Top Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014

With traditional energy production rising from fracking and horizontal drilling, the renewable energy sector hasn�� been a great investment since the financial crisis. Broad-based clean energy funds- like the iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index (NASDAQ:ICLN) ��till sit far below their all-time highs. Those lousy returns have been even worse for the solar sector. As prices for panels have crashed due to a glut on the market, many solar stocks have suffered.

Yet, solar bulls may finally be getting some good news.

For the first time, new solar power installations overtook wind energy capacity across the globe. That�� a huge win for the energy form and could finally signal solar�� return as a valid portfolio choice.

Policy Shifts In Key Markets

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, photovoltaic capacity installed around the world this year will beat wind for the first time ever. The news agency predicts that a total of 35.5 gigawatts (GW) worth of wind energy- both onshore and off- will be installed this year. That compares to its median forecast of 36.7 GW of new photovoltaic capacity.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Prima Industrie(PRII.MI)

PRIMA INDUSTRIE SpA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of laser systems for industrial applications, sheet metal processing machinery, and industrial electronics and laser sources. It operates in two divisions, PRIMA POWER and PRIMA ELECTRO. The PRIMA POWER division engages in the design, production, and sale of laser machines for cutting, welding, and drilling of three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) metallic components. Its 3D laser machines are used in the automotive, aerospace, energy, and white and yellow goods fields; and 2D laser machines are used in various industrial applications. This division also offers machines for processing sheet metal using mechanical tools, such as punches, integrated punching and shearing systems, integrated punching and laser cutting systems, panel shapers, bending machines, and automation systems. The PRIMA ELECTRO division engages in the development, production, and sale of elec tronic power and control components, as well as high power laser sources for industrial applications. The company sells its products primarily in Italy, Europe, North America, and Asia. PRIMA INDUSTRIE SpA was founded in 1977 and is based in Collegno, Italy.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: United Overseas Australia Ltd (EH5.SI)

United Overseas Australia Limited engages in the construction, development, and resale of residential and commercial land and buildings primarily in Australia and Malaysia. It is also involved in the investment of rental properties; and investment of UOA real estate investment trust. The company, formerly known as United Overseas Securities Limited, was founded in 1987 and is based in Osborne Park, Australia.

10 Best Financial Stocks For 2014: Ishares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB.W)

iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (the Index). The Index consists of securities of NASDAQ-listed companies that are classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either biotechnology or pharmaceuticals, and which also meet other eligibility criteria. The Index is one of the eight sub-indices of the NASDAQ Composite, which measures all common stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: BG Group(BG.L)

BG Group plc operates as an integrated natural gas company worldwide. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Production, Liquefied Natural Gas, and Transmission and Distribution The Exploration and Production segment engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of natural gas and oil. This segment has proved reserves of 3,247 million barrels of oil equivalent. The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) segment is involved in the development and use of LNG import and export facilities; and purchase, shipping, and sale of LNG and regasified natural gas. The Transmission and Distribution segment develops, owns, and operates pipelines and distribution networks to supply natural gas to co-generation plants, natural gas vehicle filling stations, and gas-fired power stations, as well as industrial, commercial, and residential customers. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Reading, the United Kingdom.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Unilever Nigeria PLC (UNILEVER)

Unilever Nigeria Plc is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of foods and food ingredients, and home and personal care products. The Company has manufacturing plants in Lagos and Agbara, Ogun State. The Company operates in two segments: Home and Personal Care, and Foods. Home and Personal Care includes sales of skin and hair care products, and oral products. Food segment includes sale of tea, sauces, margarines and spreads, and cooking products, such as liquid margarines. The Company�� brands include Close up, Lipton, Blue Band, Knorr, Lux, Royco, Vaseline, Lifebuoy, OMO, Sunlight, Pepsodent and Pears.

Top Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.(PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides onshore contract drilling services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States and Canada. The company offers pressure pumping services that consist of well stimulation and cementing for completion of new wells and remedial work on existing wells, as well as hydraulic fracturing, nitrogen, cementing, and acid pumping services in Texas and the Appalachian Basin; and contract drilling services primarily in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and western Canada. It also owns and invests in oil and natural gas assets located primarily in Texas and New Mexico. As of December 31, 2011, it had a drilling fleet of 330 marketable land-based drilling rigs. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN) was reinstated as Buy with a $27 price target at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

  Pharmacyclics Inc. (NASDAQ: PCYC) was started as Overweight with a $142 price target at J.P. Morgan. Deutsche Bank also started it with a Buy rating and a $170 price target.

Asian Stocks Headed for First Monthly Drop Since August

Asia's benchmark stock index headed for the first monthly loss since August as GrainCorp Ltd. (GNC) plunged by a record after the Australian government rejected a takeover bid by a foreign rival.

GrainCorp plummeted 22 percent after the government rejected U.S.-based Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.'s planned A$2.2 billion ($2 billion) takeover of the crop handler, saying it was not in the national interest. Panasonic Corp. lost 2.1 percent as Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell from a six-year high. Ryoyo Electro Corp. (8068) surged 9.4 percent in Tokyo after the semiconductor-component maker said profit rose.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1 percent to 142.00 as of 4:41 p.m. in Hong Kong. Trading volume has slumped in the past two months after prices surged 6.4 percent in September. More than $8 trillion has been added to the value of global equities this year, the biggest increase since 2009, as central banks took steps to shore up economies worldwide.

"I would expect trading movements to follow fund managers book dressings rather than any specific news," Evan Lucas, Melbourne-based market strategist at IG Ltd., said in an e-mail. "The fact volumes remain subdued in the fourth quarter and we are approaching seasonality issues with holidays etc., price moves are likely to be thin and easily corrected if they look overdone."

The Asia-Pacific index jumped 9.8 percent this year through yesterday, while falling 0.2 percent in November and rising 0.5 percent this week. It traded at 14 times estimated earnings, the highest since May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 16.3 on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index yesterday and 15.2 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Japan Inflation

Japan's Topix index fell 0.2 percent after a measure of inflation in October rose by the most in 15 years, while a gauge of industrial production missed analyst forecasts. The Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 percent as Panasonic lost 2.1 percent to 1,175 yen. The measure rose 1.8 percent yesterday to the highest closing level since December 2007. Consumer prices excluding energy and fresh food rose the most since 1998, in a sign Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making progress in stamping out deflation. A measure of industrial production growth rose 0.5 percent in October, compared with a 1.3 percent gain in September and the 2 percent expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Regional Gauges

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.4 percent to close at its highest since April 2011, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.1 percent. Taiwan's Taiex index rose 0.5 percent and Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 0.4 percent. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index sank 0.3 percent and South Korea's Kospi index was little changed. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.3 percent. India's S&P BSE Sensex Index jumped 1.3 percent.

Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent from the close on Nov. 27. U.S. exchanges were closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda helped drive a 47 percent surge in Japan's Topix this year by maintaining monetary easing as he and Prime Minister Abe sought to jolt the nation out of 15 years of deflation. The Topix is the best performing of 24 developed markets tracked by Bloomberg, on course for its biggest annual advance since 1999.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index yesterday rose past 24,000 for the first time since April 2011, before declining 0.1 percent at the close. Equities traded in the city will extend their rally on optimism about China's biggest package of policy changes since the 1990s and a stronger global economy, according to investors from JPMorgan Asset Management to Pictet Asset Management (HK) Ltd.

GrainCorp lost 22 percent to A$8.72, having earlier slumped as much as 26 percent. The bid rejection is the first time a U.S. company has been blocked from buying Australian assets by Treasurer Joe Hockey, according to law firm Minter Ellison. It's a victory for farm groups and country-based National Party members of the ruling coalition who campaigned against the bid.

Ryoyo Electro surged 9.4 percent to 1,103 yen in Tokyo, the most in two years, after operating profit jumped 86 percent.

Ibovespa Futures Rise on Central Bank Tightening Signals

Ibovespa futures advanced, following the stock index's biggest one-day gain in one week, as Brazil's central bank signaled interest-rate increases that began in April may be close to an end.

Iron-ore producer Vale SA (VALE5) may be active after agreeing to pay 22.3 billion reais ($9.6 billion) to settle a tax dispute with Brazil over profits at its foreign units. Meatpacker Minerva SA may move after Russia lifted a ban on beef exports from one of its plants.

Ibovespa futures contracts expiring in December rose 0.8 percent to 52,300 at 9:16 a.m. in Sao Paulo. The real weakened 0.1 percent to 2.3323 per U.S. dollar. In a statement accompanying yesterday's decision to lift the benchmark lending rate for a sixth time this year, policy makers omitted language used in previous communiques to signal that additional increases were needed to curb inflation.

"The slight alteration to the Brazilian monetary policy committee's statement suggests that we are now nearing the end of the current tightening cycle," David Rees, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London, wrote in a note to clients.

The central bank, led by President Alexandre Tombini, raised the Selic rate to 10 percent from 9.5 percent.

The Ibovespa entered a bull market Sept. 9 after rising 20 percent from this year's low on July 3 through that day. The gauge is still down 25 percent in dollar terms this year, compared with a decline of 4.2 percent for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index of 21 developing nations' equities.

Top Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014

Trading volume of stocks in Sao Paulo yesterday was 6.44 billion reais, compared with a daily average of 7.54 billion reais this year through that day, according to data available from the exchange.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014

For an investor who can invest Rs 15,000 per month, Gupta advises investing the amount into insurance, equities and gold. ��uild up a portfolio that is 60% large cap equities, 30% midcap equities and 10% gold,��she said, adding that the amount can be staggered so as to put into different funds.

Gupta�� top picks are Franklin Templeton Blue Chip in the large cap space and ICICI Pru Discovery in the midcap space. ��or gold, you can either use an ETF or a good gold fund,��she said,

Below is an edited transcript of her interview. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: If an investor can invest Rs 15,000 per month and wants to make a crore of rupees at the end of retirement, how should he go about allocating money?

A: The good news is that you have your safe investments in place. You have some allocation to insurance. I would recommend increasing that a little bit. The existing investment will give you about Rs 20-30 lakh.

To meet the balance, you really need to have a more aggressive portfolio when you use this Rs 15000 a month. You need to build up a portfolio that is 60% large cap equities, 30% midcap equities and 10% gold. You can do this by staggering your Rs 15000 into two three funds every month.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in mining, milling, processing, and marketing molybdenum products in the United States and Canada. The company?s principal properties include the Thompson Creek Mine and mill in Idaho; a metallurgical roasting facility in Langeloth, Pennsylvania; and a joint venture interest in the Endako Mine, mill, and roasting facility in British Columbia. It also holds interests in development projects comprising the Davidson molybdenum property and the Berg copper-molybdenum-silver property located in northern British Columbia; the Howard?s Pass property, a lead and zinc project situated in the Yukon territory-northwest territories border; and the Maze Lake property, a gold project located in the Kivalliq district of Nunavut. The company produces molybdenum products, primarily molybdic oxide and ferromolybdenum, as well as soluble technical oxide, pure molybdenum tri-oxide, and high purity molybdenum disulfide. As o f December 31, 2010, its consolidated recoverable proven and probable ore reserves totaled 462.2 million pounds of contained molybdenum in the Thompson Creek Mine and the Endako Mine. The company was formerly known as Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. and changed its name to Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. in May 2007. Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. is based in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Beaten-down companies that you think are likely to recover strongly are also good candidates. Molybdenum miner Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE: TC  ) , for example, sports average annual losses of 35% over the past five years, and carries substantial debt, but molybdenum's long-term outlook is promising, with price increases likely, and the company has a promising gold and copper mine on track to start producing by the end of the year. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) is another major molybdenum player, with considerable operations in other metals, as well -- along with new investments in oil and gas production.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  The stock market liked what it heard Wednesday, August 7, from Thompson Creek Metals (TC) after the close in New York. Second quarter adjusted net earnings of 8 cents a share crushed the Wall Street consensus of a penny a share. Revenue climbed 3.8% to $117.8 million versus expectations for revenue of just $1.3.8 million. The company also said that its new Mt. Milligan mine is on schedule with a start-up for the concentrator expected this month, with first ore-feed by mid-August. The company said it expects commercial production to begin in the fourth quarter of 2013, with production ramping to full capacity over the next twelve months.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc. (NYSE: TC) was at 54% discount to its book value of $8.30 per share at the time, and the stock price of $3.90 is up from $3.03 Deutsche Bank’s team nailed upside of more than 28% here. Its price target was $4 at the time versus a consensus target of $4.50 at the time. The 52-week range here is $2.42 to $4.55, but we would point out that the consensus price target is $3.93.

10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

New Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of mineral properties. The company primarily explore for gold, silver, and copper deposits. Its operating properties include the Mesquite gold mine in the United States; the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in Mexico; and the Peak gold-copper mine in Australia. The company also has development projects, including the New Afton gold, silver, and copper project in Canada; and a 30% interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile. The company was formerly known as DRC Resources Corporation and changed its name to New Gold Inc. in June 2005. New Gold Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Even bad news has failed to dent the rise in gold stocks today. NewGold (NGD), for instance, has gained 1.8% to $7.49 despite the fact that the wall of one of its mines collapsed. The Wall Street Journal has the details:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Bridges favorite stocks include Goldcorp, Newmont, Eldorado Gold (EGO) and New Gold (NGD).

  Note, however, that these recommendations are all qualified in one way or another. Investors should keep that in mind before going all in on the gold miners.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  One group of stocks not feeling the optimism today: Gold miners. With fewer concerns that a U.S. attack on Syria will be disruptive and more evidence that tapering will begin this month, the price of the precious metal has dropped 1.6% to $1,388.90 an ounce–and gold stocks are falling with it. New Gold (NGD), for one, has dropped 3% to $6.55, while Barrick Gold (ABX) has fallen 1.3% to $19.25.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  )
  It's simple physics: The bigger they are, the harder they fall. When gold prices nosedived earlier this week, gold miners with historically higher operating costs took the brunt of the hit. For the most part, that meant that development-stage miners, and those operating in Africa, where labor and political costs make cost-effective mining a challenge, took it on the chin. Possibly no stock was hammered more than Golden Star Resources, a gold miner in Ghana, which lost about one-quarter of its value on Monday alone.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Clash of the titans
  When bears are raging on the gold bullion market, it's not surprising to see gold stocks getting mauled as well. Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  ) was the biggest loser in the sector, losing a quarter of its market cap on no company-specific news, though a report last Friday indicated that a large number of hedge funds had recently dumped their positions in the mid-tier miner. Yet it wasn't all that much better among the majors, either, as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) fell almost 13% and Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC  ) was down 14%.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Newmont Mining Corporation(Holding Company)

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

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Claude Resources Inc.(CGR)

Claude Resources Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal properties, as well as production and marketing of minerals in Canada. It primarily explores for gold in northern Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario. The company holds interests in the Seabee gold mine located at Laonil Lake, northern Saskatchewan; and the Madsen property that consists of 6 contiguous claim blocks totaling approximately 10,000 acres, located in the Red Lake Mining District of northwestern Ontario. It also holds interest in the Amisk Gold project, which covers an area of 13,800 hectares in the province of Saskatchewan. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Putnam]

  The second factor working in gold stocks��favor is that analysts are growing optimistic again. Yesterday, HSBC put out a bullish note on gold and upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Yamana Gold (AUY), Barrick Gold, Iamgold (IAG), and Goldcorp. Most gold stocks are ranked ��old��or ��uy��(as opposed to ��trong Buy�� by the majority of analysts, meaning that there�� plenty of room for continued positive news flow on this front.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: CME Group Inc.(CME)

CME Group Inc. operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX regulatory exchanges worldwide. The company provides a range of products available across various asset classes, including futures and options on interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, foreign exchange, weather, and real estate. It offers various products that provide a means of hedging, speculation, and asset allocation relating to the risks associated with interest rate sensitive instruments, equity ownership, changes in the value of foreign currency, credit risk, and changes in the prices of commodities. CME Group owns and operates clearing house, CME Clearing, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and counter derivatives transactions; and also engages in real estate operations. Its primary trade execution facilities consist of its CME Globex electronic trading platform and open outcry trading floors, as well as privately negotiated transact ions that are cleared and settled through its clearing house. In addition, the company offers market data services comprising live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as involves in index services business. CME Group?s customer base includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, and governments. It has strategic partnerships with BM&FBOVESPA S.A., Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Singapore Exchange Limited, Green Exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V., as well as joint venture agreement with Dow Jones & Company. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Monday

  Earnings Releases Expected: Black Hills Corporation (NYSE: BKH), CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), Leapfrog Enterprises (NYSE: LF), Hill International, Inc. (NYSE: HIL) Economic Releases Expected: eurozone manufacturing PMI, British construction PMI, US factory orders, Chinese services PMI, Indian services PMI

  Tuesday

• [By Sue Chang]

  CME (CME) �is projected to report third-quarter earnings of 73 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  We re-established an investment in CME Group, Inc. (CME) during the period. CME is the largest and most diversified derivatives marketplace in the U.S. Its exchanges support trading across a variety of asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, foreign exchange and metals. We believe CME has the opportunity to significantly accelerate its growth rates due to the eventual normalization of interest rates and the attendant interest rate volatility. CME's interest rate trading volumes (ADV) have been depressed as a result of the Fed's zero interest rate policy and low interest rate volatility. For example, interest rate ADV was 4.8 million in 2012compared to 7.1 million in 2007, before the financial crisis. However, given the Fed's recent policy statements (discussed above), market participants are starting to anticipate an end to quantitative easing (QE). On May 30, CME experienced record volume for interest rate derivatives with ADV of 19.4 million. With the globalization of CME's business, a host of new products, and the regulatory requirement for interest rate swaps to be cleared on an exchange, we believe CME's interest rate volumes can surpass their prior peak, significantly driving earnings growth for the company.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Putnam]

  The second factor working in gold stocks��favor is that analysts are growing optimistic again. Yesterday, HSBC put out a bullish note on gold and upgraded Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Yamana Gold (AUY), Barrick Gold, Iamgold (IAG), and Goldcorp. Most gold stocks are ranked ��old��or ��uy��(as opposed to ��trong Buy�� by the majority of analysts, meaning that there�� plenty of room for continued positive news flow on this front.

• [By Michael Blair]

  IAMGOLD (IAG) is one of my favorite gold stocks principally because it is a relatively high cost producer with long lived mines. That paradox arises since high cost producers have the most volatility when gold prices change. If they are operating close to break even, a relatively small rise in gold prices makes them quite profitable. Conversely, when prices fall they bleed all over the floor.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) might specialize in a precious metal, but it's continuing to pay its dividend in hard currency. The company has declared its latest semi-annual distribution at $0.125 per share of its common stock.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Own For 2014: Goldcorp Incorporated(GG)

Goldcorp Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of precious metal properties in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc. The company was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  With the price of gold cooling off over the last week, the roller-coaster ride for both the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) and for big miners like Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) , Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) , and Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM  ) is in full effect, and the rush back to gold seems over. A drop in demand would normally signal the end of a trend, but Dennis Gartman of "The Gartman Letter" urges us to think about gold in a new light 芒�� as a currency.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  Gold spiked higher yesterday on news of more violence in the Middle East and an afternoon tumble in the dollar. Gold for December delivery is up 2.34% to $1364 an ounce. Gold stocks are up even more. Jubak's Picks portfolio members Goldcorp (GG) and Yamana Gold (AUY), for example, were up 5.94% and 5.55%, respectively, as of 2:45 PM New York time.

• [By idahansen]

  The exchange traded fund for gold, SPDR Gold Shares, is up for the last week, month, and quarter of market action. It is the much the same story for the exchange traded fund for silver, iShares Silver Trust. There is also a bullish outlook for publicly traded companies in the sector such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX), Wishbone Gold PLC (PINK: WISHY), and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG).

Market Wrap-Up for Nov. 25 – Thou Shalt Always Reinvest Dividends

For many investors, dividends serve an important purpose as a source of stable income, especially for those individuals near or in retirement. But for all other investors, dividends can and should be a tremendous tool to compound wealth over a long timeframe. Whether you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s, investors need to remember to utilize a dividend investing strategy, even if it is often plagued with a “boring” stigma. It won’t be so boring when you’re financially well off in your 60s, 70s, and beyond.

In The Ten Commandments of Dividend Investing, the number two commandment states “Thou Shalt Always Reinvest Dividends.” As the post points out, when investors reinvest their dividends, letting their money work for them, it results in compounding returns that exponentially increase over a long timeframe. In contrast, focusing on growth stocks with seemingly substantial capital gains will limit the amount of wealth that is built up, making it that much harder for investors to adequately save for retirement.

For example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has returned 59.39% over 10 years. At face value, that seems quite reasonable, but when accounting for reinvested dividends, the Dow Jones Industrial Average returns 105.45% over 10 years – almost doubling the gains. As the timeframe expands, the difference between capital gains and total return (capital gains plus reinvested dividends) becomes even more drastic, proving that reinvesting your dividends remains the best way to build wealth over the long-run. Read more about how reinvested and compounding dividends can work for you.

DRIPs

Ideally, dividend-focused investors should enroll in a Dividend Reinvestment Plan to make the dividend reinvestment process that much easier. Whether it is directly through the corporation issuing your stock or a broker sponsored DRIP, these reinvestment plans will allow an almost seamless process for reinvesting dividends, without the extra broker commission fees. For more, see Everything Investors Need to Know About DRIPs.

The Bottom Line

As I said from the start, reinvesting dividends is not a strategy for everyone. If you are an investor that relies on your dividend payouts as income, then by all means stick to your plan. But for all others that are investing in the stock market as a way to ensure financial prosperity in your golden years, reinvesting your dividends will make that goal much easier. Hopefully, you will have executed your plan successfully so that by the time you reach retirement you will have built enough wealth that you can switch your dividend strategy and live off the sizable dividend payouts as your main source of income.

Today in the Markets

Despite rising early, the major indices saw some choppy trading action before a late-day decline, ultimately finishing about flat.

Dividend stocks posting solid gains today included Footlocker (FL), RR Donnelly (RRD

Three Companies that Reported Surging Earnings This Week

On Tuesday The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, reported a 7.4 percent increase in sales to $19.5 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Net earnings for the third quarter were $1.4 billion, or $0.95 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $947 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2012. The prior year results reflect a nonrecurring charge of approximately $165 million, net of tax, or $0.11 per diluted share, due to the closing of seven stores in China. On an adjusted basis, the Company reported a 28.4 percent increase in diluted earnings per share from the same period in the prior year.

"Our third quarter results reflect the continuing improvement in the housing market and our solid operational performance," said Frank Blake, chairman & CEO. "I would like to thank our associates for their hard work and dedication."

The Company raised its fiscal 2013 sales guidance and now expects sales to be up approximately 5.6 percent. The Company raised its fiscal 2013 diluted earnings-per-share guidance and now expects diluted earnings per share to be up approximately 24.0 percent to $3.72 for the year up 24% from $3.00 in 2012.

The stock price fell $0.65 on Friday to close at $79.18.

Also on Tuesday La-Z-Boy Incorporated reported its operating results for the fiscal 2014 second quarter ended October 26, 2013. Sales for the fiscal 2014 second quarter were $366.4 million, up 13.7% compared with the prior year's second quarter. Net income attributable to La-Z-Boy Incorporated of $16.7 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, were more than double 2012 second-quarter results of $6.6 million, or $0.12 per diluted share.

Kurt L. Darrow, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of La-Z-Boy, said, " We believe our positive sales trajectory is indicative of continued market share gains, and with the strength of the La‑Z‑Boy brand, our vast distribution network and our lean manufacturing structure, we are well pos! itioned for future profitable growth."

La‑Z‑Boy closed up $0.22 on Friday at $28.57.

On Wednesday, L-Brands reported 2013 third quarter results and increased its 2013 full-year earnings guidance. Net sales increased 6% to $2.171 billion. Third quarter operating income was $211.0 million compared to adjusted operating income of $197.4 million last year. Earnings per share for the third quarter ended Nov. 2, 2013 increased 19% to $0.31 compared to adjusted earnings per share of $0.26 for the third quarter ended Oct. 27, 2012.

The company dominates the intimates apparel and lingerie markets owning both Victoria's Secret and La Senza. Despite what is expected to be a tough environment, commentators expect L-Brands to continue to benefit from a strong attachment to customers with their customers helping to generate loyalty and insulate them from the difficult trading environment.

The company stated that it expects fourth quarter earnings of $1.67 to $1.82 per share and full year 2013 earnings per share of $3.07 to $3.22 up from $2.54 in 2012.

L-Brands closed down $0.84 at $63.94.

The author of this article is a blogger at SurgingEarnings

Risk Disclaimer: This article does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell. Investing in stocks or other securities and derivatives is a high risk activity and not suitable for everyone. It is advised that individuals should consult with their investment advisor prior to making any investment decisions. The above report includes information from third party web sites and the author cannot guarantee its accuracy, completeness or timeliness. It is strongly advised that all readers complete their own thorough research and analysis.

Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any of the above stocks and has no intention to initiate any in the next 72 hours.

Currently 5.00/512345 Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes)

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Friday Links

Hot Heal Care Companies To Invest In Right Now

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -

A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links. Design/Data viz Information Design | Collection of graphics made by catalogtree MLB team values | Interactive visualization showing franchise valuations Bible visualized | Series of images that display different ways to visualize the Bible Pixelstick | Evolved light painting Newark map | T.J.S. Landis' birdseye map of Newark, New Jersey in 1895. Car Mode | A Plea For iPhones To Have A Safer "Car Mode" Photo/Video Why I Study Physics | Graduate film project from Xiangjun Shi Dietrich Wegner | Smoke plume tree houses and homes on stilts by artist Beauty of Mathematics | A triptych showing how code translates to math and function Minorville Cover Reveal | Process video showing how the cover was made Code WebGL Shaders | Video tutorial by Twitter University Topcoat | CSS for clean and fast web apps See last week's links Have a nice weekend! @dubly and @talyellin

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Canadian stocks rose for the eighth time in nine days, capping the benchmark index (SPTSX)�� third straight weekly gain, as energy producers and miners rallied amid higher commodity prices.

Trilogy Energy Corp. surged 8.3 percent to lead gas companies higher after a report said China Petrochemical Corp. plans to sell half its stake in two shale gas blocks in Canada. Centerra Gold Inc. jumped 4.2 percent to pace gains among gold miners. CGI Group Inc., the designer of the website for the new U.S. health-care exchanges, fell 0.8 percent amid blame for software snags on the portal.

The Standard & Poor��/TSX Composite Index rose 74.66 points, or 0.6 percent, to 13,399.42 at 4 p.m. in Toronto. The gauge rallied 2 percent in the past five days, the biggest weekly gain since July. It�� risen 4.8 percent in October, poised for its best month in two years.

��here�� been a nice uptick in some of the material names,��said Matt Skipp, chief investment officer with Sw8 Asset Management Inc. in Toronto. The firm manages about C$54 million ($52 million). ��eople are looking for places to put money, and Canada is hanging on the positive side at the moment.��

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bank Of Montreal (BMO)

Bank of Montreal, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and solutions in North America and internationally. It offers personal banking products and services to consumers and small businesses, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, small business lending, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services to small business, medium-sized enterprise, and mid-market banking clients comprising lending, deposits, treasury management, and risk management services. The company also offers cards and payments services; investment and wealth advisory services; self-directed investing services; private banking services to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients; investment fund solutions across a range of channels; pension plans; investment management services; and creditor insurance, and life insurance and annuity products and services. In add ition, it provides capital markets products and services, including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and recapitalizations, balance sheet management, liquidity management, merchant banking, securitization, foreign exchange, derivatives, debt and equity research, and institutional sales and trading to corporate, institutional, and government clients. As of October 31, 2010, Bank of Montreal operated and maintained approximately 1,230 bank branches in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC  ) Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo's (NYSE: WFC  ) Securities unit, KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY  ) subsidiary KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Bank of Montreal's (NYSE: BMO  ) BMO Capital Markets are the joint book-running managers of the issue.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On Wednesday, Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO  ) will release its latest quarterly results. With a solid reputation as a strong Canadian financial institution, the bank has benefited from superior conditions in the Canadian economy over the past several years, avoiding much of the trouble that U.S. banks suffered during the financial crisis in 2008.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nexen Inc.(NXY)

Nexen Inc. operates as an independent energy company worldwide. The company?s Conventional Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces crude oil and natural gas from conventional sources. This segment operates in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, and offshore West Africa, Colombia, and Yemen. Nexen?s Oil Sands segment develops and produces synthetic crude oil from the Athabasca oil sands in northern Alberta. The company?s Shale Gas segment explores for and produces unconventional gas from shale formations in northeastern British Columbia. Nexen Inc. was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Best Heal Care Companies To Watch In Right Now: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company, through its subsidiaries, provides retail, commercial, and corporate banking services primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Community Banking; Wholesale Banking; and Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement. The Community Banking segment offers deposits, including checking, market rate, and individual retirement accounts; savings and time deposits; and debit cards. Its loan products comprise lines of credit, auto floor plans, equity lines and loans, equipment and transportation loans, education loans, residential mortgage loans, health savings accounts, and credit cards. This segment also provides equipment leases, real estate financing, small business administration financing, venture capital financing, cash management, payroll services, retirement plans, loans secured by autos, and merchant payment processing services; purchases sales finance contracts from retail merchants; and a family of funds, and investment managemen t services. The Wholesale Banking segment offers commercial and corporate banking products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, letters of credit, asset-based lending, equipment leasing, international trade facilities, trade financing, collection services, foreign exchange services, treasury and investment management, institutional fixed-income sales, commodity and equity risk management, insurance, corporate trust fiduciary and agency services, and investment banking services. This segment also provides banking products for commercial real estate market, and real estate and mortgage brokerage services. The Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement segment offers financial advisory, brokerage, and institutional retirement and trust services. As of December 31, 2010, the company served its customers through approximately 9,000 banking stores in 39 States and the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in San Franci sco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  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.

• [By Reuters]

  Justin Sullivan/Getty Images RICHMOND, Calif. -- Richmond, Calif.'s leaders approved Wednesday morning a plan for the city to become the first in the nation to acquire mortgages with negative equity in a bid to keep local residents in their homes. The power of 'eminent domain' allows governments to seize private property for a public purpose. Critics say the plan threatens the market for private-label mortgage-backed securities. Richmond's city council voted 4 to 3 for Mayor Gayle McLaughlin's proposal for city staff to work more closely with Mortgage Resolution Partners to put the plan crafted by the investor group for the city to work. Richmond can now invoke eminent domain if trusts for more than 620 delinquent and performing "underwater" mortgages reject offers made by the city to buy the loans at deep discount pegged to their properties' current appraised prices to refinance them and reduce their principal. A mortgage is under water when its unpaid balance is greater than its property's market value. Mortgage Resolution Partners has failed to get similar plans approved by local governments elsewhere -- most recently in North Las Vegas, Nev., and earlier this year in San Bernardino County in Southern California -- as the mortgage industry and local real estate businesses rallied against them. But in Richmond, Mortgage Resolution Partners found an ally in a Wall Street-bashing Green Party mayor of one of the San Francisco region's poorest cities who sees working with the investor group to acquire mortgages as a public purpose if it makes the loans more affordable, averts foreclosures and alleviates blight. Richmond's residents have been "badly harmed by this housing crisis," McLaughlin said, defending the plan and partnership with Mortgage Resolution Partners during an often contentious city council meeting that began Tuesday evening and ended early Wednesday morning. "Too many have already lost their homes." City council members opposed to the pl

• [By Jay Jenkins]

  JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) reported a Basel III ratio of 8.9% for Q1, an improvement from Q4's 8.7%. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) has been aggressively reducing its risk-weighted assets, which has sent its Basel III capital ratio skyrocketing from 7.95% in Q2 2012 to 9.52% in Q1 2013. Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) reported a 9.3% ratio, and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) reported 8.39%.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nu Skin Enterprises Inc.(NUS)

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. develops and distributes anti-aging personal care products and nutritional supplements worldwide. The company sells its personal care products under the Nu Skin brand; and nutritional supplements under the Pharmanex brand. Its personal care product line includes core systems, targeted treatments, total care, cosmetic, and Epoch, a product formulated with botanical ingredients. The company?s nutritional supplements product line comprises micronutrient supplements, targeted solution supplements, and weight management products. It also sells Vitameal, which are nutritious meal products for starving children or purchased for personal food storage. In addition, the company offers other products and services consisting of digital content storage, water purifiers, and other household products. It sells its products primarily through a network of independent distributors in north Asia, the Americas, Greater China, Europe, and the south Asia/Pacific. The c ompany also operates retail stores to sell its products in China. As of December 31, 2010, Nu Skin Enterprises operated 40 stores throughout China. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Provo, Utah.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE: NUS  ) were looking refreshed today, gaining as much as 14% today after the company lifted its guidance significantly for the current quarter and full year.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS) is a direct selling company, which develops and distributes personal care products and nutritional supplements that are sold under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands. This stock closed up 5.4% at $92.96 in Monday's trading session.

  Monday's Volume: 2 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 900,802
  
  Volume % Change: 85%

  From a technical perspective, NUS ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $85 with heavy upside volume. This move pushed shares of NUS into breakout and new 52-week-high territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $88.20 to $89.69. This move also pushed shares of NUS above the upper-end of its recent range that saw the stock trend between $82 to just above $89.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in NUS as long as it's trending above support at $85 and then once it sustains a move or close above Monday's high of $93.33 with volume that this near or above 900,802 shares. If we get that move soon, then NUS will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $100 to $105.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MicroFinancial Incorporated(MFI)

Microfinancial Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialized commercial finance company that provides microticket equipment leasing and rental, and other financing services in the United States. The company provides financing alternatives, and leases and rents commercial equipment to start-up and established businesses for use in their daily operations. It leases water filtration systems, food service equipment, security equipment, point-of-sale cash registers, salon equipment, health care and fitness equipment, and automotive equipment. The company primarily sources its originations through a network of independent equipment vendors, sales organizations, and other dealer-based origination networks. Microfinancial Incorporated was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Gerrit De Vynck]

  Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI), the Canadian producer of foods from hamburgers to frozen pasta, has drawn bids for its bread unit from Grupo Bimbo SAB, Flowers Foods Inc. (FLO) and several private-equity firms, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Weatherford International Ltd(WFT)

Weatherford International Ltd. provides equipment and services used in the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. It offers artificial lift systems, which include reciprocating rod lift systems, progressing cavity pumps, gas lift systems, hydraulic lift systems, plunger lift systems, hybrid lift systems, wellhead systems, and multiphase metering systems. The company also provides drilling services, including directional drilling, ?Secure Drilling? services, well testing, drilling-with-casing and drilling-with-liner systems, and surface logging systems; and well construction services, such as tubular running services, cementing products, liner systems, swellable products, solid tubular expandable technologies, and inflatable products and accessories. In addition, it designs and manufactures drilling jars, underreamers, rotating control devices, and other pressure-control equipment used in drilling oil and nat ural gas wells; and offers a selection of in-house or third-party manufactured equipment for the drilling, completion, and work over of oil and natural gas wells for operators and drilling contractors, as well as a line of completion tools and sand screens. Further, the company provides wireline and evaluation services; and re-entry, fishing, and thru-tubing services, as well as well abandonment and wellbore cleaning services; stimulation and chemicals, including fracturing and coiled tubing technologies, cement services, chemical systems, and drilling fluids; integrated drilling services; and pipeline and specialty services. It serves independent oil and natural gas producing companies. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Weatherford International (WFT) has dropped 6.3% to $14.75 before the open of trading after it announced the departure of its CFO in an 8-K filing. Wells Fargo and Raymond James both cut Weatherford’s shares as a result of the change.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Airgas Inc.(ARG)

Airgas, Inc., through its subsidiaries, distributes industrial, medical, and specialty gases, as well as hardgoods in the United States. The company offers various gases, including nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, and hydrogen; welding and fuel gases, such as acetylene, propylene, and propane; and carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ultra high purity grades, special application blends, and process chemicals. Its hardgoods products comprise welding consumables and equipment, safety products, and construction supplies, as well as maintenance, repair, and operating supplies. The company also engages in the rental of gas cylinders, cryogenic liquid containers, bulk storage tanks, tube trailers, and welding and welding related equipment. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes liquid carbon dioxide, dry ice, nitrous oxide, ammonia, refrigerant gases, and atmospheric merchant gases. It serves repair and maintenance, industrial manufacturing, energy and infrastructure co nstruction, medical, petrochemical, food and beverage, retail and wholesale, analytical, utilities, and transportation industries. The company operates an integrated network of approximately 1100 locations, including branches, retail stores, packaged gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities, and distribution centers. Additionally, it provides retail solutions to retail customers, such as florists, grocers, restaurants and bars, tire and automotive service centers, and others. The company markets its products through multiple sales channels, including branch-based sales representatives, retail stores, strategic customer account programs, telesales, catalogs, e-business, and independent distributors. Airgas, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Airgas (NYSE: ARG) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.22 per share on revenue of $1.28 billion.

  The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.55 per share on revenue of $21.68 billion.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior S.A. (BLX)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

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

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Information Services Group Inc.(III)

Information Services Group, Inc. operates as a fact-based sourcing advisory company principally in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It provides strategic consulting, benchmarking and analytics, managed services, and research services with a focus on information technology, business process transformation, and enterprise resource planning. The company serves financial services, telecom, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, transportation and travel, and energy and utilities industries; and state and local governments and airport and transit authorities. Information Services Group, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Research in Motion Limited(RIMM)

Research In Motion Limited (RIM) designs, manufactures, and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. The company, through the development of integrated hardware, software, and services, provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information, including email, phone, short messaging service, and Internet and Intranet-based applications and browsing. Its products and services principally comprise the BlackBerry wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld product line, software development tools, and other software and hardware. The company?s BlackBerry smartphones use wireless, push-based technology that delivers data to mobile users? business and consumer applications. Its BlackBerry smartphone portfolio includes BlackBerry Bold series, the BlackBerry Torch, BlackBerry Curve series, the BlackBerry Style, BlackBerry Storm series, the BlackBerry Tour, BlackBerry Pearl series, and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. T he company?s BlackBerry enterprise solutions comprise BlackBerry enterprise server, BlackBerry enterprise server express, BlackBerry mobile voice system, and hosted BlackBerry services. Its technology also enables third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services through software development kits, wireless connectivity to data, and third-party support programs. In addition, the company offers BlackBerry technical support services, non-warranty repairs, and nonrecurring engineering services. Further, it provides BlackBerry App World that offers BlackBerry smartphone users an electronic catalogue that aids in the discovery and download/purchase of applications directly from their BlackBerry smartphone. The company markets and sells its BlackBerry wireless solutions primarily through global wireless communications carriers, and third party distribution channels. Research In Motion Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canad a.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Trustamind]

  Technology is disruptive. It changes everyone�� daily life. But it also may cause unpleasant financial consequences to investors. Technology brings dramatic economic growth which is, unfortunately, less predictable. In Buffett�� own words when asked in the interview if he would buy other tech companies: �� look at everything but most things I decide I can't figure out their future.��For some examples, just look at Research In Motion (RIMM) versus Apple (AAPL), Yahoo! (YHOO) versus Google (GOOG), and Kodak versus all the other digital camera makers. The last one is especially ironic because it is Kodak that invented the digital camera in the first place.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  If an idea doubles within a year, the contestant will win more. This month, GuruFocus is awarding author Jean-Francois Nobert (Ecotycoon) $1,000 for his idea, Research In Motion (RIMM), which doubled since he submitted in July.

• [By Trustamind]

  It pays to distinguish between stocks and productive assets. Some companies, such as Research In Motion (RIMM), generate diminishing returns. They belong to productive assets but certainly not good ones. As a result, their stock prices --- the value of the asset --- kept falling.

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  This is an important question because you may have in mind that you have a lot of faith in Apple right now. That faith may be well founded. But if you have little faith in Apple four or five or six years out ��do you really think you will be the first to spot the company's loss of leadership? Think about how quickly companies like Nokia (NOK) and Research In Motion (RIMM) saw their P/E ratios contract when investors realized just how far they were behind the competition. Do you really think you will be fast enough to spot a change in Apple's position? It�� not enough to see the writing on the wall. You have to see it faster than everyone else. You have to sell before they do.

Dow Tops 16,000, but Pandora, GameStop, and Target All Fall

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

Stocks finally notched a win today after three straight afternoon slumps, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) held on to the 16,000 mark for the first time, closing at 16,009 after a gain of 109 points, or 0.7%.

A strong initial unemployment claims report boosted stocks in the morning, as new filings totaled just 323,000 last week, below estimates of 333,000, and last week's tally at 344,000. The number helps confirm last month's strong jobs report as well as other recent economic data that has shown an improving economy. Later, investors cheered news that Fed Chair nominee Janet Yellen had cleared the first hurdle in her confirmation, getting approval from the Senate Banking Committee, which paves the way for a full Senate vote for confirmation after Thanksgiving. Markets have soared this year on loose monetary policy, which Yellen has indicated would continue under her stewardship.

Stocks making news late today included Pandora Media (NYSE: P  ) , whose shares were off 2% after hours following its earnings report. The Internet DJ said revenue jumped 50%, to $181.6 million, beating estimates of $175.6 million, and that the sales increase came on just a 17% gain in listening hours. This indicates that the company is successfully monetizing its audience, as CEO Brian McAndrews said. Improving mobile revenue, which now makes up nearly 60% of total sales, is also increasing operating leverage, he added. Subscription revenue was up 156% to $37.2 million, another bright spot for the company. Adjusted earnings per share was $0.06, in line with estimates, while EPS guidance for the next three months was $0.02-$0.04. Analysts had projected an EPS of $0.04. Pandora shares have soared this year as the company has taken significant steps toward profitability, continued to grow revenue at a brisk pace, and recently staved off a threat from Apple's iTunes Radio. Today's sell-off may simply be a reflection of the heavy share appreciation that's already occurred.

Earlier in the day, GameStop (NYSE: GME  ) shares sold off 6.9% after investors were dismayed by the video game retailer's guidance. GameStop actually had a great quarter, with same-store sales increasing 20.5% on the strength of Grand Theft Auto V sales, and it beat estimates on both top and bottom lines. However, in the all-important holiday quarter, which is especially big this year because Sony and Microsoft have new consoles coming out, GameStop's forecast was light. The company sees EPS in the fourth quarter of $1.97-$2.14, below the analyst consensus at $2.15.

Finally, Target (NYSE: TGT  ) shares ended the day down 3.5% adding its name to the list of big-box retailers expecting a lump of coal for Christmas. The all-and-sundry retailer said a significant loss on its expansion into Canada put a dent into earnings, as the company finished the quarter with a profit of just $0.54, below expectations of $0.63. Target began opening stores north of the border this year, and expects to have 124 operating by the end of the year, so perhaps an early loss is expected as the company builds out new locations and invests in marketing. In the U.S., comps improved slightly, by 0.9%, and the company is now eyeing a profit of just $1.26 for the fourth quarter, below estimates of $1.45. Despite the current loss from Canadian operations, the expansion should prove accretive to profits over the long term.

Get ahead of the game
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Apple, chips weigh on techs; Groupon rallies

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Shares of Apple and semiconductor companies slipped, weighing down the tech sector Friday, even as Groupon and Hewlett-Packard rallied.

Apple (AAPL)  shed 0.5% to close at $520.03 as the company's new iPad Air hit the stores. Chip stocks also retreated, led by Intel Corp. (INTC) , Texas Instruments (TXN) , Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and SanDisk (SNDK) .

On the upside, H-P (HPQ)  rose 6.4% to close at $25.92, while Groupon (GRPN)  jumped 8.7% to close at $9.93.

Click to Play Sony's market value falls about $2 billion

Sony's weak results may lead to renewed calls from investors to split off part of its entertainment business. The WSJ's Yun-Hee Kim and Juro Osawa discuss what's next and which products Sony is placing its bets on.

Groupon unveiled a revamped website in a bid to transition from being mainly an online daily deals site to an online market place. The company also introduced updated versions of its smartphone apps.

Shares of Facebook (FB)  surrendered earlier gains, slipping nearly 1% to close at $49.75, as the stock remained volatile following its third-quarter report on Wednesday. Facebook blew past Wall Street estimates, but then rattled investors with comments about signs of declining teen usage and its plan not to ramp up newsfeed ads.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP)  eked out a 0.1% gain to close at 3,922. The benchmark ended the week down 0.5%. The Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH)  was also up a fraction, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)  fell 0.3%.

Ulta Salon and Sally Beauty: 2 Stocks That Can Add Shine to Your Portfolio

Some companies in the beauty and personal care segment have one important characteristic -- a recession-proof nature, which is a result of everyone's desire to look beautiful and young. This brings us to Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (NASDAQ: ULTA  ) and Sally Beauty Holdings (NYSE: SBH  ) . Both have performed quite well over the last few years, as shown in the chart below, even during the recession (the gray area being the recession period). Their performance stands in stark contrast to that of Regis (NYSE: RGS  ) , which has seen its top line drop continuously after peaking in 2008.

ULTA Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts

Ulta Salon and Sally Beauty have demonstrated "recession-proof" capabilities, with Ulta Salon being the star performer with more than 224% growth in revenue compared with around 47% for Sally Beauty, shown in the chart above. Regis has been the laggard among its peers.

The U.S. prestige beauty market grew 6% during from September 2012 to August 2013 according to the NPD Group . The prestige segment continues to outperform all other segments in the beauty industry as a result of strong innovation and solid demand, particularly in skin care.

Ulta's beautiful performance
Ulta Salon has been cashing in on the segment's growth through expansions of its prestige brand boutiques for major flagship lines such as Clinique and Lancome, which have gone down well with customers. These boutiques helped drive revenue higher in Ulta's second quarter. Ulta also reported an 8.4% increase in same-store sales, which includes e-commerce sales that were up 72% versus the same period a year ago.

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Ulta Salon generated second quarter revenue of $601 million, up 24.8% as compared to the same quarter a year ago, comfortably beating consensus estimates of $588.4 million. This was also more than its own guidance of $579 million to $589 million. Net income rose 28.3% to $44.9 million. Diluted earnings per share rose 29.6% versus the year-ago quarter to $0.70 per share . Ulta Salon also issued an upbeat forecast for the remainder of the year.

Ulta Salon will be launching several new brands that have strong followings and unique brand personalities. This includes IT Cosmetics, Jamie Kern Lima's award-winning line of color cosmetics infused with anti-aging technology, and Meaningful Beauty's skincare system, Cindy Crawford's brand developed in partnership with Dr. Sebagh, a renowned anti-aging expert.

Ulta Salon has also been working on expanding its customer base. In the second quarter, its loyalty program grew to 12 million active members, up 19% from a year earlier . This is good for the long run as Ulta will have more customers coming in to its stores at regular intervals.

Ulta Salon's value offerings, marketing initiatives, introduction of new products, and increasing focus on Ulta.com and brands will continue to play a key role in augmenting its overall business going forward. The company opened 33 stores in the second quarter, thus bringing its total store count to 609, and expects to have 675 stores by the year end. The company's long-term guidance is to grow its square footage by 15% to 20% a year .

Sally Beauty's efficiency
While Ulta might be the star performer when it comes to growth, Sally Beauty outshines its peers when it comes to operating efficiency. Sally Beauty leads the pack with a 14.18% operating margin for the trailing twelve months, which surpasses Ulta's 12.48%, as shown in the chart below. In addition, Sally Beauty, like Ulta, has been delivering solid top-line growth consistently.

ULTA Operating Margin (TTM) data by YCharts

Sally increased its gross margin by about 530 basis points from 44.2% in 2003 to 49.5% in 2012, which is a strong indicator of its pricing power. However, Sally has a problem with lower, non-Beauty Club Card (customers not covered by its loyalty program) traffic in its U.S. stores. This resulted in a minuscule 0.7% increase in comps, as a result of which its revenue grew by a mere 2.8% year over year .

Going forward, Sally sees the potential to double the number of its non-U.S. stores to approximately 1,500. In particular, Sally considers Europe and Canada to be key growth markets. In addition, with just about 7.2 million Sally Beauty Club Card members, there's potential for improvement here if we look at Ulta's total of 12 million members and the fact that Sally was able to double its number of members in a span of four years.

Regis in trouble
The 0.7% comps growth at Sally looks better when one considers the dire straits that Regis is in. Since its top line peaked in fiscal 2008 at $2.7 billion, Regis' revenues have fallen by more than 35% to less $2 billion as shown in the first chart. Regis also incurred losses in fiscal 2011 and 2012.

Regis is trying to turn around through certain initiatives. For example, it introduced the SuperSalon point-of-sale system to gain insight into customer retention and staff productivity. Secondly, Regis is working on a visual merchandising strategy in its stores to improve the look of its salons and for that it created standardized Plan‐O‐Grams. Lastly, it adopted certain cost cutting measures like management restructuring and cutting down on unnecessary travel.

Takeaway
However, with a P/E ratio of close to 30 Regis is quite expensive, especially considering that the better-performing Sally Beauty has a P/E ratio of around 18. However, the best pick in this space looks to be Ulta Salon. Some might say that the company is expensive at 44 times earnings, but strong earnings growth is expected in the future. As a result, the forward P/E of Ulta comes down to 31, with analysts expecting earnings to grow at an annual rate of 23.5% for the next five years. That means Ulta Salon is the premium pick in this segment.

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Investing in TIPS with Less Risk

Funds that invest in Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, were supposed to be insulated from big bond market selloffs. At least that's what a lot of investors thought. Even in 2008, a miserable year for most investment categories, the Barclays U.S. TIPS index lost only 2.4%.

See Also: Floating-Rate Notes Are Treasury's New Option for Savers

Then came the bond market's recent mini-meltdown. The TIPS index tumbled 7.1% in the second quarter. That was almost five percentage points worse than the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond index, a measure of the overall investment-grade portion of the market. A lot of investors have responded to that unexpected drubbing by yanking money out of what they mistakenly thought was a low-risk investment.

But instead of giving up on TIPS, they should consider a new index fund launched last October. Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index (VTAPX) offers inflation protection but comes with relatively little of the interest-rate risk of longer-term TIPS funds. The new Vanguard index fund invests in TIPS with maturities of up to five years. (Vanguard also launched an exchange-traded version of this fund; its symbol is VTIP.)

Why worry about inflation now? After all, inflation is currently running at less than 2% annually —below its long-term average of 3%, much less the double-digit rates it reached in the 1970s. But history tells us that inflation can surge at any time. And the time to buy inflation protection, as with any investment, is when it's dirt cheap. That's the case today, with the prices of ten-year TIPS assuming annual inflation of about 2% over the next decade. If inflation is higher, TIPS will rise in value.

Let's back up a bit. What are TIPS, anyway? They are Treasury-issued securities designed to protect against inflation. Like ordinary Treasury bonds, they make regular interest payments to investors. But the coupons on TIPS are lower than those on ordinary Treasuries because the government promises to pay you more in the end based on what happens with inflation. Every six months, the value of TIPS goes up by the increase in the consumer price index. So if you buy TIPS at $100 and the CPI rises by 1.5% over the next six months, Uncle Sam adjusts the value of your TIPS principal to $101.50. Because TIPS's principal rises, you also receive slightly higher semi-annual interest payments. TIPS are issued in maturities of five, ten and 30 years, with a minimum initial purchase of $100, but many investors purchase them through funds, such as Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities (VIPSX).

The problem is that TIPS march to two different drummers. Not only do their prices rise along with expectations for inflation, but they also rise and fall along with bond yields. When yields spike, as they did in May and June, TIPS crater. "Investors should take it for granted that TIPS have interest-rate risk," says Michelle Canavan, who covers TIPS funds for Morningstar.

When Treasury yields were declining — as they had virtually without pause since TIPS were first issued in 1997 — TIPS funds did just fine. Over the past ten years, Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities returned an annualized 5.3%, beating the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond index by an average of 0.5 percentage point per year. What many investors doubtless didn't realize was that they were making money, in part, because bond yields, including TIPS yields, were plummeting. (All results in this article are through July 24.)

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. So when bond yields rose sharply between May 2 and July 5, TIPS nosedived in price. What's more, TIPS were hammered even worse than ordinary Treasuries with similar maturities. Why? Because the market drove Treasury yields higher but continued to foresee benign inflation. That was the worst of both worlds for TIPS investors.

Like most bond funds, the short-term Vanguard TIPS fund is subject to interest-rate risk. But the short maturities of the TIPS it owns limits that risk. If short-term TIPS yields were to rise one percentage point, the price of the short-term TIPS fund would be expected to fall about 2%. In contrast, if long-term TIPS yields were to rise one percentage point, the long-term Vanguard TIPS fund would probably plunge more than 8%. The long-term fund has lost 6.3% over the past 12 months. In the second quarter, the long-term fund plunged 7.3%, but the short-term fund lost just 2.4%.

In a normal bond environment, TIPS, as well as regular Treasuries, would boast much higher yields and, consequently, much lower sensitivity to changes in interest rates. But these are not normal times — with the Federal Reserve keeping short-term interest rates near zero and buying $85 billion a month in government-backed bonds to keep long-term yields low. (Indeed, some shorter-term TIPS now sport negative yields. That doesn't mean the Treasury is going to take money from you for owning TIPS. It means your return for owning a TIPS will be less than the inflation rate. For example, if you invest in a TIPS with a negative 0.5% yield and inflation runs at a 2% annual rate for the time you hold the bond, your annual return will be 1.5%.)

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We've had a 30-year bull market in bonds. I think it's probably over given the selloff in May and June. But thanks to Vanguard, there's still a way to get inflation protection without getting killed in what I think will be a protracted period of rising interest rates.

One last point: Unless inflation soars as it did in the 1970s, TIPS aren't going to make you rich. Short-term TIPS are good, conservative instruments. But assuming normal inflation of, say, 2% to 4%, I think stocks will provide much more generous returns.

Steve Goldberg is an investment adviser in the Washington, D.C., area.

Before Buying ConAgra, Read the Label

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Packaged-food giant ConAgra (CAG) will report fiscal first-quarter results on Thursday before markets open.

Investors want to know if now's the best time to check out ConAgra. Perhaps. But I suggest we first read the label.

While ConAgra, which recently acquired Ralcorp, continues to take decent strides to synergize both businesses, management has been unable to address eroding margins and poor organic growth. ConAgra recently lowered its fiscal 2014 earnings-per-share guidance by 2.5%. I don't believe we can continue to pretend that meaningful operational improvements are imminent.

To that end, even though the stock has been down by as much as 17% over the past month, I'm just not yet ready to apply ConAgra to my value diet. On Thursday, I don't believe there is anything management will say to alter the near-term view of the company. From a market reaction point of view, there likely won't be any negative surprises either. [Read: Ex-JPMorgan Traders Could Face 20 Years in Prison] The company has already "pre-announced" the important details of the quarter, including what amounts to a four-year plan. Last week the company lowered its full-year earnings-per-share expectations from a high of $2.40 to a range of $2.34 and $2.38 per share. While this does suggest as much as a 10% year-over-year improvement, very little of that growth is organic. I've raised this point recently while discussing Campbell Soup Company (CPB), which, like ConAgra, has struggled with "real growth" for quite some time. Bulls have long argued how this metric is exaggerated. But I disagree, especially given the nature of this sector and how quickly consolidations occur. Organic growth, which measures a company's operational performance using only internal resources and excluding events like acquisitions, continues to be one of the best identifiable metrics (or "labels," if you will) when buying these stocks. Plus, it's anyone's guess when weak shipping volumes, which have also plagued (among others) Coca-Cola (KO), are going to rebound. Unlike PepsiCo (PEP), which has navigated the weak volume environment with partnerships like Yum! Brands (YUM) and the Doritos Locos Tacos of Taco Bell, ConAgra doesn't have that type of a card to play to offset what remains as challenging conditions. Management talked about steps that it's taking to improve sales performances. That's all well and good. But it assumes customers have suddenly been turned off by the company's many household brands including Swiss Miss, PAM and Healthy Choice.

If that were the case, deploying more sales and marketing efforts would be a great strategy. Even though ConAgra hasn't been a flawless executioner, I also believe the company's struggles are being affected just as much by macro weakness as it is by operational inefficiencies.

I won't go through the exercise of applying weight to this scale. But I believe that any overinvestment made by management to grow sales will only eat into the company's already weak earnings.

Let's not forget that first quarter non-GAAP earnings per share are expected to come in at 37 cents. This represents a 16% year-over-year decline. Given the company's history of eroding gross margins, investors should rethink applauding any efforts that increase expenses. [Read: Affordable Care Act Reality Check]

If it seems that I've being overly critical of ConAgra, it's completely unintentional. The truth is I love the brand. The stock, however, which has lagged its peers in the most important categories, including performance and returns on capital, is a completely different story. Until management can post consecutive quarters of earnings and margin growth, I would recommend that investors stay away. You don't need to take my word for it -- just read the label. At the time of publication, the author held no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Follow @saintssense This article was written by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.

Richard Saintvilus is a co-founder of StockSaints.com where he serves as CEO and editor-in-chief. After 20 years in the IT industry, including 5 years as a high school computer teacher, Saintvilus decided his second act would be as a stock analyst - bringing logic from an investor's point of view. His goal is to remove the complicated aspect of investing and present it to readers in a way that makes sense. His background in engineering has provided him with strong analytical skills. That, along with 15 years of trading and investing, has given him the tools needed to assess equities and appraise value. Richard is a Warren Buffett disciple who bases investment decisions on the quality of a company's management, growth aspects, return on equity, and price-to-earnings ratio. His work has been featured on CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Forbes, Motley Fool and numerous other outlets. Follow @saintssense

ExxonMobil Gets Unnecessary Buffett Boost

ExxonMobil (XOM) reported earnings on Oct. 31, and since then the oil giant has more than doubled the S&P 500′s return, having gained 4% to the benchmark’s 1.9% though yesterday’s close.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

So it’s not as if Exxon needed any help. But help it got. Bloomberg explains:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported a stake in Exxon Mobil Corp. valued at about $3.7 billion as Warren Buffett's company disclosed its largest new holding since adding International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) in 2011.

Buffett's company owned 40.1 million shares of Exxon on Sept. 30, Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire said today in a regulatory filing.

As with just about any Buffett purchases, shares of ExxonMobil have gotten a pop. They’ve gained 1.9% to $94.96, well above the S&P 500′s 0.3% gain. Exxon has also outpaced ConocoPhillips (COP), which has dropped 0.8% to $73.06 and Chevron (CVX), which has risen 0.4% to $119.99. BP (BP) is up 1.2% to $47.15.

On Wednesday, Oppenheimer’s Fadel Gheit and Robert Du Boff fretted about Exxon’s buyback plans:

XOM will spend $3B on share buybacks in 4Q13, and $15B in 2013, down from $20B in 2012. In the past 10 years, cash flow of $464B has funded $251B of CAPEX, $203B of buybacks, and $79B of dividends, with the shortfall funded from divestiture proceeds. We expect any future buybacks to be funded from additional borrowing and divestiture proceeds. Even if XOM is successful in boosting 2017 net production by 600 mboed above 2012 levels, the additional $5-$7B operating cash flow is insufficient to offset the cash shortfall. We estimate that a $10/b change in average crude prices would impact earnings and cash flow by $4.2B, and close to $5B after 2017.

I’m guessing Buffett isn’t worried.