May, the unemployment rate still rose a tenth of a point. It does not make sense, but if we look closely, we see that somehow, while the employed grew, the number of unemployed Americans also rose by 101K. How can that be? Well, the number of people being counted is not a stagnant figure, and changes as people age and retire and die, or as they graduate from high school and college or immigrate to the country and start looking for work.

Over the course of the last several years, the civilian labor force has been declining, and I believe not just because of retiring baby boomers. I have been arguing for months, if not years now, that the great number of long-term unemployed Americans has led to a large group of Americans falling off the government's radar screen. When people go unemployed for longer than their unemployment benefits extend, if they stop reporting their unemployment as many do, they fall off the government's count. Not everyone who stops receiving unemployment benefits applies for food stamps or goes into the welfare program, at least not right away. Without a benefit check depending on it, many stop responding to the government's inquiries. And if they are not making any money, do they file taxes? So who is to know where they are and what they are doing or whether they are unemployed?

This latest report for May showed that the number of long-term unemployed, those jobless for 27 weeks or longer, stuck at around 4.4 million. The group of desperate Americans about to disappear accounted for 37.3% of those unemployed. It's an excessively large number, and it has been decreasing of late, but not because of job creation alone -- also due to folks just running out of benefits.

The civilian labor force increased by a large number in May, rising by 420,000. It was a rare result in a trend that has shown a shedding of workers. It meant that the labor force participation rate actually increased in May, rising by a tenth of a point to 63.4%. But that is still far! off wher! e the figure stood in November 2006 (66.4%), when the economy was humming.

Some of this change may be due to improving segments of the economy. The real estate recovery has led many homebuilders to discover that a dearth of construction workers exists, as many moved on to other pursuits. As a result, and as I heard from a Toll Brothers (TOL) representative in February, pay in the construction industry is not so bad right now, and could be serving as a draw of the unaccounted for unemployed back into the hunt for jobs. Also, some of the increase could be due to teenagers and recent graduates looking for summer jobs or full-time work. And many senior citizens are being pulled back into the workforce because of financial need. Like I stated previously, when you apply for food stamps or enter the welfare program, you once again report your unemployment, and a good many Americans are probably doing that today.

I come to the real unemployment rate and the real underemployment rate (U-6 figure) by switching this month's labor force participation rate with the rate that existed in the healthier economy of November 2006. Some would argue that participation level was inflated by the real estate bubble, with a good many Americans lucky to be working in mortgage finance at Bank of America's (BAC) Countrywide Financial, or in construction or housing sales at Toll Brothers, and other ancillary jobs tied to housing like in mortgage insurance at Radian Group (RDN). While I give that argument some credence, I also suggest that given the humming economy of the time on various drivers, those Americans could also have found other work or founded businesses.

So, when applying that 66.4% participation rate to the May 2013 civilian population count, I get a civilian workforce figure of 162,921,032. The difference between that labor force figure and the reported figure of 155,658,000 is 7,263,032 Americans, many of whom are likely jobless and willing and able to work. They are the unaccounted for jobless, and! they hav! e a voice here! If we add these 7.26 million Americans back into the unemployed pool, we find my real unemployment rate of 11.7%, not 7.6%. Likewise, the real underemployment rate could be as high as 17.6%, not 13.8%.

For optimists, there is good news to be found, even in this dire data. While the real rates I calculate represent a grossly harsher perspective of the economy today than is depicted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each of the data points also showed improvement from their even worse April measurements.

Index Security

Year-to-Date

Hot Value Stocks To Invest In 2014

52-Week Performance

SPDR S&P 500

+15.7%

+24.8%

SPDR Dow Jones

+16.6%

+22.3%

PowerShares QQQ

+12.7%

+17.9%

Still, if we truly believed and understood unemployment to be 11.7% or 17.6%, I have to wonder if the broader market indexes listed in the above table would reflect such fantastic performances. That is because even while the economic trend has been one of improvement, the current state of affairs reflects a deep dependence on the Federal Reserve's synthetic assistance and a very vulnerable current economy. I will continue to report on and critically analyze economic data for you, and so you are welcomed to follow along.

Source: True Unemployment Is 17.6%, Not 7.6%

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Jim Cramer's 6 Stocks in 60 Seconds: REGN KR AMT LNG SWK ABT (Update 1)

Check out Jim Cramer's latest trading recommendations on "Action Alerts Plus". (Updates from 10:45 a.m. ET with closing information.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here's what Jim Cramer had to say on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Wednesday.

A new cholesterol drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) had very positive phase III results and Cramer said it's putting Merck's (MRK) Zetia drug to shame. REGN jumped 6% to $17.22.

BMO initiated Kroger (KR) with a neutral rating. Cramer said he prefers Whole Foods Market (WFM). KR rose 1% to $41.87. "Goldman Sachs blesses" American Tower (AMT) by reiterating it as a buy, Cramer said, adding that the last thing we heard about the company involved accounting issues. AMT was 3.2% higher at $77.12. Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Cheniere Energy (LNG). Even though the stock has quadrupled in value, it appears to still have upside, according to Cramer. LNG was up 3.5% on the day to $38.17. Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) provided dismal guidance and had poor margins, said Cramer. "This is a disaster." SWK plummeted 14.3% to $76.75. Conversely, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) beat earnings estimates and raised its dividend. Cramer thinks CEO Miles White is going great things and likes the dividend. ABT jumped 6.5% to $35.90. To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter, with all of his latest articles and videos, please click here. -- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich. Follow @BretKenwell

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Top Companies To Own In Right Now

Margins typically drive industrial stocks over the long term, but growth can certainly impact share prices on a more short-term basis. That's working to the detriment of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW), as this high-quality industrial has broken from the peer group this quarter in reporting pretty weak growth numbers. As is typically the case with this company, the shares are not particularly cheap today and even the company's quality edge isn't quite enough to argue strongly for buying today.

Q2 Disappoints On Revenue, But Outperforms On Margins
Illinois Tool Works had a decidedly mixed second quarter report. Illinois Tool Works definitely came in below other industrial conglomerates like General Electric (NYSE: GE), Danaher (NYSE:DHR), Honeywell (NYSE:HON), and Dover (NYSE:DOV) in terms of growth, even though management continues to execute ahead of plan on the restructuring efforts.

SEE: Conglomerates: Risky Proposition?

Revenue rose 1% this quarter, or basically flat on an organic basis. Revenues declined 1% in both North America and the EU, and the company continues to see a relatively weak environment for capital spending, as equipment sales were down 4% while consumables were up 1%.

Top Companies To Own In Right Now: EPIQ Systems Inc. (EPIQ)

Epiq Systems, Inc. provides integrated technology solutions for the legal profession in the United States and internationally. Its solutions streamline the administration of discovery, bankruptcy, litigation, financial transactions, and regulatory compliance matters. The company operates in three segments: eDiscovery, Bankruptcy, and Settlement Administration. The eDiscovery segment provides collections and forensics, processing, search and review, and document review services to companies and the litigation departments of law firms. The Bankruptcy segment provides solutions that address the needs of Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 trustees to administer bankruptcy proceedings, of debtor corporations that file a plan of reorganization, and assists creditors, including banks, mortgage processors, and their administrative services professionals to streamline the processing of their portfolios of loans in bankruptcy cases. The Settlement Administration segment offers ma nagement services, such as claims processing, claims reconciliation, project management, professional services, call center support, Web site development and administration, and controlled disbursements of funds, as well as legal noticing services. Epiq Systems, Inc. serves law firms, corporate legal departments, bankruptcy trustees, government agencies, mortgage processors, financial institutions, and other professional advisors. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas

Top Companies To Own In Right Now: North American Energy Partners Inc. (NOA)

North American Energy Partners Inc. provides heavy construction and mining, piling, and pipeline installation services to customers in the Canadian oil sands, industrial construction, commercial and public construction, and pipeline construction markets. The company operates in three segments: Heavy Construction and Mining, Piling, and Pipeline. The Heavy Construction and Mining segment focuses on providing surface mining support services for oil sands and other natural resources. Its activities include land clearing, stripping, muskeg removal, and overburden removal to expose the mining area; the supply of labor and equipment to supplement customers� mining fleets supporting ore mining; and provision of general support services, such as road building, repair and maintenance for mine and treatment plant operations, and hauling of sand and gravel. This segment also engages in the construction related to the expansion of existing projects-site development and infrastructure ; and the provision of environmental and tailings management services. In addition, it provides industrial site construction for mega-projects; and underground utility installation services for plant, refinery, and commercial building construction. The Piling segment installs driven, drilled, and screw piles, as well as caissons and earth retention, and stabilization systems. It also designs, manufactures, and sells screw piles and pipeline anchoring systems worldwide, as well as provides tank maintenance services to the petro-chemical industry in Canada and the United States. The Pipeline segment provides small and large diameter pipeline construction and installation services, as well as equipment rental to energy and industrial clients. The company�s fleet includes approximately 900 pieces of diversified heavy construction equipment supported by approximately 750 pieces of ancillary equipment. North American Energy Partners Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered i n Calgary, Canada.

Top Value Companies To Invest In 2014: Syngas Ltd(SYS.AX)

Syngas Limited operates in the energy sector in Australia. It engages in the development of ground coal to liquid projects in South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland. The company?s Clinton project is involved in the development, commissioning, and operation of diesel production facility in Adelaide city in South Australia. It also develops a biomass (renewable) project, including a 5MW biomass to power project in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. In addition, the company holds interests in the Moorlands coal deposit in Adelaide; and the Victorian Lignite project, as well as rights to earn interest in four oil and gas prospects in the Gulf of Mexico. Syngas Limited is based in Melbourne, Australia.

Top Companies To Own In Right Now: China Sunsine Chem Hldgs Ltd. (CH8.SI)

China Sunsine Chemical Holdings Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of rubber chemical products in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company primarily offers rubber accelerators comprising Accelerator MBT for dry rubber and latex applications; Accelerator MBTS and Accelerator MBS used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber and natural rubber; Accelerator CBS for use in the manufacture of tires, shoes, tubes, cables, and other rubber goods; Accelerator TBBS for use in rubber products and tires; Accelerator DCBS for the manufacture of tires, belts, and shock absorbers; Accelerator DPG for the production of tires, boards, shoes, and other industrial rubber goods; and Accelerator TMTD that is used in the production of tires, inner tube of tires, shoes, and cables, as well as used as germicides and insecticides in agriculture, and lubricant additives. Its products also include anti-scorching CTP, an anti-scorching agent for the vulcanization process to prevent rubber materials from burning; anti-oxidant RD for the manufacture of tires, motorcycles births, bicycles births, rubber, plastics, adhesive tapes, wires, cables, and other rubber products; and insoluble sulphur, a vulcanizing agent for rubber. China Sunsine Chemical Holdings Ltd. offers its products under the Sunsine brand. It serves tire manufacturers; manufacturers of other related products, such as shoes, belts, and hoses; and rubber chemicals distributors. The company is based in Singapore. China Sunsine Chemical Holdings Ltd. is a subsidiary of Success More Group Ltd.

Top Companies To Own In Right Now: Riverstone Resources Inc.(RVS.V)

Riverstone Resources Inc., an exploration-stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The company primarily explores for gold. Its principal project is the Karma project that consists of six contiguous permits in Goulagou, Rounga, Youba, Tougou, Kao, and Rambo deposits located in the north-central part of Burkina Faso. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Companies To Own In Right Now: E2V Technologies PLC (E2V)

e2v technologies plc is engaged in the design and supply of specialist components and sub-systems into sectors within the medical and science, the aerospace and defense and the commercial and industrial markets. The Company operates in three segments: RF power solutions, which provide electron devices and sub-systems in three application areas, which include radiotherapy, electronic countermeasures and industrial processing systems; imaging solutions, which provide advanced charged coupled devices and metal oxide semiconductor imaging sensors and cameras in three application areas, such as machine vision, space imaging and scientific imaging, and hi-rel semiconductor solutions, which provides semiconductors and services in two main application areas, which include aerospace and defense semiconductors and semiconductor lifecycle management under its SLiM brand. On May 16, 2012, it sold of its non-core businesses, which include e2v Scientific Instruments and e2v microsensors SA.

Top Companies To Own In Right Now: Petroglobe Inc.(PGB.V)

PetroGlobe Inc. engages in the exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas in Canada. It owns interests in the Pembina Cardium light oil, Pembina Edmonton Sands natural gas, and Red Earth Slave Point light oil properties located in Alberta, as well as in the Sawtooth oil property in the Grand Forks/Taber area of southern Alberta. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Top Companies To Own In Right Now: SYMPHONY INTERNATIONAL HLDGS LTD ORD NPV(SIHL.L)

Symphony International Holdings Limited is a private equity and venture capital firm focused on strategic long-term direct investment opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. The firm typically invests in private equity-type deals such as management buy-outs/buy-ins, restructurings, and the provision of later-stage development and expansion capital. It primarily invests in innovative and high-growth consumer businesses primarily in the healthcare, hospitality, and lifestyle sectors. The firm seeks to invest in the entire Asia Pacific region with special focus on India, China, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the emerging markets of Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. It seeks to be the lead or sole investor. Symphony International Holdings Limited is based in Singapore with additional offices in Central, Hong Kong and Road Town, British Virgin Islands.

Monday, October 14, 2013

5 Reasons Why You're In Debt Up To Your Eyeballs

10 Best China Stocks To Watch Right Now

woman shocked at credit card statementsAlamy We've all seen the LendingTree commercials where the guy sarcastically says: "I'm in debt up to my eyeballs. I can barely pay my finance charges. Somebody help me!" If that sounds like you, read on. Here are a few reasons why you're swimming in debt and what you can do about it. No spending plan. Without a plan or financial goals, you're headed down the road to digging yourself deeper into debt. A spending plan establishes goals and principles. If your goal is to save $20,000 for an emergency fund, then you need to avoid more debt along the way. Since debt must be paid back, it would take away from funding the $20,000 goal. Keeping up with everyone else. Your neighbor just pulled into his driveway with a new Ford Mustang, and you immediately think about buying the new Infiniti luxury sedan. That's what we know as keeping up with the Joneses. But it doesn't stop there. Your sister tells you she just picked up the latest purse in the Louis Vuitton spring line, and you think about that Chloe bag you didn't really want until now. We do this to ourselves because we don't want to feel we're missing out on the finer things in life. But what we miss is the reality of the Jones' financial situation. If they're living on credit, you'd never know because you're so blinded by their bling. Take a step back and assess the real reasons behind your newest impulsive purchase, and then take action. Lack of discipline. Just as you begin to think about purchasing a new car because your neighbor recently bought one, hopefully you have enough restraint to consider the impact on your spending plan. If your goal is to get out and stay out of debt, then discipline will play a major role in your daily financial life. Financial discipline will help you assess your goals and consequences when faced with a decision that could potentially take you off the plan. Discipline is your friend. Embrace it. Buying a new car every few years. Remember the car your neighbor bought? Well, let's just say you're about six months from paying off your current vehicle, but you've now convinced yourself that it's time to get a new car because "I deserve it." This is a classic reason why so many people dig in and remain in debt. Most people relish the idea of not having a car payment, and others relish the new car smell and feel every few years. You must decide what's more important to you -- living a debt-free life or cruising in the latest model. In your world, credit is king. You enjoy a little retail therapy because you've had a hard week.But your bank accounts are overdrawn. Not to worry, you've got good ole MasterCard coming to your rescue. The problem? Your cards are mastering you and not the other way around. You've become so addicted to the plastic that you hardly recognize your spending plan anymore. As with the guy from the LendingTree commercials, your life is largely financed by your debt. But it's driving you crazy and will cause many sleepless nights ahead. Here's the thing about getting out of debt: It requires a strong but realistic spending plan that you can stick with through the end. This is a "living" plan that will change along the way, but that's the beauty of it all. Forget keeping up with everyone else, and cut up your credit cards. Spending your time trying to impress people who don't factor into your bottom line is a waste of money and will impede your financial goals. Assess your financial goals, and decide if having a new car is truly worth the money spent. Remember, it's no fun being stressed because your finances are out of control. Take control now, and enjoy the fruits of your efforts along the way.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Take Over, Merger, and Acquisition

Marilyn Cohen, president of Envision Capital Management, discusses TOMA, and the relationship between these companies and their bond holders.

NANCY:  Hello, my guest today is Marilyn Cohen and we’re talking about TOMA.  Marilyn, I saw your YouTube video which was actually wonderful; take-overs, mergers and acquisitions TOMA.  You were talking to bondholders about what happens to them when their company gets taken over.  We’ve had a spade of mergers of acquisitions just recently again and no one talks about the bondholders.

MARILYN:  That’s because nobody cares about us bondholders, Nancy.

NANCY:  I care.

MARILYN:  Well, it depends upon who is taking over the company.  The worst of all possible worlds is when a private equity firm decides that they’re going to take over a company in which you own their corporate bonds.  Private equity puts in just a little teeny bit of equity and then they go out, issue junk bonds of which that bloats up the balance sheet, increased the leverage and if you’re an original bondholder you go wait, my credit quality is going to deteriorate, my credit metrics are going to go to _____ in a hand basket meaning that the amount of coverage that I’m going to have is going to deteriorate and it’s all bad for bondholders.  It really is when private equity comes in.

NANCY:  What’s going to happen with the example of doubt?  Whatever ends up happening with that?  I forgot, ICON I guess is trying to get involved in it now.  What will happen to the bondholders with Dell do you think?

MARILYN:  It’s already happened.  As soon as the announcement was made that Mr. Dell wanted to take over the company, the bonds totally tanked because they didn’t have any protection, any what we call change of control protection in their bond covenants so those bonds went down enormously.  That happens almost all of the time.  If another company takes over your company, usually it’s not as bad because if you have a good quality company or a company of equals, it usually doesn’t mean that they’re going to have to ante up and go out into the junk bond market and have a huge overlay on the bondholders.

10 Best Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now

NANCY:  Right.

MARILYN:  It’s pretty deleterious to your net wealth, there’s no question about that.

NANCY:  How does the bondholder find out?  What do they look for if they’re thinking about Carl Icahn is interested in Dell, Carl Icahn is interested in Apple; where do they go to find out if they have this change?

MARILYN:  Good question, okay in the prospectus there is a section called covenants.  There is a section under that called change of control.  You can have a company, Clorox is a perfect example in which they have five different bonds let’s say and some of them will have change of control protection and some of them won’t.  I had that exact example happen.  Carl Icahn said he was going to take over.  Clorox are the ones that have change of control protection barely budged.  Those that didn’t went down several points.

NANCY:  Wow.

MARILYN:  You have to roll up your sleeves.

NANCY:  Dig in.

MARILYN:  Dig in and look at what kind of protection you do or don’t have.  Now, will that protect you if you bought a bond at 115 and somebody takes it over at 101?  The answer is no, you’re going to lose that 14 points.  I think the rule of thumb is if you have a company bond, a corporate bond, in which somebody looks like they’re going to take you over and you have a big fat juicy premium profit in it, take the profit and get out.  Pay the tax.  Don’t let taxes be the determining fact for whether or not you’re going to hold them or fold them.

NANCY:  Well, super, good advice.  Thanks, Marilyn.

MARILYN:  Thank you.

NANCY:  Thanks for joining us at the MoneyShow.com video network.