American International Group Inc Beats Q3 Analyst EPS Estimates; Revenues Miss (AIG)

American International Group Inc (AIG) released its third quarter earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell, posting earnings that beat analyst expectations, while revenues missed.

AIG’s Q3 Performance in Brief
- Revenues came in at $8.43 billion, a drop from the $8.75 billion reported a year ago. Analysts had expected AIG’s revenues to come in at $8.63 billion.
- Net after-tax operating income came in at $1.4 billion, or $0.96 per share; analysts had expected EPS to come in at $0.94.
- Growth in insurance operating income rose 38% from a year prior to $2.2 billion.
- Investors should note that net income attributable to AIG for the quarter exceeded after-tax operating income attributable to AIG largely due to valuation allowance releases associated with deferred tax assets from capital loss carryforwards, partially offset by a $260 million after-tax increase to litigation reserves related to legacy crisis matters.

CEO Commentary
CEO and President Robert H. Benmosche commented, “AIG's solid performance this quarter underscores the strong fundamentals of our businesses, and builds upon the momentum that we generated in the first half of this year. Our insurance operations reported improved pre-tax operating profits this quarter from the third quarter of 2012, and we continue to remain optimistic about the future.”

AIG’s Dividend
AIG pays a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, or $0.40 annualized. AIG is set to pay its next dividend on December 19, 2013 to shareholders of record on December 5, 2013, with an ex-dividend date of December 3, 2013.

AIG reinstated a dividend of 10 cents on September 26, 2013. Prior to that, AIG had not paid a dividend since September of 2008.

Shares Slip
American International Group shares slipped 0.62% during Thursday’s session. Year-to-date, the stock is up 42.46%

Does Whole Foods Support All-Time Highs?

With shares of Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFM) trading around $105, is WFM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Whole Foods is a natural and organic foods supermarket operating in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  The company's stores average 38,000 square feet in size and 10 years in age, and are supported by its Austin headquarters, regional offices, distribution centers, bakehouse facilities, commissary kitchens, seafood-processing facilities, meat and produce procurement centers, and a specialty coffee, tea procurement and roasting operation. Consumers worldwide are showing growing concerns about the foods they are enjoying. There is a strong movement towards organic, cruelty-free, and self-sustaining food sources. Look for Whole Foods to capitalize on this movement and see rising profits.

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T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Whole Foods stock has seen an explosive move higher over the last few years. This move has taken the stock to all-time high prices and sees no signs of slowing. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Whole Foods is trading above its rising key averages which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

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

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Whole Foods Options	35.76%	26%	25%

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

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
June Options	Flat	Average
July Options	Flat	Average

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

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

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

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	18.75%	20%	43.83%	26%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	13.36%	13.71%	23.64%	13.65%
Earnings Reaction	10.11%	-9.7%	-5.85%	11.32%

Whole Foods has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these figures, the markets have been pleased with Whole Foods’s recent earnings announcements.

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P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Whole Foods stock done relative to its peers, Kroger (NYSE:KR), Fresh Market (NASDAQ:TFM), Safeway (NYSE:SWY), and sector?

	Whole Foods	Kroger	Fresh Market	Safeway	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	15.54%	34.20%	-2.97%	33.89%	18.49%

Whole Foods has been an average performer, year-to-date.

Conclusion

Whole Foods operates natural and organic foods supermarkets during a time where consumers are become more aware of the foods they eat. The stock has seen an explosive run over the last several years that has taken it to all-time high prices. Earnings and revenue figures have increased steadily over the last four quarters, which has kept investors upbeat. Relative to its strong peers and sector, Whole Foods has been an average performer. Look for Whole Foods to OUTPERFORM.

Can Caterpillar Dig its Way Out of A Poor Second Quarter?

To say that Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) "experienced headwinds during the [second] quarter"—as CEO Doug Oberhelman did in Wednesday's earnings release—is an understatement. Earnings per share decreased 43 percent on a year-over year basis, while revenues were around $2.75 billion lower than in the previous year's quarter. Caterpillar has always been a "buy and hold" stock, but will its short-term woes create irreversible structural problems for the company down the road? Let's use our CHEAT SHEET investing framework to decide whether Caterpillar is an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY.

C = Catalysts for the Stock's Movement

The market did not react well to Caterpillar's second quarter earnings report; shares have fallen more than 4 percent to $82.02 since the company announced earnings on July 24. The heavy equipment maker reported second quarter earnings of $1.45 a share, 15 percent lower than analysts' estimates of $1.71. Inventory reductions of $1 billion from dealers and $1.2 billion internally hurt Caterpillar's sales; however, free cash flow increased substantially from the previous year's quarter. The company stated in the report that it does not expect inventory levels to improve in the near-term and estimates a further $1.5 billion to $2 billion decline in inventory before the end of the year.

While Caterpillar manufactures equipment for construction and power systems in addition to mining equipment, weakness in the mining industry crippled the company's potential sales for the quarter. Mining companies such as Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) and BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) have slashed their CAPEX because of decreased worldwide demand and cyclically low commodity prices. Caterpillar bears the brunt of these CAPEX cuts because, unlike new building construction, it’s relatively easy to cancel the purchase of say a Caterpillar backhoe. Caterpillar hopes to improve its long-term inventory picture by underselling in this weak market. The company is in good shape to experience organic sales growth once the mining industry recovers.

Over the long-term, Caterpillar still holds a dominant position in the heavy machinery market. Caterpillar is focusing on expanding its dealer network throughout China as the company has always been very bullish on Chinese growth. Sales to China actually increased last quarter, despite shortcomings in virtually every other market. Additionally, because of the company’s vast economies of scale in manufacturing and distribution and high barriers to entry in the heavy equipment industry, Caterpillar is relatively well protected from competition over the long-term.

E = Excellent Performance Relative to Peers?

Caterpillar stacks up well against three of its biggest competitors: John Deere (NYSE:DE), Komatsu (KMTUY.PK), and Volvo (VOLVY.PK). While these companies are not perfect competitors to Caterpillar, it may be a useful exercise to compare their key financial statistics to get a better sense of how the company performs in the overall industry. Caterpillar has a very attractive price to earnings growth ratio of 0.61, far less than the other three companies. A PEG ratio under one implies that the company is undervalued relative to its earnings growth potential. Additionally, Caterpillar has a trailing price to earnings multiple of 11.02, second only to that of John Deere. This multiple is slightly lower than that of the industry, suggesting that the company is attractively priced.

Caterpillar has a debt to equity ratio of 2.21, which seems high, but is fairly reasonable given that the industry average is 2.20 and competitor John Deere has a debt to equity ratio of more than 4. Additionally, Caterpillar has an interest coverage ratio of 6.63, meaning that its earnings can cover its interest payments more than 6 times over.

Long considered an exemplary dividend play, Caterpillar's current dividend yields an attractive 2.80 percent, compared with the industry average of 1.90 percent. The company recently announced a dividend increase of 15 percent to $0.60; this will be the seventh year in a row that the company has increased dividends. The higher dividend will take some of the bad taste out of shareholders' mouths due to the lackluster quarterly performance. Additionally, Caterpillar has announced plans to use some of this cash flow to repurchase $1 billion of stock in the next quarter, which should help soften the impact that the weak mining sector will have on the stock price.

	CAT	DE	KMTUY	VOLVY
Trailing P/E	11.02	10.22	13.64	30.51
PEG Ratio	0.61	1.11	1.26	2.86
Debt/Equity	2.21	4.12	0.54	1.77
Profit Margin	7.88%	8.51%	6.70%	2.35%
Dividend Yield	2.80%	2.40%	N/A	N/A

*Data sourced from Yahoo! Finance

Conclusion

While Caterpillar has experienced several difficult quarters, the causes have been external rather than internal—namely, a depressed mining sector leading to inventory problems. By underselling demand for the rest of the year, Caterpillar is exchanging short-term sales weakness for an attractive inventory position in the future leading to sales growth beginning in 2014. Moreover, investors thinking about going long Caterpillar can use recent weakness to buy the stock at a more attractive level than before.

Consumer Reports lists most unreliable auto brands

A day after Consumer Reports magazine listed the best car brands for reliability, the obvious question emerges: Which is the worst?

The answer can be summed up in four little letters: Mini. BMW's fun, youthful bargain brand fell six places from last year when it comes to reliability to end up in the basement.

But the next two worst brands for reliability are ones that have showcased America's manufacturing comeback: Lincoln and Ford. They were bad last year and they are bad again this year. Three other Detroit brands -- Cadillac, Dodge and Jeep -- make up the next worst brands. But the next ones are decidedly foreign -- Nissan, Hyundai and Volkswagen. Then Chrysler's Ram, in 10th place.

How to explain it all? Consumer Reports' testing engineer Jake Fisher wonders if European makers are getting chintzy with their less expensive brands. He says Mini's placement at the bottom of the list is interesting considering that BMW is squarely in the middle when it comes to reliability. Volkswagen fared far worse than also middle-of-the-pack Porsche.

"Less-expensive European brands are having more problems," he says. It raises the possibility "They are trying to save money in these vehicles" by scrimping in ways that hurt reliability.

Reached for comment, Mini offered a statement: "When our owners speak we listen and act accordingly. We are currently taking a close look at the recent Consumer Reports findings so that we can better understand what our customers reported, and learn from this information in order to improve the reliability of all Mini vehicles."

When it comes to Ford and its luxury brand, Lincoln, Fisher says the brand appears to have tried to have made too many changes at once. The magazine says of the 31 Ford models in its survey, only one was above average, the F-150 pickup with a 3.7-liter engine. Ford vehicles took a hit for confusing infotainment systems, its MyFord Touch with Sync, which the company acknowledges. But Ford may have gotten into trouble with a fr! eshened product line with changes like new turbocharged engines that took on a lot at once, he says.

Ford says in response: "We listen to all customer input and remain absolutely committed to delivering the best quality with every new vehicle. We have improved the quality of our advanced connectivity technologies by 50% since launch. Customers want advanced infotainment technologies in their vehicles. MyFord Touch and Sync are sold on 93% of our vehicles and more than 70% of customers would recommend the technologies to others."

The list of the worst brands for reliability:

1. Mini

2. Lincoln

3. Ford

4. Cadillac

5. Dodge

6. Jeep

7. Nissan

8. Hyundai

9. Volkswagen

10.Ram

Diluting Risk in Health Care

Despite all the political turmoil over health care and persistent Republican efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act, health care has been a top-performing sector in the mutual fund universe.

With an average return of 39.6 percent over the trailing one-year period, the health sector has been the third best performer, while topping the chart over the trailing three-year period with a total return just shy of 23 percent. Health care has also been one of the best performing US sectors for most of this year.

Nonetheless, many investors find the health care sector intimidating, having a tough time balancing more established players with cutting-edge biotechnology companies that have the potential promise of high profits but are extremely high risk. And while the health care sector as a whole is generally less volatile than the broader market, you can still find some shockingly high betas in a few niches of the sector.

So for many investors, it’s sensible to make a broadly diversified bet on health care, relying on professional money managers with expertise in the sector to maintain a portfolio of health care companies for them. There are also a number of passively managed index funds which could yield healthy profits for more cost-conscious investors.

On the passively managed front, Health Care SPDR (NYSE: XLV) is a terrifically diversified exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds a basket of 55 health care companies, ranging from big pharma such as Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) to veterinary-focused companies such as Patterson Companies (NSDQ: PDCO) and insurers such as Cigna (NYSE: CI).

Only 18.6 percent of assets are in the fund’s top ten holdings and most positions have an average weighting of only about three percent, which means problems at any one company aren’t likely to sway performance. The fund also has extremely low turnover of just 5 percent annually whi! ch, coupled with its ETF structure, means there’s very little potential tax exposure aside from any capital gains you may owe when you sell a stake in the fund.

Given its extremely diversified portfolio with an emphasis on larger companies, the fund is rarely a top-performer in the health care category, typically ranking closer towards the middle of its peer growth. So far this year, it has returned 34 percent compared to 36.4 percent for the sector as a whole and has generated an 8.5 percent return over the past 10 years, compared to 9.4 percent for the sector.

While you do give up some return with Health Care SPDR, you gain much more peace of mind in terms of both potential tax liability as well as volatility. The health care sector is historically much less volatile than, say, the S&P 500, but Health Care SPDR is also less volatile than the health care sector itself. Its three-year beta relative to the broad S&P 500 is just 0.69, while it’s just 92 percent as volatile as the sector itself. It’s also inexpensive, with an annual expense ratio of just 0.18 percent.

By comparison, more risk-tolerant investors should consider a targeted, actively managed fund such as Fidelity Select Biotechnology (FBIOX, 800-544-8544).

Manager Rajiv Kaul invests in higher risk, higher reward bitotech companies but he doesn’t take a particularly speculative approach to the niche. While some managers try to identify potential winners among development stage companies, Kaul focuses primarily on companies that already have a product on the market or are in late-stage development with a product soon to be approved.

On average, the fund has about 150 holdings at any one time with annual turnover running at 42 percent, as Kaul lets his winners ride and tends to trim losers fairly quickly. As a result, he’s held some companies such as Amgen (NSDQ: AMGN) and Gilead Sciences (NSDQ: GILD) since the late 1990s, with a number of newer positions such as Intrexon (! NYSE: XON! ) and Prosensa Holding (NSDQ: RNA), which have been added over the past few months.

The fund is a consistent top performer in the health care category, ranking in the top one percent on a one-year and three-year basis. It also falls into the top 6 percent of health care funds on a trailing 5-year basis and the top 8 percent over the past decade.

But with that market beating return also comes substantially more risk; the fund’s three-year beta relative to the health care sector is 1.41, while it comes in at 0.91 relative to the S&P 500.

Taxes are also more of a concern with Fidelity Select Biotechnology, since it is actively managed with fairly high turnover. So far this year it has distributed 5.5 cents of short-term capital gains to shareholders, while in 2012 it distributed $5.70 cents in long-term capital gains and 77.9 cents of short-term gains. Those distributions were made regardless of whether or not you sold your shares.

Considering America’s graying demographics and the radical market expansion the health care sector is experiencing thanks to health care reform, most investors understand that they should have some exposure to the health care sector in their portfolios.

If you choose to do that through funds, one of the biggest decisions you must make is just how much risk you can tolerate and whether you should go with a conservative fund such as Health Care SPDR or something more aggressive such as Fidelity Select Biotechnology.

You’ll also need to consider you own tax situation, with the SPDR being best for taxable accounts while the Fidelity fund would be well suited for an Individual Retirement Account or other tax-deferred vehicle.

Bond rates unlikely to soar again

Click the chart to track more bond yields.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) So much for the bond bubble bursting. And that may be great news for consumers, especially those looking to buy a house or refinance their mortgage.

Treasuries have been rallying since the Federal Reserve decided to delay scaling back, or tapering, its bond buying program last month. The fact that Congress kicked its debt problems to next year helped spur more bond buying too.

That pushed Treasury yields down considerably during the past few weeks, with the 10-year yield sliding to around 2.5%, its lowest level since July. Bond prices and rates move in opposite directions.

How long will rates stay this low? Could they go even lower?

Most bond experts think long-term rates will rise again when the Fed begins to wind down its stimulus program. But that may not happen until sometime in 2014. Analysts also don't expect bond yields to jump as quickly and sharply as they did this summer. Tapering fears pushed the 10-year yield from 1.6% in May to almost 3% by early September.

That dramatic spike led to a sizable increase in mortgage rates during the past few months. As a result, applications for loans to buy new homes dropped. And refinancing activity fell to its lowest levels since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.

So if long-term bond rates don't surge again in the next few months, that could give consumers who missed out on the last great chance to refinance another opportunity to lock in low rates. Experts said that's the main reason why the Fed is likely to be cautious over the next few months,

"The Fed will be careful to avoid giving the market any surprises that would possibly result in unwanted tightening of credit conditions again," said Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist at We! lls Fargo Advisors.

The Fed is deeply concerned about derailing the housing recovery, which has been one of the bright spots of an otherwise sluggish economic rebound.

"Housing is critical to the recovery, and the big danger to housing is that mortgage rates rise too far or too fast," said Russ Koesterich, chief investment strategist at BlackRock. "The Fed knows this."

So what does this mean for interest rates? Thayer thinks the 10-year Treasury yield will creep up to 2.75% by the end of the year and 3% by the time the Fed begins cutting back on its monthly bond purchases early next year. He's not expecting a dramatic rise after that though, since he thinks the Fed will do what it can to keep interest rates relatively low through the middle of 2016.

  Why there isn't a bond bubble

But another bond expert said rates will remain around where they are now for some time. They could even fall further.

Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income, said the Fed must do what it can to keep the 10-year Treasury yield between 2% and 2.5% in order to maintain economic growth of at least 2% a year.

"I don't think you'll see the Fed come out and signal that they are putting of tapering, but they're not willing to risk another debacle where they lose control of the bond market and rates spike so sharply that they threaten the economic recovery," he said.

This Growing Problem Could Threaten Ford's Big Gains

Growing sales of models like the Escape have pushed some Ford suppliers to the limit. Photo credit: Ford Motor.

Ford  (NYSE: F  ) reported strong earnings in North America this past week, a third-quarter profit of $2.3 billion. That came as Ford's sales have been increasing, but there's a new challenge emerging as Ford keeps pushing to increase production to keep up with demand.

What's the challenge? Bottlenecks at suppliers. Ford's new global purchasing chief said this week that some of Ford's key suppliers are maxed out, and that has the Blue Oval worried. Parts shortages could bring a Ford assembly line to a quick halt -- but if suppliers push too hard to keep up, quality could start to suffer.

In this video, Fool contributor John Rosevear looks at the problem -- and explains how Ford is moving to make sure its expansion plans can continue on schedule.

The "no-choice" auto revolution is coming. Are you ready?
An under-the-radar auto company has giants such as Ford, General Motors, and Toyota clamoring for access to its revolutionary technology. Many forward-thinking car enthusiasts are plowing money into this little-known stock, because they know it holds a key to the explosive profit power of the coming "no choice fuel revolution." Luckily, there's still time for you to get on board if you act quickly. All the details are inside an exclusive report from The Motley Fool. Click here for the full story!

Samsung Keeps Hijacking Android

Samsung has leveraged Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android to become the dominant smartphone vendor in the world by a large margin. The South Korean giant has utilized its advantages in vertical integration, scale, and marketing, and due to its size has many more methods to differentiate itself from rival Android OEMs.

The company has the resources to focus more heavily on software and services, two areas that are critical to success nowadays. Commoditized rivals can't afford to do as much. When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S4, Android wasn't even mentioned as the company focused entirely on what it was bringing to the table. Samsung followed up by launching a new content hub that competes directly with Google Play, where users can search for apps and entertainment tailored to its Galaxy devices.

Sammy's at it again. The company just announced its first-ever annual developers conference, in an effort to grow a developer base that's specialized for its products. That extends beyond just smartphones and tablets, and Samsung is gearing the event toward a wide range of platforms and devices. The developer conference will take place later this year in California, not too far from where the company just began construction on a new $300 million headquarters in Silicon Valley.

Typically the companies that directly operate the primary operating system platforms are the ones that host developer conferences. Google I/O, Apple WWDC, and Microsoft Build have all come and gone this year. Samsung is now making it clear that it wants to contend with the best of them on a platform level.

While the event should include a wide range of platforms, Android is by far Samsung's largest and most successful portfolio. The company could be expected to focus developers on its Galaxy brand, as opposed to other product families like its Windows brand ATIV or its upcoming Tizen operating system.

Samsung continues to hijack Android for its own good.

It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

Unnatural Exposure for Pepsi's Naked Juice

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that PepsiCo will also remove the "non-GMO" claim from its Naked Juice packaging. The Fool regrets the error.

Once you go down the rabbit hole of the government determining what's "natural" and what's not, it's hard to get back out, but food and beverage companies like PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) may need it to do so since plaintiff's attorneys seem determined to wring cash out of them for dubious violations of labeling laws.

Pepsi's Naked Juice brand recently agreed to settle for $9 million a class action lawsuit that the claims of "natural" made on its bottles were misleading or false because they contained unnaturally processed and synthetic ingredients. They were also charged with using genetically modified ingredients.

As readers may know, I'm a proponent of GMO labeling because I believe that when an organism is being manipulated in the lab and being released into the food chain, consumers ought to know they're ingesting that. Yet while I might not be big supporter of GMO crops, I wouldn't stop Monsanto (NYSE: MON  ) or Syngenta from developing their seeds. I just want to know if what I'm eating or drinking contains their Frankenfood strains.

But when it comes to claims of what constitutes "all natural," I'm willing to give food and drink producers a bit more leeway as there's a certain amount of processing that has to go on to make the goods available. Even the FDA recognizes the difficulty in the task and has posted on its website the reasons behind its reluctance to pursue the issue.

From a food science perspective, it is difficult to define a food product that is 'natural' because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth. That said, FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives. However, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.

And because the regulatory agency has not stepped in, the trial lawyers have filled the void. Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) has been sued because its "natural" private-label soda contained caramel flavoring, citric acid, and carbon dioxide. Kraft Foods' (NASDAQ: KRFT  ) "all natural" Capri-Sun was sued previously because it contained high fructose corn syrup and Kellogg's Kashi brand has been similarly sued because it contains bromelain, an enzyme derived from pineapples, which requires acetone in its production.

Campbell Soup finds itself in the netherworld between "all natural" claims and the issue of GMO labeling. A new line of soup has been targeted by lawyers because it contains GMO corn, and with around 86% of the country's corn corp having been genetically modified, it's tough to avoid its use. Unilever's Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream -- the poster boys for the all-natural set -- have been sued as well because 48 of their 53 ice cream flavors are claimed to be decidedly unnatural as they contain "alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, or other ingredients that either don't exist in nature or that have been chemically modified."

As part of its settlement, Naked Juice will stop claiming its beverages are "all natural," though it will be hiring a third-party testing lab to verify its claims that it meets Europe's stringent threshold of less than 0.9% GMO content per ingredient to allow the non-GMO label.

Allowing the government to determine what is and what isn't a certain type of food is a slippery slope I'd prefer not letting them start on. Yet if we don't, food and beverage makers will be left naked and exposed for the trial lawyers who will continue to exploit the vacuum the government's absence creates.

Is eBay Destined for Greatness?

Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY  ) fit the bill? Let's look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.

What we're looking for
The graphs you're about to see tell eBay's story, and we'll be grading the quality of that story in several ways:

Growth: are profits, margins, and free cash flow all increasing? Valuation: is share price growing in line with earnings per share? Opportunities: is return on equity increasing while debt to equity declines?

What the numbers tell you
Now, let's take a look at eBay's key statistics:

EBAY Total Return Price data by YCharts

Passing Criteria

3-Year* Change

Grade

Revenue growth > 30%	63.4%	Pass
Improving profit margin	(31.6%)	Fail
Free cash flow growth > Net income growth	44.4% vs. 11.8%	Pass
Improving EPS	11.3%	Pass
Stock growth (+ 15%) < EPS growth	98.4% vs. 11.3%	Fail

Source: YCharts.
*Period begins at end of Q1 2010.

EBAY Return on Equity data by YCharts

Passing Criteria

3-Year* Change

Grade

Improving return on equity	9.8%	Pass
Declining debt to equity	82.4%	Fail

Source: YCharts.
*Period begins at end of Q1 2010.

How we got here and where we're going
eBay doesn't quite come through with the flawless performance, as it's only earned four out of seven possible passing grades. eBay has enjoyed significant growth in revenue, but net income has failed to keep pace, and the company's net margin has actually declined. eBay has had a tough time keeping its costs down, despite this apparent inadequacy, eBay's shares have made an impressive comeback, and the stock has quietly become one of Silicon Valley's best dot-com rebounds. Is this rebound sustainable, or will eBay shareholders fall victim to rising costs in the end

With 112 million active users and more than 350 million listings globally, eBay certainly qualifies as a world-leading e-commerce company. eBay's advantage isn't measured in dollars but in people, and it's that trust and loyalty that gives eBay a huge moat. The same could be said of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) , but the mechanisms behind each company's success differ in subtle but critically important ways. The art of negotiation can still be found on eBay (where it hasn't been replaced with Buy It Now), but Amazon prefers to focus on simple cost comparisons -- what you see as the lowest price on Amazon is what you're going to get. Amazon also lacks the built-in payment mechanism eBay bought years ago and has slowly built into a world-class online payments processor.

One of the biggest risk factors relating to eBay's business is that, outside of its auction niche, there aren't any exceptionally compelling reasons to buy anything on the site rather than on Amazon, or at any one of a variety of competing online retail portals. PayPal, while highly touted as the real crown jewel of the eBay empire, is also not immune to competition. In most cases, PayPal simply imposes an additional layer of processing between the credit (or debit) card and the seller. Streamlined options like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Wallet, which Fool contributor Tim Beyers suggests could be tied to an eBay-like barter system via Google+, would simply need to offer lower processing fees and similar (or greater) levels of convenience to cause a major shift in users. Of course, PayPal has the advantage of a recently announced outer-space payment system, which may or may not be a delayed April Fool's joke. Google, of course, is already in on the space race -- it sponsors the Lunar X Prize to be awarded for a privately funded moon landing. It stands to reason that Google would be ready for space-based payments, too.

Putting the pieces together
Today, eBay has some of the qualities that make up a great stock, but no stock is truly perfect. Digging deeper can help you uncover the answers you need to make a great buy -- or to stay away from a stock that's going nowhere.

It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged among the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

Hot Canadian Companies To Invest In Right Now

Shares of Safeway have surged this morning as asset sales trumped atrocious earnings. Some analysts, however, remain unconvinced.

Bloomberg

Yesterday after the close, Safeway said it earned 10 cents a share, well below analyst forecasts for a 16 cent profit. The big news was Safeway’s decision to exit Chicago–its selling its stores one by one–and its desire to sell its Canadian business as well.

Citigroup’s Deborah Weinswig celebrates the announcement:

SWY has announced intentions to exit Chicago by early 2014, resulting in a cash tax benefit of $400-450M. The company will sell the 72 stores piecemeal, with 4 already gone to New Albertsons. We are pleased with the decision and speedy progress and we believe there could be further opportunities to unlock additional shareholder value through non-core asset divestitures, but for now SWY is still closing on Chicago and Canada.

Hot Canadian Companies To Invest In Right Now: KBR Inc. (KBR)

KBR, Inc. operates as an engineering, construction, and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbon, government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, and industrial sectors worldwide. Its Downstream business unit provides front end engineering design; detailed engineering; engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); EPC management; and program management services to petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, and syngas markets. The company?s Government and Infrastructure business unit provides program and project management, contingency logistics, operations and maintenance, construction management, engineering, and other services to military and civilian branches of governments and private clients. Its Services business unit delivers engineering, construction, construction management, fabrication, maintenance, and turnaround services. It also offers maintenance, construction, and drilling support services for offshore oil and gas producing facili ties using semisubmersible vessels. This segment serves oil, gas, petrochemicals, and hydrocarbon processing industries, as well as power, alternate energy, pulp and paper, industrial and manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries. The company?s Technology business unit offers various process technologies, including value-added technologies in the coal monetization, petrochemical, refining, and syngas markets. Its Upstream business unit constructs liquefied natural gas, gas-to-liquids, onshore oil and gas production facilities, offshore oil and gas production facilities, and onshore and offshore pipelines. The company?s Ventures business unit invests in and manages projects, where the company provides engineering, construction, construction management or operations, and maintenance services. KBR, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  KBR (NYSE: KBR) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.70 per share on revenue of $1.99 billion.

  Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.04 per share on revenue of $142.67 million.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The larger of the two awards, and by a few orders of magnitude, went to government contractor KBR (NYSE: KBR  ) , which won a firm-fixed-price, option-filled contract valued at up to $134.2 million to develop and construct a land-based missile defense system to be built in Deveselu, Romania. According to Time magazine, the missile base will be constructed on 430 acres of property located -- and we quote -- "125 miles southwest of Count Dracula's castle."

• [By Rich Smith]

  Raytheon's rockets will be deployed to defend the base, while Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) is managing the overall project. And last week, we found out who will build it, when government contractor KBR (NYSE: KBR  ) was awarded $134 million to turn the 430-acre site into a missile base.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Harsco have gained 4.7% to $26.43 today at 1:16 p.m., outpacing other construction & engineering companies. Dycom (DY) has advanced 0.5% to $30, KBR Inc. (KBR) has ticked up 0.1% to $33.03, Worthington Industries�(WOR) has risen 2.8% to $38.85�and Tutor Perini (TPC) has rallied 3.6% to $22.46.

Hot Canadian Companies To Invest In Right Now: Transcananda Pipelines Ltd.(TRP)

Transcanada Corporation operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates in three segments: Natural Gas Pipelines, Oil Pipelines, and Energy. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment develops and operates energy infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines and regulated gas storage facilities. Its network of natural gas pipelines extends approximately 60,000 km tapping into gas supply basins in North America. The Oil Pipelines segment operates Keystone crude oil pipeline system, which includes completed 3,467 km Wood River/Patoka and Cushing Extension phases, and the proposed 2,673 km U.S. Gulf Coast Expansion. The Energy segment engages in the acquisition, development, construction, ownership, and operation of electrical power generation plants; the purchase and marketing of electricity; the provision of electricity account services to energy and industrial customers; and the development, construction, ownership, and operation of non-regulat ed natural gas storage in Alberta. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Despite the obvious fundamental advantages of increased trade of oil between the two countries, there are still some major political hurdles to conquer. On the Canada-to-U.S. side of the argument, TransCanada's (NYSE: TRP  ) Keystone XL pipeline has been stuck in litigation for several months. The proposed pipeline has the potential to deliver 830,000 barrels per day of oil to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, a region that is capable of refining about 2.3 million barrels per day of heavy sour crude. The problem, however, is that the pipeline is receiving stiff opposition from political groups over environmental concerns. Other pipelines such as Enbridge's (NYSE: ENB  ) Mainline and Energy Transfer Partner's (NYSE: ETP  ) Trunkline Reversal project have also met some opposition over similar concerns to Keystone XL, but they certainly have not seen as much media attention.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  By now, you have probably heard about�TransCanada's� (NYSE: TRP  ) �Keystone XL pipeline. For even the most casual observer of the energy industry, this project has been the spark that has ignited poltical debates ranging from environmental hazards, emission of greenhouse gasses, and North American energy independence. In last Tuesday's speech on climate change, President Barack Obama made a point to address the fate of the Keystone XL: "Allowing the Keystone XL pipeline to be built requires a finding [from the Department of State] that doing so will be in our nations interest...".

• [By Sara Murphy]

  Flash-forward to today, and there's a growing movement to divest from hydrocarbons in order to deal with climate change. Part of this movement is 350.org, an organization that urges college and university endowments to divest their shares of fossil fuel companies. The group takes particular aim at Transcanada (NYSE: TRP  ) because of the heavy carbon impact of the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as those companies most exposed to the "carbon bubble," including BP (NYSE: BP  ) , Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) , and Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) .

• [By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy]

  The recent Pegasus Pipeline spill in Arkansas has put the energy sector on the edge a little, and so ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) is trying hard to make this story go away by offering compensation to�residents�of the area where the spill took place. With the fate of TransCanada's (NYSE: TRP  ) pipeline still hanging in the balance, the energy industry wants this story to go away, fast.

Top Small Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S.A. (BLX)

Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. provides trade financing to commercial banks, middle-market companies, and corporations primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company operates in three segments: Commercial, Treasury, and Asset Management. The Commercial segment offers deposits and loans for foreign trade transactions. This segment also provides various products, services, and solutions relating to foreign trade, which include co-financing arrangements, underwriting of syndicated credit facilities, structured trade financing, asset-based financing in the form of factoring, vendor financing and leasing, and other fee-based services, such as electronic clearing services. The Treasury segment offers liquidity management and investment securities activities, including management of interest rate, liquidity, price, and currency risks. The Asset Management segment provides asset management services, including investment advisory services for funds and managed accounts. This division is involved in trading foreign exchange, interest rate swaps, and derivative products. The company was formerly known as Banco Latinoamericano de Exportaciones, S.A. and changed its name to Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. in June 2009. Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Panama City, the Republic of Panama.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (NYSE: BLX  ) , better and more conveniently known as Bladex, is maintaining its dividend policy. The lender has declared a payout of $0.30 per share of its stock for its Q1, to be paid on May 7 to shareholders of record as of April 29. This amount matches the company's previous disbursement, which has been paid in both of the preceding two quarters. Before that, Bladex dispensed $0.25 per share.

Hot Canadian Companies To Invest In Right Now: Newmont Mining Corporation(Holding Company)

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

Hot Canadian Companies To Invest In Right Now: Kinross Gold Corporation(KGC)

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing gold ores. It also involves in the exploration and acquisition of gold bearing properties. The company?s gold production and exploration activities are carried out principally in the Americas, Africa, and the Russian Federation. As of December 31, 2010, its proven and probable mineral reserves were 62.4 million ounces of gold, 90.9 million ounces of silver, and 1.4 billion pounds of copper. The company was founded in 1972 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC  ) is pulling back a bit on its South American operations. The company announced Monday� that it will not continue to develop its Fruta del Norte project in Ecuador.

Hot Canadian Companies To Invest In Right Now: Mistras Group Inc (MG)

Mistras Group, Inc. provides technology-enabled asset protection solutions to evaluate the structural integrity and reliability of critical energy, industrial, and public infrastructure worldwide. It provides traditional non-destructive testing (NDT) services; advanced NDT services; and mechanical integrity services. The company also offers software solutions, including Plant Condition Monitoring Software and Systems, an enterprise software that allows its customers for the warehousing and analysis of data. In addition, it provides Advanced Data Analysis Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks software, which enables acoustic emission (AE) experts to develop automated remote monitoring systems; AE Software Platform, a windows based real time application software; Loose Parts Monitoring Software program for monitoring, detecting, and evaluating metallic loose parts in nuclear reactor coolant systems; and Automated UT and Imaging Analysis Software for analyzing ultrasonic in spection data, and visualizing and identifying the location and size of flaws. Further, the company�s technology packages include TANKPAC for tank inspections; POWERPAC for monitoring discharges in critical power grid transformers; and Acoustic Combustion Turbine Monitoring System, an on-line system to detect stator blade cracks in gas turbines. Additionally, it offers digital radiographic systems to solve specific industrial problems; AE sensors, instruments, and turn-key systems, as well as leak monitoring and detection systems; ultrasonic equipment; vibration sensing products; and on-line monitoring services. Mistras Group, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Mistras Group (NYSE: MG) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.12 per share on revenue of $130.10 million.

  Posted-In: Earnings scheduleEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets

Will Obamacare's Individual Mandate Be Delayed?

Here at The Motley Fool, we don't really care for party politics getting in the way of our investments. Often, politics have little to nothing to do with our long-term investing thesis. But we also witnessed recently with the government shutdown and near debt default that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle do still have the ability to greatly affect the economy.

Another area where lawmakers have had a gigantic impact in recent years is in the health care arena -- specifically with the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, which will revamp the way we pay for and receive health care. For the most part, support for and opposition to Obamacare has been right along party lines (Democrats generally in favor and Republicans opposing). In fact, I would contend that the primary reason behind the lengthy government shutdown was a stalemate between both parties over the future of the medical device excise tax. But with the rollout of the federally run health exchange, Healthcare.gov, not going as planned, those party-line distinctions could be beginning to blur a bit.

Source: White House on Flickr.

Rumblings from within
According to an ABC News report, certain members of the Democratic Party are now publicly calling for some form of delay or extension to the key component of Obamacare: the individual mandate.

The more extreme action call came from House of Representative member John Barrow (D-Ga.), who yesterday suggested that the president delay the implementation of the individual mandate, which is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. The other idea floating around comes from Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is urging Obama to extend the coverage cutoff date beyond March 31, 2014, given the innumerable glitches observed thus far with Healthcare.gov.

I try to keep my nose out of politics as much as is reasonably possible, but the calls for an individual mandate delay or extension from within the Democratic Party definitely came as a surprise to me and many other people. This leaves us with a couple of scenarios where there will be both winners and losers if Obamacare's individual mandate is delayed, or the coverage cutoff date pushed back. Let's have a closer look at how some of these scenarios might play out and highlight what could happen to your investments in the process.

What if Obamacare's individual mandate gets delayed?
So, what exactly would happen if the president and Congress decided to push back the enforcement of the individual mandate for a year? My suspicion is that we'd see more negatives than positives.

First off, it would be particularly bad news for patients with pre-existing conditions or those who are sick and in need of care. One of the primary reasons Obamacare laws are in place is to eliminate insurers' ability to deny coverage to patients with preexisting conditions. If the individual mandate is scaled back, then insurers' need to cover those with pre-existing conditions may be as well.

For the insurers themselves, it would be a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the big three insurers that reached into their pockets and spent a fortune in the wake of Obamacare's passing -- WellPoint (NYSE: WLP  ) with its purchase of Amerigroup, Cigna  (NYSE: CI  ) with its purchase of HealthSpring, and Aetna (NYSE: AET  ) buying Coventry Health Care -- will be left waiting even longer for their membership numbers to rise. No enforceable mandate means enrollment figures will only marginally move higher in a best-case scenario.

On the flip side, no individual mandate would give insurers the ability to boost their premium pricing and keeps them in control of their own medical loss ratio (the amount they need to spend on medical care relative to how much premium is generated), which Obamacare would have capped at 80%. It also would give them the ability to turn away patients with pre-existing conditions.

A delay would also be a crushing blow to the information technology architects behind Healthcare.gov like CGI Group (NYSE: GIB  ) . As I've discussed previously, it's not the money aspect that would become a problem for CGI since it continues to be paid for services rendered so much as its tarnished reputation could cost the company future jobs.

What if Obamacare's coverage cutoff date gets extended?
What seems like a more plausible course of action is the option suggested by Shaheen of extending the cutoff coverage date.

The downside of pushing this date out is that it removes the sense of urgency from the equation that makes consumers buy insurance. If the individual mandate coverage cutoff is pushed back even three months, you'll see potential buyers holding off even longer before making their purchase. While that may not be bad news for Obamacare over the long run, it has the potential to rub investors the wrong way -- especially investors who have  boosted the share price of WellPoint, Cigna, and Aetna, which expect hefty enrollment figures in the next couple of months.

But this scenario might be best suited for Americans living in the 36 states where the federal exchange operates as the health insurance marketplace.

As we look at the federally run health exchange now, it's pretty evident based on Obama's speech earlier this week and the rumor of Verizon's (NYSE: VZ  ) hiring via USA Today that the technical problems are much worse than anyone had first imagined. It's therefore looking less likely that every resident in all 36 states will have an equal opportunity to sign up for health insurance by the March cutoff date. Pushing the coverage cutoff date back may wind up deflating the pride of some of the law's biggest supporters and may inconvenience insurers a few more months, but it would almost certainly benefit the American people by giving technicians a chance to get things right and get everyone on equal footing where they do have access to insurance and proper pricing.

Where do we go from here?
To use a football analogy, right now Healthcare.gov is like an injured player. We know the system is injured; we just don't know how severely or how long it'll be out of commission. It could be a "season-ending" injury that requires surgery (or in the case of this analogy rebuilding Healthcare.gov from scratch). Or it could be out a few games, which means Verizon or potentially another outside contractor could fix the problems within weeks.

There are definitely a lot of options at the disposal of Obama and Congress, but the one constant that remains throughout this process is that interest in Obamacare, based on Healthcare.gov's 19 million visits through last Friday, remains high. Once again, it appears that the idea of Obamacare isn't failing, but the architecture behind the website certainly is in shambles. Unfortunately, until that gets fixed all bets are off.

Curious how Obamacare will affect you? We have the answers!
Health care as we know it is changing rapidly around us. Do you know how the changes in the health care law will affect you and your portfolio? If not, we're here to help: The Motley Fool has compiled a special new report filled with Everything You Need to Know About Obamacare. This report is a free offer from us to help you get educated on this important subject. Please click here to access your free copy.

Australia stocks inch higher as financials rebound

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks nudged modestly higher early Thursday, with a rebound for financials offsetting weakness in the resource space. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) advanced 0.1% to 5,361.80, as banks and brokers gained after losing ground late in the previous session on concerns about the health of major Chinese banks. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AU:CBA) (CBAUF) and Macquarie Group Ltd. (AU:MQG) (MCQEF) rose 0.7% apiece, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (AU:ANZ) (ANEWF) added 0.5%, and Westpac Banking Corp. (AU:WBC) (WEBNF) improved by 0.5%. On the downside, losses for gold futures overnight sent Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) down 1.3% and Evolution Mining Ltd. (AU:EVN) (CAHPF) 2.3% lower. The broader mining sector was also lower, with Alumina Ltd. (AU:AWC) (AWCMF) off 2.8%, BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP) (BHP) down 0.5%, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) losing 1.4%. Meanwhile, preliminary Chinese manufacturing data due out later Thursday from HSBC could impact the Australian resource shares.

September Jobs Report: Recovery-Less Recovery

Today's employment situation report showed that conditions for the long term unemployed improved in September while still remaining distressed by historic standards.

Workers unemployed 27 weeks or more declined to 4.146 million or 36.9% of all unemployed workers while the median term of unemployment declined to 16.3 weeks and the average stay on unemployment increased to 36.9 weeks.

Looking at the charts below (click for super interactive versions) you can see that today’s sorry situation far exceeds even the conditions seen during the double-dip recessionary period of the early 1980s, long considered by economists to be the worst period of unemployment since the Great Depression.

Source: September Jobs Report: Recovery-Less Recovery

Time to Switch Gears With SolarCity (SCTY)

It's not going to be a popular idea, but if you were lucky enough to get into a SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ:SCTY) position at any time between October 10th and Thursday of last week, then congratulations. Now get out. Although you're up anywhere between 8.0% and 52%, SCTY is overdue for a pullback, and there are some hints that today's the day that sizeable pullback is beginning.

If the company name and ticker rings a bell, it might be because yours truly took an honest, unbiased trading look at it back on the 11th. The conclusion then? While SCTY looked like it was bullish enough to make for a great short-term trade, that rally was never going to be built to last. Here we are ten days later, and sure enough, it looks like the SolarCity runup is done, and reversing today.

There are two clues that point to that outcome here. One of them is the fact that even though SolarCity Corp. has been running hard for nearly a couple of weeks now, the buying volume has been drifting lower that whole time. It's going to need growing participation rather than fading participation if the strength is going to keep chugging.

The other clue is today's bar, which actually opened at a new multi-month high, and then faded back into the red. Think of it as a "last hurrah" of sorts, where the last of any would-be buyers file in, but the first of the profit-takers are immediately ready and willing to start filing out. The irony of that event is that the more the SCTY bear/bull balance dips to the bearish side of the fence, the heavier the bearish weight gets as fewer buyers remain interested in catching a falling knife, and as more and more traders become profit-takers, not wanting to give up any more ground than they already have.

You'll also notice the volume behind today's pullback from SolarCity is pretty heavier... heavier than the volume we've seem for most of the last few bullish days. Point being, the bull/bear imbalance may well already be tipped in favor of the bears.

Suggesting anything less than perpetual and perfect bullishness is in the cards for SCTY won't be any less popular today than it was a week and a half ago. But, this was always the inevitable reality. The good news for fans of SolarCity Inc. is, this pullback isn't apt to last any longer than the overheated runup was. Timing is still everything.

If you'd like to get more trading ideas and insights like this one, sign up for the free SmallCap Network daily e-newsletter. It's full of stock picks, market calls, and more.

Boomer divorce: A costly retirement roadblock

Baby Boomers are divorcing at a surprising rate, and that will have huge implications for their lives in retirement.

The number of divorces among people 50 or older doubled from 1990 to 2010. And in that year, one in four U.S. divorces was in that age group.

And while the experts say it's a product of, among other things, longer life spans, Boomer divorce will affect retirement lifestyles.

"Gray divorce can be economically devastating for some people, especially for women who have been out of the labor force bearing children," says Susan Brown, professor of sociology at Bowling Green State University and co-author of the 2012 report "The Gray Divorce Revolution."

But it's a problem for everyone involved. Here's why.

MONEY QUICK TIPS: Financial pros and cons of getting remarried

That pool of money that was going to fund retirement for a couple will now be split in half, and must now fund retirement for two people living separately. That costs a lot more. And that means people must either temper those retirement lifestyle expectations or delay retirement altogether.

"You have the same pool of assets that has to sustain two sets of retirement," says Joe Sicchitano, senior vice president and head of financial planning at SunTrust Bank. "It can undermine good planning. You can have a well thought-out plan, and it will be undercut by divorce."

The biggest problems, say planners, is it costs considerably more to retire as two single people as opposed to a couple. Jason Wheeler, CEO of Pathfinder Wealth Management in Wilmington, N.C., says it will cost 30% more. Joe Duran, financial planner and author of The Money Code, says it will cost at least 50% more to retire for Boomers who divorce.

"That means you will have to delay retirement or save a lot more in these last few years," Wheeler says. "Or reduce your lifestyle. Often that is hardest for people.

"If they are planning on retirement at 65, and they are 60, it may push them back to 67 or 68," he say! s. "And those are the ones who have done (financial) planning. Those that didn't are even worse."

Post divorce, you take separate vacations; you have two cars instead of one; and you make twice as many trips to see the kids, Duran says. And costs may be even higher if you consider medical expenses, he says — if one partner gets sick, that spouse is no longer there to help take care of you.

"These are people getting towards the end of the careers in the labor market," says Bowling Green's Brown. "In your 20s or 30s you've still got time in your employment to make up for that loss. People 55 or 60, are so close to retirement, there's only so much time for them to make up the economic losses."

Some recommendations from the financial planners to help steer through divorce in the later years:

Hire a financial adviser when you hire that divorce lawyer. Let them work together on a settlement that well help you ease into retirement. "One of the things they do, is they get divorced before they do any retirement planning at all," says Wheeler. "That is one of worst mistakes they can make."

There is still time to save. "Even if you divorce in your 50s, you have 30 years to rebuild your savings and investment," says Kelvin Boston, host of Moneywise on PBS. "You can rebuild you savings, rebuild your credit report, but it will take some time."

You have three choices, Duran says. Increase your savings and go back to work. Reduce your spending, and agree you both will live in smaller homes, travel less and eat out less. Or third, agree you are going to leave the kids less money.

Don't try to support your adult children. "People get divorced and still want to help the kids or parents, and it's usually not possible," Wheeler says. "Kids, even adult children, 30 or 40 years old, still expect Mom to pay for a $30,000 wedding. Kids can't ask parents for as much money."

Watch the lawyers' fees. Legal fees come out of the retirement pie pre-divorce, reducing what you wi! ll have t! o live on. And if there if a divorce after retirement, those costs are virtually impossible to replace.

"You're planning for a different lifestyle, no matter what, because things have changed," says Grant Connes, co-managing director of Global Wealth Management in Fort Lauderdale. "Adapting to the changes a lot of times means scaling back."

Duran says we should expect the divorce rate to go up among Boomers because now that people are living longer, they are having a second midlife crisis.

"It's the second wave of midlife crises," he says, "a late-stage midlife crises."

"Gray divorce reflects changing attitudes about marriage," Brown says. "We have much higher expectations today for what constitutes a successful marriage than earlier generations did. At the same time, society is more accepting of divorce as a solution to an unsatisfying marriage. For these reasons, gray divorce is probably here to stay."

At the end of the day it's just having a proper plan," Connes says. "Divorce is an unexpected roadblock. It's just about how you adopt that. At the end of the day that's what you have. And it's not easy on anybody."

3 Characters Disney Should Consider for Its First R-Rated Comic Book Film

More than 61,000 people attended Denver Comic Con earlier this month, and odds are that more than 130,000 will attend San Diego Comic Con next month. Hardcore fans like these are why Iron Man 3 is a billion-dollar box-office success and The Walking Dead ended as the top-rated TV show of the fall season. They're looking for edgier comics-sourced fare on the big screen.

Would family-friendly Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS  ) ever make an R-rated comic-book film? The opportunity is too big to pass up, says Fool contributor Tim Beyers in the following video.

Consider Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX  ) success with Christopher Nolan's Batman series. The Dark Knight may very well be rated PG-13, but only the clinically unconscious would call it a kids' film. Heath Ledger's Joker is as dark a character as you'll find in a comic-book film, and that one earned a billion at the box office when doing so was a rarity. Overall, Nolan's Batman series earned Warner more than $2.4 billion in global box-office receipts.

Marvel, meanwhile, has plenty of characters that could star in a darker comic-book film. The Punisher is an obvious choice, Tim says, though Lions Gate's (NYSE: LGF  ) two tries with films based on the vigilante did poorly enough that the studio returned the movie rights to Disney.

Marvel should put the character to use soon. Or choose another. Hundreds of characters in the Marvel universe are violent enough to star in an R-rated film; Disney is leaving money on the table by sticking with lighter theater fare.

Interestingly, The House of Mouse isn't so prudish in other areas. Next week, Activision Blizzard releases to stores a particularly violent video game featuring the mutant assassin Deadpool. An R-rated comic book film would be no different, as well as an appreciated catalyst for investors expecting Disney to use all of Marvel's assets to boost profits.

Which characters would you choose if Disney were to greenlight an R-rated comic book film? Tim Beyers singles out two more besides The Punisher in the following video. Please watch, and then let us know which hard-boiled comic-book storyline you think would play best at the box office.

Learn how to grab global gains
Nothing exports like superheroes, and for Disney and Time Warner, going global with big comic-book flicks has paid handsomely. Interested in more ways to profit from our increasingly global economy while keeping your portfolio grounded here at home? The Motley Fool's free report "3 American Companies Set to Dominate the World" shows you how. Click here to get your free copy before it's gone.

Japan stocks rally after trade data, U.S. gains

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rose in early Monday trading, with weaker-than-expected trade data pushing the yen lower, which in turn helped some export stocks. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) added 1% to 14,704.36, with the broader Topix up 0.8%, also enjoying support from gains Friday in the U.S. After data showing exports grew less than analysts had projected, the dollar (USDJPY) moved back above the 98-yen level, sending some exporters climbing, with a 2.2% rise for Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) , a 1.2% improvement for Alps Electric Co. (JP:6770) , and a 1% bump for Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) . Shares of Suzuki Motor Corp. (JP:7269) (SZKMF) added 2.9% after a Nikkei report saying the company would record its highest-ever operating profit for the April-September half. Retailers were also a strong spot Monday, with J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) up 2%, online marketplace Rakuten Inc. (JP:4755) (RKUNF) adding 2.4%, and 7-Eleven operator Seven & I Holdings Co. (JP:3382) (SVNDF) ahead by 1.4%.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Watch For 2014

Small cap apparel and accessories retailer The Jones Group Inc (NYSE: JNY) has been rising on speculation of a buyout, but the stock has also underperformed the both the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: XRT) and the Dow over the longer haul. Nevertheless, the buyout speculation does make the stock worthy of a closer look.

What is the�Jones Group?

The Jones Group a leading small cap global designer, marketer and wholesaler of over 35 brands with product expertise in apparel, footwear, jeanswear, jewelry and handbags which are marketed�directly to consumers through branded specialty retail and outlet stores, through concessions at upscale department stores and through its e-commerce sites. The Company's internationally recognized brands and licensing agreements (L) would include: Nine West, Jones New York, Anne Klein, Kurt Geiger, Rachel Roy (L), Robert Rodriguez, Robbi & Nikki, Stuart Weitzman, Brian Atwood (L), Boutique 9, Easy Spirit, Carvela, Gloria Vanderbilt, l.e.i., Bandolino, Enzo Angiolini, Nine & Co., GLO, Joan & David, Miss KG, Kasper, Energie, Evan-Picone, Le Suit, Mootsies Tootsies, Grane, Erika, Napier, Jessica Simpson (L), Givenchy (L), Judith Jack, Albert Nipon, Pappagallo and Rafe (L).�

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Watch For 2014: OCZ Technology Group Inc(OCZ)

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes computer components for computing devices and systems worldwide. It primarily offers solid state drives, flash memory storage, memory modules, thermal management solutions, AC/DC switching power supply units, and computer gaming solutions. The company?s products are used in industrial equipment and computer systems; computer and computer gaming solutions; mission critical servers and high end workstations; personal computer (PC) upgrades to extend the useable life of existing PCs; high performance computing and scientific computing; video and music editing; home theatre PCs and digital home convergence products; and digital photography and digital image manipulation computers. OCZ Technology Group, Inc. offers its products to retailers, on-line retailers, original equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, and distributors. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Jose, Califo rnia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The not-so-great and wonderful OCZ
  There was no company-specific news that caused solid-state-drive maker OCZ Technology (NASDAQ: OCZ  ) to fall almost 8% Wednesday. But an article that appeared on Seeking Alpha �questioning whether the company had six months or less to live before it filed for bankruptcy seemed to coincide with its fall.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Watch For 2014: InterDigital Inc.(IDCC)

Interdigital, Inc. engages in the design and development of digital wireless technology solutions. The company offers technology solutions for use in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It holds patents related to the fundamental technologies that enable wireless communications. The company licenses its patents to equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular and IEEE 802-related products; and licenses or sells mobile broadband modem solutions, including modem IP, know-how, and reference platforms to mobile device manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and other equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular products. InterDigital?s solutions are incorporated in various products comprising mobile devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, notebook computers, and wireless personal digital assistants; wireless infrastructure equipment, such as base stations; and components, dongles, and modules for wireless devices. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC) reported that certain of its subsidiaries have completed the previously announced sale of roughly 1,700 patents and patent applications to Intel Corporation for $375 million in cash.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) have gotten crushed today by as much as 20% after the company lost a patent suit against several smartphone makers.

Top Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: EZchip Semiconductor Limited(EZCH)

EZchip, a fabless semiconductor company, engages in the development and marketing of Ethernet network processors for networking equipment. Its products include network processor chips, evaluation boards and network-processor based systems, and development software toolkits. The company offers network processors for use in forming the silicon core of networking equipment, such as switches and routers; and for voice, video and data integration in various applications. Its network processors are single-chip solutions, which enable its customers to design multi-port line cards, such as processing and classification engines, traffic managers, media access controllers, as well as a range of specialized hardware blocks that accelerate various functions. The company offers Evaluation systems which enable customers to test NPU-based systems; and toolkits that assist customers in creating, verifying, and implementing solutions based on its network processors. It provides a library f eaturing data plane code for a range of applications, which include Metro Ethernet protocols, Multi-Protocol Label Switching, IPv4 and IPv6 routing, Access Control Lists, GPON/EPON OLT functionality, Network Address Translation, and Server Load Balancing. The company sells its products directly, and through contract manufacturers and distributors to network equipment vendors. It markets its products in Israel, China, Hong Kong, the Far East, Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company was formerly known as LanOptics Ltd. and changed its name to EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. in July 2008. EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. was founded in 1989 and is based in Yokneam, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ: EZCH) was also up, gaining 7.16 percent to $24.11 after a Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced a new product that would not threaten the company as previously thought. Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY) were down 16.05 percent to $9.91 after the company lowered its Q3 forecast.

• [By Paul McWilliams]

  Paul McWilliams: Oh, absolutely. Another company that most investors probably have never heard of is a tiny little Israeli semiconductor company named EZChip (EZCH).

• [By Lisa Levin]

  EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ: EZCH) shares climbed 5.80% to $23.53. The volume of EZchip Semiconductor shares traded was 635% higher than normal. EZchip Semiconductor's PEG ratio is 1.57.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of EZchip (NASDAQ: EZCH  ) have jumped today by as much as 13% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the first quarter totaled $15.3 million, topping the Street's forecast of $15.1 million. Non-GAAP net income per share came in at $0.23, which was right on target with expectations.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Watch For 2014: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

ATA Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides computer-based testing services in the People?s Republic of China. It offers services for the creation and delivery of computer-based tests utilizing its test delivery platform, proprietary testing technologies, and testing services; and provides logistical support services relating to test administration. The company?s computer-based testing services are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology (IT) services, banking, securities, teaching, and insurance. Its e-testing platform integrates various aspects of the test delivery process for computer-based tests ranging from test form compilation to test scoring, and results analysis. ATA also provides career-oriented educational services, such as single course programs, degree major course programs, and pre-occupational training programs focusing on preparing students to pass IT and other vocational certification tests; test preparation and training programs and services to test candidates preparing to take professional certification tests in securities, futures, banking, insurance and teaching industries; online test preparation and training platform for the securities and banking industries; and test preparation software for the teaching industry. In addition, the company offers HR select employee assessment solution, an online system that utilizes its proprietary software and an inventory of test titles to help employers improve the efficiency and accuracy of their employee recruitment process. As of March 31, 2010, it had contractual relationships with 1,988 ATA authorized test centers. The company serves Chinese governmental agencies, professional associations, IT vendors, and Chinese educational institutions, as well as individual test preparation services. ATA Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Watch For 2014: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

FuelCell Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation primarily in South Korea, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Japan. The company offers proprietary carbonate Direct FuelCell Power Plants that electrochemically produce electricity from hydrocarbon fuels, such as natural gas and biogas. Its fuel cells operate on a range of hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas, renewable biogas, propane, methanol, coal gas, and coal mine methane. The company also develops carbonate fuel cells, planar solid oxide fuel cell technology, and other fuel cell technologies. It provides its products to universities; manufacturers; mission critical institutions, such as correction facilities and government installations; hotels; and natural gas letdown stations, as well as to customers who use renewable biogas for fuel, including municipal water treatment facilities, br eweries, and food processors. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Had shares of its peers and competitors performed as well, it may not even be worth bringing up. But, Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares have done significantly better than FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) and Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) since the end of March. And, PLUG has performed considerably better than FCEL and BLDP have since mid-August. This is more than "just a little volatility." This is a leader breaking away from the pack after a very long lull. Thing is, there's plenty more room for Plug Power to keep running.

• [By Green Energy Addict]

  On June 3, 2013 I gave my 5 Bullish Signs ahead of the FuelCell Energy (FCEL) Q2 2013 earnings report. I cited the large backlog as one of the reasons for my bullish views. I gave as my reasoning the following:

Meru Networks Replaces CFO

Meru Networks (NASDAQ: MERU  ) isn't wasting any time in finding a successor to one of its top executives. The company announced Monday it had appointed Brian McDonald to be its new CFO to replace the resigning Brett White. McDonald took up his position today, although White will remain at the firm through July 1 in order "to effect a smooth transition."

McDonald is a veteran CFO, having served in that position for a number of tech companies including eASIC, Advanced Analogic Technologies, and Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ: MPWR  ) .

According to an SEC filing submitted by the company, McDonald is to be paid an annual base salary of $305,000, and be eligible for stock and cash bonuses.

In the press release announcing the appointment, Meru Networks quoted CEO Bami Bastani as saying of McDonald that he "has demonstrated his ability to support the financial and operational requirements of rapidly growing companies."

link

The Sweeter Stock: PepsiCo or Coca-Cola?

Earnings Analysis Pepsi Co (NYSE: PEP)

It is well known than Pepsi has been winning over Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) in blind taste tests conducted through the decades, including modern neuro-scientific tests. Yet people prefer Coke when they know what they are sipping. But there's more to PepsiCo than its cola. PepsiCo's Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD) share is only 40% of its business now (a 10% decrease in the last decade). The company's non-carbonated drinks range from Lipton tea to Tropicana and Naked labels. It is worth noting that of late Americans are also drinking less orange juice which could be bad for PepsiCo's Tropicana label; the market's open interest in positions was recently at its lowest in 20 years.

Luckily for PepsiCo, over 40% of its revenues come from salt not sugar based items. Snacks marketed under Frito-Lay brands account for over 60% of American salty snack consumption. The company also has Good-For-You and Better-For-You portfolios with lower fat and increased nutrition options that include several Quaker brand foods aimed at health-aware customers.

Which company is doing better this earnings season: PepsiCo or Coca-Cola? We published our Q3 2013 earnings analysis of The Coca-Cola Company this week in Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) Earnings Analysis: Is it going better with Coke? PepsiCo's earnings are the subject of this article.

Is PepsiCo lacking strategic focus compared to its peers? Find out this Fundamental Analysis report

Download Now

Based on PepsiCo, Inc.'s (NYSE: PEP) preliminary financial results for the quarter ended 2013-08-31 we provide a peer-based analysis of the company (see the peer list at the end of this post). Our analysis is based on the company's performance over the last twelve months (unless stated otherwise). The table below shows the preliminary results along with the recent trend for revenues, net income and returns.

Quarterly (USD million) 2013-08-31 2013-06-30 2013-03-31 2012-12-31 2012-08-31

Revenues	16,909.0	16,807.0	12,581.0	19,954.0	16,652.0
Revenue Growth %	0.6	33.6	(37.0)	19.8	1.2
Net Income	1,913.0	2,008.0	1,075.0	1,661.0	1,902.0
Net Income Growth %	(4.7)	86.8	(35.3)	(12.7)	27.8
Net Margin %	11.3	11.9	8.5	8.3	11.4
ROE % (Annualized)	33.9	35.5	19.1	30.2	36.1
ROA % (Annualized)	10.0	10.6	5.7	8.9	10.4

Some Operating Leverage

PepsiCo, Inc.'s current Price/Book of 5.7 is about average in its peer group. The market expects PepsiCo to grow at about the same rate as its chosen peers (PE of 19.4 compared to peer average of 20.0) and to maintain the peer average return (ROE of 30.3%) it currently generates.

Our analysis shows that the company's average net profit margins of 10.0% and relative asset efficiency (asset turns of 0.9x compared to peer average of 0.7x) give it some operating leverage. PepsiCo's net margin has increased 0.6 percentage points from last year's low but is still below its five-year average net margin of 11.1.

Questions about Long-term Strategy

It seems that the market has some questions about the company's long-term strategy because though PepsiCo's revenues have grown faster than the peer average (14.8% vs. 6.1% respectively for the past three years), the market only gives the stock an about peer average PE ratio of 19.4.

PepsiCo's annualized rate of change in capital of 27.1% over the past three years is greater than the peer average of 4.8%. However, this investment level has only generated a peer average return on capital of 14.8% averaged over the same three years. This average return on an above average capital investment suggests the company is overinvesting.

Understatement of Reported Net Income?

PepsiCo's net income margin for the last twelve months is around the peer average (10.0% vs. average of 10.2%). This average margin and relatively conservative accrual policy (4.9% vs. peer average of 2.7%) suggests possible understatement of its reported net income.

PepsiCo's accruals over the last twelve months are positive suggesting a buildup of reserves. In addition, the level of accrual is greater than the peer average -- which suggests a relatively strong buildup in reserves compared to its peers.

Trend Charts for PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP)

 

Peers used for PepsiCo, Inc. Earnings Analysis (NYSE: PEP)

The following peer-set was used: The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), Nestle S.A. Sponsored ADR (OTC BB:NSRGY), Unilever NV ADR (NYSE:UN), Mondelez International, Inc. Class A (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (NYSE:DPS).

Is PepsiCo lacking strategic focus compared to its peers? Find out this Fundamental Analysis report

Download Now

Related articles from our archives:

Economic Moats, Pornography and Small Sizes
October 2013 Coca-Cola Earnings Analysis (NYSE:KO)
October 2012 Coca-Cola Earnings Analysis (NYSE:KO)

Disclaimer

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Markets Trading Ideas

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