5 Best Income Stocks To Buy For 2014

With so much riding on your credit score, it pays to check your records on all three credit agencies annually.

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) You probably know that your credit is a big factor in getting a loan, but you may not realize just how much of an impact it can have on all aspects of your financial life. Your credit can influence everything from interest rates and insurance premiums to apartment rentals and even job eligibility.

The good news: You don't have to earn a high income or be flush with cash to have great credit.

"The most important thing you can do is make your payments on time and don't take on too much credit card debt," says John Ulzheimer, the credit expert for CreditSesame.com.

Meanwhile, it doesn't take drastic measures to improve your credit scores over time. Here's what you need to know.

Best Cheapest Stocks To Buy For 2015: CAI International Inc (CAP)

CAI International, Inc., incorporated on January 30, 2007, is a equipment leasing and management company, operating primarily in the international intermodal marine cargo container leasing business. The Company also owns a fleet of railcars, which it leases in North America. The Company operates in two segments: equipment leasing and equipment management. The equipment leasing segment specializes primarily in the ownership and leasing of intermodal containers, while the equipment management segment manages equipment for third-party investors. The Company leases its equipment principally to international container shipping lines located throughout the world. The Company sells equipment primarily to third-party investor groups and provides management services to those investors in return for a management fee.

The equipment leasing segment derives its revenue primarily from the ownership and leasing of containers to container shipping lines and freight forwarders. The equipment management segment derives its revenue from management fees earned from portfolios of equipment and associated leases which are managed on behalf of third-party investors. As of March 31, 2013, our fleet consisted of 1,091,117 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers and 1,453 railcars.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sarah Jones]

  SAP AG (SAP) climbed 1.2 percent to 57.36 euros and Cap Gemini SA (CAP) gained 1.8 percent to 39.95 euros as peer Infosys Ltd. surged the most in six months in Mumbai trading after first-quarter profit rose and the company�� sales forecast in dollar terms beat analyst estimates.

• [By Joseph Hogue]

  Because of management's missteps, the company is one of the most hated in the space. Investors have borrowed and sold short 2.3 million shares, amounting to almost 11% of the shares available for trading. That compares with short interest of just 3.9% in closest peer CAI International (NYSE: CAP).

• [By CRWE]

  CAI International, Inc. (NYSE:CAP), a leading lessor of intermodal container, reported that its Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Timothy Page, is scheduled to present at the Dahlman Rose Global Transportation Conference in New York on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 12:20 p.m. ET.

5 Best Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: Great American Group Inc (GAMR)

Great American Group, Inc. (Great American), incorporated on May 7, 2009, is a provider of asset disposition and valuation and appraisal services to a range of retail, wholesale and industrial customers, as well as lenders, capital providers, private equity investors and professional service firms. The Company operates its business in two segments: liquidation and auction solutions and valuation and appraisal services. Its liquidation and auction divisions assist customers in the disposition of assets. Such assets include multi-location retail inventory, wholesale inventory, trade fixtures, machinery and equipment, intellectual property and real property. Great American�� valuation and appraisal services division provides its clients with independent appraisals in connection with asset-based loans, acquisitions, divestitures and other business needs. Its valuation and appraisal services division provides valuation and appraisal services to financial institutions, lenders, private equity investors and other providers of capital. These services primarily include the valuation of assets for purposes of determining and monitoring the value of collateral securing financial transactions and loan arrangements, and in connection with potential business combinations. In October 2009, Great American formed a subsidiary, GA Capital, LLC (GA Capital).

Auction and Liquidation Solutions

The Company enables its clients to dispose of under-performing assets and generate cash from excess inventory by conducting or assisting in store closings, going out of business sales, bankruptcy sales and fixture sales. It also provides merger and acquisition due diligence, through the Company�� auction and liquidation segment and reverse logistics and appraisal services, through its valuation and appraisal services segment. It provides retail auction and liquidation services on a fee and guarantee basis. In guarantee retail liquidation engagements, it takes title to any unsold inventory. The Company ! designs and implements disposition programs for its customers seeking to convert excess wholesale and industrial inventory and operational assets into capital. Assets in an orderly liquidation are available for sale on a privately negotiated basis over a period of months. This sale method is often employed to dispose of furniture, fixtures and equipment in connection with retail liquidations, as well as wholesale inventory or industrial equipment. The Company�� live auctions can cover single sites or multiple locations, and the Company utilizes point-of-sale software to generate customized sales reports and invoices and to track assets. The Company webcasts its live auctions over the Internet. This auction format allows online bidders to compete in real time against bidders at the live auction. Bidders can log onto the auction from personal computers, view and bid on lots as they come up for sale, hear the auctioneers as the sale is being conducted and, in some cases, view live streaming video of the auctioneer calling the bids on-site. In the online auction format, the sale of assets takes place online, without a live auctioneer calling the sale.

The Company provides advisory services relating to the wind down process from beginning to end, including negotiation of early lease terminations, sale of intellectual property and sale of completed inventory through the client�� historical distribution channels. It assists clients with managing the disposition of customer returns, obsolete inventory, extraneous fixtures and dated equipment. The Company serves as a broker, providing assistance in reaching target markets and potential buyers or marketing to its database of buyers and end users. The Company performs sealed bid sales in situations where asset disposition requires anonymity of the buyer or seller or involves other confidentiality concerns. In this process, potential buyers submit bids without knowledge of the amount bid by other participants. It also provides wholesale and industr! ial servi! ces on a fee, guarantee and an outright purchase basis. The Company commenced auctions for foreclosed residential real estate properties, through its joint venture with Kelly Capital during the year ended December 31, 2009. The Company coordinates the auction process, including the venue, personnel and onsite technological requirements. It also arranges for financial institutions, title and escrow companies to be onsite at the auction to provide onsite services to potential buyers. The Company provides its home auction services on a fee basis based on a percentage of sale prices and on an outright purchase basis.

Valuation and Appraisal Services

Great American�� valuation and appraisal teams provide independent appraisals to financial institutions, lenders and other providers of capital and other professional service firms for estimated liquidation values of assets. These teams include experts specializing in particular industry and asset classes. The Company provides valuation and appraisal services across five categories: Consumer and Retail Inventory, representative types of appraisals and valuations include inventory of specialty apparel retailers, department stores, jewelry retailers, sporting goods retailers, mass and discount merchants, home furnishing retailers and footwear retailers; Wholesale and Industrial Inventory, representative types of appraisals and valuations include inventory held by manufacturers or distributors of automotive parts, chemicals, food and beverage products, wine and spirits, building and construction products, industrial products, metals, paper and packaging; Machinery and Equipment, representative types of asset appraisals and valuations include a range of equipment utilized in manufacturing, construction, transportation and healthcare; Intangible Assets, representative types of asset appraisals and valuations include intellectual property, goodwill, brands, logos, trademarks and customer lists, and Real Estate, representative types of ass! et apprai! sals and valuations include owned and leased manufacturing and distribution facilities, retail locations and corporate offices.

The Company competes with overstock.com and eBay.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, GAMR surged (+8.57%) up +0.030 at $.380 with 10,000 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:28AM EDT July 12, 2013).

  Great American Group, Inc. has been selected to handle store closing sales at eight Orchard Supply Hardware locations, offering significant product discounts in the Citrus Heights, Fairfield, Huntington Beach, Lone Tree, Long Beach, Midtown, Newark and Vacaville stores

  Orchard previously reported on June 17, 2013, that it had reached an agreement through which Lowe�� Companies, Inc. will acquire the majority of its assets but will allow Orchard to continue day-to-day operations as a separate, standalone business with its brand, strategy and management team intact. To facilitate the acquisition agreement and restructure its balance sheet, Orchard filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The agreement with Lowe�� comprises the initial stalking horse bid in the Court-supervised auction process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

• [By CRWE]

  Today,�GAMR has shed (-9.46%) down -0.035 at $.335 with 160�shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 9:31AM EDT July 8, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.

  Great American Group, Inc. has been selected to handle store closing sales at eight Orchard Supply Hardware locations, offering significant product discounts in the Citrus Heights, Fairfield, Huntington Beach, Lone Tree, Long Beach, Midtown, Newark and Vacaville stores

  Orchard previously reported on June 17, 2013, that it had reached an agreement through which Lowe�� Companies, Inc. will acquire the majority of its assets but will allow Orchard to continue day-to-day operations as a separate, standalone business with its brand, strategy and management team intact. To facilitate the acquisition agreement and restructure its balance sheet, Orchard filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The agreement with Lowe�� comprises the initial stalking horse bid in the Court-supervised auction process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

5 Best Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: Gentherm Inc (THRM)

Gentherm Inc, formerly Amerigon Incorporated, doing business as Gentherm, incorporated in 1991, is a global developer and marketer of thermal management technologies for a range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, thermal storage bins, heated seat and steering wheel systems, cable systems and other electronic devices. The Company is developing materials for thermoelectrics and systems for waste heat recovery and electrical power generation for the automotive market that may have applications for consumer products, as well as industrial and technology markets. Gentherm has facilities in the United States, Germany, Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, England, Korea, Malta, Hungary and the Ukraine. In February 2013, it announced the closing of the acquisition of W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG (W.E.T.).

The Company designs, develops and markets products based on its thermoelectric device (TED) technologies for a range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. As of December 31, 2011, its principal product was its Climate Control Seat (CCS), which it sells to automobile and light truck original equipment manufacturers or their tier one suppliers. The Company�� CCS product is offered as an optional or standard feature on automobile models produced by Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan, Tata Motors, Ltd. and Hyundai. On May 16, 2011 the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Amerigon Europe, GmbH (Amerigon Europe), acquired a majority interest in W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG. (W.E.T.).

Thermoelectric device

The Company�� products are primarily based upon its TED technology. A TED is a solid state circuit that has the capability to produce both a hot and cold thermal condition. TEDs also have a capability known as the Seebeck effect that is reciprocal to the Peltier effect.

Climate Control Seat

The Company�� CCS product uses one or more TEDs, which generate heating or cooling depending upon the direction of the current applied to the device. If a manufacturer wishes to integrate its CCS product into a seat, it provides the Company with automotive seats to be modified so that it can install a unit in a prototype. The seat is then returned to the manufacturer for evaluation and testing. If a manufacturer accepts the Company�� CCS product, a program can then be launched for a particular model on a production basis.

Heated and Ventilated Seat

The Company sells a heated and ventilated only variant of the CCS. This product works in a similar fashion to its CCS, only there is no active cooling capability and no TED. In the cooling mode, the vent only system will use the ambient cabin air to provide a degree of cooling comfort to the seat occupant. In the heating mode, the vent only system is supplemented with more traditional resistive heating elements. Similarly, W.E.T.�� core seat comfort product uses a resistive element heater mat to generate heat when the seat is in heating mode and ambient cabin air for cooling.

Heated and Cooled Cup Holder

The heated and cooled cup holder represents an adaptation of the technology found in its CCS, including the use of a TED and other key elements. The dual cup holder provides separate temperature settings in each holder allowing the driver and passenger to individually maintain a heated or cooled beverage. The vehicles that feature the heated and cooled cup holder was the 2011 Dodge Charger and 2011 Chrysler 300 during the year ended December 31, 2011.

Heated and Cooled Mattress

The Company�� heated and cooled mattress incorporates its Climate Control Sleep System (CCSS) technology. The mattress is sold in the United States by its retail partner, Mattress Firm, under its YuMe brand. Mattress Firm has over 800 retail stores located a! cross 26 ! states. There are five available settings in each of the heat and cool modes, as well as an ambient setting. The bed can be controlled using either the Master Control Unit (MCU) or one of two remotes provided for each zone.

Automotive Cable Systems

W.E.T. produces automotive cable systems to be used to connect automotive components to sources of power. W.E.T.�� cable systems include both ready-made individual cables and ready-to-install cable networks.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  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 Gentherm (Nasdaq: THRM  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

5 Best Income Stocks To Buy For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The bad news: Major stock indexes finished lower today. The good news: The damage was not as bad as it could have been, as Walt Disney (DIS), International Business Machines (IBM), 3M (MMM), Walgreen (WAG) and Genworth Financial (GNW) rose.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Tale of the tape
  IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) will be a 34-year veteran of the Dow by the end of next month. Based in the suburbs north of New York City, IBM has been producing cutting-edge technology for over a century, which gives it real claim to the title of "World's Oldest Tech Company." IBM employs over 430,000 people, but it's remarkably nimble for such a massive company. "Nonstrategic" parts of IBM's business worth a total of $15 billion in annual revenue have been divested over the past decade, and its three major new initiatives (Smarter Planet, data analytics, and cloud services) all enjoyed double-digit revenue growth in 2012. Due to the Dow's price-weighting system, IBM is its single most important component -- a move in IBM stock prices will have several times the impact of a move in nearly every other stock on the Dow.

• [By Andr茅s Cardenal]

  IBM
  IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) is arguably the most mature company in the tech business; the company decided to move away from the commoditized hardware business back in the nineties, prioritizing margins and free cash flows over revenue. This has done wonders for the company in terms of profitability, and IBM has achieved a remarkable track record of 18 consecutive years of dividend increases.