Sunday, May 31, 2015

Netflix at $8.99 is Still a Bargain

TV-Q and A-Taylor Schilling Paul Schiraldi/Netflix/APThe second season of "Orange Is the New Black" debuts on Netflix on June 6. Binge viewing is about to get a little more expensive. True to its word, Netflix (NFLX) announced on Friday that the rate for its streaming plan will go up a buck to $8.99. Netflix is freezing rates for current members at $7.99 a month for the next two years. Netflix closed out its latest quarter with more than 35 million domestic subscribers and more than 48 million members worldwide. That's a lot of people with an incentive to stick around, but it's not as if $8.99 a month will scare potential viewers away. Netflix is still one of the best deals in premium video entertainment, and it knows it. 17.5 Channels of Quality Entertainment Letting Netflix go is easy. It's a simple service to cancel. The rub comes in finding cheaper ways to entertain oneself. Forget cable and satellite television. Those tabs can run into the triple digits, and that's with most channels going unwatched. Ratings tracker Nielsen put out a shocking metric last week, reporting that families in this country average only watch 17.5 of the 189 TV channels in their subscription plans. Yes, we're watching just 9 percent of the channels that we pay for. There are other forms of premium entertainment, of course. Time Warner's (TWX) HBO is the largest premium movie channel. It's home to "Game of Thrones," "Girls," "Veep" and a rotating slate of fresh home video releases. Subscribers have access to HBO Go, tapping the channel's vault of classic HBO shows and content for your streaming pleasure. But HBO costs nearly twice as much as Netflix. Oh, and you also need to have an existing cable or satellite television plan. HBO Go is a standalone offering in select foreign markets. Amazon.com (AMZN) has a growing catalog of streaming content that it makes available at no extra cost to members of its Amazon Prime loyalty shopping club. It can no longer be considered Netflix Lite, either, especially after landing licensing deals to content that's not available on Netflix. From "Downton Abbey" to Viacom's (VIA) Nickelodeon and Comedy Central content, Amazon's a reasonable option. Later this month several older HBO shows will be available on Amazon Prime Instant. However, Amazon Prime went for an even bigger price hike this year, boosting its annual rate from $79.99 to $99 for the year. That does include free two-day shipping through Amazon.com on merchandise and other digital perks, but Netflix's catalog remains substantially larger for what are now comparable prices. The Joys of an Expanding Digital Ecosystem Netflix spends a lot of money on content. It had $7.1 billion tied up in streaming content obligations as of the end of March, up from last year's $5.7 billion in tally. Netflix has more customers so it can invest in more content. That's the beauty of this expanding and scalable model. Netflix has committed 25 percent more in future content over the past year, and it can do that because it's dividing the costs between the 33 percent more subscribers it has now than it did a year earlier. The math works in Netflix's favor, but the math is even strong for consumers. They're getting more content. The pool of content grows, and since we're talking about digital assets, every single subscriber has access to more and more shows and movies whenever they want to watch. Naturally this perk of escalating content will go the other way if subscriber growth stalls or begins to decline. This could be why Netflix went with a modest 12.5 percent increase in price instead of the 25 percent uptick to $9.99 a month that it had also considered. However, as long as Netflix keeps growing -- and we're at 48.35 million streaming accounts and counting -- it should be more than worth the updated price for new subscribers.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Top 5 US Stocks To Own Right Now

Top 5 US Stocks To Own Right Now: United Parcel Service Inc.(UPS)

United Parcel Service, Inc., a package delivery company, provides transportation, logistics, and financial services in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain & Freight. The U.S. Domestic Package segment engages in the time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages in the United States. The International Package segment offers air and ground delivery of small packages and letters to approximately 220 countries and territories, including shipments outside the United States, as well as shipments with either origin or distribution outside the United States; export services; and domestic services move shipments within a country?s borders. The Supply Chain & Freight segment provides forwarding and logistics services, such as supply chain design and management, freight distribution, customs brokerage, mail, and consulting services in approximately 195 countries and territorie s; and less-than-truckload and truckload services to customers in North America. In addition, the company offers various technology solutions for automated shipping, visibility, and billing; information technology systems and distribution facilities to various industries comprising healthcare, technology, and consumer/retail; and a portfolio of financial services that provides customers with short-term working capital, government guaranteed lending, global trade financing, credit cards, and export financing. It operates a fleet of approximately 99,800 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; an air fleet of 527 aircraft; and 33,800 containers used to transport cargo in its aircraft. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said fourth quarter revenue per package declined by 1.3%. The company also said revenues! in its supply chain and freight segment fell 5.8% to $2.3 billion due primarily to reduced tonnage and lower revenue per kilogram in the companys international air freight group.

  • [By Chad Tracy]

    Unlike transportation industry titans FedEx (NYSE: FDX) or UPS (NYSE: UPS), C.H. Robinson does not own a fleet of trucks that transport goods. Instead, it specializes in logistics. Other companies hire C.H. Robinson to make their transportation services more efficient.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-5-us-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Friday, May 29, 2015

Top 5 Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Telecom Companies To Buy Right Now: Ziggo NV (ZIGGO)

Ziggo NV is the Netherlands-based provider of entertainment, information and communication through television, Internet and telephony services. The Company provides digital, interactive and high definition (HD) television, broadband Internet, data communication and telephony services to both private and corporate customers. To business customers, it offers services over the network. For home use and small business, they are provided through business bundles and packages, such as Office Basis, Internet Plus and All-in-1. Ziggo NV serves around 3 million households, with almost 1.8 million Internet subscribers, more than 2.2 million subscribers using digital television and about 1.4 million telephony subscribers. Additionally, it operates a music streaming service, Ziggo Muziek, and a fiber optic network. The Company is wholly owned by Zesko Holding BV and has several subsidiaries, such as Zesko BV, Ziggo Bond Company Holding BV and Ziggo Bond Company BV, among others. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sarah Jones]

    Ziggo NV (ZIGGO), a Dutch cable-television operator, advanced 4.5 percent to 29.58 euros, after Vodafone confirmed it approached Kabel Deutschland. Liberty Global Inc., which owns an 18 percent stake in Ziggo, had also considered bidding for the German company, two people familiar with the matter said in April.

  • source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-telecom-companies-to-buy-right-now-2.html

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Ibio Inc (IBIO)

iBio, Inc. (iBio), incorporated on April 17, 2008, is a biotechnology company focused on commercializing its technologies, the iBioLaunch platform for vaccines and therapeutic proteins, as well as the iBioModulator platform for vaccine enhancement. Vaccine candidates on its platform are applicable to newly emerging strains of hemagglutinin type 1 and neuraminidase type 1 (H1N1), swine-like influenza, hemagglutinin type 5 and neuraminidase type 1 (H5N1) avian influenza, yellow fever, and anthrax. The Company licenses or otherwise grants use rights to government and non-governmental organization (NGO) entities for not-for-profit applications of the intellectual property for the development or application for which they granted or were granted funding, and to Fraunhofer USA, Inc. (FhCMB) for research purposes and applications in other fields.

The Companys platform technology is referred to as iBioLaunch technology or the iBioLaunch platform, and the category o f this technology is referred to as plant-based technology or as a plant-based platform. The Company has exclusive control over, and the rights to ownership of, the intellectual property related to all human health and veterinary influenza applications of the plant-based technology developed by FhCMB. Its property consists of the technology platform pursuant, to which hydroponically grown green plants can be used for the accelerated development and manufacture of high-value proteins of interest as candidate therapeutic products and vaccines applicable to a range of disease agents, such as influenza, sleeping sickness, anthrax, plague, human papillomavirus (HPV), and veterinary influenza applications.

Through FhCMB and their funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it is developing vaccine candidates targeting pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) viruses based upon the iBioLaunch platform. These candidates have demonstrated immunogenicity an! d have been succ essfully tested in mice and ferrets for protective efficacy. Like its candidate vaccines for seasonal influenza, its candidate vaccines for avian influenza are subunit vaccines. iBio has commercial rights to vaccine candidates developed pursuant to its business structure based on fusing a protein component of HPV called the E7 antigen, to the LicKM protein of the bacterium Clostridium thermocellum. It has commercial rights to an oral anthrax booster vaccine candidate developed by FhCMB in collaboration with the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC).

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    If the name Ibio Inc. (NYSEMKT:IBIO) rings a bell, it may be because I put some bullish thoughts into print regarding the stock back on June 21st. I reiterated my optimism on July 12th. What can I say? It's fun to be right. IBIO shares have advanced 17% since my first look in late June. Then again, most of that big jump has unfurled in the last couple of days, meaning Ibio Inc. is overbought. Do we trust the breakout move, or do we fear a pullback? Answer: That depends.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    With just a quick glance, Ibio Inc. (NYSEMKT:IBIO) doesn't look like anything particularly special. The stock's just bouncing around, and we've not heard any particularly meaningful news from IBIO in a few weeks.

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-building-product-stocks-to-watch-right-now-2.html

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2016

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2016: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Moreover, it's starting to appear that Clorox has weathered a tough part of its business cycle. Throughout the industry, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) , Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and Clorox all had to deal with rising costs for the inputs they needed to make their respective products. The companies responded by implementing price-cutting measures and passing on part of their higher costs to their customers. For its part, Clorox was able to expand its gross margins by a full percentage point, with a worse-than-normal flu season contributing to sales. Now that input-cost inflation is easing, P&G and Clorox expect to see better profitability, with growth starting to approach the faster rates that Colgate has enjoyed.

  • [By Dividends4Life]

    Memberships and Peers: KMB is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: The company's peer group includes: Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) with a 3.1% yield, Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) with a 2.3% yield, and Clorox Corporation (CLX) with a 3.4% yield.

  • source from ! Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-blue-chip-stocks-to-buy-for-2016-2.html

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Lower Government Deficit Comes With Mixed Encouragement

The U.S. Treasury released its Budget statement for January 2014 on Wednesday afternoon. The deficit of $10.4 billion was far narrower than the $30.8 billion deficit expected by Bloomberg. It even came close to beating all deficit estimates from economists.

January’s full treasury report shows $296 billion in total receipts versus $306 billion in outlays. Growth is helping to trim the government’s deficit. The current fiscal deficit of $184 billion for 2014 is basically $100 billion less than the same Treasury deficit that we had seen at the same time a year ago.

Receipts are up 8.2%. Economic growth is helping, but last month’s end of the nation’s extended unemployment benefits has shaved about $7 billion off of the deficit. Spending was shown to be down 2.8%.

Top Prefered Companies To Watch For 2016

There are many things to point to which could create an exception, but this is a monthly number that not many readers want to go too deep into. Just keep in mind that at the end of January the debt held by the public was just over $12.3 trillion and the total government debt including $4.98 trillion in intragovernmental holdings came to $17.29 trillion.

Again, good news… even if the real good news would be that we could start working that deficit down rather than just keeping score by the deficit growing at slower dollar amounts than in the past.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Best Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2016

Best Life Sciences Companies To Watch For 2016: PulteGroup Inc.(PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in homebuilding and financial services businesses primarily in the United States. The company?s homebuilding business includes the acquisition and development of land primarily for residential purposes within the United States; and the construction of housing on such lands. It offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhouses, condominiums, and duplexes under the Pulte Homes, Del Webb, and Centex brand names. As of December 31, 2011, its homebuilding operations offered homes for sale in approximately 700 communities. The company?s financial services business consists of mortgage banking and title operations. It arranges financing through the origination of mortgage loans for its homebuyers; sells such loans and related servicing rights; and provides title insurance policies as an agent, and examination and closing services to its home buyers. The company was formerly known as Pulte Homes, Inc. an d changed its name to PulteGroup, Inc. in March 2010. PulteGroup, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    The Q4 2014 earnings report for small cap homebuilder stock KB Home (NYSE: KBH), a peer of mid caps D.R. Horton, Inc (NYSE: DHI), Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) and PulteGroup, Inc (NYSE: PHM), is scheduled for before the market opens on Tuesday (January 13th). Aside from the KB Home earnings report, it should be said that D.R. Horton, Inc will report Q1 2015 earnings on January 26th, Lennar Corporation will report Q4 2014 earnings next Thursday morning (January 15th) and the PulteGroup, Inc will report Q4 2014 earnings on January 29th. However, the technical charts for all four homebuilder stocks are showing uptrends since hitting October bottoms.!

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    But who care about that right? You’re here for the stocks, so without further ado: AK Steel (AKS), teen-retailer Five Below (FIVE), FireEye (FEYE), GameStop (GME), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MBIA (MBI), Peabody Energy (BTU), PulteGroup (PHM), Twitter (TWTR).

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-life-sciences-companies-to-watch-for-2016.html

Monday, May 25, 2015

Obama hails new GM CEO Mary Barra

The rise of leaders like General Motors CEO Mary Barra illustrates the "strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams," President Obama said Tuesday night.

With Barra watching alongside first lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address, the president praised her as he spelled out a plan for reinvigorating America's manufacturing sector.

In other automotive aspects in the speech, Obama pushed Congress to green-light natural gas fueling stations for vehicles — a priority GM has supported — and he signaled plans to boost fuel economy requirements for heavy trucks.

Obama singled out Barra, who took control of GM two weeks ago, as cameras trained on her.

"Our success should depend not on accident of birth, but the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams," Obama said. "It's how the daughter of a factory worker is CEO of America's largest automaker."

The president also told the growth story of Detroit Manufacturing Systems, a Ford parts supplier that has grown rapidly after Rush established the company. The manufacturer has added more than 600 employees in Detroit in the last year and a half.

"Two years ago, as the auto industry came roaring back, (founder) Andra Rush opened up a manufacturing firm in Detroit. She knew that Ford needed parts for the best-selling truck in America, and she knew how to make them. She just needed the workforce," Obama said. "So she dialed up what we call an American Job Center — places where folks can walk in to get the help or training they need to find a new job, or better job. She was flooded with new workers."

Hot India Companies For 2016

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Sunday, May 24, 2015

Meet CNNMoney's new Tech 30 stock index

tech 30 tout 2

The CNNMoney Tech 30 index measures the performance of 30 major technology stocks around the world.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Meet the CNNMoney Tech 30: an index of the most important tech stocks.

The goal of the Tech 30 is to give CNNMoney readers a daily look at how shares of the most influential technology companies are faring.

The editors and writers of CNNMoney's technology team picked the 30 companies. To qualify, the stocks had to have shares publicly traded in the United States that are easy for the average investor to buy. (Sorry, Samsung!)

Top 5 Warren Buffett Stocks To Own Right Now

The Tech 30 is a mix of the industry's giants, such as Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500), Facebook (FB, Fortune 500), Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500).

But we also included Chinese tech titans Baidu (BIDU) and Sina (SINA), European heavyweights SAP (SAP) and ARM Holdings (ARMH) and leaders in more specialized industries such as video game companies Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (EA), security firm Symantec (SYMC, Fortune 500) and online travel king Priceline (PCLN, Fortune 500).

Check out the entire CNNMoney Tech 30 portfolio

The pure-tech focus differs from other tech stock barometers. The Nasdaq, for example, is often cited as a "tech index" but only 42% of the composite is made up of tech companies. The S&P 500 Information Technology index includes several stocks that aren't typically considered at the cutting edge of tech, such as MasterCard (MA, Fortune 500), money transfer service Western Union (WU, Fortune 500) and consulting firm Accenture (ACN).

To track the performance of the Tech 30 index, we! "invested" $1,000 in play money in each of the 30 stocks on January 2, 2014. So the baseline for the index is $30,000.

The CNNMoney Tech 30 portfolio page displays values for both the index as a whole and the specific stocks. The graphic at the top of the page measures the stocks' performance relative to one another from the beginning of the year. The bubbles for the better-performing stocks will appear larger.

We don't plan to make regular changes to the Tech 30. But if a current Tech 30 company is acquired or goes private, we'll replace it by "investing" in a different stock.

We may also choose to add shares of newly public companies when appropriate. Twitter (TWTR), for example, was not on our original list when we first started thinking about creating the index last summer. But we knew we had to add Twitter to the Tech 30 once it filed for its initial public offering.

We'll include the Tech 30's performance in our daily market writes as well as in stories from our investing and technology writers about these 30 companies.

Check out the CNNMoney Tech 30 here. To top of page

Thursday, May 21, 2015

5 Best Heal Care Stocks For 2016

5 Best Heal Care Stocks For 2016: Southern Cross Exploration NL (SXX)

Southern Cross Exploration NL is an Australia-based company engaged in the investment in the Bigrlyi Uranium Joint Venture, on which pre-development investigations and further drilling were carried out; exploration for gold and minerals, reviews of opportunities for participation in and/or acquisition of mineral exploration and mining ventures, and examination of projects in respect of different commodities, share investments, loans and other securities. The Bigrlyi project is located in the Ngalia Basin, northwest of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory. The Company's interest in the Bigrlyi Uranium Joint Venture is one of its assets, in joint venture with two multi-billion dollar companies, CGNPC - via the Operator, Energy Metals Ltd (EME) - and Paladin Energy Ltd (PDN). Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By idahansen]

    Due to the impact of The Great Recession, stocks in the agricultural sector such as Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), The Mosiac Company (NYSE: MOS), and Potash of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) are trading well below highs. The exchange traded fund for the industry, DBA Power Shares, (NYSE: DBA), is down more than 17% for the last year. Despite this bearish trend, legendary investors such as Warren Buffett, George Soros, and Jim Rogers are very positive for the agriculture group. With the long term bullish outlook for the sector from the greatest investors in history, small cap stocks active in the fertilizer sector such as Sirius Minerals (LSE: SXX) and Americas Petrogas (TSX: BOE) are especially attractive.

  • source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/5-best-heal-care-stocks-for-2016.html

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Hot Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015

Call my office Jan. 28, and you'll get the following message: "PlanningShop is closed for our annual business plan meeting. Please leave a message."

Every January in my small business, we develop an annual business plan.

COLUMN: Want to survive? Time to plan
COLUMN: Uncertain times call for better planning

But this year, we have a new twist to our planning: We're focusing on just one word, one key business issue. We're creating a one-word business plan.

To help us in our annual planning, we're using a time-tested tool: a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

We're evaluating our business on those factors, looking through the prism of the one word ��the one critical concern ��that we're choosing as the focus of our business planning session. You can get a free, downloadable template from me at the bottom of this column.

10 Best International Stocks To Invest In Right Now: RPM International Inc.(RPM)

RPM International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells various specialty chemical products to industrial and consumer markets worldwide. The company?s Industrial segment offers waterproofing and institutional roofing systems used in building protection, maintenance, and weatherproofing applications; sealants, tapes, and foams; residential basement waterproofing systems; specialized roofing and building maintenance and related services; specialty industrial adhesives and sealants; and concrete and masonry additives, and related construction chemicals. It also offers polymer flooring systems, and offshore and marine structures; industrial and commercial tile systems; fiberglass reinforced plastic gratings and shapes; heavy-duty corrosion-control coatings, fireproofing products, and containment linings; specialty construction products, including bridge expansion joints, bridge deck and parking deck membranes, curb and channel drains, highway markings, protective coatings, and concrete repairs; and fluorescent colorants and pigments, waterproofing and flooring products, exterior insulating finishing systems, and shellac-based-specialty coatings for industrial and pharmaceutical uses, edible glazes, and food coatings. The company?s Consumer segment provides professional use and do-it-yourself products for a range of consumer applications, including home improvement and personal leisure activities. Its products include coating products; specialty products; deck and fence restoration products; metallic and faux finish coatings; hobby paints and cements; and caulks, sealants, adhesives, insulating foam, spackling, glazing, and other general patch and repair products. The company offers its products under the Carboline, DAP, EUCO, Fibergrate, Flecto, Flowcrete, Hummervoll, Universal Sealants, illbruck, Rust-Oleum, Stonhard, Tremco, Watco, and Zinsser brand names. RPM International was founded in 1947 and is headquarte red in Medina, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Specialty coatings manufacturer RPM International� (NYSE: RPM  ) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.225 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past three quarters after raising the payout almost 5% from $0.215 per share.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    RPM International (NYSE: RPM) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $1.13 billion.

    Zep (NYSE: ZEP) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $179.09 million.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM) shares dropped 2.44% to $47.88 in pre-market trading after the company reported results for its fiscal 2015 second quarter and lowered its earnings forecast.

Hot Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc (BEE)

Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (SHR), incorporated on January 27, 2004, operates as a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� portfolio included 18 full-service hotel interests located in urban and resort markets in the United States; Punta Mita, Nayarit, Mexico; Hamburg, Germany, and London, England. SHR conducts its operations through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including its operating partnership, Strategic Hotel Funding, L.L.C. (SH Funding), which holds all of the Company�� assets. SHR is the sole managing member of SH Funding and held approximately 99% of its membership units as of February 27, 2013. SHR manages all business aspects of SH Funding, including the sale and purchase of hotels, the investment in these hotels and the financing of SH Funding and its assets. In September 2012, it acquired the JW Marriott Essex House Hotel in New York City. In October 2013, the Company announced that it has sold the Lakeshore Athletic Club property adjacent to the Fairmont Chicago hotel.

As of December 31, 2012, SH Funding owned interests in or leased 18 hotels, which included Fairmont Chicago, Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Four Seasons Jackson Hole, Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort, Four Seasons Silicon Valley, Four Seasons Washington, D.C., Hotel del Coronado, Hyatt Regency La Jolla, InterContinental Chicago, InterContinental Miami, JW Marriott Essex House Hotel, Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Marriott Hamburg, Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, Marriott London Grosvenor Square, Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel and Westin St. Francis.

The Hotel del Coronado is operated by a specialty management company, KSL Resorts. As of February 27, 2013, the Company wholly owned or leased 14 hotels, had a 53.5% and 51.0% interest in an affiliate that owned a hotel where it asset managed such hotel, and had 50.0% and 36.4% interests in, and acted as asset manager for, two affiliates that eac! h owned one hotel, and owned land held for development, including 20.5 acres of oceanfront land adjacent to its Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort, Nayarit, Mexico and 60 acres of oceanfront land near the Four Seasons Punta Mita Resort; a 20,000 square-foot parcel of land on the ocean in Santa Monica, California adjacent to its Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel entitled for development and residential units; a 50% interest in an affiliate that owned 10 acres of land adjacent to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel, and a 31% interest in an affiliate with two parties that was developing the fractional ownership program known as the Four Seasons Residence Club Punta Mita.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marshall Hargrave]

    Well, that's exactly the case with Strategic Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: BEE), the only publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses exclusively on the luxury hotel and resort markets.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    In a perfect world, an investor could simply look at a company's history and its plausible earnings forecasts, and jump in (or out) knowing the stock's current price basically made sense with respect to past and future performance. We don't live or trade in a perfect world though. In the world we're actually in right now, most stocks, sectors, and industries have run up far beyond a justifiable value... perhaps except for hotel and lodging REIT stocks Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE:HST), Strategic Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE:BEE), and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB).

Hot Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: Micron Technology Inc.(MU)

Micron Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and marketing of semiconductor devices worldwide. Its products include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) products that provide data storage and retrieval, which include DDR2 and DDR3; and other specialty DRAM memory products, including DDR, SDRAM, DDR and DDR2 mobile low power DRAM, pseudo-static RAM, and reduced latency DRAM. The company also offers NAND flash memory products, which are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor devices that retain content when power is turned off. In addition, it provides NOR flash memory products that are electrically re-writeable and non-volatile semiconductor memory devices; phase change memory products; and image sensor products. Micron Technology?s products are used in a range of electronic applications, including personal computers, workstations, network servers, mobile phones, flash memory cards, USB storage devices, digital still c ameras, MP3/4 players, and in automotive applications. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers and retailers through internal sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors, as well as through a Web-based customer direct sales channel. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.25 per share on revenue of $2.71 billion.

    Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE: VAC) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.39 per share on revenue of $400.32 million.

  • [By Piyush Arora]

    This supply shortage pushed DRAM even higher, boosting the profit margins of Micron (NASDAQ: MU  ) , SK Hynix, and Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF  ) . However, in light of some recent developments, there is reason to believe that this pricing advantage enjoyed by DRAM manufacturers could be short lived.

  • [By Mani]

    Micron Technology, Inc.(NASDAQ:MU) should get increased returns in 2014 from its supplier deal with Inotera Memories, Inc., a leading Taiwanese DRAM memory maker. The deal should improve margins and profitability this year for Micron.

  • [By STOCKPICKR]

     

     

    Nearest Resistance: $35��br>Nearest Support: $27��br>Catalyst: Buyback News

     

    Micron Technology (MU) is up more than 3% this afternoon, rallying on heavy volume following the announcement of a $1 billion stock repurchase authorization. At current levels, that discretionary buyback authorization means that MU can pick up approximately 3% of its outstanding shares.

     

    From a technical standpoint, Micron's long-term uptrend is showing some cracks. Shares have been forming a broadening pattern for the last few months, a bearish price pattern that's formed by diverging trend lines. If MU can continue to hold support at $30, then the topping concerns can be ignored. Otherwise, if $30 gets violated, look out for a break of the trend line further down.

     

Hot Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (CCE)

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. produces, distributes, and markets non-alcoholic beverages in Europe. It provides a range of beverage categories, including energy drinks, still and sparkling waters, juices, sports drinks, fruit drinks, coffee-based beverages, and teas. The company primarily offers its products under Coca-Cola, Diet Coke/Coke light, Fanta, Coca-Cola Zero, Capri Sun, Schweppes, Sprite, Chaudfontaine, MinuteMaid, and Dr. Pepper brands. It provides its products to customers and consumers through licensed territory agreements in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jon C. Ogg]

    Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) was raised to the prized Conviction Buy List from Neutral with a $47 price target at Goldman Sachs, sending shares up almost 3% to $38.50 on the upgrade.

Hot Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: Steel Excel Inc (SXCL)

Steel Excel Inc., formerly ADPT Corp., incorporated in 1981, is primarily focused on capital redeployment and identification of new business operations. The identification of new business operations includes, but is not limited to, the oilfield servicing, sports, training, education, entertainment and lifestyle businesses. The Company operates in two segments: oilfield servicing and sports-related segment. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired two sports-related businesses and one oilfield servicing business. On June 27, 2011, the Company acquired Baseball Heaven LLC and Baseball Cafe, Inc. On August 15, 2011, the Company acquired The Show, LLC. On December 7, 2011, the Company acquired Rogue Pressure Services, LLC. On February 9, 2012, the Company acquired Eagle Well Services, Inc. In May 2012, the Company acquired Sun Well Service, Inc. Effective December 16, 2013, Steel Excel Inc acquired Black Hawk Energy Services Inc, a provider of oil and gas field services.

The Company�� oilfield servicing segment provides services in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Services include snubbing services (controlled installation and removal of all tubulars - drill strings and production strings) in and out of the wellbore with the well under full pressure, flowtesting, and hydraulic work over/simultaneous operations (allows customers to perform multiple tasks on multiple wells on one pad at the same time). The Company�� sports-related services segment provides services related to marketing and providing baseball facility services, including training camps, summer camps, leagues and tournaments, concession and catering events and other events and related Websites. In addition, the Company outfit little league baseball and softball players and coaches in official major league baseball uniforms.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Geoff Gannon]

    1. Steel Excel (SXCL)
    2. FormFactor (FORM)
    3. Imation (IMN)
    4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
    5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
    6. Maxygen (MAXY)
    7. Westell (WSTL)
    8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
    9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)

Hot Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: PetroChina Company Limited(PTR)

PetroChina Company Limited produces and distributes oil and gas in the People?s Republic of China. It operates in four segments: Exploration and Production, Refining and Chemicals, Marketing, and Natural Gas and Pipeline. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, produces, and markets crude oil and natural gas, oilsands, and coalbed methane. As of December 31, 2010, it had 11,278 million barrels of proved reserves of crude oil; and 65,503 billion cubic feet of proved reserves of natural gas. The Refining and Chemicals segment engages in the refining of crude oil and petroleum products; and production and marketing of petrochemical products, derivative petrochemical products, and other chemical products. This segment?s product line comprises processed crude oil, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, ethylene, synthetic resins, synthetic fiber materials, polymers, synthetic rubber, and urea. The Marketing segment involves in the marketing of refined products and tradi ng businesses. It operated 17,996 service stations. The Natural Gas and Pipeline segment engages in the transmission of natural gas, crude oil, and refined products; and the sale of natural gas. It had a total length of 56,840 kilometers (km) of oil and gas pipelines, including 32,801 km of natural gas pipelines, 14,782 km of crude oil pipelines, and 9,257 km of refined product pipelines. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China. PetroChina Company Limited is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Chris Mydlo]

    PetroChina Co. Ltd. (PTR) is trading at its 10-year low P/S ratio of 0.60. The company produces and sells oil and gas in China. It is held by eight gurus we follow.

Hot Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: Endocyte Inc.(ECYT)

Endocyte, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. The company uses its proprietary technology to create novel small molecule drug conjugates (SMDCs) and companion imaging diagnostics. Its SMDCs target receptors that are over-expressed on diseased cells, relative to healthy cells. The company?s principal SMDC product candidate, EC145, has been evaluated in a randomized Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, and it also completed a Phase II single-arm clinical trial for pre-treated non-small cell lung cancer. Its preclinical development products include EC0489 and EC0225, which are in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of solid cancer tumors; EC17 that has completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of solid cancer tumors; EC0531, a tubulysin conjugate to treat solid tumors; and EC0746 and EC0565 foliate receptors for the reduction o f inflammation. The company?s products under development also comprise EC20, a proprietary companion imaging diagnostic product for the identification of folate receptor in cancer patients; EC1069 for prostate cancer therapy; and EC0652 that is in early clinical trials for use as a companion imaging diagnostic for SMDCs. Endocyte, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jason Shubnell]

    Endocyte (NASDAQ: ECYT) was down, falling 5.16 percent to $21.88 after the company priced 4.5 million shares of its common stock at $21.00 per share.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

     

    Endocyte (ECYT), a biopharmaceutical company, develops targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases in the U.S. This stock closed up 2.2% to $6.45 a share in Thursday's trading session.

     

    Thursday's Range: $6.14-$6.48

    52-Week Range: $6.01-$33.70

    Thursday's Volume: 893,000

    Three-Month Average Volume: 1.91 million

     

    From a technical perspective, ECYT jumped higher here right above its recent 52-week low of $6.01 with lighter-than-average volume. This move higher on Thursday is starting to push shares of ECYT within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if ECYT manages to clear some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.82 to $7.30 with high volume.

     

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ECYT as long as it's trending above its 52-week low of $6.01 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.91 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ECYT will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap-down-day zone from earlier this month that started above $17.50.

     

Hot Defense Companies To Own In Right Now

Worries over the sequester and looming defense belt-tightening notwithstanding, President Obama's proposed 2014 defense budget made surprisingly few cuts to defense spending. And, believe it or not, one area of defense spending �-- buried deep in the details -- is actually booming.

In this video, Fool contributor Rich Smith points out the numbers that show a surprising increase in spending on bombs and missiles -- and he'll name names for all the companies poised to profit from it.

Boeing operates as a major player in a multibillion-dollar defense market in which the opportunities and responsibilities are absolutely massive. However, emerging competitors and the company's execution problems have investors wondering whether Boeing will live up to its shareholder responsibilities. In our premium research report on the company, two of The Motley Fool's best minds on industrials have collaborated to provide investors with the key, must-know issues surrounding Boeing. They'll be updating the report as key news hits, so don't miss out -- simply click here now to claim your copy today.

Top 5 Canadian Stocks For 2016: Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc.(SPR)

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures commercial aerostructures worldwide. It operates in three segments: Fuselage Systems, Propulsion Systems, and Wing Systems. The Fuselage Systems segment develops, produces, and markets forward, mid, and rear fuselage sections and systems primarily to aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as well as offers related spares, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services. This segment also offers rotorcraft comprising forward cockpit and cabin for military aircrafts. The Propulsion Systems segment engages in the development, production, and marketing of struts/pylons; nacelles, including thrust reversers; and related engine structural components primarily to aircraft or engine OEMs, as well as provides related spares and MRO services. The Wing Systems segment develops, produces, and markets wings and wing components comprising flight control surfaces and other miscellaneous structural parts primarily to aircraft OEMs, as well as offers related spares and MRO services. This segment is also involved in designing, engineering, and manufacturing structural components for military aircrafts, including low observables that are radar absorbent and translucent materials; and radome new builds and refurbishment. It also provides other military services, such as fabrication, bonding, assembly, testing, tooling, processing, engineering analysis, and training. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. serves large commercial airplanes, business and regional jets, and military/helicopter sectors of the aerostructures industry. The company was formerly known as Mid-Western Aircraft Systems Holdings, Inc. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE: SPR) was up as well, gaining 6.74 percent to $32.48 as the company beat strongly on its top and bottom lines before the market opening Friday.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Shares of Textron have gained 1.2% to $36.63 at 1:09 p.m., while Embraer (ERJ) has risen 0.5% to $32.30, Triumph Group (TGI) has advanced 0.2% to $75.73 and Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) is off 0.8% at $33.90.

  • [By Michael J. Carr]

    Einhorn added RAD to his portfolio in the second quarter of 2013, the last quarter we have a full report of his activity for. During that time, he was also buying Spirit AeroSystems Holdings (NYSE: SPR).

Hot Defense Companies To Own In Right Now: Bulova Technologies Group Inc (BTGI)

Bulova Technologies Group, Inc. (BLVT), incorporated in 1979, operates as a Government contractor in the United States. BLVT�� operating facilities are located in Mayo, Florida. As of September 30, 2011, the Company is focused on Department of Defense contracting. As of September 30, 2011, BLVT operated corporate and administrative offices in two leased facilities, one in Clearwater, Florida, approximating 2,400 square feet, and the other in Brandon, Florida, approximating 5,000 square feet. The Company�� Government contracting business is located on 261 acres owned by the Company in Mayo, Florida, where it operates a load, assembly, and pack facility specializing in fuzes, safe and arming devices and explosive simulators. There are more than 38 buildings on the property consisting of warehouses, storage, and manufacturing facilities. In March 31, 2011, the Company disposed of its subsidiary BT Manufacturing Company LLC. In October 2012, the Company sold Bulova Technologies Ordnance Systems LLC.

Bulova Technologies Ordnance Systems LLC is a load, assembly, and pack facility specializing in fuzes, safe and arming devices and explosive simulators. Bulova Technologies Ordnance Systems LLC produces a range of pyrotechnic devices, ammunition and other energetic materials for the United States Government and other allied Governments worldwide. Bulova Technologies (Europe) LLC is developing a mortar exchange program to facilitate the needs of NATO member countries.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    A quick look at Hybrid Coating Technologies��financials reveals revenues of $48k (most recent reported quarter), $5k, $3k and $53k for the past four reported quarters along with net losses of $821k (most recent reported quarter), $1,571k, $774k and $510. At the end of September, Hybrid Coating Technologies had no cash to cover $4,037k in current liabilities and $1,279k in long term debt. So while the global industrial and specialty coatings market might be worth $35 billion, Hybrid Coating Technologies has yet to grab enough of it.

    Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) Recently Did a Reverse Split

    Small cap Bulova Technologies Group has an extensive history of large scale Defense Contracts for munitions, weapons systems and combat systems. On Friday, Bulova Technologies Group fell 13.04% to $0.0300 for a market cap of $663,789 plus BTGI is up 29,900% over the past year and down 66.7% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Hot Defense Companies To Own In Right Now: Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC)

Northrop Grumman Corporation (Northrop Grumman), incorporated on January 16, 2001, provides products, services, and integrated solutions in aerospace, electronics, information and services to its global customers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated in four segments: Aerospace Systems, Electronic Systems, Information Systems and Technical Services. The Company conducts most of its business with the United States Government, principally the Department of Defense (DoD) and intelligence community. It also conducts business with local, state, and foreign Governments and domestic and international commercial customers. Effective as of March 31, 2011, the company completed the spin-off of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII). HII operates the Company�� former shipbuilding business. In September 2012, it acquired M5 Network Security Pty Ltd.

Aerospace Systems

Aerospace Systems is engaged in the design, development, integration and production of manned and unmanned aircraft, spacecraft, high-energy laser systems, microelectronics and other systems and subsystems. Aerospace Systems��customers, primarily domestic government agencies, use these systems in a number of different mission areas, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; communications; battle management; strike operations; electronic warfare; missile defense; earth observation; space science; and space exploration. The segment consists of four business areas: Strike & Surveillance Systems; Space Systems; Battle Management & Engagement Systems; and Advanced Programs & Technology. Strike & Surveillance Systems designs, develops, manufactures and integrates tactical and long-range strike aircraft systems, unmanned systems, and missile systems. Key programs include the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance system, B-2 stealth bomber, F-35 Lightning II (F-35), F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter, Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aircraft syste! m, and Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP).

Space Systems designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates spacecraft systems, subsystems and electronic and communications payloads. Its main programs include the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) payload and many restricted programs. The Battle Management & Engagement Systems designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates airborne early warning, surveillance, battlefield management, and electronic warfare systems. Key programs include the E-2 Hawkeye, Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS), Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft system, EA-6B Prowler and its next generation platform, the EA-18G Growler, and Long Endurance Multi Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV). Advanced Programs & Technology creates advanced technologies and concepts. Its programs include the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System (N-UCAS), and other directed energy and advanced concepts programs.

Electronic Systems

Electronic Systems is engaged in the design, development, manufacture, and support of solutions for sensing, understanding, anticipating, and controlling the environment for its global military, civil, and commercial customers and their operations. Electronic Systems provides a variety of defense electronics and systems, airborne fire control radars, situational awareness systems, early warning systems, airspace management systems, navigation systems, communications systems, marine systems, space systems, and logistics services. The segment consists of five business areas: Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance Systems; Land & Self Protection Systems; Naval & Marine Systems; Navigation Systems; and Targeting Systems. Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems delivers products and services for space satellite applications, airborne and ground-based surveillance, multi-sensor processing, analysis, and dissemination for com! bat units! and national agencies both domestically and internationally, providing battlespace awareness, missile defense, and command and control. Key products include the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), Defense Support Program (DSP), ground processing, exploitation and dissemination systems, the TPS-78/703 family of ground based surveillance radars, and the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar.

Land & Self Protection Systems delivers products, systems, and services that support ground-based, helicopter and fixed wing platforms (manned and unmanned) with sensor and protection systems. These systems perform threat detection and countermeasures that defeat infrared and radio frequency (RF) guided missile and tracking systems. The division also provides integrated electronic warfare capability, communications, and intelligence systems; unattended ground sensors; automatic test equipment; and advanced threat simulators. Key programs include the U.S. Marine Corps Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) multi-mission radar; the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and strategic international and NATO allies; the AN/ALQ-131(V) electronic countermeasures pod; the LR-100 high-performance radar warning receiver (RWR)/electronic support measures (ESM)/electronic intelligence (ELINT) receiver system; the U.S. Army�� STARLite Synthetic Aperture Radar for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); the U.S. Army Vehicle Intercom Systems (VIC-3 and VIC-5); the U.S. Army Next Generation Automated Test System (NGATS); the U.S. Air Force Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) training range system; and the Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) system that enable airborne platforms to track individual persons or vehicles.

Naval & Marine Systems delivers products and services to defense, civil, and commercial customers supporting smart navigation, shipboard radar surveillance, ship control, mac! hinery co! ntrol, integrated combat management systems for naval surface ships, high-resolution undersea sensors (for mine hunting, situational awareness, and other applications), unmanned marine vehicles, shipboard missile and encapsulated payload launch systems, propulsion and power generation systems, and nuclear reactor instrumentation and control. Key products include Integrated Bridge and Navigation Systems, Voyage Management System, Integrated Platform Management Systems, Integrated Combat Management System, AN/WSN-7 Inertial Navigator, anti-ship missile defense and surveillance radars (Cobra Judy, AN/SPQ-9B, AN/SPS-74), propulsion equipment, missile launch, and sonar systems for the Virginia-class submarine, and launch system support for the Ohio-class submarine.

Navigation Systems delivers products and services to defense, civil, and commercial customers supporting situational awareness, inertial navigation in all domains (air, land, sea, and space), embedded Global Positioning Systems, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems, acoustic sensors, cockpit video monitors, mission computing, and integrated avionics and electronics systems. Key products include the Integrated Avionics System, the AN/TYQ-23 Aircraft Command and Control System, Fiber Optic Acoustic Sensors, and a robust portfolio of inertial sensors and navigation systems. Targeting Systems delivers products and services supporting airborne combat avionics (fire control radars, multi-function apertures and pods), airborne electro-optical/infrared targeting systems, and laser/electro-optical systems including hand-held, tripod-mounted, and ground or air vehicle mounted systems. Key products include fire control radars for the B-1B, F-16 (worldwide), F-22 U.S. Air Force, and F-35; AN/APN-241 navigation/weather radar; the AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING family of targeting pods; Distributed Aperture EO/IR systems; and the Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder (LLDR). In addition, the Electronic Systems segment also includes the Advanced Co! ncepts & ! Technologies Division (AC&TD), which develops next-generation systems and architectures.

Information Systems

Information Systems is a provider of advanced solutions for the DoD, national intelligence, federal civilian, state and local agencies, and commercial and international customers. Products and services focus on the fields of command, control, communications, computers (C4) and intelligence; airborne reconnaissance; intelligence processing; air and missile defense; decision support systems; cybersecurity; information technology; and systems engineering and integration. The segment consists of three business areas: Defense Systems; Intelligence Systems, and Civil Systems. Defense Systems is a provider of net-enabled Battle Management, C4 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, decision superiority, and mission-enabling solutions and services in support of the national defense and security of our nation and its allies. Defense Systems is a developer and integrator of many of the DoD�� programs-of-record, particularly for command and control (C2) and communications for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and Joint Forces. Major products and services include C4ISR Integration, Mission Systems Integration, Military Communications and Networks, Battle Management C2 and Decision Support Systems, Tactical and Operational C2, Ground and Maritime Combat Systems, Air and Missile Defense, Combat Support Solutions and Services, Enterprise Infrastructure and Applications, Defense Logistics Systems, Identity Management and Biometric Solutions, Cloud Computing, Maritime Mission Systems and Force and Critical Infrastructure Protection. Systems are installed in operational and command centers worldwide and across all DoD services and joint commands.

Intelligence Systems is focused on the delivery of intelligence-related systems and services to the United States Government and the international security community. Intelligence Systems focuses ! on missio! n areas, including Airborne Intelligence, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Systems, Cybersecurity, Geospatial Intelligence, Pervasive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Ground Systems, Multi-Source Intelligence Data Fusion, and Dynamic Cyber Defense. Its offerings include intelligence sensing, processing, exploitation and dissemination systems, extremely Large-Scale Data Information Management, Intelligence and Prime Systems Integration, Knowledge Discovery Processes, ISR/Communications Quick Reaction Capability Solutions, Sensor Systems, Support to Special Operations, Cyber-SIGINT Mission Management/Multi-Intelligence, Language Services/Intelligence Analysis, Cyber Exploitation, Satellite Ground Stations, Weather Services, Geospatial Systems, Product Generation and Dissemination, Counter Narco-Terrorism, Drug Enforcement Operations, Geo-Intelligence Tradecraft Training, Enterprise Information Technology, Ground-Based Sensing, Studies and Analysis, Sustainment, Operations and Maintenance. Civil Systems provides specialized information systems and services in support of critical civilian government missions, such as homeland security, health, cybersecurity, civil financial, law enforcement and public safety. Primary customers are federal civilian agencies with some state and local and international customers. Civil Systems develops and implements solutions that combine a deep understanding of civil government domains with core expertise in prime systems integration, enterprise applications development, and high value information technology service, including cybersecurity, advanced networking and cloud computing.

Technical Services

Technical Services is a provider of logistics, infrastructure, and sustainment support, while also providing an array of modernization, high technology, and training and simulation services. The segment consists of three business areas: Defense and Government Services; Training Solutions; and Integrated Logistics and Modernization. De! fense and! Government Services provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of combat vehicles, engineering and high technology services for nuclear security and space missions, civil engineering work, military range work, launch services, and range-sensor-instrumentation operations. The division�� customer base includes the United States Army, Department of Energy, the DoD, NASA, and the intelligence community. Training Solutions provides training to senior military leaders, international and peacekeeping forces. The division designs and develops future conflict training scenarios, and provides warfighters and allies with live, virtual, and constructive training programs. The division offers training applications ranging from battle command to professional military education. Primary customers include the DoD, Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security. Integrated Logistics and Modernization provides life cycle product and weapon system sustainment and modernization. The division is focused on providing direct support to warfighters and delivering aircraft MRO; subsystem MRO and modernization; supply chain management services, warehousing and inventory transportation, field services and mobilization, sustaining engineering, maintenance, repair and overhaul supplies, and on-going weapons maintenance and technical assistance. The division specializes in quick reaction capability and deployed operations in support of customers. Primary customers include the DoD, as well as international military and commercial customers.

The Company competes with Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Raytheon Company, General Dynamics Corporation, L-3 Communications Corporation, SAIC, BAE Systems Inc., EADS and Finmeccanica SpA.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC  ) won a pair of Pentagon contracts Tuesday, both benefiting the U.S. Navy, and both relating to the Navy's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft.

Hot Defense Companies To Own In Right Now: Poly Shield Technologies Inc (SHPR)

Poly Shield Technologies Inc. (Poly Shield), incorporated on March 2, 2000, is a research, development and marketing company providing environmental, energy saving and durability solutions. The Company's are designed and manufactured under the advanced bio-scrubber technology and includes a line of protective fluoropolymer coatings. Poly Shield�� fluoropolymer products are manufactured at a production facility in Florida. Poly Shield�� manufactured fluoropolymer coatings are used in a number of different industries including marine, aerospace, oilfield, industrial, commercial, and residential applications. In addition, Poly Shield offers a line of antimicrobial coatings for use in hospital or food industries. In December 2013, Poly Shield Technologies Inc sold New World Technologies Group, Inc. to Viveros.

The Company's products include bio-scrubber, supershield, superiorshield and microshield. Its products are used in aerospace, cruise ship lines, marine, military, oil, and energy production industries. The Company's bio-scrubber is designed to remove alkali metals from fuel in an effort to protect gas turbines from high temperature corrosion. The technology has been installed on active ships within the cruise line industry.

SuperShield is a fluoropolymer coating that is formulated to work with a variety of residential, commercial, industrial and marine applications. It is a fluoroplymer resin that offers weathering ability and the choice of temperature curing. Its flagship product, SuperShield 100, containing fluoropolymer resins provides up to a 50 year service life on a steel and metal surfaces. Its SuperShield S is superhydrophobic and superoleophobic, with characteristic complex micro and nanoscopic surface, which minimizes adhesion. SuperShield S100 is also superhydrophobic and superoleophobic. SuperShield S100 is provides 50 year service life. The ultimate anti-fouling coating for ship hulls, oilfield rigs, heavy equipment, airplanes, bridges, etc.

! SuperiorShield is protective and energy saving roof coatings. Its superiorShield coating reduces heat transfer through infrared radiation, conduction and convection. SuperiorShield has the capability to reflect 90% of the suns ultraviolet (UV) rays.

MicroShield is a anti-microbial coating. MicroShield is an active antibacterial destroying the cell membrane and inducing oxidative deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein damage of microbes. It also acts as a bacteriostat, virostat and fungistat, inhibiting bacterial, viral and fungal growth.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Small cap stocks Soul and Vibe Interactive Inc (OTCBB: SOUL), Globalstar, Inc (OTCMKTS: GSAT) and Poly Shield Technologies Inc (OTCBB: SHPR) have been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters or investor alerts with at least two of these stocks being the subject of some sort of paid stock promotional or investor relations type of activities. With that in mind, just how hot are these three small cap stocks for investors or traders? Here is a quick reality check:

Hot Defense Companies To Own In Right Now: Cubic Corp (CUB)

Cubic Corporation (Cubic), incorporated on December 13, 1984, is an international provider of systems and solutions that address the mass transit and global defense markets. The Company operates in three segments: Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS), Mission Support Services (MSS) and Cubic Defense Systems (CDS). As of the September 30, 2012, the Company�� CTS business accounted for approximately 37%; MSS and CDS accounted for approximately 36% and 27% of its net sales respectively. CTS specialize in the design, development, production, installation, maintenance and operation of automated fare payment and revenue management infrastructure and technologies for transit operators. As part of its turnkey solutions, CTS also provides these customers with a suite of business process outsourcing (BPO) services and expertise, such as card and payment media management, central systems and application support, retail network management, passenger call centers and financial clearing and settlement support. In March 2014, the Company acquired Intific Inc.

Mission Support Services

MSS is a provider of live, virtual and constructive training services to all four branches of the United States military, including the special operations communities, as well as to allied nations. In addition, MSS offers a range of national security solutions to the intelligence community. CDS is a provider of air and ground combat training systems for the United States and allied nations and a key supplier of secure communications solutions, including asset tracking and cyber products and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data links. Services provided include live, virtual and constructive training, real-world mission rehearsal exercises, professional military education, intelligence support, information technology, information assurance and related cyber support, development of military doctrine, consequence management, infrastructure protection and force protection, as well as support to f! ield operations, force deployment and redeployment and logistics.

Cubic Transportation Systems

CDS focuses on two primary lines of business: training systems and secure communications. CTS is a systems integrator that develops and provides fare collection infrastructure, services and technology for public transport authorities and operators worldwide. The Company offers fare collection devices, software, systems and multiagency, multimodal integration technologies, as well as a suite of operational services. As of September 30, 2012, the Company installed over 90,000 devices and deployed several central systems which in total process approximately 10 billion fare-related transactions per year for approximately seven billion transit passengers.

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 400 projects in 40 markets on five continents. The Company has implements and, in many cases, operates automated fare payment and collection systems for some of the mass transit systems, such as London, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles region. It offers a range of services for transit authorities in transit markets worldwide, including computer hosting services, call center and Web services, payment media issuance and distribution services, retail point of sale network management, payment processing, financial clearing and settlement, software application support and outsourced asset operations and maintenance. The Company provides its services in regions, including London, Sydney, Brisbane, Sweden, Washington district of Columbia, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta. CTS operate full service operation centers in North America, Europe and Australia. As of September 30, 2012, the Company was designing and building new systems in Chicago, Sydney and Vancouver.

Mission Support Services

MSS provides services within the scope of small-to large-scale military training exercises, including live, virtual and constructive training exercises and suppor! t. Traini! ng services include full life-cycle support from planning through after action reviews as well as the associated support, such as operational, technical and logistical support. In addition, the segment provides a broad range of national security solutions, including subject matter and operational expertise, advanced tactical training and cyber security services, to the intelligence, special operations, law enforcement and homeland security communities. Customers include all branches of the United States military, non-military agencies and allied nations under arrangements with the United States government. MSS is the prime contractor at more than 40 military training and support facilities and supports more than 200,000 exercises and training events per year.

The Company provides training and rehearsals for both small and large scale combat operations, training and preparation of military advisor teams, mobilization and demobilization of forces prior to and following deployment, combat and material development, military staff augmentation, information technology and information assurance, logistics and maintenance support for fielded and deployed systems, support to national security and special operations activities; peacekeeping; consequence management and humanitarian assistance operations worldwide. It plans, prepares, executes and documents realistic and focused mission rehearsal exercises (using both live and computer-based exercises) as final preparation of forces prior to deployment. In addition, it provides consultation and advisory services to the governments and militaries of allied nations.

The Company�� contracts include providing mission support services to three of the United States Army's CTC's: JRTC as prime contractor and the national training center (NTC) and Mission command training program (MCTP) as a principal subcontractor. These services include planning, executing and documenting realistic and stressful exercises and mission rehearsals that increase t! he readin! ess of both active and reserve the United States conventional and special operations forces by placing them in situations as close to actual combat as possible.

MSS is a principal member of the contractor team, to the United States armed services, that supports and helps manage and execute all aspects of the operations of the Joint Coalition Warfare Center (JCWC), including support to worldwide joint exercises and the development and fielding of the Joint National Training Capability (JNTC). Under the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Training Systems Support (MTSS) contract, it provides training and exercise support to the United States Marine Corps forces worldwide, including real-world mission rehearsals. It planned and executed virtually all Marine Corps simulation-based exercises worldwide under the original MAGTF Staff Training Program (MSTP) and its successor, the MTSS, directly preparing Marines for combat operations.

It provides training and professional military education support to the United States Army's Quartermaster Center and School, the Signal School and to the Transportation School. It also provides contractor maintenance and instructional support necessary to operate and maintain a wide variety of flight simulation and training systems and other facilities worldwide, for United States and allied forces under multiple long-term contracts, including direct support to USMC aircrew training systems worldwide. In addition, it provides a range of operational support to the United States Navy for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and counter-mine operations and training. It provides research, development and technical engineering (RDTE) support to the United States Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL) for assistance in the identification and application of current, new and emerging technologies to proof-of-principle evaluations of advanced operational concepts. Its services, products and capabilities include development and deployment of curriculum and related cours! eware, co! mputer-based training, knowledge management and distribution, advanced distance learning (e-learning), serious military games for training, and other advanced education programs for United States and allied forces.

Cubic Defense Systems

CDS is focused on two primary lines of business: training systems and secure communications. This segment is primarily a diversified supplier of live and virtual military training systems and secure communications products to the DoD and more than 35 allied nations. The Company designs and manufactures air and ground combat training systems for fighter aircraft, armored vehicles and infantry, as well as weapons effects simulations, laser-based tactical and communication systems. The Company also designs and manufactures secure communications products focused on intelligence, surveillance, asset tracking and search and rescue.

The segment designs, manufactures and fields a range of technologies that are critical to combat readiness, supply chain logistics and national security for the United States and allied nations. Its primary lines of business include air combat training ranges and after action review software, ground combat training systems, including a full range of laser engagement simulation systems, virtual small arms training systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data links, personnel locator systems, multi-band communication tracking devices and cross domain appliances for cyber security. It also provides ongoing support services for systems it has built for several of its international customers.

Its training systems business designs and manufactures of instrumented training systems and products for militaries of allied nations. It designs and manufactures air and ground combat training systems for fighter aircraft, armored vehicles and infantry, as well as weapons effects simulations, laser-based tactical and communication systems. These systems collect and record simulated weapons eng! agements,! tactical actions and event data to evaluate combat effectiveness and lessons learned and provide a basis to develop after action reviews. It also designs and manufactures secure communications products focused on intelligence, surveillance, asset tracking and search and rescue.

Its training business is organized into air combat, ground combat and virtual training divisions. Ground combat training uses systems analogous to air ranges for ground force training. The systems are generally known as tactical engagement simulation systems or multiple integrated laser engagement system (MILES). It supplies MILES equipment as part of CTC contracts. Its Virtual Training product line provides virtual training systems for various applications, employing actual or realistic weapons and systems together with visual imagery to simulate battlefield environments. Cubic also provides maintenance trainers for combat systems and vehicles, as well as operational trainers for missiles, armored vehicles and naval applications.

Its communications business is a supplier of secure data links, radio frequency amplifiers, direction finding systems, remote video terminals, and search and rescue avionics for the United States military, government agencies, and allied nations. Personnel Locator System (PLS) is standard equipment on United States aircraft with a search and rescue mission. PLS is designed to interface with all modern search and rescue system standards. It also supplies amplifiers and direction finding systems to prime contractors and end users for both domestic and international applications. These include systems used by the Canadian Coast Guard, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force and the French Army.

The Company competes with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Boeing, L3 Communications and SAIC.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Smith]

    The Department of Defense awarded San Diego-based Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB  ) a $19.9 million contract modification Friday, amending a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, foreign-military-sales contract in support of the Israeli military.

  • [By Blake Bos]

    In the following video, Fool consumer-goods/industrials analyst Blake Bos breaks down Aviation Week's top aerospace and defense picks by annual revenue. His discussion includes Cubic (NYSE: CUB  ) , Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK  ) , Exelis (NYSE: XLS  ) , Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) , and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) .

  • [By Lee Jackson]

    Cubic Corp. (NYSE: CUB) makes the list at J.P. Morgan. It has three major business segments. Cubic Transportation Systems is a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services for intelligent travel solutions. Cubic Defense Systems is a leading provider of realistic combat training systems and secure communications. Mission Support Services is a leading provider of training, operations, maintenance, technical and other support services for the United States and allied nations. Investors are paid a small 0.5% dividend. The J.P. Morgan price target is $57. The Thomson/First Call estimate is $56.20. The stock closed Tuesday at $52.51.

Hot Defense Companies To Own In Right Now: Soditech Ingenierie SA (SEC)

Soditech Ingenierie SA is a France-based company that is primarily engaged in electronic and mechanical engineering services in various sectors. The Company�� activity is organized into three sectors: Defense & Research, Space and Energy & Nuclear. It provides specialized services in four fields: aerospace, covering communication satellites, observation satellites and space stations; automotive, providing such services as engine design and plasturgy for equipment manufacturers; aeronautics, offering structural research for aircraft makers, instruments or electro-mechanical systems for assisting pilots and others, and defense, providing engineering of numerous tests and trials systems, with or without implementations, among others. The Company also offers additional services, such as energy forecasting and environmental analysis, environmental management system, and others. In May 2014, it restructured company into three main divisions: Defense & Research, Space and Energy & Nuclear. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Patricio Kehoe]

    Over the past days hedge funds have been filing their form 13-F, which is a quarterly report of equity holdings by filed institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in equity assets under management, as required by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In this article, let麓s concentrate in one particular hedge fund and try to see the principal holdings in its portfolio. I will look into Duquesne Family Office LLC from Stanley Druckenmiller, who closed his Duquesne Capital Management hedge fund in 2010, returned capital to investors, and converted it into a family office managing his personal fortune.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Start LTC Planning Now, Save a Bundle Later: Genworth

Families could save almost $11,000 per year on out-of-pocket expenses for long-term care if they started planning a little earlier, a report released Monday by Genworth found.

Genworth surveyed more than 1,200 caregivers and recipients for the “Beyond Dollars: A Way Forward” report. More than half of those who identified as caregivers said they had lost income because of those responsibilities.

Care recipients who use professional care were more likely to have planned for that eventuality. Forty percent of respondents who receive care at a day facility made plans ahead of time to meet those needs, compared with 23% of people who moved into a family member’s home.

Long-term care is still a difficult subject for clients. Thirty-eight percent of care recipients said they didn’t address their needs because they didn’t want to admit care was needed, and 28% said they didn’t want to talk about it. Twenty-three percent said they weren’t sure where to start.

Wendy Boglioli, national spokeswoman for Genworth and a former Olympic swimmer, has been in the long-term care industry since 1998. She says that sometimes, it’s the advisors who don’t want to bring up the subject of long-term care. “I’m seeing the shift more and more," she said. "Ten or 15 years ago, advisors didn’t want to talk about it, but it has shifted. If they’re a little leery, they just need to understand that they owe this conversation to every single client they have.”

That reticence shifts a significant financial and emotional burden to family members. Thirty-eight percent of caregivers said they could have avoided a lot of stress if care had started planning earlier. Thirty-five percent of recipients agreed.

Boglioli stressed that young clients need to talk about long-term care just as much as older clients. “Long-term care might seem forever away,” she said, but it’s important to “fill in the blanks for them to be able to see what is coming down the road because it’s all about being prepared.”

Boglioli said most clients in their 40s, 50s or 60s already have “a long-term care story or situation” or are expecting one in their near future. “They’re pretty in tune to needing that conversation.”

It’s important to include family members in long-term care planning. “Family is the backbone of caregiving in this county,” he said, while adding that emphasis on family as caregivers is going to change. Older generations were more likely to have large families whereas younger families are more likely to have only one or two children. She recounted a story about her own family.

“My mother is going to be 93. She will have been in a nursing home in Wisconsin going on three years. I see my mother if not every month, at least every six to eight weeks. I’m one of seven and we all rotate through, so we’re all spending a fair amount of money to fly and spend several days with my mother: you’ve got to get a hotel, rent a car, so there’s those kinds of expenses as well as the cost of the nursing home. My mother is in a nursing home that costs $8,000 a month. Now, the good news is I’m one of seven children, so the seven of us are paying that bill. If I were a single child or one of a few, it would be astronomical.”

She suggested approaching clients about bringing family members in for a meeting over the holidays when out-of-town guests are visiting. “I usually see it around Thanksgiving or early in January.”

Many feel they made a mistake by not purchasing long-term care insurance. Almost 60% of respondents who didn’t have a policy wish they’d purchased one. Of those, 59% feel it would have been easier on their finances and put less strain on their family.

“There are only four ways to pay for care,” Boglioli said. The first way is through family and their support. Advisors need to “walk clients through what that looks like for them,” Boglioli said, so they can understand how it will affect the care they receive.

Government programs are another possibility. While Medicare does not cover most long-term care services, Medicaid does. “Today Medicaid does if you are in poverty or indigent,” Boglioli said.

Another way to pay for care is to self-pay, although Boglioli pointed out that this is where planning can get difficult. “What are the financial things we can do early on to build that nest egg, but as you build it, do you really want to spend that money on care?”

Finally, of course, is an insurance policy. “An [LTC] insurance policy is the least expensive way to go.”

However, one of the biggest obstacles to long-term care planning is just putting it off, Boglioli said. “When it comes to long-term care conversations, there are physical issues — will I need care or be providing care — financial issues, emotional issues; how do I get that all together? How do I coalesce that into a plan?”

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Best Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Best Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR)

Caesars Entertainment Corporation, incorporated on November 2, 1989, is a diversified casino-entertainment provider. The Company's business is primarily conducted through a wholly owned subsidiary, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. (CEOC), although certain material properties are not owned by CEOC. As of December 31, 2012, it owned, operated, or managed, through various subsidiaries, 52 casinos in 13 United States states and seven countries. The majority of these casinos operate in the United States, primarily under the Caesars, Harrah's, and Horseshoe brand names, and in England. In November 2012, the Company sold its Harrah's St. Louis casino to Penn National Gaming, Inc. In December 2012, the Company purchased all of the net assets of Buffalo Studios, LLC, a social and mobile games developer and owner of Bingo Blitz.

The Company's casino entertainment facilities include 33 land-based casinos, 11 riverboat or dockside casinos, three managed casinos on Indian lands in the United States, one managed casino in Cleveland, Ohio, one managed casino in Canada, one casino combined with a greyhound racetrack, one casino combined with a thoroughbred racetrack, and one casino combined with a harness racetrack. The Company's land-based casinos include nine in England, two in Egypt, one in Scotland, one in South Africa and one in Uruguay. As of December 31, 2012, its facilities had an aggregate of approximately three million square feet of gaming space and approximately 43,000 hotel rooms. In southern Nevada, Caesars Palace, Harrah's Las Vegas, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Bally's Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, The Quad Resort & Casino (formerly the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino), Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon, and Hot Spot Oasis are located! in Las Vegas and draw customers from throughout the United States. Harrah's Laughlin is located near both the Arizo na and California borders and draws customers primarily from! the southern California and Phoenix metropolitan areas and, to a lesser extent, from throughout the United States through charter aircraft. In northern Nevada, Harrah's Lake Tahoe and Harveys Resort & Casino are located near Lake Tahoe and Harrah's Reno is located in downtown Reno. These facilities draw customers primarily from northern California, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada.

The Company's Atlantic City casinos, Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, Showboat Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, and Bally's Atlantic City, draw customers primarily from the Philadelphia metropolitan area, New York, and New Jersey. Harrah's Philadelphia (formerly Harrah's Chester) is a combination harness racetrack and casino located approximately six miles south of Philadelphia International Airport and draws customers primarily from the Philadelphia metropolitan area and Delaware. The Company's Chicagoland dockside casinos, Harrah's Joliet in Joliet, Illinois, a nd Horseshoe Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, draw customers primarily from the greater Chicago metropolitan area. In southern Indiana, it owns Horseshoe Southern Indiana, a dockside casino complex located in Elizabeth, Indiana, which draws customers primarily from northern Kentucky, including the Louisville metropolitan area, and southern Indiana, including Indianapolis. In Louisiana, the Company owns Harrah's New Orleans, a land-based casino located in downtown New Orleans, which attracts customers primarily from the New Orleans metropolitan area. In northwest Louisiana, Horseshoe Bossier City, a dockside casino, and Harrah's Louisiana Downs, a thoroughbred racetrack with slot machines, both located in Bossier City, cater to customers in northwestern Louisiana.

The Company owns the Grand Casino Biloxi, located in Biloxi, Mississippi, whi! ch caters! to customers in southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and northern Florida. Harrah's North Kansas City dockside casino draws customers from the Kansas City metropolitan ar! ea. Harra! h's Metropolis is a dockside casino located in Metropolis, Illinois, on the Ohio River, drawing customers from southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and central Tennessee. Horseshoe Tunica, Harrah's Tunica, and Tunica Roadhouse Hotel & Casino, dockside casino complexes located in Tunica, Mississippi, are approximately 30 miles from Memphis, Tennessee and draw customers primarily from the Memphis area and, to a lesser extent, from throughout the United States through charter aircraft. Horseshoe Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park, a land-based casino and pari-mutuel facility, and Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel, a dockside casino facility, are located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska. At Horseshoe Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park, the Company owns the assets other than gaming equipment, and leases these assets to the Iowa West Racing Association (IWRA), a nonprofit corporation, and it manages the facility for the IWRA un der a management agreement expiring in October 2024. The license to operate Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel is held jointly with IWRA, the qualified sponsoring organization.

The Conrad Resort & Casino located in Punta Del Este, Uruguay (the Conrad), draws customers primarily from Argentina and Uruguay. In November 2012, the Company announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Enjoy S.A. (Enjoy) to form a strategic relationship in Latin America. Under the terms of the agreement, Enjoy will acquire 45% of Baluma S.A., its subsidiary, which owns and operates the Conrad, and the Company will become a 10% shareholder in Enjoy upon consummation of the agreement. Upon the closing of the transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of all regulatory and governmental approvals, Enj! oy will a! ssume primary responsibility for management of the Conrad. Enjoy will have the option to acquire the remaining stake in Baluma S.A. between years three and five following closing. The cl! osing of ! the transaction remains subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory and governmental approvals in both Uruguay and Chile.

The Company owns four casinos in London: the Sportsman, the Golden Nugget, The Playboy Club London, and The Casino at the Empire. Its casinos in London draw customers primarily from the London metropolitan area, as well as international visitors. The Company also owns Alea Nottingham, Alea Glasgow, Alea Leeds, Manchester 235, Rendezvous Brighton, and Rendezvous Southend-on-Sea in the provinces of the United Kingdom, which primarily draw customers from their local areas. Pursuant to a concession agreement, it also operates two casinos in Cairo, Egypt, The London Club Cairo (which is located at the Ramses Hilton) and Caesars Cairo (which is located at the Four Seasons Cairo), which draw customers primarily from other countries in the Middle East. Emerald Safari, located in the province of Gauteng in South Africa, draws customers primarily from South Africa. It owsn and operates Bluegrass Downs, a harness racetrack located in Paducah, Kentucky.

The Company owns three casinos for Indian tribes: Harrah's Phoenix Ak-Chin, located near Phoenix, Arizona, Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel, and Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort, located near San Diego, California. The Company manages Caesars Windsor, located in Windsor, Ontario, which draws customers primarily from the Detroit metropolitan area, Horseshoe Cleveland casino in Ohio, which it manages for Rock Ohio Caesars LLC (ROC), a venture with Rock Ohio Ventures, LLC (Rock Gaming), in which it has a 20% equity interest, and the Horseshoe Cincinnati casino in Ohio for ROC for a fee under a management agreement that will expire in March 2033. It also has a minority interest in Sterling Suffolk Racecourse,! LLC (Suf! folk Downs), which owns a horse-racing track in Boston, Massachusetts, and the right to manage a future gaming facility. The Company als o owns ans operates a golf course on 175 acres of prime real! estate t! hrough a land concession on the Cotai strip in Macau.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jayson Derrick]

    Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) said that it will begin talks with its debt creditors. The company is hoping to achieve a sustainable credit structure that will keep the company out of the courts. Shares gained 12.70 percent, closing at $11.71.

  • [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

    John Raoux/AP From a questionable Hollywood sequel hitting the silver screen to a controversial theme park operator hoping to prove that it's not all wet, here are some of the things that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street. Monday -- Seizing Caesars Things are getting tense at Caesars Entertainment (CZR). The casino operator made waves last week as some of its creditors initiated a lawsuit claiming that Caesars is transferring assets out of the company as the first step to defaulting on its gargantuan debt. The corporate soap opera will have to play itself out, but on Monday afternoon we'll hear what Caesars has to say as it reports quarterly results. Given the brow-raising restructuring efforts, it's a safe bet that analysts will be asking more about the asset transfer and the lawsuit than the gaming giant's own operations, including massive renovations of The Quad. Tuesday -- Sweet Tooth for Candy Crush There has never been a mobile app as lucrative as King Digital Entertainment's (KING) Candy Crush Saga, paving the way for the casual gaming darling's initial public offering earlier this year. King went public at $22.50, but fears that the game's popularity had peaked late last year kept gains check. The stock currently trades below its March IPO price. King Digital has also used the game's success to introduce players to some of its other apps,! though C! andy Crush Saga still accounted for two thirds of King's gross bookings during this year's first quarter. We'll get fresh financials out of King on Tuesday, making this a great time to see if Candy Crush Saga is gaining momentum or if King is doing a better job of diversifying its revenue streams. Wednesday -- Get Whale, Soon SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) splashes in with its latest quarterly results on Wednesday. Attendance has been sliding since last year's "Blackfish" documentary made it politically incorrect to visit the marine life theme park. If there's a time for the turns

  • source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-casino-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-6.html