Ask Matt: Is betting on CEOs a winning strategy?

USA TODAY markets reporter Matt Krantz answers a different reader question every weekday. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com.

Q: Is betting on a good CEO a good investment strategy?

A: At the race track, some bettors pick the horse based on the trainer. And in office pools, some choose the team based on the coach. Similarly, many beginning investors think they can score big by picking a winning CEO.

The concept of picking a good CEO is appealing to especially beginning investors. While financial ratios and formulas might be complicated or difficult to analyze, most people can size up a CEO and get a general impression. Plus, successful executives often have track records of performance either at that company or at other firms. The idea is often popularized by pundits on financial TV or is a collarary to the "invest what you know" strategy.

TRACKING YOUR STOCKS: Get real-time quotes with our free Portfolio Tracker

The problem is, that betting on CEOs isn't a long-term winning strategy. The most definitive work on this concept was done by Michelle Clayman of New Amsterdam Partners. Clayman picked out the companies hailed in Tom Peters' management book, "In Search of Excellence." A good CEO was one aspect of Peters' analysis. She then found companies that were the opposite of excellent. Clayman then compared the stock performances of the "good" companies versus the "bad" ones. The result? The bad companies' stocks topped the shares of the good companies by a wide margin between 1981 and 1986.

More recently, Chris Brooks and Stephen Pavelin in 2006 found similar results studying British companies. Those with good reputations mayhave beaten the broad stock market, but they actually were laggards when adjusted for the industry they're in. And while there have been some incredibly successful CEOs, there have been surprising disasters, too.

There's also the difficulty of quantifying what a good CEO is. Some think a good CEO is one that's cooking u! p new products and investing in the future, while others prefer CEOs who make it a habit to keep profitability up and increase dividends and stock buybacks. Betting on winning CEOs might sound like a no-lose bet, but in reality, there's more to investing that choosing a favorite leader.

3 Retail Stocks to Sell Now – COH, WFM, TGT

I love this kind of stock market. Beating the indexes is a piece of cake.

Why?

Because it's a stock-pickers market, and if you know what you are doing you can make money by owning stocks going up and selling stocks going down.

On Thursday, shares of Wal-Mart (WMT) fell nearly 2% thanks to the company reducing its outlook due to falling sales.

Blame it on the weather or blame it on the weak economy that is supposed to be strong. Whatever the reason for the poor performance, it is not a good situation, considering Wal-Mart's excessive valuation.

There's your opportunity on the short side. Find a stock that is trading for a premium valuation that is likely to miss expectations. The results to the downside can be spectacular.

For Wal-Mart, a 2% loss on a day when the rest of the market traded higher is more like losing 5%. More losses are likely to follow.

If Wal-Mart is vulnerable, other retailers are likely to disappoint and fall as well.

I think the retail sector is quite vulnerable at the moment. At a minimum, poor weather will like blanket the industry like a cold, wet snow.

Here are three retail stocks I would dump now:

Target

Target (TGT) is at the top of my list of retail stocks to dump now. The poor performance at Wal-Mart (WMT) had investors selling Target shares in sympathy.

But Target has even bigger problems than Wal-Mart. Target's credit and debit card breach may be fading from the headlines, but investors can expect the impact of the incident to linger. Yet unknown is the full impact on Target's earnings and more importantly, customer traffic.

Look for same-store sales at Target to be below consensus. In addition, I think a warning and downward guidance of some magnitude is forthcoming and yet to be priced into the stock. This one is toxic and should be avoided or dumped now.

Whole Foods

Shares of Whole Foods (WFM) were dumped en masse after earnings were released recently. The stock had no chance, being priced for perfection in an environment that was far from perfect.

There is much more risk to the downside. The fallacy of the model is the idea that somehow Whole Foods could change the razor-thin margin dynamic of the grocery industry. Yeah, right! I'm skeptical and would never pay the exorbitant price Whole Foods is still valued at today.

Analysts expect the company to grow profits by 18% from the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2014 to the next. At current prices, shares trade for 32 times current fiscal year estimated earnings. We are witnessing the slow collapse of the model here and I would dump this one before things deteriorate further.

Coach

Economic competition is fun to watch. In our system of capitalism there are winners and losers in every industry.

In the retail space, there is a battle royal brewing in the luxury-goods category. Michael Kors (KORS) is the hot new kid on the block and it is taking aim at the old-school luxury accessory company, Coach (COH). Fashion is fickle as they say. Now you can make hay by betting against the loser in the race – Coach.

Since last summer, Coach shares have really taken a hit. They can and will likely decline further. Growth is slowing dramatically. Analysts expect the company to grow profits by 9% from the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2014 to the next.

At current prices, shares trade for 15 times current fiscal year estimated earnings. The big fear is if Coach has to respond to the competition and declining sales with margin-killing discounts. If so, the bottom could fall out.

I would dump this one now before that happens.

Madoff defendant spars, denies testimony

NEW YORK – A former Bernard Madoff employee who opted to testify and defend himself from charges he participated in the financier's Ponzi scheme sparred with a federal prosecutor Wednesday during cross-examination.

Daniel Bonventre, Madoff's former operations manager, questioned word definitions and said he could not answer one-word answers to several yes-or-no questions during the start of what's expected to be extended cross-examination by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Jackson.

The 67-year-old Manhattan resident had difficulty answering such seemingly simple questions as whether he had been "close friends" with Annette Bongiorno, one of the three other former Madoff employees standing trial with him on fraud charges.

"We were working colleagues and we were friendly to each other," said Bonventre after several exchanges with Jackson.

PROSECUTION: Government rests case in Madoff employees trial

Similarly, Bonventre labored to explain why he'd used three different titles during his 40-year career working for Madoff: controller, director of operations and chief operating officer. Bonventre's previous testimony showed Madoff disapproved of employee titles and once told him to get new business cards without one.

Bonventre also denied telling anyone that he closed his Madoff financial account — withdrawing more than $1 million in the 2006 transaction — because he was leery about the consistently high investment gains his boss reported. A prosecution witness testified earlier this month that Bonventre answered a question about the withdrawal by saying he'd had a "queasy feeling" about the seemingly improbable returns.

"The answer was somewhat different," said Bonventre Wednesday, adding that his decision was based on more general concern over financial market conditions.

The exchanges highlighted the risk inherent in the surprise decision to scrap his earlier plan to forgo testifying and instead expose himself to prosecution questioning. Although appearin! g before the Manhattan federal court jury with his own words theoretically could boost his credibility, unexplained contradictions between his account and other evidence could undercut it.

STAR WITNESS: Ex-Madoff aide's account takes jury inside scam

Bonventre and his co-defendants face lengthy prison terms if they're convicted on charges they knowingly participated in and profited from the Madoff scam that stole as much as $20 billion from thousands of ordinary investors, celebrities, charities, financial funds and others.

The case is the first Madoff-related proceeding to be weighed by a jury because the disgraced financier pleaded guilty in 2009 without standing trial. He's now serving a 150-year prison term. The trial is set to continue Thursday.

Why the Keystone XL Is Not So Key

The joint monthly web chat for subscribers of The Energy Strategist (TES) and MLP Profits (MLPP) took place last week. The chat is conducted by Igor Greenwald, who is managing editor for TES and chief investment strategist for MLPP, and myself.  

There were four energy sector questions remaining at the end of the chat that required an extended answer, or a bit more research. This week I will answer two of the four questions that were left: One on the importance (or lack thereof) of the Keystone XL pipeline, and one on Nordic American Tankers. Next week's issue will tackle the other two questions: One on Argentina's expropriation from Repsol in 2012 and one on Shell's massive floating liquefied natural gas project.

For answers to some of the remaining MLP questions from the chat, see this week's MLP Investing Insider.

Q: With the impending development of Canada’s own Western and Eastern pipelines, does the Northern leg of Keystone remain essential for Canadian E&Ps or is it just important to transport from the Dakotas?

Given the recent release of the US State Department's final environmental impact statement (EIS) for TransCanada's (TSE: TRP, NYSE: TRP) Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline, this is an opportune time for an update. The EIS concluded that "the proposed Project is unlikely to significantly affect the rate of extraction in oil sands areas…" This is something that I have maintained all along, but this also means that the importance of KXL has been incredibly overblown.

This pipeline project has gotten more attention than any pipeline project since the Trans-Alaska Pipeline of the 1970s. Many environmentalists have protested KXL out of the belief that it is the key to expanding oil sands production in Alberta, but this only demonstrates a general lack of understanding about how logistics projects are executed.

For a bit of perspective, see this partial map of ! just the largest pipelines that crisscross North America. There are presently pipelines crossing rivers and above the nation's aquifers, and there are pipelines crossing the US border to the north and south. According to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., there are 74 operating oil and gas pipelines that cross the border between the US and Canada. KXL would be the 75th.

Major North American oil, gas, and product pipelines. Source: Theodora

Before KXL, there were many pipeline proposals that would have exported Alberta bitumen. But the Keystone XL got a lot of commitments from the industry because it made the most sense to ship the heavy oil to US Gulf Coast refineries that were configured to refine it. Now that KXL is facing formidable opposition, TransCanada's competitors are dusting off old proposals, and coming up with new ones.

As you suggest, there are pipeline proposals going both east and west. Enbridge's (TSE: ENB, NYSE: ENB) Northern Gateway would provide an outlet to the Pacific Ocean, but there is significant opposition in British Columbia and from First Nations groups. More likely to be approved for a western route will be Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) has filed an application with Canadian regulators that would nearly triple the 300,000 barrels-per-day Trans Mountain pipeline capacity to 890,000 bpd, and would terminate in Burnaby, British Columbia. The $5.4 billion expansion would be along the existing right-of-way, greatly simplifying the environmental permitting for the project. Last year, 13 companies signed firm contracts, bringing the total volume of committed shippers to 710,000 barrels per day (bpd). The pipeline is scheduled to begin construction in 2016 with incremental product online in 2017.

TransCanada has its own K! XL altern! ative with its Energy East pipeline — a 4,500-kilometer pipeline that would carry 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern Canada. Much of the project will involve conversion of an existing natural gas pipeline and modifications to enable it to transport oil. This project would be nearly 50 percent larger than KXL, and would give Alberta's bitumen an outlet to the East Coast.

Enbridge also has a pipeline project running south and east. Enbridge is expanding the capacity of its Alberta Clipper Pipeline from 450,000 bpd to 570,000 bpd. The Canadian portion of the pipeline transports oil from the Hardisty Terminal in southeastern Alberta to Enbridge's Gretna Station in southern Manitoba, then connects at the international border to the US portion of the system and continues to Superior, Wisconsin. The project is expected to be completed and in service by July 2014.

Whether KXL is approved is unlikely to have a big impact on any particular company. TransCanada would probably see the most significant share price movement, but the project isn't a make-or-break for the company. Oil sands producers like Cenovus Energy (NYSE: CVE, TSE: CVE) have signed up to ship on KXL, and could see some share price movement as well. KXL would probably be the low-cost shipping option for Cenovus and other oil sands producers, but during my visit to Fort McMurray in November Cenovus emphasized that whether KXL is approved or not, the outcome would have no effect on its growth plans given the ready availability of alternatives.

Q: What about Nordic American Tankers? I read that there are even more ships coming onto the market which should kill the latest rise in tanker rates, which would obviously be bad for tanker companies like NAT. Is this what you expect as well?

Nordic American Tanker (NYSE: NAT) is a Bermuda-based tanker company that acquires and charters double-hull tankers. Its fleet consists of 20 double-hull Suezmax tankers. Besi! des the f! actor you mention about more ships coming onto the market, NAT has underperformed — period. Shares have lost two-thirds of their value over the past five years, and the dividend has been cut multiple times.

The company was in one of our portfolios when Igor and I assumed responsibility for the newsletter, and we removed it in a purge almost exactly one year ago. Shares were trading at just under $9 when we removed it, and in the year since, the price has traded as low as $7 and as high as $12.61. Right now it is trading at about $10, around 15 percent higher than it was a year ago.

The reason we removed NAT is that the company has consistently failed to meet its own forecasts as well as investors' expectations. Last month, in a move familiar to Nordic American investors, the company once more cut the dividend from the previous quarter's $0.16 per share to $0.12 per share. (The quarterly dividend in 2012 was $0.30 per share). The share price had been rallying, but now has dropped 11 percent in the past three weeks.

This is one that I would avoid based on past management performance, regardless of the overall drivers in the tanker market.

Next week we will discuss Shell's massive Prelude project, which may help put that company in a dominant position in the world's LNG market, as well as the expropriation of YPF from Repsol by the Argentine government.

(Follow Robert Rapier on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.)

T-Mobile's Busy Monday at CES

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Monday was a busy news day for T-Mobile (TMUS) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Sony (SNE) announced its new waterproof Android flagship phone is coming to T-Mobile. So is the first curved-screen model from LG. And then there was T-Mobile's CEO being thrown out of rival AT&T's  (T) posh party Monday night.

T-Mobile shares were off 0.14% at $33.34 in early morning trading in New York.

The new Sony Xperia Z1s shares many of its features with 2013's Z1 phone including a 5-inch, 1080p display, a 2.2 GHz, quad-core, Qualcomm (QCOM) Snapdragon 800 processor, 32 GB of built-in storage, a 20.7 megapixel camera and a big 3,000 mAh rechargeable battery.

But the big new feature of the Z1s is waterproofing. That means the handset has been designed to survive being submerged in as much as 4.5 feet of water for half an hour and can be used to take underwater snapshots. All the phone's ports are protected by tightfitting covers while the headphone jack is available for a user's listening pleasure when he ventures near the water.

The new handset also comes with Sony's PlayStation app as well as upgraded photo software.

Sony's Z1s will be offered for $528 without a contract or $22/month under T-Mobile's retail sales plan beginning Jan. 22.

T-Mobile has also confirmed that it will be one of the first U.S. carriers to offer the new LG G Flex Android smartphone. The handset is the first to market with a flexible 6-inch curved OLED display. The G Flex also sports a 13 megapixel camera on the back and a huge 3,500 mAh rechargeable battery. T-Mobile promises it will share pricing and availability information in the coming weeks.

The No. 4 U.S. carrier also made news when its CEO was thrown out of a party being hosted by No. 2 carrier AT&T (T). According to a Twit! ter posting by a CNet reporter, CEO John Legere, wearing a pink T-Mobile t-shirt under his jacket, was "escorted out" of the big CES after-hours event at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Legere, recently a very vocal critic of rival AT&T, was said to have secured passes for the event through performers working the party.

He has promised T-Mobile will be announcing some "big" news at its CES press conference on Wednesday.

-- Written by Gary Krakow in New York.

To submit a news tip, send an email to tips@thestreet.com.

Top 10 Clean Energy Companies To Invest In 2015

Stock quotes in this article: TMUS, SNE, T, QCOM 

IRS To Taxpayers: Don't Call Us...

Okay, that's not exactly what they said. But more or less.

Citing heavy call volume and "limited resources" on the run up to the Presidents Day holiday, the IRS has issued a plea call reminder that there are other alternatives available to help taxpayers. Specifically, they want you click over to their web site. At irs.gov, you can check the status of your refund, request a copy of your tax transcript and generally poke around for tax information.

If you're looking for information about paying a tax bill, you can do that online, too. To pay a bill in full, click on over to find out how to pay using cash, check, debit or credit card, and electronic funds transfer (sorry, no Bitcoin… yet). If you need time to pay, you can set up a monthly payment plan online using the Online Payment Agreement tool. You generally qualify if you owe $50,000 or less in combined individual income tax, penalties and interest. If you have a serious repayment issue, the Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier can help you determine if you qualify to pay less than the amount owed; I'm not crazy about this latest tool but putting it out there since it exists (better, in my opinion to consult with a tax professional on this one).

You can also find free tax return help without making a call to IRS. Find a local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site by clicking here or calling 1.800.906.9887. You can find a Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) site operated by the AARP Foundation's Tax Aide Program by clicking here or calling 1.888.227.7669.

Best Medical Stocks To Watch For 2015

The IRS has a nifty smartphone app, IRS2Go, which allows you to access most of this information remotely.

If you're looking for answers and you don't have the skills, access or inclination to click through the site, you can call TeleTax at 1.800.829.4477 for prerecorded tax information on a variety of tax topics.

If you really want to talk to someone in person, you can still call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040 (this is the number for general assistance, not for refund updates) but you should be prepared to wait. And wait.

–

Want more taxgirl goodness? Pick your poison: receive posts by email, follow me on twitter (@taxgirl), hang out with me on Facebook or check out my YouTube channel. If you want to keep an eye on documents I've posted, check out my profile on Scribd. And finally, you can subscribe to my podcast on the site or via iTunes (it's free).

Promising 2014 Ahead for This Leading Meat Processor

Since 2009, Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) has made a turnaround. It is an integrated producer, processor, and marketer of chicken and poultry-based food products. The company operates in four segments: Chicken, Beef, Pork and Prepared Foods. It supplies chicken products through food service, retail grocery stores, club stores and international distribution channels. Tyson is the largest protein processor in the U.S. (where the core business is chicken), and its common stock offers a good investment opportunity. This Springdale, Ark.-based company also makes corn and flour tortillas under the Mexican Original brand and through its subsidiary Cobb Vantress, a chicken breeding stock supplier.

Numbers at a Glance

Tyson is the largest publicly traded meat processor and marketer in the U.S., and the second largest in the world (behind only Brazilian JBS SA). In its first-quarter earnings (declared on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014), the company repurchased 4.6 million shares for $150 million. EPS were up 47% to $0.72 compared to $0.49 in the first quarter of the prior year. Sales were about $8.8 billion, which represents an increase of 4.7% over the first quarter of the prior year. Operating income increased 36% to $412 million, and overall operating margin was 4.7%. Adjusted earnings were of 72 cents per share. All these positive numbers contributed a net profit of $254 million, which is substantially higher than last year's $173 million. Tyson had a very good operating cash flow of $361 million. The company's total capital expenditures in quarter one of fiscal year 2014 were just $140 million, and this gave more free cash flows which are used for the share repurchase program.

Positive Outlook

In fiscal 2014, the company expects to increase the overall domestic protein production (chicken, beef, pork and turkey) by 1% from fiscal 2013 levels. Grain supplies are expected to increase in fiscal 2014, which should result in lower input costs. Tyson expects fiscal 2014 capital expenditures to approximate $700 million, and approximate net interest expense will be $100 million. The company expects that grain supplies will increase in fiscal 2014, which should result in lower input costs. Tyson also expects sales to be around $36 billion, up 5% over fiscal 2013 backed by strong demand for the company's products. The company is confident of achieving at least 10% earnings growth in fiscal 2015.

On Feb. 5, 2014, Tyson Foods announced the addition of a new line of breakfast items to its product offerings with Tyson® Day StartsTM products. In conjunction with the launch of Day StartsTM, the company is also partnering with Florida Orange Juice to help spread the word about the importance of consuming a healthful morning meal.

In June 2013, Tyson Foods Inc. announced the acquisition of assets of Circle Foods LLC, and on Jan 20, 2014, the company took over Warren, Mich.-based pizza maker Bosco's Pizza Company. These acquisitions will help to boost earnings in the coming quarters.

Head to Head

Tyson Foods faces stiff competition from Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD), Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL), and Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC).

Compared to its peers, Tyson has the diversification advantage as it provides the commodity raw pork, poultry and beef as well as value-added processed meat. From the above chart, it is clear that Tyson has the largest geographic reach in the U.S.

Wings Across the World

Tyson foods is the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500 list with approximately 115,000 team members worldwide. It has 57 chicken plants, 13 beef plants, 9 pork plants and 25 prepared foods plants worldwide. The company has its wings in Brazil, India, China and Mexico.

In India at a Glance

Tyson partnered with Godrej India, and their joint venture Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd. was the first company to market fresh chilled chicken in India. The company is focused on serving the growing demand for quality poultry in India and have branded lines for chicken and vegetarian proteins. In India, Tyson markets its products in the name of Yummiez brand. Currently in India, Mumbai and Bangalore threre are two plants for Godrej Tyson Foods Ltd.

China

Tyson was impacted last year when an avian flu scare kept Chinese consumers away from chicken products. Despite this mishap, Tyson managed to provide positive numbers.

On a Concluding Note

Tyson Foods is diversified across the major meat types (poultry, pork and beef) and therefore, this leading meat processor is well positioned to meet changes in tastes for meat. Other remarkable advantages are its profit margins are normalizing, and it is continuing to innovate and invest in value-added businesses, which could bring even more shareholder value in the future.

Overall, Tyson Foods has a strong financial position, and enough room for its international exposure. Therefore, it can be said that this company will provide good food to its valued customers and pocketful of return to its investors in the near future.

Currently 3.00/512345 Rating: 3.0/5 (1 vote)

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Housing, confidence gain as economy improves

Home prices in most U.S. cities are increasing more slowly than earlier in the year, and consumer confidence is rising, in dual signs that expectations of a stronger economy in 2014 are taking root.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose 6.1 points in December, to 78,1, recouping almost all of the drop it sustained during the October government shutdown, the board reported on Tuesday. Economists had expected the index to rise to 76.8, according to a survey by Econoday. The biggest change was more optimism about the economy's path over the next six months, which rose more strongly than perceptions of the current state of the economy, the board said.

Separately, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.2% from September to October. Monthly price gains slowed in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the index, Prices have risen 13.6% over the past 12 months, the fastest since Feb. 2006, S&P-Dow Jones Indices said. The S&P/Case-Shiller index isn't adjusted for seasonal variations, so the change partly reflects slower buying in the fall.

"This is pretty good news -- we're getting back toward the progress we had made in confidence in the spring and summer that was derailed by the government shutdown,'' said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board ."It's still a somewhat cautious consumer. But looking at big ticket items like cars and houses, there's a willingness to spend developing."

The weak spot in the consumer survey was that consumers have a relatively dim view of their ability to get pay increases, but even those results were stronger in December than in recent surveys, Franco said.

The Conference Board index is designed to compare confidence over time. A reading of 100 would mean that confidence was as high as it was in 1985, a year when the economy grew 4.2%, about twice the 2013 pace.

Even the housing news was a sign of a strengthening economy, Quicken Loans vice president Bill Banfield said.!

"The New Year will bring (monthly and annual price gains) closer together, as the yearly home price report begins to make more modest, sustainable increases that we find in a healthier economy,'' Banfield said.

Price increases are moderating because the wave of foreclosed properties that sold cheaply in 2010 through early 2012 has largely crested, Sterne Agee economist Lindsey Piegza said. Conditions now may lead to a stronger push in new home construction next year, Barclays economist Cooper Hawes said.

Investors are getting more confident as well.

A new survey by State Street Global Exchange said its investor confidence index rose to 95.9 in December, up 4.7 points from November's revised reading of 91.2. The increase was the result of a mild improvement in U.S. sentiment combined with a strong gain among European investors Sentiment in Asia fell slightly because of concerns about the pace of Asia's growth slowing, State Street

"Continued improvements in US fundamental economic data, especially around jobs, seem to have finally taken precedence over Fed tapering for investors,'' said Harvard professor Kenneth Froot, who developed the survey with State Street. "The Federal Reserve has finally worn investors down to an interpretation of tapering under which the economy no longer needs such a strong form of life support. "

Executive Shuffle at Boeing Puts Defense Chief Next in Line as CEO

Aircraft maker The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) announced Wednesday morning that the company had made a number of changes in its top management, including the naming of the current COO of its defense systems group to be vice chairman, president, and CEO of the company. The head of the commercial aircraft division retains his previous title as president and CEO of the commercial division and has been promoted to vice chairman.

Dennis Muilenberg will assume his new role as COO on December 31st and move the company's Chicago headquarters. The 49-year old engineer has worked at Boeing for 28 years and his appointment today anoints him as the heir-apparent to 64-year old CEO Jim McNerney. There was no indication that McNerney intends to step down soon, but the company now has a succession plan.

Muilenberg has presided over Boeing's defense and space systems group since September 2009, and under his stewardship the group's revenues have risen by about $600 million annually, to $32.61 billion. That's a rise of just 1.9% over the past 3 fiscal years, and revenues for this year are on track to be about level with 2012 revenues. But the main thing to remember is that it could have been worse. Military aircraft revenues are unlikely to reach the $16.4 billion level again this year, but the group appears that it can make up a significant portion of the difference in network & space division work.

Raymond Conner, who was promoted to vice chairman to go with his title as president and CEO of the commercial aircraft group, is 58 years old and has worked at Boeing for 35 of those years. The turbulence surrounding the launch of the 787 Dreamliner may have cost him his shot as second in command. That and the possibility that McNerney may not retire for another year or two yet and Conner would be near 60 when he ascended to the top job. In a business with really long horizons, that is probably not a plus.

McNerney has been Boeing's CEO since June of 2005, and may want to stick around for another couple of years. He came to Boeing from 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) where he was president and CEO following a 20-year stint in various executive jobs at General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).

The company's board has given Muilenberg a chance to show that a military hardware guy can run a company that is now heavily tilted toward commercial planes. Boeing's commercial aircraft revenues in 2012 totaled $49.13 billion and are on track to surpass that mark this year.

Shares of Boeing are down 1.6% at $133.70 in a 52-week range of $72.68 to $142.00. That is probably less a reflection on today's announcement than it is investors' wariness about the coming announcement of the FOMC later this afternoon.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014

Updated from 10:23 a.m. EDT with comments from CEO Jamie Dimon's memo to employees

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Two former JPMorgan Chase (JPM) traders have been indicted for allegedly engaging in securities fraud in hiding trading losses from a botched derivative trade last year.

A federal court in Manhattan named Javier Martin-Artajo, who oversaw trading strategy for the synthetic portfolio at the bank's chief investment office in London, and Julien Grout, a trader who worked for him, in the indictment, according to Bloomberg.

The Department of Justice filed criminal charges against the traders in August. The charges included four counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, falsification of records and falsification of filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The indictment unsealed Monday added a fifth charge -- securities fraud -- which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Bruno Iksil, the man behind the infamous "London Whale" trades, has not been charged in return for his cooperation. The Justice Department intends to show that the two traders named in the indictment along with other un-named co-conspirators artificially inflated the value of the securities and hid the true nature of the losses from senior management. Artajo and Grout, who live in Europe, have not surrendered themselves to the U.S. authorities. JPMorgan has not been criminally accused of wrongdoing. The bank, however, is facing multiple regulatory inquiries related to the trading losses. It is expected to shortly announce a settlement with multiple regulators that could exceed $700 million. The SEC may require the bank to admit that it had inadequate controls and failed to adequately supervise the traders. Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake has said legal losses in the third quarter could top $1.5 billion, in the wake of a crescendo of legal lawsuits filed recently against the bank on a range of alleged violations. In a letter to employees Tuesday, CEO Jamie Dimon warned that there could be more legal woes ahead in the next few weeks but said compliance was the No. 1 priority for the entire bank. "If you don't acknowledge mistakes, you can't fix them and learn from them. So now, as in the past, we are recognizing our problems, rolling up our sleeves and fixing them," he wrote. JPMorgan has added 4,000 people to its control efforts (3,000 in 2013 alone) and has spent $1 billion on compliance efforts. It has increased spending in technology in the regulatory and control space by 27% in 2011. The bank is exiting non-core businesses including student lending and the physical commodities sales and trading businesses. In addition, the bank is also focusing on "building and open and more transparent relationship with regulators," the CEO said. "Never before have we focused so much time, effort, brainpower, technological power and money on a single, enterprise-wide objective. Make no mistake -- we are going to get this right," he wrote. Shares of JPMorgan were down 0.1% at $53.06 Tuesday afternoon. Analysts have remained positive in their outlook for the bank, maintaining that valuations remain cheap despite the litigation risk. RELATED STORIES: JPMorgan to Suffer $4B Compliance Hit in 2013: Report -- Written by Shanthi Bharatwaj New York. >Contact by Email. Follow @shavenk

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: S&P GSCI(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides business aviation; combat vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions; military and commercial shipbuilding; and communications and information technology products and services worldwide. Its Aerospace group designs, manufactures, and outfits various large and mid-cabin business-jet aircraft; provides maintenance, repair work, fixed-based operations, and aircraft management services; and performs aircraft completions for aircraft. The company?s Combat Systems group offers tracked and wheeled military vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions. Its product lines include wheeled combat and tactical vehicles; battle tanks and infantry vehicles; munitions and propellant; rockets and gun systems; and axle and drivetrain components and aftermarket parts. This group also manufactures and supplies engineered axles, suspensions, and brakes for heavy-load vehicles for military and commercial customers. The company Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The biggest of these contracts, a sizable $179.9 million, one-year award with the potential to swell to $899.5 million if the four "option-year" extensions are exercised, is to be split among 13 separate firms:

  Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH  ) CACI (NYSE: CACI  ) Technologies Computer Sciences Corp (NYSE: CSC  ) General Dynamics (NYSE: GD  ) One Source Honeywell (NYSE: HON  ) Technology Solutions Engility Corp. Lockheed Martin Science Applications International Corp. URS Federal Services and four privately held firms.

  Under the awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), cost-plus-fixed-fee, performance-based umbrella contract, all 13 firms will be able to compete to perform task orders for the U.S. Navy, providing "integrated cyber operations services" to Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The U.S. Department of Defense awarded multiple contractors shares in some 17 contracts Tuesday, valued at up to $1.3 billion in combined dollar value. Most of the funds awarded went to a series of 13 contractors working on a single cyber-defense project -- but there were a few other winners. Among them:

• [By Charles Mizrahi]

  General Dynamics (GD) offers segment diversification. Although the US government accounts for nearly two-thirds of the company's revenue, it has four operating segments, with no single division accounting for more than a third of total revenue.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Oracle Corporation(ORCL)

Oracle Corporation, an enterprise software company, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and services database and middleware software, applications software, and hardware systems worldwide. It licenses of database and middleware software, including database management software, application server software, service-oriented architecture and business process management software, data integration software, business intelligence software, identity and access management software, content management software, portals and user interaction software, development tools, and Java; and applications software comprising enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, enterprise performance management, supply chain management, business intelligence applications, enterprise portfolio project management, Web commerce, and industry-specific applications software. The company also offers customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases; Internet access to technical content; and Internet and telephone access to technical support personnel. In addition, its hardware systems products consist of computer server and hardware-related software, including the Oracle Solaris Operating System; and storage products, such as tape, disk and networking solutions for open systems and mainframe server environments. Its hardware systems support solutions include software updates for the software components. Further, the company offers consulting solutions in business and IT strategy alignment, enterprise architecture planning and design, initial product implementation and integration, and ongoing product enhancements and upgrades; cloud services, including Oracle Cloud Services and Advanced Customer Services; and education solutions comprising instructor-led, media-based, and Internet-based training in the use of its software and hardware products. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Redwood Ci ty, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Logically, the first place Gates & Co. would look is at other big tech companies. Unfortunately, almost all the other chief executives are tied to Microsoft’s failures, or are founders of their own companies. So, leave out the CEOs of Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ)�and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), as if the heads of HP and Dell were not already dealing with their own problems. Other successful tech companies might include Oracle Corp.’s (NASDAQ: ORCL)�CEO and founder Larry Ellison, who is nearly as wealthy as Gates, or Marc Benioff, the founder and CEO of Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM). Neither would ever abandon their successes for the uncertainty of Microsoft.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  Oracle has steadily increased revenue and earnings on an annual basis. The stock is trading at 16 times earnings, whereas the industry average is 26 times earnings. The stock is more resilient than most throughout the broader market, margins are high, there is a 0.70 yield, operating cash flow is strong at $13.72 billion, 80 percent of employees approve of CEO Larry Ellison, and analysts love the stock: 27 Buy, 15 Hold, 1 Sell.

• [By Matt Thalman]

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

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Watch Right Now: First Busey Corporation(BUSE)

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It accepts noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing transaction, savings, money market, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans; individual, consumer, installment, first mortgage, and second mortgage loans; and commercial real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans. It also provides money transfer, safe deposit, fiduciary, automated banking, and automated fund transfer services. In addition, the company provides asset management, brokerage, and fiduciary services, including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and trust and estate advisory services to individuals; investment management, business succession planning, an d employee retirement plan services to businesses; and investment management, investment strategy consulting, and fiduciary services to foundations. Further, it offers pay processing solutions, such as walk-in payments processing for payments delivered by customers to retail pay agents; online bill payment solutions for payments made by customers on a billing company?s Website; customer service payments for payments accepted over the telephone; direct debit services; electronic concentration of payments delivered by the automated clearing house network; money management software and credit card networks; and lockbox remittance processing of payments delivered by mail. The company has 33 locations in Illinois, 7 locations in southwest Florida, and 1 location in Indianapolis, Indiana. First Busey Corporation was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Horace Mann Educators Corporation(HMN)

Horace Mann Educators Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as a multiline insurance company in the United States. The company underwrites and markets personal lines of property and casualty insurance, retirement annuity, and life insurance products. Its products include private passenger automobile and homeowner?s insurance coverage; tax-qualified individual and group annuities in fixed account and combination contracts; and individual and joint whole and term life insurance products. The company offers its products primarily to K-12 teachers, school administrators, education support personnel, and other employees of public schools and their families. It markets its products through its sales force, as well as through independent agents. Horace Mann Educators Corporation was founded in 1945 and is based in Springfield, Illinois.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Horizon Lines Inc.(HRZ)

Horizon Lines, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides container shipping and integrated logistics services. It ships a range of consumer and industrial items, such as refrigerated and non-refrigerated foodstuffs, household goods, auto parts, building materials, and other materials used in manufacturing. The company offers container shipping services to ports within the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Micronesia. Its integrated logistics services comprise rail, truck brokerage, warehousing, distribution, expedited logistics, and non-vessel operating common carrier operations. Horizon Lines, Inc. also offers terminal services. The company operates terminals in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico; contracts for terminal services in seven ports in the continental United States; and the ports in Guam, Yantian, and Xiamen, China, as well as Kaohsiung, Taiwan. In addition, it offers inland transportation services. As of Dec ember 20, 2009, the company owned or leased approximately 20 vessels and 18,500 cargo containers. Horizon Lines, Inc. serves consumer and industrial products companies, as well as various agencies of the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense and the U.S. Postal Service. The company was founded in 1956 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Gold Reserve Inc(GRZ)

Gold Reserve Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mining projects. The company was founded in 1956 and is based in Spokane, Washington.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  It's beginning to look like Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold's (NYSE: FCX  ) acquisition of oil and gas produce Plains Exploration was prescient. The prospects of an extended closure of its huge Grasberg mine means its drilling operations may be what allows it to survive.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One integrated mining player that insiders are buying up a huge amount of stock in here is Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX), which deals in the mining of copper, gold and molybdenum. Insiders are buying this stock into weakness, since shares are off by 17.5% so far in 2013.

  Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold has a market cap of $27.5 billion and an enterprise value of $50.2 billion. This stock trades at a cheap valuation, with a trailing price-to-earnings of 9.95 and a forward price-to-earnings of 8.92. Its estimated growth rate for this year is -23.9%, and for next year it's pegged at 27.8%. This is not a cash-rich company, since the total cash position on its balance sheet is $3.29 billion and its total debt is $21.22 billion. This stock currently sports a dividend yield of 4.3%.

  A director just bought 517,350 shares, or about $14.82 million worth of stock, at $28.64 per share.

  From a technical perspective, FCX is currently trending below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bearish. This stock has been downtrending over the last five month, with shares dropping from its high of $33 to its recent low of $26.07 a share. Shares of FCX recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $26.04 to $26.07 a share. Following that bottom, this stock has trended higher to $30.14 a share, but it just failed to hold above its 50-day at $28.60 a share.

  If you're bullish on FCX, then I would look for long-biased trades as long as this stock is trending above some near-term support levels at $27 to $26 and then once it takes out its 50-day at $28.60 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above its 50-day with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 17.31 million shares. If we get that move soon, then FCX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $30.14 to $32 a share.

• [By David Smith]

  There's enough going on at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) , the world's biggest publicly traded copper producer, that its management undoubtedly resembles a proverbial cat in a sandbox these days. But the key question regarding the big mining -- and now oil and gas -- company is whether its shares should be bought, sold, or ignored.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Gold investors weren't the only ones having a rough year. Other commodities such as silver and copper have been sinking this year as well, sending top stocks such as Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) and Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX  ) down by double digits. Again, looking at the chart, you can see a pretty big correlation between falling commodity prices and the subsequent fall in the price of each stock.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Majesco Entertainment Company(COOL)

Majesco Entertainment Company develops and markets video game products primarily for family oriented mass-market consumers. The company publishes video games for various interactive entertainment hardware platforms, including Nintendo?s DS, DSi, and Wii; Sony?s PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable; Microsoft?s Xbox 360; and personal computers. It also publishes games for various digital platforms consisting of mobile platforms comprising iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, as well as online platforms, including Facebook. The company sells its products primarily to retail chains, specialty retail stores, video game rental outlets, and distributors. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Edison, New Jersey.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Capstone Turbine Corporation(CPST)

Capstone Turbine Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, and services turbine generator sets and related parts for use in stationary distributed power generation applications. Its stationary distributed power generation applications include cogeneration combined heat and power (CHP), integrated (CHP), resource recovery, and secure power, as well as combined cooling, heat, and power; and its products are used as battery charging generators for hybrid electric vehicle applications. The company primarily offers microturbine units, subassemblies, and components. It also provides various accessories, including rotary gas compressors with digital controls, heat recovery modules for CHP applications, dual mode controllers that allow automatic transition between grid connect and stand-alone modes, batteries with digital controls for stand-alone/dual-mode operations, power servers for multipacked installations, and protocol converters for Internet access, as well as frames, ex haust ducting, and installation hardware. Further, it remanufactures microturbine engines; and provides after-market parts and services, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, and factory and on-site training services. The company?s microturbines can be fueled by various sources, including natural gas, propane, sour gas, landfill or digester gas, kerosene, diesel, and biodiesel. It primarily sells its products directly to end users, as well as through distributors in North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Russian Federation, and South America. Capstone Turbine Corporation was founded in 1988 and is based in Chatsworth, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  What:�Shares of Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) skyrocketed 13.59% as the company announced that it had signed a major supplier deal with private real estate and investment firm Related Companies. Shares of Capstone haven't been this high in over a year.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Beyond the fundamentals, though, news plays an important role in short-term stock movements. Outside the Dow, microturbine producer Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) soared 8.8% after receiving its second large order in the past week. After getting word of a purchase from real-estate and investment firm Related Companies on Tuesday, Capstone got an order today from Southern California Gas to buy three of its C65 uninterruptible power-source units for use at the gas company's data center. Given the relatively small size of the business, which sports sales of only about $122 million over the past year, orders like this have a material effect on Capstone and also draw the attention of other prospective buyers.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Fisher reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) . Capstone is a smallish company, making low-emission microturbines used in power generation. Its top line has been growing by double digits over the past few years, and it's poised to profit from huge interest in shale oil, but it remains in the red. Still, it has recently announced a bunch of promising deals and some think the many folks short the stock will end up burned.

10 Best Cheap Stocks To Own For 2014: Sprott Resource Lending Corp.(SILU)

Sprott Resource Lending Corp., a natural resource lender, provides bridge and mezzanine financing to precious and base metal mining, exploration, and development companies, as well as energy companies worldwide. The company was formerly known as Quest Capital Corp. and changed its name to Sprott Resource Lending Corp. in September 2010. Sprott Resource Lending Corp. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

FINRA Plan Seeks ‘Clearer Picture’ of Nonlisted REITs

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filed on Monday a proposal to provide more transparency in the estimated per-share value of unlisted direct participation programs and real estate investment trusts.

FINRA's proposal, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, would eliminate the broker-dealer practice of listing the value of nontraded REITs at $10 per share. The rule change would require BDs to factor in fees and commissions paid to them when determining the estimated share value, which would mean lower share prices.  

FINRA proposes two methodologies under which an estimated share value would be presumed reliable: net investment and independent valuation.

The Investment Program Association, which represents nonlisted direct investment vehicles, said in a statement that it “worked tirelessly” with FINRA to revise the existing customer account statement rule “to enhance transparency and provide investors with a clearer picture of nonlisted REITs and Direct Participation Programs as they evolve.”

Presenting valuations on account statements “during the initial offering period which reflect a deduction of commissions and direct marketing fees from gross offering price represents a significant step forward in the evolution of these increasingly popular products, and the IPA supports this part of the proposal.”

However, IPA notes that its initial review of the proposal “raises a number of significant concerns,” and because of the “complexity of the rule, its importance for investors, and its potential economic impact on financial advisors, broker-dealers, and the various American industries which rely upon these investments to provide capital for their growth,” IPA believes the SEC should set the comment period at 90 days.

"The IPA believes that the significant economic impact of this proposed rule needs to be studied," says Kevin Hogan, IPA's president and CEO.

---

Check out Enforcement Roundup: Investors Win $900,000 in FINRA Arb Over Nontraded REITs on ThinkAdvisor.

CheapAir adopts Bitcoins to book hotels

It may soon become easier for travelers to book entire vacations using Bitcoin, the digital currency.

Online travel agency CheapAir.com has started accepting Bitcoins to make reservations at the more than 200,000 hotels in its worldwide network.

In November, the website began taking Bitcoins for flight purchases, and CEO Jeff Klee said the website gained new customers after that.

"We've been really pleasantly surprised by the response," he says. "We're making a lot more Bitcoin sales than we expected to make."

More mainstream merchants are starting to accept the digital currency, which is as easy to use as Paypal, Visa or MasterCard.

Users buy Bitcoins through online exchanges and store them in a virtual wallet. They can then make online transactions or make purchases in person at places that have the technology to transfer Bitcoins out of virtual wallets.

Top Airline Companies To Buy For 2015

Merchants like Bitcoins because the transaction fees can be lower than they are for credit cards. Consumers like them because the transactions are immediate, much like cash.

Jerry Brito, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, says he expects even more mainstream merchants to adopt the currency.

"Were going to see an ever-growing number of merchants begin to accept Bitcoin," he says. "Bitcoin is a network … Facebook is a network. Why do you join Facebook? Because everyone else is on Facebook. The more people will own and spend the Bitcoin, the more merchants will accept them, and more people will use them."

The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas recently began accepting Bitcoins for some purchases.

PointsHound, a hotel booking start-up, recently began letting customers earn Bitcoins for their hotel stays.

Klee says that while the travel industry is starting to embrace Bitcoins, i! t won't become common unless hotels and airlines get on board.

For now, CheapAir.com accepts Bitcoins but exchanges them for U.S. dollars to book with airlines and hotels. The value of Bitcoins fluctuates.

"Until they start accepting Bitcoin, it's a little bit difficult for third-party companies to do it," he says. "The suppliers will be the ones to dictate how widespread they are."

Sears to spin off Lands’ End business

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Sears Holdings said Friday that it will spin off its Lands' End clothing business as a separate company by distributing stock to the retailer's shareholders.

The retailer had said in October that it was considering separating the Lands' End and Sears Auto Center businesses from the rest of the company. It did not mention Sears Auto Center in Friday's announcement.

Sears has spun off other businesses, including its Hometown and Sears Outlet stores, to raise cash.

Sears Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert disclosed recently that his stake in the company has been reduced to less than 50% as investors pulled money out of his hedge fund.

The news underscores the intense pressure facing the billionaire hedge fund manager, who took over as CEO in February to turn around the business.

Sears and the company's Kmart chain have struggled as rivals have lured away customers over the years.

Last year, Sears announced plans to restore profitability by cutting costs, reducing inventory, selling off some assets and spinning off others. Those moves helped it reduce net debt by $400 million and generated $1.8 billion in cash from the asset sales in the latest fiscal year.

Sears also has been building a loyalty program called Shop Your Way, which accounts for 65% of its sales and has tens of millions of active customers.

Sears bought Lands' End, which sells clothing and home goods on the Internet and through catalogs, in 2002.

Sears shares finished at $49.98 per share on Thursday. They are up almost 21% so far this year.

Yellen To Be Sworn In as First Woman Fed Chair on Monday

Jacquelyn Martin/APFederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen WASHINGTON -- Janet Yellen, the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve in its 100-year history, will take over the reins of the U.S. central bank Saturday and formally be sworn in next week, the Fed said Thursday. Yellen, 67, who begins her post as the Fed unwinds its unprecedented efforts to boost the U.S. economy, will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Eastern time Monday. She will have full authority as the top central banker from Saturday until the swearing-in ceremony, according to the Fed. She succeeds Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose second four-year term expires on Friday. Yellen will be sworn in by Fed governor Daniel Tarullo, a Fed official said on condition of anonymity. Yellen will be one of a handful of women heading central banks globally. Her main task will be to navigate the U.S. central bank's way out of its extraordinary stimulus, beginning with a further dialing down of its massive bond-buying program, and deciding when to raise rates. The Fed has already announced a $20 billion reduction in its monthly asset purchases and is expected to completely shut down the program by year-end. Yellen will remain in her current role as Fed vice chair over the weekend but will have authority to exercise all duties of the chair, the Fed said. President Barack Obama has nominated Stanley Fischer, former head of the Bank of Israel, to succeed Yellen in the number two position. The Senate must still confirm Fischer for the job, so it will be temporarily unfilled.

3 Big Tech Stocks on Traders' Radars

 

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

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

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

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

These "most active" names are the most heavily-traded names on the market -- and often, uber-active names have some sort of a technical or fundamental catalyst driving investors' attention on shares. That's especially true now that earnings season is officially underway. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.

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

Zynga

Nearest Resistance: $4.60

Nearest Support: $3.80

Catalyst: Earnings, Acquisition News

Shares of social video game company Zynga (ZNGA) are up 17% as I write this afternoon, rallying hard after gapping up on earnings and acquisition news. Zynga reported a loss of 3 cents per share, a number that's still a full cent better than the 4-penny loss that Wall Street was anticipating. ZNGA also announced that it would be acquiring NaturalMotion for $527 million, a move that puts successful game titles in Zynga's portfolio and gives the firm access to NaturalMotion's gaming engine.

The buying is good news for ZNGA shareholders, but it frankly doesn't change much from a technical standpoint. ZNGA is still trading in a price channel -- today's move just swatted it higher from support. Look out for resistance to come into play at $4.60.

Microsoft

Nearest Resistance: $39

Nearest Support: $335

Catalyst: CEO Rumors

Microsoft (MSFT) is seeing modest upside today, buoyed by rumors that the board is moving to solve the leadership vacuum created by the retirement of long-time CEO Steve Ballmer. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's head of cloud computing, is the presumed replacement. Wall Street's reaction appears to be positive, a fact that should help Microsoft's board finalize their decision.

Technically, Microsoft's chart doesn't look much different from Zynga's -- both stocks are trading within a wide long-term trend channel. While the ideal time to buy MSFT comes on a move off of support, there are worse times than now to jump into shares.

JDS Uniphase

Nearest Resistance: $15

Nearest Support: $13

Catalyst: Earnings

$3 billion communications company JDS Uniphase (JDSU) may be on the small side of the spectrum in terms of market capitalization, but it's seeing some huge volumes today as a result of positive earnings. JDSU earned 4 cents per share for the quarter, beating the breakeven numbers that management reported last year.

Technically, today's price action is breaking shares out above a double bottom pattern that's held JDSU lower for the last two months. That means we have a buy signal in shares today -- just watch out for resistance at $15.

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



-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

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>>4 Health Care Stocks Under $10 to Watch

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

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji