Best Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now

FedEx (FDX) wowed the market with its earnings and guidance yesterday. The results were so good, in fact, that the folks at RBC Capital Markets upgraded FedEx’s shares to Buy all the way from Underperform.

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RBC’s John Barnes and team list three reasons for the upgrade:

1. Based on management�� tone over the past few months, we believe FedEx will be successful in re-engineering its profit improvement plan to extract a greater level of costs from the network. This change in strategy gives us greater confidence in the company�� ability to deliver the bulk of its profit improvement targets and ultimately significant earnings growth over a multi-year timeframe.

2. While the growth from Ground and Freight pales in comparison to the expected increase in Express operating income, it is important to note that both divisions appear to be on solid footing.

Hot Food Companies To Invest In 2015: Forward Air Corp (FWRD)

Forward Air Corporation operates in two segments: Forward Air, Inc. (Forward Air) and Forward Air Solutions, Inc. (FASI). Through the Company's Forward Air segment, it is a provider of time-definite surface transportation and related logistics services to the North American deferred air freight market. It offers its customers local pick-up and delivery (Forward Air Complete) and scheduled surface transportation of cargo. It transports cargo that must be delivered at a specific time but is less time-sensitive than traditional air freight. As of December 31, 2011, it operated its Forward Air segment through a network of terminals located on or near airports in 85 cities in the United States and Canada, including a central sorting facility in Columbus, Ohio and 12 regional hubs serving key markets. It also offers its customers an array of logistics and other services including expedited full truckload (TLX); dedicated fleets; warehousing; customs brokerage; and shipment consolidation, deconsolidation and handling. During the year ended December 31, 2011, approximately 23.9% of the freight it handled was for overnight delivery, approximately 61.3% was for delivery within two to three days and the balance was for delivery in four or more days. Through its FASI segment, it provides pool distribution services throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Southwest continental United States. Pool distribution involves managing high-frequency, last mile handling and distribution of time-sensitive product to destinations in geographic regions. In March 2013, it acquired Total Quality, Inc. In February 2014, Forward Air Corporation acquired Central States Trucking Co. and Central States Logistics, Inc. from Central States Inc.

Forward Air

The Company receives freight from air freight forwarders, integrated air cargo carriers and passenger and cargo airlines at its terminals, which are located on or near airports in the United States and Canada. It also picks up freight from custo! mers at designated locations via our Forward Air Complete service. It transports these shipments by truck through its network to its terminals nearest the destinations of the shipments. It operates scheduled service to and from each of its terminals through its Columbus, Ohio central sorting facility or through one of its 12 regional hubs. It also operates scheduled shuttle service directly between terminals where the volume of freight warrants bypassing the Columbus, Ohio central sorting facility or a regional hub. When a shipment arrives at its terminal nearest its destination, the customer arranges for the shipment to be picked up and delivered to its final destination, or it, in the alternative, through its Forward Air Complete service, deliver the freight for the customer to its final destination. Its airport-to-airport network consists of terminals located in the 85 cities. As of December 31, 2011, independent agents and FASI operate 18 and two of its Forward Air locations.

The Company operates direct terminal-to-terminal services and regional overnight service between terminals where justified by freight volumes. It provides regional overnight service to the markets within its network. Direct shipments also reduce the likelihood of damage because of reduced handling and sorting of the freight. It operates regional hubs in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Newark, Newburgh, Orlando, and Sacramento. During 2011, the average weekly volume of freight moving through its network was approximately 34.0 million pounds per week. During 2011, its average shipment weighed approximately 717 pounds and shipment sizes ranged from small boxes weighing only a few pounds to large shipments of several thousand pounds.

The Company�� logistics and other services allow customers to access services from a single source: expedited full truckload (TLX); dedicated fleets; customs brokerage, such as assistance with the United States C! ustoms an! d Border Protection (U.S. Customs) procedures for both import and export shipments; warehousing, dock and office space; drayage and intermodal; hotshot or ad-hoc ultra expedited services, and shipment consolidation and handling, such as shipment build-up and break-down and reconsolidation of air or ocean pallets or containers.

Forward Air Solutions

Through the Company�� FASI segment, it provides pool distribution services through a network of terminals and service locations in 19 cities throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Southwest continental United States. Pool distribution involves managing high-frequency handling and distribution of time-sensitive product to destinations in specific geographic regions. Its customers for this product are regional and nationwide distributors and retailers, such as mall, strip mall and outlet-based retail chains. Its pool distribution network consists of terminals and service locations in the 19 cities. Its Forward Air wholesale customer base is comprised of freight forwarders, integrated air cargo carriers and passenger and cargo airlines. Its air freight forwarder customers vary in size from independent, single facility companies to international logistics companies, such as SEKO Worldwide, AIT Worldwide Logistics, Expeditors International of Washington, Associated Global, UPS Supply Chain Solutions and Pilot Air Freight. Its FASI pool distribution customers are consisted of national and regional retailers and distributors, such as The Limited, The Marmaxx Group, The GAP, and Aeropostale. The Company also participates in air cargo and retail trade shows and advertise its services through direct mail programs and through the Internet via www.forwardair.com and www.forwardairsolutions.com.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

Best Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Heartland Express Inc (HTLD)

Heartland Express, Inc. (Heartland), incorporated on August 8, 1986, is a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier. The Company provides regional dry van truckload services through its regional terminals plus its corporate headquarters. The Company transports freight for shippers and generally earns revenue based on the number of miles per load delivered. The Company�� primary traffic lanes are between customer locations east of the Rocky Mountains. The Company is a holding company of Heartland Express Inc. of Iowa, Heartland Express Services, Inc., Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc. and A & M Express, Inc. Heartland operates nine specialized regional distribution operations in Atlanta, Georgia; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Chester, Virginia; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; Kingsport, Tennessee; Olive Branch, Mississippi; Phoenix, Arizona, and Seagoville, Texas. The Company operates maintenance facilities at all regional distribution operating centers along with shop only locations in Fort Smith, Arkansas and O��allon, Missouri. In November 2013, Heartland Express Inc acquired 100% of the stock of Gordon Trucking, Inc.

The Company�� operations department is responsible for maintaining the continuity between the customer�� needs and Heartland�� ability to meet those needs by communicating customer�� expectations to the fleet management group. They are charged with development of customer relationships, ensuring service standards, coordinating proper freight-to-capacity balancing, trailer asset management, and daily tactical decisions pertaining to matching the customer demand with the appropriate capacity within geographical service areas. They assign orders to drivers based on well-defined criteria, such as driver safety and United States Department of Transportation (the DOT) compliance, customer needs and service requirements, on-time service, equipment utilization, driver time at home, operational efficiency, and equipment maintenance needs. Fleet management is r! esponsible for driver management and development. Their responsibilities include meeting the needs of the drivers within the standards that have been set by the organization and communicating the requirements of the customers to the drivers on each order to ensure successful execution. Serving the short-to-medium haul market (500 miles average length of haul in 2012) permits the Company to use primarily single, rather than team drivers and dispatch loads directly from origin to destination without an intermediate equipment change other than for driver scheduling purposes.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Heartland Express, Inc. (Nasdaq:HTLD) reported that on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, members of its management team will participate in the 2012 KeyBanc Capital Markets Industrial, Automotive and Transportation conference.

Best Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Vitran Corporation Inc (VTNC)

Vitran Corporation Inc. (Vitran), incorporated on April 29, 1981, is a provider of freight surface transportation and related supply chain services throughout Canada 34 states in the eastern, southeastern, central, southwestern, and western United States. The Company�� business consists of Less-than-truckload services (LTL). These services are provided by stand-alone business units within their respective regions. Vitran�� business is carried on through its subsidiaries, which hold the licenses and permits required to carry on business. As of December 31, 2012, Vitran�� principal wholly owned operating subsidiaries included Vitran Express Canada Inc. (Ontario), Can-Am Logistics Inc. (Ontario), Vitran Logistics Ltd. (Ontario), Expediteur T.W. Ltee (Canada), Vitran Corporation (Nevada), Vitran Express Inc. (Pennsylvania), Vitran Logistics Corp. (Delaware), Vitran Logistics Inc. (Indiana), and Las Vegas/L.A. Express, Inc. (California). In March 2013, Vitran Corp Inc completed divestiture of its Supply Chain Operation division to Legacy Supply Chain. In October 2013, Vitran Corporation Inc. completed the sale of its United States LTL business.

LTL Services

Within Canada, the Company provides next-day service within Ontario, Quebec and parts of western Canada, and generates its revenue from the movement of LTL freight within the three- to five-day east-west service lanes. The majority of its trans-Canada freight is shipped intermodally, whereby the Company�� containers are loaded onto rail cars and trans-loaded to Vitran facilities where Vitran�� network of owner operators pick up and deliver the freight to various destinations. During 2012, Vitran�� Canadian LTL business represented approximately 27.6% of total LTL revenues. Vitran�� Transborder Service Solution (inter-regional) provides over-the-road service between its Canadian LTL and United States LTL business units.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Vitran Corporation (NASDAQ: VTNC) announced today that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with TransForce pursuant to which TransForce has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Vitran not already owned by TransForce for US$6.50 in cash per share, in accordance with TransForce's prior proposal. To read the full news, click here. ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) today announced it signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) to sell three utility-scale projects in Western China, with a total capacity of 60MW, to Jiangsu Akcome Solar Science & Technology Co on December 30, 2013. To read the full news, click here. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) today announced it has terminated the merger agreement with Apollo Tyres (NSE:ApolloTYRE). To read the full news, click here. RedHill Biopharma (NASDAQ: RDHL) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with leading healthcare investor OrbiMed Israel Partners Limited Partnership, an affiliate of OrbiMed Advisors LLC, for the sale of RedHill's American Depository Shares and warrants in a private placement transactionor a total sum of $6.0 million. To read the full news, click here.

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Best Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Canadian National Railway Co (CNR.TO)

Canadian National Railway Company (CN), incorporated on August 24, 1995, is engaged in the rail and related transportation business. CN�� network of approximately 20,100 route miles spans Canada and mid-America, connecting three coasts: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert (British Columbia), Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile (Alabama) and metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth (Minnesota)/Superior (Wisconsin), Green Bay (Wisconsin), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis and Jackson (Mississippi), with connections to all points in North America. CN�� network, and its co-production agreements, routing protocols, marketing alliances and interline agreements, provide CN customers access to all three North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) nations. In March 2012, the Company acquired a locomotive program.

Petroleum and chemicals

The petroleum and chemicals commodity group consists of a range of commodities, including chemicals, sulfur, plastics, petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas products. The Company�� petroleum and chemicals shipments originate in the Louisiana petrochemical corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge; in northern Alberta, and in eastern Canadian regional plants.

Metals and minerals

The metals and minerals commodity group consists primarily of non-ferrous base metals and ores, concentrates, iron ore, steel, construction materials, machinery and dimensional loads. The Company provides rail access to aluminum, mining, steel and iron ore producing regions.

Forest products

The forest products commodity group includes range of lumber, panels, paper, wood pulp and other fibers such as logs, recycled paper, wood chips, and wood pellets. The Company has rail access to the western and eastern Canadian fiber-producing regions. In United States, the Company is located to serve both the Midwest and southern United! States corridors with interline connections to other Class I railroads.

Coal

The coal commodity group consists of thermal grades of bituminous coal, metallurgical coal and petroleum coke. Canadian thermal and metallurgical coal is exported through terminals on the west coast of Canada to offshore markets. In United States, thermal coal is transported from mines served in southern Illinois, or from western United States mines through interchange with other railroads, to utilities in the Midwest and southeast United States, as well as offshore markets through terminals in the Gulf and the Port of Prince Rupert.

Grain and fertilizers

The grain and fertilizers commodity group depends primarily on crops grown and fertilizers processed in western Canada and the United States Midwest. The grain segment consists of three primary segments: food grains (mainly wheat, oats and malting barley), feed grains and feed grain products (including feed barley, feed wheat, peas, corn, ethanol and dried distillers grains), and oilseeds and oilseed nproducts (primarily canola seed, oil and meal, and soybeans).

Intermodal

The intermodal commodity group is consists of two segments: domestic and international. The domestic segment transports consumer products and manufactured goods, operating through both retail and wholesale channels, within domestic Canada, domestic United States., Mexico and transborder, while the international segment handles import and export container traffic, directly serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Montreal, Halifax and New Orleans.

Automotive

The automotive commodity group moves both finished vehicles and parts throughout North America, providing rail access to certain vehicle assembly plants in Canada, and Michigan and Mississippi in the United States. The Company also serves vehicle distribution facilities in Canada and the United States, as well as parts production facilities in Mi! chigan an! d Ontario. The Company serves shippers of import vehicles via the ports of Halifax and Vancouver, and through interchange with other railroads.

The Company competes with Canadian Pacific Railway Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roadmap2Retire]

  I am also considering various stocks that are not currently in my portfolio, but the current high valuations do not provide many options.

  Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) engages in transportation of goods including petroleum and chemicals, grain and fertilizers, coal, metals and minerals, forest products, intermodal, and automotive products. The company operates 20,100 route miles of track that spans Canada adn mid-America connecting the three coasts of Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. CNR is a dividend contender that has been raising its dividends for 17 consecutive years and has a 5-yr DGR of 13.9% and a 10-yr DGR of 17.4%. Norfolk Southern (NSC) engages in rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate and finished goods operating approximately 20,000 router miles across the southern and eastern US. NSC and other railroads stand to benefit from the oil boom in continental US, and before permanent pipelines are put in place, railroads are the only option available to transport the huge supplies. NSC is a dividend contender raising its dividends for 12 consecutive years and has a 5-yr DGR of 10.8% and 10-yr DGR of 21.1%. Procter & Gamble (PG) and Unilever plc (UL) are giants in the consumer packaged goods field. PG has five segments - beauty, grooming, healthcare, fabric care and home care. UL has four segments - personal care, foods, refreshment and home care. PG has been raising dividends for 57 years; has a 5-yr DGR of 10.2% and a 10-yr DGR of 10.8%. UL has been raising dividends for 25 years; has a 5-yr 7.07%. Aerospace & Defense Sector: With the global turmoils continuing and the rise of new conflicts across Eastern Europe and Middle East, I am considering adding some exposure to the Aerospace & Defense Sector. I recently posted an article regarding the current valuation of the stocks in the sector here. Index Funds - China ETF, Emerging Markets - I am considering adding a new index fund to my portfolio to track the Chinese marke

Best Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: TNT Express NV (TNTE)

TNT Express NV is the Netherlands-based express delivery company. It collects, transports and delivers documents, parcels and freight on a time-certain or day-definite basis. The Company operates worldwide with domestic, regional and intercontinental delivery. It has own operations in more than 60 countries and can deliver to more than 200 countries through own operations, subcontractors and agents. Its customers are international companies, as well as small and medium enterprises. The Company serves industries such as technology, automotive, industrial, healthcare and lifestyle, as well as financial institutions and governments. The Company operates interconnected international air and road networks. The air network consists of a central air hub in Liege, Belgium, and a fleet of more than 50 aircrafts. The road networks are operated in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and South America. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Wall]

  One of the country�� largest employers with more than 150,000 staff, Royal Mail has shifted away from letters to more lucrative package shipping, competing with TNT Express NV (TNTE) of the Netherlands and Deutsche Post AG (DPW)�� DHL Express.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  TNT Express NV (TNTE) lost 4.3 percent to 6.33 euros, its lowest price in four months. PostNL NV, the Dutch mail service with operations in the U.K. and Germany, said it will sell about half of its 29.8 percent stake in the Dutch package-delivery company to reduce debt. The 15 percent stake up for sale is valued at about 540 million euros ($738 million), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. PostNL gained 1.8 percent to 4.17 euros.

Best Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Aurizon Holdings Ltd (QRNNF)

Aurizon Holdings Limited, formerly QR National Limited, is a rail freight operator. It owns and operates a coal network made up of 2,670 kilometers of heavy haul rail infrastructure. It provides specialist services in rail design, engineering, construction, management and maintenance, and offers supply chain solutions to a range of customers in Australia. Its business comprises three product lines. Coal business includes transport of coal from mines in Queensland and New South Wales to end customers and ports. Freight business includes transport of bulk mineral commodities, including iron ore, agricultural products, mining and industrial inputs and general freight throughout Queensland and Western Australia. Network Services business provides access to, and operation and management of the Central Queensland Coal Network. In January 2014 the Company announced that National Australia Bank Limited and its associated entities has ceased to be the substantial holder of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australia stocks enjoyed early Monday gains after an advance for commodities and U.S. stocks since the last session, with a relatively good reception for earnings. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) improved by 0.4% to 5,376.30, with miners tracking gains in gold and copper. Rio Tinto Ltd. (AU:RIO) (RIO) added 1.3%, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (AU:FMG) (FSUMF) traded 1.1% higher, while gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) and Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. (AU:KCN) (KSKGF) rallied 2.2% and 4.7%, respectively. Banks rose after Wall Street shares climbed on Friday, with National Australia Bank Ltd. (AU:NAB) (NAUBF) up 1% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (AU:ANZ) (ANEWF) adding 0.9%, though Commonwealth Bank of Australia (AU:CBA) (CBAUF) dropped 2.4% as it traded without rights to its latest dividend. Coal transport firm Aurizon Holdings Ltd. (AU:AZJ) (QRNNF) tacked on 2.1% as its fiscal first-half underlying profit increased 18%, though net profit f

Best Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Agility Public Warehousing Co KSC (AGLTY)

Agility Public Warehousing Company KSC is a Kuwait-based company engaged, along with its subsidiaries, in the provision of global integrated logistics solutions. The Company is organized into two business segments: the Logistic and Related services segment provides logistics offering to its clients, including freight forwarding, transportation, contract logistics, project logistics and fairs and events logistics, and the Infrastructure segment provides other services, which include industrial real estate airport and airplane ground handling and cleaning services, customs consulting, private equity and waste recycling. The Company operates under the brand name of Agility. The Company�� subsidiaries include Global Express Transport Co. WLL, PWC Transport Company WLL, Agility DGS Logistics Services KSCC and Gulf Catering Company for General, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fiona MacDonald]

  The Kuwait SE Price Index rose for a sixth day, climbing 0.5 percent to 6,851.17 at the close. Kuwait Real Estate Co. (KRE) climbed to the highest level in a month. Agility (AGLTY) advanced 1.7 percent after winning a $190 million UN contract in Sudan�� Darfur region. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, which tracks the biggest 200 companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council, fell 0.1 percent.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015

U.S. crude oil refiners��stocks are surging Friday following the release of the International Energy Agency�� (IEA) October Oil Market Report. U.S. refinery throughput in September led to the agency to increase its forecast of global refinery production by 100,000 barrels a day to 77.3 million barrels a day. Throughput rose by 1.2 million barrels a day year-over-year despite a drop of 700,000 barrels a day at European refiners.

U.S. exports of refined products such as gasoline and diesel fuel totaled 3.37 million barrels a day in the first week of October, more than 500,000 barrels a day more than in the same week a year ago and nearly 900,000 barrels a day more than the first week of October 2011.

Booming crude oil production from the Bakken play in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin plays in Texas is giving refiners a very strong position regarding the price they pay for domestic crude. Including transportation costs, refiners are paying an amount that meets or beats the price of imported Brent by enough to enable shipping the refined products to Europe and still make a profit. This is true both for primarily Gulf Coast refiners like Valero Corp. (NYSE: VLO) and Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) and East Coast refiners like PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE: PBF). Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) owns a refinery in New Jersey and three more along the Gulf Coast.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015: Union Pacific Corporation(UNP)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, provides rail transportation services in North America. It has approximately 31,953 route miles linking Pacific Coast and Gulf Coast ports with the Midwest and eastern United States gateways, and provides several corridors to Mexican gateways. The company offers freight transportation services for agricultural products, including whole grains and related commodities, food, beverage products, corn for ethanol products and its by-products, animal feeds, fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, and poultry products; and automotive products, such as imported and finished vehicles, and automotive parts and materials. It also provides transportation services for chemicals, such as industrial chemicals, plastics, and liquid petroleum products; energy products comprising coal and coke; industrial products, including lumber products, paper and consumer goods, furniture and appliances, and nonferrous and i ndustrial minerals, as well as steel and construction products, such as rock, cement, and roofing materials; and intermodal containers. Union Pacific Corporation was founded in 1862 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  The news isn't always good
  Of course, not every stock gained, and the biggest loss in the IPIG portfolio for the week goes to the two-stock railroad combo of CSX (NYSE: CSX  ) and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) . Both reported solid earnings that propelled their shares to gains for the prior week's IPIG review. Still, lousy earnings numbers this week from a competitor on weak coal shipments served as a reminder of how dependent railroads are on that single commodity. That news was enough to drive the IPIG's railroads down on the week.

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Speaking of those goals...
  Last week, two companies paid their dividends to the iPIG portfolio: railroad giant Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) and car parts magnate Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC  ) . Union Pacific's dividend added $4.14 to the iPIG portfolio's coffers, while Genuine Parts' added $12.36. Union Pacific has held its dividend steady for three quarters, while Genuine Parts has paid two dividends at its current level. Both companies have track records of annual increases, and the iPIG portfolio looks forward to seeing if that trend continues.

• [By Kelley Wright]

  Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) provides freight transportation services for a wide variety of products and industries, that includes agriculture, food and beverage, automotive parts and materials, finished vehicles, and industrial and construction materials and products.

• [By Matthew Smith]

  Day trading gains could be had, but if you want to own names with exposure to shipping the goods which power, feed and build the economy a better option would be to focus on Union Pacific (UNP) which is part of the heartbeat of America. It is still a great company, whereas DryShips is not due to its capital structure and debt.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015: DryShips Inc (DRYS)

DryShips Inc. (DryShips), incorporated in September 2004, is a holding company engaged in the ocean transportation services of drybulk cargoes and crude oil worldwide through the ownership and operation of drybulk carrier vessels and oil tankers and offshore drilling services through the ownership and operation of ultra-deepwater drilling units. As of December 31, 2011, DryShips owned and operated two fifth generation ultra-deepwater, semi-submersible offshore drilling rigs, the Leiv Eiriksson and the Eirik Raude, and four sixth generation, advanced capability ultra-deepwater drillships, the Ocean Rig Corcovado, the Ocean Rig Olympia, the Ocean Rig Poseidon and the Ocean Rig Mykonos. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned and operated four Aframax tankers, Saga, Daytona, Belmar, and Calida, and one Suezmax tanker, Vilamoura. On August 24, 2011, DryShips acquired all of their shares of OceanFreight Inc. On October 5, 2011, DryShips completed the partial spin off of Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (Ocean Rig UDW). On November 3, 2011, the merger of Pelican Stockholdings Inc. (Pelican Stockholdings), its wholly owned subsidiary, and OceanFreight, was completed. In January 2013, it sold two of its tankers under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries, Esperona and Blanca.

As of December 31, 2011, DryShips operated its tankers under pooling arrangements that are managed by Heidmar Inc. As of March 6, 2012, the Company owned, through its subsidiaries, a fleet of 36 drybulk carriers, consisting of nine Capesize, 25 Panamax and two Supramax vessels, which have a combined deadweight tonnage of approximately 3.53 million deadweight tonnage and an average age of approximately eight years; six drilling units, comprised of two modern, fifth generation, advanced capability ultra-deepwater semisubmersible offshore drilling rigs and four sixth generation, advanced capability ultra-deepwater drillships, and five tankers, comprised of four Aframax and one Suezmax tankers.

The Company�� drybulk flee! t principally carries a variety of drybulk commodities, including major bulk items, such as coal, iron ore, and grains, and minor bulk items, such as bauxite, phosphate, fertilizers and steel products. During the year ended December 31, 2011, DryShips sold the drybulk vessel Primera; contracted for and completed the sale of the drybulk vessels La Jolla, Conquistador, Brisbane, Samsara and Toro; took delivery of its four sixth-generation, ultra-deepwater advanced capability sister drillships constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (Samsung), the Ocean Rig Corcovado, the Ocean Rig Olympia, the Ocean Rig Poseidon and the Ocean Rig Mykonos; took delivery of three newbuilding Aframax tankers, Saga, Daytona and Belmar, and one newbuilding Suezmax tanker, Vilamoura, and acquired four Capesize vessels, MV Robusto, MV Cohiba, MV Montecristo and MV Partagas, two Panamax vessels, the MV Topeka and the MV Helena. DryShips contracted for and completed the sale of the drybulk vessels Avoca and Padre, which were delivered to their new owners, on February 14, 2012 and February 24, 2012, respectively.

Drybulk Operations

The Company manages the deployment of its drybulk fleet between long-term and short-term time charters. A time charter is a contract to charter a vessel for a fixed period of time at a specified or floating daily or index-based daily rate and can last from a few days to several years. A spot charter refers to a voyage charter or a trip charter or a short-term time charter. Under a bareboat charter, the vessel is chartered for a stipulated period of time, which gives the charterer possession and control of the vessel, including the right to appoint the master and the crew.

Offshore Drilling Operations

In January 2012, following the completion of the contract with Tullow Oil plc (Tullow Oil) contract, discussed below, the Eirik Raude commenced a contract with Anadarko Cote d��voire Company (Anadarko) for the drilling of two wells offshore West ! Africa. I! ts offshore drilling operations consist of the Ocean Rig Corcovado, the Ocean Rig Olympia, the Ocean Rig Poseidon and the Ocean Rig Mykonos. As of December 31, 2011, the Ocean Rig Corcovado was employed under a three-year contract, plus a mobilization period, with Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras Brazil) for drilling operations offshore Brazil. The Ocean Rig Olympia is operating under contracts to drill a total of five wells for exploration drilling offshore Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The Ocean Rig Poseidon commenced a contract with Petrobras Tanzania, a company related to Petrobras Oil & Gas B.V. (Petrobras Oil & Gas).

The Ocean Rig Mykonos commenced a three-year contract, plus a mobilization period, with Petrobras Brazil, on September 30, 2011, for drilling operations offshore Brazil. DryShips�� wholly owned subsidiary, Ocean Rig AS, provides supervisory management services, including onshore management, to its operating drilling rigs and drillships. DryShips also has contracts to provide offshore drilling services and drilling units.

Tanker Operations

The Company employs its Aframax tankers Saga, Daytona, Belmar and Calida, in the Sigma tanker pool, which consists of 46 Aframax tankers, with fourteen different pool partners. It employs its Suezmax tanker, Vilamoura, in the Blue Fin tanker pool, which consists of 18 Suezmax tankers with eight different pool partners.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mani]

  [Related -DryShips Inc. (DRYS) Q3 Earnings Preview: What To Expect?]

  Since weakness does not represent a change to improving industry fundamentals, investors can use the recent sell-off as an opportunity to accumulate shares of well capitalized companies with exposure to the dry bulk market.

• [By Matthew Smith]

  We have received an increasing number of questions over the past week or two regarding the dry bulk shippers and whether one should be looking to those names now. To be honest we pay little attention to the names these days as the entire industry is awash in excess capacity and many great companies were turned into awful companies during the most recent boom-bust cycle. One could look to the index for guidance, but no longer does that even give the real story of the economy as the industry has so much capacity any time a rise occurs it seems to be quickly lost as competition increases. So for those readers who want to go long DryShips (DRYS), please refrain.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Saia Inc.(SAIA)

Saia, Inc., an asset-based trucking company, provides transportation and supply chain solutions primarily to the retail, chemical, and manufacturing industries in the United States. The company, through it subsidiary, Saia Motor Freight Line, LLC, offers regional and interregional less than truckload (LTL) services, selected national LTL, and time-definite services. It was formerly known as SCS Transportation, Inc. Saia, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Despite what can best be described as a�soft economy, small cap trucking stocks YRC Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW), Arkansas Best Corporation (NASDAQ: ABFS), Frozen Food Express Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: FFEX), Saia Inc (NASDAQ: SAIA) and USA Truck, Inc (NASDAQ: USAK) have been trucking some pretty impressive returns since the start of the year. In fact, these small cap trucking stocks are up anywhere from 72% to 150% or so since the start of the year despite the slow economy. Certainly trucking stocks provide a good indicator of how the economy is doing, but might investors be�jumping the gun by pushing up these trucking stocks?

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Wunderlich’s Nicholas Bender thinks FedEx’s results bode well for Old Dominion (ODFL), Con-way (CNW) and Saia (SAIA):

  We expect all less-than-truckload carriers to benefit in 2Q14 from the same trends that carried FedEx Freight to a banner 4Q14. This includes Hold-rated Old Dominion, which will continue to grow at well above market rates, and Buy-rated Con-way, which we believe can leverage a strong 2Q14 to prime the pump on margin enhancement efforts. Our favorite name in the space remains Saia (SAIA-$42.92, Buy), which will once again see accelerating tonnage growth in 2Q14. Though tonnage growth will moderate in� 2H14 due to steeper comps, there remains considerable potential for the company to boost yield and continue winning incremental business with new accounts.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015: Expeditors International of Washington Inc.(EXPD)

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. provides logistics services in the United States and internationally. The company?s services include consolidation or forwarding air and ocean freight; distribution management; vendor consolidation; cargo insurance; purchase order management; and customized logistics information. Its airfreight services comprise the procurement of shipments from its customers; determination of the routing; consolidation of shipments bound for a particular airport distribution point; and selection of the airline for transportation to the distribution point. The company also offers breakbulk services that include receiving and breaking down consolidated airfreight lots and arranging for distribution of the individual shipments. Its ocean freight and ocean services include ocean freight consolidation; and handling full container loads. In addition, the company acts as a customs broker, who assists importers to clear shipments through customs by pre paring required documentation, calculating and providing for payment of duties on behalf of the importer, arranging for any required inspections by governmental agencies, and arranging for delivery; and provides other value added services at destination, such as warehousing and product distribution, time definite transportation, and inventory management. Further, it offers custom clearances for goods moving by rail and truck between the United States, Canada, and/or Mexico; and customs consulting services The company?s customers primarily include retailers, distributors of consumer electronics, department store chains, clothing and shoe wholesalers, manufacturers, and catalogue stores. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Graseck�� Morgan Stanley colleague Bill Greene ranks No. 1 in transportation. One of his best calls was a sell in March 2010 on Expeditors International (EXPD) of Washington Inc., which assists companies in shipping goods across international borders. Most of Expeditors��business is on trade routes across the Pacific Ocean, especially between China and the U.S. Greene predicted that the company�� growth would stumble as freight flows shifted to emerging markets -- between China and Vietnam, for example. In addition, companies were increasingly near-shoring, or relocating factories and offices closer to headquarters, resulting in fewer international shipments.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015: Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP)

Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (the Partnership) owns and operates crude oil and liquid petroleum transportation and storage assets, and natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and marketing assets in the United States. The Company was formed by its Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. (General Partner), to own and operate the Lakehead system, which is the United States portion of a crude oil and liquid petroleum pipeline system extending from western Canada through the upper and lower Great Lakes region of the United States to eastern Canada. A subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge), owns the Canadian portion of the Mainline system. Enbridge, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a provider of energy transportation, distribution and related services in North America and internationally. Enbridge is the ultimate parent of its General Partner. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio of assets included the approximately 6,500 miles of crude oil gathering and transportation lines and 32 million barrels of crude oil storage and terminaling capacity; natural gas gathering and transportation lines totaling approximately 11,500 miles; nine natural gas treating and 25 natural gas processing facilities with an aggregate capacity of approximately 3,255 million cubic feet per day, including plants; trucks, trailers and railcars for transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and carbon dioxide, and marketing assets, which provide natural gas supply, transmission, storage and sales services. The Company conducts its business through three business segments: Liquids, Natural Gas and Marketing.

Liquids Segment

The Company�� Lakehead system consists of crude oil and liquid petroleum common carrier pipelines and terminal assets in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States. The Mainline system serves refining centers in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States and the Province of Ontario, Canada. Its Lakehead system spans a distance ! of approximately 1,900 miles, and consists of approximately 5,100 miles of pipe with diameters ranging from 12 inches to 48 inches, and is transporter of crude oil and liquid petroleum from Western Canada to the United States. In addition, the system has 61 pump station locations with a total of approximately 900,000 installed horsepower and 72 crude oil storage tanks with capacity of approximately 13.9 million barrels. The Mainline system operates in a segregation, or batch mode, allowing the transport in excess of 50 crude oil commodities, including light, medium and heavy crude oil, condensate and NGLs.

The Company�� Mid-Continent system is located within PADD II and is consisted of its Ozark pipeline and storage terminals at Cushing and El Dorado, Kansas. Its Mid-Continent system includes over 430 miles of crude oil pipelines and 17.3 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity. Its Ozark pipeline transports crude oil from Cushing to Wood River where it delivers to ConocoPhillips��Wood River refinery and interconnects with the Woodpat Pipeline and the Wood River Pipeline. The storage terminals consist of 91 individual storage tanks ranging in size from 58,000 to 575,000 barrels. Of the 17.3 million barrels of storage capacity on its Mid-Continent system, the Cushing terminal accounts for 16.1 million barrels. A portion of the storage facilities are used for operational purposes, while it contracts the remainder of the facilities with various crude oil market participants for their term storage requirements. Contract fees include fixed monthly capacity fees, as well as utilization fees, which it charges for injecting crude oil into and withdrawing crude oil from the storage facilities.

The Company�� Mid-Continent system operates under month-to-month transportation arrangements and both long-term and short-term storage arrangements with its shippers. Its North Dakota system is a crude oil gathering and interstate transportation system servicing the Williston basin in! North Da! kota and Montana, which includes the Bakken and Three Forks formations. The crude oil gathering pipelines of its North Dakota system collect crude oil from points near producing wells in approximately 22 oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. Its North Dakota system is made at Clearbrook to its Lakehead system and to a third-party pipeline system. As of December 31, 2011, its North Dakota system included approximately 240 miles of crude oil gathering lines connected to a transportation line, which is approximately 730 miles long, with a capacity of approximately 210,000 barrels per day. Its North Dakota system also has 21 pump stations, one delivery station and 11 storage facilities with an aggregate working storage capacity of approximately 870,000 barrels. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it added 25,000 barrels per day of capacity from Berthold, North Dakota to the international border near Lignite, North Dakota.

Natural Gas Segment

The Company owns and operates natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation systems, as well as trucking, rail and liquids marketing operations. It purchases and gathers natural gas from the wellhead and delivers it to plants for treating and/or processing and to intrastate or interstate pipelines for transmission to wholesale customers, such as power plants, industrial customers and local distribution companies. As of December 31, 2011, it had nine active treating plants and 25 active processing plants, including two hydrocarbon dewpoint control facilities (HCDP) plants. Its treating facilities have a combined capacity, which approximates 1,240 million cubic feet per day while the combined capacity of its processing facilities approximates 2,015 million cubic feet per day, including 350 million cubic feet per day provided by the HCDP plants.

The Company�� natural gas business consists of East Texas system, Anadarko system and North Texas system. East Texas system includes approximately 3,900 miles of nat! ural gas ! gathering and transportation pipelines, eight natural gas treating plants and five natural gas processing plants, including two HCDP plants. Anadarko system consists of approximately 2,900 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines in southwest Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, one natural gas treating plant and 11 natural gas processing plants. North Texas system includes approximately 4,700 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and nine natural gas processing plants located in the Fort Worth basin. Its East Texas system is located in the East Texas basin. Natural gas on its North Texas system is produced in the Barnett shale area within the Fort Worth basin conglomerate. Its Anadarko system is located within the Anadarko basin.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Elk City system includes one carbon dioxide treating plant and three cryogenic processing plants with a total capacity of 370 million cubic feet per day, and a NGL production capability of 20,000 barrels per day. It also includes its trucking and NGL marketing operations in its Natural Gas segment. These operations include the transportation of NGLs, crude oil and other products by truck and railcar from wellheads and treating, processing and fractionation facilities to wholesale customers, such as distributors, refiners and chemical facilities. In addition, its trucking and NGL marketing operations resells these products. Its services are provided using trucks, trailers and rail cars, pipeline capacity, fractionation agreements, product treating and handling equipment. Its trucking operations transport NGLs, condensate and crude oil from its processing facilities and from third party producers to its United States Gulf Coast customers. As of December 31, 2011, its fleet consisted of approximately 220 trucks and 375 trailers. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations are wholesale customers, such as refineries and propane distributors. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations also market products to whol! esale cus! tomers, such as petrochemical plants.

Marketing Segment

The Company�� Marketing segment transacts with various counterparties to provide natural gas supply, transportation, balancing, storage and sales services. Its Marketing business uses third-party storage capacity to balance supply and demand factors within its portfolio. Its Marketing business pays third-party storage facilities and pipelines for the right to store gas for various periods of time. These contracts may be denoted as firm storage, interruptible storage or parking and lending services. Its Marketing business leases third-party pipeline capacity downstream from its Natural Gas assets under firm transportation contracts. This capacity is leased for various lengths of time and at rates.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Midstream companies have seen a boom in activities recently that has paid increasing dividends to shareholders. Cash distributions in the industry, however, have not been equal, and some firms have disbursed greater amounts than others. Moreover, financial institutions have highlighted Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP) as a potential market outperformer, granting the stock a ��uy��rating. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are the two institutions in question, raising the target price to the low $30s, barely above the $29 value assigned by Zacks last month. The upside to this side of the oil and gas industry is cash flow, and high return on capital invested, coupled with a high-yield offering a good opportunity for a long-term investment. But, will the trend last long enough to make the investment worthwhile?

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Right off the bat investors should know that if this happens, one company in particular will see its earnings jump, and that's Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP  ) . The master limited partnership watched volumes on its North Dakota liquids pipelines shrink by nearly half in the first quarter, as producers favored rail shipments. If the pendulum swings back, we should see its numbers on this system follow suit.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015: CSX Corporation (CSX)

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based transportation services. The company offers traditional rail service, and the transport of intermodal containers and trailers. It transports crushed stone, sand and gravel, metal, phosphate, fertilizer, food, consumer, agricultural, automotive, paper, and chemical products; and utility, industrial, and export coal to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, industrial plants, and deep-water port facilities. The company also provides intermodal transportation services through a network of approximately 50 terminals transporting manufactured consumer goods in containers in the eastern United States, as well as performs drayage services and trucking dispatch operations. In addition, it operates distribution centers and storage locations; connects non-rail served customers to the benefits of rail by transferring products, such as ethanol and minerals, from rail to trucks; engages in the real estate sale, leasing, acquisition, and management and development activities. CSX Corporation operates approximately 21,000 route mile rail network, which serves various population centers in 23 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as operates approximately 4,000 locomotives. It also serves production and distribution facilities through track connections to approximately 240 short-line and regional railroads. CSX Corporation was founded in 1978 and is based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected: Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), CSX Corporation (NYSE: CSX), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese GDP, Chinese retail sales, Chinese industrial production, US Redbook, US retail sales, German ZEW economic sentiment, British CPI, British PPI, Italian CPI

  Wednesday

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015: Canadian Pacific Railway Limited(CP)

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a transcontinental railway providing freight transportation services, logistics solutions, and supply chain expertise in Canada and the United States. It transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, sulphur, and fertilizers; merchandise freight; finished vehicles and automotive parts; forest products, which include wood pulp, paper, paperboard, newsprint, lumber, panel, and oriented strand board; and industrial and consumer products comprising chemicals, energy, and plastics, as well as mine, metals, and aggregates. The company provides rail and intermodal transportation services over a network of approximately 14,700 miles serving the principal business centers of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Canada is being home to one of the hottest transport debates seen in the last decade. Surprisingly enough it is far from legislating over auto pilots, bio fuels or frisking. The focus of Bill C-30, according to the Calgary Herald, is ��ederal legislation aimed at getting more grain moving on the rails.��Canadian Pacific (CP)�� chief operating officer Keith Creel told a House of Commons committee, however, that he had a great concern over the bill�� real effect. Company representatives argue that giving shippers the ability to transfer traffic to alternate railways may indeed slow down the grain supply chain due to increased handlings.

• [By Vanina Egea]

  Conditions for railroad operations in the U.S. do not look as good as on the other side of the Great Lakes. While Canadian National (CNI) and Canadian Pacific (CP) have wrestled with a greater demand and adverse environmental conditions ���onditions that have sparked a heated debate at Congress ���.S. railroad operators lack the necessary demand to be noticed by the market.

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  The biggest concern here is that 2013 has been a terrible year for oil-by-rail; the recent disaster in Canada isn't the only derailment. Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP  ) had three derailments involving oil tank cars in the first four months of this year. One of the accidents, in Minnesota, resulted in 30,000 gallons of oil being spilled. It remains to be seen if these spills will be the tipping point for the approval of additional pipeline projects.

Hot Transportation Companies To Watch For 2015: World Point Terminals LP (WPT)

World Point Terminals, LP, incorporated on April 19, 2013, is a fee-based Delaware limited partnership formed to own, operate, develop and acquire terminals and other assets relating to the storage of light refined products, heavy refined products and crude oil. WPT GP, LLC is the general partner of the Company. It operates in a single reportable segment consists primarily of the fee-based storage and terminaling services it performs under contracts with its customers. The Company�� storage terminals are located in the East Coast, Gulf Coast and Midwest regions of the United States and, as of May 31, 2013, had a combined available storage capacity of 12.4 million barrels. The Company provides terminaling and storage of light refined products, such as gasoline, distillates and jet fuels; heavy refined products, such as residual fuel oils and liquid asphalt, and crude oil. Most of its terminal facilities are located on waterways, and have truck racks. Several of its terminal facilities also have rail or pipeline access. As of May 31, 2013, approximately 93% of its available storage capacity was under contract.

The Company generates revenue from Storage Services Fees, Ancillary Services Fees and Additive Services Fees. Storage Services Fees are its customers pay base storage services fees, which are fixed monthly fees paid at the beginning of each month to reserve storage capacity in its tanks and to compensate it for receiving up to a base product volume on their behalf. The Company charges ancillary services fees to its customers for providing services, such as heating, mixing and blending its customers��products that are stored in its tanks; transferring its customers��products between its tanks; at its Granite City terminal, adding polymer to liquid asphalt, and rail car loading and dock operations. The Company generates revenue from fees for injecting generic gasoline, gasoline, lubricity, red dye and cold flow additives to its customers��products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  World Point Terminals (NYSE: WPT) owns and operates terminals and other assets for the storage of light refined products, heavy refined products and crude oil. World Point’s storage terminals are located in the East Coast, Gulf Coast and Midwest regions of the US. The partnership debuted on Aug. 9, and units have gained 2 percent since. The partnership agreement provides for a minimum quarterly distribution of $1.20 per unit on an annualized basis. At the recent closing price of $19.64/unit, this equates to a minimum annualized yield of 6.1 percent.
  

• [By John Emerson]

  Berman pioneered the idea of the World Poker Tour (WPT) and sold the concept to the Travel Channel. Watching poker on television had always been boring since the viewing audience could not see the down cards which the players held. Berman remedied that problem by allowing a camera to expose the down cards to the TV audience. That idea suddenly transformed Texas Holdem into a fascinating spectator�� sport. By the end of 2003 the stock had reached its book value of 15 dollars a share and I decided to take my profits, perhaps a bit prematurely. The stock quickly climbed to about 30 dollars a share on sheer momentum.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  World Point Terminals L.P. (NYSE: WPT) was initiated as Outperform with a $23 price target at Credit Suisse.

  See also more analyst upgrades and downgrades for Tuesday.

Top 10 Diversified Bank Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 10 Diversified Bank Companies To Buy Right Now: Intercept Minerals Ltd (UMG)

Intercept Minerals Ltd. is engaged in gold and base metals exploration. The Company focuses on Ianna Gold Project in Guyana South America. The Ianna Joint Venture encompassed mineral rights over a 54 square kilometer suite of contiguous mining permits, which are centred over the Ianna/Yakishuru gold mining district located within the well-known Guiana shield region of Guyana. The Box Hole lead/zinc project is located in the Northern Territory, Australia. The Adnera project (alaskite hosted) is located approximately 200 kilometer north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The Millionaires Well Tungsten project is located about 200 kilometer north of Alice Springs. The bauxite project is located in the north east region of Melville Island within the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vera Yuan]

  Vivendi SA (0.4%) (VIV) (VIV - $24.47 - NYSE) is a French media and telecommunications holding company in the late stages of a decade long transition. In April 2014, the company announced it had reached an agreement to sell its French wireless operation, SFR, to French cable operator Numericable. Over the last year, the company also sold most of its 62% stake in Activision Blizzard and reached an agreement to sell its entire 53% stake in Maroc Telecom SA. After closing the SFR sale in early 2015, Vivendi will be a more focused media firm, consisting of Canal+ (a Francophone focused pay television network owner and distributor), Universal Music Group (UMG), the number one recording music company and number two music publishing entity in the world, and GVT, a fast growing Brazilian broadband and pay television provider. We expect GVT to eventually be sold and would not dismiss the possibility of a breakup of Canal+ and UMG. While operating conditions have been challenging i n mos! t of Vivendi's businesses, it appears their trajectory is finally turning more positive and should be supported by a healthier balance sheet after the SFR, Activision and Maroc disposals.From Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio)'s The Gabelli Asset Fund Second Quarter 2014 Shareholder Commentary.Also check out: Mario Gabelli Undervalued Stocks Mario Gabelli Top Growth Companies Mario Gabelli High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Mario Gabelli keeps buying Currently 0.00/512345

  Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

  Vivendi SA (0.5%) (XPAR:VIV)(VIV - €20.22 - EPA) is a French media and telecommunications holding company in the late stages of a decade long transition. In April 2014, the company announced it had reached an agreement to sell its French wireless operation, SFR, to French cable operator Numericable. Over the last year the company also sold most of its 62% stake in ActivisionBlizzard and reached an agreement to sell its entire 53% stake in Maroc Telecom SA. After closing the SFR sale in early 2015, Vivendi will be a more focused media firm consisting of Canal+ (a Francophone focused pay television network owner and distributor), Universal Music Group (UMG) (the number one recording music company and number two music publishing entity in the world) and GVT (a fast growing Brazilian broadband and pay television provider). We expect GVT to eventually be sold and would not dismiss the possibility of a breakup of Canal+ and UMG. While operating conditions have been challengin g in most of Vivendi's businesses, it appears their trajectory is finally turning more positive and should be supported by a healthier balance sheet after the SFR, Activision and Maroc disposals.From Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio)'s Gabelli Asset Fund's first quarter 2014 shareholder commentary.Also check out: Mario Gabelli Undervalued Stocks Mario Gabelli Top Growth Companies Mario Gabelli High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Mario Gabelli keeps buying Currently 5.00/512345 Rating:! 5.0/5 (1 vote)

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-diversified-bank-companies-to-buy-right-now-2.html

Best Growth Companies To Invest In 2014

When consumers blink, investors get nervous. That's the simple message from today's early stock-market moves, as the latest reading on consumer sentiment fell to levels not seen for nine months. Moreover, with retail sales falling 0.4% last month and previous readings revised downward, consumers are clearly feeling a bit overextended in light of uncertainties regarding employment, government spending, and general economic growth. The impact on stocks was fairly muted, but it nevertheless pulled the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) off their record highs for a loss of 53 points, or 0.36%, by 10:55 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 has suffered a larger decrease of 0.73%.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, that negative sentiment didn't make its way into consumer and retail stocks. Hope improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) was the biggest gainer in the Dow early on, rising 1.6% and hitting another all-time high after getting an upgrade from analyst firm Jefferies. The environment for construction-related stocks has been so strong in light of the rebound in housing that former Home Depot division HD Supply filed for a $1 billion initial public offering, having gone private back in 2007. The enthusiasm suggests that investors aren't convinced that weak consumer sentiment will persist for long.

Top Freight Companies To Buy Right Now: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Up first is CNO Financial Group (CNO), a mid-cap financial stock that's rocketed close to 60% higher since the calendar flipped over to January. Yup, it's been a great year for the market, but it's been a far better one for investors who own CNO. But that strong performance isn't showing any signs of slowing yet. In fact, CNO looks primed for even more upside in the fourth quarter.

  That's because CNO is currently forming a bullish pattern called an ascending triangle. The ascending triangle pattern is formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares -- in this case at $14.75 -- and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as CNO bounces in between those two technical price levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $14.75 resistance level. When that breakout happens, it's time to become a buyer.

  ACCO's price action isn't exactly textbook. After all, the pattern is coming in at the bottom of a downtrend, not after an uptrend. But ultimately, that doesn't change the trading implications of a move through that $7.50 level.

  Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Ascending triangles and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That $7.50 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant. The move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

  Don't be early on this trade.

• [By Vanin Aegea]

  I have heard many people comment about the insurance policies for cars, houses, life, assets, etc. The arguments always revolve around the same issue: Is it really necessary? What are the chances to be hit by a Hurricane, or to meet a sudden death? Well, nobody really knows. Some individuals however, sleep better when they know a policy backs their life investments. Here, I will look into three insurance companies that concentrate on different policies, or geographies. These are: China Life (LFC), and Conseco (CNO).

Best Growth Companies To Invest In 2014: Eastern Insurance Holdings Inc.(EIHI)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

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

Best Growth Companies To Invest In 2014: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  For those looking to invest in real estate stocks, highly recommended is the Dr. Housing Bubble blog. In a recent posting, the "Dr." pointed out that there was a "Lost Generation" when it came to household income. That has not happened for those investing in staffing industry stocks such as Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX), Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI), TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE: TBI), and Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC).

• [By idahansen]

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

Best Growth Companies To Invest In 2014: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) shares jumped 10.75% to $68.10 in pre-market trading as the company reported upbeat first-quarter results. Nordstrom posted a quarterly profit of $0.72 per share on revenue of $2.93 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.68 per share on revenue of $2.86 billion. Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Nordstrom from Neutral to Outperform.

• [By Erin McCarthy]

  Nordstrom Inc.(JWN) said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit slipped 3.5%, but the high-end department-store operator’s earnings and sales still outpaced expectations. The company also said it will seek a financial partner for its Nordstrom credit card receivables, which totals approximately $2 billion.

• [By Rich Duprey]

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

10 Best Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now

The earnings beat marches on, and a few major releases are pulling the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) in opposite directions today. The blue-chip index hasn't moved far, as a few top leaders and laggards are canceling out each other's movements. As of 2:20 p.m. EDT, the Dow has shed just 12 points, or 0.08%. Let's get caught up with the big news on the Dow.

Boeing soars as consumer goods and telecom stocks fall
Despite all the drama surrounding the 787 Dreamliner's grounding, Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) made the most of its first quarter in 2013 with an expectations-topping earnings release. The stock has risen 3.3% so far after Boeing reported net income of $1.44 per share, a year-over-year increase of more than 18%.

Halted Dreamliner deliveries did hit the company's revenue, which fell more than 2% compared to the year-ago quarter, but analysts and investors had expected some fallout from the grounding. Boeing did well at growing margins, particularly in its commercial airplane unit, where operating margin grew by 1.5 percentage points.

Best Growth Stocks To Own For 2015: Virgin Media Inc.(VMED)

Virgin Media Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides entertainment and communications services in the United Kingdom. The company offers cable broadband Internet, television, and fixed line telephone services under the Virgin Media brand to residential customers; mobile telephony services through Virgin Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator; broadband and telephone services to residential customers through third-party telecommunications networks; and video on demand services, including access to movies, television programs, music videos, and other on-demand content, as well as provides digital video recorders. It also offers voice, data, and Internet solutions to commercial customers comprising analog telephony and managed data networks and applications, as well as supplies communications services to health and emergency services providers. As of December 31, 2011, the company provided cable broadband services to approximately 4 million subscribers; cable television s ervices to approximately 3.76 million residential subscribers; cable telephony services to approximately 4.2 million residential subscribers; mobile telephony services to approximately 3 million customers; non-cable fixed line telephone services to approximately 163,300 subscribers; and voice, data, and Internet solutions to approximately 50,000 businesses and 250 public sector organizations. The company offers its products and services through telesales, customer care centers, and online, as well as through its sales force. It serves mobile and fixed-line service providers, systems integrators, and Internet service providers; and private and public sector organizations. The company was formerly known as NTL Incorporated and changed its name to Virgin Media Inc. in February 2007. The company was founded in 1993 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markos Kaminis]

  Whether the stock is overvalued or not does not matter at this point, because an impact to its subscriber base due to the data sharing news would probably change market expectations for the company's operations and affect both earnings estimates and valuation multiples. It would probably drive the shares lower in my view, and I see no reason to risk that by holding the stock. Long-term holders, of course, have tax considerations to consider, and the news is still filing out. If Verizon's peers are also implicated clearly, perhaps with the aid of a Verizon PR push, this issue would be effectively mitigated. Though even in that case, there could be market share loss by all major American firms, with companies like T-Mobile US (TMUS) and Virgin Media (VMED) benefiting, whether they have also been involved or not. In any event, for new stakeholders, or those willing to deal with tax implications; or for those interested in a potential short opportunity, I would sell the stock today. I see no reason to bear risk while this issue and its implications are still unraveling, and while VZ has thus far not been significantly discounted for it.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  Upon Liberty Global's (NASDAQ: LBTYA  ) successfully closing its acquisition of Virgin Media (NASDAQ: VMED  ) , Tom Mockridge will assume CEO responsibilities of the U.K. communications firm, Liberty Global announced today.

10 Best Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLSYY.PK)

Telstra Corporation Limited (Telstra) telecommunications and information services company providing telecommunications and information services for domestic and international customers. The Company operates in nine segments: Telstra Consumer and Country Wide (TC&CW); Telstra Business (TB); Telstra Enterprise and Government (TE&G); Telstra Wholesale (TW); Telstra Media Group; Telstra International Group; TelstraClear; Telstra Operations and Other. On July 6, 2011, Telstra announced changes to its organisational structure. Effective August 1, 2011, the entire sales and retail customer service workforce, was unified in a single business unit, Telstra Customer Sales and Service, responsible for sales and services to all segments, including consumer, business, enterprise and government customers. On March 27, 2012, the Company sold its 67% shareholding in Dotad Media Holdings Limited, and on July 21, 2011, it sold its 64.4% shareholding in Adstream (Aust) Pty Ltd. On 17 May 2012, the Company acquired an additional 11% interest in Autohome Inc. Effective August 22, 2013, Telstra Corp Ltd acquired NSC Group, a provider of industrial automation services. In November 2013, Telstra Corporation Limited increased its Autohome shareholding from 66% to 71.5%. Effective January 21, 2014, Telstra Corp Ltd acquired O2 Networks, a developer of data networking and network security software.

Telstra Consumer and Country Wide

The TC&CW segment is responsible for providing the full range of telecommunication products, services and solutions (across Mobiles, Fixed and Wireless Broadband, Telephony and Pay TV) to consumer customers in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. This is achieved through inbound and outbound call centres, Telstra Shops (owned and licensed), Telstra Dealers and Telstra Digital. Telstra Digital is responsible for delivering self service capabilities for all Telstra customers, across all phases of the customer experience from browsing to buying and bill ! and service requests.

Telstra Business (TB)

TB is responsible for providing Australia's small to medium enterprises. It provides a range of telecommunications products, services and solutions, including the latest in cloud computing.

Telstra Enterprise and Government (TE&G)

TE&G is responsible for provision of network services and applications and integrated voice, data and mobile solutions. It provides these solutions via Telstra Next Generation Services to enterprise and government customers.

Telstra Operations (TOps)

TOps is responsible for overall planning, design, engineering and architecture of Telstra networks, technology and information technology; construction of infrastructure for its Company's fixed, mobile, Internet protocol (IP) and data networks; delivery of customer services across these networks; operation, assurance and maintenance, including activation and restoration of these networks, and supply and delivery of informationtechnology solutions to support its products, services, customer support functions and its internal needs. It also delivers network-centric professional services, managed services and outsourcing services for Telstra customers.

Telstra Wholesale (TW)

TW is responsible for the provision of a range of telecommunication products and services delivered over Telstra networks and associated support systems to non-Telstra branded carriers, carriage service providers and Internet service providers. Telstra Wholesale also provides services to NBN Co Limited.

Telstra Media Group (TMG)

TMG is responsible for the management and growth of the domestic directories and advertising business, including print, voice and digital directories, digital mapping and satellite navigation, digital display advertising and business information services. This includes the management of Yellow Pages, White Pages, Whereis, Citysearch, 1234 and Quotify. It also mana! ges of it! s investment in Digital Media content, services and applications, including Trading Post, Telstra Advertising Network, BigPond content including music, movies, sport and games, Internet Protocol television (IPTV), online portals and the FOXTEL partnership.

Telstra International Group (TIG)

TI is responsible for managing Telstra�� assets outside Australia and New Zealand. It includes CSL New World Mobility Limited, which is its 76.4% owned Hong Kong-based subsidiary in, responsible for providing full mobile services, including handset sales, voice and data products to the Hong Kong market. These services are delivered over CSL�� third generation (3G) and 4G Long Term Evolution networks. Its mainland China business provides digital media services in auto, IT and consumer electronics (this includes the Autohome and Sequel IT businesses). Its managed services and international connectivity business, provides managed network services, international data and voice, and satellite across Asia Pacific, China, India, Europe, and Africa.

TelstraClear

TClear is the Company�� New Zealand subsidiary. TClear is responsible for providing full telecommunications services to the New Zealand market.

Telstra Innovation, Products and Marketing

TIPM is responsible for innovation, product, promotion and pricing across Telstra. TIPM is also responsible for the overall brand, sponsorship, promotion and advertising direction of Telstra, as well as maintaining industry analyst relations and embedding market-based management across the Company. This is done by delivering data-driven customer insights that put the customer at the centre of everything Telstra does.

Corporate areas

Corporate areas provides operational and strategic legal support and advice across the Company; manages Telstra's public policy and communications; provides the functions of corporate

planning, accounting and administration, treasury, risk ma! nagement ! and assurance, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy. The segment also supports in organisational design and change, implementation of people and culture initiatives, leadership development, talent and succession management, health, safety and wellbeing, professional development, workplace relations and all employment and remuneration policies. The segment provides the functions of credit management, billing and procurement.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Hunkar]

  Current Dividend Yield: 4.91%
  Sector: Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
  Country: Italy

  Company: Telstra Corp Ltd (TLSYY.PK)

  Current Dividend Yield: 6.43%
  Sector: Telecom
  Country: Australia

10 Best Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: Cellcom Israel Ltd.(CEL)

Cellcom Israel Ltd. provides cellular communications services in Israel. It offers basic and advanced cellular telephone services, text and multimedia messaging services, and advanced cellular content and data services. The company?s basic cellular telephony services include voice mail, cellular fax, call waiting, call forwarding, caller identification, collect call, conference calling, ?Talk 2?, additional number services, and collect call services; and outbound and inbound roaming services. It also provides value-added services comprising Cellcom volume that includes downloadable content, such as music, games, on-net-reality programs, drama series, and video games; SMS and MMS services to send and receive text, photos, multimedia, and animation messages; access to third party application providers for notification of roadway speed detectors, mange vehicle fleets, and enable subscribers to manage and operate time clocks and various controllers for industrial, agricultural , and commercial purposes; video calls to communicate with each other through video applications; zone services for calls initiated from a specific location; location-based services; voice-based information services; text-based information services and interactive information services, including news headlines, sports results, and traffic and weather reports; and data services to access handsets, cellular modems, laptops, tablets, and cellular routers, as well as Internet based payment services. In addition, the company sells handsets, modems, routers, tablets, and laptops, as well as provides repair and replacement services; and offers landline telephony, transmission, and data services through its approximately 1,500 kilometers of inland fiber-optic infrastructure and complementary microwave links to selected business customers. As of March 31, 2011, it provided its services to approximately 3.395 million subscribers. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Netanya, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Cellcom Israel (NYSE: CEL  ) is getting a new CFO.

  Following the company's successful merger with Netvision, current Chief Financial Officer Yaacov Heen is declaring his mission accomplished, and says he intends to resign his post on Sept. 17 after 16 years with the company. At that time, Cellcom says it will bring on Shlomi Fruhling, the former VP for strategy and finance at Netvision, to become the merged company's new CFO on Sept. 18.

10 Best Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: Orange SA (ORAN)

Orange SA, formerly France Telecom S.A., incorporated on December 31, 1996, is an European mobile operator, an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) Internet access provider in Europe, and telecommunications services provider for multinational businesses under the Orange Business Services brand. As of December 31, 2010, France Telecom provided services to 209 million customers, of which 150 million were mobile phone customers and 13.7 million were broadband Internet customers, and as of June 30, 2011, provided services to 217.3 million customers. It offers its individual customers, businesses and other telecommunications operators a line of services covering fixed and mobile communications, data transmission, the Internet and multimedia, and other services. The Company�� segments include France, Poland, Spain, Rest of the World, Business Communication Services, International Carriers and Shared Services.

France

The range of services in the Home segment in France is made up of fixed-line telephony services; other consumer services; online, Internet access, and multimedia services; advertising-management and Internet portal business; content-related business, and carrier services. France Telecom�� traditional fixed-line telephony services provide access to the network, local and long-distance telephone communication services throughout France, and international calls. In addition, France Telecom offers its fixed-line telephony subscribers a broad range of value-added services. The France Telecom Group has a number of portals, including Orange.fr, which is either Web- or mobile-accessible. In December 2010, its audience reached 22.5 million, and Voila.fr and Cityvox (entertainment and leisure listing site in France) in its different formats, such as Cityvox.fr, Cinefil.com, Spectacles.fr, Concert.fr and WebCity.fr. The primary revenue source is online advertising sold by the Orange Advertising Network. This advertising management department sells advertising space for ab! out 20 third-party sites, both Web and mobile.

Orange�� offers are built around three product lines: postpaid, prepaid and convergent offers. Orange offers two categories of prepaid offer, to which calls are charged by the second from the first second: The Mobicarte, includes a range of recharges from 5 to 100 euros and Orange Initial, which enables the customer to be billed monthly depending on his or her actual consumption. Orange also has a number of offers that pair mobile use and mobile Internet access with all-in-one offers, including both the hardware and an Internet access plan. The USB 3G+ plans enable connection to the Internet via the mobile broadband network or the Orange public wireless fidelity (WiFi) network from a laptop computer, multimedia mobile phone or a tablet personal computer.

The Company competes with SFR-Neuf Cegetel, Free, Bouygues Telecom, Numericable, Google and Voila.

Poland

Orange (the brand under which the TP Group subsidiary, PTK Centertel trades) had a total of 14.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2010. In April 2010, PTK Centertel introduced segmented postpaid offers for residential customers. Depending on the usage profile, customers can choose from three types of tariff plans: Dolphin tariffs for frequent users of voice services, Pelican for customers focused on text and community Web-services, and Panther for users of mobile data services (Internet, email). The mobile broadband Internet customer base (Edge and 3G data services) reached 547,000 customers during 2010. In 2010, Orange introduced a SIM-only mobile Internet offer and a portfolio of terminals dedicated to the Orange Free offer.

The Company competes with Netia, Multimedia Polska, Aster and Hyperion.

Spain

Orange Espana, operating under Orange, Ya.com and OBS (Enterprise) brands offers fixed and mobile telecommunication services to more than 13 million customers in the residential, professional, business and who! lesale se! gments. Orange Espana�� physical distribution network consists in 2,922 points of presence, including Orange own shops, franchises, specialized shops under the Orange brand, non exclusive specialized shops, and a network of retailers. Orange Espana also distributes its services through distance selling channels, and its own online portal. Orange Espana fixed access infrastructure, based on its own optic fiber network and ADSL roll-out, enables delivery of advanced telecommunication services, including broadband Internet access, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), internet protocol television (IPTV), television (TV) streaming, video on demand (VOD) and advanced business services.

The Company competes with Telefonica, ONO, Vodafone and Jazztel.

Rest of the world

The France Telecom Group is present in Luxembourg via Orange S.A. (formerly VOXmobile), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mobistar. The Luxembourg subsidiary, VOXmobile, was renamed Orange S.A. in October 2009. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Orange S.A. had 88,900 active mobile telephony customers.

The Company competes with Proximus, Mobistar, Base, ex-Mobifon, Telefonica O2, Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, Sunrise, Moldtelecom, Starnet, ECMS, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat U.A.E.

Enterprise Communications Services

The Orange Business Services brand covers both the Enterprise Communication Services (ECS) unit, which supplies communications services to multinational companies and corporate accounts and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in France and Orange subsidiaries Business-to-Business (B2B) activities.

Orange Business Services covers the Company�� business customers in more than 160 countries and regions where it provides local technical and commercial assistance. This business segment includes a number of subsidiaries, including Etrali (trading solutions), Almerys (health), Orange Consulting (project management, telecom consulting), Multimedia Business Se! rvices (m! ultimedia contact centers), Neocles (virtualization solutions), IT&Labs (design and development of embedded Machine-to-Machine applications, vehicle fleet management), Obiane and Telecom System (secure network integration), Alsy (integration services), EGT (equipment and services for video conferences), and GlobeCast (multimedia broadcast systems).

The Company competes with IBM, HP, Microsoft and Cisco.

The Company competes with COLT Telecom, Numericable-Completel, BT Global Services, AT&T Business Services, Verizon Business, T-Systems, Reliance Globalcom, Tata Communications, Belgacom Group, NextiraOne, Spie Communication, NTT Group, IBM Global Services, HP Enterprise Services, Atos Origin, Salesforce and Amazon.

International Carriers and Shared Services

Orange�� International Carriers activity is based on long-distance network infrastructure and offers a range of solutions on the international market. The Company is involved in the design, construction and operation of submarine cables. The Company�� wholesale activity includes a worldwide network with over 120 presence points and 130,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable; a worldwide network of Internet protocol (IP) routes with end users in over 220 countries and connections to over 250 Internet service providers and a hit rate of over 85% for all European net surfers. France Telecom�� network has over 330 direct routes and interconnections with over 359 operators, and coverage in over 900 destinations with around-the-clock technical support. Its range of solutions includes interconnection, interoperability and signaling solutions for messaging, voice and video telephony services and the Orange Roaming Hub (Global eXchange) solution for moving from a bilateral model to a multilateral roaming system.

France Telecom has developed activities related to its core business line, such as content broadcasting, audience and advertising, and also healthcare activities. Orange offers free a! nd paying! content on its own channels, paid program packages, Video On Demand, music and game offers. Orange distributes content provided by third parties (television, games, music) on fixed-line and mobile networks both inside and outside France. Orange also produces its own channels: Orange Sport and Orange Cinema�� five different channels. Studio 37, is a subsidiary for investing in cinematographic rights, through both co-production and the acquisition of catalogue rights. During the year ended December 32, 2010, Studio 37 supported the launch of 15 films, including the Gainsbourg and Fatal. The Viaccess group, a France Telecom subsidiary, offers access solutions to television content. Orange is present in the games market through the games it sells on the orange.fr portal (Casual Games dedicated to family type games, such as breakout clones or riddles). Orange Healthcare, is the Company�� healthcare division, focused on developing service packages for the whole sector within a partnership approach.

The Company competes with Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Telia Sonera and AT&T.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  No soup for Yahoo!
  For some time now, Yahoo! has been angling to make a big buy in France. New CEO Marissa Mayer had her eye on online video website and Google rival Dailymotion, which France Telecom (NYSE: ORAN  ) was looking to unload.

• [By Dan Burrows]

  The market also likes the fact that BBVA is rapidly growing the profits it derives from operations in the U.S. and Asia, which will further shelter it from any more tremors in Europe. Always its strong suit, BBVA’s geographical sprawl bodes well for long-term outperformance.

  Orange (ORAN)

  Dividend Yield: 9.5%
  1-Year Total Return: 55%

• [By Mike Arnold]

  Shares of French telecommunications provider Orange (ORAN) ("Orange" or "the company") have rallied to the tune of 51% since hitting fresh multi-year lows in July 2013. While it's hard to recommend shares that have run so far, so quick, it is my opinion that Orange is still presenting investors a compelling asymmetric risk/reward situation. One way to limit risk is to set limit orders to pick up shares on any pullback caused by the shenanigans going on inside the Beltway.

10 Best Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: Deltathree Inc (DDDC)

deltathree, Inc. (deltathree), incorporated January 27, 1998, is a provider of integrated video and voices over Internet Protocol (VoIP), telephony services, products, hosted solutions and infrastructure. deltathree offers a range of private label VoIP products and services, as well as back-office platforms. The Company's operations management tools include account provisioning; e-commerce-based payment processing systems; billing and account management; operations management; Web development; network management; and customer care. The Company's direct-to-consumer channel includes its joip Mobile application, iConnectHere offering (which provides VoIP products and services directly to consumers and small businesses online using the same primary platform) and its joip offering (which serves as the exclusive VoIP service provider embedded in the Globarange cordless phones of Panasonic Communications).

Products

Deltathree�� products include joip Mobile Application, Digital Video and Voice-over-IP Services, Broadband Phone and personal computer (PC)-to-Phone. The Company's joip Mobile application is a cellular phone application providing low cost mobile calls over third-generation (3G) cellular networks, as well as wireless fidelity (WiFi) networks. Cellular operating systems supported by joip Mobile include the iPhone, Google Android. Nokia Symbian and Blackberry. Through the use of the Company's network it offers a white-label solution in which its customers have the ability to customize, implement and rapidly launch digital next generation communications offerings with minimal risk and investment. For the Company's potential partners, the Company offers a range of service provider back-end support services, including network management, billing, provisioning, e-commerce, as well as custom Web and application development.

The Company's Broadband Phone product is a phone replacement solution available to business and retail customers over the last mile through br! oadband connections through cable modem, digital subscriber line (DSL) or fixed wireless. Broadband Phone enables a user to conveniently operate features and retrieve voice mail through e-mail, Web or a phone interface. The Company's PC-to-Phone offering enables a user to conveniently and inexpensively place a call to a standard telephone anywhere in the world directly from a personal computer while remaining on-line.

Services

deltathree operations management tools include video mail, account provisioning, payment processing systems, billing and account management, customer care and network operations care. The Company provides a video mail feature for its video phones applications. The Company provides its service provider and reseller customers with a Web page through which it can order additional services or accounts, generate and activate PINs and perform other customary implementation functions. It provides the customers with a fraud detection and prevention system to permits secure credit card transactions over the Web.

The Company provides the customers with real-time, Web-based access to billing records to check billing and usage information or to increases prepaid accounts. It has moved and consolidated traditional first tiers customer care functions onto the Web for ease and flexibility and support this with second tier customer care. The Company provides a Network Operations Center (NOC), automated troubles ticket system, which enables its customers to submit, manage, and follow-up with technical questions and issues online. The provision of VoIP products and services through the Company's service provider and reseller sales channel and its direct-to-consumer channel accounted for 75.4% and 23.3% of its total revenues during 2011, respectively.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Bardin, who previously ran online-video startup Intercast Networks and co-founded online-calling service Deltathree Inc. (DDDC), has increased his presence in the Israeli startup scene in recent years, speaking at conferences and appearing at technology-industry events.

10 Best Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: Harris Corporation (HRS)

Harris Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a communications and information technology company that serves government and commercial markets worldwide. It operates in three segments: RF Communications, Government Communications Systems, and Broadcast Communications. The RF Communications segment designs, develops, and manufactures secure radio communications products and systems for manpack, handheld, soldier-worn, vehicular, strategic fixed-site, and shipboard applications that operate in various radio frequency bands. It also offers products and solutions ranging from wireless network infrastructure solutions to portable and mobile single-band and multiband radios, and public safety-grade broadband video and data solutions for the public safety, federal, utility, commercial, and transportation markets. The Government Communications Systems segment develops, supplies, and integrates communications and information processing products, systems, and netw orks for aerospace, terrestrial, and maritime applications supporting department of defense missions. This segment also provides mission-critical communications and information processing systems for the U.S. civilian Federal market, as well as offers IT transformation, managed, and information assurance solutions. The Broadcast Communications segment provides workflow, infrastructure, and networking solutions that enable media companies to streamline workflow from production through transmission; media solutions to manage digital media workflow through software solutions for advertising, media management, digital signage, broadband, digital asset management, and play-out automation; and transmission systems for delivery of media over wireless broadcast terrestrial networks. The company also offers healthcare IT solutions, IT compliance solutions, and mission-critical managed satellite communications services. Harris Corporation was founded in 1895 and is based in Melbourne, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The JSOW�is a Raytheon-designed 1000-lb. "glide bomb." Dropped from a fighter at high altitude, it can travel as far as 78 miles to strike a target, guided en route by GPS signals.

  Harris Corp (NYSE: HRS  ) was awarded a modification to a firm-fixed-price contract requiring it to supply two counter communications system (CCS) Block 10 increment 1 system upgrades by July 25, 2014.

  CCS�is a land-based system designed by Northrop Grumman, the purpose of which is to jam an enemy's satellite communications.

10 Best Telecom Stocks To Watch Right Now: Neustar Inc (NSR)

NeuStar, Inc., incorporated on December 8, 1998, is a provider of real-time information and analysis. The Company operates in three segments: carrier services, enterprise services and information services. The Company combines data sets to develop algorithms, models, point solutions and complete work flow solutions. The Company provides services, such as database services (telephone number databases, domain names, short-codes and fixed Internet protocol (IP) addresses), analytics platforms used for Internet security services, caller identification services, Web performance monitoring services and real-time information and analytics services. In October 2013, Neustar, Inc acquired Aggregate Knowledge, Inc.

Carrier Services

The Company�� carrier services include numbering services, order management services and IP services. Its numbering services enable the dynamic routing of calls and text messages. In particular, the Company provides near real-time updates to the North American telephone numbering system that is essential for the accurate routing of telephone calls and text messages. In addition, it also facilitates order management and work-flow processing among carriers, including telephone number inventory management, and allow carriers to manage and optimize the addressing and routing of IP communications. The numbering services the Company provides to its carrier customers using these databases include number portability administration center services (NPAC Services), in the United States and Canada and local number portability (LNP), services in Taiwan and Brazil, or international LNP solutions, and number inventory and allocation management. The Company�� order management services permit its carrier customers to exchange essential operating information with multiple carriers in order to provision and manage services. The Company provides these services through a single interface or on-premise installations. In addition, it offers inventory management services that! allow its carrier customers to manage their assigned telephone numbers and associated resources. The Company provides scalable IP services to global carriers and service providers that allow them to manage access for the routing of IP communications, such as multimedia messaging service. Its solutions also provide accurate and reliable routing of text messages and voice calls by identifying terminating service provider networks. In addition, it provides a solution for carriers to migrate from the public switched telephone network to IP Interconnect through mapping a phone number to an IP address for accurate and reliable routing to a carrier�� network.

Enterprise Services

The Company�� Enterprise Services include Internet infrastructure services and registry services. It provides Internet infrastructure services that its customers use in order to direct, prioritize and manage Internet traffic. In addition, enterprise customers rely on its services to optimize their Website performance, including protecting against malicious traffic. Enterprises use its infrastructure and its datasets to identify the location of their online customers for a variety of purposes, including fraud prevention and marketing. It also operates the authoritative common short codes registry on behalf of the United States wireless industry. The Company provides a suite of domain name systems (DNS) services to its enterprise customers built on a global directory platform. These services play a key role in directing and managing Internet traffic flow, resolving Internet queries, providing security protection against distributed denial of service attacks, providing geolocation services used to enhance fraud prevention and online marketing, and monitoring, testing and measuring the performance of Websites and networks. The Company operates the authoritative registries of Internet domain names for the .biz, .us, .co, .tel and .travel top-level domains. It also provides international registry gateways for! China�� s .cn and Taiwan�� .tw country-code top-level domains. All Internet communications routed to any of these domains must query a copy of its directory to ensure that the communication is routed to the appropriate destination. The Company also operates the authoritative common short codes registry on behalf of the United States wireless industry. In addition, it operates the user authentication and rights management system, which supports the UltraViolet digital content locker that consumers use to access their entertainment content.

Information Services

The Company�� Information Services include identification services, verification and analytics services, and local search and licensed data services. It utilizes databases and solutions to inform real-time decisions on customer initiated interactions over the telephone, Internet and at points of sale. Its services correlate attributes, such as demographic information, projected buying behaviors and location. Its business listings identity management services manage the placement of its customers��online local business listings on search engines, improving brand awareness and targeted advertising. The Company provides Caller ID services to carriers in the United States and real-time identification and location services to over 1,000 businesses in the United States across multiple industries. Its location service enables clients to match a 10-digit phone number to a latitude and longitude, and is used for a number of applications, including intelligent site planning, market scoring, and Web-based location lookup. In addition, it provides services that enable clients to remarket to non-converting prospects and to help identify whether an inbound inquiry is coming from an existing customer or a prospect. The Company provides lead verification services that allow clients to validate customer data, enhance leads and assign a lead quality rating to each lead to provide a client the ability to contact a customer. The Company provide! s an onli! ne local business listing identity management solution that serves local search platforms, national brands, authorized channel partners and local businesses. This service provides businesses and channel partners the essential tools to verify, enhance and manage the identity of local listings on local search platforms across the Web, and offers local search platforms an accurate, complete and up-to-date database of local business listings for online publishing.

The Company competes with Accenture plc, Computer Sciences Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation, Noblis, Inc., Nortel Networks Corporation, Pearson Education, Inc., Perot Systems Corporation, Telcordia Technologies, Inc., VeriSign, Inc., Afilias Limited, Oracle Corporation, Synchronoss Technologies, Inc., Syniverse Technologies, Inc., Akamai Technologies, Inc., F5 Networks, Inc., Keynote Systems, Inc., Compuware Corporation, TNS, Inc., eBureau, LLC, Acxiom, Nielsen Holdings N.V., DataLogix International Inc. and infoGROUP Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rex Moore]

  You may not have heard of NeuStar (NYSE: NSR  ) , but the services it provides can affect you greatly. This $3 billion company is also handily beating the market as it shifts its focus to move deeper into the information and analytics industry.

• [By Rex Moore]

  You may not have heard of NeuStar (NYSE: NSR  ) , but the services it provides can affect you greatly. This $3 billion company is also handily beating the market as it shifts its focus to move deeper into the information and analytics industry.