10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014

Wealth creation happens by doing two things

a. Earning well and having
b. Good wealth creation and management techniques.

Wealth creation has many steps and one of them is investing. Investing itself is a complex field. It involves studying a myriad of investment vehicles, terms, concepts, strategies and processes. It also involves study of various markets equity shares, real estate, money markets, economics, etc.

In the real world of investing, this study is best accompanied by training, observing, and experience. The complexity of the science (or art?) and a lifetime pursuit of financial goals means there are no short cuts that are allowed.

However, since the very beginning of the equity market (as well as commodity markets),  there have always been some individuals who have attempted to trade stocks, options, commodities, currencies actively in order to capture more profits than losses.

Obviously most of them hoped to make a profit.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Ace Achieve Infocom Limited (A75.SI)

Ace Achieve Infocom Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the design and development of telecommunication solutions and products for telecommunication networks primarily in the People's Republic of China. It provides telecom application solutions, wireless coverage solutions, operation support and business support systems, and broadband data products. The company also offers proprietary information security platform and end-user mobile platform for small-and-medium enterprises. Ace Achieve Infocom Limited provides its solutions and products to telecommunication networks, including fixed line, GSM, TD-SCDMA, CDMA, CDMA2000, and PHS. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Beijing, the People�s Republic of China. Ace Achieve Infocom Limited is a subsidiary of CIMB Securities (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)

ReneSola Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar wafers and solar power products. It offers virgin polysilicons, monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar wafers, and photovoltaic cells and modules. The company also provides cell and module processing services. Its products are used in a range of residential, commercial, industrial, and other solar power generation systems. The company sells its solar wafers primarily to solar cell and module manufacturers. It principally operates in Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, and the United States. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Jiashan, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the move: Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is up 31.5% at $5.13 on the announcement that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) will acquire the Finnish firm�� mobile phone business for $7.2 billion. Chinese solar energy stocks are getting a boost again today, with Hanwha SolarOne Co. (NASDAQ: HSOL) up more than 15.9% and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) up 14.9%.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Notable earnings reports currently on tap for next week: Qihu 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: QIHU), Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO), LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), Joy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY), Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE: KKD), and ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL).

Top China Stocks For 2014: Stratasys Inc.(SSYS)

Stratasys, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and servicing of three-dimensional (3D) printers, rapid prototyping (RP) systems, and related consumable materials for office-based RP and direct digital manufacturing (DDM) markets. The company offers its products as integrated systems consisting of an RP machine and the software to convert the CAD designs into a machine compatible format, and modeling and support materials. Its products enable engineers and designers to create physical models, tooling, jigs, fixtures, prototypes, and end use parts out of production grade thermoplastic directly from a CAD workstation. The company also offers rapid prototyping and production part manufacturing services; and maintenance, leasing/renting, training, and contract engineering services for 3D production systems and 3D printers. Its products are used by design and manufacturing organizations in aerospace, architecture, automotive, business machines, consumer products, defense, direct digital manufacturing of custom parts, educational institutions, electronics, fixtures, jewelry, heavy equipment, medical systems, tooling, medical analysis, mold making, and dental markets. The company markets its products through a network of value-added resellers and distributors in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and China. Stratasys, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) has filed a shelf registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to allow it to issue sell an unspecified number of ordinary shares, warrants, and debt securities. At the same time the firm filed a Form 424 registering 6.93 million shares for sale at a maximum aggregate price of $768 million. The maximum per share price is given as $110.85.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Amalphi AG (AMI)

Amalphi AG is a Germany-based company that offers multivendor services for the maintenance of hardware and software of all kinds of Information Technology (IT) equipment. Its main activity is the sale of services including quality assurance, whereas the physical services are provided via international service providers. The Company's products include amalphi ip and ip-pack. amalphi ip is a maintenance service concept for IT-, office- and other technical equipment based on electronic components, which include hardware and software maintenance, help desk service, patch management and asset management. ip-pack offers service packs for the OEM with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for Hewlett-Packard and IBM products. The Company has a sales network throughout Germany. ES Investment GmbH holds approximately a 49%-stake in the Company.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)

Progress Software Corporation operates as an enterprise software company worldwide. Its products include Progress OpenEdge platform, which offers development tools, application servers, application management tools, and an embedded database; Progress Orbix to address enterprise integration problems with standards-based solutions; and Progress ObjectStore, an object data management system to store data faster than relational database management system or file-based storage system. The company?s products also comprise Progress Responsiveness Process Management suite for business users; Progress Control Tower, an interactive business control panel; Progress Sonic, which comprises an enterprise messaging system and the enterprise service buses; Progress Actional that provides operational and business visibility, root cause analysis, and policy-based security and control of services; Progress Apama, which offers tools for creating, testing, and deploying strategies for applicat ions, including algorithmic trading, market aggregation, smart order routing, market surveillance and monitoring, and risk management; Progress Savvion BusinessManager, a business process management software; and Fuse products that provide customers with access to professional open source integration and messaging software. In addition, it offers Progress DataDirect Connect products, which provide data connectivity components; Progress DataDirect Shadow to provide foundation architecture for standards-based mainframe integration; and Progress Data Services product set that offers data integration for distributed applications. Further, the company provides maintenance, consulting, training, and customer support services. Progress Software Corporation sells its products to independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators through direct sales force and independent distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bedford, Massac husetts.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Sinobest Technology Hldgs Ltd. (T80.SI)

Sinobest Technology Holdings Ltd., an investment holding company, provides computer and network system integration, building integration, application software development, and technical services in the People's Republic of China. It offers e-archive management, social security allied office, public security joint approving, e-document exchange center, e-regulation and policy, e-conference, e-financial management, and performance assessment solutions for the government; and government internal Website portal, short message service, office automation, email, decision making support, information service management, and service management information solutions for public servants. The company also offers online applying and approving, and enterprise information service solutions for businesses; community service, e-Medicare, online applying and approving, public information service, e-identity verification, and hotline service solutions for public; and application support, ser vice application, and network infrastructure solutions. It primarily serves government bureaus and departments, and state-owned enterprises in the sectors of telecommunication service, power supply, railway and transportation, immigration and customs, public security, labor and social insurance, universities, land and resources, taxation and finance, and food and drugs, as well as privately-owned enterprises. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China Sinobest Technology Holdings Ltd. is a subsidiary of Profit Saver International Limited.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Selectica Inc.(SLTC)

Selectica, Inc. provides contract management and sales configuration software solutions that allow enterprises to manage sell-side business processes. It offers Selectica contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution, a contract authoring, analysis, repository, and process automation product that is offered on-premise or hosted basis enables customers to create, manage, and analyze contracts in a single repository. The company also offers Selectica sales configuration (SCS) solution, which consolidates configuration, pricing, and quoting functions into a single application platform. It provides SCS solutions to manufacturers, service providers, and financial services companies to streamline the opportunity-to-order process. In addition, the company provides professional implementation and customization services; on-demand hosting services for CLM solutions; and complex product configuration modeling services for SCS solutions. It sells its CLM products primarily through its direct sales force and strategic and OEM partners, as well as SCS products primarily through partnership relationships in the United States, Canada, India, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The GeoTeam]

  Our recent 2013 articles on SaaS companies Selectica (SLTC), E2open (EOPN), Responsys (MKTG), Vocus (VOCS), and ExactTarget (ET) highlighted such opportunities. The average return since the inception of our coverage currently stands at around 34% (55% at their highs).

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Sandvine Corp Com Npv (SVC.TO)

Sandvine Corporation develops and markets network policy control solutions for broadband Internet service providers in North America, the Caribbean and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers network policy control solutions comprising a hardware platform and proprietary software modules, which provide a system for broadband Internet service providers to identify specific types of traffic across their networks, such as VoIP, online gaming, or video streams; and provides tools to help service providers apply specific network policies that enable the quality of service for their subscribers, mitigate malicious traffic, and manage their network. It also offers consultation, installation, integration, and training services; and support and software maintenance services. The company sells its products and services directly, as well as through network equipment resellers and value-added resellers. Sandvine Corporation was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Facebook Inc (FB.O)

Facebook, Inc. (Facebook), incorporated in July 2004, is engaged in building products to create utility for users, developers, and advertisers. People use Facebook to stay connected with their friends and family, to discover what is going on in the world around them, and to share and express what matters to them to the people they care about. Developers can use the Facebook Platform to build applications and Websites that integrate with Facebook to reach its global network of users and to build personalized and social products. Advertisers can engage with more than 900 million monthly active users (MAUs) on Facebook or subsets of its users based on information they have chosen to share with the Company, such as their age, location, gender, or interests. It offers advertisers a combination of reach, relevance, social context and engagement.

Products for Users

The Company�� products for users are free of charge and available on the Web, mobile Web, and mobile platforms, such as Android and iOS. It launched Timeline in September 2011, as an enhanced and updated version of the Facebook Profile. Timeline allows users to organize and display the events and activities that matter most to them, enabling them to curate their memories in a searchable personal narrative that is organized chronologically. Users choose what information to share on their Timeline, such as their interests, photos, education, work history, relationship status, and contact information, and users can control with whom each piece of content is shared on their Timeline. The Facebook News Feed is the core feature of a user�� homepage and is a regularly updating list of stories from friends, Pages, and other entities to which a user is connected on Facebook. It includes posts, photos, event updates, group memberships, app updates, and other activities. Each user�� News Feed is personalized based on his or her interests and the sharing activity o f the user�� friends.

Facebook is a photo up! l! oading service on the Web. Users can upload an unlimited number of high resolution photos, create photo albums, and share them with their friends or any audience they choose. Users can also upload and share videos. Users can set specific privacy settings for each of their photo albums and videos, making them visible to everyone, or only to certain friends. Users can arrange their photos, add captions, and tag people in a photo or video. Tagging allows users to identify a person in a photo or video as one of their friends. Its messaging products include email, chat, and text messaging. Groups are shared Facebook pages for groups of users to discuss common interests. Lists allow users to organize their friends in order to filter the stories shown in their News Feeds and reach or exclude specific people when they share on Facebook. Through Events, users can organize gatherings, manage invitations, and send event notifications and reminders to their friends. From the Events page , users can create a new event, check out upcoming events of interest to them and their friends, and view previous events.

Through Places, users can share their location and see where their friends are. They are able to see if any of their friends are nearby. Users can also check in to Places to tell their friends where they are, tag their friends in the Places they visit, or view Comments their friends have made about the Places they visit. Using Subscribe, users can sign up to receive public posts in their News Feeds from other Facebook users of interest, such as celebrities, thought leaders, and other public figures. Ticker is a live stream of the real-time activities of a user�� friends and the Pages and other entities to which the user is connected. On the top of each Facebook page, a highlighted icon is displayed to users when there is relevant and new information available to them, such as a new friend request, a new message from a friend, or an alert that the user has been tagged in a photo posted by a fri! end.!

A Facebook Page is a public profile that allows anyone, including artists, public figures, businesses, brands, organizations, and charities to create a presence on Facebook and engage with the Facebook community. A Page owner can connect with interested users in order to provide updates, answer questions, receive feedback, or otherwise stimulate interest in the owner�� messages, products, and services. When a Facebook user likes a Page, the Page owner has the opportunity to publish stories to the user�� News Feed on an ongoing basis. In addition, when a Facebook user Likes or Comments on a post by a Page owner, that user�� action may be shared with the user�� friends via News Feed to drive awareness to a wider circle of users, increasing the Page�� exposure, recognition, and engagement. The Company does not charge for Pages, nor does it charge for the resulting organic distribution. As of March 31, 2012, there were more than 42 million Pages with 10 or more Li kes, including Harvard, Lady Gaga, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Starbucks, and Boo (the World�� Cutest Dog), as well as millions of local businesses.

Products for Developers

The Facebook Platform is a set of tools and application programming interfaces (APIs) that developers can use to build social apps on Facebook or to integrate their Websites with Facebook. As of March 31, 2012, more than nine million applications and Websites were integrated with Facebook. Some of the elements of the Facebook Platform include open graph, social plugins, payments, applications on Facebook, desktop applications, mobile applications and platform-integrated Websites. The Open Graph is a set of APIs that developers can use to build applications and Websites that enable users to share their activities with friends on Facebook. Social plugins are social features that developers can easily integrate with their Websites by incorporating a single line of HyperText M arkup Language (HTML) code.

Facebook ! provides ! a! n online ! payments infrastructure that enables developers to receive payments from users through a secure system. The Company has designed its Payments infrastructure to streamline the buying process between its users and developers. Its Payments system enables users to purchase virtual or digital goods from developers and third-party Websites by using debit and credit cards, PayPal, mobile phone payments, gift cards or other methods. Applications on Facebook run within the Facebook Website. The Facebook Platform has also enabled new types of social applications on Facebook beyond games to facilitate social sharing and discovery of music, news, television programming, and everyday interests, such as cooking, fitness, and travel. Developers can also build desktop apps that run on the operating system of a personal computer and offer experiences that are integrated with the Facebook Platform. The Facebook Platform for mobile has enabled developers to create engaging mobile applications that integrate with Facebook�� social and personalization capabilities. Websites can integrate with Facebook using social plugins, such as the Like button or design more deeply integrated social experiences built around users and their friends.

Products for Advertisers and Marketers

Facebook offers products that enable advertisers and marketers to leverage its combination of reach, relevance, social context, and engagement. When creating a Facebook ad, advertisers can specify a title, content, image, and destination Web page or Facebook Page to which a user is directed if he or she clicks on the ad. Advertisers can further engage their intended audiences by incorporating social context with their marketing messages. Social context includes actions a user�� friends have taken, such as Liking the advertiser�� Facebook Page. Ads with social context are shown only to a user�� friends, and the user�� privacy settings apply to social ads. It of fers a range of ads with social context, from! an ad wi! th a s! ingle Lik! e button to its Premium Ad paired with social context, which allows advertisers to highlight the interactions of a user�� friends with a brand or product.

Sponsored stories enable marketers to promote the stories they publish from their Facebook Page to users who have connected with the Page or to amplify the distribution of stories users are already sharing that are relevant to their marketing efforts. When advertisers create an ad campaign with Facebook, they specify the types of users they would like to reach based on information that users chose to share about their age, location, gender, relationship status, educational history, workplace, and interests. Advertisers choose to pay for their ads based on either cost per thousand impressions (CPM) on a fixed or bidded basis or cost per click (CPC) on a bidded basis. Facebook ad analytics enable advertisers to gain insights into which ads were displayed and clicked on. These analytics help advertisers make mo difications to their ad campaigns. Advertisers with Facebook Pages can also view the number of users who Liked and Commented on their Page and a newly introduced metric, People Talking About This, which shows how many stories about their brand are being created and shared.

The Company competes with Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Cyworld, Mixi and vKontakte.

10 Best Tech Stocks For 2014: Overland Storage Inc.(OVRL)

Overland Storage, Inc. provides data management and data protection solutions for primary or nearline storage, disk backup and recovery, and data management and protection worldwide. It offers Snap Server, a line of network attached storage and storage area network solutions designed for primary and secondary data accessibility and protection; and are available with backup, replication, and mirroring software in fixed capacity or highly scalable configurations. The company also provides NEO SERIES and REO SERIES of virtual tape libraries, tape backup, and archive systems designed to meet the need for data storage for long-term archiving and compliance requirements. In addition, it offers data management software, including GuardianOS, a storage-optimized platform operating system; Snap Enterprise Data Replicator, which provides multi-directional, WAN-optimized replication for Snap Server systems; and Protection OS software that offers virtualization, data protection, data management, and connectivity features for REO virtual tape library systems. It serves various industries, such as financial services, video surveillance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, broadcasting, and research and development. The company markets its products through original equipment manufacturers, direct market resellers, distributors, and value-added resellers to small and medium enterprises, corporate departments, small and medium businesses multinational corporations, governmental organizations, and educational institutions. The company was formerly known as Overland Data, Inc. and changed its name to Overland Storage, Inc. in 2002. Overland Storage Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014

Samsung and�Apple� (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) �may steal all of the spotlight when their new phones debut, or even when rumors of their phones surface, but some think there's room in the mobile OS space for more competition -- and Mozilla wants in.

A new hope
Right now,�Google's� (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) �Android and Apple's iOS take a whopping 85% of the global smartphone mobile OS market share. BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY  ) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) currently spar over the third place position, but according to the latest calculations from Gartner, Microsoft's platform is expected to far outpace the Canadian company's OS by 2017 --�and leave BlackBerry in a realm of potential mobile insignificance.

Firefox Mobile OS. Source: Mozilla.

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: Talisman Energy Inc.(TLM)

Talisman Energy Inc., an upstream oil and gas company, engages in the exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. It primarily operates in North America, the North Sea, and southeast Asia. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Value Digger]

  Manitok's competitive advantage is its management team, who knows well where the shallow opportunities exist, from years of bypassing many conventional reservoirs and drilling deeper targets for Talisman Energy (TLM).

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company(DD)

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company operates as a science and technology company worldwide. It operates in seven segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Electronics & Communications, Performance Chemicals, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, and Pharmaceuticals. The Agriculture & Nutrition segment provides hybrid seed corn and soybean seed, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, value enhanced grains, and soy protein under the Pioneer brand name. The Electronics & Communications segment supplies materials and systems for photovoltaic products, consumer electronics, displays, and advanced printing. The Performance Chemicals segment offers fluorochemicals, fluoropolymers, specialty and industrial chemicals, and white pigments for various markets, such as plastics and coatings, textiles, mining, pulp and paper, water treatment, and healthcare. The Performance Coatings segment supplies high performance liquid and powder coatings for motor vehicle origi nal equipment manufacturers (OEM); the motor vehicle after-market; and general industrial applications, such as such as coatings for heavy equipment, pipes and appliances, and electrical insulation. The Performance Materials segment provides polymers, elastomers, films, parts, and systems and solutions for the automotive OEM and associated after-market industries, as well as electrical, electronics, packaging, construction, oil, photovoltaics, aerospace, chemical processing, and consumer durable goods. The Safety & Protection segment primarily offers nonwovens, aramids, and solid surfaces for the construction, transportation, communications, industrial chemicals, oil and gas, electric utilities, automotive, manufacturing, defense, homeland security, and safety consulting industries. The Pharmaceuticals segment represents its interest in the collaboration relating to Cozaar/Hyzaar antihypertensive drugs. The company was founded in 1802 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Dela ware.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  DuPont provides innovative chemical solutions to companies to companies that operate in a multitude of industries worldwide. The stock has been fairly stagnant for most of the last few years and is now trading near the top of its range. Over the last four quarters, investors in the company have had mixed feelings as earnings and revenue figures have been mostly decreasing. Relative to its peers and sector, DuPont has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what DuPont does this coming quarter.

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Some say that specializing in one product is the path to success. Others argue that diversifying is a policy against economic recessions. Time has proved that neither strategy is wrong, and that each one has an expiration date. Here are two chemical companies that started with one product and have eventually diversified: DuPont (DD) and Air Products & Chemicals (APD). Let's take a look into their prospects for the years to come.

Hot Penny Companies To Buy For 2014: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)

Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: Rhino Resource Partners LP(RNO)

Rhino Resource Partners LP produces, processes, and sells coal of various steam and metallurgical grades in the United States. The company holds interests in various surface and underground coal mines located in Central Appalachia, Northern Appalachia, the Illinois Basin, and the Western Bituminous region. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 10 mines, including 5 underground and 5 surface mines located in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. The company markets its steam coal primarily to electric utility companies as fuel for their steam-powered generators; and metallurgical coal for steel and coke producers. It also engages in mining limestone from reserves located at its Sands Hill mining complex and sells it as aggregate to various construction companies and road builders. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Lexington, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexis Xydias]

  Investors are regaining confidence, squeezing pessimists who say the economy remains sluggish outside of Germany and point to record-low trading volume as a lack of conviction in the Euro Stoxx�� 61 percent rally of the past two years. Besides gains in stocks from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA to Renault SA (RNO), yields on Spanish and Italian bonds have declined to a two-year low compared with German bunds and the euro has strengthened 4.6 percent to $1.35 in the past six months.

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By vaninaegea]

  In august, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) published the mid-year review for the agricultural sector. Their findings point to a slowdown for the industry, highlighting a 9.5% decline on exports through the first half of 2013. Also, late soybean planting in the USA is expected to compound the industry�� slowdown. So, what are the prospects for AGCO (AGCO), CNH Global (CNH), and Deere & Co. (DE) under such conditions?

• [By Hebba Investments]

  Even with rising Q2 costs, GG still has lower true all-in costs than many of its larger competitors' Q1FY13 costs. Compared to Q1FY13 numbers of competitors such as Yamana Gold (AUY) (costs just over $1300), Kinross Gold (KGC) (costs above $1350), Silvercrest Mines (SVLC) (costs below $1100), Newmont Gold (NEM) (costs around $1300) Agnico-Eagle (AEM) (costs around $1400) and Barrick Gold (ABX) (costs around $1200).

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: EMC Corporation(EMC)

EMC Corporation develops, delivers, and supports the information and virtual infrastructure technologies and solutions. The company offers enterprise storage systems and software, which are deployed in storage area networks (SAN), networked attached storage (NAS), unified storage combining NAS and SAN, object storage, and/or direct attached storage environments, as well as provides backup and recovery, and disaster recovery and archiving solutions. It also offers information security solutions in various areas, such as enterprise governance, risk and compliance, data loss prevention, security information management, continuous network monitoring, fraud protection, identity assurance and access control, and encryption and key management. In addition, the company provides information intelligence software, solutions, and services, including EMC Captiva for intelligent enterprise capture; EMC Document Sciences for customer communications management; EMC Kazeon for e-discovery ; EMC Documentum xCP for building business solutions and an action engine for big data; and the EMC Documentum platform for managing and delivering enterprise information. Further, it offers virtual and cloud infrastructure products, such as virtualization and virtualization-based cloud infrastructure solutions that address a range of IT problems, as well as facilitate access to cloud computing capacity, business continuity, software lifecycle management, and corporate end-user computing device management In addition, the company provides consulting, technology deployment, managed, customer support, and training and certification services. EMC Corporation markets its products through direct sales and through multiple distribution channels in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a new $28 price target by Barclays.

  Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral, and the price target was lifted to $55 from $32, at Citigroup.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) is not a software company. Yet the majority ownership position its has in VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) makes it is a dual threat. Owning the stock gives investors a top storage name in enterprise hardware, as well as the cloud computing software from its majority stake. The consensus price target for this top tech name is $31. Investors also receive a 1.5% dividend.

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: Oshkosh Truck Corporation(OSK)

Oshkosh Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets a range of specialty vehicles, and vehicle bodies worldwide. Its Defense segment manufactures severe-duty, heavy, and medium-payload tactical trucks for the Department of Defense, including hauling tanks, missile systems, ammunition, fuel, and troops and cargo for combat units. The company?s Access Equipment segment offers aerial work platforms and telehandlers used in a range of construction, agricultural, industrial, institutional, and general maintenance applications. This segment also manufactures towing and recovery equipment and related parts; and leases equipments for short-term to rental companies. The company?s Fire and Emergency segment provides custom and commercial fire apparatus, and emergency vehicles, including pumpers, aerial and ladder trucks, tankers, rescue vehicles, wildland rough terrain response vehicles, mobile command and control centers, bomb squad vehicles, hazardous materials control vehicl es, and other emergency response vehicles. This segment also offers snow removal vehicles in airports; custom ambulances for private and public transporters, and fire departments; mobile medical trailers for medical centers and service providers; mobile command and control centers and simulation units; and vehicles for broadcasters, TV stations, broadcast production, and radio stations. Oshkosh Corporation?s Commercial segment manufactures refuse collection vehicles for the waste services industry; front and rear discharge concrete mixers, and portable and stationary concrete batch plants for the concrete ready-mix industry; and field service vehicles and truck-mounted cranes for the construction, equipment dealer, building supply, utility, tire service, and mining industries. The company was formerly known as Oshkosh Truck Corporation and changed its name to Oshkosh Corporation in February 2008. Oshkosh Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Hot Canadian Companies To Watch For 2014: S&P 500/Barra Value(SU)

Suncor Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company. The company involves in the development of petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; acquisition, exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in Canada and internationally; transportation and refining of crude oil; and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products primarily in Canada. Its Oil Sands segment produces bitumen recovered from oil sands through mining and in-situ technology, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock, diesel fuel, and by-products. This segment?s products include gasoline and distillates. The company?s Natural Gas segment acquires, explores, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, oil, and by-products from reserves located primarily in western Canada, the Northwest Territories, Alaska, and the Arctic Islands. Its International and Offshore segment engages in the exploration and pro duction of oil and gas in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, in the North Sea, and in Libya and Syria. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil at Suncor's refineries in Edmonton, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec; and Sarnia, Ontario in Canada, as well as in Commerce City, Colorado into a range of petroleum and petrochemical products for sale to retail, commercial, and industrial customers. It also transports crude oil through pipelines in eastern and western Canada, as well as through wholly-owned pipelines in Wyoming and Colorado; and produces specialty lubricants and waxes. In addition, this segment operates retail sites in Canada under the Petro-Canada brand; and in Colorado under Phillips 66 and Shell brands. Suncor Energy Inc. also engages in third-party energy trading activities. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Calgary , Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  There has been a great deal of concern about the United States suffering from a "lost generation" as Japan has now for several. For investors in oil, this has certainly not been the case: A recent article in The Wall Street Journal noted that oil has risen 310% (Brent Crude) over the last decade. The future looks equally promising for investments in the sector such as ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU), Americas Petrogas (BOE.V), and Octagon 88 (OTCBB: OCTX).

1 More Dividend Stock Snags Natural Gas Export Approval

Natural gas: We have it, and other countries want it. The Department of Energy (DOE) approved its fourth LNG export facility yesterday , paving the way for the U.S. to export more of its energy worldwide. Here's what you need to know.

Dominion's dominating

Dominion (NYSE: D  ) added its name to the short list of U.S. companies approved to export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries around the world. Its $3.6 billion Cove Point plant in Maryland will flip the facility's focus on its head – from imports from across the globe , to exports to India and Japan.

Source: Dominion 

Dominion has had the green light for exports to Free Trade countries since October 2011 , but this latest move greatly expands opportunities. The utility is approved to export up to 0.77 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day , and will split capacity evenly between Japanese Sumitomo Corporation and Indian GAIL Global. With terminal service agreements in the bag, this latest DOE approval ties the knot on sustainable sales for the next 20 years .

Who else loves LNG?
Currently, the DOE has approved exports of up to 5.6 billion cubic feet per day. Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT: LNG  ) will be the first company to actually take advantage of its approval when its own Sabine Pass facility starts fueling out in 2015 .

Freeport LNG already had its Texas facility approved in May , but the company is going back to DOE for more, requesting a doubling of its currently cleared capacity. It's no wonder, considering the company just signed $1.6 billion more in Asia deals two days ago, and already has contracts with two Japanese companies, as well as a 4.4 million tons per annum agreement BP (NYSE: BP  ) . 

Last month, a jointly-owned subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP  ) and British BG Group became the third facility to get the go-ahead for global LNG exports. While Energy Transfer will handle the financing and construction end of things, BG Group will have exclusive export rights for the eventual gas. Construction should be under way by mid-2015, and will be operational by mid-2019 .

Is LNG liquid gold?
Approved natural gas exports currently equate to just 8% of domestic production levels . The future of natural gas exports depends on a variety of factors. Both nationally and globally, prices could shoot up if natural gas becomes the new transportation fuel. Companies like Clean Energy Fuels are hard at work to make that happen, and demand is expected to head higher – but how fast depends almost entirely on technology.

Most importantly, global supplies of natural gas play the biggest role in LNG exports. While the U.S. has a big piece of the natural gas pie, it's not the only player out there and production is ramping up worldwide. The Energy Information Administration expects the U.S. to become a net exporter of natural gas by 2019 , but rising costs could make other countries' less-accessible reserves more competitive.

Natural gas exports are the next logical step for U.S. energy markets. But investors will need to keep a close watch to make sure exports continue to make sense from both a domestic demand and international supply standpoint.

There are many different ways to play the energy sector, and The Motley Fool's analysts have uncovered an under-the-radar company that's dominating its industry. This company is a leading provider of equipment and components used in drilling and production operations, and poised to profit in a big way from it. To get the name and detailed analysis of this company that will prosper for years to come, check out the special free report: "The Only Energy Stock You'll Ever Need." Don't miss out on this limited-time offer and your opportunity to discover this under-the-radar company before the market does. Click here to access your report -- it's totally free.

Boeing Gets a Slap in the Face but Investors Don't Mind

South Korea said Boeing's F-15 was no longer top of the line. Photo Credit: Boeing

Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) was heavily favored to win South Korea's contract for 60 fighter jets over Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) and other competitors. The fact that Boeing's offer was rejected and it is currently missing out on the $7.7 billion contract is bad enough. The real slap in the face, though, is that Boeing's bid was the only offer under South Korea's initial budget and was still dismissed.

Lockheed: new front-runner?
"South Korea needs measures for retaliation against North Korean provocation," Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in Seoul earlier this week after the decision, according to Bloomberg. "South Korea needs to secure military capability in line with recent aviation technology developments." 

Holding true to Seoul's initial word months ago, the budget wasn't the primary factor in making a decision. More crucial was acquiring a fighter aircraft with strong stealth capabilities, which Lockheed's F-35A offers. As South Korea reopens the contract for bidding, this likely moves Lockheed to the front of the pack to snatch the $7.7 billion contract. This could begin a disturbing trend for Boeing's defense segment.

As the U.S. government continues to cut its defense budget, Boeing could be less likely to develop a replacement for its F-15 Silent Eagle; that means revenue from its defense side could continue declining.

"Revenues from their legacy aircraft programs are going to ramp down to painful levels" over the next three years, said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Virginia-based Teal Group, according to Reuters. "The day of reckoning has just been accelerated a notch."

After the news was announced Monday some investors worried that Boeing's defense revenues would continue to crash and burn, ruining the stock's potential. Oblivious to the worries, Boeing's stock price continued its flight higher, setting all-time highs. I think that the decline in Boeing's defense revenues is overblown, and here's why.

Long-term view
Boeing has a well-known backlog of orders worth a staggering $410 billion; that's more than 4.5 times the company's entire 2013 sales estimate. Long-term investors aren't worried about this military contract loss because increased demand for Boeing's commercial aircraft will outweigh weakness in its defense segment.

Chart by author. Information from Boeing's second-quarter 10-K.

One reason for the optimism regarding Boeing's commercial aircraft is its recent 20-year forecast upgrade. The aerospace giant predicts that global commercial aircraft demand will reach 35,280 new airplanes -- that's worth a staggering $4.8 trillion over the next two decades. Boeing looks positioned to take more than its fair share as its aircraft are often more fuel efficient than those built by its competitors.

Another positive aspect for investors is Boeing's growing cash pile that could be used for additional share buybacks and dividend increases.

Graph by author. Information from Boeing's second-quarter 10-K

This cash pile should continue to grow as production of its 787 Dreamliner ramps up and margins improve. Consider that Boeing was producing just two 787s per month at the end of 2011, but is expected to quintuple that to 10 per month by the end of 2013.

Don't cry for Boeing
Boeing's stock might be flying higher because the folks on Wall Street are actually thinking with the long term in mind. I know it sounds crazy, and it's certainly a rare occurrence with today's mindset of instant gratification. Losing contracts every now and then is just part of the business, and investors were right to ignore the slap in the face from South Korea. As emerging markets grow and saturated markets replace aircraft, the increased demand in Boeing's commercial segment should outweigh any potential decline in its defense side. In addition, Boeing has plenty of visible revenue in its backlog for rough times, and it continues to improve production rates. Management has also consistently rewarded shareholders with its cash pile, and that will continue. Boeing's stock price is testing all-time highs, but there's plenty of room and reason for it to fly higher.

Three Stocks Poised to Fly Higher
Like Boeing, with the American markets reaching new heights, investors and pundits alike are skeptical about future growth. They shouldn't be. Many global regions are still stuck in neutral, and their resurgence could result in windfall profits for select companies. A recent Motley Fool report, "3 Strong Buys for a Global Economic Recovery," outlines three companies that could take off when the global economy gains steam. Click here to read the full report!

Retirement benefits no longer at risk for same-sex couples

A decision this week by the Labor Department interpreting the consequences of a landmark Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage is sweeping away couples' fears that their retirement benefits could disappear if they relocate.

The ruling, which defines legally married same-sex couples as spouses as it applies to retirement plans regardless of where they live, could also be a major coup for employers, retirement plan sponsors and 401(k) service providers, according to industry observers.

Record keepers, in particular, dreaded the prospect of benefits changing every time legally married same-sex couples relocated, while sponsors and providers feared administrative burdens and the risk of litigation.

“We appreciate EBSA's guidance because it furthers the consistent application of rules for same-gender couples,” Larry Goldbrum, general counsel for the SPARK Institute Inc., said in a statement, referring to the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration. The advocacy group for retirement plan record keepers and service providers had pushed for Monday's ruling.

While the Supreme Court's June 26 decision in United States vs. Windsor eliminated a federal ban on same-sex marriage, it left intact an inconsistent patchwork of state laws on spousal benefits.

Monday's ruling by the DOL hews closely to the Internal Revenue Service's and Treasury Department's Aug 29 Ruling 2013-17, which expands “spouse” and “husband and wife” to include gay couples in the context of federal tax law.

Further, both the IRS/Treasury ruling and the DOL guidance elect what is known as a “state of celebration” standard, meaning they recognize same-sex marriages based on where the couples were married, rather than the state in which they live.

Had the agency decided to recognize marriages based on where couples reside — a “state of domicile” standard — the validity of spousal elections and consents on plans could have changed if the spouses were to move to a jurisdiction that didn't recognize their marriage.

“It's almost a way to import same-sex marriage into those states that are currently resisting it,” said Scott Squillace, principal and founder of Squillace & Associates PC, an LGBT-focused estate planning legal practice.

Mr. Squillace noted that same-sex couples with benefit designation forms will need to ensure those forms are still valid because they require a spouse's consent. And while tax and retirement plan benefits will not change when couples move from state to state, Social Security benefits still may be in jeopardy.

“It's confusing for people around the country, and it's confusing for advisers wh! o don't pay attention to this stuff,” Mr. Squillace said.

SPARK had called on federal officials to provide guidance on how best to administer retirement plans after the Supreme Court's decision to repeal Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. Several groups, including SPARK, the American Benefits Council and the ERISA Industry Committee, supported the use of a “state of celebration” definition.

Some legal issues still remain unresolved, including whether the ruling applies retroactively, according to Brad Campbell, counsel with Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

“If the tax code is essentially constitutional, should that require companies to go back and be responsible for fixing whatever might flow from those errors?” Mr. Campbell said. “The most reasonable and appropriate position is to say, 'no.' The Supreme Court's decision shouldn't expose employers to potential lawsuits and costs associated with going back to retroactively address a host of situations.”

The Labor Department's guidance not only covers the entire U.S. and Puerto Rico, but all of the U.S. territories, including the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Like what you've read?

Dollar up as ‘data junkie’ market seeks direction

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar edged up Tuesday against most major rivals as investors examined economic data and speeches from Federal Reserve officials for insight into when the central bank could begin to slow its monthly asset purchases.

Consumer Data Key To Wall Street on TuesdayWall Street traders will have a keen eye on consumer confidence Tuesday. Plus, plans are set for the highest-level engagement between the U.S. and Iran at the U.N. in more than 30 years. Photo: Getty Images.Home prices increased 1.8% in July, down from 2.2% in June, according to a gauge from S&P/Case-Shiller on Tuesday. The seasonally adjusted July gains were 0.6%, the lowest since September, with pressure likely coming from higher mortgage rates. A separate home-price report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 1% in July.

Also released Tuesday, the Conference Board's consumer-confidence gauge for September fell to 79.7 from a revised 81.8 in August on labor-market worries. Economists had expected a decline in the index to 79.5, according to a MarketWatch poll.

Among major pairs, the British pound (GBPUSD)  fell to $1.579 from $1.6047 late Monday while the euro (EURUSD)  edged down to $1.3475 from Monday's level of $1.3493.

/quotes/zigman/4867933/sampled EURUSD 1.3493, 0.0000, -0.0030% Euro vs. dollar

The market has become a "data junkie searching for direction," said Scotiabank analysts led by Camilla Sutton in a note Tuesday.

The Fed last week determined the economy wasn't strong enough to start reducing monetary stimulus and decided to keep buying $85 billion in securities each month, a stance considered negative for the dollar.

In the euro zone, German business sentiment was slightly better in September, with the Ifo business-confidence index inching up to 107.7 from a revised 107.6 in August. But the increase was less than economist expectations of a rise to 108.0 in September.

The business-sentiment data are the latest to show the "growing discrepancy" between the improvement in euro-zone domestic demand and weakness in the export sector, said Valentin Marinov, a strategist at Citi, in a note on Tuesday.

"All that could keep concerns about the viability of Eurozone's export-based growth model in place," he wrote. "In turn, this could keep the [European Central Bank's] growth assessment quite cautious next week, resulting in potential headwinds for the euro in coming days."

On Monday, ECB Mario Draghi said the central bank could consider increasing stimulus in order to protect economic recovery and maintain interest rates at suitable levels. The potential additional stimulus could come in the form of long-term refinancing operation, or LTRO, loans, he said in testimony to the European Parliament.

The ICE dollar index (DXY) , which measures the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, rose to 80.583 from 80.452 late Monday in North America.

The WSJ Dollar Index (XX:BUXX) , which uses a wider comparison basket, increased to 72.99 from 72.88.

Hot Heal Care Companies To Invest In Right Now

The dollar indexes had fallen Monday after two Fed officials offered downbeat views of the pace of U.S. economic recovery. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the economy is losing some of its dynamism, while New York Fed President William Dudley said the economy was too weak for the central bank to reduce bond buying.

The dollar stumbled against major rivals after the Fed's decision to hold monetary policy steady, and the "Fed's dovish tone gave some breathing space to emerging-market currencies which were sold-off heavily due to capital flight fears," said analysts at IS Investment in a report Monday.

The Brazilian real (USDBRL) , the Turkish lira (USDTRY)  and the Malaysian ringgit (USDMYR)  were among emerging-market currencies that advanced against the greenback after the Fed decision.

The Fed also said last week that rising mortgage rates and reduced federal spending could slow improvement in the economy.

Tapering of asset purchases by the Fed may be postponed to the start of 2014, said IS Investment. "However, the markets will increasingly react to the U.S. data, in our view. Besides the unemployment rate, data including inflation and bank-loan growth are likely to create volatility in the following weeks."

The closely watched monthly U.S. employment report is due out Oct. 4.

In other trades Tuesday, the dollar (USDJPY)  bought 98.60 Japanese yen, lower than ¥98.77 on Monday.

But the Australian dollar (AUDUSD)  fell to 93.74 U.S. cents from 94.39 U.S. cents, wiping out gains built after HSBC on Monday said its gauge of manufacturing activity in China jumped to a six-month high in September. Australian assets tend to be sensitive to data from China, Australia's largest trading partner.

Best Oil Companies For 2014

Looking for the next Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)? You could do worse than Loew’s Corp. (L), Deutsche Bank says.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Both companies own insurance companies. And both use the cash spun off by those operations to invest elsewhere. Deutsche Bank dubs them “investor insurers,” and right now Loew’s looks cheap, the German investment bank’s analysts argue in a report starting Loew’s as a buy.

Deutsche Bank’s Joshua Shanker and�Phil Stefano explain why Loew’s looks like a bargain:

The overwhelming majority of Loews can be valued as the sum of its three largest subsidiary businesses that also have publicly trading stock: CNA Financial (CNA), Diamond Offshore (DO) and Boardwalk Pipeline�(BWP). The sum of these stakes is equivalent to 97.7% of the market capitalization of Loews. For almost ��ree,��imknvestors also get ownership of Boardwalk�� B shares and general partnership, a small national hotel chain, natural gas and oil E&P HighMount and the $4B in fungible assets on Loews�� corporate balance sheet…

Best Oil Companies For 2014: El Paso Corporation(EP)

El Paso Corporation operates in the natural gas transmission, and exploration and production sectors of the energy industry primarily in the United States. It offers natural gas transmission services to a range of customers, including natural gas producers, marketers, and end-users, as well as other natural gas transmission, distribution, and electric generation companies through its interests in approximately 43,100 miles of interstate pipeline system. The company also operates approximately 240 billion cubic feet of storage capacity, and an LNG receiving terminal in Elba Island, Georgia. In addition, El Paso Corporation focuses on the exploration, acquisition, development, and production of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States, Brazil, and Egypt, as well as engages in midstream business. The company primarily sells its domestic natural gas and oil to third parties. As of December 31, 2010, it had proved natural gas and oil reserves of approximat ely 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalents. The company was founded in 1928 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Best Oil Companies For 2014: ATP Oil And Gas Corp (AOB)

ATP Oil & Gas Corporation, incorporated in 1991, is engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had estimated net proved reserves of 118.9 Million barrels of crude oil equivalent (MMBoe), of which approximately 75.9 MMboe (64%) were in the Gulf of Mexico and 42.9 MMBoe (36%) were in the North Sea. The reserves consisted of 78.6 Million barrels (MMBbls) of oil (66%) and 241.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas (34%). Its proved reserves in the deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico account for 62% of the Company�� total proved reserves and its proved reserves on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf account for 2% of its total proved reserves. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired three licenses in the Mediterranean Sea covering potential natural gas resources in the deepwater off the coast of Israel (East Mediterranean). On August 17, 2012, ATP Oil And Gas Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Company�� natural gas reserves are split between the Gulf of Mexico (57%) and the North Sea (43%). Of its total proved reserves, 8.3 MMBoe (7%) were producing, 19.0 MMBoe (16%) were developed and not producing and 91.6 MMBoe (77%) were undeveloped. The Company�� average working interest in its properties at December 31, 2011, was approximately 81%. The Company operates 92% of its platforms. At December 31, 2011, in the Gulf of Mexico, it owned leasehold and other interests in 38 offshore blocks and 49 wells, including 23 subsea wells. The Company operates 43 (88%) of these wells, including 100% of the subsea wells. In the North Sea, it also had interests in 13 blocks and two Company-operated subsea wells. As of March 15, 2011, the Company owned an interest in 13 platforms, including two floating production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, the ATP Titan at its Telemark Hub and the ATP Innovator at its Gomez Hub. It operates the ATP Innovator and the ATP Titan.

Best Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Transocean Inc.(RIG)

Transocean Ltd. provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It offers deepwater and harsh environment drilling, oil and gas drilling management, and drilling engineering and drilling project management services. The company also offers well and logistics services. In addition, it engages in oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities primarily in the United States offshore Louisiana and Texas, and in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea. As of February 10, 2011, the company owned, had partial ownership interests in, and operated 138 mobile offshore drilling units, including 47 high-specification floaters, 25 midwater floaters, 9 high-specification jackups, 54 standard jackups, and 3 other rigs, as well as 1 ultra-deepwater floater and 3 high-specification jackups under construction. Transocean Ltd. was founded in 1953 and is based in Zug, Switzerland.

Best Oil Companies For 2014: National-Oilwell Inc.(NOV)

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products used in oil and gas drilling and production; provides oilfield services and supplies; and distributes products, and provides supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry worldwide. Its Rig Technology segment offers offshore and onshore drilling rigs; derricks; pipe lifting, racking, rotating, and assembly systems; rig instrumentation systems; coiled tubing equipment and pressure pumping units; well workover rigs; wireline winches; wireline trucks; cranes; and turret mooring systems and other products for floating production, storage and offloading vessels, and other offshore vessels and terminals. The company?s Petroleum Services & Supplies segment provides various consumable goods and services to drill, complete, remediate, and workover oil and gas wells and service pipelines, flowlines, and other oilfield tubular goods. It also manufacture s, rents, and sells products and equipment for drilling operations, including drill pipe, wired drill pipe, transfer pumps, solids control systems, drilling motors, drilling fluids, drill bits, reamers and other downhole tools, and mud pump consumables. In addition, this segment provides oilfield tubular services comprising the provision of inspection and internal coating services; equipment for drill pipe, line pipe, tubing, casing, and pipelines; and coiled tubing pipes and composite pipes. Its Distribution Services segment sells maintenance, repair and operating supplies, and spare parts to drill site and production locations. The company primarily serves drilling contractors, shipyards and other rig fabricators, well servicing companies, pressure pumping companies, oil and gas companies, supply stores, and pipe-running service providers. National Oilwell Varco, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tony Daltorio]

  But the best investment in this sector, according to Moors, is National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV).

  He calls it the "one company that stands to benefit most directly from what is happening in the equipment sector."

Best Oil Companies For 2014: Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGS)

Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. (TGS) is engaged in the transportation of natural gas and production and commercialization of natural gas liquids (NGL). TGS�� pipeline system connects major gas fields in southern and western Argentina with gas distributors and industries in those areas and in the greater Buenos Aires area. The Company also renders midstream services, which consist of gas treatment, removal of impurities from the natural gas stream, gas compression, wellhead gas gathering and pipeline construction, operation, and maintenance services. The Company operates in three segments: natural gas transportation services through its pipeline system; NGL production and commercialization, and other services, which include midstream and telecommunication services.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company�� gas transportation represented approximately 42% of total net revenues. During 2009, its NGL production and commercialization segment accounted for 50% of the total revenues of the Company. During 2009, its other services segment accounted for 8% of total revenues of the Company. Its other services segment consists of midstream and telecommunications services. Through midstream services, TGS provides integral solutions related to natural gas from wellhead up to the transportation systems. The services consists of gas gathering, compression and treatment, as well as construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines, which are generally rendered to natural gas and oil producers at wellhead. The customers��portfolio also includes distribution companies, industrial users, power plants and refineries.

During 2009, the Company provided a range of technical services to different customers. The services consisted of connections to the transportation system, engineering inspections, project management and professional technical counseling. Telecommunication services are provided through Telcosur S.A. (Telcosur), who renders services both as an independent c! arrier of carriers and to corporate clients within its area. Telcosur has a digital land radio connection system.

Best Oil Companies For 2014: Apache Corporation(APA)

Apache Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. The company has exploration and production interests in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast, east Texas, the Permian basin, the Anadarko basin, and the Western Sedimentary basin of Canada; and onshore Egypt, offshore Western Australia, offshore the United Kingdom in the North Sea, and onshore Argentina, as well as on the Chilean side of the island of Tierra del Fuego. Apache Corporation sells its natural gas to local distribution companies, utilities, end-users, integrated oil and gas companies, and marketers; and crude oil to integrated oil companies, marketing and transportation companies, and refiners. As of December 31, 2009, it had total estimated proved reserves of 1,067 million barrels of crude oil, condensate, and natural gas liquids, as well as 7.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was founded in 1954 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Wednesday, oil and gas company Apache Corporation (APA) announced that it has agreed to sell some of its gas producing properties in Canada for $112 million.

  The company will sell its Hatton, St. Lina, Marten Hills, Snipe Lake, Valhalla and a part of its Hawkeye properties. These properties are primarily located in Saskatchewan and Alberta and total approximatly 4,000 operating wells and 1,300 non-operating wells. The average daily production for these locations is about 38 million cubic feet of natural gas and 750 barrels of oil.

  The sales will be made in two separate deals. Both of these deals are expected to close in the fourth quarter.

  Apache shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 12% YTD.

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  Oppenheimer reported on Tuesday that it has raised its rating on energy company Apache Corporation (APA).

  The firm has upgraded APA from “Perform” to “Outperform,” and has given the company a $100 price target. This price target suggests a 12% increase from the stock’s current price of $87.57.

  Analysts believe that the current stock price already reflects risks and the company is repurchasing shares and debt.

  Apache shares were up 79 cents, or 0.91%, during Tuesday morning trading. The stock is up 12% YTD.

Best Oil Companies For 2014: Gastar Exploration Ltd (GST)

Gastar Exploration Ltd (Gastar) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas and oil in the United States. The Company�� principal business activities include the identification, acquisition, and subsequent exploration and development of natural gas and oil properties with an emphasis on unconventional reserves, such as shale resource plays. As of December 31, 2011, it is pursuing the development of liquids-rich natural gas in the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachia area of West Virginia and, to a lesser extent, central and southwestern Pennsylvania. The Company also holds prospective acreage in the deep Bossier play in the Hilltop area of East Texas and conduct limited coal bed methane (CBM) development activities within the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. The Company is a holding company.

Best Oil Companies For 2014: Caiterra International Energy Corp (CTI.V)

CaiTerra International Energy Corporation (Caiterra), formerly Cyterra Capital Corp., is a Canada-based company is engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas properties. The Company�� project includes Faust, Amadou and Lac La Biche. On March 9, 2012, the Company completed its qualifying transaction with West Pacific Petroleum Inc. (WPP), pursuant to which the Company acquired all of WPP�� working interests in certain petroleum and natural gas leases and an oil sand lease in the Lac La Biche and Amadou Projects located in Alberta, Canada and certain other assets (the QT Oil and Gas Properties) from West Pacific Petroleum Inc. (WPP). On December 17, 2012 the Company acquired the Faust Property located just north of the Swan Hills oil field and south of the Town of Slave Lake.

The Deal: Rules and Derivatives Moves Helped Do In Summers

NEW YORK (The Deal) -- Critics of Lawrence Summers raised lots of issues with his candidacy to lead the Federal Reserve.

However, noise from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party about his role in a series of deregulatory efforts during the Clinton Administration's waning days were a key factor in pushing the former Treasury secretary to pull his name from consideration to run the central bank Sunday. Republican reservations didn't help Summers' cause either.

Summers appeared to be President Barack Obama's main choice for the job. However, repeated criticism of his actions in the late 1990s, first as deputy Treasury secretary and then later as Treasury secretary, all contributed to the end of his candidacy.

"The enemy of Larry Summers was Larry Summers," said Cornelius Hurley, professor at Boston University's School of Law. "While he had the progressive passionately against him over deregulation during the Clinton administration, he didn't have a lot of fans on the right either." Opponents on the left repeatedly pointed with disdain to his support for a statute approved in 1999 that eliminated the 1933 Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act, which for more than 60 years kept commercial banks out of the investment banking business. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., an opponent of Summers on the key Senate Banking Committee, is pushing bipartisan legislation she introduced recently to reinstate the measure, which would force some big banks, such as Citigroup (C) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) to break in two. The bill is unlikely to be approved anytime soon, barring another major bank meltdown. Her public support for Glass-Steagall in conferences and on Capitol Hill, however, helped fuel resistance to Summers. Critics on the left also point to concerns over Summers' role in squashing an effort by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the late 1990s to regulate derivatives. The CFTC eventually lost that battle and instead Congress and the Clinton administration approved the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which was later criticized for contributing to the 2008 financial crisis. "If you believe that repeal of Glass-Steagall was a great idea, and if you believe the Commodity Futures Modernization Act was a great idea ... then Larry Summers is your guy," former Democratic Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman said at a conference last week at George Washington University Law School that was co-hosted by left-leaning advocacy group Better Markets. The conference featured a keynote address by Warren and a few high-profile Summers opponents. "The fact that there aren't riots in the streets over the idea of Larry Summers being head of the Fed is an indication of how deep our problem is," Kaufman added.

5 Best Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now

More recently, opponents on the left have raised concern with Summers' role as director of the Obama administration's National Economic Council in the period immediately after the height of the financial crisis. Donald Lamson, partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP in Washington, said Summers' "perceived friendliness" to banks during the crisis contributed to criticism about him.

As the prospect of the Obama administration nominating Summers increased in recent weeks, opposition on Capitol Hill surged as well. At least four Democrats on the all-important Senate Banking Committee indicated they would oppose him. Summers would have had to survive a contentious nomination hearing and vote of the Senate Banking Committee. Had he survived that, the next step would have been to obtain the filibuster-proof 60 votes needed to be approved by the full Senate, a prospect that also required some Republican support, especially with a handful of Democrats in opposition.

Sen. Jon Tester, a moderate Democrat on the banking panel, indicated that he was opposed late last week, adding his name to three other more left-leaning Democratic opponents. The opposition by Tester may have been a tipping point, Boston University's Hurley noted. "That had to hurt," he added.

Another key factor in Summers unraveling was the backing by a number of Democratic lawmakers of Janet Yellen, the Fed's current vice chairman, for the top Fed job. A group of senators, including Sen. Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island and a member of banking panel, recently signed a letter pushing for Yellen to take the job, according to a person familiar with the letter. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether Obama will ultimately pick Yellen. Many believe that she will likely be nominated. Brian Gardner, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., notes that many of the activist groups that opposed Summers support Yellen, indicating to him that she "is the likely nominee." However, some observers contend that Obama may not want to appear as if he has caved in to congressional Democrats and therefore he will try to find someone else. Other possible candidates include former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Donald Kohn, who was the central bank's vice chairman until 2010; and Roger Ferguson, also a former Fed vice chairman and now chief executive of the public pension fund TIAA-Cref. Other names bandied about include former White House adviser Christina Romer and Stanley Fischer, who previously was chief of the Bank of Israel. Current Fed chairman Ben Bernanke could also stay on for another term. -- Written by Ronald D. Orol in Washington

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014

The same equity analysts who lowered second-quarter profit growth predictions to almost nothing in 2013 are raising price forecasts, convinced the economy is growing fast enough to lure more investors and boost valuations.

Standard & Poor�� 500 Index earnings rose 1.8 percent last quarter, down from a projection of 8.7 percent six months ago, according to more than 11,000 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. At the same time, share-price targets for companies from GameStop Corp. (GME) to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are rising at the fastest rate in two years. The U.S. equity gauge will increase 8.9 percent to a record 1,777.91 should the forecasts prove accurate.

Bulls say expectations for higher valuations show analysts share Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke�� view that the economy may gather enough momentum to expand on its own. Getting to their target would raise the index�� earnings multiple to 16.4, still about 12 percent lower than its 25-year average. Bears say price appreciation without profit gains shows the five-year bull market is fading and declines are inevitable. Second-quarter earnings season begins today.

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Curtis]

  Golden Star Resources, Ltd Com (AMEX:GSS): This equity had 10,766,183 shares sold short as of Aug 31st, as compared to 9,400,663 on Aug 15th, which represents a change of 1,365,520 shares, or 14.5%. Days to cover for this company is 3 and average daily trading volume is 3,419,976. About the equity: Golden Star Resources Ltd. is a mid-tier gold mining company. The Company’s operating mines are situated along the Ashanti Gold Belt in Ghana, West Africa.

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014: Claude Resources Inc.(CGR)

Claude Resources Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal properties, as well as production and marketing of minerals in Canada. It primarily explores for gold in northern Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario. The company holds interests in the Seabee gold mine located at Laonil Lake, northern Saskatchewan; and the Madsen property that consists of 6 contiguous claim blocks totaling approximately 10,000 acres, located in the Red Lake Mining District of northwestern Ontario. It also holds interest in the Amisk Gold project, which covers an area of 13,800 hectares in the province of Saskatchewan. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christopher Barker]

  Hardly a johnny-come-lately, Claude Resources initiated small-scale gold production from its flagship Seabee mine in Saskatchewan in 1991. Just last year, Claude added the Santoy 8 mine to that operation to offer a touch of timely growth. Meanwhile, the operation hosts a number of compelling exploration targets like the recently discovered Neptune zone. After 10 of 15 recent drill holes from Neptune featured visible gold, including a nice high-grade intercept of 84.66 g/t over 3.2 meters, prospects are building for Claude to add some additional years to this time-tested operation.

  While I welcome the existing cash flow from Seabee, my investment thesis for Claude Resources centers around a pair of exciting exploration properties: the Amisk joint venture project southeast of Seabee and the Madsen property at Red Lake, Ontario. At Madsen, historical gold production between 1938 and 1976 yielded 2.4 million ounces at an average grade of 9 g/t. To date, Claude has identified an indicated resource of 928,000 ounces at a comparable grade. At Amisk, drill intercepts of eye-catching thickness suggest strong potential for a profitable open pit operation, including an intercept of 2.16 g/t over 241 meters! The deposit's 921,000 indicated gold-equivalent ounces represent only an early stage hint of the deposit's full potential. The stock is a top-10 holding for Sprott Asset Management, and a core holding for this Fool as well.

Top Insurance Companies To Invest In 2014: Newmont Mining Corporation(Holding Company)

Newmont Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and production of gold and copper properties. The company?s assets or operations are located in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico. As of December 31, 2009, it had proven and probable gold reserves of approximately 93.5 million equity ounces and an aggregate land position of approximately 27,500 square miles. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mel Daris]

  AngloGold Ashanti (AU), a South African company, is trading for $33 and pays a dividend which yields 3.20%. The stock has an astonishing P/E of 1,015. Its net income totaled $112 million last year, but negative cash flows of $620 million. It holds net tangible assets of $4.3 billion and its balance sheet has not grown nearly as quickly as the other companies on this list. AngloGold has two new mines coming online in Congo and Colombia.

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christopher Barker]

  My recent survey of bargain-basement stock valuations among gold miners identified Thompson Creek Metals as a glaring opportunity for value investors. The miner sports two world-class molybdenum mines with 534 million pounds of reserves between them, along with an array of attractive development projects in the pipeline. Foremost among those is the Mt. Milligan copper and gold project, where Thompson Creek expects to launch itself into the ranks of intermediate gold producers with production commencing in late 2013.

  With 6 million ounces of gold reserves, accompanied by 2.1 billion pounds of copper, Mt. Milligan will deliver about 262,100 ounces of gold per year for the first six years of a 22-year mine life, averaging 194,500 ounces annually over that entire span. Although 25% of that gold production is already spoken for through a gold stream agreement with Royal Gold (Nasdaq: RGLD  ) , Thompson Creek Metals is sure to enjoy a powerful cash-flow explosion.

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vatalyst]

  With headquarters in Canada, Agnico-Eagle is a gold producer that has been around for a while with operations in Canada, Finland and Mexico and the United States that has paid a cash dividend for 29 consecutive years. AEM gained 25% over the year and reported 83.5% growth in quarterly earnings. It has a market capitalization of $11.4 billion and a trailing P/E ratio of 34x with expectations of earning $0.55 per share. AEM, like other operators like it, are likely a better bet than ETF trust options like SPDR Gold Shares (GLD).

Hot Gold Stocks For 2014: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Goodwin]

  The shares closed at $88.19, down $1.1, or 1.23%, on the day. Its market capitalization is $77.08 billion. About the company: Siemens AG manufactures a wide range of industrial and consumer products. The Company builds locomotives, traffic control systems, automotive electronics, and engineers electrical power plants. Siemens also provides public and private communications networks, computers, building control systems, medical equipment, and electrical components. The Company operates worldwide.

Will JPMorgan Chase See a Boost from Recent Earnings?

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

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

JPMorgan Chase is a financial holding company that provides various financial services worldwide. The company is engaged in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. Financial services companies, such as JPMorgan Chase, are essential for well-functioning economies around the world. As companies continue to operate and economies expand, leaders like JPMorgan Chase will provide valuable products and services that help financial transactions and services run as smoothly as possible. As one of the better big banks, JPMorgan Chase will lead the financial sector for many years.

JPMorgan Chase reported earnings that exceeded expectations last week, but company CEO Jamie Dimon is worried that rising interest rates could cut into the bank's mortgage profits. Analysts from the company predicted that the housing recovery would continue, despite the possibility of higher interest rates sparked by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments about ending the Fed's purchases of mortgage bonds.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

JPMorgan Chase’s stock has been on a bullish run over the last couple of years. The stock is now trading at prices not seen since the early 2000s. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages.

What are the key moving averages? They are the 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, JPMorgan Chase is trading above its rising key averages, which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

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

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
JPMorgan Chase Options	21.74%	0%	0%

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

	Best Gold Companies To Buy For 2014 Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
August Options	Flat	Average
September Options	Flat	Average

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

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates, and what that means for JPMorgan Chase’s stock.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

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

	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	32.23%	33.61%	54.89%	37.25%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	0.31%	-3.57%	10.16%	5.82%
Earnings Reaction	-0.30%	-0.60%	1.01%	-1.14%

JPMorgan Chase has seen rising earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, it seems the markets have had mixed feelings about JPMorgan Chase’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

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

	JPMorgan Chase	Bank of America	Citigroup	Wells Fargo	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	24.41%	19.72%	31.12%	26.68%	24.68%

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

Conclusion

JPMorgan Chase operates in a financial industry that is the backbone of the U.S. economy, providing financial products and services that consumers and companies require on an ongoing basis. The stock has been on a bullish run over the last couple of years, and is now trading at prices not seen since the early 2000s. Over the last four quarters, the company has seen rising earnings and revenue figures, but these reports have produced mixed feelings among investors. Relative to its peers and sector, JPMorgan chase has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for JPMorgan Chase to OUTPERFORM.