Even as Federal Reserve policymakers seemed unsure of the immediate direction of the global economy, debating whether disinflation could be an issue in the short term at their meeting March 18-19, most of them expected inflation would return to 2 percent in the next few years, according to minutes of the gathering released April 9.
But just when within the next two years inflation would start rising has been a point of debate, and the fact that producer prices exceeded economist expectations this week reinforced the idea that policymakers, for all their good intentions, may not time interest rates correctly to contain runaway inflation, as historically has been the case.
And this situation also clearly calls for the need to have investments that can simultaneously enhance earnings and protect against inflation, which can appear more suddenly than policymakers have forecasted. Energy infrastructure or midstream Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) can deliver this investment flexibility, offering investors exposure to the shale boom or commodity price rises, tax benefits, and most MLPs’ contracts are protected against the producer price increases we saw this month.
The prices businesses receive for their goods and services rose in March, defying a long stretch of subdued inflation across the U.S. economy, according to the Wall Street Journal. The producer price index for final demand, which measures changes in prices for everything from food and machinery to warehousing and transportation services, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% from February, the Labor Department reported on April 11. The index rose 0.6%, excluding the volatile categories of food and energy.
Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected the index to rise a more modest 0.1%, and predicted a 0.2% increase excluding food and energy. The index fell 0.1% in February, unchanged from the Labor Department’s initial estimate. The PPI for final demand was up 1.4% in March from a year earlier! , the biggest year-over-year increase since last August.
The PPI measures the prices businesses receive from buyers such as governments, consumers and other businesses. The Labor Department overhauled the report this year to measure a much broader swath of the U.S. economy.
Top 5 Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: Snam SpA (SRG)
Snam SpA is an Italy-based company engaged in the management of natural gas services. The Company is diversified into four operating segments. The Transportation segment covers transportation-related gas services, including capacity management and transportation of the gas at the entry points of the gas network to the redelivery points. It owns transportation infrastructures of gas pipelines. The Regasification segment is focused on extraction activities of natural gas, its liquefaction for transport by ship and subsequent regasification. The Storage segment covers deposits, gas treatment plants, compression plants and the operational dispatching system. The Distribution segment engages gas distribution through local transportation networks from delivery points at the metering and reduction stations to the gas distribution network redelivery points at the end customers. Additionally, Snam SpA as the parent company, focuses on planning, management, coordination and control of the group. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Victor Selva]
The Specialty Restaurant Group (SRG), which includes Bahama Breeze and The Capital Grille, has grown over the last couple of quarters. Eddie V's Restaurants and Yard House might be meaningful long-term drivers, as we think most of the growth in the next years will come from the acquisition of those restaurants.
- [By Tom Stoukas]
Snam SpA (SRG) dropped the most in almost a year as Eni SpA sold an 11.7 percent stake in the owner of Italy�� biggest natural-gas network. Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc tumbled the most in more than 14 months. Experian Plc jumped to a record after the world�� largest credit-checking company raised its dividend and announced a share buyback.
Best Transportation Stocks To Own Right Now: KNOT Offshore Partners LP (KNOP)
KNOT Offshore Partners LP, incorporated on February 21, 2013, is a limited partnership formed to own, operate and acquire shuttle tankers under long-term charters. Its initial fleet of shuttle tankers contribute to the Company by Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS (KNOT), which is jointly owned by TS Shipping Invest AS, (TSSI), and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). NYK is a Japanese public company with a fleet of approximately 800 vessels, including bulk carriers, containerships, tankers and specialized vessels. The Company is a holding entity and is conduct its operations and business through subsidiaries KNOT is an independent owner of crude oil shuttle tankers. Its general partner is KNOT Offshore Partners GP LLC. In August 2013, KNOT Offshore Partners LP's wholly owned subsidiary KNOT Shuttle Tankers AS completed its acquisition of all interests in Knutsen Shuttle Tanker 13 AS that owns and operates the Carmen Knutsen from KNOT Offshore Tankers AS.
The Company's initial fleet consists of four shuttle tankers, which are vessels designed to transport crude oil and condensates from offshore oil field installations to onshore terminals and refineries. The shuttle tankers include , Fortaleza Knutsen, Recife Knutsen, Bodil Knutsen and Windsor Knutsen. Its shuttle tankers are equipped with loading systems and dynamic positioning systems that allow the vessels to load cargo safely and reliably from oil field installations, even in harsh weather conditions.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Aimee Duffy]
But this too is starting to shift. If you look at the most-recent IPOs on the New York Stock Exchange, you'll find many corners of the energy industry represented:
Tallgrass Energy Partners�-- Natural gas midstream, debuted May 14 KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE: KNOP ) -- Shuttle tankers, debuted April 10 SunCoke Energy Partners (NYSE: SXCP ) -- Coal/coke making, debuted Jan. 18 CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR ) -- Mid-continent refining, debuted Jan. 17There have also been a few MLP-related funds to hit the market this year, including Global X Junior MLP ETF�and Neuberger Berman MLP Income Fund.
Best Transportation Stocks To Own Right Now: YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)
YRC Worldwide Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various transportation services worldwide. The company?s YRC National Transportation unit offers a range of services for the transportation of industrial, commercial, and retail goods, such as apparel, appliances, automotive parts, chemicals, food, furniture, glass, machinery, metal, metal products, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, textiles, wood, and other manufactured products. It serves manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and government customers. As of December 31, 2009, it had 11704 owned tractors, 1239 leased tractors, 50083 owned trailers, and 3244 leased trailers. Its YRC Regional Transportation unit?s service portfolio includes regional delivery, which comprises next-day local area delivery and second-day services, consolidation/distribution services, protect-from-freezing and hazardous materials handling, and various specialized offerings; expedited delivery, that comprises day-definite, hour-definite, and time definite capabilities; inter-regional delivery; cross-border delivery; and operation of my.yrcregional.com and NewPenn.com, which are e-commerce Websites offering online resources to manage transportation activity. The company?s YRC Logistics units? service portfolio consists of distribution services that include flow through and pool distribution, dedicated warehousing, and value-added services; global services, which comprise international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and value-added services; and transportation services, such as truckload brokerage, domestic freight forwarding, and transportation management. Its YRC Truckload unit provides customized truckload services on regional and national level through the use of company and team-based drivers. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 trucking player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is YRC Worldwide (YRCW), which, through its subsidiaries, provides various transportation services primarily in North America.. This stock has been hit hard by the bears over the last three months, with shares off sharply by 50%.
If you take a look at the chart for YRC Worldwide, you'll notice that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last five months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $33.89 to its recent low of $7.06 a share. During that downtrend, shares of YRCW have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of YRCW have now started to stabilize and the stock has formed a triple bottom chart pattern over the last month, at $7.06, $7.20 and $7.44 a share. Shares of YRCW have now reversed its downtrend and started to uptrend, with the stock moving higher from $7.06 to its recent high of $10.50 a share. That move has now pushed shares of YRCW within range of triggering a big breakout trade.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in YRCW if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $10.63 a share to its 50-day moving average of $10.87 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average volume of 826,789 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then YRCW will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels $12.38 to $15 a share. Any high-volume move above $15 will then give YRCW a chance to tag $16 to $18 a share.
Traders can look to buy YRCW off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right around some key near-term support levels at $9.20 or at $8.35 a share. One can also buy YRCW off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply us
- [By Dan Caplinger]
But one reason why trucking stocks have done so well is that investors are starting to see the potential for consolidation in the industry. Long-beleaguered YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW ) apparently made an offer to buy out peer Arkansas Best (NASDAQ: ABFS ) in May, and although Arkansas Best rebuffed the bid, it still points to the efficiency gains that smaller trucking and logistics companies could gain from combining forces.
- [By Sean Williams]
Costs have been another big concern for YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW ) which has been unprofitable on an annual basis since 2006. Rather than go bankrupt, YRC diluted shareholders into oblivion, ultimately saving it from Chapter 11 but destroying nearly all shareholder value. In order to cut down on its own expenses, YRC has considered merging with Arkansas Best.
Best Transportation Stocks To Own Right Now: Saia Inc.(SAIA)
Saia, Inc., an asset-based trucking company, provides transportation and supply chain solutions primarily to the retail, chemical, and manufacturing industries in the United States. The company, through it subsidiary, Saia Motor Freight Line, LLC, offers regional and interregional less than truckload (LTL) services, selected national LTL, and time-definite services. It was formerly known as SCS Transportation, Inc. Saia, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Wunderlich’s Nicholas Bender thinks FedEx’s results bode well for Old Dominion (ODFL), Con-way (CNW) and Saia (SAIA):
We expect all less-than-truckload carriers to benefit in 2Q14 from the same trends that carried FedEx Freight to a banner 4Q14. This includes Hold-rated Old Dominion, which will continue to grow at well above market rates, and Buy-rated Con-way, which we believe can leverage a strong 2Q14 to prime the pump on margin enhancement efforts. Our favorite name in the space remains Saia (SAIA-$42.92, Buy), which will once again see accelerating tonnage growth in 2Q14. Though tonnage growth will moderate in� 2H14 due to steeper comps, there remains considerable potential for the company to boost yield and continue winning incremental business with new accounts.
- [By John Udovich]
Despite what can best be described as a�soft economy, small cap trucking stocks YRC Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW), Arkansas Best Corporation (NASDAQ: ABFS), Frozen Food Express Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: FFEX), Saia Inc (NASDAQ: SAIA) and USA Truck, Inc (NASDAQ: USAK) have been trucking some pretty impressive returns since the start of the year. In fact, these small cap trucking stocks are up anywhere from 72% to 150% or so since the start of the year despite the slow economy. Certainly trucking stocks provide a good indicator of how the economy is doing, but might investors be�jumping the gun by pushing up these trucking stocks?
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