The convenient scapegoat for this morning's drop in the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) was once again uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's exit strategy from its quantitative-easing policies, which have had a huge impact on the financial markets for years and dominated investors' attention recently. Better-than-expected data on durable-goods orders wasn't enough to keep the stock market from declining for what could be a third consecutive day for the Dow. By 10:45 a.m. EDT, the Dow was down 69 points, while the broader market suffered somewhat larger percentage losses.
Within the Dow, a big gain by Procter & Gamble after the company replaced CEO Bob McDonald wasn't enough to offset losses elsewhere. Tech stocks were among the biggest losers of the morning, with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC ) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ ) both falling about 1.5%. For Intel, a look at its promising Haswell chip line yesterday revealed some attractive features, including dramatically reduced power-consumption. What the company has to hope, though, is that manufacturers of PCs and mobile devices are able to take Haswell and design hit new products around it. Only then can Intel truly make its mark on the mobile space.
10 Best US Stocks To Watch For 2015: Cash Store Financial Services Inc (CSFS)
The Cash Store Financial Services Inc., incorporated on January 17, 2002, under its Cash Store Financial, Instaloans and The Title Store banners, provides consumers with alternative financial products and services, serving everyday people for whom traditional banking may be inconvenient or unavailable. The Company acts as both a broker and lender of short term advances and offers a range of other products and services to help customers meet their day to day financial service needs. The Company employs a combination of payday loans and lines of credit as its primary consumer lending product offerings and earns fees and interest income on these consumer lending products. The Company also offers a range of financial products and services including bank accounts, prepaid MasterCard and private label credit and debit cards, cheque cashing, money transfers, payment insurance and prepaid phone cards. The Company has agency arrangements with a variety of companies to provide these products.
The Company typically arranges for advances to customers that range from $100 to $1,500. As of September 30, 2013, the Company�� total branch count was 537, addition of two new branches in the United Kingdom as well as 10 new Title Store branches and a new Cash Store Financial branch offset by the closure of 12 branches in Canada. The Company owns The Cash Store Australia Holdings Inc. The Company also has an investment in RTF Financial Holdings Inc., which is in the business of short-term lending, by utilizing automated mobile technology.
The Company competes with Dollar Financial Corp.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Despite�a slow global economy and continued high unemployment in many countries, small cap payday or pawn stocks Cash Store Financial Services Inc (NYSE: CSFS), DFC Global Corp (NASDAQ: DLLR) and Cash America International, Inc (NYSE: CSH) have not exactly been performing well since the start of the year. In fact, these three stocks are the worst performers in the payday or pawn loan sector, down 38.5%, down 14.4% and up 4.6%, respectively, since the start of the year.
Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Wave Systems Corp.(WAVX)
Wave Systems Corp. develops, produces, and markets products for hardware-based digital security. Its products are based on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a hardware security chip that enables secure protection of files and other digital secrets, and performs critical security functions. The company offers EMBedded Application Security SYstem (EMBASSY) Trust Suite, a set of applications and services that are designed to bring functionality and user value to TPM enabled products. The EMBASSY Trust Suite includes the EMBASSY Security Center, Trusted Drive Manager, Document Manager, Private Information Manager, and Key Transfer Manager. It also offers middleware and tools, which include Trusted Computing Group (TCG) enabled toolkit that assists application developers in writing new applications or modifying existing ones to function on TCG-compliant platforms; and Wave TCG-Enabled Cryptographic Service Provider, which allows software developers to utilize the security of a TCG standards-based platform. In addition, the company offers EMBASSY Trust Server Applications comprising EMBASSY Key Management Server, a server application designed to provide corporate-level backup and transition of the TPM keys; EMBASSY Authentication Server that offers centralized management, provisioning, and enforcement of multifactor domain access policies; and EMBASSY Remote Administration Server, which provides centralized management and auditing of TPMs and self-encrypting drives. Further, it offers eSign Transaction Management Suite and broadband media distribution services. Wave Systems Corp. sells its products to chip original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), PC OEMs, enterprise customers, and systems integrators. The company was formerly known as Cryptologics International, Inc. and changed its name to Wave Systems Corp. in January 1993. Wave Systems Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Lee, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bryan Murphy]
If there was any lingering doubt that Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:WAVX) was in the early stages of a rebound, today's 11% pop should wipe those doubts away. This little technology company has lodged itself firmly into a bullish trend today, after hammering out a turnaround effort for the past four months. Translation: WAVX has become a convincing buy.
Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Radioshack Corporation(RSH)
RadioShack Corporation engages in the retail sale of consumer electronic goods and services through its RadioShack store chain and kiosk operations. Its products include postpaid and prepaid wireless handsets and communication devices, such as scanners and global positioning system (GPS) products; home entertainment, wireless, music, computer, video game, and GPS accessories; media storage, power adapters, digital imaging products, and headphones; home audio and video end-products, personal computing products, residential telephones, and voice over Internet protocol products; digital cameras, digital music players, toys, satellite radios, video gaming hardware, camcorders, and general radios; general and special purpose batteries and battery chargers; and wires and cables, connectivity products, components and tools, and hobby products. The company also provides consumers access to third-party services, such as prepaid wireless airtime and extended service plans in its ser vice platform. In addition, it manufactures various products, including telephones, antennas, wires, and cable products, as well as various hard-to-find parts and accessories for consumer electronics products; and provides repair services. As of March 31, 2011, the company operated 4,467 company-operated retail stores under the RadioShack brand name in the United States; and 1,304 kiosks located in Target and Sam?s Club stores. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 211 company-operated stores under the RadioShack brand, 9 dealers, and 1 distribution center in Mexico; a network of 1,207 RadioShack dealer outlets, including 34 located outside of North America; and 4 distribution centers in the United States. Further, the company sells its products through its Website, radioshack.com. RadioShack Corporation was founded in 1899 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Bieglmeier]
[Related -Radioshack Corporation (RSH) Q2 Earnings Preview: Can We See The Turnaround?]
As you might suspect, RSH shares haven't fared well during earning season. In the three days surrounding the profit news, RSH gave up an average of -10.78% nine of the last 12 quarterly checkups with a max loss of -31.50%. That's left a mark. On the flip side, the stock hardly budged when turning green, gaining 0.50%, 1.30% and 5.9%.
- [By Michael Lewis]
Like so many retailers over the past few years, RadioShack (NYSE: RSH ) has been hit hard by a combination of price-crushing wholesalers and technological disruptors. The shift has left the company in near pieces, with hardly a bull to be found between the cracks. In its most recent earnings release, RadioShack showed a wider-than-expected loss and a continued drop in same-store sales. Yet the market seemed unperturbed by its loss, or perhaps just unsurprised, as the stock actually ticked up slightly upon the release. Is there a silver lining to RadioShack's business, or has this once-great electronics retailer finally flatlined?
- [By Steve Symington]
Shares of RadioShack� (NYSE: RSH ) fell by more than 20% during Thursday's intra-day trading, after reports surfaced saying the electronics retailer is considering hiring a financial advisor to help fix its balance sheet. By the end of the day, however, the stock did manage to recoup the majority of its losses to close down just 7%.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
When I was a kid, I bought my first–and only–Ham radio telegraph key at RadioShack (RSH), which was a haven for those of us geeky enough to like playing with electronics. I also adored its packaged electronic kits, with those little metal springs to hold the wires. But that’s not today’s RadioShack, not really.
Getty ImagesThe problem is, that RadioShack doesn’t know what it is anymore, as clearly demonstrated by second-quarter loss of $1.11, well below forecasts for a 37 cents loss. The Wall Street Journal has the details:
Earlier this year [CEO Joe] Magnacca, a former Walgreen Co. executive who was hired in February, outlined a strategy to refurbish stores by overhauling layouts and removing items from the shelves, part of a broader effort to improve perception among younger customers while keeping traditional “do-it-yourself” patrons satisfied. The company plans to open or remodel more than 100 of its roughly 4,300 stores with some form of that new design by the end of the year.
In the meantime, RadioShack’s quarterly loss widened to $112.4 million from $47.1 million a year earlier as overall sales fell 10% to $805.4 million.
Sales at stores open at least a year dropped 8.4% as the company cleared stockpiles of less-profitable products by marking down devices or, in most cases, unloading them on wholesalers. The effort squeezed the company’s gross margin down to 30.1% from 36% a year earlier.
RadioShack also announced that it had hired two executives with J.C. Penney (JCP) pasts to help improve merchandising and global sourcing. Yes, JC Penney. That will make investors feel good.
Still, JCPenney�RadioShack was able to sign an $835 million financing deal at “very market-based competitive rates,” its CFO said.
BB&T Capital Markets’ Anthony Chukumba and Eric Cohen survey the damage:
RadioShack continued to stumble in Q3��3,
Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Digital Ally Inc.(DGLY)
Digital Ally, Inc. engages in the production and sale of digital video imaging, audio/video recording, storage, and other products for use in law enforcement and security applications. Its digital audio/video recording and storage product line comprises an in-car digital audio/video system that is integrated into a rear view mirror; an all-weather mobile digital audio/video system designed for motorcycle, ATV, and boat uses; a miniature body-worn digital audio/video camera; a hand-held speed detection system based on light detection and ranging (LIDAR); a hand-held thermal imaging camera used for improved night vision; and a digital audio/video system, which is integrated into a law-enforcement style flashlight. The company?s products make self-contained video and audio recordings onto flash memory cards that are incorporated in the body of the digital video rear view mirror, officer-worn video, and audio system and flashlight. Digital Ally, Inc. sells its products to law enforcement agencies and other security organizations, as well as for consumer and commercial applications through direct sales and third-party distributors. The company is based in Overland Park, Kansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James E. Brumley]
There's no denying Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been one of year's top investment stories, with shares running up from less than $40 to more than $194 in just a few short months. But, as one might imagine, that 385% runup from TSLA creates something of a disconnect between the company and its share price. Time to head for the exit. Instead, a better use of that now-considerably-greater capital is a position in Digital Ally, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGLY) ... a stock that's also had a pretty good 2014, but has suffered more than a small setback since mid-September. Specifically, DGLY has pulled back from a peak price of $17.47 to a low of $9.88 as of Friday. But, it looks like that correction may have already come to an end.
Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now: PBF Energy Inc (PBF)
PBF Energy Inc. (PBF Energy), incorporated on November 7, 2011, is an independent petroleum refiners and suppliers of unbranded transportation fuels, heating oils, petrochemical feedstocks, lubricants and other petroleum products in the United States. The Company produces a range of products at each of its refineries, including gasoline, ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), heating oil, jet fuel, lubricants, petrochemicals and asphalt. The Company sells its products throughout the Northeast and Midwest of the United States, as well as in other regions of the United States and Canada, and are able to ship products to other international destinations. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned and operated three domestic oil refineries and related assets. The Company's refineries have a combined processing capacity of approximately 540,000 thousand barrels per day. The Company's three refineries are located in Toledo, Ohio, Delaware City, Delaware and Paulsboro, New Jersey.
The Company's Midcontinent refinery at Toledo processes light, sweet crude, has a throughput capacity of 170,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 9.2. Toledo's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) based crude is delivered through pipelines, which originate in both Canada and the United States. The Company's East Coast refineries at Delaware City and Paulsboro have a combined refining capacity of 370,000 thousand barrels per day and Nelson Complexity Indices of 11.3 and 13.2, respectively. These refineries process medium and heavy and sour crudes.
Delaware City Refinery
The Delaware City refinery is located on a 5,000-acre site, with access to waterborne cargoes and a distribution network of pipelines, barges and tankers, truck and rail. Delaware City is a fully integrated operation, which receives crude through rail at the crude unloading facility, or ship or barge at its docks located on the Delaware River. The crude and other feedstocks are transported, through pipes, to a tank! farm where they are stored until processing. In addition, there is a 17-bay, 50,000 thousand barrels per day capacity truck loading rack located adjacent to the refinery and a 23-mile interstate pipeline that are used to distribute clean products.
The Delaware City refinery has a throughput capacity of 190,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 11.3. The Delaware City refinery processes a range of medium to heavy, sour crude oils. The refinery has conversion capacity with its 82,000 thousand barrels per day fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit, 47,000 thousand barrels per day fluid coking unit (FCU) and 18,000 thousand barrels per day hydro cracking unit with vacuum distillation. Hydrogen is provided through the refinery's steam methane reformer and continuous catalytic reformer. The Delaware City refinery has total storage capacity of approximately 10 million barrels.
Paulsboro Refinery
Paulsboro has a throughput capacity of 180,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 13.2. The Paulsboro refinery is located on approximately 950 acres on the Delaware River in Paulsboro, New Jersey, just south of Philadelphia and approximately 30 miles away from Delaware City. Paulsboro receives crude and feedstocks through its marine terminal on the Delaware River. Paulsboro is one of two operating refineries on the East Coast with coking capacity, the other being Delaware City. Units at the Paulsboro refinery include crude distillation units, vacuum distillation units, an FCC unit, a delayed coking unit, a lube oil processing unit and a propane de-asphalting unit. The Paulsboro refinery processes a range of medium and heavy, sour crude oils. The Paulsboro refinery produces gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel and also manufactures Group I base oils or lubricants. In addition to its finished clean products slate, Paulsboro produces asphalt and petroleum coke. In addition, separate from the Company's agreement with Statoil the Company ha! s a long-! term contract with Saudi Aramco. The Paulsboro refinery has total storage capacity of approximately 7.5 million barrels. Of the total, approximately 2.1 million barrels are dedicated to crude oil storage with the remaining 5.4 million barrels allocated to finished products, intermediates and other products.
Toledo Refinery
Toledo has a throughput capacity of approximately 170,000 thousand barrels per day and a Nelson Complexity Index of 9.2. Toledo processes a slate of light, sweet crudes from Canada, the Midcontinent, the Bakken region and the United States Gulf Coast. Toledo produces a high percentage of finished products, including gasoline and ULSD, in addition to a range of petrochemicals, including nonene, xylene, tetramer and toluene. The Toledo refinery is located on a 282-acre site near Toledo, Ohio, approximately 60 miles from Detroit. Units at the Toledo refinery include an FCC unit, a hydrocracker, an alkylation unit and a UDEX unit. Crude is delivered to the Toledo refinery through three primary pipelines: Enbridge from the north, Capline from the south and Mid-Valley from the south. Crude is also delivered to a nearby terminal by rail and from local sources by truck to a truck unloading facility within the refinery.
Toledo is connected through pipelines, to a distribution network throughout Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The finished products are transported on pipelines owned by Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. and Buckeye Partners.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
Nothing could be (re)finer
Like the previous companies, the dismal performance of the market over the past week has ransacked even the oil refining sector and names like PBF Energy (NYSE: PBF ) . Refiners come under pressure anytime the prospect of lower demand rolls around, so with China's credit crunch scaring investors under the covers, it's not a big surprise to see PBF shares selling off. The company's approximately 16 million share secondary offering earlier this month didn't help its cause, either.
Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Penske Automotive Group Inc.(PAG)
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. operates as an automotive retailer. It sells new and used vehicles of approximately 40 vehicle brands; offers vehicle maintenance and repair services; and engages in the sale and placement of third-party finance and insurance products, third-party extended service contracts, and replacement and aftermarket automotive products. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 320 retail automotive franchises, of which 166 franchises were located in the United States and 154 franchises are located outside of the United States primarily in the United Kingdom. It also has operations in Puerto Rico and Germany. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG ) reported earnings on April 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Penske Automotive Group missed estimates on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share. - [By Marc Bastow]
Automotive retail and transportation services giant Penske (PAG) raised its quarterly dividend 6.3% to 17 cents per share, payable on Dec. 2 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 11.
PAG Dividend Yield:�1.72%
Top 10 Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now: W. R. Grace & Co (GRA)
W.R. Grace & Co. (Grace), incorporated on August 6, 1997, is engaged in the production and sale of specialty chemicals and specialty materials on a global basis. The Company operates in three segments: Grace Catalysts Technologies; Grace Materials Technologies; and Grace Construction Products. Grace Catalysts Technologies will include catalysts and related technologies used in refining, petrochemical and other chemical manufacturing applications. Grace's Advanced Refining Technologies LLC (ART) joint venture will be managed in this segment. Grace Materials Technologies will include engineered materials, coatings and sealants used in industrial, consumer, pharmaceutical and packaging applications. Grace Construction Products will include specialty construction chemicals and specialty building materials used in commercial, infrastructure and residential construction. The Company conducts business in over 40 countries. In July 2012, the Company acquired Rheoset Industria e Comercio de Aditivos Ltda. In November 2012, the Company acquired the assets of Noblestar Catalysts Co., Ltd. In April 2013, it acquired Chemind Construction Products. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of the Polypropylene Licensing and Catalysts business of The Dow Chemical Company.
Refining Technologies
The Company is engaged in developing and manufacturing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts and additives for petroleum refiners. Grace markets hydroprocessing catalysts primarily through ART, its joint venture with Chevron Products Company (Chevron). The Company established ART to combine its technology with that of Chevron and to develop, market and sell hydroprocessing catalysts to customers in the petroleum refining industry worldwide. Grace is a supplier of hydroprocessing catalysts designed for processing these feedstocks. The Company offers products for fixed-bed resid hydrotreating, on-stream catalyst replacement, ebullating-bed resid hydro! cracking and distillate hydrotreating processes. It also offers a full line of catalysts, customized for individual refiners, used in processing ultra-low sulfur content gasoline and diesel fuel, including its SMART Catalyst System and ApART catalyst system.
Grace provides enabling technologies that are silica- and silica-alumina-based functional additives and process aids, such as silica gel, colloidal silica, zeolitic adsorbents, precipitated silica and silica-aluminas, for a range of applications. The Company�� product portfolio includes PERKASIL, LUDOX, PHONOSORB, PHONOSORB MTX, SYLOBEAD, SYLOSIV, CRYOSIV, SAFETYSORB, PoliEdge, SYLODENT, SYLOID FP, SYLOBLANC, ELFADENT, SYLOID, DARACLAR, TriSyl, SHIELDEX, SYLOWHITE, SYLOJET, DURAFILL, LUDOX, DAREX, DARAFORM, DARASEAL, DARABLEND, Sincera, Celox, Apperta, Sistiaga, and SAFETYSORB.
Specialty Technologies
The Company is a provider of catalyst systems and catalyst supports to the polyolefins industry for a variety of polyethylene and polypropylene process technologies. These types of catalysts are used for the manufacture of polyethylene and polypropylene resins used in products such as plastic film, high-performance plastic pipe, automobile parts, household appliances and household containers. Its Magnapore polymerization catalyst is used to produce high performance polyethylene in the slurry loop process for pipe and film applications. Its POLYTRAK polymerization catalyst is used in automobile bumpers and household appliances. The Company's DAVICAT standard and customized catalysts offer a range of chemical and physical properties based on its material science technology for supported catalysts, polystyrene, herbicide, neutriceuticals and on purpose olefins. The Company's RANEY nickel, cobalt and copper hydrogenation and dehydrogenation catalysts are used for the synthesis of organic compounds for the fibers, polyurethanes, engineered plastics, pharmaceuticals, sweeteners and petroleum industries.
Gr! ace Const! ruction Products
Grace Construction Products produces and sells specialty construction chemicals and specialty building materials. It includes construction chemicals including concrete admixtures and fibers used to modify the rheology, improve the durability and enhance various other properties of concrete, mortar, masonry and other cementitious construction materials; and additives used in cement processing to improve energy efficiency in manufacturing, enhance the characteristics of finished cement and improve ease of use, and Building materials used in both new construction and renovation/repair projects. The products protect buildings and civil engineering structures from water, vapor and air penetration. The portfolio includes waterproofing membranes for commercial and residential buildings, specialty grouts for use in waterproofing and soil stabilization applications, air and vapor barriers, and other products to solve the specialized needs of preventative and repair applications.
The Company competes with Albemarle, BASF, Criterion, Haldor Topsoe, Axens, PQ/INEOS, Evonik, UOP, Altana, Waters Corporation, Agilent Technologies, Thermo-Fisher and Sika.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Yet the price spike also spurred the development of�alternatives to the metals. Toyota (NYSE: TM ) , for example, began manufacturing cars with induction motors rather than with those using rare earth magnets, as did General Motors (NYSE: GM ) , which noted that although they're slightly less efficient, they're also a heckuva lot cheaper to make and buy. General Electric (NYSE: GE ) began developing wind turbine generators that relied less upon permanent-magnet machines and W.R. Grace (NYSE: GRA ) offered fluid catalytic cracking catalysts, which oil refiners use to produce gasoline and diesel, that contained�less�lanthanum.�
- [By Steve Sears]
New stocks in what Goldman calls the “Hedge Fund VIP list,”�include Actavis (ACT), Baidu (BIDU), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Crown Castle International (CCI), Entergy Louisiana (ELB), �Equinix (EQIX), Facebook (FB), Fleetcor Technologies (FLT), W.R. Grace (GRA), MetLife (MET), Macquarie Infrastructure (MIC), Micron (MU), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and Time Warner (TWX).
- [By Selena Maranjian]
Tiger Global Management reduced its stake in lots of companies, including specialty chemical company W. R. Grace (NYSE: GRA ) , which is getting close to emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its last earnings report featured revenue and earnings below the company's own expectations, but that didn't faze Goldman Sachs, which recently upgraded Grace stock to its Conviction Buy list, citing its cash flow and a strengthening construction market.
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