Test Drive: 2015 Hyundai Genesis a winner

Hyundai makes some especially nice vehicles, properly executed, well-equipped, reasonably priced.

The Genesis premium/luxury sedan, redesigned for the 2015 model year, is foremost among those — well, maybe not so reasonably priced now that Hyundai has raised the window-sticker numbers.

The base V-6 model is up $2,830 to $38,950. The V-8 rises $4,130 to $52,450.

All-wheel drive (AWD) is an option for the first time on the Genesis, but only with the V-6. Eventually with the V-8, too, Hyundai hints, with no timetable.

The $52,450 V-6 AWD test car was smooth, quiet, quick, sure-footed, stylish outside, very classy inside. The $55,700 RWD V-8 was all that and quicker.

Hyundai fluffed up the 2015 Genesis with more features than the standard 2014 had, so you're getting goodies for your additional dough. And in contrast with some rivals, Genesis remains lower-priced. For example, $11,475 less than the BMW base 5-series, a car Hyundai sees as a rival; $7,075 less than the redone Cadillac CTS, also considered a rival.

Here are the flies in the generally delectable ointment that is the new Genesis:

Electronics. You can make Hyundai's telematics/pairing/control system do about whatever you want, but in our view, it's become too complicated.

Some features lack direct access. You have to find the main menu on the navigation/control screen, then select which feature you want to manipulate — navi, phone, audio, etc. — then choose it and work through the choices within that submenu.

It's a reminder that nothing has yet been invented that works better than old-fashioned knobs and switches to control many functions.

Genesis did sync with our too-hip Windows phone very quickly, and that's not always the case.

Mileage: We're star-crossed when it comes to gas stations and Hyundais, seldom getting as close to the advertised mpg as on some other vehicles. But reasons for the mileage shortfall are easy to see this time.

Genesis is heavy, mo! re than two tons, vs, say, the Cadillac CTS that's a trim 3,600 pounds in its lightest version and 4,000 at its heftiest. An engine uses more fuel when it has to move more mass, all else equal.

Both the standard V-6 and optional V-8 engines are spirited, making it delightful to nail the go pedal — the antithesis of driving for fuel economy.

But we drive a lot of test cars that way and seem to do comparatively better in them than in Hyundais.

Haptic warnings: Becoming common on premium cars, they vibrate the driver's seat or steering wheel to alert you to a risky situation — straying into another lane, for example. No thank-you very much.

We'd put up with those aggravations because Genesis is an automotive sweet spot.

If you're a hard-core sport-sedan driver, you'll find Genesis not as taut in its handling and overall feel as you might prefer. But most other types of drivers and passengers should be more than satisfied with the Genesis' combination of refined ride, lack of road or wind noise, responsive steering and brakes.

Genesis is the best evidence yet that Hyundai has succeeded in its search for the right ride/handling combo.

The interior is sumptuous in look and feel, with just enough gee-whiz to say "upscale" — contrasting-color piping to accent the leather upholstery, for instance. The handsome matte-finish wood adorning the dashboard is real lumber in models with the Ultimate trim. (Plastic in other versions, though.)

Genesis seats, front and rear, fit well and seem to remain supportive over time. The back seat has more room than implied by the 35 inches of rear legroom in the specifications. And Genesis is a couple of inches wider than rivals, key to the feeling of spaciousness.

The dashboard is an attractive horizontal design, eschewing the industry's sometimes-forced attempts at cockpit layouts.

Genesis has no "Wow!" feature such as the night-vision option on the Mercedes-Benz S-class, but it does offer an effective auto! matic bra! king system able to prevent a crash, which this week helped it earn the top score — Top Safety Pick + — from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Test Drive worries that such systems are leading us further from full engagement by the driver, but IIHS and others say they prevent crashes and save lives.

We're not in love with the higher prices for 2015, or the mediocre mpg, but the new Genesis is alluring, titillating and, everything considered, the best car, overall, that we have driven in years.

What stands out:

Styling: Elegant

Interior: Comfy, cozy, classy

Price: Up enough to make you think twice

About Genesis

What? Redesign of midsize four-door premium sedan, available with V-6 or V-8, rear-wheel (RWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD); aimed at BMW 5-series, Mercedes-Benz E-class, Lexus ES, Cadillac CTS.

When? On sale since early May.

Where? Made in South Korea.

How much? V-6 RWD starts at $38,950 including $950 shipping, up $2,830 from the 2014. V-6 AWD (new model) starts at $41,450. V-8 (RWD only) starts at $52,450, up $4,130. Loaded V-6, AWD test car was $52,450. V-8 RWD test car, 55,700.

What makes it go? 3.8-liter V-6 rated 311 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 293 pounds-feet of torque at 5,000 or 5-liter V-8 rated 420 hp at 6,000 rpm, 383 lbs.-ft. at 5,000 using premium fuel; 407 hp, 372 lbs.-ft. using regular. Both use eight-speed automatic transmission.

How big? An inch or several longer, an inch or two wider than rivals such as Cadillac CTS, Lexus ES, BMW 5-series. Genesis looks full-size, but isn't; strictly midsize accommodations. VW Passat tested last week is roomier in key places.

Genesis passenger space, 107.7 cubic feet. Trunk, 15.3 cu. ft. Weighs 4,138 lbs. (V-6 RWD) to 4,541 lbs. (V-8 RWD).

Turning circle diameter, 36.2 ft.

How thirsty? V-6 RWD rated 18 miles per gallon in the city, 29 mpg on the highway, 22 mpg in combined city/high! way drivi! ng. V-6 AWD rated 16/25/19. V-8 rated 15/23/18.

V-6 AWD test car registered 17.6 mpg (5.68 gallons per 100 miles) in mix of suburban, highway driving. V-8 RWD test car registered 14.8 mpg (6.76 gal./100 mi.) in city/suburban mix.

V-6 burns regular fuel. V-8 will burn regular but achieves full power ratings only with the recommended premium. Tank holds 20.3 gal.

Overall: Home run.

Wolff: The unlikely marriage of Apple and Beats

Jimmy Iovine? Apple's new partner? To judge by the media hurrahs, Apple's future?

What's wrong with this picture?

Apple is a top-down, buttoned-down, lockstep enterprise managed, after Steve Jobs' death, by his apparatchiks and other relative automatons. Iovine, a producer and impresario from the music industry's bad days, is a promoter and publicity seeker who has often veered toward outré practices and personalities.

So, Apple, teaming up with Iovine, seems either to have a Machiavellian plan of extraordinary vision and incalculable nuance and subtlety, or is taking a wild roll of the dice.

Or both. That is, the Apple of sui generis design and savant marketing, offering among the most singular visions of consumer desire, is over. And now it begins a force-of-will effort to build a more broad-based, if less exceptional, consumer products and entertainment content company. Kind of a Sony (in its better days), with lots of products, some good, some not so good.

Still, Beats Electronics, Iovine's company, which Apple is acquiring for $3 billion, makes headphones and has a minor streaming music service. It's a peculiar rather than an audacious expansion.

WOLFF: Music icon enters the streaming business

The headphones are an inelegant piece of mediocre or commonplace engineering — a middle-market consumer electronics accessory. This is rather the antithesis of the kind of products that have defined Apple. Indeed, headphones are a product that, were they judged worthy of Apple, the company might have reimagined and transformed (audio Google Glass? Some next step in wearable computing or neural communication?). Or, probably not. In the oversaturated world of ever-commodified consumer electronics devices, headphones would have been an SKU the old Apple would have gladly overlooked.

Then there's streaming music. Instead of buying the leading player in the streaming game, Spotify, or one of the growing contenders, it bought the laggard. The bottom of the heap. Spo! tify has 10 million customers. Beats has little more than 100,000 (it says it has 250,000, but that number has been widely challenged). What's more, the streaming music business is much less the music business than it is the technology business — not a business of taste and relationships, but of functionality.

In Beats, Apple has acquired a platform that has tried to substitute taste — now called curation — for what it lacks in technology development. (Curiously, Beats' chief creative officer, Trent Reznor, the singer-songwriter and producer of Nine Inch Nails fame responsible for Beats' tastemaking, has reportedly left the company. Also, one of Beats' principal technology executives, Fredric Vinna, has recently gone to Spotify, and its co-founder, Ola Sars, to a Spotify-backed venture.)

Still. If Apple foresees a future in which its key market attribute (i.e., its cool) will diminish or be lost, then it makes sense to leverage its clout into new areas — even if this involves turning yourself into a less iconic and less cool company. Clout is transferable in a way that cool is not.

Indeed, almost all of Beats' growth in its music service has come from its promotion in the Apple App store. This seems now, obviously, to have been a smart marketing move by Iovine, because it led to Beats' purchase by Apple. It is, however, a suicidal move by anyone trying to build an actual streaming music business.

The business is a simple one. Seventy percent of the money goes to the record labels holding the overriding music licenses; 30 percent goes to the streaming company, out of which it covers all its costs. The Apple App store is also a simple business, and quite a draconian one: Apple gets 30 percent of the subscription fees generated by sales in the App store. In other words, Beats has built its business by incurring serious losses. That's why other streaming services, most notably Spotify, eschew Apple — they can't afford it.

Of course, the math improves if Apple owns the! steaming! service. Apple might charge everyone else 30 percent on its App site, but cut a special deal for itself. Or, maintaining appearances, it might continue to charge its house service 30 percent, but underwrite its losses. That is a powerful, and peculiarly legal, advantage — at least in the U.S. On the other hand, it promises a monster anti-competitive battle in Europe, where such self-dealing isn't legal.

Of note, there is, in every label deal, a change of control provision. The labels have the right to exit from or renegotiate deals with Beats after the Apple acquisition — a payback moment, perhaps, for the pitiless deals Apple has cut with the labels for the iTunes store

And then there is Iovine. In some sense, he may be the music industry's ultimate revenge on Apple. Quite possibly, Apple believes he represents that ineffable pixie dust of "relationships" which, for so long, the music business traded in and prospered from. He will, Apple seems to believe, be able to help hold the line on change of control negotiations. And he will be able to give Apple the music bona fides that Spotify has acquired. Iovine — as far from the Apple ethos and ethic and sense of itself as two different points of culture can be — will make it cool again. (Even though Apple has contributed to making Iovine and the excesses and baloney of the music business quite uncool.)

Iovine, Apple must inexplicably believe, is a team player. Easy prediction: He's gone in 12 months.

So what is Apple doing?

It might be forgiven for not knowing. Apple has distinguished itself largely thanks to the leadership of a man who is dead. Its products, once unique, now exist in an overheated market. The specter of anti-competitive regulation is everywhere. Music, a business it thought it was going to own, has gone somewhere else.

In such a state of uncertainty and worry, and with billions in the bank, it's pretty normal to get snookered by someone like Jimmy Iovine.

Can nothing stop the ‘Teflon Bull’ market?

NEW YORK — The Teflon bull market keeps charging to record highs. Nothing, it seems, can stop it.

This year alone the stock market has survived the recent brush with a U.S. debt default. It has also survived a government shutdown. Tax hikes. Government spending cuts. The threat of war. Terror at the Boston Marathon. A spike in interest rates. Plunging Apple shares. Stock exchange glitches. Fears of a less-friendly Federal Reserve. And a narrow escape from going over the "fiscal cliff."

Nothing bad seems to stick. On Thursday, bolstered by an 11th-hour deal in Congress to avert the nation's first-ever default, the Standard & Poor's 500 index soared to a new all-time closing high of 1733.15, eclipsing its mid-September record. That extends the bull's gain to 156.2% since it began in March 2009 and 21.5% this year alone.

To say the U.S. market has been resilient would be an understatement, says Chris Bouffard, chief investment officer at The Mutual Fund Store. "One by one, all of these worries have gradually been pushed aside," he says.

There are still risks. The debt deal is temporary. Political dysfunction could roil markets again when the new deadlines hit in early 2014. The economy also suffered "unnecessary damage" during the crisis, says President Obama, although the "full scope" is still unclear.

ECONOMIC DAMAGE: Shutdown cost billions in wages, shopping and more

ASK MATT: Is S&P 500 a good place to start investing?

Any hit to the economy

could have a negative spillover on corporate profitability, a key driver of stock prices.

But even though there's always a chance of things going wrong and the market going down, that doesn't mean long-term investors shouldn't "stay the course," says Bouffard.

For one, the hit to the economy and confidence all but assures that one of the bullish underpinnings of the 4-year old bull — the Fed's easy-money policies — will remain in place even longer. The Fed is now less likely to start dialing! back on its market-friendly bond purchases this year, possibly pushing that back to 2014.

"It means the liquidity playbook remains viable and risk assets like stocks will continue to have a tailwind," says Bouffard.

The chances of a sharp spike in bond yields, another threat to stocks, have also been reduced due to the hit to the economy caused by the nation's debt fight, the belief that the Fed will remain sidelined, and little confidence in Congress actually coming up with a grand bargain to solve the nation's fiscal woes anytime soon, says George Goncalves, head of interest rate strategy at Nomura.

Still, the slow-growth U.S. economy will continue to chug along with help from improving economies in places like Europe, Japan and China, says Bouffard. "The global story," he says, "is getting better."

Bernanke Saves Companies $700 Billion as Verizon Leads Sales

America's companies, from Apple Inc. (AAPL) to Verizon Communications Inc., are saving about $700 billion in interest payments with the Federal Reserve's unprecedented stimulus.

Corporate bond yields over the past four years have fallen to an average of 4.6 percent from 6.14 percent in the five years before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s demise, a savings equal to $15.4 million annually per every $1 billion borrowed. Businesses took advantage of the Fed's largesse to lock in record low rates, extend maturities and raise cash by selling $5.16 trillion of bonds, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

"The stimulus was a huge saving grace in the economy overall," said J. Michael Schlotman, the chief financial officer at Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. (KR), the grocery store operator that estimates it's paying about $80 million less in interest than it would have pre-crisis. "It probably kept some businesses from failing because they were able to refinance their debt at lower interest payments."

The combination of a near-zero rate policy and more than $3 trillion of bond purchases by the Fed since December 2008 means that the collective interest savings enjoyed by Apple, Verizon (VZ) and more than 2,000 other corporate borrowers exceeds Switzerland's $632 billion economy.

Defaults Plummet

That's money freed up to expand businesses and hire workers. Corporations boosted their capital expenditures to $699 billion in the three months ended June 30, about the most in a decade, and up 8.7 percent from the corresponding period last year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Even the neediest companies have been able to obtain cash as the trailing 12-month U.S. speculative-grade default rate has plummeted to less than 3 percent from more than 13 percent back in 2009.

Drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) and residential property firm Realogy Corp. (RLGY) are two of the 283 junk-rated borrowers identified in March 2009 by Moody's Investors Service as being ! at the highest risk of default that have since sold bonds.

After plunging to 9.5 cents on the dollar in March 2009, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid's $295 million of debentures due February 2027 have rebounded to 101.38 cents, as their yields fell to 7.53 percent from 80 percent.

While borrowing costs are starting to rise in anticipation that the Fed will start reducing stimulus measures, they're still below pre-crisis levels and enticing borrowers. Verizon sold $49 billion of bonds last week in the biggest corporate offering on record.

Quantitative Easing

When Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke started to pump cash directly into the financial system in December 2008 by purchasing bonds in a policy known as quantitative easing, unemployment was the highest in 26 years and companies rated below Baa3 at Moody's and less than BBB- by Standard & Poor's faced $1.2 trillion of debt maturing through 2015. That's been cut to about $115.8 billion, according to Barclays Plc.

"The benefits of quantitative easing include the confidence that it gave to markets, which allowed credit markets to re-open," said Eric Gross, a Barclays credit strategist in New York. "If a company can get to the primary market and pay off its obligations, it can live to fight another day. The problem back then was the primary market was completely closed."

Companies sold just $21.9 billion of investment-grade and high-yield bonds in the month after Lehman collapsed on Sept. 15, 2008, less than half the size of Verizon's sale last week.

Spending, Jobs

Kroger's $3.1 billion of bond sales in the past four years included $600 million of 10-year notes sold in July with a 3.85 percent coupon. That's below the 6.4 percent for similar-maturity debt that the largest supermarket operator in the U.S. issued in August 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Schlotman said the interest savings gave him the confidence to ask Kroger's directors to approve $10 billion ! in capita! l expenditures and boost employment by 35,000 jobs over the past five years. The company had 343,000 employees as of Feb. 2, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Savings of about $700 billion represents the difference between what companies that have sold bonds since Sept. 17, 2009, are paying based on an average maturity of nine years for securities in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate & High Yield Index, versus what they might have paid before the crisis.

IBM's Record

After rising as high as 11.1 percent on Oct. 28, 2008, it wasn't until Sept. 17, 2009 that yields fell below the pre-Lehman average of 6.14 percent, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch index shows.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), the largest computer-services provider, sold $1.25 billion of seven-year notes in May at a record low coupon of 1.625 percent. That compares with a 5.7 percent rate on 10-year debt issued in 2007 by the Armonk, New York-based company.

Verizon, the largest U.S. telephone carrier after No. 1 AT&T Inc., issued $49 billion of bonds in eight parts on Sept. 11 in the biggest sale on record to help fund its $130 billion purchase of the rest of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group Plc. On the $11 billion portion due in 10 years, the New York-based company is paying a coupon of 5.15 percent, less than the 5.5 percent on similar-maturity notes it sold in March 2007.

Verizon's offering exceeded the previous record of $17 billion set on April 30 by Cupertino, California-based Apple. That sale, the iPhone-maker's first since 1996, included $4 billion of 1 percent, five-year notes and $5.5 billion of 2.4 percent, 10-year securities.

Fed Taper

With the economy now firming, the Fed has been considering curtailing its stimulus. The central bank unexpectedly refrained today from reducing the $85 billion pace of monthly bond buying, saying it needs to see more signs of lasting improvement.

Yields on 10-year Treasuries (USGG10YR), a benc! hmark for! everything from corporate bonds to mortgages, have risen to 2.76 percent as of 2:17 p.m. in New York, after reaching as high as 2.99 percent on Sept. 5, from 1.76 percent on Dec. 31. Apple's 2.4 percent bonds have fallen 11.3 cents since they were issued to 88.6 cents on the dollar, pushing the yield up to 3.83 percent.

The Fed embarked on its stimulus in the face of an economy spiraling into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, when a collapse in the subprime mortgage market and deteriorating property values led to the forced sale of Bear Stearns Cos. and the demise of Lehman.

Early Benefits

Mortgage financiers Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) were placed into government conservatorship, insurer American International Group Inc. agreed to a U.S. takeover to avert collapse, Merrill Lynch & Co. was compelled to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. and automaker General Motors Corp. faced insolvency.

To bring down a jobless rate that eventually reached a peak of 10 percent in October 2009, the Fed cut its target rate for overnight loans between banks to a range of zero and 0.25 percent and started buying Treasuries and mortgage debt on Dec. 5, 2008.

Within the first 30 days of the program's onset, yields on dollar-denominated corporate bonds dropped a percentage point to 9.8 percent on Jan. 5, 2009, Bank of America Merrill Lynch index data show. By the time the Fed started its second round of QE on Nov. 12, 2010, yields on the notes had plunged to 4.6 percent, less than half what they were two years earlier.

Interest Lowered

"It's allowed companies such as ourselves to continue to access the capital markets," Dan D'Arrigo, the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Las Vegas-based casino company MGM Resorts International (MGM), said in a Sept. 17 telephone interview. During the crisis, "we still had access but at much more costly rates to our company," he said.

MGM, which runs the Bellagio and! MGM Gran! d casinos, was able to lower its interest expenses by $230 million in December, to about $770 million annually, refinancing debt with $4 billion of loans and $1.25 billion of bonds, according to a Dec. 20 statement from the company.

As credit loosened, corporate yields plunged as low as 3.35 percent on May 2, from 9.76 percent at the end of 2008. Verizon has led $1.1 trillion of dollar-denominated issuance this year, on pace to surpass last year's record $1.47 trillion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Refinancings have cut the amount of speculative-grade bonds and loans set to mature in 2014 to $43.7 billion, compared with $331.5 billion when the Fed started its QE program in 2008.

'Maturity Wall'

"There was this maturity wall that people were terrified of," said Neil Wessan, the group head of New York-based CIT Group Inc. (CIT)'s capital markets unit. "That's been spread out over a much broader period of time."

CIT emerged from a month of bankruptcy protection in December 2009. After a $592.3 million loss last year, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecast CIT will report its highest earnings in 2013 and 2014 since exiting bankruptcy.

The business lender sold 5 percent securities in July that are due in August 2023 to yield 5.125 percent. That's below the 6.625 percent coupon on seven-year notes it issued in March 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

"The availability of all this excess liquidity has allowed the market to re-price, amend and extend," Wessan said. "That took a lot of pressure out of the system."

Fed Governor Jeremy Stein warned in February that some credit markets, such as corporate debt, were showing signs of excessive risk-taking. Investors poured $758.7 billion into U.S. bond funds in the four years after 2008, according to research firm EPFR Global in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Stein's Warning

"We are seeing a fairly significant pattern of reaching-for-yield behavior emerging in corpor! ate credi! t," Stein said at the time in a speech in St. Louis.

Company debt loads in the U.S. have increased faster than cash flow for six straight quarters. Debt of investment-grade companies rose in the second quarter to 2.09 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to JPMorgan. That's up from 2.07 times in the first three months of 2013 and compares with 2.13 in the third quarter of 2009, when it peaked after the longest recession since the 1930s.

Rite Aid, which lost money in five of the past six years, sold $810 million of eight-year debentures in June paying 2.5 percentage points less than similar-maturity debt it issued last year.

The most indebted U.S. drugstore generated $504 million of free cash in the 12 months ended March 2, the most since at least 1996. Rite-Aid, which Moody's placed on its "Bottom Rung" list in its March 2009 report, is ranked B3 by the ratings firm and B- by S&P, both six levels below investment grade.

Susan Henderson, a spokeswoman for Rite Aid, didn't respond to a telephone and e-mail message seeking comment.

Realogy Cuts

Madison, New Jersey-based Realogy, the most indebted U.S. real-estate services company, has decreased its total interest expense to $255 million from $672 million in 2012, Chief Financial Officer Anthony Hull said in a July interview.

A strengthening economy may help indebted companies meeting interest payments even with yields on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. Corporate & High Yield index having risen to 4.23 percent, 0.64 percentage point more than at the end of 2012.

Gross domestic product is expected to grow by 2.65 percent next year from 1.6 percent this year and after contracting 2.8 percent in 2009, according to 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate was 7.3 percent in August.

The Fed's QE "was the right thing at the right time," Kroger's Schlotman said. "You can't keep rates here forever. At s! ome point! , market forces have to drive your ability to succeed in the marketplace."

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now

Running a business is all about making a profit, so it makes sense that one of the best measures of a company's performance is its profit margins.

Strong profit margins almost always mean a company is well-run, stable, and making money.

A company with healthy profit margins indicates it is efficient at allocating capital and controlling costs, so it can deliver more revenue to the bottom line.

It also means the business has built-in safety. Therefore, a sales slump is less likely to cause an operating loss.

And if a company can maintain strong profit margins year after year against competitors in the same industry, that's as good as it gets.

For investors, what all this means is that finding the companies with the best profit margins is a great way to identify promising stocks.

Let's dig into this topic a bit deeper so you know just what you need to look for.

High Sales Don't Always Equal the Best Profit Margins

Let's start with a simple definition. Simply put, the profit margin is the amount of money a company earns from each dollar of sales, usually expressed as a ratio, or percentage.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: Logitech international SA (LOGN)

Logitech International S.A. (Logitech) is a holding company. Logitech develops and markets hardware and software products for digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Logitech operates in two segments: peripherals and video conferencing. The Company�� peripherals segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of peripherals for personal computers (PCs) and other digital platforms. Its products for the PC include mice, trackballs, keyboards, interactive gaming controllers, multimedia speakers, headsets, webcams, and lapdesks. Logitech�� Internet communications products include webcams, headsets, video communications services, and digital video security systems for a home or small business. Its digital music products include speakers, earphones, and custom in-ear monitors. On July 6, 2010, Logitech acquired all of the assets of Paradial AS. On March 31, 2011, the Company sold its equity interest in certain 3Dconnexion subsidiaries.

3Dconnexion subsidiaries are the providers of the Company�� 3D controllers, and its intellectual property rights related to the manufacture and sale of certain 3Dconnexion products. Paradial AS provides firewall and network address translation (NAT) traversal solutions for video communications. For home entertainment systems, Logitech offers the Harmony line of advanced remote controls, Squeezebox wireless music solutions and, in the United States, a line of Logitech products for the Google TV platform. For gaming consoles, the Company offers a range of gaming controllers and microphones, as well as other accessories. Logitech�� sells its peripheral products to a network of distributors and resellers and to other equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company�� worldwide retail network includes wholesale distributors, consumer electronics retailers, mass merchandisers, specialty electronics stores, computer and telecomm! unications stores, resellers and online merchants.

The Company�� video conferencing segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of LifeSize video conferencing products, infrastructure and services for the enterprise, public sector and other business markets. LifeSize products include high-definition (HD) video communication endpoints, HD video conferencing systems with integrated monitors, video bridges and other infrastructure software and hardware to support large scale video deployments, and services to support these products. Logitech sells its LifeSize products and services to distributors, resellers, OEMs and direct enterprise customers. Logitech conducts its business through subsidiaries in the Americas, including North and South America; Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific, including, among other countries, China, Taiwan, Japan, India and Australia.

Pointing Devices

Logitech offers a range of computer mice, sold through retail and OEM channels. Its mice products include M215, M310 and M305 wireless mice with advanced 2.4 gigahertz wireless connection and cordless universal serial bus (USB) plug-and-forget nano-receiver; Performance Mouse MX and Anywhere Mouse MX with Logitech Darkfield Laser Tracking; Marathon Mouse 750, and Wireless Trackball M570. Logitech�� mice products also include a line of gaming mice, including the Wireless Gaming Mouse G700, with 13 precisely placed, programmable controls to perform single actions and complex macros, full-speed gaming-grade wireless, and a quick-connect charging cable. In addition, the Company sells both corded and cordless mice designed specifically for OEM customers.

Keyboards and Desktops

Logitech offers a range of corded and cordless keyboards and desktops (keyboard-and-mouse combinations). The Company�� keyboards and desktops include Wireless Solar Keyboard K750; K800 Illuminated Wireless Keyboard; The diNovo Edge keyboard; Wireless Desktop MK320, and G! 19 Keyboa! rd for Gaming.

Audio

Logitech designs and manufactures a range of multimedia speakers, including Wireless Speaker Z515, The Laptop Z305 speaker, and The S-series line of portable iPod/MP3 docks, including the Rechargeable Speaker S715i and the Portable Speaker S135i. It also designs and manufactures The Z-623 2.1 THX certified speakers, the Z-506 5.1 Speakers, and the Z-906 5.1 Surround Sound speakers. Logitech offers a portfolio of network music systems. The Squeezebox Touch, with its 4.3-inch color touch screen, connects to existing stereo system and speakers and supports sampling rates of up to 24 bits at 96 kilohertz. The Squeezebox Radio is a compact network music player and alarm that allows to connect to home network, and access Internet radio, personal music collection or subscription services.

The Ultimate Ears product line offers a range of in-ear consumer or fit earphones for portable music enthusiasts, as well as custom stage earphones for musicians and sound engineers. Its line of earphones include Ultimate Ears 100 and 200 value-priced earphones, with silicone ear cushions in a durable sweat-resistant design; Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 with triple armature speakers, and The Ultimate Ears 600 featuring single armature speakers, the Ultimate Ears 600vi, and the Ultimate Ears 700 featuring dual armature speakers. Its line of Ultimate Ears Custom Stage Earphones include Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors co-designed with Capitol Studios for professional studio engineers and producers for use during recording, mixing and mastering original music content, the UE-18 Pro featuring a six-speaker design, the UE-7 Pro for live performance and stage use, and the UE-4 Pro featuring a dual speaker design for artists and audiophiles.

Logitech offers headsets and microphones designed for applications, such as PC voice communications, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications and online gaming. Its products in this category include the ClearCha! t PC Wire! less headset, the Wireless Headset H760, the USB Headset H530, the G35 Surround Sound Headset for gaming, the Wireless Gaming Headset G930, the USB Desktop Microphone, and the OCS certified Logitech B-530 USB Headset.

Video

Logitech�� webcam offerings include Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910, Logitech Webcam Pro 9000, Logitech HD Webcam C510 and Logitech TV Cam for use with Logitech Revue. Logitech�� webcams works with video messaging applications, and provides up to HD 720p video calling in Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Logitech Vid HD. The Logitech Alert digital video security system is a complete home or small business video security system, with software that provides motion alerts and a live view from an Internet-connected computer, smartphone, tablet or Google TV system, including Logitech Revue.

Gaming

Logitech offers a range of game controllers for PC gamers, including joysticks, steering wheels, gamepads, mice and keyboards, and headsets, as well as gaming products for console platforms, such as PlayStation2, PlayStation3, PSP (PlayStation Portable), Xbox, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. The Company�� gaming products include Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming Mouse; Logitech G13 advanced gameboard with a built-in LCD screen, 25 programmable keys and onboard memory; Logitech G27 Racing Wheel and Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset.

Digital Home

The Company�� line of remotes includes Harmony One remote, Harmony 900 remote and Harmony 650. In October 2010, Logitech introduced its line of products for Google TV in the United States, including Logitech Revue and the Logitech Keyboard Controller; Logitech TV Cam and Vid HD service, and Logitech Mini Controller.

LifeSize Video Conferencing

LifeSize division offers HD video communication solutions, including HD video conferencing products, audio conference telephones, hardware infrastructure solutions, video management software, and services to support ! video and! audio communications and help users connect to any network securely and with ease. The LifeSize product line includes Passport, LifeSize Video Center, Express Series, Team Series, Room Series and LifeSize Bridge.

The Company competes with Microsoft Corporation, Plantronics, Inc., Altec Lansing LLC, Creative Labs, Inc., Bose Corporation, Sony Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics NV, Hewlett-Packard, Intec, Razer USA Ltd., Performance Designed Products, LLC (Pelican Accessories), Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., Universal Remote Control, Inc., Universal Electronics Inc., RCA, Apple Inc., Roku, Inc., Cisco, Radvision Ltd., Vidyo, Inc. and Polycom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, LOGN remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $23.25 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 10:11AM EDT July 25, 2013).

  Logansport Financial Corp. previously reported net earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 of $462,000 or $.71 per diluted share, compared to earnings in 2012 of $427,000 or $.54 per diluted share. Year to date the company reported net earnings of $936,000 for 2013 compared to $763,000 for 2012. Diluted earnings per share for the six months ended June 30, 2013 were $1.43 compared to $.97 for the six months ended June 30, 2012. Total assets at June 30, 2013 were $165.8 million compared to total assets at December 31, 2012 of $172.9 million. Total shareholder�� equity at December 31, 2013 was $18.6 million compared to $19.0 million at June 30, 2012

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: CBS Corporation(CBS)

CBS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mass media company in the United States and internationally. The company?s Entertainment segment distributes a schedule of news and public affairs broadcasts, sports, and entertainment programming; produces, acquires, and distributes programming, including series, specials, news, and public affairs; produces and distributes theatrical motion pictures across various genres; and operates online content networks for information and entertainment. Its Cable Networks segment owns and operates multiplexed channels that offers subscription program services, including recently released theatrical feature films, original series, documentaries, boxing, mixed martial arts and other sports-related programming, and special events; and CBS College Sports Network, a 24-hour cable program service related to college sports. This segment also owns and manages Smithsonian Networks, which operates Smithsonian Channel, a basic cab le service in the United States. The company?s Publishing segment publishes and distributes adult and children?s consumer books in printed, audio, and digital formats. Its Local Broadcasting segment owns 29 broadcast television stations; owns and operates 130 radio stations in 28 U.S. markets and related online properties; and owns local Websites that combine television and radio local media brands online to provide the latest news, traffic, weather, and sports information, as well as local discounts, directories, and reviews. The company?s Outdoor segment sells advertising space on various media, including billboards, transit shelters and other street furniture, buses, rail systems, mall kiosks, stadium signage, and in retail stores. CBS Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Source: ThinkstockCBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) reported third quarter 2013 earnings after markets closed Wednesday. For the quarter, the broadcast and cable network posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.80 on revenues of $3.63 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.60 on revenues of $3.27 billion. Third-quarter results compare to the FactSet consensus estimate for EPS of $0.76 and the Thomson Reuters estimate of $3.47 billion in revenues.

• [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  CBS(CBS) Outdoor Americas Inc. will start trading Friday as a standalone company, after pricing Thursday night at the top of its expected range. The billboard-advertising company offered 20 million shares at $28 each in its initial public offering. The company is splitting off from CBS Corp., as the media giant tries to lessen its reliance on ad dollars for its revenue.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Lions Gate has more going for it than just the Hunger Games movies. It produces both movies and television productions, with a stable of television series including the popular Mad Men and Anger Management. The company also owns a 50% stake in the TV Guide cable channel and website, with a new agreement in March with CBS (NYSE: CBS  ) in which Lions Gate gave up its former majority control of the TV Guide joint venture. Both companies expect to push TV Guide in new directions to try to boost its appeal and revenue-generating capacity.

Top 10 Performing Stocks To Buy For 2015: Echelon Corporation(ELON)

Echelon Corporation develops, markets, and supports energy control networking solutions worldwide. Its solutions enable everyday devices, such as air conditioners, appliances, electricity meters, light switches, thermostats, and valves to be inter-connected; and energy control networking platform powers energy-savings applications for smart grid, smart cities, and smart buildings. The company?s product portfolio includes twisted pair smart transceivers that can be embedded into building automation devices, such as sensors, thermostats, motion detectors, air handlers, and chillers; SmartServer controller, a system manager and field controller for building networks and smart-energy applications; LonWorks control networks software (LNS) and OpenLNS operating system, which are development and integration tools; and third party energy management or grid analytics software, and apps for the SmartServer in hosted or server-based configurations. It also offers PL/RF Bridge to con nect segments of streetlights to a SmartServer; smart meters that provide load profiling, time-of-use, display of energy consumption, and prepaid metering payment capabilities; edge control nodes that connect smart meters and open smart grid protocol (OGSP) -based grid devices; and networked energy system software to retrieve data from smart meters and other OSGP-based devices. In addition, the company provides Element Manager, a browser based software that provides network analysis, graphed statistics, and automated network management; and control point modules that enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to build OSGP compliant smart grid devices. It serves OEMs and systems integrators in the building, industrial, transportation, utility/home, and other automation markets through direct sales organization, electronics representatives, value-added resellers, and distributors. Echelon Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Although small cap smart metering stock Silver Spring Networks Inc (NYSE: SSNI) recently soared on earnings, it also plunged yesterday�after loosing�out on important contract ��meaning it might be time to take a closer look at it along with other smart metering stocks like Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI) or Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) to see if they are smart investments.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap cloud stock Opower Inc (NYSE: OPWR), a cloud�solutions provider to the utility sector, IPO�� at $19�on Friday to�close at $23 a share, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock plus�take a look at the performance of smart meter or smart grid�stocks like�Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI), Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) and EnerNOC, Inc (NASDAQ: ENOC).

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: Wacker Chemie AG (WCH)

Wacker Chemie AG is a Germany-based company engaged in chemical industry. The Company operates through four business segments: WACKER SILICONES, which produces silicone products, ranging from silanes through silicone fluids, emulsions, elastomers, sealants and resins to pyrogenic silicas; WACKER POLYMERS, which offers a range of polymeric binders and additives; WACKER POLYSILICON, which provides polysilicon, and WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, which is the life science division of the Company, offers solutions and products for the food, pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. The Company offers its products for a range of sectors, including consumer goods, food, pharmaceuticals, textiles and the solar, electrical/electronics, basic-chemical industries, medical technology, biotech and mechanical engineering, automotive and construction. The Company also supplies silicon wafers to the semiconductor industry. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  Wacker Chemie AG (WCH), the fourth-largest producer of polysilicon, jumped 9 percent to 56.22 euros, its largest increase since December.

  Banks Decline

  Commerzbank slumped 3.7 percent to 8.18 euros, for the biggest loss on the benchmark index.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: Stereotaxis Inc.(STXS)

Stereotaxis, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets cardiology instrument control systems for use in a hospital?s interventional surgical suite or interventional lab for the treatment of arrhythmias and coronary artery diseases in the United States and internationally. The company provides Niobe system, which includes Niobe Magnetic Navigation System that navigates catheters, guidewires, and other delivery devices through complex paths in the blood vessels and chambers of the heart to carry out treatment; Navigant, a user interface or physician control center, which physicians use to visualize and track procedures and to provide instrument control commands that govern the motion of the working tip of the catheter, guidewire, or other interventional device; Cardiodrive, a catheter advancement system to remotely advance and retract the catheter in the patient?s heart. It also offers Odyssey enterprise solutions, which provides information solutions to manage, control, rec ord, and share procedures across networks; acquires remote view of the lab capturing synchronized procedure data for review of important events during cases; and review recorded cases and create snapshots following procedures for clinical reporting, auditing, and presentation. In addition, the company provides disposable interventional devices comprising automated catheters, coronary guidewires, and navigation and ablation systems. It markets its products through its direct sales force, distributors, and sales agents. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 health care player that looks poised for a potentially large move higher is Stereotaxis (STXS), which designs, manufactures and markets an advanced cardiology instrument control system for use in a hospital's interventional surgical suite to enhance the treatment of arrhythmias and coronary artery disease. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up big by 43%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Stereotaxis, you'll notice that this stock has formed a major bottom pattern over the last three months, since this stock has found buying interest each time it has pulled back towards $3.50 and $3.10 a share. Buyers have stepped in at those levels and have not let the sellers pressure STXS lower. Shares of STXS are now starting to spike higher today right off its 50-day moving average of $3.59 a share. That spike is quickly pushing shares of STXS within range of triggering a big breakout trade above a key downtrend line.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in STXS if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $4 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 1.98 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then STXS will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $5 to $6.24 a share. Any high-volume move above $6.24 a share will then give STXS a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from August that started at $10 a share.

  Traders can look to buy STXS off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below those key support levels at $3.50 to $3.10 a share. One can also buy STXS off strength once it clears $4 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Look out Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG), and step aside BioTelemetry Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAT). There's a new cardiac name in town, and its name is Stereotaxis Inc. (NASDAQ:STXS). This small company's stock is soaring today on the heels of encouraging news, though the prompt for the stock's strength has been brewing for quite some time. This nudge for STXS, however, may well mean it has a lot more potential than ISRG or BEAT do for the foreseeable future.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: Stock Building Supply Holdings Inc (STCK)

Stock Building Supply Holdings, Inc., incorporated on April 16, 2009, is a diversified lumber and building materials (LBM) distributor and solutions provider that sells to new construction and repair and remodel contractors. The Company�� primary products are lumber & lumber sheet goods, millwork, doors, flooring, windows, structural components, such as engineered wood products (EWP), trusses, wall panels and other exterior products. The Company serves a customer base, including large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders and repair and remodeling contractors. In addition, the Company provides solution-based services to its customers, including design, product specification and installation management services. The Company�� primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States.

The Company provides a balanced mix of products and services to the United States production and custom homebuilders and repair and remodel, multi-family and commercial contractors. The Company offer over 39,000 products sourced through its strategic network of suppliers, which together with its various solution-based services; represent approximately 50% of the construction cost of a new home.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Stock Building Supply Holdings (NASDAQ: STCK) dipped 1.53% to $19.95 in the pre-market session after the company prices 5.6 million shares at $19.50 per share by selling shareholders.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: West Corp (WSTC)

West Corporation, incorporated on February 22, 1994, is a provider of technology-driven, communication services. The Company offers a broad portfolio of services, including conferencing and collaboration, unified communications, alerts and notifications, emergency communications, business process outsourcing and telephony / interconnect services. The scale and processing capacity of its technology platforms, combined with its managing voice and data transactions, enables them to provide reliable, mission-critical communications designed to maximize return on investment for its clients.

Its clients include Fortune 1000 companies, along with small and medium enterprises in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, retail, financial services, public safety, technology and healthcare. It focuses on addressable markets with attractive growth characteristics have allowed them to deliver steady and profitable growth.

Unified Communications

The Company provides its clients with an integrated global suite of meeting services. Conferencing and Collaboration Services include On-Demand Audio Conferencing, which is an automated conferencing service that allows clients to initiate an audio conference at any time, without the need to make a reservation or rely on an operator; Web Conferencing and Collaboration Tools allow clients to connect remote employees and bolster collaboration among groups. These tools provide clients with the capability to make presentations and share applications and documents over the Internet, these services are offered through product, InterCall Unified Meeting, as well as through the resale of Cisco, Microsoft and Adobe products, Web conferencing services can be customized to each client�� individual needs; Video Managed Services and Video Bridging allows clients to experience real-time face-to-face conferences. These services are offered through its products, InterCall Video Conferencing and InterCall Video Managed Services in conj! unction with third-party equipment, and can be used for a wide variety of events, including training seminars, sales presentations, product launches and financial reporting calls.

InterCall offers multimedia platforms designed to give its clients the ability to create, manage, distribute and reuse content internally and externally. Through a combination of products and strategic partnerships, its clients have the tools to support diverse internal and external multimedia requirements. Event Services solutions include Audio and Video Webcasting Services, which allows users to broadcast small or multimedia presentations over the Internet. It offers its clients the flexibility of broadcasting any combination of audio, video (desktop or high-end) or PowerPoint slides using any operating system; Virtual Event Design and Hosting offers clients consulting, project management and implementation of hosted and managed virtual event and virtual environment solutions. Clients are able to provide audiences easy and instant access to content, experts and peers. Examples of virtual events include trade shows, user groups, job fairs, virtual learning environments and town hall meetings, and Operator-Assisted Audio Conferencing Services are pre-scheduled conferences for complex or important events. Operator-assisted services are customized to a client�� needs and provide a wide range of scalable features and enhancements, including the ability to record, broadcast, schedule and administer meetings.

The Company provides its clients with enterprise class IP-based communications solutions including Hosted IP-PBX and Enterprise Call Management, which allows an enterprise to upgrade its use of communications technology with a suite of cloud-based, on-demand services including full private branch exchange (PBX) functionality, advanced enterprise and personal call management tools and edge unified communications features. These services can be fully integrated with a client�� existing IP o! r legacy ! time-division multiplexing (TDM) infrastructure where required, leveraging investments already made in telephony infrastructure and providing a seamless enterprise-wide solution; Hosted and Managed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Network, which is a suite of IP trunking solutions designed to provide enterprise clients with carrier-grade service, along with the benefits of IP-based service that allows their business to run more efficiently. These solutions deliver a consistent set of voice services across an enterprise�� infrastructure, with flexible IP and TDM trunking options for clients��on-site PBX; Unified Communications Partner Solution Portfolio, which enables them to engineer flexible and scalable solutions suitable to an enterprise�� needs, leveraging a portfolio of Microsoft and Cisco offerings integrated with its products, applications and services; Cloud-Based Security Services aggregate a set of technologies into one simple and scalable cloud-based solution that provides clients with network protection. This service can help protect the client�� network from spam and viruses, unauthorized intrusions and inappropriate Web content, while providing simplicity and consistency of security policy management and eliminating single points of failure and bottlenecks that can occur with premise-based security solutions, and Professional Services and System Integration provides its clients with advice and solutions to integrate their unified communication systems. It offers consulting, design, integration, and implementation of voice, video, messaging, and collaboration systems and services.

The Company�� technology platforms allow clients to manage and deliver automated, proactive and personalized communications. It uses multiple delivery channels (voice, text messaging, email, social media and fax), based on the preference of the recipient. For example, it delivers patient notifications, confirm appointments and send prescription reminders on behalf of its healthca! re client! s; send and receive automated outage notifications on behalf of its utility clients and transmit emergency evacuation notices on behalf of municipalities. It offers Automated Voice Notifications are customized voice messages sent on behalf of its clients that are delivered with personalized information. Its systems provide accurate detection of voice mail versus live answer, customized caller ID and retry logic; Short Message Service (SMS)/Email Alerts and Notifications are customized electronic notifications sent on behalf of its clients directly to their customers��handheld devices, wireless phones, two-way pagers or email inboxes; Social Media Messaging enables clients to deliver targeted, personalized messaging to social media sites; Multichannel Preference Management and Campaign Management Solutions allow its clients to create and manage customer information in a real-time environment. Its Web-based user interface tool allows clients to upload customer contact information, create reusable notification templates and customize campaigns, and Website and Customer Portal Management , which is a Web design service whereby it creates custom-built, interactive websites for clients. It also provides a variety of additional features and services, including hosting, search engine optimization and maintenance.

The Company competes with AT&T, Verizon, PGi, BT Conferencing, NTT, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, IBM, ON24, Thomson Reuters, Sonic Foundry, TalkPoint, Adobe, BT Conferencing, PGi, Arkadin , INXPO, 6Connex, WebEx, Verizon, BT, ShoreTel, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, XO Communications, 8x8, M5, Varolii, SoundBite Communications, PhoneTree , Silverlink Communications, Patient Prompt, Sesame Communications and Google

Communication Services

The Company is one of the providers of emergency communications services, based on the number of 9-1-1 calls that the Company and other participants in the industry facilitate. Its services are critical in facilitating public safety! agencies! ��ability to receive emergency calls from citizens. Its clients generally enter into long-term contracts and fund their obligations through monthly charges on users��telephone bills. It offers 9-1-1 Network Services are the systems that control the routing of emergency calls to the appropriate 9-1-1 centers. Its next generation 9-1-1 call handling solution is an IP-based system designed to significantly improve the information available to responders by integrating capabilities such as the ability to text, send photos or video to 9-1-1 centers as well as providing stored data such as building blueprints or personal medical data to responders. Its carrier-grade Location Based Services process over 125,000 daily requests in support of its clients��Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) and commercial applications and 9-1-1 Telephony Systems and Services include its fully-integrated desktop communications technology solutions which public safety agencies use to enable E9-1-1 call handling. Its next generation 9-1-1 solution can be deployed in a variety of local, hosted and remote configurations, allowing public safety agencies to grow with minimal incremental investment. It operates in approximately 5,000 call-taking positions in more than 1,000 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in North America.

The Company�� services allow its clients to effectively communicate with their customers through inbound and outbound IVR applications using natural language speech recognition, automated voice prompts and network-based call routing services. In addition to these front-end customer service applications, it also provide analyses that helps its clients improve their automated communications strategy. Its open standards-based platform allows the flexibility to integrate new capabilities, such as mobility, social media and cloud-based services. Its Automated Call Processing includes Automated Customer Service Solutions range from speech/IVR applications and mobile solutions to SMS, chat and email. It helps ! its clien! ts engage their customers through the channels they prefer. Examples of self-service applications used by its clients are: access account balances, activation of credit cards, placing orders, FAQ�� and stop/start utility service and Voice and Data Network Management Services assist its clients as they manage or update their own contact center communications networks. It offers hosted or managed services for the operation, administration and management of voice and data networks such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network management, network automated call distribution (ACD)/multi-channel contact routing, workforce management, monitoring and predictive dialing.

The Company's telephony / interconnect Services support the merging of traditional telecom, mobile and IP technologies to service providers and enterprises. It is a provider of local and national tandem switching services to carriers throughout the United States. It leverages its customer traffic information system, sophisticated call routing and control facility to provide tandem interconnection services to the competitive marketplace, including wireless, wire-line, cable telephony and VoIP companies. Toll-Free Origination transports and switches toll free traffic originated by traditional wireline, VoIP, cable, and wireless carriers to all inter-exchange carriers (IXC) in the United States. This service provides a scalable and efficient means to pass toll free traffic to IXCs. Termination Services using its soft switch platform, national optical backbone and direct network interconnections allow for the termination of outbound toll traffic. Termination Services using its soft switch platform, national optical backbone and direct network interconnections allow for the termination of outbound toll traffic.

The Company provide its clients with agent-based services. It target opportunities that allow its agent-based services to be a part of larger strategic client engagements and with clients for whom these serv! ices can ! add value. It believes that it is known in the industry as a provider of these services. It offers a flexible model that includes on-shore, off-shore and virtual home-based agent capabilities to fit its clients needs. Agent-Based Services include Customer Care and Acquisition Services support its clients with their consumer-based communications needs. It provides customer acquisition and retention, customer care, technical support and sales services. Its customized process strategically matches its client�� goals to the appropriate solutions to maximize results; Business-to-Business and Account Management Services combines its experience, sales methodologies and technology to deliver an integrated suite of solutions that allow its clients to overcome a variety of common sales challenges across a multitude of business segments. Examples of these services include lead management, team sell, account management and sole territory coverage; Receivables Management Services support many of businesses and institutions with a fully licensed collection agency that has integrated partnerships across the telecommunications, financial services, government, healthcare and utilities industries, and Overpayment Identification and Recovery Services provides cost containment programs to organizations including: health insurance payers, third party administrators, managed care organizations, hospitals/physicians and self-insured companies. It analyzes data from multiple healthcare sources, identify incorrectly paid claims, provide targeted communications and collect funds on behalf of its clients.

The Company competes with Cassidian Communications, EmergiTech, 911-Inc, Inteliquent (formerly Neutral Tandem), Peerless Network, Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC), Convergys, TeleTech, Sykes, NCO, GC Services, Infosys Limited and Aegis Global.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Abbvie (ABBV)
  Ameren Corp. (AEE)
  Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG)
  E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD)
  ENSCO (ESV)
  Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD)
  General Mills (GIS)
  H&R Block (HRB)
  Hancock Holding (HBHC)
  Kraft Foods Group (KRFT)
  Lorillard (LO)
  Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP)
  MarkWest Energy Partners L P (MWE)
  McDonald’s (MCD)
  Microchip Technology (MCHP)
  NextEra Energy (NEE)
  Regency Centers (REG)
  TELUS Corp. (TU)
  West Corp. (WSTC)
  Williams Companies (WMB)

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of communication service provider West Corporation (NASDAQ: WSTC  ) jumped as much as 10% today after the company got positive ratings from analysts.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: Unwired Planet Inc (UPIP)

Unwired Planet, Inc. (Unwired Planet), formerly Openwave Systems Inc., incorporated on December 16, 1994, is an intellectual property and technology licensing company. As of June 30, 2012, the Company had patent portfolio of approximately 200 issued United States and foreign patents and approximately 75 pending applications, many of which is considered foundational to mobile communications. In May 2012, the Company officially changed name to Unwired Planet, Inc.

On February 1, 2012, the Company sold its location business to Persistent Telecom Solutions Inc. On April 30, 2012, the Company completed the sale of its mediation and messaging product businesses to Openwave Mobility, Inc. The Company generates revenue by licensing its patented innovations and technologies to companies that develop mobile communications software infrastructure or hardware and/or develop mobile communications products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  If you'd rather spend your hard-earned dollars on some bargain-priced stocks rather than face the Black Friday mania at the malls (wise choice, by the way), then you've come to the right place. And, you may want to start you bargain hunt with Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLX) and Unwired Planet Inc. (NASDAQ:UPIP). Both names have been unduly beaten up in recent weeks, and better still, it looks like UPIP and MBLX, are ready to recover... in spades. That's an important detail, as a bargain is only a bargain if it's something actually worth owning. Take a look.

• [By Anora Mahmudova]

  Among individual stocks, Unwired Planet (UPIP) , an intellectual property company focused on the mobile industry, soared 49% after news that Chinese computer-maker Lenovo Group Ltd. (HK:0992) �was buying 21 of its patent families for $100 million.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Unwired Planet Inc. (UPIP) �jumped 75% to $2.27 on heavy volume after Lenovo Group (HK:0992) �said it would buy about 21 patent families from Unwired for $100 million.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: UniPixel Inc (UNXL)

Uni-Pixel, Inc. (Uni-Pixel), incorporated on October 13, 2000, is a production-stage company delivering its Performance Engineered Film (PEF) to the display, touch screen and flexible electronics markets. The Company has developed thin film high volume roll to roll or continuous flow manufacturing process. The Company sells its films as sub-components for use in liquid crystal display (LCD) as a back light film and active film sub-component. Uni-Pixel is shipping its Diamond Guard Finger Print Resistant and Hard Coat (Anti-Scratch) protective cover films for multiple touch enabled devices. The Company sells its films under the Diamond Guard brand as well as private label to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It is making ITO-Less Touch Films and Flexible Electronic Films based on its UniBoss manufacturing process for high volume roll to roll printing of flexible thin-film conductor patterns.

The Company�� Diamond Guard FPR product can protect a touch screen device from damage while also preventing fingerprints and smudges from obscuring the viewing experience. Its Diamond Guard Anti-Scratch protective cover film product is used to protect touch screen devices from scratches while providing a transparency and gloss equivalent to glass. In other embodiments, the Company's Diamond Guard coating can be applied to substrates that can be used as the first surface of hand held electronic devices. The Company developed a color display technology called Time Multiplexed Optical Shutter (TMOS).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  To take advantage of an industry the companies expect to more than double over the next five years, UniPixel (NASDAQ: UNXL  ) and Eastman Kodak (NASDAQOTH: EKDKQ  ) have entered into a manufacturing and supply chain agreement to produce�touchscreen sensors for the touch module market.

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q1 2014 earnings report for advanced materials stock GT Advanced Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: GTAT), a potential peer of stocks like Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW), UniPixel Inc (NASDAQ: UNXL) and Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED), is due out after the market closes later today. Aside from the GT Advanced Technologies earnings report, it should be said that Corning Incorporated already�reported earnings on Monday, April 28 while UniPixel Inc� and Universal Display Corporation are both�scheduled to release earnings after the market closes on Thursday. All of these stocks are interesting because all supply advanced materials to consumer electronics, mobile device, solar and organic light emitting diode (OLED) or light emitting diode (LED) makers.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now: In-Touch Survey Systems Ltd (INX)

In-Touch Survey Systems Ltd. is engaged in designing, developing and implementing of data capture technologies and services for business to consumer (B2C) companies. The Company does business as Service Intelligence, In-Touch Insight Systems and IMS division. In-Touch Insight Systems (EDC) develops managed mobile software technology and services for business to consumer (B2C), business to business (B2B), governments and regulators. In-Touch has developed a software platform, In- Touch Apps that provides for the development of data collection programs, mobile forms creations and real-time online reporting for its customers. Service Intelligence (MDC) provides onsite audit and Mystery Shopping services to B2C companies in Canada and the United States. The IMS division, which provides enterprise software engineering services to the Canadian Federal Government. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Henry Lee]

  After hitting a fresh high of nearly 1900 on April 4, the S&P 500 (INX) closed last Friday at 1816 ��a 4.3% drop in just one week. We��e seen a bit of a rebound, but the worst week in two years rattled investors. Nasdaq (IXIC) got close to a 10% drop from its March high, which would make it an official ��orrection����a nice word that masks the pain many investors are feeling.

Baron Funds Comments on Mitsui Fudosan

Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd. detracted from performance in the first quarter following strong outperformance in 2013. Mitsui Fudosan is a mixed-use Japanese property developer and real estate operating company. The company's weak performance was in line with the general underperformance of Japanese equities due to increased uncertainty around monetary policy and economic growth in that country

From Baron Funds' first quarter 2014 commentary.

Also check out: Ron Baron Undervalued Stocks Ron Baron Top Growth Companies Ron Baron High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Ron Baron keeps buying

Currently 0.00/512345 Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

Subscribe via Email Subscribe RSS Comments Please leave your comment:
More GuruFocus Links

Latest Guru Picks	Value Strategies
Warren Buffett Portfolio	Ben Graham Net-Net
Real Time Picks	Buffett-Munger Screener
Aggregated Portfolio	Undervalued Predictable
ETFs, Options	Low P/S Companies
Insider Trends	10-Year Financials
52-Week Lows	Interactive Charts
Model Portfolios	DCF Calculator
RSS Feed	Monthly Newsletters
The All-In-One Screener	Portfolio Tracking Tool

MORE GURUFOCUS LINKS

Latest Guru Picks	Value Strategies
Warren Buffett Portfolio	Ben Graham Net-Net
Real Time Picks	Buffett-Munger Screener
Aggregated Portfolio	Undervalued Predictable
ETFs, Options	Low P/S Companies
Insider Trends	10-Year Financials
52-Week Lows	Interactive Charts
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 Apple buying Beats for $3 billion Dr. Dre, who co-founded Beats, will join Apple. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Apple is officially buying Beats for $3 billion, just shy of the rumored price leaked a few weeks ago, the companies announced Wednesday. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) will pay $2.6 billion up front, plus another $400 million over time. Apple's getting stylish hardware from Beats Electronics and a streaming service with Beats Music. The deal is chump change for Apple, which is sitting on a giant mountain of cash: $159 billion as of last year. Related story: Why I broke up with Apple Still, many think Apple is wasting its time with Beats. The music streaming service has an estimated 500,000 customers, puny compared to Spotify's 4 million subscribers. Pandora (P), which is valued by investors at $5.2 billion, has more than 250 million active accounts. Apple could buy 30 Pandoras right now. But on Wednesday, CEO Tim Cook made his case. In a statement, he said the deal brings together "extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world." Apple expects the deal to close in late summer or early fall.   Apple has its mojo back The winners of the deal are Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, both successful music producers who launched the company back in 2006 and quickly grew it via celebrity endorsements. For his part, Dre is already calling himself "the first billionaire in hip hop." His stake in Beats, estimated at 20% to 25%, is expected to push his net worth of $550 million close to that number. But it's too early to tell if Dre is a billi! onaire just yet. Meanwhile, Iovine described the deal as a match made in heaven. He said the whole Beats concept was inspired by Apple's perfect blend of culture and technology. "I've always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple," Iovine said in a statement. Dre and Iovine are also joining Apple, so Iovine is stepping down from his perch as CEO of the record company Interscope Geffen A&M. It's on: Apple cranks up the Beats for $3 billion CUPERTINO, Calif. — In an unprecedented teaming of tech brains and musical ears, Apple confirmed Wednesday that it was doubling down on the digital music space it pioneered with iTunes by purchasing Beats Electronics for $3 billion, of which $400 million will vest over time. "We're gaining rare talent, a fast-growing subscription service and premium headphones that have done incredibly well, but none of those are the reason for doing this deal," says Apple CEO Tim Cook of the deal, which nabs both Beats' popular line of headphones and its nascent streaming music service. "It's the future we're betting on." Cook met with USA TODAY along with iTunes chief Eddy Cue and Beats co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. "I've been working with Apple on projects for 11 years," says Iovine. "You feel like when you walk in here, these guys get what we do. Will our products get better? Absolutely; we want our stuff to be made by Apple. But mostly, it's about feeling that these guys can bridge the gap between the tech and music worlds." Cook says Iovine and Dr. Dre will spend more time in Silicon Valley and that the Beats brand will remain intact. While declining to outline specific next steps, Cook said expanding the reach of Beats' electronics and music service are among top priorities. "This is about music and its importance to society and to Apple," he says. "We've found kindred spirits in Jimmy and Dre, and we're going to advance what they've done to a whole different level." Apple stock was little changed on the news, which had been expected. The deal represents perhaps Apple's brashest fiscal move since buying Steve Jobs' NeXT computer company in 1997. But while that deal triggered Apple's rebirth, this one comes at a critical juncture. Consumers and analysts alike are looking to see if Apple can reclaim the spotlight in the wake of a product and advertising fusillade from rival Samsung. "It provides Beats with the market clout, cachet, credibility and deep pocket! s that can take (them) to an even larger audience," says Ted Cohen, managing partner of TAG Strategy, a digital entertainment consultancy firm. Meanwhile, "it gives (Apple) real rock stars in Iovine and Dr. Dre." By welcoming Beats into his portfolio, Apple CEO Cook is acknowledging a shift away from its pioneering iTunes pay-per-song model and toward streaming audio. He also is side-stepping founder Jobs' insistence that all Apple hits be crafted in-house. Cook shrugged off suggestions that the purchase was in response to charges of stagnation. "This is a big deal. But to put it in some perspective, we acquired 15 companies last year and 12 this year, some 27 in 18 months," he says. "But this one is all about music, which we've always felt is in our veins, and we've always appreciated that technology alone was not enough." Beyond its industry significance, the purchase could vault Iovine and Dr. Dre into the billionaire club, which would make the latter the first rapper with a 10-digit net worth. Dr. Dre, born Andre Young, was a pioneering force in the Los Angeles rap scene in the '80s and '90s. Iovine first made his name engineering records for the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, later becoming chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records. Dre, who remained quiet during much of the round-table conversation, just smiled at the suggestion: "Financially, I'm in a place I never dreamed of. Now, I'm just ready to get started with the work." The purchase price might seem high, considering that Beats Music just launched in January, standing out for its emphasis on human vs. algorithm-centric curation. But it represents a fraction of Apple's $160 billion cash stockpile and is in line with other news-making purchases, including Google's $3.2 billion Nest buy and Facebook's $19 billion WhatsApp gamble. With Beats Music, Apple is instantly in position to fight for market share in the lucrative subscription-based streaming audio category, which saw a 50% jump i! n revenue! last year to $1.1 billion, while download sales dropped 2% to just under $4 billion, according to IFPI, the global music industry association. Perhaps as important, Apple's newest toy comes with built-in street cred dating to its 2006 founding. Beats co-founders Iovine and Dr. Dre used their broad contacts to ensure that their headphones wound up on the skulls of top music and sports stars ranging from Lady Gaga to LeBron James. And when it came time to conjure up Beats Music, Iovine tapped Oscar-winning metal rocker Trent Reznor to guide the sonic ship. "Jimmy's one of those guys who's always coming up with new ideas; he's never someone to let things just happen to him," says Gwen Stefani, whose garage band No Doubt was signed by Iovine. "What I love about him is he's all about the artist." Stefani recalls the time No Doubt auditioned for Iovine in 1991. After a few songs, "he pulled me aside and said in five years, I'd be a star. And I thought, 'Uh, no, in five years, I'll have like 10 kids, and you're a bit weird.' Of course, he was right; in about that time, our song Don't Speak was a huge hit. Jimmy's a pioneer." Iovine says he hasn't been able to say much about the impending to deal to his music industry friends, but the few he's confided in have shared the same emotion. "They feel like one of them has gotten into a game where they can have impact, where what we do will be understood," he says. "We've managed to bridge those worlds, because we come from music, but we've worked in software and hardware." Cook nods. "Apple will be doing some great things in the near term that are exciting, and you're going to love them," he says, referencing the company's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference starting June 2. "But today's announcement is about the long term," he says. "Dre and Jimmy bring us the artists' lens. We've had that from a relationship point of view, but there's nothing like having that under our roof, that expert ear of audio. So wh! en you ta! ke all of those intangibles, you get excited." Monday, May 26, 2014 How To Properly Research For The Best Mortgage Rate Are you ready to refinance your home? Or are you looking for the best mortgage rate to close on your new house? You've probably been told to shop around for the best rate, but what exactly does that entail? With some preparation and research, you can save big if you get the right mortgage rate. For example, on a 30-year mortgage for a $300,000 house, a homeowner would pay approximately $1,520 each month at a 4.5 percent rate. If the homeowner was locked in at a slightly higher rate of 5.10 percent, it would increase the monthly mortgage payments to $1,633, which would make a difference of $40,680 in 30 years. (Figures were calculated on a 20 percent down payment.) That's a lot of money! The first thing you should do is retrieve your credit scores. Sharing your credit scores with lenders on your own is a better option, rather than having each lender one pull it multiple times, which can ultimately lower your score. When shopping for a lender, find out if they're great on service. Get recommendations from family and friends. After you've narrowed it down to two or three lenders, compare rates. One of first things to consider when looking for the best rate is figuring out your limit. Decide on the maximum rate by creating a budget in order to figure out how much you can afford. The lender should be able to compare loan terms with conventional methods of financing so you can make an informed decision on which loan terms best suits you. You want to jump on the best rate, which mostly involves good timing. The rate lock is a contract with the lender that guarantees you a prevailing interest rate. You must also agree to buy the loan at that rate within a specific time period, usually in 60 days. If the rate rises, you're covered. Use a mortgage calculator to compute the monthly payment at different interest rates. If you find a rate that is around or below your limit, lock into that rate at that time or bow out of the game. When rates do dip below your maximum limit, be as prepared as possible -- clear away any obstacles if they arise so you don't miss out. Some lenders may offer you the chance to get a lower rate if you've already been locked in. This is called a "float down," which means the prevailing rates drop, even after you have secured a lower rate. Be mindful that these specific contracts vary. Don't just check out one lender when shopping around for a good mortgage rate. Since interest rates go up and down constantly, different lenders may offer different products. Some may offer the best mortgage rates for homebuyers, but not for those who want to refinance. It's best to try a mix of institutions from a direct lender, credit union or a community bank. After deciding on which lender, inquire about fees associated with the loan. A mortgage at a lower rate may end up costing you more because of the fees that add up in the end. Some lenders combine all of their fees into what's called a loan preparation fee and others separate them out, so it's important to ask for the total amount it will cost to close out the loan. Once everything is squared away, decide when you want to close. Discuss your intended target date with the lender and ask about the charges for loan lock periods. You want to lock in the best rate for the right length of time. 5 Big Trades for a Market Top BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Has the market already topped? Well, only in the most literal sense. Ongoing conflict in Syria is spooking the stock market this week, as Wall Street worries about the possibility that the U.S. will get involved in the action. Stocks fell hard on Tuesday, after Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to the media about the possibility of military response to gas attacks in the country. Yesterday's rebound barely made a dent in getting the big indexes out of the red. But while U.S. equities are in make-or-break mode again this week, it's a bit early to call it a top. Let's not forget that the S&P 500 is a mere 4.4% off of all-time highs now -- and the big index still higher today than it was anytime up until this summer. Nope, a crash this isn't. But the increased anxiety is creating some tradable opportunities right now. Today, we're taking a technical look at five of them. If you're new to technical analysis, here's the executive summary. Technicals are a study of the market itself. Since the market is ultimately the only mechanism that determines a stock's price, technical analysis is a valuable tool even in the roughest of trading conditions. Technical charts are used every day by proprietary trading floors, Wall Street's biggest financial firms, and individual investors to get an edge on the market. And research shows that skilled technical traders can bank gains as much as 90% of the time. Every week, I take an in-depth look at big names that are telling important technical stories. Here's this week's look at five high-volume stocks to trade this week. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Up first, it makes sense to take a look at the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). After all, SPY is the most investible proxy for the S&P 500 index -- and one of the best way to "buy stocks" in general. A quick look at the chart should tell you everything you need to know about this stock. You don't have to be an expert technical analyst to see that SPY is still in an uptrend. Even though the uptrend in stocks got shifted lower with June's correction, the trendline connecting this rally's lows is very well defined right now -- and it's getting tested this week. A breakdown below trendline support would be a very negative signal for stocks in the intermediate term. But as of yet, it hasn't happened. In fact, tests of trendline support have historically been the optimal time to buy shares on the way up. So with SPY testing its price floor again now, it makes sense to buy early signs of a bounce. Buying off a support bounce makes sense for two big reasons: It's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong). The bottom line is this: It's still way too early to turn bearish on this market. Chevron Surprisingly, one of the names that's correlating the highest with the S&P 500 right now is oil and gas supermajor Chevron (CVX). Just like the S&P, Chevron is trading in a very well-defined trend channel. The key difference is that the Chevron trade is further along; this stock is bouncing off of trendline support this week. That means it's time to be a buyer. Commodities and materials stocks are seeing some buoyancy this week, but Chevron's price action is different -- it's been more sustained over the course of 2013. This stock's proximity to trendline support right now makes it the best-in-breed oil name in my view. As geopolitical risks propel oil prices, the real story at CVX is the fact that support is just a few points away. That makes Chevron a great setup from a risk management perspective. Speaking of risk management, if you decide to jump into shares here, I'd recommend keeping a protective stopprotective stop just above the 200-day moving average. Wal-Mart Not all blue chip names look quite as bullish right now -- take Wal-Mart (WMT). The retail behemoth looks downright "toppy" thanks to a long-term bearish setup that's been playing out in shares. Now, this stock is very close to triggering a sell (or short) signal for traders. Wal-Mart is currently forming a double top, a price setup that's formed by two swing highs at the same level. A move through $72.50 support signals that the last contingent of buyers have gotten swatted out of this stock, and it's time to be a seller. This morning, WMT is perilously close to that $72.50 breakdown level. That said, don't consider this pattern triggered until WMT moves materially though it. Support at $66 looks like a reasonable downside target for this stock. Investors looking for a bargain-priced entry in WMT should hold out for shares to hit $66 before trying to go long. For the time being, bears are stacked in this stock. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Things are looking a whole lot more promising for another chain based in the south, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL). This small-cap restaurant stock has been on a tear in 2013, rallying more than 54% since the calendar flipped over to January. And now, a bullish price setup points to even more upside in the second half of the year. CBRL is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a price setup formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $102, and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as CBRL bounces in between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $102 price ceiling. When that happens, it makes sense to be a buyer. Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of buyers and sellers. Triangles, double tops, and other price pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in this stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares. That resistance line at $102, for example, is a price where there is an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to take recent gains and sell their shares than buyers are to buy. That's what makes the move above it so significant -- the breakout indicates that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level. The 50-day moving average has been a stellar proxy for support on the way up. I'd put a protective stop on the other side of it. Tesoro Petroleum Last up is Tesoro Petroleum (TSO), a petroleum refiner that hasn't enjoyed the strength of its peers in recent weeks. In fact, this stock looks downright bearish right now, thanks to a textbook topping signal in shares. Here's how to trade it. TSO is forming a head and shoulders top, a bearish reversal pattern that indicates exhaustion among buyers. The head and shoulders is formed by two swing highs that top out around the same level (the shoulders), separated by a bigger peak called the head; the sell signal comes on the breakdown below the pattern's "neckline" level, which was right at $50. The breakdown happened earlier this month. But traders are getting a second chance for a low-risk entry in a TSO short. That's because this stock pulled back to retest newfound resistance at the neckline. Indeed, there's still plenty of downside room left in this name right now. This is a long-term setup with long-term trading implications. To see this week's trades in action, check out this week's Must-See Charts portfolio on Stockpickr. -- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore. Qualcomm: Moving Into Wearables to Hunt for Growth Qualcomm (QCOM) surprised everyone with its plan to enter the wearable gadgets market. It has launched the first iteration of its smart watch called Toq. The watch is designed to serve as a second display to smartphone. This can be considered a smart move looking at the woes of Intel due to a shrinking PC market. Investors actually never thought of Qualcomm entering into the market so quickly given its deep entrenchment into the mobile computing space, just like Intel was tied up with chips & processors for the PC market and diversified very late. Perhaps, Qualcomm might be having such "smart surprises" in store for the future aimed at pleasing investors. Strong as It Is Qualcomm is strongly present in the mobile computing space and was an early mover in the 4G LTE connectivity field. The recent quarterly performance of the company has improved considerably. Qualcomm exceeded the consensus estimate for adjusted EPS excluding special items. The company increased its MSM shipment growth by 22% and shipped 172 million MSM (Mobile Station Modem) chips as compared to the same quarter last year. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 quad core chipset supports 3G/4G LTE modem with ultra HD graphics. In addition, it also offers a better battery life and faster clock speeds of up to 2.2 GHz. This makes it popular in the high-end smartphone segment. The company will also supply Snapdragon 800 processors to Samsung for Galaxy S4 LTE-A phones. The company is strongly attached to Apple's iPhone and iPad products as well as many Android-based devices, including the best-selling products from Samsung (OTC:SSNLF), Sony (SNE), HTC to name a few. It also surpassed Nvidia's (NVDA) Tegra line of chips in the second iteration of the Nexus 7 tablet from Google. Therefor, Qualcomm is well positioned for growth even under different competitive and market scenarios. The deployment of 4G LTE gaining momentum in the emerging markets of China and India should push the demand for Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 quad core processors. Qualcomm is planning to gain through its partnership with Bharti Airtel, the largest telecom operator in India. Given the fact that India has a huge telecom market with only 2% penetration of broadband service puts exciting opportunity for the company. Moving Into More Markets All major players in the smart devices industry are making moves to gain a foothold in the Chinese market being the largest market for smartphones. China Mobile (CHL), the world's largest telecom operator, has plans to deploy around 20,000 TD-LTE base stations by the end of 2013. It has selected Snapdragon and Gobi-based LTE-TD smart phones, since they are highly compatible with its network. Going forward this is bound to create a huge growth opportunity for Qualcomm. The penetration of smartphones in emerging markets is extremely low at just only 10% of the total population, according to Gartner. The global smartphone demand is expected to grow at an annual compounded rate of 20% from 2012 to 2017. Gartner is expecting a huge annual increase of 67.9% for the tablets in 2013 as this segment continues to gain market share at the expense of the declining PC market. 2014 is already being forecasted as a breakthrough year for smartwatches. Qualcomm plans to launch its own smart watch called Toq in the fourth quarter of 2013. Canalys projects that smartwatches sales will be exploding by the end of 2014 when vendors will ship more than 5 million units, a 900% increase from the number of units Canalys expects vendors to ship this year. Broadcom and NVIDIA Could Be Worries In the wireless segment, Broadcom (BRCM) is a major competitor of Qualcomm. Around 50% of Broadcom's revenue comes from this segment. But Broadcom has already lost a huge chunk of low-cost smartphone market to Qualcomm. Qualcomm's connectivity chips were chosen for the Motorola Moto X above Broadcom's products and the Samsung Galaxy S IV Mini. In addition, Broadcom's main earning technology is 3G solutions which are expected to be replaced in the next few years by 4G LTE solutions where Qualcomm already is a leader. Most of the analysts still remain very bullish on Broadcom even after disappointing earnings primarily because the stock is undervalued. However, one should think that if the stock is really undervalued then why has negative sentiment persisted for so long? Broadcom's market sentiment could further deteriorate if Apple decides to use Qualcomm's connectivity chips. The new RF360 Front End Solution chip of Qualcomm is expected to allow the iPhone to run on all 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks and thereby allow Apple to save on costs which would become critical for the mid-range/low-end market segment. Nvidia is another competitor of Qualcomm in the mobile computing space through its Tegra processors, with the latest launch of Tegra 4. Nvidia has partnered with th Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, which is quite popular in China through sales of its iPhone beating handset. Xiaomi appointed Hugo Barra, of Google to lead the company's international business development and prepares to take on Apple and Samsung overseas. In a long run, Xiaomi's win is an important win for Nvidia. Microsoft's Surface 2 tablets will also be powered by Nvidia's Tegra 4 platform. This is another important win although the Surface tablets are yet to gain popularity in the tablet market. Windows RT was a failure. There's a rumor in the tablet space that Nvidia is coming up with its own Tegra 4 powered tablet later this year. Conclusion In the mobile segment, Qualcomm is way ahead of peers. The company commands a major share of the global baseband market and plans to extend its expertise further by entering into the next popular emerging category of smartwatches. Therefore, investors looking for an ultimate investment opportunity in mobile must consider Qualcomm for their portfolios. Currently 0.00/512345 Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes) Subscribe via Email Subscribe RSS Comments Please leave your comment: More GuruFocus Links Latest Guru Picks Value Strategies Warren Buffett Portfolio Ben Graham Net-Net Real Time Picks Buffett-Munger Screener Aggregated Portfolio Undervalued Predictable ETFs, Options Low P/S Companies Insider Trends 10-Year Financials 52-Week Lows Interactive Charts Model Portfolios DCF Calculator RSS Feed Monthly Newsletters The All-In-One Screener Portfolio Tracking Tool MORE GURUFOCUS LINKS Latest Guru Picks Value Strategies Warren Buffett Portfolio Ben Graham Net-Net Real Time Picks Buffett-Munger Screener Aggregated Portfolio Undervalued Predictable ETFs, Options Low P/S Companies Insider Trends 10-Year Financials 52-Week Lows Interactive Charts Model Portfolios DCF Calculator RSS Feed Monthly Newsletters The All-In-One Screener Portfolio Tracking Tool QCOM STOCK PRICE CHART 79.88 (1y: +25%) $(function(){var seriesOptions=[],yAxisOptions=[],name='QCOM',display='';Highcharts.setOptions({global:{useUTC:true}});var d=new Date();$current_day=d.getDay();if($current_day==5||$current_day==0||$current_day==6){day=4;}else{day=7;} seriesOptions[0]={id:name,animation:false,color:'#4572A7',lineWidth:1,name:name.toUpperCase()+' stock price',threshold:null,data:[[1369717200000,64.07],[1369803600000,64.11],[1369890000000,64.18],[1369976400000,63.48],[1370235600000,63.23],[1370322000000,63.71],[1370408400000,63.15],[1370494800000,62.97],[1370581200000,62.1],[1370840400000,62.03],[1370926800000,61.66],[1371013200000,61.11],[1371099600000,61.96],[1371186000000,61.38],[1371445200000,62.07],[1371531600000,62.38],[1371618000000,61.91],[1371704400000,60.92],[1371790800000,60.67],[1372050000000,59.885],[1372136400000,61.81],[1372222800000,61.27],[1372309200000,61.08],[1372395600000,61.09],[1372654800000,60.96],[1372741200000,60.92],[1372827600000,60.91],[1373000400000,60.95],[1373259600000,59.99],[1373346000000,59.39],[1373432400000,60.44],[1373518800000,61.3],[1373605200000,62.02],[1373864400000,61.28],[1373950800000,61.85],[1374037200000,62.65],[1374123600000,61.115],[1374210000000,61.46],[1374469200000,62.21],[1374555600000,62.3],[1374642000000,61.39],[1374728400000,63.42],[1374814800000,64.61],[1375074000000,64.24],[1375160400000,64.51],[1375246800000,64.562],[1375333200000,65.27],[1375419600000,66.75],[1375678800000,66.25],[1375765200000,65.59],[1375851600000,65.21],[1375938000000,66.35],[1376024400000,66.27],[1376283600000,66.46],[1376370000000,67.25],[1376456400000,66.96],[1376542800000,66.95],[1376629200000,66.9],[1376888400000,66.33],[1376974800000,66.71],[1377061200000,66.57],[1377147600000,67.13],[1377234000000,67.15],[1377493200000,66.95],[1377579600000,66.021],[1377666000000,66.56],[1377752400000,66.71],[1377838800000,66.28],[1378184400000,66.75],[1378270800000,67.28],[1378357200000,67.83],[1378443600000,68.02],[1378702800000,69.299],[1378789200000,70.09],[1378875600000,68.09],[1378962000000,68.81],[1379048400000,68.58],[1379307600000,68.09],[1379394000000,69.42],[1379480400000,69.64],[1379566800000,69.46],[1379653200000,69.06],[1379912400000,68.98],[1379998800000,68.51],[1380085200000,68.75],[1380171600000,68.87],[1380258000000,6! 7.38],[1380517200000,67.32],[1380603600000,67.49],[1380690000000,67.68],[1380776400000,67.11],[1380862800000,68.02],[1381122000000,67.19],[1381208400000,66.35],[1381294800000,65.71],[1381381200000,66.84],[1381467600000,67.55],[1381726800000,67.75],[1381813200000,68.17],[1381899600000,68.87],[1381986000000,68.7],[1382072400000,68.402],[1382331600000,68.77],[1382418000000,68.92],[1382504400000,67.04],[1382590800000,66.94],[1382677200000,68.27],[1382936400000,68.54],[1383022800000,68.93],[1383109200000,69.04],[1383195600000,69.49],[1383282000000,69.9],[1383544800000,69.57],[1383631200000,69.005],[1383717600000,69.74],[1383804000000,67.09],[1383890400000,67.45],[1384149600000,67.62],[1384236000000,68.51],[1384322400000,70.03],[1384408800000,71.22],[1384495200000,72.17],[1384754400000,71.94],[1384840800000,71.84],[1384927200000,71.03],[1385013600000,71.71],[1385100000000,72.96],[1385359200000,72.49],[1385445600000,73.65],[1385532000000,73.56],[1385704800000,73.58],[1385964000000,73. Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom ) Blog Archive ►  2019 ( 37 ) ►  March ( 21 ) ►  February ( 16 ) ►  2018 ( 21 ) ►  August ( 1 ) ►  July ( 10 ) ►  June ( 2 ) ►  May ( 8 ) ►  2016 ( 1 ) ►  December ( 1 ) ►  2015 ( 83 ) ►  June ( 8 ) ►  May ( 11 ) ►  April ( 4 ) ►  March ( 12 ) ►  February ( 15 ) ►  January ( 33 ) ▼  2014 ( 314 ) ►  December ( 18 ) ►  November ( 5 ) ►  October ( 10 ) ►  September ( 13 ) ►  August ( 10 ) ►  July ( 13 ) ►  June ( 49 ) ▼  May ( 46 ) Test Drive: 2015 Hyundai Genesis a winner Wolff: The unlikely marriage of Apple and Beats Can nothing stop the ‘Teflon Bull’ market? Bernanke Saves Companies $700 Billion as Verizon L... Top 10 Promising Companies To Watch In Right Now Baron Funds Comments on Mitsui Fudosan Apple buying Beats for $3 billion It's on: Apple cranks up the Beats for $3 billion How To Properly Research For The Best Mortgage Rate 5 Big Trades for a Market Top Qualcomm: Moving Into Wearables to Hunt for Growth The Temporary Staffing Industry is About to Get Sh... The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) Q1 Earnings Preview... New home sales rise better-than-expected 6.4% Here’s Why Cott Corporation Is a Long-Term Buy Best Things to Buy at Whole Foods Campbell Soup shares plunge on lower outlook 5 Trucks That Don't Cost Big Bucks Best Industrial Conglomerate Companies To Watch In... Is Small Cap Robotics Stock iRobot Corporation (IR... Who Is Buying Gold At $1,290 And Why? 5 Best Income Stocks To Watch Right Now Will Disney (DIS) Stock Be Affected By Theme Park ... Best Tech Companies To Buy For 2015 Small Cap Gevo, Inc (GEVO) Still Can’t Turn a Pr... Rocked By Red Lobster, Darden Stock Down 4% Mid-Day Market Update: Nordstrom Rises On Upbeat R... Yahoo! Inc. Winks as It Buys Blink App Like Clockwork, Arotech Perks Up Again - Time to A... Stock Exchanges Bust Wild Trades in AOL, Let Other... 4 Small-Cap Stocks to Scoop Up While They’re on Sale Top Portfolio Products: iShares Rolls Out Commodit... Forget Facebook, This Is The Social Media Stock To... InSite Vision Regained Development Rights for AzaS... Top 10 Paper Stocks To Invest In 2015 Palaveev: First Allied Sale Part of a ‘Second Wa... US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Jobless Clai... Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks To Invest In 2015 Detroit bankruptcy costs hit $36 million Baron Funds Comments on Manchester United plc CEO Quits; Is Now the Time to Invest in Target? Too Late for Stocks? Not for the Investor... Best Services Stocks To Own Right Now Podcasting in peril? Trial showdown in September How to Find Live Entertainment for Less Abrams: Pricey Net plans hurt entrepreneurs ►  April ( 52 ) ►  March ( 43 ) ►  February ( 17 ) ►  January ( 38 ) ►  2013 ( 1390 ) ►  December ( 50 ) ►  November ( 51 ) ►  October ( 46 ) ►  September ( 30 ) ►  August ( 43 ) ►  July ( 110 ) ►  June ( 125 ) ►  May ( 134 ) ►  April ( 126 ) ►  March ( 284 ) ►  February ( 183 ) ►  January ( 208 ) ►  2012 ( 1639 ) ►  December ( 249 ) ►  November ( 206 ) ►  October ( 230 ) ►  September ( 183 ) ►  August ( 201 ) ►  July ( 225 ) ►  June ( 242 ) ►  May ( 103 ) About Me Stock Broker View my complete profile Powered by Blogger.