10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014

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10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Oz Brewing Ltd (OZB.AX)

Oz Brewing Limited operates in the microbrewery sector in the Western Australia, Australia. It operates the Mad Monk Brew Caf茅, a microbrewery and bar/restaurant in Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia. The Mad Monk Brew Caf茅 features a Euro caf茅 style informal dining environment, artisan brew-house, onsite craft bakery, mini deli/produce market, and take away food. Oz Brewing Limited also focuses on the commercialization of the Dunsborough Mad Monk retail venue in the south of Western Australia at the gateway to the Margaret river region. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Mt. Pleasant, Australia. On September 17, 2008, Oz Brewing Ltd. filed for administration.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Guyana Goldfields New Com Npv(GUY.TO)

Guyana Goldfields Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of gold resource properties in the Guiana Shield of South America. The company owns a 100% interest in the Aurora gold project located in Guyana. It also holds interests in the Aranka properties, including Sulphur Rose, North Ridge, Wynamu, Kopang, and Parika Hills properties covering an area of approximately 307,589 acres located in the Aranka district of Guyana. Guyana Goldfields Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

10 Best Rising Stocks To Own Right Now: Southern Cross Goldfields Ltd(SXG.AX)

Southern Cross Goldfields Limited engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties primarily in Western Australia. The company has approximately 3,300 square kilometers of permits under license or agreements in the Central Yilgarn gold and nickel province. It holds interest in the Parker Range gold project located in Southern Cross; the Marda gold project located in Marda-Diemals greenstone Belt; and the Bullfinch North nickel project located in the Southern Cross greenstone belt. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in West Perth, Australia.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Mad Catz Interactive Inc(MCZ)

Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, sells, and distributes accessories for videogame platforms and personal computers (PC), as well as for iPod and other audio devices. Its products include videogame, PC, and audio accessories, such as control pads, video cables, steering wheels, joysticks, memory cards, light guns, flight sticks, dance pads, microphones, car adapters, carry cases, mice, keyboards, and headsets. It markets its products primarily under the Mad Catz, Saitek, Cyborg, Eclipse, Joytech, GameShark, Tritton, and AirDrives brands. The company also develops flight simulation software; operates flight simulation centers under its Saitek brand; operates a videogame content Website under its GameShark brand; publishes games under its Mad Catz brand; and distributes games and videogame products for third parties. It distributes its products through retailers in the United States, Europe, and Canada, as well as in Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zeal and, and Singapore. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in San Diego, California

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Video game accessory developer and manufacturer Mad Catz Interactive Inc. (AMEX: MCZ) has been the biggest winner on this list. Since last May, MCZ has climbed 321%, and this penny stock is up 51% year to date. Last quarter, MCZ posted year-over-year quarterly revenue growth of 91%. Buy this stock with a 52-week range of 34 cents to $2.39.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Prudential Public Limited Company(PUK)

Prudential plc provides retail financial products and services, and asset management services to individuals and businesses in Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It offers savings, protection, investment, and unit-linked products; manages investments across a range of asset classes for internal, retail, and institutional clients; manages onshore mutual funds; and provides retirement planning, consumer and Islamic finance, and health solutions. The company also provides retirement savings and income solutions; variable annuities; fixed and fixed index annuities; term life, universal life, and variable universal life insurance; permanent individual life insurance; and institutional products, such as guaranteed investment contracts, funding agreements, and medium term note funding agreements. In addition, it offers pensions and annuities; investment plans; and car, health, home, travel, and protection insurance policies. Further, Prudential plc provides fund man agement services for individual and institutional clients. The company was founded in 1848 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Kingspan Group(KGP.L)

Kingspan Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides energy building solutions for the construction industry. The company designs and manufactures insulated panels, rigid insulation boards, architectural facades, raised access floors, engineered timber systems, solar thermal hot water systems, and fuel and water storage solutions. Its products and solutions include insulated roof, architectural wall, and facade systems for designers and architects; insulation products comprising insulation boards for roofs, walls, and floors, as well as insulation products for HVAC ductwork for use in the construction and related industries; and structural systems, such as cladding support purlins and rails, and composite floor decking for buildings. The company also offers solar and renewable technologies, including solar thermal hot water package solutions, solar cooling solutions, solar photovoltaic systems, and air source heat pumps for new or existing building integration; and various insulated and air tight building fabric systems for the private and public sector. In addition, it provides waste and surface water management, and conservation solutions for sustainable drainage, rainwater harvesting, and off-mains effluent treatment systems, including pollution prevention, pumping, and drainage solutions; environmental containers; and telemetry and management systems. Kingspan Group plc serves the distribution, logistics and manufacturing; temperature controlled; retail; commercial office; education; healthcare; hotel, motel, and leisure; government and public buildings; communications; private and affordable housing and apartments; student accommodation; self-build housing; and refurbishment sectors. It has operations in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and rest of Europe; the Americas; and internationally. The company is headquartered in Kingscourt, Ireland.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Plains All American Pipeline L.P.(PAA)

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation, storage, terminalling, and marketing of crude oil, refined products, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in three segments: Transportation, Facilities, and Supply and Logistics. The Transportation segment transports crude oil and refined products on pipelines, gathering systems, trucks, and barges. As of December 31, 2011, this segment owned and leased 16,000 miles of active crude oil and refined products pipelines and gathering systems; 23 million barrels of above-ground tank capacity used primarily to facilitate pipeline throughput; 67 trucks and 382 trailers; and 82 transport and storage barges, and 44 transport tugs. The Facilities segment provides storage, terminalling, and throughput services for crude oil, refined products, and LPG and natural gas, as well as offers LPG fractionation and isomerization, and natural gas processing services. The Supply and Logistics segment purchases crude oil at the wellhead, and pipeline and terminal facilities; waterborne cargoes at their load port and various other locations in transit; and LPG from producers, refiners, and other marketers. This segment also resells or exchanges crude oil and LPG; and transports oil and LPG on trucks, barges, railcars, pipelines, and ocean-going vessels to various delivery points. It has 622 trucks and 731 trailers, and 2,453 railcars. The company also owns and operates natural gas storage facilities. Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Gemini Corporation (GKX.V)

Gemini Corporation, a professional services company, engages in designing, building, and maintaining energy and industrial facilities in western Canada and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Field Solutions and Engineered Solutions. The Field Solutions segment offers engineering, construction, fabrication, and maintenance services. The Engineered Solutions segment provides engineering, procurement, and construction management services. Gemini Corporation principally serves conventional/unconventional oil and gas, in-situ heavy oil, and heavy industrial facilities markets. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: Applied Materials Inc.(AMAT)

Applied Materials, Inc. provides manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, flat panel display, solar photovoltaic (PV), and related industries worldwide. The company?s Silicon Systems Group segment offers a range of manufacturing equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits. This segment provides systems that perform primary processes used in chip fabrication, including atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, rapid thermal processing, chemical mechanical planarization, wet cleaning, and wafer metrology and inspection, as well as systems that etch or inspect circuit patterns on masks used in the photolithography process. Its Applied Global Services segment offers products and services designed to enhance the performance and productivity, and reduce the environmental impact of the fab operations of semiconductor, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and solar P V manufacturers. The company?s Display segment provides products for manufacturing thin film transistor LCDs for televisions, personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, smartphones, and other consumer-oriented electronic applications. Its Energy and Environmental Solutions segment offers manufacturing systems for the generation and conservation of energy, as well as manufacturing solutions for wafer-based crystalline silicon applications. This segment also provides roll-to-roll vacuum Web coating systems for deposition of a range of films on flexible substrates for functional, aesthetic, or optical properties; and roll-to-roll machine for depositing ultra-thin aluminum films for flexible packaging applications. The company serves manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips, flat panel LCDs, solar PV cells and modules, and other electronic devices. Applied Materials, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kevin1977]

  Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT): Up 2.22% to $10.59. Applied Materials, Inc. develops, manufactures, markets, and services semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment and related spare parts for the worldwide semiconductor industry. The Company’s customers include semiconductor wafer and integrated circuit manufacturers, flat panel liquid crystal displays, solar photovoltaic cells and modules and other electronic devices manufacturers.

10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Own For 2014: L&L Energy Inc.(LLEN)

L&L Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the coal mining, clean coal washing, coal coking, and coal wholesaling businesses in the People?s Republic of China. It involves in producing, processing, and selling metallurgical coke used primarily for steel manufacturing; and crushing coal and washing out soluble sulfur compounds with water or other solvents. The company has four coal mines comprising the DaPuAn, SuTsong, Ping Yi, and DaPing mines; three coal washing plants; one coking facility; and coal wholesale and distribution facilities. It also has a financial interest in the Bowie mine, a thermal coal mine located in Paonia, Colorado. The company provides its products to customers in the steel and the electrical/utility industries, as well as to cement factories. L&L Energy, Inc. sells its products directly and through third-party wholesalers. The company was formerly known as L & L International Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to L&L Energy, Inc. in Jan uary 2010. L&L Energy, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

KIMCO Sells Off Largest Non-Retail Part of Portfolio

Shopping center REIT KIMCO Realty (NYSE: KIM  ) announced yesterday that it sold to an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group its InTown Suites company and related real estate assets for $735 million, including $609 million of existing mortgage debt. Upon closing, KIMCO realized approximately $103 million in proceeds.

With a book value of approximately $83 million, the InTown Suites portion of its portfolio represented the REIT's single largest remaining non-retail investment. It consisted of a portfolio of 138 extended-stay properties with approximately 18,000 rooms across 21 states in which KIMCO held a 75% interest through a joint venture.

KIMCO's non-retail investment balance will now be approximately $200 million, or less than 2% of its gross assets, the lowest level since the company initiated the monetization of its non-retail investments in 2010.

Citigroup served as the financial advisor on the sale to the owner of the portfolio, InTown Hospitality Investors.

Carlyle Group Buying Marelli Motori for $280.5 Million

Corporate holding company Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG  ) signed a deal to acquire a new subsidiary this week.

On Thursday, Carlyle announced it has agreed to buy Marelli Motori from Britain's Melrose Industries in a deal expected to close in August. Based in Italy, Marelli is one of the world's largest manufacturers of industrial generators and electric motors for the power generation, marine, oil & gas, and industrial manufacturing markets.

Explaining the purchase, co-head of Carlyle Europe Partners Marco De Benedetti said: "Marelli Motori is an outstanding Italian company that, thanks to the quality and competence of its management, has gone through a process of true internationalization enabling them to gain recognition and a strong market position in all of the major international markets in which they operate."

It's also a growing company, having increased annual revenues 12.5% in the most recent year, to $197.3 million in 2012. With Carlyle paying $280.5 million, this works out to a 1.4-times-sales ratio on the purchase.

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Is This General Ready to Lead?

Peter Lynch once famously declared "buy what you know." We at Motley Fool find that is a great way to begin a search to find new investing opportunities. I am a self-admitted Honey Nut Cheerios fanatic; however, I feel General Mills (NYSE: GIS  ) has more up its sleeve and deserves a place on your watchlist.

More than just Os
The American public's seemingly insatiable desire for lean protein in an "on-the-go" form will help General Mills going forward. They have a strong brand with the controlling acquisition of Yoplait, but have yet to parlay that brand recognition to rival Groupe Danone's (NASDAQOTH: DANOY  ) Dannon brand, and privately held Chobani's lock on the "Greek Yogurt Craze." I'd encourage management to make this a priority; matter of fact, I'd consider this a microcosm of management's execution effectiveness. I'm willing to give this some time to materialize, because the company has executed so well over the last couple of years from both an operations and capital allocation standpoint.

General operations
General Mills reported a 2% increase in total segment operating profit in last year's annual report through a combination of cost-cutting and "favorable product mix;" i.e., they sold higher margin goods. This is what management stated they were going to do when they instituted their Holistic Margin Management (HMM) program. Also, General Mills recently issued guidance affirming their full-year's EPS estimate. In short, management has done what it said it will do.

Captain capital allocation
General Mills' management has made bold moves with capital allocation. First, they have increased their dividend by nearly 9% last year, now yielding around 2.7%. And, of course, it purchased a 51% interest in Yoplait to bolster its second largest global category -- the one with the highest projected five-year growth rate. However, I'd like to hear a stronger commitment to a share repurchase program considering the average diluted share count increased by 2 million last fiscal year. With that being said, a nascent repurchasing program has started, with 745 million shares repurchased over the last 12 months.

Foreign strategy
Danone is an interesting paradox; it is much more of a pure play on the "Greek Yogurt Craze" with a larger percentage of its revenues coming from its Fresh Dairy Products business line. However, this is also a double-edged sword, as this product may be nearing saturation in U.S. markets, with increasing competition and new entrants. Also of note is foreign strategy: General Mills currently looks at foreign markets as strategic growth opportunities and it shows -- most of last year's revenue growth was due to international growth. Danone, a French company, derives a larger percentage of their revenue from international operations. Many of these countries are in the slumping eurozone that has an unemployment rate of 12.2% as of this writing. Danone may still have some U.S. growth with their Activia Greek launch, but I worry about cannibalization from regular Activia, considering this is a highly segmented brand.

But what do the numbers say?
The important question is, has this been priced into the stock?

Company	PE	Projected Growth Rate	PEG	Dividend Yield
General Mills	18	7.78%	2.31	3%
Kellogg (NYSE: K  )	25	7.74%	3.23	2.7%
Industry (Packaged Goods)	21	7.39%	2.84	2.4%

The following metrics show that General Mills is still presenting value against its most noted rival and within the industry. General Mills currently has a lower P/E ratio than Kellogg and the industry. In addition, it has a higher five-year projected growth rate, leading to lower PEG ratios (explained here) than Kellogg, and within the industry. Finally, it pays the largest dividend yield to compensate you for your time. With that being said, the industry overall is a bit pricey now; however, if you're looking for value within the industry, keep an eye on this company.

Report for duty!
General Mills has stable and consistent management with a potential catalyst in its Greek yogurt product. Going into earnings on June 26, I recommend you add this company to your watchlist, read the next annual report, and listen to the earnings call. I'll be on the lookout for any positive signs from Yoplait Greek, international growth numbers, and EPS/dividend guidance. I feel that if management continues its commitment to the share repurchase program, and continues to execute, this General is ready to lead.

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Top 5 Wireless Telecom Companies To Own For 2014

Stocks finished out a solid week today as the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) both closed at record highs again. There were no major events pushing markets higher as stocks were more or less flat until late in the session. Investors have been enthused recently by strong earnings reports, economic data, and signaling from the Fed that its monetary stimulus will continue. In a speech today at the Chicago Federal Reserve, Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the recovery still has a way to go, indicating that stimulus measures should stay in place in the near term. For the day, the blue chips gained 36 points, or 0.2%.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) , despite no big news, led all Dow stocks today, jumping 1.7%. Rival Dell, however, was back in the headlines as activist investor Carl Icahn made the case for his bid to take the No. 3 PC maker private. Since HP and Dell both operate in the same declining industry, any belief that one company's holding unlocked value is likely to rub off on the other. After hours, a judge ruled that the company must defend itself in a lawsuit alleging that former management had defrauded shareholders. Its shares, however, remained unmoved.

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Companies To Own For 2014: Brownstone Ventures Inc (BWN.V)

Brownstone Ventures, Inc. is a principal investment firm specializing in direct investments in energy sector. The firm seeks to invest in oil & gas exploration projects, oil & gas lands and investments in energy-focused issuers across the whole world. Brownstone Ventures, Inc was founded in 1987 and is based in Toronto, Canada with an additional office at Alberta, Canada.

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Companies To Own For 2014: Flexsteel Industries Inc.(FLXS)

Flexsteel Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, import, and market of residential and commercial upholstered and wooden furniture products in the United States. Its upholstered and wooden furniture products include sofas, loveseats, chairs, reclining and rocker-reclining chairs, swivel rockers, sofa beds, convertible bedding units, occasional tables, desks, dining tables and chairs, and bedroom furniture. The company distributes its products for use in home, office, hotel, and other commercial applications through its sales force and various independent representatives, as well as to various national and regional chains. Flexsteel Industries, Inc. was founded in 1929 and is based in Dubuque, Iowa.

5 Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2014: Ultra Electronic Hdgs(ULE.L)

Ultra Electronics Holdings plc designs, develops, and manufactures electronic systems for the defense, security, transport, and energy markets worldwide. Its Aircraft and Vehicle Systems division offers airframe ice protection systems, active noise and vibration control, aircraft system electronics and test equipment, consultancy and training solutions, data bus network nodes, armored vehicle electronic systems, and software and systems. This division also provides airborne compressors, human/machine interface and vehicle control equipment, ID card printers, pneumatic sub-systems, remote weapon station control and portable oxygen generating equipment, rugged aircraft harness systems, sensors, and structural health monitoring systems. The company?s Information and Power Systems division offers airport information management systems, airport-wide systems integration, combat systems, command information management systems, enterprise IT solutions, IT consultancy, nuclear rea ctor control and instrumentation, data fusion and situational awareness systems, radar and electro-optic systems, surveillance and tracking systems, naval power conversion, gas turbine electric start and regeneration systems, signature measurement and control systems for naval vessels, and transit system power conversion and controls; and command, control, and information systems. Its Tactical and Sonar Systems division provides acoustic countermeasure systems, airborne anti-submarine warfare systems, underwater surveillance systems and acoustic countermeasures, airborne targeting pods, communications network interfacing equipment, data recording and analysis, cryptographic equipment, gunfire location systems, loitering munition systems, radio communication systems, sea mine disposal systems, sonar transducers and systems, submarine tactical communication systems, and torpedo defense systems; and video, voice, and data communication systems. The company is based in Greenford , the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Companies To Own For 2014: Latam Airlines Group SA (LFL)

LAN Airlines S.A. (LAN), incorporated in 1983, is the international and domestic passenger airline in Latin America and the cargo operator in the region. As of February 9, 2012, LAN and its affiliates provided domestic and international passenger services in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia and cargo operations through the use of belly space on its passenger flights and cargo freighter aircraft through its cargo airlines in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. LAN and its affiliates offered passenger flights to 15 destinations in Chile, 59 destinations in other South American countries, 15 destinations in other Latin American countries and the Caribbean, five destinations in the United States, two destinations in Europe and four destinations in the South Pacific and, through various codeshare agreements, service to 25 additional destinations in North America, 16 additional destinations in Europe, 27 additional destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean (including Mexico), and two destinations in Asia, as of February 9, 2012. LAN and its affiliates provide cargo service to all of their passenger destinations and to 20 additional destinations served only by freighter aircraft. LAN also offers other services, such as ground handling, courier, logistics and maintenance. LAN and its affiliates operated a fleet, with 135 passenger aircraft and 14 cargo aircraft as of December 31, 2011. On February 15, 2011, Lan Pax Group S.A., subsidiary of Lan Airlines S.A. acquired 100% of Colombian society AEROASIS S.A.

LAN is primarily involved in the transportation of passengers and cargo. Its operations are carried out principally by Lan Airlines and also by a number of different subsidiaries. As of February 28, 2011, in the passenger business the Company operated through six main airlines: Lan Airlines, Transporte Aereo S.A. (which does business under the name Lan Express), Lan Peru S.A. (Lan Peru), Aerolane Lineas Aereas Nacionales del Ecuador S.A. (Lan Ecuador), Lan Argentina S.A. (Lan ! Argentina, previously Aero 2000 S.A.) and the Aerovias de Integracion Regional, Aires S.A. (Aires). As of February 28, 2011, the Company held a 99.9% interest in Lan Express through direct and indirect interests, a 70.0% interest in Lan Peru through direct and indirect interests, a 71.9% indirect interest in Lan Ecuador, a 99.0% indirect interest in Lan Argentina and a 94.99% indirect interest in Aires (a Colombian entity which was acquired on November 26, 2010). Its cargo operations are carried out by a number of companies, including Lan Airlines and Lan Cargo. As of February 28, 2011, the Company held a 69.2% interest in Aero Transportes Mas de Carga S.A. de C.V. (MasAir), through direct and indirect participations, a 73.3% interest in ABSA through direct and indirect participations, and a 90.0% interest in LANCO through direct and indirect participations. In the cargo business, the Company markets itself primarily under the Lan Cargo brand. In addition to its air transportation activities, the Company provides a series of ancillary services. It offers handling services, courier services and logistics, small package and express door-to-door services through Lan Airlines and various subsidiaries.

Passenger Operations

As of February 28, 2011, the Company operated passenger airlines in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia. As of February 28, 2011, our passenger operations were performed through airlines in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia where we operate both domestic and international services. As of February 28, 2011, the Company�� network consisted of 15 destinations in Chile, 14 destinations in Peru, four destinations in Ecuador, 14 destinations in Argentina, 24 destinations in Colombia, 14 destinations in other Latin American countries and the Caribbean, five destinations in the United States, one destination in Canada, three destinations in Europe and four destinations in the South Pacific. Within Latin America, it has routes to and from Argentina, B! olivia, B! razil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Company also flies to a variety of international destinations outside Latin America, including Auckland, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Mount Pleasant (Falkland Islands), New York, Toronto, Papeete (Tahiti), Paris, San Francisco, and Sydney. In addition, as of February 28, 2011, through its various code-share agreements, the Company offered service to 25 additional destinations in North America, 16 additional destinations in Europe, 25 additional destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean (including Mexico), and two destinations in Asia. As of February 28, 2011, the Company operated scheduled international services from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina through Lan Airlines; Lan Express in Chile; Lan Peru in Peru; Lan Ecuador in Ecuador; Lan Argentina in Argentina and Aires in Colombia. Its international network combines the Company�� Chilean, Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Argentinean and Colombian affiliates. It provides long-haul services out of its four main hubs in Santiago, Lima, Guayaquil and Buenos Aires. It also provides regional services from Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina.

Cargo Operations

The Company�� cargo business operates on the same network used by the passenger airlines business, which is supplemented by freighter-only operations. The Company carries cargo for a variety of customers, including other international air carriers, freight-forwarding companies, export oriented companies and individual consumers. As of February 28, 2011, the Company operated a fleet of 140 aircraft, comprised of 126 passenger aircraft and 14 cargo aircraft.

The Company competes with UPS, FedEx, Centurion, Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos S.A., Polar Air, Cargolux, Lufthansa Cargo, Martinair and Air France-KLM.

Top 5 Wireless Telecom Companies To Own For 2014: Medidata Solutions Inc.(MDSO)

Medidata Solutions, Inc. provides software-as-a-service based clinical development solutions for life science organizations worldwide. Its solutions comprise software and services that allow customers to increase the value of their development programs by designing, planning, and managing key aspects of the clinical trial process, including study and protocol design, trial planning and budgeting, site negotiation, clinical portal, trial management, randomization and trial supply management, clinical data capture and management, safety events capture, medical coding, clinical business analytics, and data flow and interoperability. The company primarily offers Medidata Rave, a comprehensive platform for capturing and managing clinical data. It also provides Medidata CTMS, a clinical trial management solution that streamlines operational workflows; Medidata Designer, a protocol development tool that enhances the efficiency of clinical trial start-up; Medidata Insights, a busi ness analytics platform; and Medidata Balance, a randomization and trial supply management solution, which streamlines the process of developing, building, and implementing subject allocation plans. In addition, the company offers Medidata Grants Manager, an application to benchmark the investigator budgets against industry data; Medidata contract research organization (CRO) Contractor, an analytical tool for CRO outsourcing, budgeting, and negotiation; and iMedidata, a hosted portal application that allows investigative sites and sponsor study teams to start trial activities. Further, it provides hosting, support, and professional services. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies; academic institutions; and CROs and other entities engaged in clinical trials through a direct sales force; and through relationships with CROs and other strategic partners. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Kindred Healthcare Selling 8 Nursing Centers for $49 Million

Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND  ) announced today that it is selling eight nursing centers for around $49 million to privately run Signature Healthcare.

According to the press release, the sale makes sense for Kindred. All eight centers are considered "non-strategic" and are located outside of the corporation's 21 designated Integrated Care Markets. In fiscal 2012, the facilities brought in around $61 million in net profit.

"The transaction with Signature further accelerates our repositioning strategy with the goal of improving our long-term growth, profitability and financial position," said CEO Paul Diaz in a statement today. "Like the Vibra Healthcare transaction announced in April, this tax-efficient transaction allows us to sharpen our focus on our Integrated Care Markets and provides more capital to grow our home health and hospice operations."

Kindred will use the proceeds from this sale to most immediately address $350 million in outstanding balances under the company's $750 million revolving credit facility. In the long term, the company expects to reinvest the proceeds into further acquisitions and/or Kindred's Integrated Care Markets.

1 Thing Worth Watching at Brown Shoe

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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 Brown Shoe (NYSE: BWS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, Brown Shoe generated $86.5 million cash while it booked net income of $15.0 million. That means it turned 3.3% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds OK.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at Brown Shoe look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

With 24.9% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, Brown Shoe investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, stock-based compensation and related tax benefits provided the biggest boost, at 3.1% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures, which consumed 40.0% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

Is Brown Shoe the right retailer for your portfolio? Learn how to maximize your investment income and "Secure Your Future With 9 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks," including one above-average retailing powerhouse. Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add Brown Shoe to My Watchlist.

Hot Managed Healthcare Stocks To Own Right Now

Recent academic efforts have yielded a fascinating metric for assessing the best prospects for future energy development, leading to some results that might surprise you. Investors should consider this approach as an important tool for gauging the viability of companies' planned energy projects.

For GE, the recent financial crisis struck a blow, but management took advantage of the market's dip to make strategic bets in energy. If you're a GE investor, you need to understand how these bets could drive this company to become the world's infrastructure leader. At the same time, you need to be aware of the threats to GE's portfolio. To help, we're offering comprehensive coverage for investors in a premium report on General Electric, in which our industrials analyst breaks down GE's multiple businesses. You'll find reasons to buy or sell GE today. To get started, click here now.

Hot Managed Healthcare Stocks To Own Right Now: Cornerstone Capital Resources I (CGP.V)

Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the evaluation, acquisition, and exploration of mineral properties in Canada and South America. It explores for gold, silver, copper, nickel, volcanogenic massive sulphide, base and precious metals, rare earth elements, and uranium properties. As of March 31, 2012, the company�s exploration properties comprised 2,172 claims in Canada, 62 claims in Chile, and 19 concessions in Ecuador. Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Mount Pearl, Canada.

Hot Managed Healthcare Stocks To Own Right Now: STMicroelectronics N.V.(STM)

STMicroelectronics N.V., an independent semiconductor company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of semiconductor integrated circuits and discrete devices. Its products include discrete and standard commodity components, application-specific integrated circuits, custom devices and semi-custom devices, and application-specific standard products for analog, digital, and mixed-signal applications. The company also offers subsystems and modules for the telecommunications, automotive, and industrial markets comprising mobile phone accessories, battery chargers, ISDN power supplies, and in-vehicle equipment for electronic toll payment, as well as provides Smartcard products. Its products are used in various microelectronic applications consisting of automotive products, computer peripherals, telecommunications systems, consumer products, industrial automation, and control systems. The company sells its products through distributors and ret ailers. STMicroelectronics N.V. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks For 2014: Batm Advanced Communications(BVC.L)

BATM Advanced Communications Ltd. engages in the research, development, production, and marketing of data communication products in the field of local and wide area networks, and premises management systems worldwide. The company offers Ethernet/MPLS aggregation, Ethernet demarcation, multi-service access, fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-business, optical transportation, and wavelength multiplexing products. It also provides TDM products, including multiplexers, SONET products, multi-service IADs, and E/O converters; NMS/EMS products; rugged Ethernet systems; and ATCA hub blades. The company?s data communication products are used by telecommunication carriers and service providers, utilities, municipalities, and government agencies. In addition, the company involves in the research, development, production, marketing, and distribution of medical products, primarily laboratory diagnostic equipment. Further, it offers software services and sterilization products. BATM Ad vanced Communications Ltd. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Kfar Netter, Israel.

Hot Managed Healthcare Stocks To Own Right Now: Imperial Tobacco Grp(IMT.L)

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of tobacco and tobacco-related products worldwide. Its products include cigarettes, fine cut tobacco, cigars, snus, tubes, filters, and rolling paper products, as well as roll your own, make your own, and pipe tobaccos. The company sells its products under various brand names, such as Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes, West, JPS, Fortuna, Redline, JPS Red, Ducados Rubio, Nobel Style, Rave, USA Gold, Sonoma, Route 66, Cohiba, Montecristo, JPS Silver, Windsor Blue, Knox, Skruf, Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes, Backwoods, Lambert & Butler, Golden Virginia, and Gold Leaf. Imperial Tobacco Group PLC also provides logistics services for tobacco product manufacturers, as well as to various customers in the convenience, telecommunications, transportation, pharmaceutical, publishing, and lottery sectors. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Bristol, the United Kingdom.

Hot Managed Healthcare Stocks To Own Right Now: China Xlx Fertiliser Ltd. (B9R.SI)

China XLX Fertiliser Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture, sale, and trade of urea, compound fertilizers, methanol, and liquid ammonia and ammonia solution in Mainland China. The company offers urea that provides nitrogen to crops and serves as raw material for agricultural fertilizers, plastic, resin, coating materials and pharmaceutical industries; and methanol that is used in the industrial production of formaldehyde, synthetic fiber, plastic, pharmaceutical, pesticides, dye, and synthetic proteins, as well as used as fuel and energy resource in power stations. Its compound fertilizers can be used as ground fertilizer or added fertilizer and are suitable for growing wheat, paddy, corn, peanuts, tobacco, fruit trees, vegetables, and cotton. China XLX Fertiliser Ltd. also exports its products to the United States, south east Asia, and south Asia. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Xinxiang, the People�s Republic of China.

3 Best-Run Biotech Companies

Best Bank Stocks For 2014

You'd be excused for thinking that the nation's first and fourth largest banks by assets, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) , reported horrible first-quarter earnings of Friday.

Here's a headline from The Wall Street Journal: "J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo Struggle." This one's from DealBook: "Fewer Home Loans Start to Affect Banks." And here's my favorite from Reuters: "JPMorgan's lukewarm results put Dimon under more pressure."

The general tenor of the articles is the same. To quote Reuters, "The top U.S. bank by assets reported tepid first-quarter results on Friday. Income in its biggest businesses -- investment banking and consumer lending -- fell, excluding accounting adjustments. Outstanding loans grew by just 1 percent, and profit margins on lending narrowed. Stock and bond trading revenue fell."

Best Bank Stocks For 2014: Signature Bank (SBNY.O)

Signature Bank (the Bank) is a full-service commercial bank with 25 private client offices located in the New York metropolitan area serving the needs of privately owned business clients and their owners and senior managers. The Bank offers a variety of business and personal banking products and services through the Bank, as well as investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Signature Securities Group Corporation (Signature Securities), a licensed broker-dealer and investment adviser. Through Signature Securities, it also purchases, securitizes and sells the guaranteed portions of the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. The Bank offers a variety of deposit, escrow deposit, credit, cash management, investment and insurance products and services to its clients. As of December 31, 2011, the Bank maintained approximately 78,000 deposit accounts, 6,900 investment accounts, 8,600 loan a ccounts and 14,300 client relationships. In April 2012, it formed a new subsidiary, Signature Financial, LLC.

The Bank offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its business clients, including deposit products, such as non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts and time deposits; escrow deposit services; cash management services; commercial loans and lines of credit for working capital and to finance internal growth, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts; permanent real estate loans; letters of credit; investment products to help better manage idle cash balances, including money market mutual funds and short-term money market instruments; business retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, and business insurance products, including group health and group life products. It offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its high net worth personal clients, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, with optional features, such as debit/ a! u! tomated teller machine (ATM) cards and overdraft protection and, for its clients, rebates of certain charges, including ATM fees; money market accounts and money market mutual funds; time deposits; personal loans, both secured and unsecured; mortgages, home equity loans and credit card accounts; investment and asset management services, and personal insurance products, including health, life and disability.

Lending Activities

The Bank�� commercial and industrial (C&I) loan portfolio is consisted of lines of credit for working capital and term loans to finance equipment, company owned real estate and other business assets, along with commercial overdrafts. Its lines of credit for working capital are generally renewed on an annual basis and its term loans generally have terms of 2 to 5 years. The Bank�� lines of credit and term loans typically have floating interest rates, and as of December 31, 2011, approximately 61% of its outstanding C&I loan s were variable rate loans. As of December 31, 2011, funded C&I loans totaled approximately 15% of its total funded loans. The Bank�� real estate loan portfolio includes loans secured by commercial and residential properties. It also provides temporary financing for commercial and residential property. As of December 31, 2011, funded real estate loans totaled approximately $5.74 billion, representing approximately 80% of its total funded loans. It issues standby or performance letters of credit, and can service the international needs of its clients through correspondent banks. As of December 31, 2011, its commitments under letters of credit totaled approximately $235.7 million. Its personal loan portfolio consists of personal lines of credit and loans to acquire personal assets. As of December 31, 2011, its consumer loans totaled $11.8 million, representing less than 1% of its total funded loans.

Investment and Asset Management Products and Services

Investment and asset management products and servi! ces a! re! provid! ed through the Bank�� subsidiary, Signature Securities. Signature Securities is a licensed broker-dealer. Signature Securities is an introducing firm and, as such, clears its trades through National Financial Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fidelity Investments. Signature Securities is also registered as an investment adviser in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. It offers an array of asset management and investment products, including the ability to purchase and sell all types of individual securities, such as equities, options, fixed income securities, mutual funds and annuities. The Bank offers transactional, cash management type brokerage accounts with check writing and daily sweep capabilities. It also offers retirement products, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and administrative services for retirement vehicles, such as pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plans to its clients. Signature Securities offers wealth management servi ces to its high net worth personal clients. Together with its client and their other professional advisors, including attorneys and certified public accountants, it develops a financial plan that can include estate planning, business succession planning, asset protection, investment management, family office advisory services, bill payment, art and collectible advisory services and concentrated stock services.

Sources of Funds

The Bank offers a variety of deposit products to its clients. Its business deposit products include commercial checking accounts, money market accounts, escrow deposit accounts, lockbox accounts, cash concentration accounts and other cash management products. Its personal deposit products include checking accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The Bank also allows its personal and business deposit clients to access their accounts, transfer funds, pay bills and perform other account functions over the Inte rnet and through ATM machines. As of December 31,! 2011, it! m! aintained! approximately 78,000 deposit accounts representing $11.70 billion in client deposits, excluding brokered deposits.

Insurance Services

The Bank offers its business and private clients an array of individual and group insurance products, including health, life, disability and long-term care insurance products through its subsidiary, Signature Securities. The Bank does not underwrite insurance policies. It only acts as an agent in offering insurance products and services underwritten by insurers.

Best Bank Stocks For 2014: U.S. Bancorp(USB)

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various banking and financial services in the United States. It generates various deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market savings, and time certificates of deposit accounts. The company originates a portfolio of loans comprising commercial loans and lease financing; commercial real estate; residential mortgage; and retail loans consisting of credit cards, retail leasing, home equity and second mortgages, and other retail loans. It also offers wholesale lending, equipment finance, small-ticket leasing, depository, treasury management, capital markets, foreign exchange, and international trade services to middle market, large corporate, commercial real estate, and public sector clients. In addition, U.S. Bancorp provides telebanking and automated teller machine (ATM) services, as well as cash management services. The company, through other subsidiaries, provides trust, private banking, financial advisory, investment management, retail brokerage services, insurance, and custody and fund services; and payment services, including consumer and business credit cards, stored-value cards, debit cards, corporate and purchasing card services, consumer lines of credit, and merchant processing. U.S. Bancorp primarily serves individuals, estates, foundations, business corporations, and charitable organizations. It operates a network of approximately 3,031 banking offices and 5,310 ATMs. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Philip van Doorn]

  U.S. Bancorp (USB_). O'Connor upgraded USB to a "Buy" rating from a "Hold," raising his price target to $38 from $29, saying he expected "growth of 28% from 2012-2015, nearly double the industry average of 15%. Two key drivers of this growth are likely to be continued market share gains in mortgage and a pickup in consumer and commercial spending (payments represents 15-20% of USB's revenue)." The analyst also said that U.S. Bancorp could also see a major boost from GSE reform, since the company's mortgage loan "origination share has doubled since the crisis, but stands at just 5% vs. 30% at WFC, 10% at JPM and 4% at BAC)." Deutsche Bank estimates that the company will earn $3.06 a share in 2013, with EPS rising to $3.31 in 2014 and $3.65 in 2015. U.S. Bancorp was included amongTheStreet's 5 Bank Stocks That Can't Stop Posting Profits, as the company has managed to keep its return on average tangible common equity above 10% for the past 27 quarters, even though the worst period of the credit crisis.

• [By Vodicka]

  Jerry W Levin, who is a Director at U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB), sold 1,133 shares on Sep 27 at $24.67 per share for a total value of $27,955. About the company: U.S. Bancorp is a diversified financial services company that provides lending and depository services, cash management, foreign exchange and trust and investment management services. The Company also provides credit card services, mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, and leasing. U.S Bancorp operates in the Midwest and Western United States.

• [By James K. Glassman]

   The venerable investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman, which has catered to wealthy families since 1818, has launched some excellent mutual funds in recent years. The managers of BBH Core Select look for stocks that sell for a "meaningful discount" from their judgment of a firm’s intrinsic, or true, value, thus providing what financial scholar Benjamin Graham called a "margin of safety." A prime holding for the past eight years has been Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (symbol: USB), one of the best-run banks in the world. Its stock has risen 35% in the past year, but the P/E is still reasonable at 10, and the 2.5% dividend yield gives you more income than a ten-year Treasury bond.

Top Recreation Stocks To Buy For 2014: National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB)

National Australia Bank Limited provides products, advice and services. In Australia, it operates through National Australia Bank, MLC and UBank. In the United Kingdom, it operates through Clydesdale Bank. In New Zealand, it operates through Bank of New Zealand. In the United States, it operates through Great Western Bank. Segments include Business Banking, Personal Banking, Wholesale Banking, UK Banking and NZ Banking, MLC and NAB and Great Western Ban. As of April 5, 2012, the Company and its associated entities ceased to be a substantial holder in BlueScope Steel Limited. On May 17, 2012, it ceased to be a substantial holder in Spark Infrastructure Group and Sandfire Resources NL. As of August 24, 2012, the Company and its associated entities ceased to be holder in Tabcorp Holdings Limited. In September 2012, the Company and its associated entities have ceased to be a substantial holder in Incitec Pivot Limited, as of August 30, 2012. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dale Gillham]

  NAB is still a long way from its all-time high of $44.84 from 2007, but has so far been able to hold above 50 per cent ($22.42) of its all-time high, which is a positive sign. Given that NAB has spent a lot of time in a zigzag formation above this level; you can see how strong this level has been for its shares. At present NAB is probably my least preferred bank stocks when weighing up the risks from a technical perspective, but while it stays above this 50 per cent level it has a greater probability of rising than falling.

  What is holding it back? You can see how a few months ago NAB attempted to break the $26.00 level overhead, which has proven to be an important threshold for those just not willing to pay more for NAB. If you are a bit of a contrarian and like to pick underdogs, you may decide to keep NAB on your watch list because very soon I am expecting it to show where it is headed. A move back below the 50 per cent level would not bode well for those holding NAB.

Best Bank Stocks For 2014: Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA.OB)

Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) chartered by the United States Congress to support liquidity and stability in the secondary mortgage market, where mortgage-related assets are purchased and sold. The Company�� activities include providing market liquidity by securitizing mortgage loans originated by lenders in the primary mortgage market into Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities (Fannie Mae MBS), and purchasing mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities in the secondary market for its mortgage portfolio. Fannie Mae operates in three business segments: Single-Family business, Multifamily Business (formerly Housing and Community Development (HCD)) and Capital Markets group. Its Single-Family Credit Guaranty and Multifamily businesses work with its lender customers to purchase and securitize mortgage loans customers deliver to the Company into Fannie Mae MBS.

The Company obtains funds to suppo rt its business activities by issuing a variety of debt securities in the domestic and international capital markets. Fannie Mae acquires funds to purchase mortgage-related assets for its mortgage portfolio by issuing a variety of debt securities in the domestic and international capital markets. It also makes other investments. Fannie Mae conducts its business in the United States residential mortgage market and the global securities market. It conducts business in the United States residential mortgage market and the global securities market. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company��

Single-Family Business

Single-Family business includes mortgage securitizations, mortgage acquisitions, credit risk management and credit loss management. Single-Family business works with the Company�� lender customers to provide funds to the mortgage market by securitizing single-family mortgage loans into Fannie Mae MBS. Its Single-Family business also works with its Capital Markets group to facilitate th! e! purchase of single-family mortgage loans for the Company�� mortgage portfolio. Fannie Mae�� Single-Family business prices and manages the credit risk on its single-family guaranty book of business, which consists of single-family mortgage loans underlying Fannie Mae MBS and single-family loans held in its mortgage portfolio. Single-Family business and Capital Markets group securitize and purchase primarily single-family fixed-rate or adjustable-rate, first lien mortgage loans, or mortgage-related securities backed by these types of loans.

The Company securitizes or purchases loans insured by Federal Housing Administration (FHA), loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and loans guaranteed by the Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Program of the Department of Agriculture, manufactured housing loans, reverse mortgage loans, multifamily mortgage loans, subordinate lien mortgage loans and other mortgage-related securities. I ts Single-Family business securitizes single-family mortgage loans and issues single-class Fannie Mae MBS. Fannie Mae�� Single-Family business securitizes loans solely in lender swap transactions, in which lenders deliver pools of mortgage loans to the Company, which are placed immediately in a trust, in exchange for Fannie Mae MBS backed by these loans. Generally, the servicing of the mortgage loans held in its mortgage portfolio or that backs its Fannie Mae MBS is performed by mortgage servicers on the Company�� behalf. Lenders who sell single-family mortgage loans to Fannie Mae service these loans for the Company. For loans it owns or guarantees, the lender or servicer must obtain its approval before selling servicing rights to another servicer.

Fannie Mae�� mortgage servicers collect and deliver principal and interest payments, administer escrow accounts, monitor and report delinquencies, perform default prevention activities, evaluate transfers of own ership interests, respond to requests for partial releas! es o! f s! ecurit! y, and handle proceeds from casualty and condemnation losses. Its mortgage servicers are the primary point of contact for borrowers and perform implementation of its homeownership assistance initiatives, negotiation of workouts of troubled loans, and loss mitigation activities. Mortgage servicers also inspect and preserve properties and process foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Multifamily Mortgage Business

Multifamily business works with the Company�� lender customers to provide funds to the mortgage market by securitizing multifamily mortgage loans into Fannie Mae MBS. Through its Multifamily business, Fannie Mae provides liquidity and support to the United States multifamily housing market principally by purchasing or securitizing loans that finance multifamily rental housing properties. It also provides some limited debt financing for other acquisition, development, construction and rehabilitation activity related to projects that complement this business. Fannie Mae�� Multifamily business also works with its Capital Markets group to facilitate the purchase and securitization of multifamily mortgage loans and securities for Fannie Mae�� portfolio, as well as to facilitate portfolio securitization and resecuritization activities.

The Company�� multifamily guaranty book of business consists of multifamily mortgage loans underlying Fannie Mae MBS and multifamily loans and securities held in Fannie Mae�� mortgage portfolio. Revenues for Fannie Mae�� Multifamily business are derived from a variety of sources, including guaranty fees received as compensation for assuming the credit risk on the mortgage loans underlying multifamily Fannie Mae MBS and on the multifamily mortgage loans held in its portfolio and on other mortgage-related securities; transaction fees associated with the multifamily business, and other bond credit enhancement related fees. As with the servicing of single-family mortgages, multifamily mortgage servicing is performed by the ! lenders !! who sell ! the mortgages to the Company. Fannie Mae�� Multifamily business is organized and operated as an integrated commercial real estate finance business.

Capital Markets

Capital Markets group's primary business activities include mortgage and other investments, mortgage securitizations, structured mortgage securitizations and other customer services, and interest rate risk management. Capital Markets group manages the Company�� investment activity in mortgage-related assets and other interest-earning, non-mortgage investments. It funds its investments primarily through proceeds the Company receives from the issuance of debt securities in the domestic and international capital markets. Its business activity is focused on making short-term use of its balance sheet rather than long-term investments. Activities Fannie Mae is undertaking to provide liquidity to the mortgage market include whole loan conduit, early funding, real estate mortgage investment c onduit (REMICs) and other structured securitizations and dollar roll transactions. Whole loan conduit activities include its purchase of both single-family and multifamily loans principally for the purpose of securitizing them. During the year ended December 31, 2010, it was engaged in dollar roll activity. A dollar roll transaction is a commitment to purchase a mortgage-related security with a concurrent agreement to re-sell a similar security at a later date or vice versa.

Fannie Mae�� Capital Markets group is engaged in issuing both single-class and multi-class Fannie Mae MBS through both portfolio securitizations and structured securitizations involving third party assets. Its Capital Markets group creates single-class and multi-class Fannie Mae MBS from mortgage-related assets held in its mortgage portfolio. Fannie Mae�� Capital Markets group may sell these Fannie Mae MBS into the secondary market or may retain the Fannie Mae MBS in its investment portf olio. The Company�� Capital Markets group cr! eates sin! gle-c! lass and ! multi-class structured Fannie Mae MBS, for its lender customers or securities dealer customers, in exchange for a transaction fee. The Company�� Capital Markets group provides its lender customers and their affiliates with services that include offering to purchase a range of mortgage assets, including non-standard mortgage loan products; segregating customer portfolios to obtain optimal pricing for their mortgage loans, and assisting customers with hedging their mortgage business.

Although the Company�� Capital Markets group�� business activities are focused on short-term financing and investing, revenue from its Capital Markets group is derived primarily from the difference, or spread, between the interests it earns on its mortgage and non-mortgage investments and the interest it incurs on the debt the Company issues to fund these assets. Its Capital Markets revenues are primarily derived from the Company�� mortgage asset portfolio. Capital Markets gro up funds its investments primarily through the issuance of a variety of debt securities in a range of maturities in the domestic and international capital markets. Investors in the Company�� debt securities include commercial bank portfolios and trust departments, investment fund managers, insurance companies, pension funds, state and local governments, and central banks.

The Company competes with Freddie Mac, FHA and Ginnie Mae.

Why Bank of America May Be Stumbling for a While

Today is the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere -- and it's looking like it will be a long day for Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) on the trading floor. The bank lost 4% just as the second hour of trading was getting under way, but it has since recovered slightly and sits at a loss of 1.39% as of 2:45 p.m. EDT. Some new allegations involving mortgages may be just the newest hurdle the bank and its investors are facing.

Yesterday's news
Of course yesterday was the first full day of trading since the market learned of the Fed's intentions for its current quantitative easing policy. And Mr. Market had a bit of a melt down. But we also learned yesterday that the housing market recovery is moving along quite nicely, with May sales of existing homes rising 4.2% since April and a staggering 12.9% since the previous year.

New home construction needs to pick up in order to meet the higher demand, which has reached levels the market hasn't seen since 2009, but it's all around good news for the economy and banks. With the top mortgage lenders, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM  ) , likely to leverage their huge market share to gain new business, investors are showing their confidence in the banks, driving Wells 1.35% higher and giving JPMorgan a chance at breakeven this morning.

Bank of America and rival Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) aren't benefiting from the housing boost. Citi is the smallest player in the mortgage market of the Big Four, so there was little upside movement this morning. Bank of America, on the other hand, has been trying to capture a larger share of the mortgage pie, but new allegations may thwart its efforts and drive investors, customers, and others away.

The lying game?
We recently learned that Bank of America employees were allegedly incentivized to stall qualified foreclosure applications in order to generate more fee income. As that revelation came to light, the bank's reputation was once again in jeopardy of losing customer confidence, which could keep potential new mortgage customers from working with the bank. Now, a new investigation has revealed that mortgage servicers, such as B of A, were misrepresenting the underlying mortgages in mortgage-backed securities to the trustees holding the mortgage bonds.

It all boils down again to fee generation. The investigation alleges that the servicers were claiming the homes in question were still in the foreclosure process, while in fact they had been sold or paid off. Since the bond holders would have to pay fees while the homes were in foreclosure, this allowed the mortgage servicers to rake in the dough.

So now Bank of America faces not only customer discontent, but also that from investors and future business partners in the MBS world. With its goal of capturing more of the mortgage market, the bank is in serious trouble following the newest revelations. Not to mention potential lawsuits -- and we all know how those hurt the bank.

Bank of America's stock doubled in 2012. Is there more yet to come? With significant challenges still ahead, it's critical to have a solid understanding of this megabank before adding it to your portfolio. In The Motley Fool's premium research report on B of A, analysts Anand Chokkavelu, CFA, and Matt Koppenheffer, Financials bureau chief, lift the veil on the bank's operations, including detailing three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. Click here now to claim your copy.

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Buy For 2014

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

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 Guidance Software (Nasdaq: GUID  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Buy For 2014: Norbord Inc Com Npv(NBD.TO)

Norbord Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture, sale, marketing, and distribution of wood-based panels in North America and Europe. It provides oriented strand board, medium density fiberboard, particleboard, and related value-added products for use in the construction of new homes, and renovation and repair of existing structures. The company offers its products primarily under the Pinnacle, Stabledge, Truflor, Tallwall, Trubord, Windstorm, SolarBoard, SterlingOSB, Caberwood MDF, Conti, and Caberboard names. Norbord Inc. sells its products to retail chains, contractor supply yards, industrial users, wholesale distributors, and industrial customers. The company was formerly known as Nexfor Inc. and changed its name to Norbord Inc. in 2004. Norbord Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Buy For 2014: Inventure Foods Inc.(SNAK)

Inventure Foods, Inc. engages in the development, production, marketing, and distribution of snack food products and frozen berry products to grocery retailers, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, and vend distributors in the United States and internationally. The company manufactures and markets various healthy/natural and indulgent specialty snack food products under its own and licensed brand names. Its healthy/natural food products include the Rader Farms brand frozen berries; the Jamba brand smoothies; and the Boulder Canyon Natural Foods brand snack chips, including kettle cooked potato chips, rice and bean snack chips, and hummus tortilla chips. The company?s indulgent specialty foods comprise the T.G.I. Friday?s brand snacks; the BURGER KING brand snack products; the Poore Brothers brand kettle cooked potato chips; the Bob?s Texas Style brand kettle cooked chips; the Tato Skins brand potato snacks; and the O?Boises brand potato snacks. Its products also include multi-grain puffs, no salt kettle cooked potato chips, cheddar crunchy bites, zesty ranches, and blend-and-serve smoothie kits. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes private label and co-branded fruit and snack chip products for grocery chains and natural stores. Further, it purchases and resells snack food products, including pretzels, popcorn, dips, and meat snacks manufactured by others in Arizona. The company was formerly known as The Inventure Group, Inc. and changed its name to Inventure Foods, Inc. in May 2010. Inventure Foods, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Top 10 Casino Companies To Watch In Right Now: Associated Banc-Corp(ASBC)

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, offers various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses primarily in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. Its Banking segment provides loans and deposit products to businesses, governments, and consumers. Its products and services include checking, savings, money market deposit, and IRA accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and safe deposit boxes; and home equity loans and lines of credit, residential mortgage loans and mortgage refinancing, education loans, and personal and installment loans. This segment?s products and services also include business checking accounts, business loans, real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, revolving credit arrangements, business credit cards, equipment and machinery leases, night depository, cash management, international banking, check clearing, safekeeping, and other banking-based services. The company?s Wealth Management segment provides va rious fiduciary, investment management, advisory, and corporate agency services for individuals, corporations, small businesses, charitable trusts, endowments, foundations, and institutional investors. This segment also offers life, property, casualty, and credit and mortgage insurance, as well as fixed annuities and employee group benefits consulting and administration services; investment brokerage, variable annuities, and discount and online brokerage services; and trust/asset/investment management, administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, personal trusts, and estate planning services. The company offers its products through branch facilities, loan production offices, supermarket branches, a customer service call center, an interstate automated teller machine network, and Internet banking services. As of December 31, 2010, its banking subsidiary had 280 offices in approximately 150 communities. The company was founded in 1964 and is base d in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Buy For 2014: Avexa Ltd (AVX.AX)

Avexa Limited, a biotechnology company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of anti-infective pharmaceutical medicines for the treatment of human infectious diseases. The company�s research programs primarily focus on the discovery of medicines for the treatment of the diseases caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and vancomycin- and methicillin-resistant bacteria. Its principal projects include apricitabine, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor for the treatment of HIV infection; and an HIV integrase inhibitor program. The company, through its license agreement with Valevia Pharmaceuticals GmbH, also develops AVX13616, an anti-bacterial lead compound for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in Richmond, Australia.

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Buy For 2014: New Crocodile Gold (CRK.TO)

Crocodile Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold properties. The company�s principal properties include the Burnside, Union Reefs, Pine Creek, Moline, and Maud Creek projects, which cover an area of approximately 2,979 square kilometers and are located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It also has operations in Canada and Peru. Crocodile Gold Corp. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Invest In 2014

Specialty retailer and shopping mall staple�Express (NYSE: EXPR  ) delivered a stellar earnings report last week that delighted investors and analysts alike. The beat was impressive, given that many specialty retailers remain challenged by macroeconomic tepidity and unseasonable weather patterns. Yet the real news regarding the company is not so much its recent performance but its upcoming focus. With management's latest comments in mind, let's take a closer look at Express.

Earnings recap
The tone just a few months back was much different for Express management, which was anticipating a more hesitant shopper base coupled with a large disconnect between spring break and the Easter holiday (not to mention a dreadful 2012). The company wisely chose to combat these factors with a very active promotional campaign -- namely a 40%-off, no-nonsense campaign that seemed to resonate with cost-conscious mall-goers. While same-store sales were flat on a year-over-year basis, management was excited to see a higher conversion rate in existing stores. More encouraging was the company's Web effort, with e-commerce growing an impressive 48% -- representing a total of 14% of the company's entire sales.

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Invest In 2014: Highway Capital(HWC.L)

Highway Capital plc does not have significant operations. It intends to seek and acquire a suitable business. The company is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Invest In 2014: Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc. (MIG)

Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty commercial insurance underwriter and insurance administration services company in the United States. The company markets and underwrites specialty property and casualty insurance programs and products, including workers� compensation, general liability, commercial property, environmental, garage, commercial multi-peril, commercial auto, surety, and marine insurance on an admitted and non-admitted basis through a network of independent retail agents, wholesalers, program administrators, and general agents. It also offers program and product design, underwriting risk selection and policy issuance, claims administration and handling, loss prevention and control, risk-bearing entities administration, and retail property and casualty insurance agency services, as well as produces commercial, personal lines, life, and accident and health insurance with unaffiliated insurance carriers for its fe e-for-service and agency clients. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan.

Top 10 Undervalued Companies To Watch In Right Now: CenturyLink Inc.(CTL)

CenturyLink, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated communications company. The company provides a range of communications services, including voice, Internet, data, and video services in the continental United States. Its services include local exchange and long distance voice telephone services, as well as enhanced voice services, such as call forwarding, caller identification, conference calling, voicemail, selective call ringing, and call waiting; wholesale local network access services; and data services, including high-speed Internet access services, data transmission services over special circuits and private lines, and switched digital television services, as well as special access and private line services. The company also offers fiber transport, competitive local exchange carrier, security monitoring, and other communications, as well as professional and business information services. In addition, it provides other related services, such as leasing, selling, installing, and maintaining customer premise telecommunications equipment and wiring; payphone services; and network database services, as well as participates in the publication of local telephone directories. Further, the company offers printing, direct mail services, and cable television services; and wireless broadband Internet access services and satellite television services. As of December 31, 2010, it operated approximately 6.5 million telephone access lines. CenturyLink, Inc was founded in 1968 and is based in Monroe, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul]

  CenturyLink (CTL), provides a range of communications services, including local and long distance voice, wholesale network access, high-speed Internet access, other data services, and video services in the continental United States. The company is a member of the elite dividend aristocrats index, and has raised dividends for 37 consecutive years. In comparison to the previous two telecom players, CenturyLink has been able to cover its distributions from EPS, although its payout ratio is a scary 92.70%. Yield: 7.20%.

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Invest In 2014: Copano Energy L.L.C.(CPNO)

Copano Energy, L.L.C. provides midstream services to natural gas producers in the United States. The company?s services include natural gas gathering, compression, dehydration, treating, marketing, transportation, processing, and fractionation. It owns and operates natural gas gathering and intrastate transportation pipeline assets; natural gas processing and fractionation facilities; and natural gas liquid (NGL) pipelines in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Louisiana. The company operates approximately 6,800 miles of natural gas gathering and transmission pipelines; and 10 natural gas processing plants with approximately 1 billion cubic feet per day of combined processing capacity. It also operates 380 miles of NGL pipelines. The company serves third-party pipelines, distribution companies, power generation facilities, and industrial customers. Copano Energy, L.L.C. was founded in 2001 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Top 5 Promising Companies For 2014

Tomorrow, ExOne (NASDAQ: XONE  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

ExOne went public barely three months ago, but already, it has made a big splash in the popular 3-D printing space. But does the company have what it takes to stand up to already harsh competition in the highly promising industry? Let's take an early look at what's been happening with ExOne over the past quarter and what we're likely to see in its quarterly report.

Top 5 Promising Companies For 2014: Covanta Holding Corp (CVA)

Covanta Holding Corporation (Covanta), incorporated in April 16, 1992, is a holding company. The Company is a owner and operator of infrastructure for the conversion of waste to energy ( energy-from-waste or EfW), as well as other waste disposal and renewable energy production businesses. Covanta conduct all of its operations through subsidiaries which are engaged predominantly in the businesses of waste and energy services. The Company has one segment which is Americas and consists of waste and energy services operations primarily in the United States and Canada. The Company owns and holds interests in energy-from-waste facilities in China and Italy. The Company also has investments in subsidiaries engaged in insurance operations in California, primarily in property and casualty insurance. In 2011, it sold two landfill gas projects located in California. In May 2011, it acquired a metals processing facility located on its Dade energy-from-waste facility site.

As of December 31, 2011, it owned 85% interest of Taixing Covanta Yanjiang Cogeneration Co., Ltd. It operates and maintains the energy-from-waste facility located in and owned by the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. In December 2011, the Company amended the waste disposal agreement with the Union County Utilities Authority to extend their terms from 2023 to 2031 and to increase the Union County Utilities Authority�� waste disposal commitment. The Company�� EfW facilities earn revenue from both the disposal of waste and the generation of electricity, generally under long-term contracts, as well as from the sale of metal recovered during the energy-from-waste process. In the Americas, it processes approximately 19 million tons of solid waste annually. In total, these assets produce over 10 million megawatt hours of baseload electricity annually. The Company operates and/or has ownership positions in 46 energy-from-waste facilities, which are primarily located in North America, and 15 additional energy generation facilities, i! ncluding other renewable energy production facilities in North America (wood biomass and hydroelectric). The Company also operates a waste management infrastructure that is complementary to its core EfW business.

Energy-From-Waste Projects

Energy-from-waste projects have two purposes: to provide waste disposal services, typically to municipal clients who sponsor the projects, and to use that waste as a fuel source to generate renewable energy. The electricity or steam generated by the projects is generally sold to local utilities or industrial customers. The projects are capable of providing waste disposal services and generating electricity or steam. The Company provides these waste disposal services and sell the electricity and steam generated under contracts, which expire on various dates between 2012 and 2034. Many of its service contracts may be renewed for varying periods of time, at the option of the municipal client.

Tehe Company�� energy-from-waste projects generate revenue from three main sources: fees charged for operating projects or processing waste received; the sale of electricity and/or steam, and the sale of ferrous and non-ferrous metals that are recycled as part of the energy-from-waste process. Its customers for waste disposal or facility operations are principally municipal entities, though it also markets disposal capacity at certain facilities to commercial and special waste customers. Its facilities sell energy primarily to utilities at contracted rates or, in situations where a contract is not in place, at prevailing market rates in regional markets (primarily PJM, NEPOOL and NYISO in the Northeastern United States).

The Company operates, and in some cases has ownership interests in, transfer stations and landfills, which generate revenue from ash disposal fees or operating fees. In addition, it owns, and in some cases operates, other renewable energy projects in the Americas segment, which generate electricity from wood wast! e (biomas! s) and hydroelectric resources. The electricity from these other renewable energy projects is sold to utilities under contracts or into the regional power pool at short-term rates. For these projects, it receives revenue from sales of energy, capacity and/or cash from equity distributions and additional value from the sale of renewable energy credits.

The Company operates energy-from-waste projects in 16 states and one Canadian province, and are constructing an energy-from-waste project in a second Canadian province. Most of its energy-from-waste projects were developed and structured contractually as part of competitive procurement processes conducted by municipal entities. Its EfW projects can generally be divided into three categories, based on the applicable contract structure at a project: Tip Fee projects, Service Fee projects that the Company owns, and Service Fee projects that it do not own but operate on behalf of a municipal owner. At Tip Fee projects, it receives a per-ton fee for processing waste, and it typically retain all of the revenue generated from energy and recycled metal sales. The Company generally owns or leases the Tip Fee facilities. At Service Fee projects, it typically charge a fixed fee for operating the facility, and the facility capacity is dedicated either primarily or exclusively to the host community client, which also retains the majority of any revenue generated from energy and recycled metal sales. The Company also owns and/or operates 13 transfer stations and four ash landfills in the northeast United States, which it utilizes to supplement and manage more efficiently the fuel and ash disposal requirements at its energy-from-waste operations. The Company provides waste procurement services to its waste disposal and transfer facilities which have available capacity to receive waste.

Biomass Projects

The Company owns and operates seven wood-fired generation facilities and have a 55% interest in a partnership which owns another w! ood-fired! generation facility. The Company�� six facilities are located in California, and two are located in Maine. The combined gross energy output from these facilities is 191 megawatts. The Company generates income from its biomass facilities from sales of electricity, capacity, and where available, additional value from the sale of renewable energy credits. These facilities sell their energy output into local power pools or to local utilities at rates that are either fixed or float with the market.

Hydroelectric

The Company owns a 50% interest in two small run-of-river hydroelectric facilities located in the State of Washington, which sells energy and capacity to Puget Sound Energy under long-term energy contracts. The Company has a nominal investment in two hydroelectric facilities in Costa Rica.

Energy-From-Waste

The Company and Chongqing Iron & Steel Company (Group) Ltd. entered into an agreement to build, own, and operate a 1,800 metric ton per day energy-from-waste facility for Chengdu Municipality in Sichuan Province, People�� Republic of China. The Company also executed a 25 year waste concession agreement for this project. In connection with this project, it acquired a 49% interest in the project company. Construction commenced in 2009 and the facility began processing waste during the year ended December 31, 2011. The electrical output from these projects is sold at governmentally established preferential rates under short-term arrangements with local power bureaus. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 85% of Taixing Covanta Yanjiang Cogeneration Co., Ltd. which, in 2009, entered into a 25 year concession agreement and waste supply agreements to build, own and operate a 350 metric tons per day energy-from-waste facility for Taixing Municipality, in Jiangsu Province, People�� Republic of China. The Company will continue to operate its coal-fired facility.

The Company owns a 40% interest in Chongqing Sanfeng Covanta Environ! mental In! dustry Co., Ltd. (Sanfeng), a company located in Chongqing Municipality, People�� Republic of China. Sanfeng is engaged in the business of owning and operating energy-from-waste projects, providing design and engineering, procurement, construction services and equipment sales for energy-from-waste facilities in China. Sanfeng owns minority interests in two 1,200 metric tons per day, 24 megawatts mass-burn energy-from-waste projects (Fuzhou project and Tongqing project), and has a contract to operate the Chengdu project. Chongqing Iron & Steel Group Environmental Investment Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chongqing Iron & Steel Company (Group) Ltd., holds the remaining 60% interest in Sanfeng. The solid waste supply for the projects comes from municipalities under long-term contracts. The municipalities also have the obligation to coordinate the purchase of power from the facilities as part of the long-term contracts for waste disposal. The electrical output from these projects is sold at governmentally established preferential rates under short-term arrangements with local power bureaus.

The Company owns a 13% interest in a 500 metric tons per day, 18 megawatts mass-burn energy-from-waste project at Trezzo sull��dda in the Lombardy Region of Italy. The project is operated by Ambiente 2000 S.r.l., in which the Company owns 40%. The solid waste supply for the project comes from municipalities and privately-owned waste haulers under long-term contracts. The electrical output from the Trezzo project is sold at governmentally established preferential rates under a long-term purchase contract to Italy�� state-owned electricity grid operator, Gestore della Rete di Trasmissione Nazionale S.p.A.

Independent Power Projects

The Company has a majority interest in a 24 megawatts (gross) coal-fired cogeneration facility in Taixing City, Jiangsu Province, People�� Republic of China. The project entity, in which it holds a majority interest, operates this project. T! he party ! holding a minority position in the project is an affiliate of the local municipal government. While the steam produced at this project is focused to be sold under a long-term contract to its industrial host, in practice, steam has been sold on a short-term basis to either local industries or the industrial host, in each case at varying rates and quantities. The electric power is sold at an average grid rate to a subsidiary of the provincial power bureau.

Top 5 Promising Companies For 2014: Ashley(l)

Laura Ashley Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, distribution, sale, and licensing of clothing, accessories, and home furnishings in the United Kingdom and internationally. It offers various furniture products, including beds, upholstered furniture, mirrors, and cabinet furniture; home accessories, such as lighting products, gifts, bed linen, rugs, throws, cushions, and children?s accessories; and decorative products comprising curtains, blinds, fabrics, paints, decorative accessories, and wall coverings. The company also offers fashion products, such as clothing that include dresses, knitwear, tops, blouses, skirts, trousers, leggings, coats, jackets, swimwear, and shoes, as well as accessories comprising bags, purses, jewellery, and scarves. In addition, it provides design services for homes; and licenses various products, such as stationery, wooden flooring, blinds, interior window shutters, carpets, nursery produ cts, fireplaces, garden products, eyewear, tiles, promotional gifting, toiletries, shoes, and Fairtrade clothing. The company sells its products through retail stores, online, and mail order. As of January 29, 2011, it operated 217 stores, including 138 mixed product stores, 55 home stores, 22 home concession stores, 1 gifts and accessories store, and 1 clearance outlet in the United Kingdom; and 240 franchised stores in 29 countries. The company is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Brush]

  This holding company is one of the best long-term investments you could ever own. Controlled by the Tisch family, they've earned their stripes over the years by buying assets on the cheap and patiently waiting for the markets to recognize the intrinsic value of those assets. Three of its holdings, one of which is privately owned, are energy related. The first is Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE:DO), which owns and operates one of the world's largest fleet of offshore drilling rigs. Loews owns 50.4% of the company and although revenues and earnings suffered in 2012, its future appears strong given all the offshore drilling that's taking place around the world. With over $1.3 billion in EBITDA earnings heading into 2013, the fact that it has been able to sign a contract for its Ocean Endeavor 10,000-feet rig that ups the daily rate from $285,000 to $505,000 suggests that the offshore drilling business is picking up steam; Diamond Offshore looks ready to take advantage of the changing tide. 

Top 10 Penny Companies For 2014: ACCSYS TECHNOLOGIES ORD EUR0.01(AXS.L)

Accsys Technologies PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and commercialization of various technologies for the manufacture of Accoya branded acetylated wood in the United Kingdom. It also engages in the ownership and exploitation of intellectual property rights relating to the acetylation of cellulose and the production of acetic anhydride; provision of technical and engineering services to licensees; technical development of fiber board opportunities; manufacture of Accoya, the acetylated wood; and provision of sales, marketing, and technical services. The company is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Top 5 Promising Companies For 2014: Vital Metals Ltd(VML.AX)

Vital Metals Limited engages in the development and exploration of mineral properties. It primarily explores for tungsten and gold. The company?s projects include the Watershed Tungsten project in far north Queensland, Australia; and the Doulnia Gold Project in southern Burkina Faso, West Africa. Vital Metals Ltd is based in Subiaco, Australia.

Top 5 Promising Companies For 2014: Thomas Properties Group Inc.(TPGI)

Thomas Properties Group, Inc. owns, acquires, develops, leases, and manages primarily office, as well as mixed-use and residential properties in the United States. The company focuses on property acquisition and ownership, property development and redevelopment, and property management activities. Its office properties include onsite parking, retail, and storage space, as well as an off-site garage that provides parking services. In addition, the company advises institutional investors on property portfolios. It owns properties in southern California and Sacramento, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; northern Virginia; and Houston and Austin, Texas. As of December 31, 2010, Thomas Properties Group, Inc. owned interests in 27 operating properties with 13.2 million rentable square feet, as well as provided asset and/or property management services on behalf of third parties for an additional 4 operating properties with 2.3 million rentable square feet. It also had a dev elopment pipeline of approximately 7.2 million square feet of primarily office development. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.