Valeant's latest Allergan bid tops $53 billion

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has sweetened its offer to buy Botox maker Allergan for the second time this week.

The Canadian drugmaker said Friday it will now offer $72 and a portion of its stock for each Allergan share. That's up from an offer of $58.30 per share that Valeant extended on Wednesday.

The latest bid could be worth more than $53 billion, based on Thursday's closing price for U.S.-traded shares of Valeant. But it's contingent on Allergan engaging in a prompt, good-faith negotiation of a merger agreement, Valeant said.

Shares in Allergan, based in Irvine, California, jumped nearly 6 percent in afternoon trading Friday, while Valeant shares added 1.6 percent.

Earlier this month, Allergan rejected an offer of nearly $46 billion, saying it undervalued the company. On Wednesday, Valeant increased its initial bid, throwing in a contingent value right worth up to $25 per share, based on future sales of a potential eye treatment.

Allergan responded by issuing a statement saying it would consider the unsolicited, revised offer.

As part of Friday's offer, Pershing Square Capital Management, Allergan's largest shareholder, agreed to receive no cash if the deal goes through. That amounts to forfeiting up to $600 million in value to other Allergan shareholders, said Bill Ackman, Pershing Square's chief executive.

"We are very committed to getting this deal done, and are now modifying our offer with the assistance of Pershing Square to increase the economics for all Allergan shareholders," said J. Michael Pearson, Valeant's chairman and chief executive.

Allergan did not immediately return call seeking comment Friday.

Allergan, which also makes the dry eye treatment Restasis, has said repeatedly that it opposes a deal with Valeant, which it sees as having uncertain long-term growth prospects and a business model that creates a risk for Allergan shareholders. It also contends that Valeant has limited experience with "large, global scale products! " and would cut research and development costs too much.

Valeant has said that Allergan's analysis of its business is full of errors, adding that its operating model would speed up growth for Allergan products, especially in developing markets.

Allergan shares ended regular trading Friday up $8.96, or 5.7 percent, to $167.46.

U.S.-traded shares of Valeant rose $2.65, or 1.9 percent, to $142.76.

Fidelity’s Durbin: RIAs Thriving; Top Clients See Robo-Advisors as Positive Trend

Less than a year after a major reorganization of Fidelity Institutional's clearing business, Mike Durbin, president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, reports that the RIA custodian is doing quite well, thank you, with total client assets under custody of more than $750 billion as of year-end 2013. In that year, 109 net new RIA firms, with an average of $127 million in assets under management, chose to custody with Fidelity IWS.

In an interview Thursday, Durbin noted that the data from new firms doesn’t include RIAs or registered reps who joined an existing RIA firm. “It’s a good business,” he said, helped by “the prevailing tailwind in this broadly defined independent space,” but also by “great new net asset flow from existing” Fidelity IWS RIA firms, along with new firms that are “being created and/or joining us.”

Admitting that “it helps to have an S&P at 1,900,” the trends pushing the independent space continue, he argues, notably “bigger and better RIAs getting bigger and better.” While not that long ago it was “rare to have a $1 billion RIA, now there are more and more” achieving that benchmark in AUM through organic growth and expansion either geographically or through mergers and acquisitions, producing a “growing cadre of pan-regional” RIA firms.

That overall growth in the industry, and Fidelity’s investment over the past few years in “reinventing” its technology platform and service offerings, “allows us to be more strategic with our clients,” Durbin said, helping in particular firms around the $500 million mark to leap over that hurdle where too often “the principal wears too many hats.” Instead, the fastest-growing firms, which Fidelity calls “high performers,” are being run as businesses, with a “clear segregation of duties and clear processes,” creating “real firms with real management teams that can provide leverage” to that overworked principal.

While Durbin says “we have a very strong base proposition for all our clients” around brokerage and custody, operations and service, the notion of keeping an eye on the bigger, fastest-growing firms "allows us to provide our more human-capital-intensive programs” to those high performers, such as practice management consulting or succession planning or even M&A financing through its partnership with Live Oak Bank. “We want to earn a seat at their conference room table with them,” he says of the fastest-growing firms.

There’s another angle to what Fidelity IWS does for its clients, Durbin says, and that’s where so-called robo-advisors come in. “Our role is to understand the landscape and educate our clients” about trends and technology, which is reflected in a number of initiatives at the firm. They include the launch of the physical and virtual Office of the Future (see article by Danielle Andrus on ThinkAdvisor). Fidelity also held a summit — Emerging Affluent/Digital Advisor Day — in which certain Fidelity clients gathered with “digital advisor,” or robo-advisor, technology pioneers “to explore how our clients can work with them or even create their own offering” along with options to leverage technology to attract and efficiently serve certain underserved client segments. In that vein, during its recent Executive Forum conference, to which Fidelity’s top broker-dealer (National Financial) and IWS (RIA) clients are invited, a poll of attendees focused on web-based digital advisors. It found that 74% saw the rise of robo-advisors as a “positive industry trend that is here to stay,” though 54% said that “digital advisors cannot replace the human element of advice.” However, only 13% of the executives surveyed said they felt “very informed” about robo-advisor models.

Durbin was quick to point out that clients at the Executive Summit tend to be more sophisticated, making it unsurprising that they “see the trend around the digital advisor” but also that they expect Fidelity to help educate and guide them around “new technologies that should be leveraged by us as their service providers." However, the attributes of robo-advisors — a user-friendly interface, unbundling of services, aggregating client data — suggests how advisor technology should evolve to help attract “these Gen X and Gen Y cohorts.”

So Fidelity’s role, Durbin concluded, was to help its clients “learn a lot more” and to help them “pivot to embrace these technologies,” and to determine “which ones can be a solution for them and which we should mimic.”

Durbin points outh that “if these technologies are embraced the right way, a broader segment of the U.S. population will be able to get advice,” and that we may well be “at the early stages of a virtuous cycle in getting people to be prepared for retirement and financial independence.”

4 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.

Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.

While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for investors who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at some of the most active stocks on the market today.

>>5 Large-Cap Trades for All-Time Highs

These "most active" names are the most heavily-traded names on the market -- and often, uber-active names have some sort of a technical or fundamental catalyst driving investors' attention on shares. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.

Without further ado, here's a look at today's stocks.

Strategic Hotels and Resorts

Nearest Resistance: $11.50

Nearest Support: $10.40

Catalyst: Offering, REIT Drop

$2.2 billion REIT Strategic Hotels and Resorts (BEE) is down close to 4% on huge volume this afternoon, slapped lower on the heels of a 36 million-share offering that priced at $10.50 per share. The drop is getting a little extra downside momentum from Treasuries -- REITs are correcting as a sector today. But the key word here is correction; looking longer-term, the trend for BEE and - the rest of the REIT space - is unmistakably up.

BEE has been bouncing higher in an uptrending channel for the past several months, moving up on every successive test of trend line support. Now, the high probability move is to buy BEE's next bounce off of support. Shares could correct down to $10.40 support without threatening that uptrend.

Twitter

Nearest Resistance: $40

Nearest Support: $27

Catalyst: Analyst Upgrade

Long-suffering Twitter (TWTR) investors are getting a reprieve this afternoon, thanks to a 5% jump in the microblogging network's share price. Twitter is up on big volume this afternoon thanks to an analyst upgrade from Nomura -- the bank upped its view of Twitter from neutral to buy. But don't confuse today's pop in shares with a big change in trend.

Technically speaking, TWTR still looks very bearish. Shares have been bouncing lower in a textbook downtrend since the start of 2014, and today's move up looks like a drop in the bucket by comparison. TWTR could move all the way up to $40 without threatening its downtrend. Buyers should avoid going long this name until shares can break out.

Michael Kors Holdings

Nearest Resistance: $100

Nearest Support: $92

Catalyst: Q4 Earnings

Apparel name -- and occasional Rocket Stock -- Michael Kors Holdings (KORS) is seeing big volume this afternoon following the firm's fiscal fourth quarter earnings release to Wall Street. KORS earned 78 cents per share in the fourth quarter, beating the consensus best guess of 68 cents. And while today's price action has been anything but definitive, KORS has been recovering over the course of the session as investors digest what the earnings numbers mean for the year ahead.

KORS' chart still looks attractive at this point. Shares have been bouncing higher in a recently-formed uptrend, and they're holding that trend line support level in today's session. As long as Michael Kors can continue to catch a bid above $92, this is a "buy the dips" stock.

DSW

Nearest Resistance: $32

Nearest Support: N/A

Catalyst: Q1 Earnings

Shoe retailer DSW (DSW) is getting utterly shellacked this afternoon, down more than 27% following the release of its first quarter earnings numbers. DSW earned 42 cents per share last quarter, falling short of 48-cent expectations from analysts.

There's no question: This chart is broken heading into the summer. While DSW started the year trending lower, today's huge gap down knocked out any semblance of support in shares. Now, there's a lot more downside risk for shareholders to contend with. New buyers would do well to stay away until the sellers are done with this name.

To see these stocks in action, check out the at Most-Active Stocks portfolio on Stockpickr.



-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS:

>>4 Stocks Under $10 in Breakout Territory

>>5 Toxic Stocks to Sell Now

>>5 Big Stocks to Trade for Flat-Market Gains

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in the names mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

3 Unknown Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

Popular Posts: Buy These 3 Cheap Stocks Before It's Too Late3 ‘Forever Hold’ Stocks, 3 Ways to Make Income4 Reasons to Buy Disney Stock NOW Recent Posts: 3 Unknown Dividend Stocks to Buy Now Trading Gold? Try Options on GLD and GDX Want Stability? Try 200 Years of Growth View All Posts

When on the hunt for dividend stocks, there are many factors to consider. You have to look for more than just high yield. Oftentimes, the high yields on dividend stocks simply aren't sustainable for business reasons, or perhaps because the business is getting super-cheap debt to run its business. Interest rates will rise one day.

Another thing to look for is how long a stock has been paying its dividend. Companies that have been throwing cash back at shareholders for a long time are likely to continue doing so, and these are the dividend stocks to pay attention to. The more obscure ones, usually with boring names, are another place to look because they may be underfollowed, and possibly undervalued.

Here are three dividend stocks that have been paying out for decades:

WGL Holdings (WGL)

Dividend yield: 4.4%

Have you ever heard of WGL Holdings (WGL)? Probably not, and that’s actually a good thing. This is the kind of energy play I like because it's highly diversified. For starters, WGL stock owns natural gas storage facilities — not the gas itself in these cases, but the storage and pipeline delivery infrastructure. Those facilities allow the company to store stuff for other people. That's a nice margin business.

WGL does actually sell retail natural gas as well, though. On the commercial side, it provides maintenance and upgrades to energy infrastructure and also plays in that designing and building of energy efficiency systems. It has a broad expanse — almost 700 miles of transmission pipe, almost 13,000 miles to distribute, and it can store about 15 million gallons of propane.

WGL serves about 170,000 customers in the Mid-Atlantic. So as you can see, it's a broadly diversified dividend stock, and that's one reason it has paid a dividend for 37 years. The dividend yield for WGL stock is presently at 4.4%.

Middlesex Water Company (MSEX)

Dividend yield: 3.7%

In a similar vein is Middlesex Water Company (MSEX). Some of the best dividend stocks are utility-based businesses that operate efficiently and generate a lot of cash flow for dividends.

I particularly love that MSEX is a niche business and has been around since 1897. MSEX stock's niche is geographical — operating only in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. It basically treats wastewater and then distributes it on both the wholesale and retail levels.

This isn't some massive utility service generation billions. As dividend stocks go, it’s a nice, simple business that makes a few million in free cash flow every year and distributes most of it to shareholders as a 3.7% yield … and has been doing so for 41 years.

Universal Corporation (UVV)

Dividend yield: 3.9%

Everyone's heard of the big tobacco companies like Altria (MO), but did you ever wonder who actually sells the tobacco leaves to the big tobacco manufacturers? I love the distribution business and that's why I love Universal Corporation (UVV).

UVV has been around since 1888, if you can believe it. The company is universal and seems to have escaped the wrath of non-smoking advocates, as it operates in 30 countries. The company does it all — it buys up tobacco from farmers, processes it, packs it, stores it, before ultimately selling it off to the big boys. Determined not to be left behind, UVV is also monkeying with liquid tobacco to serve the e-cigarette market.

Like energy, tobacco isn't going away. There will always be a market to serve. It is also, yes, a duopoly and we love duopolies in dividend stock investing. The UVV stock dividend has been solid for forty years, and presently yields 3.9%.

Like what you see? Sign up for our Dividend Insights e-letter and get income investment advice delivered to your inbox every Friday!

As of this writing, Lawrence Meyers did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. He is president of Asymmetrical Media Strategies, a crisis PR firm, and PDL Broker, Inc., which brokers financing, strategic investments and distressed asset purchases between private equity firms and businesses. He also has written two books and blogs about public policy, journalistic integrity, popular culture, and world affairs. Contact him at pdlcapital66@gmail.com and follow his tweets at @ichabodscranium.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015

Altria (NYSE: MO  ) will release its quarterly report next Tuesday, and the stock has made its way higher to reach its best levels since the company spun off its interest in globally focused Philip Morris International. Even as usual concerns about the health impacts of tobacco, and regulatory pressure, continue to weigh on the industry, Altria earnings look poised to keep growing steadily.

Altria's business is deceptively simple, obtaining tobacco and then imposing big markups in its well-marketed cigarettes and other tobacco products. Having largely avoided massive product lawsuit liability, Altria and its peers have rewarded long-term shareholders with huge dividend payouts throughout their history. Let's take an early look at what's been happening with Altria over the past quarter, and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Stats on Altria

Analyst EPS Estimate

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: Qatar Investment Fund PLC (QIF)

Qatar Investment Fund plc, formerly Epicure Qatar Equity Opportunities plc, is a closed-end investment company established to invest primarily in quoted equities of Qatar and other Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries. Its investment objective is to capture, principally through the medium of the Qatar Exchange by investing in listed companies or companies to be listed. It also invests in listed companies, pre-initial public offer (IPO) companies, in other GCC countries. As of June 30, 2010, the Company had a portfolio of 22 investments in quoted companies in the Gulf, with 17 of them being in Qatar, four investments in United Arab Emirates and one in Kuwait. As at June 30, 2010, the top five holdings of the Company are Qatar National bank, Industries Qatar, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Qatar Islamic Bank and Rayan Bank. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiary is Epicure Qatar Opportunities Holdings Limited. The investment manager of the Company is Epicure Managers Qatar Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vivian Lewis]

  The fund also operates to cut tax liabilities. EXG executes timely trades to capture additional qualified dividend income (QIF) subject to capital gains taxes which are usually lower than income taxes.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc (DDE)

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., incorporated in December of 2001, is a premier gaming and entertainment resorts. The Company�� operations consist of: Dover Downs Casino, a 165,000-square foot casino complex featuring table games, including craps, roulette and card games, such as blackjack, Spanish 21, baccarat, 3-card and pai gow poker, the latest in slot machine offerings, multi-player electronic table games, the Crown Royal poker room, a Race & Sports Book operation, the Dover Downs' Fire & Ice Lounge, the Festival Buffet, Doc Magrogan's Oyster House, Frankie's Italian restaurant, as well as several bars, restaurants and four retail outlets; Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, a 500 room AAA Four Diamond hotel with a full-service spa/salon, conference, banquet, ballroom and concert hall facilities, and Dover Downs Raceway, a harness racing track with pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. All of its operations are located at its entertainment complex in Dover. Its two wholly owned subsidiaries include Dover Downs, Inc. and Dover Downs Gaming Management Corp.

Dover Downs Casino

The Company's casino had approximately 2,539 slot machines as of December 31, 2011. It is open for business around the clock. During the year ended December 31, 2011, that the facility was visited by approximately 2.6 million patrons. Its slot machines range from penny machines to $100 machines in the Premium Slots area and include games found in the country's major gaming jurisdictions. The Company operates with 40 tables, including blackjack, craps and roulette tables. The Crown Royal poker room has 12 poker tables. It has its Race and Sports Book operation featuring parlay sports wagering on NFL games and pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. Dover Downs, Inc. is authorized to conduct video lottery, sports wagering and table game operations. The Company's Capital Club, a slots players club and tracking system, allows it to identify customers and t! o reward their level of play through various marketing programs.

Dover Downs Hotel

The Company's luxury hotel facility, the Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, connects to the Company's casino. The facility includes 500 rooms, including 11 luxury spa suites, a multi-purpose ballroom/concert hall, a fine dining restaurant, swimming pool and a luxurious 6,000 square-foot full-service spa. It offers a range of entertainment options to its patrons, including concerts featuring prominent entertainers, live boxing, gourmet dining, spa facilities, trade shows and conferences. During 2011, hotel occupancy averaged 90%.

Dover Downs Raceway

The Company�� Dover Downs Raceway conducts live harness races from November until April and is simulcast to more than 300 tracks and other off-track betting locations across North America on each of the Company's more than 120 live race dates. The Company's harness racing track is a 5/8-mile track that is located on DVD's property and is on the inside of its one-mile motorsports superspeedway. Additional amenities include the Winners Circle Restaurant overlooking the horse racing track. Within the Company's Race & Sports Book operation is the simulcast parlor where the patrons can wager on harness and thoroughbred races received by satellite into its facility year round from numerous tracks across North America. Television monitors throughout the area provide views of all races simultaneously and the betting windows are connected to a central computer allowing bets to be received on all races from all tracks.

The Company has an agreement with the Delaware Standardbred Owner's Association, Inc. (DSOA) effective September 1, 2010 and continuing through August 31, 2014. DSOA's membership consists of owners, trainers and drivers of harness horses participating in harness race meetings at its facilities and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. Under the DSOA agreement, the Company is required to distrib! ute as pu! rses for races conducted at its facilities a percentage of its retained share of pari-mutuel revenues.

The Company competes with Harrington Raceway and Delaware Park.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the move: Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) is up 8.1% at $31.80 on reports of discussions with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) that would result in the sale of Vodafone�� 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to the controlling shareholder. Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) is up 10.8% at $1.54 after Wednesday�� launch of its online casino games that will soon be available to state residents to play for real money.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  The REIT is expected to spend as much as $500 million in acquisitions in 2014, according to Barron��, and some potential acquisition targets include Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) which has a market cap of around $323 million or Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) with a market cap of around $47 million.

Top 10 Construction Stocks To Watch For 2015: France Telecom S.A.(FTE)

France Telecom provides fixed telephony and mobile telecommunications, data transmission, Internet and multimedia, and other value-added services to consumers, businesses, and telecommunications operators. It also offers personal and home communication services, business network services, international carriers and shared services, and integration and outsourcing services for communication applications. The company operates in France, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. France Telecom was founded in 1990 and is based in Paris, France.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Barclays Plc (BARC) fell to a one-month low as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. sold a stake in the lender. Fiat SpA lost 6.5 percent as Chrysler Group LLC went in for a vehicle recall. France Telecom SA (FTE) rose after its Orange Business Services unit won a five-year deal to deploy a private network for Heineken NV. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) jumped to its highest price in at least 23 years after posting full-year profit that beat estimates.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.(BONT)

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates department stores in the mid-size and metropolitan markets of the United States. Its stores offer brand-name fashion apparel and accessories for women, men, and children, as well as provide cosmetics, home furnishings, and footwear. As of November 1, 2011, the company operated 275 stores under various nameplates, including the Bon-Ton, Bergner?s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger?s, and Younkers in 23 northeastern, midwestern, and upper Great Plains states; and under the Parisian nameplate in Detroit, Michigan. The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in York, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q1 2014 earnings report for the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: BONT), a peer of other department store stocks like J.C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP), Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) and Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD), is due out before the market opens on Thursday. Aside from the Bon-Ton Stores' earnings report, it should be said that troubled Sears Holdings Corp is also scheduled to report earnings before the market opens on Thursday while J.C. Penney Company, Inc�and Kohl's Corporation both reported Q1 2014 earnings last Thursday. However, the Bon-Ton Stores is heading into earnings with rather high short interest of 35.05% according to HighShortInterest.com.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc (NASDAQ: BONT), American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO), Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS), Verifone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY), Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) Economic Releases Expected: Indian trade balance, German trade balance, British industrial production, British manufacturing production

  Wednesday

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Bon-Ton Stores Inc.(BONT) slashed its expectations for the year and the retailer warned poor winter weather in the majority of its markets led to lower traffic and hampered promotional events tied to the Christmas holiday. Shares slid 19% to $12.60 premarket.

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

  Bon-Ton Stores Inc.(BONT) said Chief Executive and President Brendan L. Hoffman won’t renew his deal to keep leading the retailer when his contract expires in February 2015. Mr. Hoffman, who took over as CEO in February 2012 when he was 43 years old, will also resign his role as a director on the company’s board. He cited personal reasons for his decision. Shares declined 8% to $10 premarket.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: Owens & Minor Inc.(OMI)

Owens & Minor, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides distribution, third-party logistics, and other supply-chain management services to healthcare providers and suppliers of medical and surgical products. Its services include logistics, supplier management, analytics inventory management, outsourced resource management, clinical supply management, and business process consulting. The company also offers various services comprising PANDAC, an operating room-focused inventory management program that helps healthcare providers to control suture and endo-mechanical inventory; SurgiTrack, a customizable surgical supply service that includes the assembly and delivery of surgical supplies in procedure-based totes; OMSolutions, a supply-chain consulting, customer technology, and resource management service; and WISDOM Gold, an Internet-based supply spend management, data normalization, and contract management solution. In addition, it provides Clinical Supply Solutions, a n inventory and contract management service; and Implant Purchase Manager, a technology-based service, as well as owns OM HealthCare Logistics, a customized third-party logistics and business process outsourcing service. Further, the company distributes medical and surgical supplies to the acute-care market. It serves federal government, including the U.S. department of defense; and alternate-site providers, such as ambulatory surgery centers, physicians? practices, clinics, home healthcare organizations, nursing homes, and rehabilitation facilities, as well as provides distribution and supply-chain management services that include third-party logistics and business process outsourcing services to manufacturers of medical and surgical products. Owens & Minor, Inc. was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: CAH is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat and a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index. The company's peer group includes: AmerisourceBergen Corporation (ABC) with a 1.3% yield, McKesson Corporation (MCK) with a 0.6% yield and Owens & Minor Inc. (OMI) with a 2.5% yield.

• [By Chris Mydlo]

  Owens & Minor Inc. (OMI) is trading at a low P/S ratio of 0.20, near its 10-year low of 0.18. The company offers supply chain assistance to the providers of healthcare services and the manufacturers of healthcare products, supplies, and devices. It is held by 14 gurus we follow.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: Mostostroy No6 OAO (MSTF)

Mostostroy No6 OAO (Mostostroitel��yi trest No 6 OAO or Bridge Construction Trust N 6 OJSC) is a Russia-based company engaged in the construction industry. Its services portfolio includes the design, construction, reconstruction and renovation of bridges, railways, highways, tunnels and subways, nuclear and thermal power stations, residential and industrial facilities, among others. Mostostroitel��yi trest No 6 OAO provides its services mainly to companies engaged in the transportation, hydraulic engineering, industrial, civil and nuclear construction sectors and its customers include ROSATOM and Russian Railways, among others. The Company operates through 10 branches, as well as two representative offices, located in Moscow and Sochi. In addition, it has five wholly owned subsidiaries. As of March 4, 2011, the Company�� major shareholder was Malakhit OOO with a stake of 19.85%. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Taulli]

  But again, the most glaring red flag is the valuation of GOOG stock. Shares of Google stock are currently trading at a P/E ratio of 30, which is certainly rich. Consider that�Apple (AAPL) and �Microsoft (MSTF) sport multiples of only about 14. These companies also have decent dividend yields.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: Cardiovascular Systems Inc.(CSII)

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., a medical device company, focuses on developing and commercializing minimally invasive treatment solutions for vascular disease. Its primary products include catheter-based platforms, such as the Diamondback 360�PAD System, the Diamondback Predator 360�PAD System, and Stealth 360�PAD System that are used for the treatment of a range of plaque types in leg arteries above and below the knee. The PAD Systems consists of a single-use catheter that travels over its proprietary ViperWire guidewire and are used in conjunction with a reusable external control unit or a saline infusion pump. It markets and sells its products through direct sales force to hospitals and office based laboratories in the United States. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Oberweis]

  Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSII) sells devices (called atherectomy devices) that remove the plaque altogether versus traditional angioplasty devices that push the plaque into the vessel.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, medical device company Cardiovascular Systems (NASDAQ: CSII  ) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: Resources Connection Inc.(RECN)

Resources Connection, Inc. provides professional services in the areas of finance, accounting, risk management and internal audit, corporate advisory, strategic communications and restructuring, information management, human capital, supply chain management, actuarial, and legal and regulatory services to support client-led projects and initiatives. It offers finance and accounting services, including financial analyses, budgeting and forecasting, audit preparation, public-entity reporting, tax-related projects, merger and acquisition due diligence, initial public offering assistance, and assistance in the preparation or restatement of financial statements; information management services, such as financial system/enterprise resource planning implementation, and post implementation optimization services; and corporate advisory, strategic communications, and restructuring services. The company also provides risk management and internal audit services comprising compliance r eviews, internal audit co-sourcing, and assistance services; supply chain management services, including strategic sourcing efforts, contract negotiations, and purchasing strategy services; and actuarial support services for pension and life insurance companies. In addition, it offers human capital services, such as change management, and compensation program design and implementation services; and legal and regulatory services comprising providing attorneys, paralegals, and contract managers to assist clients, such as law firms with project-based or peak period needs. Further, the company provides policyIQ, a Web-based content management product for documenting, managing, and communicating various types of business information, including policies and procedures, Sarbanes documentation, training documentation, and other business content. It operates in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Resources Connection (NASDAQ: RECN) is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.12 per share on revenue of $133.43 million.

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

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Resources Connection (NASDAQ: RECN) shot up 7.38 percent to $15.29 after the company reported upbeat FQ2 earnings.

  Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) was also up, gaining 8.13 percent to $5.45 after the company reported a 2.9% gain in its December same-store sales.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Resources Connection (Nasdaq: RECN  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: MGE Energy Inc (MGEE)

MGE Energy, Inc. (MGE Energy), incorporated on December 31, 2001, is a holding company and conducts all of its business operations through its subsidiaries. Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGE Energy. The Company operates in five segments: Regulated electric utility operations, which is engaged in generating, purchasing, and distributing electricity through MGE; Regulated gas utility operations, which is engaged in purchasing and distributing natural gas through MGE; Nonregulated energy operations, which is engaged in constructing, owning, and leasing electric generating capacity that assists MGE through MGE Energy's wholly owned subsidiaries MGE Power Elm Road and MGE Power West Campus; Transmission investments, which is representing its investment in American Transmission Company LLC, and All other, which is investing in companies and property that relate to the regulated operations and financing the regulated operations, through its wholly owned subsidiaries MAGAEL and CWDC, and Corporate functions.

Electric Utility Operations

MGE distributes electricity in a service area covering a 316 square-mile area of Dane County, Wisconsin. The service area includes the city of Madison, Wisconsin. It owns or leases ownership interests in electric generation facilities located in Wisconsin and Iowa. As of December 31, 2012, MGE supplied electric service to approximately 140,000 customers, with approximately 90% located in the cities of Fitchburg, Madison, Middleton, and Monona and 10% in adjacent areas. Electric operations accounted for approximately 73.7% as of December 31, 2012. MGE is registered with two Regional Entities, The Midwest Reliability Organization and Reliability First Corporation. MGE and two other utilities jointly own Columbia, a coal-fired generating facility.

MGE owns gas fired combustion turbines. These turbines are primarily located in Madison and Marinette, Wisconsin, and have a total of 155 megawatts of net su! mmer rated capacity. MGE also owns the Blount Generating Facility located in Madison, Wisconsin, which is fueled by gas and other alternative renewable sources. MGE owns 30 megawatts, consisting of 18 turbines, in a wind-powered electric generating facility in Worth County, Iowa. MGE also owns 11 megawatts, consisting of 17 turbines, in a wind-powered electric generating facility in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin.

Gas Utility Operations

MGE transports and distributes natural gas in a service area covering 1,631 square miles in seven south-central Wisconsin counties. The service area includes the city of Madison, Wisconsin and surrounding areas. As of December 31, 2012, MGE supplied natural gas service to approximately 145,000 customers in the cities of Elroy, Fitchburg, Lodi, Madison, Middleton, Monona, Prairie du Chien, Verona, and Viroqua; 24 villages, and all or parts of 45 townships.

Nonregulated Energy Operations

MGE Energy, through its subsidiaries, has developed generation sources that assist MGE in meeting the electricity needs of its customers. MGE Power Elm Road and two other owners own undivided interests in the coal-fired Elm Road Units in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Unit I and Unit II have the capacity to produce 615 megawatts of electricity. Wisconsin Energy Corporation owns approximately 83% of the Elm Road Units and is the operator for those units. MGE Power Elm Road owns an 8.33% ownership interest in both units.

MGE Power West Campus and the University of Wisconsin at Madison (UW) jointly own undivided interests in a natural gas-fired cogeneration facility on the UW campus. The facility has the capacity to produce 20,000 tons of chilled water, 500,000 pounds per hour of steam, and approximately 150 megawatts of electricity. The UW owns 45% of the facility, which represents its interest in the chilled-water and steam assets. MGE leases the electric generating assets owned by MGE Power West Campus and is responsible for operating the! entire f! acility.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  MGE Energy Inc. (MGEE) operates as a public utility holding company in Wisconsin. Aug. 16, the company increased its quarterly dividend 3.2% to $0.4076 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable Sept. 15, 2013 to shareholders of record Sept. 1, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 3.0%.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on MGE Energy (Nasdaq: MGEE  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot International Companies To Own For 2015: Suntech Power Holdings Co. LTD.(STP)

Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., a solar energy company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) products. The company also provides engineering, procurement, and construction services to building solar power systems for certain related party and third party customers. Its products include monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon PV cells; PV modules; and building-integrated photovoltaics products. In addition, the company provides PV system integration services, including designing, installing, and testing PV systems used in lighting for outdoor urban public facilities, as well as in farms, villages, and commercial buildings; and project development services. Its products are used to provide electric power for residential, commercial, industrial, and public utility applications. The company sells its products through value-added resellers, such as distributors and system integrators; and to end users, such as project develo pers primarily in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Benelux, Greece, the United States, Canada, China, the Middle East, Australia, and Japan. Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Wuxi, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gary Bourgeault]

  Other companies of note that will be hurt will be LDK Solar (LDK), Suntech Power (STP), JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (JASO) and Renesola (SOL) among others. Some these are already hanging on by a thread because of taking on too much debt and defaulting on bonds.

This Metric Says Kinder Morgan Energy Partners Is Cheap Right Now

Master limited partnerships are not like other stocks, and the metrics we use to compare an MLP to its peers differ from the metrics we use to compare regular companies. For example, instead of the traditional P/E ratio, we emphasize MLP-specific metrics like distribution coverage ratio and today's focus: price to distributable cash flow (P/DCF). I'll use Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD  ) , Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP  ) , and Buckeye Partners (NYSE: BPL  ) to illustrate the concept.

Why this metric?
Price to distributable cash flow is the MLP metric that comes closest to the P/E ratio most investors know and love. Like any good ratio, it allows you to compare MLPs on a relative basis, regardless of size.

Distributable cash flow per unit replaces earnings per unit in these relative valuations because MLPs pass almost all of their cash to unit holders. Distributable cash flow drives distribution growth, which in turn drives unit prices. That's really what investors care about the most with MLPs, and that's why analysts and management never discuss earnings per share for their MLPs; it's all about distributable cash flow.

How the metric works
To calculate P/DCF, you take the market cap of your MLP and divide it by a full year of distributable cash flow.

Let's use Enterprise Products Partners as our first example. We'll use distributable cash flow numbers from the four most recent quarters. The numbers shake out like this:

Q1 2014

Q4 2013

Q3 2013

Q2 2013

Total

$1,069	$1,021	$908	$925	$3,922

Source: MLPData.com, Yahoo! Finance. Dollar figures are in millions.

Now we'll divide the partnership's market cap by its distributable cash flow total of $3.9 billion to derive our P/DCF multiple:

Market Cap

DCF

P/DCF

$68.1	$3.9	17.4x

Source: MLPData.com, Yahoo! Finance. Dollar figures are in billions

A multiple of 17.4 is a tad high, but we'll get to that in a minute. The whole point of this exercise is relative valuation, so let's see how Enterprise's multiple compares to that of some of its peers.

The DCF numbers for Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Buckeye Partners come from the same four quarters that we used for Enterprise.

MLP

Market Cap

DCF

P/DCF

EPD	$68.10	$3.9	17.4x
KMP	$34.45	$2.4	14.4x
BPL	$9.04	$0.5	20.0x

 Source: Company releases, Google Finance. Dollar figures are in billions.

Enterprise falls right in the middle here. Given its recent trading history, it's not that big of a surprise to see Kinder Morgan posting the best multiple of the group. Its shares have vastly underperformed its two peers over the past year. Kinder Morgan is down more than 13%, while Enterprise and Buckeye Partners are up 19% and 16%, respectively.

But what is the benchmark for this cash flow multiple anyway? Most investors have heard that a P/E ratio greater than 15 is high, and the further it floats above that magic number the more overvalued the stock is. According to analysts at Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, the average multiple for large cap MLPs like today's group has been between 15 and 16 times price to distributable cash flow.

By this standard, Kinder Morgan is the only MLP here that is "cheap." But again, the P/DCF ratio is useful for relative valuations, but by no means would you want to base your entire investing thesis on this one metric -- or any one metric -- alone. Rather, it serves as a starting point for further research.

3 stock picks to ride America's energy bonanza
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Rent gets cheaper at One World Trade Center

  Inside the new 1 World Trade Center NEW YORK (CNNMoney) It's a good time for businesses to think about moving into One World Trade Center.

The owners of the tower cut the rent from $75 to $69 per square foot on floors below the 64th in an attempt to attract more tenants. About 45% of the office space has yet to be leased.

The rate was too high even for such an iconic building, said Jordan Barowitz, a spokesman for Durst Organization, which oversees the construction and leasing of One World Trade Center, and also owns a minority stake. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the rest of the building.

Other office spaces in downtown Manhattan rent for closer to $50 per square foot, Barowitz said.

It's been three years years since Durst signed its first tenant, Condé Nast.

The media company is expected to occupy floors 20 through 44 before the end of 2014. But as of now, only two other companies have signed leases. The China Center, a liaison for U.S. and Chinese businesses, will occupy six floors (64-69). The local offices for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are planning to move in to floors 50 through 55 in late 2015.

"The next few tenants in that property are going to get a great deal on 21st century office space," said Dan Fasulo, managing director for Real Capital Analytics, a commercial real estate research firm.

One World Trade Center is just one of several buildings in the complex rebuilt after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At 1,776 feet, it's the tallest building in the U.S.

There are 13 floors available at the new rate. Each offers between 3,500 and 4,500 s! quare feet of office space. Floors above the 64th are more expensive. Durst asks for up to $100 per square foot for those spaces, Barowitz said.

How We Paid Off $89,000 in Debt and Saved Our Marriage

Courtesy Mary R. Around the time my husband Larry and I had been married for more than 30 years, we finally faced the reality of our financial situation: We owed $88,557 in credit card debt. We had been living from paycheck to paycheck because my husband was switching careers and had been looking for work for about a year. Even though I was working, we had to use our savings to cover our living expenses, and eventually relied on credit cards to make ends meet. We even had to take out a payday advance loan once or twice. We weren't behind on any payments and we weren't thinking about bankruptcy or anything like that. But we were tired of living hand-to-mouth. The debt just kind of crept up on us. We'd always used credit cards, but using them more for that year sent the balances up high. My husband was doing the budgeting and bill paying the best he could, and I really wasn't engaged in the process for a long time. I don't blame him at all for the situation, though, because I should have been more responsible about our money and looked into what was going on. The Split It wasn't any one thing that sent us to get help, it was just that we didn't want to live from paycheck to paycheck anymore and we could tell we would never pay off our debt by making the minimum payments. We went to ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions, a nonprofit credit counselor, for help. Some of the debt was in my name, some in his, and some in both of ours. They negotiated with our creditors for lower interest rates and set up our debt management plan. But then it got more complicated because we separated. It wasn't the debt that caused our marriage problem; it was that we weren't communicating with each other. We lost our house to foreclosure during this time because once we separated, neither one of us could afford the house payments. However, we both were really committed to the debt management plan, so we set up a system where I deposited my part of the payment into his account and the funds were transferred to the debt management fund. Our payment was around $2,800 a month. The Sacrifices Thankfully, we were both employed by the time the debt management plan started in 2009. As soon as we got on the plan, our payments were lower than they had been, so that helped. But we knew we had to make changes because we had mismanaged our money for a long time. The biggest thing was that we downsized -- a lot. I moved into an apartment that was half the price of the first one I found, and Larry moved into a small place, too. We sold a lot of furniture when we split up, and I got rid of my car and drove a car my mom sold to me instead. I made interest-free payments to her. I got rid of cable TV and just learned how to live within a budget. While we were separated, I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class and that was another positive life change. I learned to manage my own budget carefully while we were separated, figured out which bills to pay with each paycheck and how much I had to live on after making the debt management payment. Reconciliation We were separated for about 20 months and then we reconciled. My husband went to Dave Ramsey's class with me, and together we learned to be intentional about our finances. Recombining our households also made it easier for us to find money to pay down what we owed. We finished paying off all our debt in May and now all of the money we used to spend on the debt management plan goes into our savings and retirement accounts. We've been living only on cash and an ATM card from our bank since 2009 and we never intend to use a credit card again. (We don't want one at all because we don't ever want to be tempted to use it and accumulate debt again.) Building a New Future -- Together Best of all, we were able to buy five acres of land with our grown kids. They live in a house on the property and we're slowly building a home for us on the land, too. When it's ready, we'll sell the mobile home we're living in now. It's like a dream come true. I can't say it was easy, but four years came and went and we survived it -- paid off our debts -- and it was well worth the effort. On top of all that, we recently celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. Who she is: Smith is an ex-small business accountant who dedicates her time to helping entrepreneurs manage and make more money. Her debt wake-up call: "Three years ago ... I started thinking about what my life would be like as I got old and grey. I [had] just finalized a painful divorce and found myself with a mountain [$14,000] of debt. Not exactly what I pictured for myself at 25 years old," she says.

Cirrus Logic: Is This Undervalued Company a Buy?

The present market situation for chipmaker Cirrus Logic (CRUS) doesn't appear to be good. The company has lost its momentum and has been reporting upsetting results. The stock is declining and looks like a bad pick at present.

The Problem

Cirrus itself is responsible for its downfall. The company failed to diversify its customer base, and this has hurt its performance. Unfavorable pricing at Apple and over reliance on one customer for revenue has eroded Cirrus' profitability. The stock trades at just 10 times last year's earnings, and this might lead many to believe that Cirrus could be a value play.

The stock can be a good pick even in such a difficult situation. It is focusing on various aspects for growth. Its current position in Apple's empire and its focus on emerging tech such as wearable devices, and aggressive research and development moves might help Cirrus gain ground going forward. However, its too early to rely on Cirrus as a good pick until it proves its claims by posting outstanding results.

Weak So Far

Cirrus, with its poor results, has failed to impress investors over the past few quarters. This has led the stock to trade at the lower end of its 52 week-range. The weakness looks set to continue as Cirrus called for revenue of $130 million to $150 million, significantly behind consensus estimates of $175.3 million. As a result, investors might want to stay away from Cirrus until it shows any concrete signs of gaining market share.

Cirrus might see further declines in its performance and can struggle as its relationship with Apple is no more lucrative. This is also a reason why Cirrus has to seek for other ventures to gain its momentum back.

It is quite evident that Apple is also struggling. It is going through a rough patch as its guidance for the quarter shows. However, some analysts still believe that demand for Apple's devices are still strong. Apple is also focusing on China and the latest deal with China Mobile should benefit Apple. This will also benefit Cirrus as there is growing demand for its components. But, since Cirrus has already achieved peak revenue from Apple and Apple is now more focused on the low cost segment, it might not be as lucrative as it was earlier for Cirrus.

The 29% year-over-year drop in Cirrus' revenue "was due mostly to a shift in pricing structure, as well as product mix." Now, it is an easy guess as to what was the reason behind the change in the pricing structure. Given that Cirrus generates a huge amount of revenue from Apple, this would continue hurting the company as its biggest account stagnates, or even declines.

However, to equalize the weakness that Cirrus is seeing from Apple, it is now focusing on diversifying its business. As per the latest news, Cirrus is now focusing on energy-related applications, but it is still struggling. This can be noted by a 22% decline in this segment in 2013 as compared to 2012. In addition, Cirrus is trying its hand in the wearable device and voice recognition segment.

Conclusion

Cirrus might seem undervalued, but the company still has the potential to help investors make money in the volatile market. however, it will not be a wise decision to pick Cirrus out emotional flow. The investors must see investment in Cirrus from sidelines until there are concrete signs of company gaining market share.

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Apple Inc's Interest in Beats Is Further Evidence of a Disturbing Trend

Although the deal has not yet been formally announced, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) is still expected to acquire Beats Electronics at some point in the near future. Much has already been written about the purchase -- its potential to bring a level of fashion to Apple's future wearables, Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine's music industry experience -- but what I find most interesting is what it says about Apple's iTunes business.

Apple's total iTunes revenue is growing, and at a rapid pace, but the model on which the business was built -- music downloads -- could slow. Streaming services are clearly the future, and though acquiring Beats should help Apple break into that business, it still poses a major challenge.

Downloads give way to subscriptions
Industry music downloads slipped 5.7% on an annual basis last year, according to Nielsen. Consistent with those figures, Asymco estimated that Apple's iTunes Music sales declined about 14% in 2013.

It's possible that a lack of quality music may have weighed on iTunes' sales last year (arguably, fewer must-have songs were released in 2013), but the growth of music subscription services cannot be discounted. Spotify, the leader in that business, now has 10 million paying subscribers, up from just 5 million 17 months ago.

iTunes and the ecosystem
That's a problem for Apple, at least in terms of its ecosystem. Apple's customers are notoriously loyal, partly because the company makes great products, but also because Apple makes it difficult to leave. It's possible to port a large iTunes catalog to Android or another rival operating system, but the process is far from straightforward.

Someone who has purchased a bunch of music through iTunes, then, is likely to remain an Apple customer, consistently buying a new iPhone every two years. The idea of the sticky ecosystem has been championed by bulls such as hedge fund manager David Einhorn, who has consistently argued that this property of iTunes makes Apple unlikely to suffer the same fate as the once-dominant phone giants that preceded it.

But a customer who switches to Spotify, or some other similar subscription service, is device agnostic. In fact, the very appeal of these subscription services is that they allow their customers to access music from anywhere -- just about any Internet-connected device can access Spotify, no matter the manufacturer.

Apple is less likely to retain its customers
In acquiring Beats, Apple will get access to its own streaming service, along with a team of music industry veterans who can help it negotiate contracts with musicians and labels.

Although Beats' subscription service trails Spotify in terms of total subscribers, it's still relatively new. Apple's engineering expertise could improve Beats Music significantly, much like it transformed SoundJam MP into iTunes.

But even if Apple were to eventually offer the premier streaming music service, and go so far as to restrict it to the iOS platform, it would be worse than having a robust iTunes business. Switching between music streaming services is easy; losing access to a catalog of songs that one has invested hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of dollars in is far more difficult.

It remains to be seen if Apple will actually go through the acquisition, and, if it does, what it will do with Beats Music. But Apple's interest in a streaming music service -- and, more broadly, the growth in the larger sector -- is a disturbing sign for the long-term strength of its ecosystem.

Leaked: Apple's next smart device (warning, it may shock you)
Apple recent recruited a secret-development Dream Team to guarantee their newest smart device was kept hidden from the public for as long as possible. But the secret is out...and some early viewers are even claiming its everyday impact could trump the iPod, iPhone, AND the iPad. In fact, ABI Research predicts 485 million of these type of devices will be sold per year. But one small company makes this gadget possible. And their stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors. To be one of them, and see Apple's newest smart gizmo, just click here!

How to assess a real estate agent

Selling or buying a home can come with a lot of confusion. If you're in the market for a real estate agent, ask these questions to find the best fit:

• What's your experience? Know how long your agent has been in business, whether this is a full- or part-time job and if this professional specializes in your neighborhood or part of town (depending on the size of the area you live in). Ask the average length of time this agent's homes sit on the market, the homes' list-price-to-selling-price ratio and types of property the agent worked with.

• How will you keep me updated? Any successful relationship depends on communication. Understand the frequency and form of updates you'll receive. Indicate the level of information you expect in terms of buyer interest, new property listings, open house feedback and more.

• What are my home's drawbacks? Your agent must give you honest feedback to set appropriate expectations for the home buying or selling process. If you're selling, your agent needs to help you identify any issues affecting the value of your home.

• What's your strategy? Whether your agent uses a for-sale sign on your front lawn, a direct mail campaign or open houses and online marketing, make sure you're aware of the strategy and, more important, comfortable with it.

If you're buying, know what type of competing buyers are in your market, how the agent helps you search for a new home and handles multiple offers and the agent's intensity of activity. For example, does the agent drive you to prospective homes or just email you listings?

• Do you work alone? Understand if your agent handles all details solo or as part of a team. If your agent uses the team approach, find out what areas your agent specializes in and who else you may work with and in what capacity.

• How many clients do you represent? This helps you gauge how much of your agent's time you may receive. Is the agent spread too thin or not representing many clients at all?

The correc! t answer depends on your personal preference – time or experience. Preferably, your agent blends both.

• Can I see your references? Typically you find these on Yelp these days. If not, ask for at least three references from clients. When screening, ask about the agent's accessibility, personality, professionalism and communication and about the clients' satisfaction.

• How much do you charge? Most real estate fees are negotiable. Agents typically charge a percentage of the deal, averaging 2% to 4% on each side of the transaction. Percentages vary by agent; total commissions are around 6%.

Check the average for your area before going into talks. Make sure you understand the agent's cancellation policy and any other fees involved.

You can also use online assessment tools on sites like the National Association of Realtors.

• What else should I ask? Use your judgment regarding the completeness and honesty of the answer you hear.

Ensure your agent takes the time to educate you and make you feel comfortable; don't rush to make this decision or enter this relationship. Note the agent's observations about your home and effort to explain key terms without real estate jargon.

Above all, assess to your satisfaction the agent's genuine interest in helping you reach your goals.

MORE: Jeff Rose on claiming the child tax credit

MORE: Gabe Muller on apps to manage your money

MORE: Raul Elizalde on 2 problems for this market

Mary Beth Storjohann, CFP, is the founder of Workable Wealth, an RIA in San Diego, and is a member of the AdviceIQ Financial Advisors Network, which is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Avago Technologies: This Chipmaker Can Add Value to Your Portfolio

Avago Technologies (AVGO) has made a good comeback. The company, despite seeing weakness all through the year, posted fantastic results. The company's good results make it a promising investment. The operational efficiencies led Avago to see a good 20% growth in its top line. But looking at the ratios, the company is still expensive with a trailing P/E of 29. Also, the decline in the dividend yield to 1.70% might scare a few investors away.

Moreover, the stock is trading close to its 52-week high. Avago, being associated with some of the top companies such as Apple and Samsung, is confident about a solid performance in the future. With the growing mobile segment and Avago being a solid player in it, it has bright opportunities to hit gold in the future.

Avago's wireless communication business should prove to be a primary growth driver for the company. So, with the growing traction of Apple's iPhone, Avago is expecting to benefit. Also, in the past, despite weakness in Apple's iPhone production, Avago has managed to increase its wireless revenue. Avago sees bright opportunities in association with Apple and Samsung.

The Road Forward

With increasing demand for Samsung's Galaxy 5, Avago is confident going forward. Moreover, Apple is in the course of introducing bigger iPhones later this year, which will benefit Avago in the long run. The company is expecting great traction from the iPhone as it has gained content in the device.

Moving on, with the booming market and increasing traction, Avago is expected to see tailwinds in the future as Apple launches its bigger iPhone. Rumors going around on the web suggest that the next iPhone's screen will be 4.7 inches or larger as the company tries to woo Android users into its ecosystem. In addition, since Avago also supplies content for the iPad, it could see more Apple goodness later this year with the new iPad cycle.

LTE to Drive Growth

In addition to this, Avago is focusing on various aspects to improve its profitability. To fetch more profit and to diversify the risk, Avago has come up with a strong diversification strategy. Under this, it is focusing on landing few design wins in China. With the introduction of the LTE platform, China is seeing a growing demand for LTE-enabled smartphones. On the other hand, management of Avago is pleased with such a scene and is confident of winning meaningful content in smartphones in China.

With the growing demand for LTE smartphones, Avago has significant opportunity since 4G Smartphone shipments in China are expected to rise to 72.6 million this year from 4.6 million units last year. It is expected that by 2017, there will be 300 million 4G handsets in the Middle Kingdom. So, Avago has made a smart move by targeting this market.

A Look at Wired Infrastructure

Moving on to Avago's wired infrastructure business, the company is expecting a lot from it as in the past, it grew by an impressive 60%. Avago is also counting on Cisco, which is one of its 10%-plus customers. The proliferation of connectivity around the globe with different applications in the Internet of Things and the Industrial Internet will lead to demand for data center equipment and faster connectivity equipment going forward.

Product Moves and Conclusion

Avago is also working on bringing in new products out of its pipeline. Its two new launches namely MicroPOD and MiniPOD in association with Corning are expected to take it to new highs with exciting features. It allows datacenters and enterprise networks to switch from 10G to 100G Ethernet. This new suite of products also increases the link distance to 550 meters, thereby increasing the efficiency of data centers.

Avago has appreciated strongly this year and the stock isn't as cheap as it was in December last year. The company has many catalysts which make it a solid performer and chances for a better performance are concrete. Avago seems a good pick as of now.

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Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Own Right Now

Many of the world�� stock markets soared in 2013, so it�� no surprise that the Kiplinger 25, the list of our favorite mutual funds, enjoyed a bang-up year. But most of our funds did even better than their benchmarks, including those that invest in markets that didn�� soar.

See Also: The Kiplinger 25 at a Glance

U.S. Stock Funds

The group�� 12 U.S. stock funds gained an average of 36.0%, beating Standard & Poor�� 500-stock index by 3.6 percentage points. Highlights included three funds that focus on large-capitalization stocks: Dodge & Cox Stock (DODGX), which climbed 40.6% in 2013; Mairs & Power Growth (MPGFX), which earned 35.6%; and Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX), which gained 34.2%. All handily outpaced the S&P 500�� 32.4% return last year.

But one of our large-company funds lagged. Artisan Value (ARTLX), which we added to the Kip 25 in 2012, trailed the index by 6.6 points. Its 25.8% return ranked behind 91% of its peers in the large-company value category. ��t�� not odd for our group to lag in a big up-market,��says George Sertl, one of the fund�� managers (along with Scott Satterwhite, Jim Kieffer and Daniel Kane). ��e��e anti-momentum investors, and we��e in a momentum environment.��Indeed. The four managers are contrarian investors, looking in pockets of the market that others are shunning. And they buy with a four-year time horizon. ��t takes patience,��says Sertl. The fund�� cash holdings��bout 10% of assets at last report��urt performance, and two of its 34 holdings were real drags: Annaly Capital Management (down 18.3%) and Newmont Mining (down 47.8%), part of the awful gold sector.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Own Right Now: Republic Bancorp Inc.(RBCAA)

Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company and Republic Bank, which provides banking, tax refund solutions, and mortgage banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers a range of deposit products, including demand deposits, money market accounts, brokered and Internet money market accounts, savings deposits, individual retirement accounts, time deposits, and certificates of deposit. It also provides single family residential real estate loans; commercial loans; residential construction real estate loans; and consumer loans, which consists of home improvement and home equity loans, as well as secured and unsecured personal loans. In addition, the company offers private banking services; treasury management services, such as lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business online banking, account reconciliation, and automated clearing house processing services; Internet banking service s and products through its Website, republicbank.com; and trust, title insurance, and other financial institution related products and services. Further, it provides tax refund solutions that include the payment of federal and state tax refunds through third party tax preparers. The company facilitates the payment of these tax refunds through refund anticipation loans, electronic refund checks, and electronic refund deposits. Its mortgage banking activities comprise origination and sale of loans in the secondary market, and the servicing of loans for others. As of December 31, 2009, the company had 44 banking centers, including 35 located in Kentucky; 5 located in metropolitan Tampa, Florida; 3 located in southern Indiana; and 1 located in metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio. Republic Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  In the fourth quarter, he bought 32 new stocks. The largest new buys are: Air Lease (AL), Colfax (CFX) and Republic Bancorp Inc. (RBCAA).

  Air Lease (AL)

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Own Right Now: Amerco (UHAL)

AMERCO, through its subsidiary U-Haul International, Inc., a do-it-yourself moving and storage operator that supplies products and services to help people move and store their household and commercial goods in the United States and Canada. The company engages in the rental of trucks, trailers, specialty rental items, and self-storage spaces primarily to the household mover as well as sales of moving supplies, towing accessories and propane. It also offers eMove, an online marketplace, which connects consumers to independent moving help service providers and independent self-storage affiliates, as well as manages self-storage properties. In addition, the company provides loss adjusting and claims handling services, as well as underwrites moving and storage protection packages, including Safemove and Safetow that provide moving and towing customers with a damage waiver, cargo protection, and medical and life insurance coverage; Safestor, which protects storage customers from loss on their goods in storage; and Super Safemove that offer rental customer with a layer of primary liability protection. Further, it provides life and health insurance products primarily to the senior market through the direct writing or reinsuring of life insurance, medicare supplement, and annuity policies. The company rents its orange and white U-Haul trucks and trailers, as well as offers self-storage rooms through a network of approximately 1,400 company operated retail moving centers and approximately 15,000 independent U-Haul dealers. Its rental fleet consists of approximately 101,000 trucks, 82,000 trailers, and 33,000 towing devices, as well as operates approximately 1,115 self-storage locations in North America, with approximately 411,000 rentable rooms. The company was founded in 1945 and is based in Reno, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Given my druthers, were I asked to recommend a truck rental shop today, I think I'd have to go with U-Haul owner AMERCO (NASDAQ: UHAL  ) instead. It's got the free cash flow that Ryder lacks, plus a cheaper P/E, a slightly faster growth rate, and a smaller debt load. Honestly, I don't "love" AMERCO either -- but it's a heck of a better value than Ryder.

Best Solar Companies To Buy Right Now: Nobility Homes Inc. (NOBH)

Nobility Homes, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells a line of manufactured homes in Florida. It offers homes under the trade names of Kingswood, Springwood, Springwood Special, Tropic Isle Special, Regency Manor Special, and Special Edition. The company sells its manufactured homes through a network of its own retail sales centers; and to independent manufactured home retail dealers and manufactured home communities on a wholesale basis. It also provides retail insurance services, which involves placing various types of insurance, including property and casualty, automobile, and extended home warranty coverage, with insurance underwriters on behalf of its customers in connection with their purchase and financing of manufactured homes. As of October 31, 2009, the company operated 15 retail sales centers in north and central Florida. Nobility Homes, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Ocala, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Nobility Homes Inc. (NOBH)

  Finally, Gabelli reported owning 234.950 shares of Nobility Homes, sized at 5.97% of the company�� shares outstanding and 0.01% of Gabelli�� portfolio. The company has a market cap of $44.63 million, with a P/E of 59.6 and P/S of 2.41.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Own Right Now: United Community Banks Inc. (UCBI)

United Community Banks, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for United Community Bank that provides retail and corporate banking services to individuals and small to mid-size businesses. It offers various deposit accounts, such as checking accounts, savings and time deposits, demand deposits, non-interest bearing deposits, NOW accounts, and money market accounts. The company�s loan portfolio comprises commercial loans secured by real estate, commercial and industrial loans, commercial construction loans, residential construction and mortgage loans, and consumer installment loans. It also offers wire transfers, brokerage services, and other financial services; and ATM, telephone, and online banking services. In addition, the company acts as an insurance agency, as well as provides retail brokerage services through an affiliation with a third party broker/dealer. As of March 25, 2013, it operated 103 banking offices in north Georgia, the Atlanta region, coastal Georgi a, western North Carolina, east Tennessee, and northwest South Carolina. The company was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier]

  United Community Banks (UCBI) has 106 branches in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. The bank has seen continual credit improvements and a recovering economy drive 100% earnings gains this year. The bank is one of the few seeing strong loan growth, and business is so good that UCBI paid back its TARP obligations without needing to issue new equity. This cheap stock was upgraded to an ����last July and at the current price. The P/E ratio right now is just 5.

Top 5 Integrated Utility Stocks To Own Right Now: Aviva plc (AV)

Aviva plc provides insurance, savings, and fund management products and services worldwide. It offers life insurance and savings products, which comprise pensions products, such as personal and group pensions, stakeholder pensions, and income drawdown; annuities; protection products, including term assurance, mortgage life insurance, flexible whole life, and critical illness cover; bonds and savings comprising single premium investment bonds, regular premium savings plans, mortgage endowment products, and funding agreements; and investment products consisting of unit trusts, individual savings accounts, and open ended investment companies, as well as equity release and structured settlements. The company also provides general and health insurance products that include personal lines of insurance products, such as motor, household, travel, and creditor insurance; commercial lines of insurance products consisting of fleet, liability, and commercial property insurance; health insurance products comprising private health, income protection, personal accident, and corporate healthcare insurance products; and insurance for corporate and specialty risks. In addition, it offers fund management products and services for institutional, pension fund, and retail clients. Aviva plc sells its products through various distribution channels, including direct sales forces, intermediaries, corporate partnerships, bancassurance, and joint ventures, as well as through the telephone and Internet. The company was formerly known as CGNU plc and changed its name to Aviva plc in July 2002. Aviva plc is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Harvey Jones]

  LONDON --�I'm shopping for shares right now, should I pop�Aviva� (LSE: AV  ) (NYSE: AV  ) �into my basket?

  Problem play
  How do you solve a problem like Aviva? it has been looking like a bargain buy for several years, and I'm not the only Fool dazzled by its low, low price. But now it is beginning to look more than a little shop soiled. Is it really a bargain? And should I buy more now, while it still looks cheap?

• [By Royston Wild]

  Bubbly activity in developing geographies can create large opportunities for many London-listed firms. Today, I am looking at Aviva (LSE: AV  ) (NYSE: AV  ) and assessing whether its operations in these regions are likely to underpin solid earnings growth.