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...
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