As Congress Debates, Food Stamp Cuts Kick In

Dinesh Ramde/AP WASHINGTON -- More than 47 million Americans who receive food stamps will see their benefits go down starting Friday, just as Congress begins negotiations on further cuts to the program. Beginning in November, a temporary benefit from the 2009 economic stimulus that boosts food stamp dollars will no longer be available. According to the Agriculture Department, that means a family of four receiving food stamps will start receiving $36 less a month. The benefits, which go to 1 in 7 Americans, fluctuate based on factors that include food prices, inflation and income. The rolls have swelled as the economy has struggled in recent years, with the stimulus providing higher benefits and many people signing up for the first time. As a result, the program has more than doubled in cost since 2008, now costing almost $80 billion a year. That large increase in spending has turned the program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, into a target for House Republicans looking to reduce spending. Negotiations on a wide-ranging farm bill, including cuts to the SNAP program, began Wednesday. Farm bills passed by both the House and the Senate would cut food stamps, reductions that would come on top of those that go into effect Friday. But the two chambers are far apart on the amounts. Legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House would cut food stamps by an additional $4 billion annually and change eligibility and work requirements. The Senate farm bill would cut a tenth of that amount, with Democrats and President Barack Obama opposing major cuts. Farm-state lawmakers have been pushing the farm bill for more than two years, and the conference negotiations represented the opening round in final talks. If the bill isn't passed by the end of the year and current farm law is not extended, certain dairy supports would expire that could raise the price of milk. Farmers would start to feel more effects next spring. "It took us years to get here but we are here," House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said. "Let's not take years to get it done." The biggest obstacle to a final bill is how far apart the two parties are on food stamps. Lucas said at the conference meeting that he was hoping to find common ground on the issue, but House GOP leaders such Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., have insisted on higher cuts, saying the program should be targeted to the neediest people. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent out a statement as the meeting opened that said food stamp recipients "deserve swift action from Congress to pass a bill that provides the much-needed nutritional support for our children, our seniors, our veterans and our communities." As Congress debates the cuts to the program, charities say they are preparing for the farm bill reductions as well as the scheduled cuts taking place Friday. "Charities cannot fill the gap for the cuts being proposed to SNAP," said Maura Daly of Feeding America, a network of the nation's food banks. "We are very concerned about the impact on the charitable system." Daly says food banks may have to as much as double their current levels of distribution if the House cuts were enacted. The Congressional Budget Office says as many as 3.8 million people could lose their benefits in 2014 if the House bill became law.

Will US Airways Stock Continue To Ascend?

With shares of US Airways (NYSE:LCC) trading around $18, is LCC 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

US Airways operates and owns passenger and freight airline carriers. Consumers and companies across the nation are now looking to travel at an increasing rate. Since air travel is quicker and is becoming less expensive, it is becoming a common transportation method for many. As costs decrease and flights become more efficient, look for business and retail customers to fly more than ever.

On Wednesday morning, US Airways posted earnings and revenue figures that beat Wall Street's expectations. The earnings and revenue beat is now generating positive buzz for the company. Also, merger talks between US Airways and American Airlines came under scrutiny because of concerns that certain cities will lose hubs or face cutbacks. The deal will also be investigated for its impact on consumers and competition. Companies and consumers worldwide look to travel at increasing rates since air travel is quicker and is becoming less expensive. As costs decrease and flights become more efficient, US Airways stands to see soaring profits as consumers and businesses look to air travel as a viable option.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

US Airways stock has been steadily rising over the last few years. The stock is now trading near multi-year highs and seems adamant to continue this path. 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, US Airways 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 US Airways options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
US Airways Options	42.99%	16%	14%

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
August Options	Flat	Average
September 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 US Airways’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for US Airways look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-1.86%	-7.14%	63.41%	202.40%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	2.96%	3.45%	3.90%	2.82%
Earnings Reaction	2.11%*	5.02%	1.48%	2.31%

US Airways has seen mixed earnings and rising revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been upbeat about US Airways’s recent earnings announcements.

* As of this writing

P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has US Airways stock done relative to its peers, Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Continental (NYSE:UAL), and sector?

	US Airways	Southwest Airlines	Delta Air Lines	United Continental	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	37.70%	35.06%	76.87%	53.17%	42.62%

In a strong sector, US Airways has been an average relative performer, year-to-date.

Conclusion

US Airways is an airline that operates passenger and freight planes. The most recent earnings announcement is generating positive feelings among investors while a proposed merger with American Airlines is still being worked on. The stock has flown higher in recent years and is now trading near highs not seen for years. Over the last four quarters, investors in the company have been upbeat as earnings have been mixed and revenue figures have increased. Relative to its strong peers and sector, US Airways has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for US Airways to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Consumer Confidence Tanked During Debt Ceiling Debacle

Alamy The ugly fight in Washington that shut down the government and nearly failed to raise the debt limit took a serious toll on consumer confidence. The Conference Board's monthly Consumer Confidence Index was released Tuesday, and it showed that people's confidence in the U.S. economy dipped sharply in October. In one month, the confidence index fell from 80.2 to 71.2, and the nonprofit that publishes the survey pointed the finger at the budget crisis. "Consumer confidence deteriorated considerably as the federal government shutdown and debt-ceiling crisis took a particularly large toll on consumers' expectations," wrote Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. Franco went on to note that similar dips have been observed last year during the "fiscal cliff" debate and during the last government shutdown in the mid-1990s. The Conference Board isn't alone in its assessment that the shutdown hurt consumer confidence: Last week's Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence survey found that confidence in the economy had reached its lowest ebb since December 2012. Consumer confidence is a closely watched economic indicator, and the troublesome reports come just a month before the official kick-off of the holiday shopping season. And that could spell trouble for the retail industry and the economy as a whole. "With the holiday shopping season around the corner, consumers have been shaken by all the political turmoil in Washington," wrote IHS Global Insights economist Chris Christopher in an email. "Looking ahead, we expect consumer confidence to gain traction in the upcoming months; however, confidence falls faster than it rises." There is a potential silver lining for consumers, though -- as Christopher points out, retailers will be discounting heavily to convince shoppers to shake off their worries and get to the mall.

Poll: 47% don’t know where to get health care info

About one in 10 Americans -- 9% -- say The Affordable Care Act has improved their health insurance situation in the past year, according to a new survey by Bankrate.com.

The telephone survey asked a representative sample of 1,001 Americans about their knowledge of and feelings about the law that mandates health care insurances for all Americans in coming years.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 17 to 20 after a 16-day federal government shutdown over raising the debt limit ended and the bungled launching of health exchange websites nationwide.

In fact, 38% of uninsured Americans said they feel more negative about the three-year-old law than they did the past year. And 47% of the uninsured say they don't even know where to turn for information on the act. Uninsured Americans make up about 15% of the population.

STORY: Government did not test health care site as needed

Doug Whiteman, a Bankrate.com insurance analyst, says the numbers show the government outreach efforts haven't gone far enough.

"It is discouraging that there is so much pessimism (around Obamacare)," he said. "The law is over three years old and so many people aren't getting the information."

Health exchange navigators in some states can make the process easier for consumers, says Eric Johnson, the Norman Eig Chair of Business at Columbia University. But not every state has embraced the law; in fact 26 don't have state marketplaces. In states like Florida, uninsured citizens don't have health exchange navigators to guide them through the nuances of the law, he said.

Johnson compared the act to a new product release, adding it is rare for a product to roll out with the amount of buzz, albeit negative, that the ACA has. The buzz health care exchanges have generated in such a short time rival that of the iPhone and its latest product offerings, he says.

Health exchanges should prioritize user friendliness, in order to better help consumers navigate the websites, Johnson said. Some states h! ave calculators that tell how much a particular plan will cost over time and filters to help consumers find which plan is best for them.

"The federal exchange has had its problems," Johnson said. "A thing that is lost is the state exchanges have been doing quite well."

On the bright side: 51% of Americans and 64% of uninsured Americans are more curious about the law, which Whiteman says is a positive sign.

"There are reasons for people to be pessimistic," Whiteman said. "There has been a lot of confusion and there has been a lot of misinformation. People have been more curious, they just don't know where to turn for information."

Hot Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now

With everything known about Brazil's problems already reflected in depressed values of that nation's stocks, prices have been edging higher, observes Rudy Martin in Latin Stock Investing.

Increased investor attention to Latin America's biggest economy calls for some added Brazilian representation in our Model Portfolio.

We are buying Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (BSBR) to gain broad additional exposure to the Brazilian.

BSBR offers a full-service range of financial services, including individual and corporate banking. We also hope to benefit from the stock's 7.2% current indicated dividend yield.

In addition, we recommend buying shares in Brazilian energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras S.A. (PBR.A).

Despite a gradual rise in crude oil prices, problems with Brazil's economy, compounded by obstacles in Petrobras's scramble to finance significant on-shore and off-shore hydrocarbon discoveries, have ganged up to erode PBR.A's stock price this year.

Hot Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: Pengrowth Energy Corp (PGH)

Pengrowth Energy Corporation (Pengrowth) is engaged in the development, production and acquisition of, and the exploration for, oil and natural gas reserves in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia. The Company�� producing properties include Lindbergh, Swan Hills Area, Greater Olds/Garrington Area and Southeast Saskatchewan. In February 2012, the Company commenced the injection of steam at its Lindbergh pilot project. On May 31, 2012, the Company acquired NAL Energy Corporation. In November 2012, the Company acquired additional Lochend Cardium assets with production capability of approximately 650 barrels of oil equivalent, weighted 95% to light oil. In March 2013, the Company completed the divestiture of its non-core Weyburn asset. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Canada's Pengrowth Energy (NYSE: PGH  ) continues to shower dividends from north of the border. The company has set the date for its next monthly common stock distribution of C$0.04 ($0.04) per share, which will be August 15 for shareholders of record as of July 22. That amount matches each of the firm's previous distributions stretching back to December of last year. Prior to that, Pengrowth Energy paid $0.07 per share.

Hot Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: Solar Power Inc (SOPW)

Solar Power, Inc., incorporated on May 22, 2006, is a global solar energy facility (SEF) developer offering SEF development services. The Company offers an approach to design, engineer and construct photovoltaic (PV) solar systems for commercial and utility applications. In addition to developing SEFs using products manufactured by LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (LDK), its parent company, the Company also sells solar modules and balance of system components manufactured by third party vendors to other integrators in the United States, Asian, and European markets. In June 2012, the Company acquired 100% interest in Italy-based Solar Green Technologies (SGT) from LDK Solar Europe Holdings S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of LDK Solar Co., Ltd.

In addition to designing, engineering and constructing SEFs, the Company also provides long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) services through its O&M program SPIGuardianTM. This service program provides a suite of services that commence upon a facility�� commissioning to provide performance monitoring, system reporting, preventative maintenance and full warranty support over the anticipated life of the SEF.

The Company competes with Sun Power Corporation, First Solar, SPG Solar, Sun Edison, Kyocera Corporation, Mitsubishi, Solar World AG, Sharp Corporation, Yiugli, Solar Fun and Suntech and Canadian Solar.

Top 5 Clean Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now: Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc (HLX)

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.( Helix), incorporated on November 17,1983, is an international offshore energy company that provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on its growing well intervention and robotics operations. The Company had had two business segments: Contracting Services and Production Facilities. Its Contracting Services seek to provide services and methodologies which it believes are critical to developing offshore reservoirs and maximizing production economi regions. Its Production Facilities segment consists of its majority ownership of a dynamically positioned floating production vessel ( Helix Producer I or HP I). In June 2013, Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc closed the previously announced sale of its pipelay vessel, the Caesar, to Trevaskis Ltd.

In January 2012, it sold its oil and gas properties within the Main Pass area of the Gulf of Mexico. On September 26, 2012, the Company sold its pipelay vessel, Intrepid, to Stabbert Maritime Holdings, LLC. On February 6, 2013, it sold Energy Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (ERT), a former wholly-owned United States subsidiary that conducted its oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Contracting Services Operations

The Company provides services and methodologies which it believes are critical to developing offshore reservoirs and maximizing production economics. Its life of field services are segregated into four disciplines: well intervention, robotics, subsea construction and production facilities. It provides a full range of contracting services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Asia Pacific and West Africa regions primarily in deepwater.

The Company's services include production, which includes inspection, repair and maintenance of production structures, trees, jumpers, risers, pipelines and subsea equipment, well intervention, life of field support and intervention engineering; reclamation and remediation services include pluggin! g and abandonment services, pipeline abandonment services and site inspections; installation of subsea pipelines, flowlines, control umbilicals, manifold assemblies and risers, pipelay and burial, installation and tie-in of riser and manifold assembly, commissioning, testing and inspection, and cable and umbilical lay and connection. It provides oil and natural gas processing services to oil and natural gas companies, primarily those operating in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico using its HP I vessel. The HP I is being utilized to process production from the Phoenix.

The Company engineers, manages and conducts well construction, intervention and asset retirement operations in water depths ranging from 200 to 10,000 feet. Three of its vessels serve as work platforms for well intervention services at costs that are typically significantly less than offshore drilling rigs. In the Gulf of Mexico, its multi-service semi-submersible vessel, the Q4000, has set a series of well intervention firsts in increasingly deeper water without the use of a traditional drilling rig. In August 2012, it acquired the Discoverer 534 drillship from a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd.

The Company operates remotely operated vehicles ( ROVs), trenchers and ROVDrills designed for offshore construction and well intervention services. As global marine construction support moves to deeper water. Its chartered vessels add value by supporting deployment of its ROVs. It provides its customers with vessel availability and schedule flexibility to meet the technological challenges of their subsea activities worldwide. Its robotics assets include 49 ROVs, four trencher systems and two ROVDrills. It operate in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Asia Pacific and West Africa regions. It charters four vessels to support its robotics operations and it has engaged additional vessels on short-term (spot) charters as needed. In 2012, its robotics operations had 377 vessel utilization days and 16% of global revenues derived from! alternat! ive energy contracts. Subsea construction services include the use of umbilical lay and pipelay vessels and ROVs to develop fields in the deepwater.

The Company owns interests in two production facilities in hub locations where there is potential for subsea tieback activity. It has invested in two over-sized facilities that allow the operators of these fields to tie back without burdening the operator of the hub reservoir. It owns a 50% interest in Deepwater Gateway, which owns the Marco Polo TLP located in 4,300 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. It also owns a 20% interest in Independence Hub which owns the Independence Hub platform, a 105-foot deep draft, semi-submersible platform located in a water depth of 8,000 feet that serves as a regional hub for up to one billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas production per day from multiple ultra-deepwater fields in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The Company competes with Oceaneering International, Inc., Saipem S.p.A., Fugro N.V., DOF ASA, Aker Solutions ASA, Subsea 7 S.A., Technip, McDermott International, Inc., Island Offshore and Edison Chouest Offshore Companies.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE: HLX  )
  At $2.70 billion in market capitalization, Helix is equidistant between Flotek and Superior from a size perspective. The company operates through two segments: contracting services and production facilities.

Hot Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: WaterFurnace Renewable Energy Inc (WFIFF.PK)

WaterFurnace Renewable Energy, Inc. specializes in the design, manufacture and distribution of geothermal and water-source systems. It�� the United States subsidiary companies are WaterFurnace International, Inc. (WaterFurnace) and LoopMaster International, Inc. (LoopMaster). In December 2010, it incorporated two Australian subsidiaries: WaterFurnace International Asia Pacific Pty. Ltd. (WaterFurnace Asia Pacific) and Hyper WFI Pty. Ltd. (Hyper WFI). WaterFurnace designs, manufactures and distributes geothermal water source heating and cooling systems for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. LoopMaster installs geothermal loops for residential applications, does commercial conductivity testing and provides design and installation assistance. Hyper WFI designs, develops and builds devices that limit the inrush current, which electric motors draw upon start up. On January 21, 2011, the Company acquired inventory and fixed assets from Binary Engineering Pty. Ltd.

Hot Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: Phillips 66 (PSX)

Phillips 66 is a holding company. The Company is engaged in producing natural gas liquids (NGL) and petrochemicals. The Company operates in three segments: the Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment, the Midstream segment and the Chemicals segment. The Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment purchases, refines, markets and transports crude oil and petroleum products, mainly in the United States, Europe and Asia, and also engages in power generation activities. The Midstream segment gathers, processes, transports and markets natural gas, and fractionates and markets NGL, predominantly in the United States. The Chemicals segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics on a worldwide basis. The Company�� operations encompass 15 refineries with a gross crude oil capacity of 2.8 million barrels per day, 10,000 branded marketing outlets and 7.2 billion cubic feet per day of gross natural gas processing capacity.

R&M

The Company�� R&M segment primarily refines crude oil and other feedstocks into petroleum products (such as gasolines, distillates and aviation fuels); buys, sells and transports crude oil; and buys, transports, distributes and markets petroleum products. This segment also engages in power generation activities. R&M has operations in the United States, Europe and Asia.

The Company�� Bayway Refinery is located on the New York Harbor in Linden, New Jersey. The refinery produces a high percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as petrochemical feedstocks, residual fuel oil and home heating oil. Its Trainer Refinery is located on the Delaware River in Trainer, Pennsylvania. Refinery facilities include fluid catalytic cracking units, hydrodesulfurization units, a reformer and a hydrocracker. The Alliance Refinery is located on the Mississippi River in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. The single-train facility includes fluid catalytic cracking units, hydrodesulfurization units and a reformer and aromatics unit. Alli! ance produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil and anode petroleum coke.

The Lake Charles Refinery is located in Westlake, Louisiana. Its facilities include crude distillation, fluid catalytic cracker, hydrocracker, delayed coker and hydrodesulfurization units. The refinery produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, off-road diesel and jet fuel, along with home heating oil. It owns a 50% interest in Excel Paralubes, a joint venture which owns a hydrocracked lubricant base oil manufacturing plant located adjacent to the Lake Charles Refinery. The Sweeny Refinery is located in Old Ocean, Texas, approximately 65 miles southwest of Houston. Refinery facilities include fluid catalytic cracking, delayed coking, alkylation, a continuous regeneration reformer and hydrodesulfurization units. It produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil and coke.

The Company�� Merey Sweeny, L.P. (MSLP) owns a delayed coker and related facilities at the Sweeny Refinery. Fuel-grade petroleum coke is produced as a by-product and becomes the property of MSLP. The Company owns 50% operating interest in Sweeny Cogeneration, a joint venture, which owns a simple cycle, cogeneration power plant located adjacent to the Sweeny Refinery. The plant generates electricity and provides process steam to the refinery, and it also provides merchant power into the Texas market.

The Company�� Wood River Refinery is located in Roxana, Illinois, about 15 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri, at the convergence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Operations include three distilling units, two fluid catalytic cracking units, hydrocracking, coking, reforming, hydrotreating and sulfur recovery. The refinery produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline,! diesel a! nd jet fuel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt and coke. Its Borger Refinery is located in Borger, Texas, in the Texas Panhandle, approximately 50 miles north of Amarillo. The refinery facilities consist of coking, fluid catalytic cracking, hydrodesulfurization and naphtha reforming, in addition to a 45,000-barrels-per-day NGL fractionation facility. It produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as coke, NGL and solvents.

The Ponca City Refinery is located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. It is a high-conversion facility, which includes fluid catalytic cracking, delayed coking and hydrodesulfurization units. It produces a range of products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and anode-grade petroleum coke. The Billings Refinery is located in Billings, Montana. Its facilities include fluid catalytic cracking and hydrodesulfurization units. The Ferndale Refinery is located on Puget Sound in Ferndale, Washington, approximately 20 miles south of the United States-Canada border. Facilities include a fluid catalytic cracker, an alkylation unit, a diesel hydrotreater and an S-Zorb unit. The Los Angeles Refinery consists of two linked facilities located about five miles apart in Carson and Wilmington, California. The San Francisco Refinery consists of two facilities linked by a 200-mile pipeline. The Santa Maria facility is located in Arroyo Grande, California, about 200 miles south of San Francisco.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company marketed gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel through approximately 8,250 marketer-owned or -supplied outlets in 49 states. At December 31, 2011, its wholesale operations utilized a network of marketers operating approximately 6,875 outlets that provided refined product offtake from its refineries. In addition to automotive gasoline and diesel, it produces and markets aviation gasoline, which is used by smaller piston engine aircrafts. As December 31, 2011,! aviation! gasoline and jet fuel were sold through dealers and independent marketers at approximately 875 Phillips 66-branded locations in the United States.

The Company manufactures and sells automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants, which are marketed worldwide under the Phillips 66, Conoco, 76 and Kendall brands, as well as other private label brands. It also manufactures Group II and import Group III base oils and market both globally under the respective brand names Pure Performance and Ultra-S. It manufactures and markets graphite and anode-grade petroleum cokes in the United States and Europe for use in the global steel and aluminum industries. It also manufacture and market polypropylene to North America under the COPYLENE brand name. Its ThruPlus Delayed Coker Technology, a process for upgrading heavy oil into higher value, light hydrocarbon liquids, was sold in June 2011. In October 2011, it sold Seaway Products Pipeline Company to DCP Midstream. In December 2011, the Company sold its 16.55% interest in Colonial Pipeline Company and its 50% interest in Seaway Crude Pipeline Company. The Company manufactures and sells a variety of specialty products, including pipeline flow improvers and anode material for high-power lithium-ion batteries. Its specialty products are marketed under the LiquidPower and CPreme brand names.

The Company owns four refineries outside the United States: the Humber Refinery, Whitegate Refinery, Melaka Refinery and Wilhelmshaven Refinery. The Humber Refinery is located on the east coast of England in North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is an integrated refinery, which produces a high percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. Humber�� facilities encompass fluid catalytic cracking, thermal cracking and coking. The refinery has two coking units with associated calcining plants, which upgrade the heaviest part of the crude barrel and imported feedstocks into light oil products and graphite and anode petroleum cokes.

!

Th! e Whitegate Refinery is located in Cork, Ireland. The refinery primarily produces transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and fuel oil, which are distributed to the inland market, as well as being exported to Europe and the United States. It also operate a crude oil and products storage complex consisting of 7.5 million barrels of storage capacity and an offshore mooring buoy, located in Bantry Bay, about 80 miles southwest of the refinery in southern Cork County.

The Mineraloelraffinerie Oberrhein GmbH (MiRO) Refinery, located on the Rhine River in Karlsruhe in southwest Germany, is a joint venture in which it owns an 18.75% interest. Facilities include three crude unit trains, fluid catalytic cracking, petroleum coking and calcining, hydrodesulfurization units, reformers, isomerization and aromatics recovery units, ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and alkylation units. MiRO produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil, bitumen, and anode- and fuel-grade petroleum coke. The Wilhelmshaven Refinery is located in the northern state of Lower Saxony in Germany, and has a 260,000 barrels-per-day crude oil processing capacity.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately 1,430 marketing outlets in its European operations, of which approximately 900 were Company-owned and 330 were dealer-owned. It also held brand-licensing agreements with approximately 200 sites. Through its joint venture operations in Switzerland, it also has interests in 250 additional sites.

Midstream

The Midstream segment purchases raw natural gas from producers, including ConocoPhillips, and gathers natural gas through pipeline gathering systems. Its Midstream segment is primarily conducted through its 50% investment in DCP Midstream. DCP Midstream also owns or operates 12 NGL fractionation plants, along with propane terminal facilities and NGL pipeline assets. It has a 25% inte! rest in R! ockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX).

Chemicals

The Chemicals segment consists of its 50% investment in CPChem. As of December 31, 2011, CPChem owned or had joint-venture interests in 38 manufacturing facilities. CPChem�� business is structured around two primary operating segments: Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) and Specialties, Aromatics & Styrenics (SA&S). The O&P segment produces and markets ethylene, propylene, and other olefin products, which are primarily consumed within CPChem for the production of polyethylene, normal alpha olefins, polypropylene and polyethylene pipe. The SA&S segment manufactures and markets aromatics products, such as benzene, styrene, paraxylene and cyclohexane, as well as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  The countries with little domestic production pay a much higher premium for oil, and companies located all over the world will flock to capture those markets, even ones in the U.S. At the end of 2012, Valero (NYSE: VLO  ) , Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) and Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC  ) combined to export 531,000 barrels of refined petroleum products from American refiners to premium markets around the world. Furthermore, all three of these companies have stated that they intend to significantly expand export capacity in the upcoming years.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  What several oil companies realized, though, is that moving oil by rail did one thing that pipelines could not: reach the East Coast and West Coast markets. Less than six months ago, the price spread between Bakken crude and imported Brent crude -- the primary source for East Coast refiners -- was over $20. So despite the premium to move by rail versus by pipeline, it was still well worth it for the refineries. Refiners and producers from the Bakken region have thus begun to move massive amounts of oil by rail. Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR  ) , the largest producer of crude from the Bakken, now transports about 80% of all its crude by rail, and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) signed on to a five-year contract to receive 50,000 barrels per day of Bakken crude that will get there mostly by rail.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) was downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer.

  Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) was reiterated at Outperform and the price target was raised to $6 from $5 after comparable sales were better than expected, according to Credit Suisse.

• [By Alex Planes]

  The Phillips brothers had nearly abandoned oil for the stability of banking, but the war's effect on oil prices and demand motivated their return. This would prove a wise choice, as Phillips Petroleum's assets swelled to more than $100 million by 1924 thanks to the company's dominant position in natural-gas liquids -- and also because, just over a decade after Phillips' founding, the American banking sector began to suffer the worst run of failures in modern history. Phillips became one of the earliest proponents of gasoline service stations, establishing many along the side of Route 66, after which both its service stations and its later refinery subsidiary (now spinoff) Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX  ) are named. Phillips and Conoco merged in 2002 to create ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) , one of the largest publicly traded oil-and-gas-producing companies in the world.

Is Netflix the New HBO?

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) and Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX  ) HBO squared off with original content last week. Orange Is the New Black debuted on Netflix's streaming platform on Thursday. The second season of HBO's celebrated Newsroom kicked off on Sunday.

Both services are currently serving roughly 29-million domestic subscribers, but there are big differences in models and direction. In this video, longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz explores the differences in light of Netflix's upcoming quarterly report. 

The living room is the new battlefield
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Tesla Drops 3% as Elon Musk Talks Down Shares

A day after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it wouldn’t investigate October’s Tesla Model S fire, Tesla’s (TSLA) shares are falling after Elon Musk was quoted saying that its market cap is higher than it should be.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

The Financial Times reports (behind a paywall):

"I think that we have quite a high valuation, and a higher valuation than we have any right to deserve," chief executive Elon Musk said at an event to mark the opening of a new Tesla showroom in London.

That appears to be overshadowing the announcement by the NHTSA, which said that the Model S fire was not a safety issue. Bloomberg reports:

Elon Musk's Tesla Motors Inc., the best-performing U.S. auto stock this year, got a double dose of good news as U.S. officials chose not to probe a Model S battery fire and California deferred changes to a state program that would pare Tesla's revenue from green-car credits.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a statement, said today it found no evidence that the fire on a Washington state highway resulted from a Model S defect or violations of U.S. safety standards. The luxury car struck metal debris that pierced its lithium-ion battery pack, according to state officials and Tesla.

Shares of Tesla have dropped 2.7% to $168.47 today at 1:04 p.m. Ford (F) has fallen 1.1% to $17.56, General Motors (GM) has declined 0.6% to $35.42  and Toyota Motor (TM) is off 0.7%.

Romanians accused of eBay scam

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) A group of Eastern European men have been charged with running a multimillion-dollar scam through sites including eBay and Cars.com, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Charges were unsealed against Romanian national Nicolae Popescu, currently a fugitive, along with five of his compatriots and one Albanian who also remain at large. U.S. law enforcement officials have issued alerts for the men through Interpol, the international police agency.

Popescu, 33, is accused of leading a crime ring that placed fake listings on e-commerce websites including eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500), Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, and CycleTrader.com. The listings were for high-value items, including cars, motorcycles and boats.

The men also allegedly sold nonexistent vehicles through websites they created for phony dealerships.

Prosecutors estimate that the group earned more than $3 million from the alleged scheme between 2011 and 2012. Popescu predicted that "criminals will not be extradited from Romania to U.S.A. . . . [I]t will never happen," according to a 2011 recording cited in the charging documents.

"Using forged documents and phony websites, for years Popescu and his criminal syndicate reached across the ocean to pick the pockets of hard working Americans looking to purchase cars," Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. "They thought their distance would insulate them from law enforcement scrutiny."

Six co-defendants in the case were arrested last December in a coordinated international effort. Three were extradited from Romania to the U.S. earlier this year; one was extradited from the U.K.; one's extradition has been ordered in the Czech Republic; and one is engaged in extradition proceedings in Canada.

Contact information for defense attorneys in the case was unavailable. Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, CycleTrader.com and eBay did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Eastern Europe has long been a center for sophisticated cybercrime. Earlier this year, an Eastern European gang reportedly hacked a number of tech companies -- including Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) and Twitter -- in an apparent effort to steal corporate secrets.

Japan stocks falls on yen, Caterpillar results

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A rising Japanese yen and weak results from Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) overnight sent Tokyo-listed shares lower in early Thursday trade, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) falling 0.4% to 14,363.59, while the Topix also lost 0.4%. With the U.S. dollar remaining below the 98-yen level amid concerns about the health of China's largest banks, some currency-sensitive shares extended their losses after driving the Nikkei Average down 2% in the previous session. Among them, trading house Mitsui & Co. (JP:8031) (MITSY) fell 1.3%, retail major J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) lost 1.2%, auto maker Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) retreated 0.6%, and Fujitsu Ltd. (JP:6702) (FJTSY) traded 1% lower. The below-forecast quarterly results and outlook cut from U.S. construction-equipment maker Caterpillar sent its Japanese rivals tumbling, with Komatsu Ltd. (JP:6301) (KMTUF) dropping 3.5% and Hitachi Construction Macheriny Co. (JP:6305) (HTCMF) falling 3.1%. On the upside, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) soared 5.4% after raising its profit and revenue guidance for the fiscal first half, while Panasonic Corp. (JP:6752) (PCRFF) rose a more modest 0.5% after the Nikkei business daily said the company planned to halve its chip-making staff and may sell some of its chip plants.

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now

The once beaten-up Internet 2.0 stocks are coming back with a vengeance. Groupon (Nasdaq:GRPN) still has a long way to go to match Facebook (NYSE: FB) and Yelp (Nasdaq:YELP) in terms of reclaiming prior highs, but the stock has quadrupled from its lows and analysts seem considerably more positive about the company's strategy now. With that big recovery in the stock, valuation is getting more demanding but if Groupon can get to double-digit revenue growth, I would expect the stock to remain strong.

Progress in Q2
Although Groupon's second quarter financials don't necessarily look very strong on the first look, there were multiple signs of encouraging progress on some of the company's major isuses.

SEE: Imagine The Upside If Facebook Solved Its Biggest Problem

Revenue rose 7% and barely beat expectations, but obviously that's better than a miss. Gross billings were up 11% (constant currency), with 30% growth in North America. Although billings in Europe were up only 4% and rest-of-world billings were down 16%, the Street isn't nearly as concerned about the international operations at this point. Although the take-rate (ex-direct) continues to decline, that's not surprising as the company transitions its model and focus.

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. engages in the ownership, operation, and franchise of restaurants in the United States. The company provides quick casual and casual dining services, as well as serves bottled beers, wines, and liquor. As of July 26, 2011, it had 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  )
  Just because consumers refuse to give up their ability to take a vacation doesn't mean they aren't looking for other creative ways to save a dollar. Unless you're staying with family, you don't have much choice when it comes to food -- you have to eat out. I'm going out on a limb and projecting that Buffalo Wild Wings will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of consumers who dine out this summer. If you've kept up with the company's rapid expansion, you'd notice that it's moving into warmer, hot-spot vacation destinations within the United States. In addition, it's been adding new menu items that are reasonably priced and won't break a family of four's bank. With BWW's big sports-bar appeal and NCAA sponsorship, getting traffic into its restaurants this summer shouldn't be difficult. As long as chicken prices cooperate, I expect a sizable upside surprise from BWW in the coming quarters.

• [By Steve Symington]

  Though shares of Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  ) rose more than 4% in Monday's after-hours trading following a strong quarterly report from the company, the stock fell into a tailspin Tuesday morning after a pair of analyst downgrades stemmed investors' excitement.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  ) may have come up short on the bottom line for the fourth quarter in a row, but comps are picking up nicely at the chain of family-friendly sports bars.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Monday
  The first trading day of the week kicks off with Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD  ) getting deeper into the craft-brew game. Game Changer Ale -- a new pale ale by Redhook Brewery -- will make its debut at more than 925 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants on Monday.

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Department store operator Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN  ) will pay a second-quarter dividend of $0.30 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after it increased it 11% from $0.27 per share, the company announced yesterday.

• [By Caroline Bennett]

  Brad Smith, president and CEO of Intuit, is joining the board of directors for fashion specialty retailer Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN  ) .

  Smith brings the total number of Nordstrom directors up to 12, and has served in previous leadership positions for a number of technology-based companies. He will serve for one year, and will be subject to an annual election following his first term.

Top 10 High Tech Stocks For 2014: Checkpoint Systms Inc.(CKP)

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. manufactures and markets identification, tracking, security, and merchandising solutions for the retail and apparel industry worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Shrink Management Solutions, Apparel Labeling Solutions, and Retail Merchandising Solutions. The Shrink Management Solutions segment provides shrink management and merchandise visibility solutions. It offers electronic article surveillance systems, such as EVOLVE, a suite of RF and RFID-enabled products that act as a deterrent to prevent merchandise theft in retail stores; and electronic article surveillance consumables, including EAS-RF and EAS-EM labels that work in combination with EAS systems to reduce merchandise theft in retail stores. This segment also provides keepers, spider wraps, bottle security, and hard tags, as well as Showsafe, a line alarm system for protecting display merchandise. In addition, it offers physical and electronic store monitoring solutions, incl uding fire alarms, intrusion alarms, and digital video recording systems for retail environments; and RFID tags and labels. The Apparel Labeling Solutions segment provides apparel labeling solutions to apparel retailers, brand owners, and manufacturers. It has Web-enabled apparel labeling solutions platform and network of 28 service bureaus located in 22 countries that supplies customers with customized apparel tags and labels. The Retail Merchandising Solutions segment offers hand-held label applicators and tags, promotional displays, and queuing systems. The company serves retailers in the supermarket, drug store, hypermarket, and mass merchandiser markets through direct distribution and reseller channels. Checkpoint Systems was founded in 1969 and is based in Thorofare, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Three months after settling upon a new chief executive officer, it looks like Thorofare, N. J.-based Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP  ) will soon have itself a new CFO as well.

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

TrueBlue, Inc. provides temporary blue-collar staffing services in the United States. It supplies on demand general labor to various industries under the Labor Ready brand; skilled labor to manufacturing and logistics industries under the Spartan Staffing brand; and trades people for commercial, industrial, and residential construction, and building and plant maintenance industries under the CLP Resources brand. The company also provides mechanics and technicians to the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul, aerospace manufacturing, and assembly industries, as well as to other transportation industries under the Plane Techs brand; and temporary drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Centerline brand. It primarily serves small and medium-size businesses. The company was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. TrueBlue, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of staffing agency TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI  ) jumped 10% today after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue jumped 19%, to $422.3 million, and beat estimates of $420.2 million from Wall Street. Adjusted earnings per share were also up 19%, to $0.31, outpacing estimates by $0.05.�

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  Even though the stock market rallied on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA) and Standard & Poor's 500 Index (NYSE: SPY) surging, the long term winners will be stocks in the staffing industry such as Paychex(NASDAQ: PAYX), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), Robert Half (NYSE: RHI), and Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC).

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).

• [By idahansen]

  The entire demand labor industry should do well as the US Department of Labor just reported that 169,000 more jobs were added to the American economy. The more work there is, the more demand there is for the services of staffing solutions firms such as Labor SMART, Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI), and Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI).

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Sara Lee Corporation(SLE)

Sara Lee Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of a range of branded packaged meat, bakery, and beverage products worldwide. Its packaged meat products include hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages, sandwiches and bowls, smoked and dinner sausages, premium deli and luncheon meats, bacon, beef, turkey, and cooked ham. It also offers frozen baked products, which comprise frozen pies, cakes, cheesecakes, pastries, and other desserts. In addition, Sara Lee provides roast, ground, and liquid coffee; cappuccinos; lattes; and hot and iced teas, as well as refrigerated dough products. The company sells its products under Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee, State Fair, Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Maison du Caf

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Thoratec Corporation(THOR)

Thoratec Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary medical devices used for circulatory support. The company?s primary product lines include ventricular assist devices, such as HeartMate II, an implantable left ventricular assist device consisting of a rotary blood pump to provide intermediate and long-term mechanical circulatory support (MCS); and HeartMate XVE, an implantable and pulsatile left ventricular assist device for intermediate and longer-term MCS. Its ventricular assist devices also comprise Paracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device, an external pulsatile ventricular assist device, which provides left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for bridge-to-transplantation (BTT), including home discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery; and Implantable Ventricular Assist Device, an implantable and pulsatile ventricular assist device designed to provide left, right, and biventricular MCS approved for BTT comprising hom e discharge, and post-cardiotomy myocardial recovery. The company also provides CentriMag, an extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platform that offers support up to 30 days for cardiac and respiratory failure. In addition, it offers PediMag and PediVAS extracorporeal full-flow acute surgical support platforms designed to provide acute surgical support to pediatric patients. The company sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through a network of distributors internationally. Thoratec Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of medical device company Thoratec (NASDAQ: THOR  ) sank 12% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations. �

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Intuitive Surgical Inc.(ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci surgical systems for various surgical procedures, including urologic, gynecologic, cardiothoracic, general, and head and neck surgeries. Its da Vinci surgical system consists of a surgeon?s console or consoles, a patient-side cart, a 3-D vision system, and proprietary ?wristed? instruments. The company?s da Vinci surgical system translates the surgeon?s natural hand movements on instrument controls at the console into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports. It also manufactures a range of EndoWrist instruments, which incorporate wrist joints for natural dexterity for various surgical procedures. Its EndoWrist instruments consist of forceps, scissors, electrocautery, scalpels, and other surgical tools. In addition, it sells various vision and accessory products for use in conjunction with the da Vinci Surgical System as surgical procedures are performed. The company?s accessory products include sterile drapes used to ensure a sterile field during surgery; vision products, such as replacement 3-D stereo endoscopes, camera heads, light guides, and other items. It markets its products through sales representatives in the United States, and through sales representatives and distributors in international markets. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Divine]

  Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) shareholders couldn't get too psyched about upcoming earnings for the simple fact that the company revealed that earnings would be terrible this quarter. The robotic medical equipment innovator decided to warn shareholders about their optimism late Monday, and shares subsequently plummeted 16.2%. The company thinks sales will increase just 6% in the second quarter, blaming stingy health insurers and a weak economy for the stagnant growth.�

• [By Rich Smith]

  While billed as a rival to America's Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) , Mazor actually bears closer resemblance to tiny Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN  ) . Lacking profits despite raking in nearly $15 million in revenues last year, Mazor doesn't generate positive free cash flow like Intuitive does. Instead, it burns it like Hansen does (albeit more slowly). Last year, negative free cash flows amounted to $2.1 million, which suggests that Wallachbeth's endorsement may be a bit premature.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Ascending to the top of the pack was robotic surgical device maker Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) , which gained 4.8% after winning a lawsuit involving its da Vinci surgical system. The plaintiff in the case was a family that sued for $4.9 million following complications from a 14-hour prostate cancer surgery. The jury's verdict isn't too important from a monetary perspective for Intuitive so much as it reinforces the safety of its surgical devices, which are currently under investigation by the federal regulators. I certainly feel there could be further upside in Intuitive shares from here.

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Shareholders of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) , maker of the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System, have endured a perplexing couple of months.

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Crocs Inc.(CROX)

Crocs, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children. The company primarily offers casual and athletic shoes, and shoe charms. It also designs and sells a range of footwear and accessories that utilize its proprietary closed cell-resin, called Croslite. The company?s footwear products include boots, sandals, sneakers, mules, and flats. In addition, it provides footwear products for the hospital, restaurant, hotel, and hospitality markets, as well as general foot care and diabetic-needs markets. Further, the company offers leather and ethylene vinyl acetate based footwear, sandals, and printed apparels principally for the beach, adventure, and action sports markets; and accessories comprising snap-on charms. The company sells its products through the United States and international retailers and distributors, as well as directly to end-user consumers th rough its company-operated retail stores, outlets, kiosks, and Web stores primarily under the Crocs Work, Crocs Rx, Jibbitz, Ocean Minded, and YOU by Crocs brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 164 retail kiosks located in malls and other high foot traffic areas; 138 retail stores; 76 outlet stores; and 46 Web stores. Crocs, Inc. operates in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Western Brands, LLC and changed its name to Crocs, Inc. in January 2005. Crocs, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Niwot, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  The next Crocs (CROX) earnings announcement is coming after the market closes Wednesday, Oct. 30, and if this report is anything like most Crocs earnings updates … well, investors have a 50-50 shot at hearing good news.

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides workers compensation insurance and reinsurance products in the United States. The company?s Workers Compensation Insurance segment provides traditional workers compensation insurance coverage products, including guaranteed cost policies, policyholder dividend policies, retrospectively-rated policies, deductible policies, and alternative market products to employers. This segment distributes its workers? compensation products and services through its independent insurance agents primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, and Virginia. Its Segregated Portfolio Cell Reinsurance segment offers alternative market workers compensation solutions comprising program design, fronting, claims administration, risk management, segregated portfolio cell rental, asset management, and segregated portfolio management services to individual companies, groups, and associations. Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  ProAssurance Corp.(PRA) agreed to acquire Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI) for about $205 million, expanding the insurance company’s casualty insurance offerings. Eastern Insurance is a domestic casualty insurance group specializing in workers’ compensation products and services, among other things. ProAssurance plans to pay $24.50 in cash for each outstanding Eastern share, a 16% premium over Monday’s closing price.

10 Best Growth Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon] ast produces, distributes and sells weight and health management products with the brand names Medifast, Take Shape for Life, Hi-Energy Weight Control Centers and Woman�� Wellbeing.

  Its return on assets in the third quarter of 2011 was 19.6%, which has been increasing in the past several years. The average return on assets for the specialty retail industry is 10.48% for the trailing 12 months.

  The company�� total assets amounted to $94 million in 2010, which increased from $62.8 million in 2009. Net income also increased to $19.6 million in 2010 from $12 million in 2009.

  Boston Beer Inc. (SAM)

  Boston Beer Inc. is the largest brewer of handcrafted beers in America. Boston Beer is a growing company that recently saw a large increase in its return on assets. It increased from 19.3% in 2010 to 29.7% in 2011, and was negative as recently as 2008. The average return on assets for the beverages industry in the trailing 12 months is 9.47%.

  In 2011, the company�� total assets increased to $272.5 million from $258.5 million in 2010. Net income increased to $66 million from $50 million.

  Alliances Resources Partners (ARLP)

  Alliance Resources Partners is a coal producer and marketer primarily in the eastern U.S. Its ROA has been increasing since 2008 and increased to 22.5% in 2011 from 21.4% in 2010. The average return on assets for the oil, gas & consumable fuels industry in the trailing 12 months is 24.47%.

  In 2011, its total assets increased to $1.7 billion from $1.1 billion in 2010. Its net income increased to $389 million from $321 million.

  Factset Research Systems Inc. (FDS)

  Factset researches global market trends and develops analytical tools for investors. Of all of GuruFocus��5-star predictable companies, it has the highest return on assets at 27%. ROA has been increasing over the past several years. The average return on assets for the software industry for the trailing 12 m

The Latest iPad Rumors

Source: Apple.

Next to the iPhone, the iPad ranks second among Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) most important product lines. iPad sales account for approximately 20% of the company's revenue. The Mac ranks lower, at about 12.5% of revenue. The iPad segment is crucial to Apple's business, and for more reasons than its share of revenue. On that note, it's time for a brief rumor roundup of Apple's upcoming iPad refresh.

The importance of the iPad
Apple CEO Tim Cook loves to talk about Apple's dominance in tablets -- especially in the areas of usage. "People are using our products substantially more than anyone else's," Cook boasted at the Worldwide Developers Conference's opening keynote on June 10. "If you look at iPads compared to all other tablets, it's not even comparable -- iPad is over four times more."

Source: Apple.com.

Furthermore, Apple's tablets also account for a larger share of the tablet market than the iPhone does in the smartphone market. According to IDC, Apple's share of the tablet market in the first quarter of 2013 was 39.6%, compared with a 17.3% share of the smartphone market. Though Apple's share in tablets is notably lower than it was in the year-ago quarter, Apple still leads the tablet market.

Finally, Apple's iPad segment is is currently its fastest-growing segment. iPad revenue in Apple's second quarter was up almost 40% from the year-ago quarter. Comparatively, iPhone revenue was up just 3%.

These are just a few of the reasons the iPad is so important for Apple investors. That's why Apple's next move in the tablet market will be an important one.

So what might Apple have up its sleeve?

The rumors
About the only consistent rumor about Apple's next refresh of its iPad lineup is that the iPad 5 will take cues from the iPad Mini. For instance, most rumors suggest that the new iPad will be narrower, thinner, and lighter than the iPad 4, taking on the same beveled edges of its smaller counterpart.

Source: MacRumors.

But it doesn't take an insider tip to make an assumption like this. The iPad would seem out of place if it didn't eventually take on some of the hardware features from the newest addition to the family.

Though the rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, here are a few other circulating rumors about the upcoming refresh of the iPad line.

The full-sized iPad 5 will begin full production in July (Digitimes).  The iPad 5 could launch as early as September (again, Digitimes). Apple will launch a new iPad Mini later this year, but without a Retina display (DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim). 

Apple investors will definitely be happy to see changes to the iPad's form factor. Though, as the rumors suggest, investors probably already expect considerable change in this area. Even more, investors are probably already expecting an iPad refresh later this year; it was last October that Apple introduced the iPad Mini and refreshed its full-sized iPad -- and Apple tends to refresh its iPhone and iPad line once a year.

All in all, these rumors don't really tell us much -- but at least they suggest Apple is on schedule with its second most important product line.

Apple has a history of cranking out revolutionary products ... and then creatively destroying them with something better. Read about the future of Apple in the free report, "Apple Will Destroy Its Greatest Product." Can Apple really disrupt its own iPhones and iPads? Find out by clicking here.

U.S. Economic Profile: 10/21/13

The missing economic reports due to the government shutdown will start arriving this week and beyond, beginning with tomorrow’s employment report for September. Meanwhile, let’s consider what the available numbers tell us about the state of the US business cycle. Based on the latest data, economic risk remains low through last month. This profile comes with an unusual caveat, of course: several key indicators are still MIA. At this point in the month we should have already seen September numbers on payrolls, retail sales, industrial production, and new housing starts. Those updates are coming, but for now we're clueless. Nonetheless, let’s kick the macro tires for an updated look at the trend, albeit one that’s impaired by limited data.

For the moment, consumer sentiment and oil are the only sources of red ink in the September column for the indicators that comprise the Economic Trend (ETI) and Momentum indexes (EMI). Otherwise, the broad trend was positive last month, as it has been for some time. That’s a clue for assuming that the NBER will not declare September as the start of a new recession.

Here's a closer look at how the various indicators for ETI and EMI compare in recent months:

(click to enlarge)

Reviewing ETI and EMI in historical context shows that both benchmarks remain well above their respective danger zones: 50% for ETI and 0% for EMI. If the indexes fall below their respective tipping points that would be a sign that recession risk is elevated.

Translating ETI's historical values into recession-risk probabilities via a probit model also suggests that business cycle risk is low.

For some perspective on how ETI's values may evolve as new data is published, let's review projected values for this index with an econometric technique known as an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, based on calculations via the "forecast" package for R, a statistical software environment. The ARIMA model estimates the missing data points for each indicator, for each month through November 2013. (July 2013 is currently the latest month with a complete set of published data). Based on this projection, ETI is expected to remain well above its danger zone in the near term. Forecasts are always suspect, of course, but recent projections of ETI for the near term have proven to be relatively reliable guesstimates vs. the full set of monthly reported numbers that followed. As such, the latest projections (the four black bars on the right in the chart below) offer some support for cautious optimism. For comparison, the chart below also includes ARIMA projections published on these pages in previous months, which you can compare with the complete monthly sets of actual data that followed, based on current data (red circles). The assumption here is that while any one forecast is likely to be wrong, the errors may cancel one another out to some degree by aggregating a broad set of forecasts.

For additional context for judging the value of the forecasts, here are previously published ETI and EMI updates for the last three months:

19 Sep 201319 Aug 201319 July 2013 Source: U.S. Economic Profile: 10/21/13

Investors Left Dazed by Staggering Losses

As investors try to absorb everything that has happened this past week and determine what it means for the future, stocks are generally flat. As of 12:50 p.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is up a modest 21 points, while the the S&P 500 is up just 0.1%. Only the Nasdaq has moved the needle, down 0.38%.

Over the past few months we've grown accustomed to seeing big one-day drops followed by a session of strong gains -- likely a result of the "buy on the dip" mentality of traders. While yesterday's decline was, in most market participants' opinions, unwarranted, the fact that the markets have stalled today is worrying, as it may signal that those who have been buying on the dips are waiting for a deeper decline before they re-enter the markets.

A few Dow losers
Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) , down 1.8%, are leading all Dow laggards today. The journalist who discovered and first reported the robo-signing of foreclosure documents has now pulled another cat out of the bag. This time it appears that Bank of America and other mortgage servicers have been feeding incorrect information to bond trustees about the status of previously foreclosed homes. At this time we don't know whether Bank of America will face a fine, but we will surely learn more before long. To read more about this developing story, click here. 

Shares of IBM (NYSE: IBM  ) are down 1.3% today, perhaps because of the disappointing fourth-quarter results Oracle (NYSE: ORCL  ) posted yesterday. This is especially troubling because, as my colleague Alex Dumortier noted earlier today, the fourth quarter is historically Oracle's best in terms of sales. Investors may be concerned that this slowdown for Oracle will prove a trend for the  whole IT sector, includes Big Blue. Investors have been concerned about IBM growth prospects moving forward. The stock has struggled in 2013, rising only 1.85% year to date to make it the fourth-worst-performing Dow component of the year.

Lastly, another Dow tech stock is moving lower today, but not likely due to Oracle's announcement. Shares of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) are down 1.1%, likely because Michael Dell is once again pressuring Dell shareholders to allow the company to go private. Both Dell and HP are in the first stages of turning around their business, and if Dell goes private, it may hurt HP down the road, as Dell may be able to offer customers certain concessions that HP could not as a public company.

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP is rapidly shifting its strategy under the leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool's technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.

Court Upholds Myriad Genetics' Patent Claim

In a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, a patent claim involving Myriad Genetics' (NASDAQ: MYGN  ) complementary DNA, or cDNA, has been upheld, according to a company announcement. In addition to Myriad's patent victory, however, five of its isolated DNA-related claims were denied by the court.

While not at issue in the Supreme Court's ruling, Myriad stated the Supreme Court also noted its BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 as method claims, supporting an earlier circuit court statement that said, "As the first party with knowledge of the [BRCA1 and BRCA2] sequences, Myriad was in an excellent position to claim applications to that knowledge." Myriad's BRACAnalysis testing has been utilized "by more than a million women" to determine a patient's risk of contracting ovarian and breast cancer, according to the statement.

Regarding the court's decision to uphold its cDNA claim, and reinforce the method claims relating to BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, Myriad president and CEO Peter Meldrum said the ruling, "underscored the patent eligibility of our method claims, ensuring strong intellectual property protection for our BRACAnalysis test moving forward."

Move Here for Lower Health Care Insurance Premiums

By Hal M. Bundrick

NEW YORK (MainStreet)�When it comes to the cost of healthcare, we'll take good news wherever we can find it. And while this update is not worthy of a "breaking news" graphic, Aon Hewitt says health care insurance premium rate increases are at their lowest in more than a decade.

So yes, premium rates are still going up, just not quite as quickly.

The average health care premium rate increase for large employers in 2013 was 3.3%, down from 4.9% in 2012 and 8.5% in 2011. In 2014, however, average health care premium increases are projected to bounce back to the 6% to 7% range. "There are many factors that contributed to the lower rate of premium increases we saw over the past two years that we don't expect to continue in the long-term," says Tim Nimmer, chief health care actuary at Aon Hewitt. "These include the lagged effect from the economic recession on health care spending and continued adjustments as employers and insurers phase out the conservatism that was reflected in earlier premiums due to uncertainty around economic conditions and health care reform. Additionally, employers and insurers will now be subject to new transitional reinsurance fees and health insurance industry fees. While we are seeing pockets of promising innovation in the health care industry, we expect to see 2014 premium increases shift back towards the 6% to 7% range overall." And now the bad news   But of course, there is bad news. The money out of your pocket -- for copayments, coinsurance and deductibles -- increased 12.8% ($2,239) in 2013, compared to a 6.2% bump in 2012.   The analysis reports the average health care cost per employee was $10,471 in 2013. That is expected to rise to $11,176 per employee next year. To put the rising costs in perspective, over the last decade your share of health care expenses -- including employee contributions and out-of-pocket costs -- will have increased almost 150%. Where you live matters In 2013, major U.S. markets that experienced rate increases higher than the national average included Los Angeles (6.9%), Orange County (6.9%), Washington DC (5.3%) and San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (4.8%). Meanwhile, New York City (1.6%), Milwaukee (2.1%) and Atlanta (2.4%) experienced lower-than-average rate increases in 2013. Can you learn to like cold weather? Minneapolis actually saw a decrease in health care insurance premiums, at -0.1%. --Written by Hal M. Bundrick for MainStreet

Hot Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now

Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some big, technology-heavy stocks to your portfolio, the Direxion Nasdaq-100 Equal Weight Index ETF (NYSEMKT: QQQE  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.

The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The Nasdaq-100 ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is a relatively low 0.35%. The fund is very small, too, so if you're thinking of buying, beware of possibly large spreads between its bid and ask prices. Consider using a limit order if you want to buy in.

This ETF is too new to have a sufficient track record to assess. As with most investments, of course, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

Why Nasdaq-100 and equal-weighting?
Nasdaq-100 stocks offer the benefits of large-cap status, which can provide a bit more stability than small caps, and they're often in rapidly changing and growing industries, as well. Equal weighting is a sensible way to structure an index, as it doesn't let the biggest companies overly influence the index's returns, when the smaller ones, which might be able to grow faster, are left less powerful.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: Voyager Oil & Gas Inc.(VOG)

Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc. engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the United States. It primarily focuses on oil shale resource prospects in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming. As of May 17, 2011, the company controlled approximately 141,500 net acres in the five primary prospect areas comprising 28,000 net acres targeting the Bakken/Three Forks in North Dakota and Montana; 14,200 net acres targeting the Niobrara formation in Colorado and Wyoming; 800 net acres targeting a Red River prospect in Montana; 33,500 net acres in a joint venture targeting the Heath Shale formation in Musselshell, Petroleum, Garfield, and Fergus counties of Montana; and 65,000 net acres in a joint venture in the Tiger Ridge gas field in Blaine, Hill, and Chouteau counties of Montana. It supplies energy and fuel for industrial, commercial, and individual consumers. The company is based in Billings, Montana.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: bebe stores inc.(BEBE)

bebe stores, inc. engages in the design, development, and production of women?s apparel and accessories. Its products include a range of separates, tops, dresses, active wear, and accessories in career, evening, casual, and active lifestyle categories. The company markets its products under the bebe, BEBE SPORT, bbsp, and 2b bebe brand names targeting 21 to 34-year-old woman. As of July 2, 2011, it operated 252 retail stores, and an online store at bebe.com in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Japan, and Canada, as well as 60 international licensee operated stores in south east Asia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, Mexico, and Turkey. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both industrialist Aixtron (NASDAQ: AIXG  ) and fashionista bebe stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) . But the news isn't all good, so let's start off with a few words on...

• [By CRWE]

  bebe stores, inc. (Nasdaq:BEBE) reported that its Board of Directors declared bebe�� quarterly cash dividend of $0.025 per share. The dividend is payable on December 4, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 20, 2012

Top 10 Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2014: KongZhong Corporation(KONG)

KongZhong Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless interactive entertainment, media, and community services to mobile phone users in the People's Republic of China. It also involves in the development, distribution, and marketing of consumer wireless value-added services, including wireless application protocol, multimedia messaging services, short messaging services, interactive voice response services, and color ring back tones. In addition, it offers interactive entertainment services, such as mobile games, pictures, karaoke, electronic books, mobile phone personalization features, entertainment news, chat, and message boards; and through Kong.net offer news, community services, games, and other interactive media and entertainment services; and sells advertising space in the form of text-link, banner, and button advertisements. Further, the company develops and publishes mobile games, including downloadable mobile games and online mobile games cons isting of action, role-playing, and leisure games. As of December 31, 2009, it had a library of approximately 300 internally developed mobile games. Additionally, it develops online games; and provides consulting and technology services, as well as media and net book services. The company was formerly known as Communication Over The Air Inc. and changed its name to KongZhong Corporation in March 2004. KongZhong Corporation was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 Kongzhong (Nasdaq: KONG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: 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 Alex Planes]

  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 InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.

• [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.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: Hot Topic Inc.(HOTT)

Hot Topic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall- and Web-based specialty retailer in the United States. The company operates Hot Topic and Torrid store concepts, as well as an e-space music discovery concept, ShockHound. Its Hot Topic stores sell music/pop culture-licensed merchandise, including tee shirts, hats, posters, stickers, patches, postcards, books, novelty accessories, CDs, and DVDs; and music/pop culture-influenced merchandise comprising women?s and men?s apparel and accessories, such as woven and knit tops, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets, shoes, costume jewelry, body jewelry, sunglasses, cosmetics, leather accessories, and gift items for young men and women primarily between the ages of 12 and 22. The company?s Torrid stores sells casual and dressy jeans and pants, fashion and novelty tops, sweaters, skirts, jackets, dresses, hosiery, shoes, intimate apparel, and fashion accessories for various lifestyles for plus-size females primarily betw een the ages of 15 and 29. As of July 30, 2011, it operated 636 Hot Topic stores in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada; 145 Torrid stores; and Internet stores, hottopic.com and torrid.com. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in City of Industry, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  In May True Religion (TRGL) announced a buyout offer from TowerBrook Capital for $826 million. Also in May, Rue21 decided to sell itself to Apax Partners for $2.2 billion. Before that, in March, Hot Topic (HOTT) announced that Sycamore Partners was buying out it out for $600 million.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: Petroquest Energy Inc(PQ)

PetroQuest Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and gas company. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of oil and gas properties in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, as well as onshore and in the shallow waters offshore the Gulf Coast Basin. As of December 31, 2009, the company had estimated proved reserves of 1,931 thousand barrels of oil and 167,361 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. It owned working interests in 9 net producing oil wells and 277 net producing gas wells. PetroQuest Energy was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  PetroQuest Energy Inc. (NYSE: PQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

  Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

Stocks To Watch For October 16, 2013

Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

Wall Street expects Pepsico (NYSE: PEP) to report its Q3 earnings at $1.17 per share on revenue of $16.96 billion. Pepsico shares fell 0.19% to $80.45 in after-hours trading.

Analysts are expecting Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to have earned $0.18 per share on revenue of $22.03 billion in the third quarter. Bank of America shares rose 0.21% to $14.27 in pre-market trading.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) reported upbeat third-quarter earnings. Yahoo shares gained 1.68% to $33.94 in the after-hours trading session.

Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.12 per share on revenue of $2.17 billion. Mattel shares fell 0.93% to close at $41.55 yesterday.

Analysts expect Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) to report its Q3 earnings at $0.51 per share on revenue of $5.40 billion. Abbott shares gained 0.86% to $34.00 in after-hours trading.

Posted-In: Stocks To WatchEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets Trading Ideas

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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