Sears: "Burning cash," closing stores

  Sears is in serious trouble NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Sears has been on a downward spiral almost since the day it merged with Kmart in 2005. And that plunge seems to be picking up speed. The company said this week that it may sell its 51% stake in Sears Canada, which operates nearly 20% of the company's stores worldwide. It has quietly closed nearly 100 U.S. stores in the last year. Next week, it's expected to announce dismal fiscal first quarter results and possibly yet more store closings.

"They have too many stores and they're losing a lot of money, burning cash," said John Kernan, an analyst with Cowen. Kernan expects the company to close 500 of its 1,980 U.S. stores in a few years and, ultimately, to go out of business.

"The lights are going off at Sears and Kmart," he said. "There are tumbleweeds blowing through the parking lots at Kmart. They're basically completely irrelevant." The company won't comment on store closings, but CEO Edward Lampert reportedly told shareholders at this month's annual meeting that "closing stores are going to be part of our future. The world has shifted." A company spokesman did not dispute that quote.

Sears was once the nation's largest retailer and biggest employer. The iconic company reshaped shopping in the United States with both its catalogs and its massive department stores. But the Kmart merger has been a disaster from the start. Sears Holdings (SHLD, Fortune 500)' sales have declined every year since 2006, and it's been losing money since 2011.

Top 5 Penny Companies To Own In Right Now

Today it's losing out to competitors from Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500), to Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500).

Brian Sozzi, CEO of Belus Capital Advisors, says he expects that there will be more Sears closings without any formal announcement.

"If they come out and say they are closing hundreds of stores, their stock would plunge and the cost of borrowing would shoot up," said Sozzi.

Selling the Canadian stores would raise much-needed cash. The company recently spun off its Lands' End unit that it paid $1.9 billion for in 2002. Two years ago it sold a line of specialty stores, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (SHOS).

Analysts say Sears is suffering from a lack of investment in its stores; it's investing very little in its retail space compared to competitors.

"It's evident that Lampert's been putting Sears Holdings through a slow, orderly liquidation," said Allan Ellinger, co-founder of MMG, a retail investment bank and restructuring advisor. "Every othe! r retailer is investing in the business. This guy is doing nothing."

Top 5 Paper Stocks For 2016

Top 5 Paper Stocks For 2016: Fibria Celulose SA (FIBR3)

Fibria Celulose SA, formerly Votorantim Celulose e Papel SA, is a Brazil-based company involved in the production and sale of short fiber pulp. The Company operates pulp manufacturing plants in Aracruz (Espirito Santo), Tres Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul), Jacarei (Sao Paulo) and Veracel (Bahia). Additionally, the Company is engaged in the cultivation of eucalyptus. It has plantations in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia and Espirito Santo. In 2011, the Company sold a business unit active in paper production. The Company has a number of subsidiaries in Brazil and abroad, including Normus Empreendimentos e Participacoes Ltda, Fibria Overseas Finance Ltd and Fibria Celulose (USA) Inc, among others. On October, 2013, the Company announced merger by incorporation of Normus Empreendimentos e Participacoes Ltda, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, in order to simplify the corporate structure. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Julia Leite]

  Fibria Celulose SA (FIBR3), the worlds largest pulp producer, climbed after settling a tax dispute with Brazil over profits at its foreign units. Iron-ore producer Vale SA (VALE5) gained before a report due this weekend forecast to show manufacturing is still expanding in China, the companys main export market.

• [By Harry Suhartono]

  The Ibovespa dropped 1.8 percent as iron-ore producer Vale SA (VALE5), whose main export market is China, snapped a two-day gain. Pulp producer Fibria Celulose SA (FIBR3) retreated after posting quarterly earnings that trailed analysts estimates. Brazil plans to sell dollar bonds due in 2025, creating a new benchmark security in international markets, and buy back notes maturing in as little as four years.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-paper-stocks-for-2016.html

10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy Monday and agreed to pay $2.6 billion in penalties for helping wealthy American clients evade U.S. taxes in a scheme federal investigators said spanned decades.

Becoming the largest financial institution to enter a guilty plea in at least 20 years, the bank acknowledged it willfully aided thousands of U.S. clients who opened and maintained secret offshore accounts that hid their assets and income from the IRS, said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The settlement marks a major U.S. legal victory in a continuing U.S. investigation of approximately a dozen other Swiss banks on suspicion of similar tax-evasion-related wrongdoing to lure American clients.

"When a bank engages in misconduct this brazen, it should expect that the Justice Department will pursue criminal prosecution to the fullest extent possible, as has happened here," said Holder.

Best Internet Stocks To Invest In 2016: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated(COKE)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Dzombak]

  In the U.S., Coke announced that it will sell some of its internal bottling operations to its five U.S. independent bottlers: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (NASDAQ: COKE  ) , Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Swire Coca-Cola USA, Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country and Corinth Coca-Cola Bottling Works. No details were released, but the company did say it expects to close the deals in 2014.

• [By Jesse Solomon]

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

10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Watsco Inc.(WSO)

Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment in the United States. It distributes residential central air conditioners; gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment and systems; and other specialized equipments. The company also distributes various parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies comprising thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies. It serves approximately 50,000 contractors and dealers that service the replacement and new construction markets. The company also exports its products to Latin America and the Caribbean. Watsco, Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Greg Williamson]

  A successful HVAC distribution company with great growth potential
  An excellent way to profit from these tailwinds is by investing in Watsco (NYSE: WSO  ) (NYSE: WSO  ) (NYSE: WSO  ) . Watsco is a leading distributor of HVAC equipment, with more than 570 locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Watsco also exports products to Latin America and the Caribbean.

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Watsco Inc (WSO), a distributor of air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment, announced early on Wednesday that it is raising its quarterly dividend payout by 60%.

  The company will now pay a quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share, up from the previous payout of 25 cents per share. This dividend will be paid on October 31 to shareholders of record on October 15, with an ex-dividend date of October 10.

  Albert H. Nahmad, Watsco’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer stated, “Our philosophy of sharing cash flow through dividends continues. As we have stated many times in the past, our goal over the long-term is to pay increasing dividends while maintaining a conservative balance sheet with capacity to make investments in our business and build our network. We will consider future increases in light of such investment opportunities, cash flow, general economic conditions and our overall financial condition.��/p>

  Watsco shares were inactive during pre-market trading on Wednesday. The stock is up 25.49% year-to-date.

10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR)

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, formerly iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of publicly traded securities in the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The Index serves as the underlying index for the S&P 600/Citigroup Growth and Value Index series. The component stocks are weighted according to the total float-adjusted market value of their outstanding shares. The component stocks in the Index have a market capitalization between $300 million and $1 billion (which may fluctuate depending on the overall level of the equity markets), and are selected for liquidity and industry group representation. The Index is adjusted to reflect changes in capitalization resulting from mergers, acquisition, stock rights, substitutions and other capital events.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray]

  I still think the emerging markets may be the surprise in 2014 as the technical outlook has improved but a bottom has not yet been confirmed. The more active investor should consider investing in several index-tracking ETFs, but in volatile areas, like the emerging markets, the percentage commitment should be kept low. One should consider not only the large-cap S&P 500 but also the small-cap sectors like iShares S&P 600 Small-Cap (IJR), which I recommended last Wednesday.

• [By Chris Ciovacco]

  In Thursday's ETF analysis, evidence is presented that supports increasing demand for assets that get a tailwind from a weak U.S. dollar, including emerging markets (EEM) and foreign stocks (EFA). Casting a wider economic net, our market model told us to start buying stocks last week even with the threat of a U.S. default. Wednesday, we continued with our incremental allocation shifts by adding some exposure to the energy sector. Thursday, we sat tight holding long positions in small caps (IJR), Europe (FEZ), emerging markets and technology (QQQ). The upper bounds of the bullish S&P 500 trend channel shown below may offer some resistance to the market's near vertical ascent.

• [By John Udovich]

  One of the most famous scenes in the cult classic, the Graduate, was when Mr. McGuire�took Dustin Hoffman�� character aside and said�"Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics"; but what about the Berry Plastics Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) and its performance verses that of the�iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV), iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: IWR) and iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IJR)? I should mention that plastics and the Berry Plastics Group was not the place to be yesterday as the stock took a tumble on reduced guidance.

10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: Dun & Bradstreet Corp (DNB)

The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (D&B), incorporated on April 25, 2000, is the source of commercial information and insight on businesses, enabling customers to Decide with Confidence. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� global commercial database contained more than 220 million business records. The database is enhanced by its DUNSRight Quality Process, which transforms commercial data into valuable insight which is the foundation of its global solutions. Customers use D&B Risk Management Solutions to mitigate credit and supplier risk, increase cash flow and drive profitability; D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions to provide data management capabilities that provide marketing solutions to increase revenue from new and existing customers, and D&B Internet Solutions to convert prospects into clients by enabling business professionals to research companies, executives and industries.

The Company operates in three segments: North America (which consists of its operations in the United States and Canada); Asia Pacific (which primarily consists of its operations in Australia, Greater China, India and Asia Pacific Worldwide Network), and Europe and other International Markets (which primarily consists of its operations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Latin America and its European Worldwide Network). The Company conducts its business internationally through its wholly owned subsidiaries, majority-owned joint ventures, independent correspondents, strategic relationships through its D&B Worldwide Network and minority equity investments.

Risk Management Solutions

The Company provides traditional, value-added and supply management solutions. The Company�� Traditional Risk Management Solutions, which primarily includes its core DNBi product line, as well as reports from its database which are used primarily for making decisions about new credit applications, constituted 74% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 47% of its total revenue for the ye! ar ended December 31, 2012. Its Value-Added Risk Management Solutions, which constituted 20% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 12% of its total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012, generally support automated decision-making and portfolio management through the use of scoring and integrated software solutions. The Company�� Supply Management Solutions, which can help companies understand the financial risk of their supply chain, constituted 6% of its Risk Management Solutions revenue and 4% of its total revenue in 2012. Risk Management Solutions accounted for 63% of its total revenue in 2012.

Effective January 1, 2013, the Company began managing and reporting its North America Risk Management Solutions business as DNBi subscription plans, Non-DNBi subscription plans, and projects and other risk management solutions.

The Company�� principal Risk Management Solutions are DNBi, various business information reports, eRAM, and D&B Direct. DNBi is the Company�� interactive, customizable online application that offers customers a subscription based real time access to its complete and up-to-date global DUNSRight information, comprehensive monitoring and portfolio analysis. It is also focused on helping more customers protect their business from risk through additions of DNBi products: DNBi Corporate, offering flexible pricing options allowing credit departments of all sizes to get data and options they need and Portfolio Risk Manager for DNBi, a module which allows DNBi users to create strategic one -click analytic reports to see risk and opportunity across their customer base. Various business information reports include Business Information Report, its Comprehensive Report, and its International Report that are consumed in a transactional manner across multiple platforms, such as DNB.com. eRAM is an enterprise solution for large global and domestic customers for automated decisioning and portfolio analytics. D&B Direct is a software application programming inter! face (API! ) that enables data integration inside enterprise applications, such as ERP, and enables master data management.

Sales & Marketing Solutions

The Company�� Sales & Marketing Solutions is a customer solution set, which accounted 29% of its total revenue in 2012. Within this customer solution set, it offers traditional and value-added solutions. Its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions generally consist of its marketing lists and labels used by the Company�� customers in direct mail and marketing activities, its education business and its electronic licensing solutions. These solutions constituted 30% of its Sales & Marketing Solutions revenue and 9% of its total revenue in 2012. Effective January 1, 2013, The Company began managing and reporting its Internet Solutions business as part of its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions set. Its Value-Added Sales & Marketing Solutions generally include decision-making and customer information management solutions, including data management solutions like Optimizer (its solution to cleanse, identify and enrich its customers' client portfolios) and products introduced as part of its Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) Strategy, which integrates the Company�� data directly into the applications and platforms that its customers use every day. The Value-Added Sales & Marketing Solutions constituted 70% of Sales & Marketing Solutions revenue and 20% of its total revenue in 2012

Internet Solutions

The Company�� Internet Solutions business provides organized and easy-to-use products that address the online sales and marketing needs of professionals and businesses, including information on companies, industries and executives. Internet Solutions, primarily representing the results of its Hoover's business, accounted for 7% of its total revenue in 2012. Effective January 1, 2013, the Company began managing and reporting its Internet Solutions business as part of its Traditional Sales & Marketing Solutions set.

T! he Company competes with Equifax, Inc., Experian Information Solutions, Inc., infoGROUP, Graydon, and Sinotrust.

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 Dun & Bradstreet (NYSE: DNB  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: KeyCorp (KEY)

KeyCorp is a bank holding company for KeyBank National Association (KeyBank). Through KeyBank and certain other subsidiaries, the Company provides a range of retail and commercial banking, commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance and investment banking products and services to individual, corporate and institutional clients through two business segments: Key Community Bank and Key Corporate Bank. As of December 31, 2011, these services were provided through KeyBank�� 1,058 full-service retail banking branches in 14 states, additional offices, a telephone banking call center services group and a network of 1,579 automated teller machines (ATMs) in 15 states. On January 17, 2012, the Company opened another national bank subsidiary.

In addition to the banking services of accepting deposits and making loans, the Bank and trust company subsidiaries offer personal and corporate trust services, personal financial services, access to mutual funds, cash management services, investment banking and capital markets products, and international banking services. Through its bank, trust company and investment adviser subsidiaries, the Company provides investment management services to clients that include corporate and public retirement plans, foundations and endowments, individuals and trust funds. The Company provides other financial services - both within and outside of its primary banking markets - through various nonbank subsidiaries. These services include community development financing, securities underwriting and brokerage. It is also an equity participant in a joint venture that provides merchant services to businesses.

Lending Activities

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Commercial, Financial and Agricultural loans, also referred to as Commercial and Industrial, represented 39% of its total loan portfolio. As of December 31, 2011, commercial real estate loans represented approximately 19% of its total loan portfolio. These loans include bo! th owner and nonowner-occupied properties and constitute approximately 27% of its commercial loan portfolio. Its commercial real estate lending business is conducted through two primary sources: its 14-state banking franchise, and Real Estate Capital and Corporate Banking Services. The Company conducts financing arrangements through its equipment finance line of business. Commercial lease financing receivables represented 17% of commercial loans at December 31, 2011. The home equity portfolio is the largest segment of its consumer loan portfolio.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio totaled $18 billion at December 31, 2011. Available-for-sale securities were $16 billion at December 31, 2011. Held-to-maturity securities were $2.1 billion at December 31, 2011. At December 31, 2011, it had $2.1 billion in collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) in its held-to-maturity securities portfolio. At December 31, 2011, the Company had $15.9 billion invested in CMOs and other mortgage-backed securities in the available-for-sale portfolio. Federal Agency CMOs constitute most of its held-to-maturity securities along with foreign bonds and preferred equity securities. The investments in equity and mezzanine instruments made by its principal investing unit represented 61% of other investments at December 31, 2011. They include direct investments (investments made in a particular company), as well as indirect investments (investments made through funds that include other investors).

Sources of Funds

Domestic deposits are the Company�� primary source of funding. During the year ended December 31, 2011, these deposits averaged $58.5 billion and represented 80% of the funds it used to support loans and other earning assets. Wholesale funds, consisting of deposits in its foreign office and short-term borrowings, averaged $3.4 billion during 2011. At December 31, 2011, the Company had $4.7 billion in time deposits of $100,000 or more.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $0.23 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26. Revenue of $998.0 million missed the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Net income for the quarter fell to $197 million from $229 million in the same quarter a year ago as non-interest income fell $42 million from a year ago due to $27 million in lower operating lease income and other leasing gains due to an early termination of a leveraged lease in the prior year. The company saw its book value per share increase to $11.77 from $11.65 last quarter. Analysts at Citigroup issued a midday upgrade to Buy from Neutral after shares fell more than 10 percent during the trading session. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $11.59 before closing the day at $12.14, down 5.82 percent.

• [By Matt Egan]

  He will be replaced by Hancock, 55, who joined the company from KeyCorp (KEY) in 2010 and became CEO of AIG Property Casualty in March 2011. He also worked at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) for two decades, establishing the bank's global derivatives group and running its global fixed income business.

10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)

SPDR Trust, Series 1 (the Trust) is a unit investment trust. The Trust is an exchange-traded fund created to provide investors with the opportunity to purchase a security representing a proportionate undivided interest in a portfolio of securities consisting of substantially all of the common stocks, in substantially the same weighting, which comprise the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Price Index (the S&P Index). Each unit of fractional undivided interest in the Trust is referred to as a Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipt (SPDR).

The Trust utilizes a full replication approach. With this approach, all 500 securities of the Index are owned by the Trust in their approximate market capitalization weight.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  At this point, most ETFs use the index approach, with SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEMKT: SPY  ) and Vanguard Emerging Markets (NYSEMKT: VWO  ) currently the two largest index-tracking ETFs. Although some actively managed ETFs exist, most notably the Pimco Total Return ETF (NYSEMKT: BOND  ) that bond guru Bill Gross manages, the SEC has been slow to approve actively managed ETFs. So if you want active management, traditional mutual funds are your better bet, at least for now.

10 Best Stocks To Own Right Now: ICTV Brands Inc (ICTV)

ICTV Brands Inc, formerly International Commercial Television Inc. (ICTV), incorporated on June 25, 1998, sells various consumer products via infomercials and through other channels. The Company produces long-form infomercials and short-form advertising spots and sells its brands of advertised products directly to its viewing audience. In addition, the Company sells products via televised shopping networks, the Internet, and retail distribution channels. As of December 31, 2011, the Company sold these products domestically and internationally. The Company's primary product categories are health and beauty, diet and fitness, and leisure and toy products. Products the Company owns or has certain rights to and that the Company is marketing or plan to markets include Health and Beauty Products, which consist of Derma Wand and DermaVital Hydra Infusion Treatment, and additional products-various categories, which consists of Smart Stacks, Slender Lift, BetterBlocks, Glo-B�� and Strike N��Set.

Health and Beauty Products

DermaWand is a skin care appliance. The DermaWand is sold and marketed with DermaVital skin care products, which are offered with a monthly continuity program. On November 9, 2011, ICTV began airing a Derma Wand long-form infomercial. As of December 31, 2011, the DermaWand infomercial aired 579 times on both national cable stations. DermaVital is a product that allows water to penetrate the skin's surface, thus re-hydrating the deeper layers. DermaVitalT is offered to DermaWand buyers through the United States direct response television (DRTV) and Internet distribution channels as a monthly continuity program, and to home shopping network (HSN) customers as an add on product to their DermaWand purchase.

Additional Products-Various Categories

Smart Stacks is a storage system. In February 2012, the Company tested Slender Lift on a televised home shopping channel. The test consists of one airing of approximately eight minutes and generated! sales of approximately 200 units. BetterBlocks is a plastic toy building system. BetterBlocksTM has been sold mainly through DRTV, mail order catalogues, retail and the television shopping channel quality value convenience (QVC). During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company sold BetterBlocks product on the Internet. On March 14, 2012, the Company completed the execution of an agreement with Hutton Miller LLC for the production of one and two minute direct response television commercials to be aired on major the United States children's cable channels, featuring Glo-B's. Glo-B'sTM is a toy building block system that bends, moves, shapes and curves. Glo-B's are designed for children three + years. Strike N' Set is a fishing lure system manufactured by MBCT Global Ventures, LLC. In January 2011, ICTV began production of these infomercials and in July 2011 ran the United States media test of the product.

The Company competes with Thane International Inc. and Guthy-Renker Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake Mann]

  Looking to 2015, I will be watching Crossroads Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CRDS) closely as their StrongBox tape library offering has started experiencing growth, coupled with their IP assets (both '972 and non-'972 portfolios). Further, I will be watching ICTV Brands Inc (OTC: ICTV)'s new product offerings and how DermaWand fairs internationally as well as in Rite Aid stores nationwide...

Top Prefered Companies To Watch For 2016

Top Prefered Companies To Watch For 2016: Willis Group Holdings Limited(WSH)

Willis Group Holdings Public Limited Company provides a range of insurance brokerage, reinsurance, and risk management consulting services to its clients worldwide. The company offers various insurance brokerage services, including property damage, offshore construction, liability, and control of well and pollution insurance to the energy industry; and marine insurance and reinsurance brokerage services consisting of hull, cargo, and general marine liabilities. It also provides its services to aerospace clients, including aircraft manufacturers, air cargo handlers and shippers, airport managers, and other general aviation companies; and advisory services comprising claims recovery, contract and leasing risk management, market information, and safety services. In addition, the company offers risk management advice and brokerage services to the construction industry; brokerage for directors' and officers' insurance, as well as professional indemnity insurance for corporation s and professional firms; and specialist risk management and insurance services to fine art, diamond, and jewelry businesses, and operators of armored cars. Further, it provides special contingencies packages; services for horse racing and breeding industry, and agriculture/crop sector; and advice to companies involved in the insurance and reinsurance industry on capital markets products. Additionally, the company offers health, welfare, and human resources consulting and brokerage services to small, medium, and large corporations, as well as the employee benefits practice. It serves clients located in approximately 190 countries, including multinational and middle-market companies operating in various industries, as well as public institutions and individual clients. The company was formerly known as Willis Group Holdings Limited and changed its name to Will! is Group Holdings Public Limited Company in January 2010. The company was founded in 1828 and is headquartered in Lon d on, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vera Yuan]

  We bought relatively small new positions in Willis Group Holdings and Avon Products in the third quarter. Willis (WSH) is a leading global insurance broker. We have followed this attractive industry for many years through investments in Aon, Brown & Brown and others (including Willis under prior management). Organic revenue growth has been solid, and Willis has a near-term opportunity to expand margins through expense initiatives and restructuring savings that are likely to kick in next year. We think the stock should be revalued higher once management follows through on its pledged cost discipline and drives operating leverage. Avon (AVP) is a direct selling, branded beauty business undergoing a turnaround in the U.S. market. The overwhelming majority of Avon's business value comes from its stronger positions in Latin America and other emerging markets. Our investment thesis is that well-run direct selling can be a decent business with solid margins and high returns , that the Avon brand is not fundamentally broken, and that the U.S. business is bottoming as evidenced by break-even results in the most recent quarter. Avon has a wider range of potential outcomes than our typical investment and is sized accordingly.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Insurance brokerage and risk management consultant Willis Group (WSH) raised its quarterly dividend 7.1% to 30 cents per share, payable April 15 to shareholders of record as of March 31.
  WSH Dividend Yield: 2.89%

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  $11 billion UK insurer Willis Group Holdings (WSH) is another uptrending channel. The big difference with Willis is that this name is actually at its trendline support level this week. Better still, shares are bouncing higher -- and it makes sense to buy the bounce here.

  !

  Buyi! ng off a support bounce makes sense for two big reasons: It's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong). Remember, all trend lines do eventually break, but by actually waiting for the bounce to happen first, you're ensuring WSH can actually still catch a bid along that line.

  The 50-day moving average has been a good proxy for support on the way up, so it's a solid place to put a protective stop if you decide to be a buyer at this point.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-prefered-companies-to-watch-for-2016.html

Top Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now

In 1905, Charles Henry Robinson spotted a unique opportunity.

After moving west with his family to the North Dakota town of Grand Forks, he soon realized that settlers were in need of supplies. He founded a transportation company with the goal of delivering perishable products to consumers before they spoiled -- a difficult challenge in the horse-and-buggy days.  

The company Robinson founded changed with the times, taking advantage of historic advances in the transportation industry. These advances included the first refrigerated truck (without ice) in 1939, the construction of the interstate highway system beginning in 1945, and the deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980.

Deregulation allowed the company freedom in setting its own rates. It also freed up the types of cargo that could be carried and the geographical areas in which the company could operate.

As it's known today, C.H. Robinson (Nasdaq: CHRW) has again changed with the times.

Top 10 Transportation Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Travelzoo Inc(TZOO)

Travelzoo Inc., an Internet media company, together with its subsidiaries, publishes travel and entertainment deals from travel and entertainment companies, and local businesses in North America and Europe. Its publications and products include the Travelzoo Websites, such as travelzoo.com, travelzoo.ca, travelzoo.co.uk, travelzoo.de, www.travelzoo.es, and travelzoo.fr; the Travelzoo Top 20 e-mail newsletter; and the Newsflash e-mail alert service. The company also operates SuperSearch, a pay-per-click travel search tool; Travelzoo Network, a network of third-party Websites that list deals published by Travelzoo; and Fly.com, a travel search engine that allows users to find the best prices on flights from various airlines and online travel agencies. In addition, it provides Local Deals and Getaways services that allow its subscribers to purchase vouchers for deals from local businesses, such as spas, hotels, and restaurants through the Travelzoo Website. As of December 31, 2011, the company?s advertiser base included approximately 2,000 travel companies, entertainment companies, and local businesses, including airlines, hotels, cruise lines, vacations packagers, tour operators, destinations, car rental companies, travel agents, theater and performing arts groups, restaurants, spas, and activity companies. Travelzoo Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  If you are a Travelzoo (NASDAQ: TZOO  ) shareholder but own fewer than 25 shares, management would really appreciate it if you would just go away.

• [By Tom Taulli]

  Valuation: Even with after the Expedia stock sell-off, shares of EXPE remain far from cheap. EXPE stock is trading for a trailing P/E of 46 vs. 33 for Priceline and 23 for Travelzoo (TZOO).�And considering the recent volatility, investors are certainly jittery about EXPE stock. As a result, another earnings disappointment could have a severe impact.

Top Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Senomyx Inc.(SNMX)

Senomyx, Inc. engages in the discovery and development of novel flavor ingredients in the savory, sweet, salt, bitter, and cooling areas using proprietary taste receptor-based assays and screening technologies. The company has product discovery, development, and commercialization collaborations with seven food, beverage, and ingredient companies, including Ajinomoto Co., Inc.; Firmenich SA; Kraft Foods, Inc.; Nestle SA; and PepsiCo, Inc. Senomyx, Inc. licenses flavor ingredients to its collaborators on an exclusive or co-exclusive basis. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

   

  Senomyx (SNMX) discovers, develops and commercializes flavor ingredients for the packaged food, beverage and ingredient supply industries using proprietary taste receptor-based assays and screening technologies. This stock closed up 10.4% to $8.49 in Thursday's trading session.

   

  Thursday's Range: $7.70-$8.62
  
  52-Week Range: $3.27-$12.74
  
  Thursday's Volume: 622,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 425,867

   

  From a technical perspective, SNMX ripped sharply higher here right above some near-term support at $7.66 and back above its 50-day moving average of $8.68 with above-average volume. This stock has formed a major bottoming chart pattern over the last month and change, with shares finding buying interest at $7.39, $7.55 and $7.66 a share. Shares of SNMX are now starting to spike sharply higher above those support levels and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if SNMX manages to take out its 50-day moving average of $8.68 and then once it clears more key overhead resistance levels at $9.38 to $10.11 with high volume.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SNMX as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $8.04 or above some more near-term support at $7.66 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 425,867 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then SNMX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $12 to its 52-week high at $12.74.

   

Top Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Morgan Stanley (INR)

Morgan Stanley, incorporated on January 10, 1981, is a global financial services company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides its products and services to a range of clients and customers, including corporations, governments, financial institutions and individuals. The Company is a financial holding company. The Company operates in three segments: Institutional Securities, Global Wealth Management Group and Asset Management. The Company provides financial advisory and capital-raising services to a group of corporate and other institutional clients worldwide. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Global Wealth Management Group had $1,649 billion in client assets. The Company�� Asset Management business segment offers clients an array of equity, fixed income and alternative investments and merchant banking services. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has sold the majority of its global physical oil trading operations to Rosneft' NK OAO.

Institutional Securities

The Company provides financial advisory and capital-raising services primarily through wholly owned subsidiaries that include Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (MS&Co.), Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc and Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, and certain joint venture entities that include Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., Ltd. (MSMS) and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd. (MUMSS). The Company, primarily through these entities, also conducts sales and trading activities worldwide, as principal and agent, and provides related financing services on behalf of institutional investors. The Company manages and participates in public offerings and private placements of debt, equity and other securities worldwide. The Company is an underwriter of common stock, preferred stock and other equity-related securities, including convertible securities and American depositary receipts (ADRs). The Company is also an underwriter of fixed income securities, including investment-grade debt, non-i! nvestment-grade instruments, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, tax-exempt securities and commercial paper and other short-term securities.

The Company provides corporate and other institutional clients worldwide with advisory services on matters, such as mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, recapitalizations, spin-offs, exchange offers and leveraged buyouts and takeover defenses, as well as shareholder relations. The Company also provides advice concerning rights offerings, dividend policy, valuations, foreign exchange exposure, financial risk management strategies and financial planning. In addition, the Company provides advice and services regarding project financings and provides advisory services in connection with the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of real estate. The Company provides loans or lending commitments, including bridge financing, to selected corporate clients through its subsidiaries, including Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A (MSBNA).

The Company conducts sales, trading, financing and market-making activities on securities and futures exchanges and in over-the-counter (OTC) markets worldwide. The Company�� Institutional Securities sales and trading activities consists of Equity Trading; Fixed Income and Commodities; Clients and Services; Research, and Investments. The Company acts as principal (including as a market-maker) and agent in executing transactions worldwide in equity and equity-related products, including common stock, ADRs, global depositary receipts and exchange-traded funds. The Company�� equity derivatives sales, trading and market-making activities cover equity-related products worldwide, including equity swaps, options, warrants and futures overlying individual securities, indices and baskets of securities and other equity-related products. The Company also issues and makes a principal market in equity-linked products to institutional and individual investors.

The ! Company t! rades, invests and makes markets in fixed income securities and related products globally, including, among other products, investment and non-investment grade corporate debt, distressed debt, bank loans, the United States and other sovereign securities, emerging market bonds and loans, convertible bonds, collateralized debt obligations, credit, currency, interest rate and other fixed income-linked notes, securities issued by structured investment vehicles, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities and real estate-loan products, municipal securities, preferred stock and commercial paper, money-market and other short-term securities. The Company is a dealer of the United States federal government securities and a member of the selling groups that distribute various the United States agency and other debt securities. The Company is also a dealer or market-maker of government securities in European, Asian and emerging market countries.

The Company trades, invests and makes markets globally in listed futures and OTC swaps, forwards, options and other derivatives referencing, among other things, interest rates, currencies, investment grade and non-investment grade corporate credits, loans, bonds, the United States and other sovereign securities, emerging market bonds and loans, credit indexes, asset-backed security indexes, property indexes, mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities and real estate loan products. The Company trades, invests and makes markets in foreign currencies, such as the British pound, Canadian dollar, euro, Japanese yen and Swiss franc, as well as in emerging markets currencies. The Company trades these currencies on a principal basis in the spot, forward, option and futures markets.

The Company advises on investment and liability strategies and assists corporations in their debt repurchases and tax planning. The Company invests and makes markets in the spot, forward, physical derivatives and futures markets in several commodities, including ! metals (b! ase and precious), agricultural products, crude oil, oil products, natural gas, electric power, emission credits, coal, freight, liquefied natural gas and related products and indices. The Company is a market-maker in exchange-traded options and futures and OTC options and swaps on commodities, and offers counterparties hedging programs relating to production, consumption, reserve/inventory management and structured transactions, including energy-contract securitizations and monetization. The Company is an electricity power marketer in the United States and owns electricity-generating facilities in the United States and Europe.

The Company owns TransMontaigne Inc. and its subsidiaries, a group of companies operating in the refined petroleum products marketing and distribution business, and owns a minority interest in Heidmar Holdings LLC, which owns a group of companies that provide international marine transportation and the United States marine logistics services. The Company provides financing services, including prime brokerage, which offers, among other services, consolidated clearance, settlement, custody, financing and portfolio reporting services to clients trading multiple asset classes. In addition, the Company�� institutional distribution and sales activities are overseen and coordinated through Clients and Services.

The Company�� research department (Research) coordinates worldwide across all of the Company�� businesses and consists of economists, strategists and industry analysts who engage in equity and fixed income research activities and produce reports and studies on the United States and global economy, financial markets, portfolio strategy, technical market analyses, individual companies and industry developments. The Company from time to time makes investments that represent business facilitation or other investing activities. From time to time, the Company may also make investments and capital commitments to public and private companies, funds and oth! er entiti! es. The Company�� Operations and Information Technology departments provide the process and technology platform that supports Institutional Securities sales and trading activity, including post-execution trade processing and related internal controls over activity from trade entry through settlement and custody, such as asset servicing.

Global Wealth Management Group

The Company�� Global Wealth Management Group, which includes the Company�� 51% interest in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Holdings LLC (MSSB), provides financial services to clients. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company had a network of more than 17,500 global representatives in approximately 765 locations. Global Wealth Management Group professionals serve individual investors and small-to-medium sized businesses and institutions with focus on ultra-high-net-worth, high-net-worth and affluent investors. Global representatives are located in branches across the United States. Outside the United States, Global Wealth Management Group offers financial services to clients in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Canada and Latin America.

The Company�� Global Wealth Management Group provides clients with an array of financial solutions, including products and services from the Company, Citigroup Inc. (Citi) and third-party providers, such as insurance companies and mutual fund families. Global Wealth Management Group provides brokerage and investment advisory services covering various types of investments, including equities, options, futures, foreign currencies, precious metals, fixed income securities, mutual funds, structured products, alternative investments, unit investment trusts, managed futures, separately managed accounts and mutual fund asset allocation programs. Global Wealth Management Group also engages in fixed income principal trading, which primarily facilitates clients��trading or investments in such securities. In addition, Global Wealth Management Group offers ! education! savings programs, financial and wealth planning services, and annuity and other insurance products.

Global Wealth Management Group offers its clients access to several cash management services through various banks and other third parties, including deposits, debit cards, electronic bill payments and check writing, as well as lending products through affiliates, such as Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association (MS Private Bank) and MSBNA, including securities-based lending, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit. Global Wealth Management Group also provides trust and fiduciary services, offers access to cash management and commercial credit solutions to qualified small- and medium-sized businesses in the United States, and provides individual and corporate retirement solutions, including individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans and the United States and global stock plan services to corporate executives and businesses. Global Wealth Management Group provides clients a variety of ways to establish a relationship and conduct business, including brokerage accounts with transaction-based pricing and investment advisory accounts with asset-based fee pricing.

Asset Management

The Company's portfolio managers located in the United States, Europe and Asia manage investment products ranging from money market funds to equity and fixed income strategies, alternative investment and merchant banking products in developed and emerging markets across geographies and market cap ranges. The Company offers a range of alternative investment, real estate investing and merchant banking products for institutional investors and high net worth individuals. The Company�� alternative investments platform includes funds of hedge funds, funds of private equity funds and portable alpha strategies. The Company�� alternative investments platform also includes minority interest in Lansdowne Partners, Avenue Capital Group and Traxis Partners LP. The Company�� real e! state and! merchant banking businesses include its real estate investing business, private equity funds, corporate mezzanine debt investing group and infrastructure investing group.

The Company acts as general partner of, and investment adviser to, its alternative investment, real estate and merchant banking funds. The Company provides investment management strategies and products to institutional investors worldwide, including corporations, pension plans, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and banks through a range of pooled vehicles and separate accounts. It also provides sub-advisory services to various unaffiliated financial institutions and intermediaries. The Company offers open-end and alternative investment funds and separately managed accounts to individual investors through affiliated and unaffiliated broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies, financial planners and other intermediaries. Closed-end funds managed by the Company are available to individual investors through affiliated and unaffiliated broker-dealers. The Company also distributes mutual funds through a range of retirement plan platforms. Internationally, the Company distributes traditional investment products to individuals outside the United States through distributors and distributes alternative investment products through affiliated broker-dealers and banks. The Company�� Operations and Information Technology departments provide or oversee the process and technology platform required to support its asset management business. Support activities include transfer agency, mutual fund accounting and administration, transaction processing and certain fiduciary services on behalf of institutional, intermediary and high net worth clients.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Market Vectors Indian Rupee/USD ETN (NYSEMKT: INR) and WisdomTree Indian Rupee (NYSEMKT: ICN) are both performing poorly as well in the currency exchange traded note (ETN) world, although their trading volume is too thin to monitor.

Top Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX)

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest Diagnostics), incorporated in 1990, is a provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, providing insights that enable patients and physicians to make healthcare decisions. Quest Diagnostics offers United States patients and physicians the access to diagnostic testing services through its nationwide network of laboratories and Company-owned patient service centers. The Company provides interpretive consultation through the medical and scientific staff. The Company is a provider of clinical testing, including gene-based and esoteric testing and anatomic pathology services, and the provider of risk assessment services for the life insurance industry. The Company also is a provider of testing for clinical trials and testing for drugs of abuse. Its diagnostics products business manufactures and markets diagnostic test kits and specialized point-of-care testing. On April 4, 2011, the Company acquired Athena Diagnostics (Athena). On May 17, 2011, the Company acquired Celera Corporation (Celera). In January 2012, the Company acquired S.E.D. Medical Laboratories. In December 2012, the Company sold all of the assets of OralDNA Labs salivary-diagnostics business to Access Genetics. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest Diagnostics) is a provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, providing insights that enable patients and physicians to make healthcare decisions. Quest Diagnostics offers United States patients and physicians the access to diagnostic testing services through its nationwide network of laboratories and Company-owned patient service centers. The Company provides interpretive consultation through the medical and scientific staff. The Company is a provider of clinical testing and the provider of risk assessment services for the life insurance industry. The Company also is a provider of testing for clinical trials and testing for drugs of abuse. In January 2012, it acquired S.E.D. Medical Laboratories. In December 2012, it sold all of the ! assets of OralDNA Labs salivary-diagnostics business to Access Genetics. In January 2013, the Company acquired the Worcester -based clinical outreach laboratory business of UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Clinical Testing

The Company is a commercial clinical testing company. Physicians use clinical tests to assist in the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring and treatment of diseases and other medical conditions. Clinical testing is generally categorized as clinical laboratory testing and anatomic pathology services. The Company offers customers the access to the test menu of clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology tests in the United States. Clinical laboratory testing generally is performed on whole blood, serum, plasma and other body fluids, such as urine, and specimens such as microbiology samples.

The Company is a provider of routine clinical testing, including testing for drugs of abuse. The Company performs routine testing through its network of laboratories and rapid response laboratories. The Company also performs routine testing at hospital laboratories that the Company manages. The Company operates laboratories round the clock. The majority of test results are delivered electronically. Routine tests measure various bodily health parameters, such as the functions of the kidney, heart, liver, thyroid and other organs. Commonly ordered tests include blood chemistries, including cholesterol levels; complete blood cell counts; urinalysis; pregnancy and other prenatal tests, and routine microbiology testing.

The Company is a provider of anatomic pathology services in the United States, through its AmeriPath, Dermpath Diagnostics and Quest Diagnostics brands. Anatomic pathology involves the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases and medical conditions through examination of tissue and cell samples taken from patients. The Company provides inpatient anatomic pathology and medical director services at hospitals throughout the country, and through ! its labor! atories. The Company provides a range of services to all anatomic pathology subspecialties. The Company provides integrated, reports that include both anatomic pathology and clinical pathology tests, enabling its pathologists to offer patients and physicians a complete analysis. The Company introduced the Leumeta family of tests for leukemia and lymphoma.

The Company is a provider in the United States of gene-based and esoteric testing. Esoteric tests include procedures in the areas of molecular diagnostics, protein chemistry, cellular immunology and advanced microbiology. Commonly ordered esoteric tests include viral and bacterial detection tests, drug therapy monitoring tests, genetic tests, autoimmune panels and complex cancer evaluations. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it acquired Athena Diagnostics, a provider of neurology testing. Its esoteric laboratories provide reference testing services to physicians, academic medical centers, hospitals and other commercial laboratories. The Company also offers gene-based tests for the predisposition, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of cancers. The Company develops tests at its laboratories, such as Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute. It also develops techniques and services in anatomic pathology.

In 2011, the Company introduced its melanoma treatment selection mutation panel, which is designed to assist in the personalized selection of patient therapies. The Company introduced its thyroid cancer mutation panel, which assists in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer and aids physicians and surgeons as they plan surgery and other therapies to treat and attempt to cure thyroid cancer. During 2011, it enhanced its SureSwab Vaginosis/Vaginitis Plus test. The Company introduced Accutype IL28b, a test designed to aid in the prediction of patient response to peginterferon alpha-based therapy for treating hepatitis C virus infection. In 2011, it introduced testing for very long chain fatty acids, to assist in diagnosis and monitori! ng of inh! erited disorders of fatty acid metabolism. It also introduced high resolution chromosomal analysis testing with oligonucleotide microarrays to enhance its testing services in the pre-natal and post-natal genetics areas. During 2011, the Company released a test for therapeutic drug monitoring of dabigatran, an oral anti-coagulant. The Company also released genetic testing for SLC01B1, which helps identify patients at risk for myopathy from Simvastatin therapy for cholesterol reduction. Through Athena Diagnostics, it launched several molecular genetic tests for stroke, neuromuscular diseases and mitochondrial disorders.

Healthcare Information Technology

The Company provides interoperable technologies that help healthcare organizations and physicians enter, share and access clinical information without costly information technology (IT) implementation or workflow disruption, including through its Care360 suite of products and its ChartMaxx electronic document management system for hospitals. These solutions offer access to a national healthcare provider network, including approximately 200,000 networked physicians and clinicians using Quest Diagnostics��Care360 connectivity products. The Care360 products, including its Care360 Labs and Meds, enable physicians electronically to order diagnostic tests and review test results from Quest Diagnostics and electronically to prescribe medication. As of December 31, 2011, prescriptions were written through Care360 ePrescribing at an annualized rate of 32 million medications. Using its Care360 connectivity products, physicians can securely provide diagnostic and other data to a patient�� account. It offers Gazelle, a secure mobile health platform that allows users to receive their Quest Diagnostics laboratory results, manage their personal health information, find a Quest Diagnostics location and schedule appointments directly from their smartphone.

Clinical Trials Testing

The Company is a provider of central l! aboratory! testing performed in connection with clinical research trials on new drugs, vaccines and certain medical devices. It has clinical trials testing centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, and it provides clinical trials testing in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the People�� Republic of China and Singapore through affiliated laboratories. The Company has biomarker capabilities. In 2011, it acquired Celera, enhancing its ability to provide biomarker discovery and develop IVD test kits.

Life Insurer Services

The Company is a provider of risk assessment services to the life insurance industry in North America. It also provides risk assessment services for insurance companies doing business in many countries outside the United States. Its risk assessment services comprise underwriting support services to the life insurance industry, including laboratory testing, electronic data collection, specimen collection and paramedical examinations, medical record retrieval, case management, motor vehicle reports, telephone inspections, prescription histories and credit checks. The laboratory tests that it performs and data it gathers are designed to assist insurance companies to objectively evaluate the mortality risks of policy applicants. The majority of the testing is performed on specimens of life insurance applicants, but also includes specimens of applicants for other types of insurance. Most of its specimen collections and paramedical examinations are performed by its network of approximately 5,000 contracted paramedical examiners at the applicant�� home or workplace. The Company also offers paramedical examinations through approximately 500 of its patient service centers, and operate approximately 80 locations other than patient service centers in the United States and Canada where the Company provides paramedical examinations, bringing to approximately 580 the total number of sites where it can provide these examinations. The Company also contracts with third parties at over! an addit! ional 200 locations globally to coordinate providing these exams.

Employer Services

The Company is a provider of testing to employers for the detection of employee use of drugs of abuse. Its Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index, which is an annual report of its aggregate drug testing results, is used by employers, the federal government and the media to help identify and quantify drug abuse among the nation�� workforce. It provides a range of solutions for drugs of abuse, including urine, hair, blood and oral fluid tests. In 2011, it introduced Oral-Eze, its own oral fluid collection system that simplifies the collection of oral samples for routine drug testing. The Oral-Eze Oral Fluid Collector provides all the advantages of previous collection systems, with the added benefit of its indicator window technology. The Company provides wellness testing and analytic services to employers.

Diagnostic Products

Diagnostic Products include point-of-care, or near-patient and testing. The Company develops and manufactures products that enable healthcare professionals to make healthcare diagnoses, including products for point-of-care, or near-patient, testing for the professional market. The Company has several companies, including Focus Diagnostics, HemoCue and Celera. Focus Diagnostics is a provider of infectious disease testing. Focus Diagnostics develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic products, such as HerpeSelect ELISA tests that detect patient antibodies to specific types of herpes simplex virus, which can be performed on a variety of instrument platforms. Focus Diagnostics sells its diagnostic products to academic medical centers, hospitals and commercial laboratories globally. Focus Diagnostics has an agreement with 3M Corporation for global human diagnostic rights to a compact integrated bench-top instrument for use with real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. These tests are sold under the Simplexa brand name. In 2011, Focus Diagnostic! s receive! d the CE mark to offer Simplexa tests in Europe, including tests for Cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus, BK virus and clostridium difficile. Focus Diagnostics offers molecular transplant-testing menus in Europe.

HemoCue manufactures and distributes point-of-care testing products globally. HemoCue is a global provider in point-of-care testing for hemoglobin, with a growing market share for glucose, microalbumin and white blood cell testing. HemoCue offers its White Blood Cell Differential System in Europe. Celera offers complexity molecular diagnostic products in segments, such as HIV-1 drug resistance testing, reproductive genetics, transplantation and cardiovascular genetics. It also manufactures and offers the InSure fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for screening for colorectal cancer.

The Company competes with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  And make no mistake - organizations are getting on board. Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) agreed to lease access to the tool back in November of last year for an undisclosed, but multi-year, term. CellNetix Pathology & Laboratories as well as Cynvenio Biosystems are also now renters of access to the specialized site.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Thinking really long-term
  Sometimes we need to put on our Warren Buffett goggles and think like Buffett if we hope to find the market's best buy-and-hold opportunities. This week I feel could represent the perfect opportunity to nab shares of medical diagnostics company Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX  ) , which are still relatively close to a 52-week low.

Top Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Redhill Biopharma Ltd (RDHL)

Redhill Biopharma Ltd. is an Israel-based biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on the development and acquisition of therapeutic candidates. The Company�� pipeline consists of six late clinical development therapeutic candidates, two of which have completed bioequivalence clinical trials subject to review and approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration and, in some cases, regulatory authorities in other countries. The Company�� six clinical stage therapeutic candidates include RHB-101, RHB-102, RHB-103, RHB-104, RHB-105 and RHB-106.

RHB-101

RHB-101 is a treatment of hypertension, heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction (following myocardial infraction) by means of controlled release of an active ingredient known as carvedilol, which is designed to be administered to patients on a once-daily basis. RHB-101 is based on a patented technology for the controlled release of drugs administered orally.

RHB-102

RHB-102 is a once-daily controlled release oral formulation of ondansetron. RHB-102 utilizes a technology called CDT that uses salts to provide a controlled release of ondansetron.

RHB-103

RHB-103 is an oral thin film formulation of rizatriptan intended for the treatment of acute migraine headaches. Migraine is a neurovascular disorder (related to nerves and blood vessels) characterized by recurrent headaches in one side or both sides of the head.

The product is based on a technology called VersaFilm.

RHB-104

RHB-104 is an antibiotic combination therapy for the treatment of Crohn's disease (with a PIII clinical study underway), as well as Multiple Sclerosis (with an ongoing PIIa clinical study) and Rheumatoid Arthritis. RHB-104 is a combination of clarithromycin, clofazimine and rifabutin, three generic antibiotic ingredients, in a single capsule.

RHB-105

RHB-105, an antibiotics and proton pump inhibitor drug targeting Helico! bacter Pylori infection. RHB-105 is a combination of three approved drug products omeprazole, which is a proton pump inhibitor (the natural body pump that produces the gastric acids used for digesting the food in the stomach), and amoxicillin and rifabutin which are antibiotics. Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori irritates the mucosal lining of the stomach and small intestine.

RHB-106

RHB-106, is a tablet for the preparation and cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract prior to the performance of abdominal procedures. Its abdominal procedures include diagnostic tests, such as colonoscopy, barium enema or virtual colonoscopy, as well as surgical interventions, such as laparotomy.

The company competes with GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis Groupe, Hoffman-La Roche Ltd, Merck and Co., Inc, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Vitran Corporation (NASDAQ: VTNC) announced today that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with TransForce pursuant to which TransForce has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Vitran not already owned by TransForce for US$6.50 in cash per share, in accordance with TransForce's prior proposal. To read the full news, click here. ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) today announced it signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) to sell three utility-scale projects in Western China, with a total capacity of 60MW, to Jiangsu Akcome Solar Science & Technology Co on December 30, 2013. To read the full news, click here. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) today announced it has terminated the merger agreement with Apollo Tyres (NSE:ApolloTYRE). To read the full news, click here. RedHill Biopharma (NASDAQ: RDHL) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with leading healthcare investor OrbiMed Israel Partners Limited Partnership, an affiliate of OrbiMed Advisors LLC, for the sale of RedHill's American Depository Shares and warrants in a private placement transactionor a total sum of $6.0 million. To read the full news, click here.

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

Top Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Spdr Dj Wilshire Small Cap Value Etf (SLYV)

SPDR DJ Wilshire Small Cap Value (ETF) seeks to replicate, as closely as possible, the performance of the Dow Jones Wilshire Small Cap Value Index (the Index). The Index represents the small-cap portion of the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index (the Composite Index). The Composite Index tracks all the United States common stocks regularly traded on the NYSE, the AMEX and the NASDAQ National Market.

The Index includes the components of the Composite Index ranked 751 to 2,500 by full market capitalization and that are classified as value based on analysis that accounts for six factors. The six factors are projected price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), projected earnings growth, price-to-book ratio, dividend yield, trailing revenue growth and trailing earnings growth. The Fund uses a passive management strategy designed to track the total return performance of the float-adjusted Index.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Lydon]

  The following ETFs are some of the top-ranked small-cap ETFs by Zacks. SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV) is up 5.8% over the past three months, and up 20.6% in 2013. The financial and industrial sectors are top weightings. Vanguard S&P Small Cap 600 Value ETF (VIOV) is up 6.4% and has gathered 21.5% year-to-date. Similar to SLYV, VIOV is heavy on the financial and industrial sectors.

Top Trucking Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CONSOL Energy Inc (CNX)

CONSOL Energy Inc. (CONSOL Energy), incorporated in 1991, is a producer of coal and natural gas for global energy and raw material markets, which include the electric power generation industry and the steelmaking industry. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company produced 62.6 million tons of high-British thermal unit (Btu) bituminous coal from 12 mining complexes in the United States. In addition, it provides energy services, including river and dock services, terminal services, industrial supply services, coal waste disposal services and land resource management services. The Company operates in two segments: Coal and Gas. In July 2012, Cloud Peak Energy Inc. acquired Youngs Creek Mining Company, LLC (Youngs Creek) joint venture and other related coal and surface assets from Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (Chevron) and the Company.

Coal Operations

The principal activities of the Coal unit are mining, preparation and marketing of thermal coal, sold primarily to power generators, and metallurgical coal, sold to metal and coke producers. The Coal division consists of four reportable segments, which includes Thermal, Low Volatile Metallurgical, High Volatile Metallurgical and Other Coal. Each of these reportable segments includes a number of operating segments (mines or type of coal sold). During 2011, the Thermal aggregated segment included the Bailey, Blacksville #2, Enlow Fork, Fola Complex, Loveridge, McElroy, Miller Creek Complex, Robinson Run and Shoemaker mines. During 2011, the Low Volatile Metallurgical coal aggregated segment included the Buchanan mine. During 2011, the High Volatile Metallurgical coal aggregated segment included Bailey, Blacksville #2, Enlow Fork, Fola Complex, Loveridge, Miller Creek Complex and Robinson Run coal sales.

The Other Coal segment includes its purchased coal activities, idled mine activities, as well as various other activities assigned to the coal division but not allocated to each individual mine. During 2011, the Company! �� reserves were located in northern Appalachia (62%), the mid-western United States (17%), central Appalachia (15%), the western United States (4%), and in western Canada (2%). As of December 31, 2011, the Company had an estimated 4.5 billion tons of proven and probable reserves. During 2011, 94% of its production came from underground mines, 6% from surface mines, and 91% of its production came from mines equipped with longwall mining systems. As of December 31, 2011, CONSOL Energy operated 22 towboats, five harbor boats and a fleet of 625 barges that serve customers along the Ohio, Allegheny, Kanawha and Monongahela Rivers. During 2011, over 84% of all the coal it produced was sold under contracts with terms of one year or more.

Gas Operations

The principal activity of the Gas division is to produce pipeline methane gas for sale primarily to gas wholesalers. The Gas Division consists of four reportable segments, which include Coalbed Methane (CBM), Marcellus, Shallow Oil and Gas and Other Gas. The Other Gas segment includes its purchased gas activities, as well as various other activities assigned to the gas division but not allocated to each individual well type. Its gas division focuses on developing the Marcellus acreage position in southwest Pennsylvania, central Pennsylvania and northwest West Virginia. CONSOL Energy�� all Other segment includes terminal services, river and dock services, industrial supply services and other business activities. Its gas operations primarily produce CBM, which is a gas that resides in coal seams. The Company�� Coalbed Methane operations are located in central Appalachia in Southwest Virginia. Its CBM production also comes from northern Appalachia in northwestern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania where it drills vertical-to-horizontal CBM wells.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had rights to extract CBM in Virginia from approximately 359,000 net CBM acres, which cover a portion of its coal reserves in Cen! tral Appa! lachia. CONSOL Energy produces gas primarily from the Pocahontas #3 seam, which is the coal seam mined by its Buchanan Mine. The Company also has right to extract CBM in northwestern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania from approximately 859,000 net CBM acres, which contains its recoverable coal reserves in Northern Appalachia. CONSOL Energy produces gas primarily from the Pittsburgh #8 coal seam.

In central Pennsylvania, the Company has the right to extract CBM from approximately 263,000 net CBM acres, which contains its recoverable coal reserves, as well as leases from other coal owners. In addition, CONSOL Energy controls 810,000 net CBM acres in Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. It also has the right to extract CBM on 139,000 net acres in the San Juan Basin, 20,000 net acres in the Powder River Basin and 92,000 net acres in eastern Ohio and central West Virginia. Its Marcellus wells are primarily horizontal wells with 2,500 to 5,000 feet of lateral length. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had the right to extract natural gas in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York from approximately 361,000 net acres.

CONSOL Energy controls approximately 346,000 net acres of rights to gas in the New Albany shale in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. The New Albany shale is a formation containing gaseous hydrocarbons, and its acreage position has thickness of 50-300 feet at an average depth of 2,500-4,000 feet. CONSOL Energy has 249,000 net acres of Chattanooga Shale. It has 457,000 net acres of Huron shale in Kentucky and Virginia. During 2011, the Company drilled 254.9 net development wells and 47 net developmental wells.

Other Operations

CONSOL Energy provides other services to its own operations and others. These include land services, industrial supply services, terminal services, including break bulk, general cargo and warehouse services, and river and dock services water services. Fairmont Supply Company, which is CONSOL Energy�� subs! idiary, i! s a general-line distributor of mining, drilling, and industrial supplies in the United States. During 2011, approximately 12.6 million tons of coal was shipped through CNX Marine Terminal Inc.�� exporting terminal in the Port of Baltimore. CONSOL Energy�� river operations, located in Monessen, Pennsylvania, transport coal from its mines, coal from other mines and non-coal commodities from river loadout facilities located primarily along the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania.

As of December 31, 2011, it operated 22 towboats, five harbor boats and 625 barges. In 2011, its river vessels transported a total of 19.1 million tons of coal and other commodities, including 6.2 million tons of coal produced by CONSOL Energy mines. CONSOL Energy provides dock services for its mines, as well as for third parties at its Alicia Dock, located on the Monongahela River in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Its subsidiary CNX Water Assets LLC acquires and develops existing sources of water used to support its coal and gas operations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Among S&P-500 mining stocks, Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold (FCX) has gained 2.6% to $31.00, Consol Energy (CNX) has jumped 2.5% to $32.00 and Newmont Mining (NEM) has fallen 0.3% to $31.44.

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Buy For 2015

Dan Heath, a senior fellow at Duke University’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship and co-author of “Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work,” gave attendees at IMCA’s annual conference on Monday four reasons their decisions and their clients’ fail.

Luckily, he also gave four ways to stop making bad decisions.

He illustrated the problem with a quote from Daniel Kahneman, the psychologist and godfather of decision-making research: “A remarkable aspect of your mental life is that you are rarely stumped.” Intuition is a machine that is built to jump to conclusions, Heath said.

There are four ways that machine can break down, he continued.

First is narrow framing. Narrow framing happens when you look at a situation without considering all your options. Heath referred to a Carnegie study of teenagers that found they frame their decisions as “whether or not.” Instead of picking the best of several options, they make simple, yes-or-no decisions.

5 Best Building Product Stocks For 2016: Daily Mail and General Trust PLC (DMGT)

Daily Mail and General Trust PLC (DMGT) is a United kingdom-based multi-media and information company. The Company�� business activities are split into seven operating segments: RMS, business information, events, Euromoney, national media, local media and radio. Its dmg information is a business information division, providing business to business (B2B) information to the property, financial, energy and educational recruitment markets. As of October 2, 2011, dmg events, its business-to-business (B2B) exhibition and conferences division, operated 27 exhibitions and two conference businesses. Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC is a B2B media group. Associated Newspapers is its newspaper division. In September 2012, it sold its remaining 50% interest in DMG Radio Australia to Illyria. In July 2013, Daily Mail and General Trust PLC announced that Rothermere Continuation Limited has a holding 89.2% of interest of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Daily Mail & General Trust Plc (DMGT) climbed 2.4 percent to 861 pence. The company said contribution from national newspapers to the group�� revenue dropped to 36 percent this year from 43 percent in 2012 and will fall further. The publisher of Britain�� second-biggest U.K. daily newspaper forecast full-year revenue will be 1.8 billion pounds, matching analysts�� estimates.

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Buy For 2015: Dolby Laboratories Inc (DLB)

Dolby Laboratories, Inc., incorporated in 1967, develops and delivers products and technologies that are used in the entertainment industry. Its audio technologies are used throughout the global entertainment industry. It is developing and marketing video technologies to improve the quality of video presentation. Its offerings include video products aimed at the cinema market, such as its digital cinema server, its Dolby three-dimensional (3D) Digital Cinema products, and its Dolby PRM-4200 Professional Reference Monitor. It offers products and services to content creators, such as studios, broadcasters, and downloadable content service providers to encode content using Dolby�� technologies. As of September 24, 2010, the Company sold its products and provide services in over 85 countries. In addition, it has licensed its technologies to CE manufacturers and to software vendors in 40 countries, which in turn distribute their products incorporating its technologies throughout the world.

The Company designs and manufactures video and audio products for the film production, cinema, and television broadcast industries. Distributed in over 60 countries, these products are used in content creation, distribution and playback to improve image and sound quality, provide surround sound, and increase the efficiency of sound storage and distribution. Its product sales are derived from sales of its digital 3D products, which provide 3D capabilities, as well as sales of digital cinema servers that load, store, decrypt, and decode encrypted digital film files for presentation on digital projectors in theaters. Revenue is also derived from sales of its traditional cinema processors, which movie theaters use to process film soundtracks, and from sales of broadcast products used to encode and distribute content to viewers. It also offers related digital cinema processors and media adapters to decode digital cinema soundtracks, and digital cinema accessories that allow exhibitors to integrate its digital ! cinema servers with their existing automation systems.

The Company offers a variety of services to support film production, television broadcast and music production. The Company enters into service agreements with motion picture studios or filmmakers to provide them with production services related to the preparation of a Dolby soundtrack, such as equipment calibration, mixing room alignment and equalization. Dolby provides other services, such as print quality control, professional film mastering services to prepare movies for digital release, and theatre system calibration for important screenings, such as premieres, film festivals, and press screenings. Its engineers also provide training, system design consultation and onsite technical expertise to cinema operators throughout the world to help them configure their screening rooms and equipment to ensure that movies are replayed with consistent high quality.

The Company�� technologies include dolby digital, dolby digital plus, dolby digital surround EX, dolby digital EX, advanced audio coding (AAC), HE AAC, dolby pulse, dolby trueHD, dolby E, dolby digital live, dolby pro logic II, dolby pro logic II(x), dolby pro logic IIz, dolby virtual speaker, dolby headphone, dolby mobile, dolby axon, PC entertainment experience (PCEE), dolby digital stereo creator, dolby digital 5.1 creator, dolby volume, dolby contrast, dolby vision and analog signal processing technologies. Its products include traditional cinema processors, digital cinema products, digital 3D products, digital media adapters, broadcast products and professional reference monitor.

Traditional cinema processors are used to read, decode and play back a film�� soundtrack and calibrate the sound system in a movie theater. Digital cinema products are used for digital cinema encoding, distribution and playback. Our digital cinema server is used to load, store, decrypt, decode and re-encrypt digital film files for presentation on a digital cinema project! or. We al! so provide products that encrypt, encode and package digital films, and digital cinema processors to decode digital cinema soundtracks. Digital 3D products deliver a 3D image with an existing digital cinema server and white screen, providing exhibitors a flexible 3D solution. Its Dolby 3D glasses feature high-quality multicoated lenses with a special curvature that delivers 3D images.

Digital media adapters are used to adapt existing analog cinema audio systems to the latest digital audio technologies. Broadcast products are used to encode, transmit and decode multiple channels of high-quality audio for Digital Television (DTV) and high-definition television (HDTV) program production and broadcast distribution and to measure the subjective loudness of audio content within broadcast programming. Professional reference monitor is a video monitor used during the production and post-production of cinematic and video content in situations, where grade one reference performance is required.

The Company competes with Audyssey Laboratories, DTS, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, Microsoft, Philips, RealNetworks, Sonic Solutions, Sony, SRS Labs, Thomson, Barco, Doremi, GDC, IMAX, MasterImage 3D, NEC, Panavision, QSC Audio Products, Qube Cinema, REAL D, Technicolor, Texas Instruments, USL, XpanD and DTS.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Enter Dolby Labs' (NYSE: DLB  ) glasses-free technology, which could revolutionize or at least revitalize the�3-D TV industry.

  In partnership with Philips (NYSE: PHG  ) , the sound specialist is developing a suite of technologies that are used during production and in the TV sets themselves that allows viewers to see a picture in�3-D without having to wear glasses. Moreover, the technology works�on any 3-D TV, tablet, laptop, or smartphone, and can convert any 2-D display into an equally sharp 3-D display.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, we're focusing on tech stocks, as analysts pull back on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB  ) and Dolby Labs (NYSE: DLB  ) , but become more bullish on LogMeIn (NASDAQ: LOGM  ) . Let's start with that last one.

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Buy For 2015: Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd (STBFY)

Suntory Beverage & Food Limited is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of beverages and food. The Company operates in two geographical segments. The Domestic segment is engaged in the manufacture and sale of various soft drinks within Japan, such as coffee drinks, mineral water, green tea drinks, tea drinks, carbonated drinks, fruit juice drinks, functional beverages, milk beverages, and food for specified health use, as well as syrup for general and business usage. The International segment is engaged in the manufacture and sale of carbonated drinks, fruit juice drinks, health food, seasoning, tea-based beverages and others, with operations in Europe, Oceania, Asia and the Americas. As of May 29, 2013, the Company had 80 subsidiaries and 10 associated companies. On October 15, 2013, the Company acquired Lucozade Ribena Suntory Limited. On December 12, 2013, the Company acquired Suntory Beverage & Food Europe Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Whiskey has become increasingly cool and popular thanks to the whole cocktail movement, something that�� good for big whiskey stocks like Suntory Beverage & Food Limited (OTCMKTS: STBFY), Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO) and Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE: BF.B) who�also produce a wide variety of�liquors and beverages. In fact,�a recent episode of the�Daily Ticker�cited these stats from a USA Today article:

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  Let�� start with Suntory Beverage & Food Limited (STBFY),which recently completed its acquisition of�Beam Inc., formerly the purest play on bourbon. Beam was the owner of the eponymous Jim Beam brand, as well as the higher-end Maker�� Mark and Knob Creek and the lower-end Old Crow.�Suntory is Japan�� leading spirits company, though most Americans will be unfamiliar with its Japanese whisky brands, such as Yamazaki and Hakushu. (Note for booze snobs: Japanese whisky��ike Scotch and Canadian whisky��s correctly spelled ��hisky.��American bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and Irish whiskey are correctly spelled ��hiskey.��

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks To Buy For 2015: Sabre Corp (SABR)

Sabre Corporation, incorporated on December 11, 2006, is a technology solutions provider to the global travel and tourism industry.The Company provides software and services to a range of travel suppliers and travel buyers. The Company through its Travel Network business, processes hundreds of millions of transactions annually, connecting travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines and tour operators, with travel buyers in a comprehensive travel marketplace. The Company operates through three business segments: Travel Network, Airline and Hospitality Solutions and Travelocity. The Company offers global distribution of travel content from approximately 125,000 travel suppliers to approximately 400,000 online and offline travel agents. To those agents, it offers a platform to shop, price, book and ticket comprehensive travel content in a transparent workflow.

The Company through its airline solutions business (Airline Solutions) and hospitality solutions business (Hospitality Solutions and, together with Airline Solutions, Airline and Hospitality Solutions) offer travel suppliers a suite of software solutions, ranging from airline and hotel reservations systems to high-value marketing and operations solutions, such as planning airline crew schedules, re-accommodating passengers during irregular flight operations and managing day-to-day hotel operations. These solutions allow its customers to market, distribute and sell their products more efficiently, manage their core operations, and deliver an enhanced travel experience. Through its complementary Travel Network and Airline and Hospitality Solutions businesses, it offers the broadest, end-to-end portfolio of technology solutions to the travel industry.

The Company�� portfolio of technology solutions has enabled them to become the technology provider in the travel industry. The Company is the global distribution systems (GDSs) provider in North America and also in higher growt! h markets such as Latin America and Asia Pacific (APAC). The Company has a portfolio of airline marketing and operations products across the solutions that it provides. In addition, the Company operates Travelocity, one of the recognizable brands in the online consumer travel e-commerce industry, which provides them with business insights into its broader customer base. Through its solutions, which span the breadth of the travel ecosystem, the Company has developed deep domain expertise. Its investment in Airline and Hospitality Solutions offerings has allowed to create a broad portfolio of value-added products for its travel supplier customers, ranging from reservations platforms to operations solutions typically delivered via scalable and flexible software-as-a-service (SaaS) and hosted platforms.

The Company enabled airlines to sell ancillary products like premium seats through the GDS, the first third-party provider to automate passenger reaccommodation during operational disruptions and the first GDS to launch a business-to-business (B2B) app marketplace for its travel agency customers that allows them to customize and augment its Travel Network platform. The Company�� SaaS and hosted technology platforms allows them to serve its customers primarily through a recurring, transaction-based revenue model based primarily on travel events such as air segments booked, passengers boarded (PBs) or other relevant metrics.

Travel Network

Travel Network is a global B2B travel marketplace and consists primarily of its GDS and integrates with its GDS to add value for travel suppliers and travel buyers. The Company�� GDS offers content from a broad array of travel suppliers, including approximately 400 airlines, 125,000 hotel properties, 30 car rental brands, 50 rail carriers, 16 cruise lines and 200 tour operators, to tens of thousands of travel buyers, including online and offline travel agencies, TMCs and corporate travel departments.

Airline and Hospi! tality So! lutions

The Company�� Airline and Hospitality Solutions business offers a broad portfolio of software technology products and solutions, primarily through SaaS and hosted models, to approximately 225 airlines, 17,500 hotel properties and 700 other travel suppliers. Its software and systems applications help automate and optimize its customers��business processes, including reservations systems, marketing tools, commercial planning solutions and enterprise operations tools.

Travelocity

Travelocity is the Company�� family of online consumer travel e-commerce businesses through which it provides travel content and booking functionality primarily for leisure travelers. In August 2013, Travelocity entered into an long-term strategic marketing agreement with Expedia which was recently amended and restated in March 2014 to reflect changed commercial terms (the Expedia SMA). Under the Expedia SMA, Expedia will power the technology platforms of Travelocity�� existing U.S. and Canadian Websites, as well as provide access to Expedia�� supply and customer service platforms. Additionally, Travelocity recently sold its Travelocity Partner Network (TPN) business, a B2B loyalty and private label Website offering, to Orbitz.

The Company competes with Amadeus, Hewlett-Packard, Unisys, Navitaire, Jeppesen , Lufthansa Systems, SITA, PROS, ITA Software, Datalex, Travelport, MICROS, TravelClick, Pegasus and Trust.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Grocer]

  High-profile offerings from boutique investment bank Moelis(MC) & Co. and travel-technology firm Sabre Corp.(SABR) sold fewer shares at a lower price than both expected lat week. On the day they debuted, shares of the two companies rose 4.6% and 3%, respectively.