Emerging Stocks Trim Best Quarter in 2013 as Vale Tumbles

Emerging-market stocks fell, paring the biggest quarterly gain this year, as Vale SA led commodity shares lower before a potential U.S. government shutdown. Indonesia's rupiah had the largest three-month drop since 2008.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index decreased 1.2 percent to 987.46, trimming its rally for the quarter to 5 percent. Brazil's Ibovespa (IBOV) posted the longest losing streak since March as mining company Vale slumped, while OAO RusHydro paced losses in Russia. Benchmark equity gauges from Philippines to Indonesia and Thailand retreated at least 2.4 percent. The rupiah led losses in emerging markets this quarter.

Commodity shares in the measure for developing nations declined as the S&P GSCI gauge of 24 raw materials slid to a seven-week low after a Chinese manufacturing index rose less than analysts forecast. Both parties in U.S. Congress dug in deeper hours before a midnight deadline to keep the government open, lobbing dead-end proposals and insults across the Capitol as the first partial shutdown in 17 years looked inevitable.

"What happens in the U.S. affects global markets," Alan Gayle, senior strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management, said by phone from Atlanta. His firm oversees about $48 billion. "If there's some concern about economic momentum entering the fourth quarter, that's probably going to weigh on emerging markets."

Today's drop pared a monthly gain in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index to 6.2 percent. The gauge traded at 10.4 times projected earnings, compared with the valuation of 13.9 for the MSCI World Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Emerging ETF

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index exchange-traded fund slid 1.2 percent to $40.76. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index, a measure of options prices on the fund and expectations of price swings, surged 9.8 percent to 25.73.

Brazil's Ibovespa dropped for a fifth consecutive day as lower commodity prices pushed raw-material producers down. Vale fell 1.9 percent, while oil company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA sank to a record after people with direct knowledge of the matter said it plans to miss a $44.5 million payment on dollar bonds scheduled for tomorrow.

Russian stocks trimmed their strongest quarterly rally in almost three years as crude oil, the nation's chief export earner, declined. OAO RusHydro, the nation's biggest renewable energy producer, sank 2.6 percent. OAO Mechel, Russia's largest coking coal producer, retreated 2.3 percent.

China's Stocks

The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) capped the best quarter in three years as consumer discretionary and technology stocks advanced in the last trading day before a weeklong holiday shuts the nation's markets. Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group) Co. jumped by the 10 percent daily limit after the central government inaugurated the Shanghai free trade zone yesterday.

Chinese shares gained even after data showed that the Purchasing Managers' Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics rose to 50.2 in September from 50.1 in August. The final number was less than last week's 51.2 preliminary reading and the 51.2 median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. A similar gauge from the government is due tomorrow.

India's (SENSEX) benchmark stock index fell to a three-week low. ICICI Bank Ltd. (ICICIBC), the country's second-biggest lender, slid 4.3 percent. The rupee capped its best month in a year after the central bank took steps to boost dollar supply.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 3 percent, capping a 4.2 percent quarterly loss. Thailand's SET Index (SET) sank 2.4 percent to the lowest level since Sept. 6. Indonesia's rupiah weakened 14 percent since the end of June as of 4:24 p.m. in Jakarta, the biggest loss among 24 developing-nation exchange rates tracked by Bloomberg. The rupiah fell 5.7 percent in September and 0.4 percent today.

The premium investors demand to own emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries advanced four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 337 basis points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

New Apple iPhones to be Released on September 20 (AAPL)

Tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced on Tuesday that the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available on Friday, September 20 at 8 AM.

The new phones will be available in the U.S. and 10 other countries. Apple reported that the suggested retail price for the iPhone 5s 16GB will be $199, $299 for the 32GB and $399 for the 64GB. The iPhone 5c will be $99 for the 16GB and $199 for the 32GB.

Apple noted that the new features on iPhone 5s will include the A7 64-bit chip, an 8 megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash and Touch ID.

Apple shares were up $3.73, or 0.83%, during Tuesday morning trading. The stock is down 15% YTD.

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Buy Right Now

In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy gives three reasons to buy Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD  ) :

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Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Buy Right Now: Landdrill Intl Inc(LDI.V)

Landdrill International Inc. provides contract drilling services for mining and mineral exploration companies primarily in Canada, Mexico, and Asia. Its drilling services include deep hole diamond drilling, directional drilling, reverse circulation drilling, underground drilling, packer testing, setting of instrumentation, and grouting. The company also offers logistics support services, such as setting up camps for housing and drill crews; providing tractor-trailer vehicles for mobilization and demobilization; tractor rentals for drill pads and road construction; and water trucks for drilling programs, as well as camp cooks, cleaners, and service vehicles. Landdrill International Inc. is headquartered in Moncton, Canada.

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Buy Right Now: Transdigm Group Incorporated(TDG)

TransDigm Group Incorporated designs, produces, and supplies engineered aircraft components for use on commercial and military aircraft principally in the United States. The company?s products include mechanical/electro-mechanical actuators and controls, ignition systems and engine technology, pumps and valves, power conditioning devices, AC/DC electric motors and generators, NiCad batteries and chargers, engineered latching and locking devices, rods and locking devices, engineered connectors and elastomers, cockpit security components and systems, cockpit displays, aircraft audio systems, lavatory components, engineered interior surfaces, and lighting and control technology. Its customers comprise distributors of aerospace components; commercial airlines, including national and regional airlines; commercial transport and regional and business aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); various armed forces of the United States and foreign governments; defense OEMs; system suppliers; and various other industrial customers. TransDigm Group Incorporated was founded in 1993 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  TransDigm Group (TDG)

  Fournier maintains his largest position in TransDigm Group where he holds 2,152,710 shares. His position in TransDigm represents 4.30% of the company�� shares outstanding and 6.3% of his total portfolio.

Top 5 High Tech Companies To Watch In Right Now: NV Energy Inc(NVE)

NV Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electric energy in Nevada. The company generates electricity from its gas, oil, and coal generating units. As of December 31, 2010, the company served approximately 830,000 electric customers primarily in Las Vegas, north Las Vegas, and Henderson and adjoining areas, including Nellis Air Force Base and the Department of Energy?s Nevada Test Site in Nye County. It also provides electricity in western, central, and northeastern Nevada comprising the cities of Reno, Sparks, Carson City, and Elko. In addition, the company distributes gas to approximately 151,000 customers in an area of approximately 800 square miles in Nevada?s Reno/Sparks area. It offers its services to residential and commercial customers, as well as to industries, including gaming/recreation, mining, warehousing/manufacturing, and other governmental entities. The company, formerly known as Sierra Pacific Resources, was founde d in 1906 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Buy Right Now: Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O)

News Corporation, incorporated on October 23, 1979, is a diversified global media company. The Company operates in six segments: Cable Network Programming; Filmed Entertainment; Television; Direct Broadcast Satellite Television; Publishing, and Other. Cable Network Programming produces and licenses news, business news, sports, general entertainment and movie programming for distribution through cable television systems and direct broadcast satellite operators in the United States and internationally. Filmed Entertainment engages in the production and acquisition of live-action and animated motion pictures for distribution and licensing in all formats in all entertainment media worldwide, and the production and licensing of television programming worldwide. Television is engaged in the operation of broadcast television stations and the broadcasting of network programming in the United States. It engages in the direct broadcast satellite business through its subsidiary, S KY Italia. It also owns significant equity interests in BSkyB and Sky Deutschland AG (Sky Deutschland), which are engaged in the DBS business. The Company is engaged in the publishing business, primarily through its subsidiaries News International, News Limited, Dow Jones, The New York Post, The Daily, Harper Collins Publishers and News America Marketing Group. Its digital media businesses include IGN Entertainment, Inc. (IGN), and other Internet properties. In November 2012, News Corporation, through a wholly owned subsidiary, completed acquisition of ESPN's partnership interest in ESPN STAR Sports.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011), it acquired an additional interest in Asianet Communications Limited (Asianet), acquired Wireless Generation. In June 2010, the Company acquired Skiff, LLC. In November 2010, the Company formed a joint venture with China Media Capital (CMC). In December 2010, the Company disposed of the Fox Mobile Group (Fox Mobile), and acquired Making Fun, Inc. (Making Fun). In Apr! i! l 2011, the Company acquired Shine Limited (Shine). In July 2011, the Company sold its 79% stake in News Outdoor Russia and News Outdoor Romania. On June 29, 2011, the Company sold Myspace, including its stake in Myspace Music, LLC, to Specific Media, a digital media company, and received a minority equity stake in Specific Media in connection with the sale. In July 2011, the Company sold its majority interest in its outdoor advertising businesses in Russia and Romania. In May 2011, IGN acquired UGO Entertainment, Inc., which owns the ugo.com and 1up.com men�� lifestyle and video gaming sites, from Hearst Corporation in exchange for a minority ownership stake in IGN. Also in May 2011, IGN sold its Direct2Drive digital distribution site to GameFly, Inc. (GameFly).

Cable Network Programming

FOX News owns and operates the FOX News Channel, as well as the FOX Business Network. FOX News also produces a weekend political commentary show, FOX News Sunday , for broadcast on local FOX television stations throughout the United States. FOX News, through its FOX News Edge service, licenses news feeds to FOX Affiliates and other subscribers to use as part of local news broadcasts throughout the United States and abroad. FOX News also produces and runs the Websites, FOXNews.com and FOXBusiness.com, and owns and produces the national FOX News Radio Network, which licenses news updates, long form programs and the FOX News Talk Channel to local radio stations and to satellite radio providers. Fox Sports Net, Inc. (FSN, Inc.) is a regional sports network (RSN) programmer in the United States, focusing on live professional and collegiate home team sports events. FSN, Inc.�� sports programming business consists primarily of ownership interests in 12 RSNs, including numerous sub-regional feeds (the FSN RSNs) and National Sports Programming, which operates FSN (FSN), a national sports programming service. FSN, Inc. also is affiliated wit h, through FSN, an additional nine RSNs that are not ow! ned b! y ! FSN, In! c. (the FSN Affiliated RSNs). FSN provides the FSN RSNs and the FSN Affiliated RSNs with national sports programming, featuring original and licensed sports-related programming, as well as live and replay sporting events.

As of June 30, 2011, reaching more than 78 million households in the United States, SPEED brings viewers season-long coverage of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) races, events and original programming, including exclusive coverage of the annual NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremonies. In addition, SPEED delivers programming from other top racing series, such as Formula One, Grand American Road Racing, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, World of Outlaws, AMA Pro Racing, AMA Supercross, AMA Motocross, Monster Jam, World Superbike and MotoGP. The Company also produces and distributes SPEED HD, a 24-hour national programming service produced and distributed in high definition. SPEED�� new broadband network i ncludes SPEED2.

FUEL TV is a domestic 24-hour programming service dedicated to action sports and the lifestyle surrounding it. FUEL TV covers both competitive and performance action in the arenas of skateboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle motocross, snowboarding and wakeboarding. Programming includes the United States and international action sports events and competitions, as well as original series and specials about top action sports athletes and their music, art and culture from a global perspective. Fox College Sports consists of three regionally-aligned networks, FCS Pacific, FCS Central and FCS Atlantic. Fox College Sports provides live and delayed collegiate events from the collegiate conferences, coaches��shows and collegiate highlight and magazine-format programming from the FSN RSNs and certain of the FSN Affiliated RSNs across the country. Fox Movie Channel (FMC) was Hollywood�� studio-based movie network. FMC airs Twentieth Century Fox films, as well as documentaries and original series that exp! lore the ! m! oviemakin! g process from script to screen. Fox Soccer Channel is an English-language programming service offering coverage soccer. Properties include the UEFA Champions League, England�� Barclays Premier League, Italian Serie A, FA Cup and 2011 Major League Soccer, along with daily soccer news programs, magazine shows and in depth coverage on the sport. The Company also produces and distributes Fox Soccer Channel HD, a 24-hour national programming service produced and distributed in high definition.

The Company has an approximate 33% equity interest in Fox Pan American Sports LLC (FPAS). FPAS owns and operates Spanish-language sports businesses, including the Fox Sports Latin America network (a Spanish-language sports network distributed to subscribers in certain Caribbean and Central and South American nations outside of Brazil). Through the Company�� interest in FPAS and an additional direct ownership interest, the Company has a 53% interest in Fox Deportes (the fir st Spanish-language sports programming service to be distributed in the United States). The Company owns an approximate 51% interest in the Big Ten Network, a 24-hour national programming service dedicated to the Big Ten Conference and Big Ten athletics, academics and related programming, and Big Ten Network HD, a 24-hour national programming service produced and distributed in HD. The Company holds an approximate 70% interest in NGC Network US LLC (NGC Network), which produces and distributes the National Geographic Channel and National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Wild HD in the United States, with NGHT, LLC, a subsidiary of the National Geographic Society (NGHT), holding the remaining interest.

Fox International Channels (FIC) operates, develops and distributes primarily factual and general entertainment channels in various countries in Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, including the Fox Channel, Fox Life, FX, SPEED, Ut ilisima, which is also distributed in the Un! ited Stat! es, Fox! Crime, N! EXT, FOX History & Entertainment, the Voyage Channel, FOX Sports, STAR World and STAR Movies. FIC also owns a 52.2% interest in NGC Network International LLC and NGC Network Latin America LLC (collectively NGC International), with NGHT holding a 26.8% interest and a subsidiary of BSkyB holding a 21% interest. NGC International produces and distributes the National Geographic Channel in various international markets. NGC International also produces and distributes the National Geographic Channel HD, the Nat Geo Adventure channel (in both HD and SD), the Nat Geo Wild channel (in both HD and SD) and the Nat Geo Music channel in international markets. FIC owns a 55% equity interest in LAPTV, a partnership that distributes six pay television channels (Movie City, Movie City HD, City Mix, City Family, City Stars and City Vibe and their multiplexes) and two basic television channels (The Film Zone East and West and Cinecanal) in Latin America (excluding Brazil).

FIC al so owns a majority equity interest in Elite Sports Limited, a company that owns and distributes BabyTV. FIC also manages Channel [V] Thailand in which the Company owns a 49% interest. Channel [V] Thailand owns a Thai language music channel. FIC licenses its Channel [V] brand to a third party in Australia to operate a music channel. In addition, FIC has a joint venture with CJ Media, a Korean media conglomerate for the distribution of the tvN channel, a 24-hour general entertainment channel featuring Korean content, such as original dramas, variety shows, reality and lifestyle programs. STAR India develops, produces and broadcasts 28 channels in eight languages, which are distributed primarily via satellite to local cable, Internet protocol television (IPTV) and direct-to-home (DTH) operators for distribution throughout Asia, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and North America to their subscribers. STAR India�� channels include the flagship Hindi general entertainment channel STAR Plus, the Bengali general e! ntertainm! ent channel! STAR Jal! sha and the Marathi general entertainment channel STAR Pravah.

Asianet Communications Limited, which is a joint venture with Asianet TV Holdings Private Limited, was formed to provide television services for South Indian audiences. The joint venture consists of the Company�� approximate 81% interest in the Tamil language channel Vijay and the Company�� approximate 75% interest in the Malayalam language channels Asianet and Asianet Plus, the Kannada language channel Suvarna and the Telugu language channel Sitara. The Company also owns an approximate 26% stake in Balaji Telefilms Limited (Balaji), which is a television content production company in India. Balaji produces serials broadcast on general entertainment channels in India. The Company also holds an approximate 30% interest in Tata Sky Limited, which owns and operates a DTH platform in India. The Company has a 50/50 joint venture with Den Networks Limited (Star Den) to operate a television channel dist ribution business in India, Nepal and Bhutan that exclusively distributes STAR India�� owned and affiliated channels in these territories. The Company has expanded into television home shopping in India through a 50/50 joint venture with CJ O Shopping Co. Ltd., a home shopping company in South Korea and China.

STAR Taiwan develops and broadcasts Chinese language television programming focused at Chinese-speaking audiences in Taiwan and the rest of Asia on a pay television basis. STAR Taiwan�� television services are distributed primarily via satellite to local cable, IPTV and DTH operators in Asia and North America. STAR Taiwan�� channels include STAR Chinese Channel, STAR Chinese Movies, STAR Chinese Movies 2, STAR Chinese Movies HD and Channel [V] Taiwan. The Company has an approximate 15% interest in Rotana Holding FZ-LLC (Rotana), which operates a diversified film, television, audio, advertising and entertainment business across the Middle East and Nor th Africa. The Company also has a 5! 0% intere! st in Broadcast ! Middle Ea! st FZ-LLC (BME). The Company owns a 50% interest in ESPN STAR Sports. ESPN STAR Sports is a sports broadcaster in Asia and operates 22 channels in different languages. The Company owns an approximate 18% interest in Phoenix.

Filmed Entertainment

Fox Filmed Entertainment (FFE) produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures worldwide under a variety of arrangements. The motion pictures of FFE are produced and/or distributed by the units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox and Fox 2000, which produce and acquire motion pictures for mainstream audiences; Fox Searchlight Pictures, which produces and acquires specialized motion pictures, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation, which produces feature length animated motion pictures. In addition, Fox International Productions, Inc. co-produces, co-finances and acquires local-language motion pictures for distribution outside the United States. Pursuant to an agreement with Monarchy Enterprises Holdings B.V. (MEH) , the parent company of New Regency in which the Company has a 20% interest, and certain of MEH�� subsidiaries, FFE distributes certain New Regency films and all films co-financed by FFE and New Regency in all media worldwide, excluding a number of international territories with respect to television rights. Motion picture companies, such as FFE, seek to generate revenues from various distribution channels. FFE derives its worldwide motion picture revenues primarily from four basic sources: distribution of motion pictures for theatrical exhibition in the United States and Canada and markets outside of the United States and Canada (international markets); distribution of motion pictures in various home media formats; distribution of motion pictures for exhibition on pay-per-view, video-on-demand and premium pay television programming services, and distribution of motion pictures for exhibition on free television networks, other broadcast program services, independent televi sion stations and basic cable! programm! ing services, includin! g certain! services, which are affiliates of the Company. Through Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LCC, the Company distributes motion pictures and other programming produced by units of FFE, its affiliates and other producers in the United States, Canada and international markets in all home media formats, including the sale and rental of DVDs and Blu-rays.

Units of FFE license motion pictures and other programs in the United States, Canada and international markets to various third party and certain affiliated subscription pay television, subscription video-on-demand, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and electronic sell-through services. Units of FFE also license motion pictures in the United States to direct broadcast satellite (DBS) pay-per-view services operated by EchoStar Communications Corporation, as well as to pay-per-view and video-on-demand services operated by The DIRECTV Group, Inc. and iN Demand L.L.C. In addition, units of FFE license motion pictures and other programs to third parties, including Apple Inc. (Apple) and Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon), for electronic sell-through over the Internet, enabling consumers in the United States to acquire the right to retain permanently such programs.

Twentieth Television licenses both television programming and feature films for domestic syndication to television stations and basic cable services in the United States. Twentieth Television distributes a program portfolio that includes the Company�� library of television and film assets, and first-run programming produced by its production companies for sales to local stations, including stations owned and operated by the Company, as well as to basic cable networks. First-run programs distributed by Twentieth Television include the game shows Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? and Don�� Forget the Lyrics!, and the court shows Divorce Court and Judge Alex. Twentieth Television derives revenue from off-network, theatrical and first-run program sal! es from b! oth broadcast and cable l! icensees,! and from the sales of national advertising units retained by Twentieth Television in its programs. Twentieth Television licenses such shows as Modern Family, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, It�� Always Sunny in Philadelphia, My Name Is Earl, Family Guy, American Dad, M*A*S*H, Bones, and The Simpsons to cable and broadcast networks. Twentieth Television also manages and distributes the long running series, COPS and America�� Most Wanted, and sells national advertising on behalf of other third party syndicators.

Fox Television Studios (FtvS) is a program supplier to the United States and international broadcast and cable networks. FtvS is producing the series Burn Notice and White Collar for USA Network, The Glades for A&E, The Killing for AMC, Kendra and Holly�� World for E! and In the Flow with Affion Crockett for FOX. Shine Limited (Shine) is an international television production and distribution group with 26 production companies across 12 countries creat ing and exploiting scripted and non-scripted content in the global marketplace. The Company�� motion picture and television library (the Fox Library) consists of varying rights to several thousand previously released motion pictures and many television programs.

Television

Fox Television Stations, Inc. (Fox Television Stations) owns and operates 27 full power stations. Fox Television Stations owns and operates two stations in nine designated market areas (DMAs), including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Of the 27 full power stations, 17 stations are affiliates of FOX (FOX Affiliates). In addition, Fox Television Stations owns and operates 10 stations affiliated with Master Distribution Service, Inc. (MyNetworkTV). FOX has 203 FOX Affiliates, including the 17 stations owned and operated by the Company. FOX�� prime-time programming features such series as House, The Simpsons, Bones, Fringe and Glee; unscripted series, such as American Idol and So You Think You Can D! ance; and! various specials. As of June! 30, 2011! , MyNetworkTV had 181 affiliates, including 10 stations owned and operated by the Company, reaching approximately 97% of the United States households.

Direct Broadcast Satellite Television

SKY Italia distributes more than 175 channels of basic, premium and pay-per-view programming services through satellite and broadband directly to subscribers in Italy. This programming includes exclusive rights to sporting events, newly-released movies and SKY Italia�� original programming, such as SKY TG 24, a 24-hour news channel.

Publishing

News International publishes The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun. On July 7, 2011, News International announced that July 10, 2011 would be the last issue of News of the World. News International also publishes The Times Literary Supplement. News Limited is a newspaper publisher in Australia, owning approximately 146 daily, Sunday, weekly, bi-weekly and tri-weekly newspapers, of which three ar e free commuter titles and 102 are suburban publications (including 16 of which News Limited has a 50% interest). News Limited publishes a nationally distributed newspaper in Australia, a metropolitan newspaper in each of the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin and a suburban newspaper in the suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. News Limited�� principal daily newspapers in Australia are: The Australian; The Daily Telegraph, published in Sydney; the Herald Sun, published in Melbourne; The Courier-Mail, published in Brisbane; The Advertiser, published in Adelaide; The Mercury, published in Hobart, and the Northern Territory News, published in Darwin. News Limited�� principal Sunday newspapers in Australia are: The Sunday Telegraph, published in Sydney; the Sunday Herald Sun, published in Melbourne; The Sunday Mail, published in Brisbane; the Sunday Mail, published in Adelaide; The Sunday Times, publish ed in Perth; the ! Sunday Ta! smanian, published in Hobart, and ! the Sunda! y Territorian, published in Darwin.

Dow Jones is a global provider of news and business information, with newspaper, newswire, Website, newsletter, magazine, database, conference, radio and video businesses. Dow Jones offers products targeting both individual consumer and business and institutional customers, including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Barron��, MarketWatch, SmartMoney and other products. Products targeting business and institutional customers, including Dow Jones Newswires and Factiva, combine news and information with technology and tools designed to inform decisions and to aid awareness, research and understanding. The Dow Jones Local Media business publishes community newspapers, Websites and other products in seven United States states. The Wall Street Journal is available in print, online at WSJ.com, and on mobile devices, such as smart phones, e-readers and tablets. The Wall Street Journal also publishes a regional edition for the New York City area called Greater New York. Barron�� is available in print, online at Barrons.com, and on mobile devices. Barron�� caters to financial professionals, individual investors and others interested in financial markets. Its print edition is published weekly. SmartMoney publishes news and information focusing on personal finance, and is available in print, online at SmartMoney.com, and on mobile devices. The print edition of SmartMoney is published monthly. The Wall Street Journal Digital Network (WSJDN) consists of business and financial news Websites and mobile applications. In addition to WSJ.com, Barrons.com and SmartMoney.com, WSJDN includes MarketWatch, AllThingsD.com and related sites.

The Wall Street Journal Europe print edition is headquartered in London and printed in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The Wall Street Journal Asia print edition is headquartered in Hong Kong and prin ted in Hong ! Kong, Ind! ia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Phi! lippines,! Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Regional coverage from The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Asia is also available online at WSJ.com. Dow Jones also publishes The Wall Street Journal Special Editions. Factiva provides news and business information with search and discovery technology and tools to assist business and institutional customers with research, awareness and decision-making. Dow Jones Newswires is a provider of business news and information to financial professionals and online investors worldwide via terminals, portals and intranet sites with hundreds of thousands of financial professionals and millions of online investors relying on this information each trading day.

The Dow Jones Local Media business publishes local media print publications, including eight general interest dailies in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania, and related local Websites. The Dow Jones Local Media business also publishes 13 weekly newspapers, performs commercial printing at its five printing locations and offers other products and services. Dow Jones VentureSource is a database for venture capital and private equity markets tracking key developments. Dow Jones Watchlist helps compliance professionals identify high-risk clients and business associates. The eFinancialNews business, based in London, serves the European financial services industry with print, online, training and events businesses. The Wall Street Journal Professional Edition provides business and professional readers with specialized and targeted news and information. Dow Jones also distributes news and information to individual consumers through other channels of content distribution, including television, radio/audio, online video, consumer electronic licensing, The Wall Street Journal classroom, campus and Sunday editions, and WSJ.Magazine. Dow Jones also owns an interest in Vedomosti, which pu blishes ! a Russian! language business daily.

The ! New York ! Post (the Post) is a mass circulation, metropolitan morning newspaper published seven days a week and primarily distributed in the New York metropolitan area, the Northeast, Florida and California. The Company prints the Post in a printing facility in the Bronx, New York and uses third party printers in its other markets in the United States. The Company�� Community Newspaper Group also owns several local newspapers and other publications distributed in the New York metropolitan area. The Daily is a daily national news publication built as an application for tablet computing. HarperCollins Publishers (HarperCollins) is engaged in English language book publishing on a worldwide basis and is an English language book publisher. HarperCollins��principal businesses are HarperCollins Publishers LLC (HarperCollins U.S.), HarperCollins Publishers Limited and The Zondervan Corporation LLC. HarperCollins primarily publishes fiction and non-fiction, including religious books, for t he general consumer. In the United Kingdom, HarperCollins publishes some titles for the educational market as well.

News America Marketing Group (NAMG) publishes free-standing insert publications and provides in-store marketing products and services. NAMG is a publisher of free-standing inserts in the United States. Free-standing inserts are multiple-page marketing booklets containing coupons, rebates and other consumer offers, which are distributed to consumers through insertion primarily into local Sunday newspapers. Advertisers, primarily packaged goods companies, pay NAMG to produce free-standing inserts, and NAMG contracts with and pays newspapers to include the free-standing inserts primarily into the newspapers��Sunday editions. SmartSource is the brand name that is linked with NAMG�� assortment of marketing products, including, among others, free-standing inserts, NAMG�� instant coupon machines and various shelf advertising products. The SmartSourc e ! iGroup ma! nages NAMG�� portfolio of database and electron! ic market! ing solutions. The database marketing business, branded SmartSource Direct, provides direct mail solutions via its national network of retailer frequent shopper card databases. The SmartSource Savings Network, which includes SmartSource.com, encompasses all of NAMG�� electronic couponing and sampling solutions accessed through the Web, mobile and tablet-based programming.

Other

These businesses develop and promote content and experiences for Internet audiences and generate revenue through Internet advertising, sponsorships, subscriptions and e-commerce. IGN�� network of video game, lifestyle and entertainment-related Internet properties represent many of the Web properties in their respective categories across the Internet. IGN�� Games sites (IGN.com, 1UP, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox and others) is a gaming information network on the Internet. IGN�� GameSpy Technology group provides technology for online game play in video games. IGN also owns and operates a men�� lifestyle Websites, AskMen.com. Making Fun is a social games developer and publisher acquired. Making Fun makes games for various platforms, including Facebook, Android, and iOS, and has launched its first games with additional ones in development. The Company has interests in FOX TV in Turkey and Channel 10 in Israel, which are free-to-air, general entertainment television stations.

News Digital Media is the Company�� Australian online division. In addition to maintaining the Company�� Australian websites, News Digital Media is responsible for online advertising and transactions in Australia. News Digital Media sites include carsguide.com.au, news.com.au, MOSHTIX.com.au, GetPrice.com.au and truelocal.com.au. News Digital Media also has a 50% stake in CareerOne.com.au. The Company holds an approximate 39% interest in BSkyB. BSkyB operates a pay television broadcast service in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as broadband ! an d tele! phony services. BSkyB acquires and commissions program! ming to b! roadcast on its own channels and supplies certain of those channels to cable operators for retransmission by the cable operators to their subscribers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. BSkyB also retails channels (both its own and those of third parties) to DTH subscribers and to certain of its own channels to a limited number of DSL subscribers. It holds an approximate 49% interest in NDS. NDS creates technologies and applications that enable pay television operators to deliver digital content to televisions, set-top boxes, DVRs, personal computers, portable media players, removable media and other mobile devices securely.

The Company, Telstra Corporation Limited, an Australian telecommunications company, and Consolidated Media Holdings, an Australian media and entertainment company, own and operate FOXTEL, a cable and satellite television service in Australia with 25%, 50% and 25% interests, respectively. As of June 30, 2011, FOXTEL had approximately 1.65 mill ion managed subscribers (including subscribers to Optus, an Australian telecommunications company). As of June 30, 2011, 100% of the FOXTEL managed subscriber base was connected to FOXTEL�� digital service, which delivers over 180 channels on cable and satellite. The Company owns an approximate 44% interest in Sky Network Television Limited, a land-linked UHF network and digital DBS service in New Zealand. The Company has an approximate 32% equity interest in Hulu, LLC (Hulu).

The Company owns a 49.9% equity interest in Sky Deutschland, a pay television operator in Germany and Austria. The core business of Sky Deutschland is subscription pay-tv and it offers a range of programming in Germany and Austria and can be received via Teleclub in Switzerland. Sky Deutschland�� program offering includes current feature films, new series, children�� channels, documentaries and live sports, such as the German Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League.

The Com ! pany competes with ABC, NBC, CBS, The CW Television Network,! CNN, MSN! BC, CNN Headline News, Bloomberg Television, ESPN, ESPN2, Versus, USA, TNT, Spike TV, Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO), Showtime Networks Inc. (Showtime), Discovery Channel, History Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Science Channel, History International, Military Channel, Biography, Tru TV, FT.com, New York Times Digital, TheStreet.com, Bloomberg, Forbes.com, CNET, CNN Money, MSNMoney/CNBC, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg L.P., LexisNexis, Hoover��, OneSource, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Random House, Penguin Group, Simon & Schuster and Hachette Livre.

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Buy Right Now: PerkinElmer Inc.(PKI)

PerkinElmer, Inc. provides technology, services, and solutions to the diagnostics, research, environmental, industrial, and laboratory services markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Human Health and Environmental Health. The Human Health segment develops diagnostics, tools, and applications to help detect diseases earlier, as well as accelerate the discovery and development of critical new therapies. This segment provides early detection for genetic disorders from pre-conception to early childhood, as well as digital x-ray flat panel detectors and infectious disease testing for the diagnostics market. It also provides a suite of solutions, including instrumentation for automation and detection solutions, in vitro and in vivo imaging and analysis hardware and software, and a portfolio of consumable products, such as drug discovery and research reagents that enable researchers to enhance the drug discovery process. The Environmental Health segment offers t echnologies and applications to facilitate the creation of safer food and consumer products, secure surroundings, and efficient energy resources. This segment provides analytical technologies that address the quality of environment, sustainable energy development, and ensure safer food and consumer products; analytical instrumentation for the industrial market, which includes the semiconductor, chemical, petrochemical, lubricant, construction, office equipment, and quality assurance industries; and laboratory services. The company markets its products and services directly through its own sales forces and distributors for customers, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, laboratories, academic and research institutions, public health authorities, private healthcare organizations, doctors, and government agencies. PerkinElmer, Inc. was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Goodboy]

  In other bullish news, TrovaGene entered into a material agreement with multibillion-dollar diagnostics technology leader PerkinElmer (NYSE: PKI) to jointly develop a test to determine a person's risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The terms have not been disclosed, but PerkinElmer will make milestone payments to TrovaGene. 

Apple's Chart Is Signaling 'Buy'

After its notable rally off the late June lows, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) began to top out in the second half of September. After trading sideways to slightly lower for a couple of weeks, the stock gapped down 5.6% on the morning of Sept. 11, the day after it announced of a fresh batch of iPhones.

Last week, however, AAPL found support near its 100-day simple moving average and the 50% retracement level of the entire June-to-August rally.

The odds now favor a resumption of its uptrend. Furthermore, with the company's next earnings announcement scheduled for Oct. 24, traders have a few weeks to potentially play the stock from the long side without any news to shake things up.  

Top Dividend Stocks For 2014

Personally, I have found great success swing trading AAPL, as it seems to respect technical patterns particularly well in two- to three-week timeframes. Additionally, given the strong emotional attachment many investors have to their positions, the stock often displays basic trend breaks and candlestick signals that offer great trade setups.

Looking at the long-term chart, we see the stock began its astonishing multi-year climb in 2009, breaking above the 200-week moving average (lower blue line). The sell-off into April 2013 can still be looked at as merely a much-needed mean reversion move.

Of course, investors who bought the stock above the $600 mark may not find much solace in that statement. But the fact remains that AAPL, with its apparent double bottom in April and June, bounced to exactly the level it should have, namely the 200-week moving average.

As further proof of how well the stock often reacts to straightforward technical analysis, notice how the rally off the double bottom moved it into a resistance area made up of its 100-week simple moving average (upper blue line) and the underbelly of the 2009 uptrend (straight diagonal line).

AAPL moved into this resistance area and eventually rejected it just as it announced its new iPhone 5C and 5S, as well as the new iOS 7.

Now that we have a good idea of where the stock trades in the broader sense, let's take a look at the closer-up daily chart. After a sharp 30%-plus rally in roughly seven weeks off the June lows, AAPL bumped into the aforementioned resistance area near the $510 area.

From there, after some back-and-forth trading, the stock gapped down on Sept. 11, the day after the announcement of the new iPhones. But after a few days of weakness, AAPL found support at its 100-day simple moving average (blue line), which had acted as resistance throughout the middle part of this year.

Each stock respects different moving averages, and for the past two years or so, AAPL has respected its 100-day simple moving average better than any other moving average in the daily timeframe. After bumping into it on Sept. 16, which at the time also coincided with a 50% retracement of the rally off the June lows, the stock bounced the following day with follow-through buying on Sept. 18.

On Sept. 20, AAPL left a somewhat concerning outside day candlestick behind on its daily chart, which is why I wanted to wait for Friday's high to again be reached to fill the downside gap from Sept. 11 before entering a long-side trade. This happened on Monday on positive news regarding iPhone sales, and it is now time to get long AAPL.

Action to Take -->
-- But AAPL at the market price
-- Set stop-loss at $482.20
-- Set initial price target at $520 for a potential 6% gain in two to four weeks

This article originally appeared at ProfitableTrading.com
Apple's Chart is Telling Traders It's a 'Buy' Right Now

P.S. I just finished reading a special report by my colleague, Amber Hestla-Barnhart, about how investors can consistently and reliably pull income from the options market. And you don't have to be a sophisticated trader to do it. Click here to learn more.

Why Record Fines Aren't Slowing Down the Big Banks

What a surprise. The big banks are not playing by the rules -- the rule of law, that is.

News last week revealed that Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) are dirty, dirty, dirty.

The Justice Department announced that it is pursuing a civil lawsuit against Bank of America on the grounds that the bank lied about the quality of the mortgages underlying its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) prior to the housing collapse and financial crisis. The Justice Department is still on a high from its successful civil lawsuit against Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s (NYSE:GS) mid-level toxic securities shill, Fabrice Tourre.

The charges allege out-and-out fraud in Bank of America's soup-to-nuts loan origination and securitization of mortgages. Loans, bad from the start, were knowingly bundled and securitized into trade-able MBS, unbeknownst to buyers.

As we all know, this play went wrong (or worked spectacularly well, if you were short housing like John Paulson) and spread poison throughout the global financial system. It is alleged that this particular fraud led to losses of at least $100 million among investors who thought they were buying securities backed by mortgages that weren't worthless.

Bank of America Not Alone

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase announced that it was the subject of criminal and civil investigations by Justice for precisely the same misdeeds as Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. It is alleged that JPMorgan knowingly originated bad mortgages, packaged and securitized them and... you know the rest.

We also learned that JPMorgan may have been the first to do so in 2005. And the toxic securities of Bear Stearns, which JPMorgan picked up for a song just before the music ended in 2008, are thought to have cost investors $22.5 billion.

And with these revelations, JPMorgan and Bank of America join the Wall Street rogues gallery; to mangle Winston Churchill, a "grisly gang who work their wicked will." Three of the largest banks in the world, and they are being pursued like criminals.

But it actually gets worse, dastardly worse...

Criminal Banks Happy to Pay Record-Breaking Fines

If it seems to you that each month a new bank pays a record fine or settlement, you're not crazy. That's what's happening; $110 million here, $269 million there, $410 million here, $616 million there, and pretty soon, you're talking serious money!

Top 5 Canadian Stocks To Watch For 2014

There are 15 countries on Earth each with a nominal GDP that's less than the amount of these fines. Collectively, banks paid more than $10.7 billion in fines in 2012, more than half of which ended up in U.S. Treasury Department coffers. That tops the nominal GDP of 44 countries. Sorry, Liechtenstein!

All of these settlements have provisos wherein the banks get to maintain their innocence, and admit no wrongdoing.

As huge as these fines are, with each one breaking a record, they can't be said to do much, or act as any real deterrent. Just look at the way subprime securitization - yes, the same breed of activity behind Bank of America's recent lawsuit -- is still going on, and is ramping up again.

Indeed, the pattern suggests that these institutions view the fines as merely the cost of doing business. Goldman Sachs can shrug off a $550 million outlay as easily as expensing a power lunch tab at Le Cirque. Why? Because that $550 million fine adds up to only three days' worth of revenue for Goldman Sachs.

"What? You want $550 million? I'll have that for you by 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Cash or check?" one imagines the conversation going.

On the other side of the coin, after raking in these fines - essentially docking Goldman Sachs three days' pay -- the Justice Department and the SEC go on about how the fines "make a powerful statement and clear signal that these acts won't be tolerated."

Aside from Bernie Madoff, a man with the flimsiest, most tangential connection to Wall Street's larger malfeasance, the Justice Department's criminal prosecutions haven't worked out at all. This is a shame, because sending seven or eight bank vice presidents down to Riker's Island to make license plates for 10 to 15 years just might actually constitute a powerful statement and a clear signal.

Bankers to the World's Evildoers

But there's an even bigger problem here. These banks' hijinks have lost billions for people... but that's not the worst of it. There have been murders, lots of murders; suicide bombings, shootings, even drug overdoses as a result of the big banks' dastardly deeds, believe it or not.

In late 2012, HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE:HBC) was found to have laundered billions of dollars for drug lords, terrorists, and rogue states - criminals who've destroyed our cities and poisoned our children, who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001, who've threatened our families with incineration in a nuclear war, and who have killed millions of people from Colombia to Juarez to Detroit to Baghdad.

Whenever the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Osama bin Ladens, the Bashar al-Assads, or the Kim Jong-uns of the world had to top up at the ATM, they were aided by HSBC and other criminal banks.

Attorney General Eric Holder just wrung his hands and said that to pursue criminal charges, to prosecute HSBC, would be dangerous and impractical because the bank is too systemically important... too big to fail.

Rarely have our leaders looked so utterly weak, so incapable of doing the right thing, and so craven in their subservience to money as when Holder announced that he simply wouldn't do anything about it.

No, HSBC just paid another record fine: $1.9 billion for the money laundering, and $2.3 billion for selling bad securities.

And the dreary chain of guilt, of crime and no punishment, continues unbroken.

As bad as things are on Wall Street, there are ways that individual investors can beat the odds and just plain thrash the markets. Want to give Wall Street a taste of its own medicine? Keith Fitz-Gerald shows you how to do it...

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now

In this article, we will look at the first part of the Buffett partnership letter covering 1957.

My examination of the 1957 partnership letter will be broken up into two different articles (or parts). This first article (Part 1) deals with ��he General Stock Market Picture in 1957.��The second article (Part 2) will deal with the partnership�� activities and results for 1957.

For your reference, all indented/italicized text below is a direct quote from the 1957 partnership letter.

With that out of the way, let�� get started.


The General Stock Market Picture in 1957

In last year's letter to partners, I said the following:

My view of the general market level is that it is priced above intrinsic value. This view relates to blue-chip securities. This view, if accurate, carries with it the possibility of a substantial decline in all stock prices, both undervalued and otherwise. In any event I think the probability is very slight that current market levels will be thought of as cheap five years from now. Even a full-scale bear market, however, should not hurt the market value of our work-outs substantially.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Ford Motor Credit Company(F)

Ford Motor Company primarily develops, manufactures, distributes, and services vehicles and parts worldwide. It operates in two sectors, Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive sector offers vehicles primarily under the Ford and Lincoln brand names. This sector markets cars, trucks, and parts through retail dealers in North America, and through distributors and dealers outside of North America. It also sells cars and trucks to dealers for sale to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. In addition, this sector provides retail customers with a range of after-sale vehicle services and products in the areas, such as maintenance and light repair, heavy repair, collision repair, vehicle accessories, and extended service contracts under the Ford Service, Lincoln Service, Ford Custom Accessories, Ford Extended Service Plan, and Motorcraft brand names. The Financial Services sector offers vari ous automotive financing products to and through automotive dealers. It offers retail financing, which includes retail installment contracts for new and used vehicles; direct financing leases; wholesale financing products that comprise loans to dealers to finance the purchase of vehicle inventory; loans to dealers to finance working capital, purchase real estate dealership, and/or make improvements to dealership facilities; and other financing products, as well as provides insurance services. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and is based in Dearborn, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rebecca McClay]

  And, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) says it may allow its chief executive officer to step down sooner than originally planned under a succession plan outlined last night, Reuters reports. Ford shares are down about 1%.

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Wednesday, Citigroup reported that it has raised estimates on Ford Motor Company (F).

  The firm has boosted its estimates on Ford due to its Asia Pacific share gains. Citigroup currently has a a $20 price target on Ford, suggesting a 13% upside from the stock’s current price of $17.44.

  Ford shares were down 8 cents, or 0.46%, during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 35% YTD.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Pharma Reports]

  Back in June, we published an article titled "Bristol-Myers Squibb: The Untold Story Of Led Zeppelin" where we detailed Bristol-Myers' product portfolio, highlighted potential risks due to loss of patent exclusivity and benchmarked its valuation ratios to a couple of its peers. We opined that Bristol-Myers might be richly valued. Share price trended slightly lower, hovered around $42 for a while and, since last week, started rising back again.

  CompanyP/EP/SYieldCap.Bristol-Myers & PeersBristol-Myers53.14.13.2$72BEli Lilly - (LLY)11.92.73.7$60BMerck - (MRK)28.533.6$140BPfizer - (PFE)19.33.23.4$189B

  When revisiting the benchmarks, three month on, Bristol-Myers still does not fare well in terms of price-to-earnings and price-to-sales ratios. Although it is the lowest in the group in terms of current dividend yield, 3.2 yield is still respectable. The question is whether the company will be able to maintain it going forward.

• [By Jim Lowell, Partner and Chief Investment Strategist, Adviser Investments]

  He owns names that have global imprint, but pretty much, are domestically based, so his international equity stake is under 8% of the overall portfolio, but the companies that he owns—Apple (AAPL), GE (GE), Wells Fargo (WFC), Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG), he also owns Merck (MRK), JP Morgan (JPM)—they've got a global footprint, so I like the safety in numbers.

Top 5 Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)

Progress Software Corporation operates as an enterprise software company worldwide. Its products include Progress OpenEdge platform, which offers development tools, application servers, application management tools, and an embedded database; Progress Orbix to address enterprise integration problems with standards-based solutions; and Progress ObjectStore, an object data management system to store data faster than relational database management system or file-based storage system. The company?s products also comprise Progress Responsiveness Process Management suite for business users; Progress Control Tower, an interactive business control panel; Progress Sonic, which comprises an enterprise messaging system and the enterprise service buses; Progress Actional that provides operational and business visibility, root cause analysis, and policy-based security and control of services; Progress Apama, which offers tools for creating, testing, and deploying strategies for applicat ions, including algorithmic trading, market aggregation, smart order routing, market surveillance and monitoring, and risk management; Progress Savvion BusinessManager, a business process management software; and Fuse products that provide customers with access to professional open source integration and messaging software. In addition, it offers Progress DataDirect Connect products, which provide data connectivity components; Progress DataDirect Shadow to provide foundation architecture for standards-based mainframe integration; and Progress Data Services product set that offers data integration for distributed applications. Further, the company provides maintenance, consulting, training, and customer support services. Progress Software Corporation sells its products to independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators through direct sales force and independent distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bedford, Massac husetts.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Hewlett-Packard Company(HPQ)

Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. Its Personal Systems Group segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services for the commercial and consumer markets. The company?s Services segment provides consulting, outsourcing, and technology services to infrastructure, applications, and business process domains. Its Imaging and Printing Group segment provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, media, and scanning devices, such as inkjet and Web solutions, laser jet and enterprise solutions, managed enterprise solutions, graphics solutions, and printer supplies. The company?s Enterprise Servers, Storage, and Networking segment offers industry standard s ervers, business critical systems, storage platforms, and networking products, including switches, routers, wireless LAN, and TippingPoint network security products. Its HP Software segment provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions, and security intelligence/risk management solutions. The company?s HP Financial Services segment offers leasing, financing, utility programs, and asset recovery services; and financial asset management services for enterprise customers, as well as specialized financial services to SMBs, and educational and governmental entities. Hewlett-Packard Company also provides business intelligence solutions that enable businesses to standardize on consistent data management schemes, connect and share data across the enterprise, and apply analytics, as well as licenses its specific technology to third parties. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  On September 10, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that it was removing three stocks from the the Dow Jones Industrials and replacing them with three others. Out went Alcoa (AA), Bank of America (BAC) and�Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), while Goldman Sachs (GS), Visa (V) and Nike (NKE) would now be able to call themselves proud members of the blue-chip index.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The big DJIA changes coming are as of the close Friday and set for the open of trading on Monday. At that point components such as Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) are all being jettisoned from the DJIA. We could talk about their dividends, but those discussions will be of little merit for some time.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  But regardless of the merits, Alcoa (AA), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Bank of America (BAC) are being booted from the index and replaced with Visa (V), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Nike (NKE).

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Local.com Corporation(LOCM)

Local.com Corporation operates as an Internet search advertising company that enables businesses and consumers to find each other and connect locally. Its Owned and Operated business unit manages its flagship online property Local.com and a proprietary network of approximately 20,000 local Websites that reach approximately 15 million monthly unique visitors. The company places various display, performance, and subscription advertisement products on its Local.com and proprietary network. Its Network business unit operates a private label local syndication network of approximately 1,000 U.S. regional media Websites; 80,000 third-party local Websites; and its own organic feed of local businesses plus third-party advertising feeds that focus primarily on local consumers to a distribution network of hundreds of Websites. The company?s Sales and Ad Services business unit provides approximately 45,000 direct monthly subscribers with Web hosting or Web listing products. The compan y was formerly known as Interchange Corporation and changed its name to Local.com Corporation in November 2006. Local.com Corporation was founded in 1999 and is headquarters in Irvine, California.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Cloud Peak Energy Inc(CLD)

Cloud Peak Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in coal mining operations in the Powder River Basin of the United States. It produces sub-bituminous steam coal with low sulfur content for electric utilities and industrial customers. The company owns and operates Antelope surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; the Cordero Rojo surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; and the Spring Creek surface coal mine located in Montana. It also owns a 50% interest in the Decker surface coal mine located in Montana. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 970 million tons of proven and probable reserves. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Gillette, Wyoming.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Advance Auto Parts Inc(AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items. It operates in two segments, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and Autopart International (AI). The AAP segment operates stores, which primarily offer auto parts, including alternators, batteries, chassis parts, clutches, engines and engine parts, radiators, starters, transmissions, and water pumps; accessories comprising floor mats, mirrors, vent shades, MP3 and cell phone accessories, and seat and steering wheel covers; chemicals consisting of antifreeze, freon, fuel additives, and car washes and waxes; and oil and other automotive petroleum products. This segment also provides battery and wiper installation, battery charging, check engine light reading, electrical system testing, video clinics and project brochures, loaner tool programs, and oil and battery recycling services; and sells its products through online. The AI segm ent operates stores that offer replacement parts for domestic and imported cars, and light trucks to customers in northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, as well as to warehouse distributors and jobbers in North America. As of January 1, 2011, the company operated 3,369 AAP stores, including 3,343 stores located in the northeastern, southeastern, and Midwestern regions of the United States under the Advance Auto Parts and Advance Discount Auto Parts trade names; 26 stores situated in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands under the Advance Auto Parts and Western Auto trade names; and 194 stores under the Autopart International trade name in the United States. It serves do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me, or commercial customers. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Roanoke, Virginia.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: S&P GSCI(GD)

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

• [By Chad Tracy]

  Let's take a look at three stocks in the aerospace and defense sector that look more attractive at today's prices.

  General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) General Dynamics is currently trading around $86 per share, which is close to its 52-week high of $87.85. Yet earnings support this valuation, and the company's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is only 11, compared with an industry average of 18. The current price to book value is 2.5. The company also carries very little debt, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.3.

  General Dynamics generates huge revenue through its contracts with the U.S. government. Its marine systems division owns three of the six submarine shipyards in the U.S. Long-term contracts with the U.S. government are estimated to be worth $78 billion for attack submarines and $140 billion for ballistic missile submarines.

Banks Foresee Endless Profits Five Years After Crisis

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the nation's largest banks disclosed in a series of self-administered stress tests on Monday that they expect to be profitable during the next financial crisis.What a difference five years makes.It wasn't so long ago that all of the largest lenders in the U.S. were either in search of life saving financial support or on the verge of accepting billions in buffer capital that the government shoved into bank coffers as part of its Troubled Asset Relief Program. Now, banks expect that they will be able to maintain minimum capital ratios generally in excess of 9%, in the event of another market crash and severe recession over the next two years. Many even expect to remain profitable.Stress test results released by large lenders on September 15 indicate a double-edged sword. There is no denying that firms such as Morgan Stanley (MS) have transformed their business and are in a far healthier state after barely surviving the 2008 financial crisis. However, as expectations continue to rise for the banking industry's performance during a next bout of economic tumult, investors and C-Suites may be returning to the state of collective overconfidence that plagued the industry five years ago.Morgan Stanley, US Bancorp (USB) and PNC Financial (PNC) now expect to report a profit in the next crisis. Last year Morgan Stanley forecast a stressed loss of $12.6 billion, however, those projections were before the firm took control of brokerage Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. JPMorgan (JPM) expects to report a minimal $300,000.00 loss in the next crisis while Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) have both dramatically reduced their stressed loss forecasts.Optimism isn't uniform across the banking sector.Goldman Sachs  (GS) expects to report large losses in a time of crisis, a contrast to its more wealth-management oriented competitor Morgan Stanley. Wells Fargo, meanwhile, increased its expected loss to $3.8 billion as a! result of lower pre-provision net revenue. The nation's largest mortgage lender still expects loan losses on its mortgage and commercial lending operations to be far lower than those projected by the Fed in its 2013 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR). Indeed, it is troubling that there is a large divergence between expected losses in banks' internal stress tests versus those made by the Federal Reserve in its annual CCAR. Consider that while JPMorgan expects minimal losses in a stressed environment, the Fed's last CCAR projected $32.2 billion in losses. It forecast far higher losses on the bank's loans and activity. The same holds true at Bank of America and, to a lesser extent, Citigroup.Overall, the Fed projects that the nation's four largest banks would lose nearly $140 billion in a time of crisis, while internal estimates released by those banks on Monday only forecast about $50 billion in losses. Analysts generally believe the next round of stress tests from the Fed in March of 2014 will move closer to banking industry estimates, instead of vice versa."While capital standards lack uniform harmonization and will likely increase over the foreseeable future, we believe that today's relatively punitive capital levels will likely subside over time as the industry continues to build capital and the associated risks and economic landscape continue to change," Todd Hagerman, a Sterne Agee banking analyst wrote in a Tuesday client note. 

Analysts see rising forecasts of banking sector net income during a stressed environment as reinforcing expectations that firms will be able to increase their dividend and share buybacks in coming years. "Our two main observations are that capital ratios now appear even higher than previously estimated. And second that several banks, in particular BAC, C, PNC and MS, now estimate their net income during a stressed scenario will be stronger," Richard Staite, a banking analyst at Atlantic Equities, wrote in a Tuesday client note. 

-- Written by Antoine Gara in New York

Coca-Cola in Hot Water Over Offensive Phrase on Bottle Cap

Blake Loates/Facebook Sting may have sung about a "Message in a Bottle," but he likely never expected the phrase that Blake Loates found on a bottle of Vitamin Water -- "You Retard." The words were printed on the inside of the cap on a bottle of Vitamin Water, which Loates bought while dining out in Edmonton, Canada, where she lives. Loates found the phrase particularly offensive because her younger sister, Fiona, has cerebral palsy and autism. "We immediately thought 'You have got to be kidding me,' " she told Huffington Post Alberta. The message was part of a promotion by Coca-Cola (KO) in Canada that randomly paired English and French words that together were supposed to make up funny gibberish phrases. But the words were only vetted in French, not English, reports Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel newspaper. "Retard" in French means late or delayed. Loates sent a photo of the bottle cap to her father, Doug Loates, who wrote a letter to Coca-Cola to complain about including "retard" as part of the promotion. (See the complete letter below.) "Not everyone in Canada speaks French -- like my daughter, Blake," Loates wrote to Coca-Cola officials. "The 'R' word is considered a swear word in our family. We don't use it. We don't tolerate others using it around us. We are over-sensitive, but you would be too if you had Fiona for a daughter! Can you imagine if she had opened this bottle???" Loates said that he had been drinking Coke since he was 9 and got his first newspaper route, but now calls himself an "ex-Coke drinker." The soft drink company said it never intended to offend anyone.

Amgen Expects to Increase Dividend Meaningfully Through 2015 (AMGN)

At Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Healthcare Conference on Friday, Amgen, Inc.’s (AMGN) Investor Relations VP Arvind Sood suggested that the biotech company could boost its dividend meaningfully through 2015.

Sood believes that the company will be able to deliver significant EPS growth over the next two years. This is partially due to Amgen’s deal to acquire Onyxx Pharmaceuticals, which should be accretive to adjusted profit growth. As such, Sood said he sees Amgen boosting its dividend over that time frame, with a payout ratio of 75% to 80%. For more on payout ratios, see The Truth About Dividend Payout Ratio.

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By 2017, Sood believes that Amgen will hit global sales of $41 billion.

Amgen shares were up 54 cents, or 0.48%, during pre-market trading on Friday. The stock is up 31.62% year-to-date.

America’s Most Popular Six-Figure Jobs

The median household income in the United States has increased slightly over the past two years, but it is still down more than 6% from the start of the recession. As of June, a U.S. family earned an estimated median of $52,100 annually, according to Sentier Research. This means that the vast majority of families, let alone individuals, earn far less than the coveted six-figure annual salary that is often associated with prosperity.

Of the more than 800 different occupations considered in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment Statistics Database, only 30 earned an estimated median of more than $100,000 annually. Psychiatrists were estimated to earn the most, but there were less than 25,000 psychiatrists in the country in 2012. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the occupations with a median annual salary of more than $100,000 that employed the most people. Lawyers, for example, earned a median annual salary of roughly $113,500, and there are well more than half a million lawyers in the country. These are America's most popular six-figure jobs.

Click here to see these popular, high-paying jobs

Most of these high-paid occupations are managerial positions. This includes managers in finance, sales, computer and information systems, and architectural and engineering. These are managers who likely have been employed in their field for years and have developed enough expertise to direct multiple employees in their field and oversee operations — and they are paid accordingly. As of 2012, there were close to 6.4 million people in managerial roles in the United States. The median annual salary for a manager is just under $94,000.

Some of the occupations are higher-paying because of the amount of training and education required to obtain them. Lawyers, for example, must take three years of post-graduate law school and pass a state’s bar examination just to begin practicing. Pharmacists need to first complete several years of undergraduate study before spending three to four years obtaining a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Some pharmacists must even spend as many as two years in residency for some advanced positions.

These positions are all the largest in the country for their level of income, but they are not all growing. In fact, the number of marketing and financial managers declined by more than 10% between 2002 and 2012. Other jobs have shown more promise. The number of computer and information systems managers rose by 17% over that time, while the number of pharmacists grew by more than 23%.

To determine the America's top-paying six-figure jobs, 24/7 Wall St. screened figures from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics program for 2012, for the jobs with more than 100,000 workers and a median wage of more than $100,000 annually. The figures are estimates subject to sampling error and do not count self-employed workers. Data are collected by the program over several years. We considered only occupations that existed in both 2002 and 2012, when discussing job growth. Further information on each occupation came from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.

These are America’s most popular six-figure jobs.

America's first debt ceiling crisis

President Eisenhower used his February 1953 address to warn Congress that the federal debt would soon reach the debt ceiling.

Charlottesville, Va. (CNNMoney)

Can threats to block a debt ceiling increase ever be justified as a tool to force politicians to make difficult but necessary decisions?

Republicans seem to think so. GOP leaders say they want spending cuts before raising the $16.699 trillion debt limit, which the Obama administration says has to be done before the middle of next month. And some Republicans are holding a gun to the head of Obamacare as well.

The idea of using the debt ceiling for leverage is not new. Indeed, it caused the nation's first debt limit crisis.

(Timeline: Washington's budget follies)

In the summer of 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, asked for a modest boost in the debt ceiling, from $275 billion to $290 billion. Austerity-minded lawmakers refused and brought the nation to the brink of default -- or to its fiscal senses, depending on your point of view.

Eisenhower began signaling the need for additional borrowing authority shortly after taking office. Conservatives were not convinced. The Wall Street Journal even suggested a debt ceiling crisis might be useful: "The government would not be able to carry out all of its spending plans," the editors predicted. "Some things would have to be cut back a little further."

But Eisenhower didn't believe that spending cuts would be sufficient to keep federal debt under the cap for long. "Despite our joint vigorous efforts to reduce expenditures," he told Congress, "it is inevitable that the public debt will undergo some further increase."

The House of Representatives swallowed hard and approved Eisenhower's request. But the Senate had other ideas.

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Harry F. Byrd, the Democratic senator from Virginia, took the lead in fighting the increase. Raising the limit would be "an invitation to extravagance," he declared. Keeping the present cap, moreover, would encourage much-needed economy. "It may be that the administration would be forced to operate on a very prudent and conservative budget in order to avoid an increase in the debt limit," he predicted.

But Eisenhower's request had considerable support outside the Capitol, and especially on newspaper editorial pages. "No one likes to contemplate a larger debt burden," observed the Washington Post in a typical editorial. "But the debt figure is the consequence rather than the cause of government spending."

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Ultimately, however, senators were unmoved, and the measure died. The Los Angeles Times called it a "stunning" defeat for the president.

After the vote, Byrd was careful to explain his reasoning. "My main objective was to emphasize the fiscal crisis that now faces us with deficits over most of the past 15 years and more deficits to come unless we cut down expenditures," he said. The debt limit debate, in other words, was a way of forcing action from reluctant politicians. It was, in a word, leverage.

And it was pretty effective. Almost immediately, Eisenhower told his department heads to cut spending. "It is absolutely essential that you begin immediately to take every possible step progressively to reduce the expenditures of your department during the fiscal year 1954," he told them.

Even Treasury Secretary George Humphrey tried to make the best of the situation, suggesting that the government might be able to scrape by.

Humphrey did manage to avoid disaster by cutting spending more and taking other steps, such as selling some of the country's gold bullion to retire $500 million in outstanding debt.

As winter approached, Humphrey began a new campaign to raise the debt ceiling. But fiscal conservatives felt vindicated by Treasury's success in coping with the existing limit.

"The lesson is clear," exulted one editorial writer. "The way to get government expenditures down is to cut taxes and deny the administration authority to increase the debt. At an early date Congress might well consider cutting the debt limit."

Humphrey continued his campaign, however, and took care to consult with skeptical senators ahead of time. And in July -- a full year after Eisenhower's request -- he coaxed a $6 billion temporary ceiling increase from lawmakers. That ended the debt limit debate for the time being.

(Also by this author: When taxes first! hit midd! le class)

In retrospect, the 1953 crisis seems to bolster the arguments of modern Republicans hoping to use the ceiling as a bargaining chip. Byrd's refusal to make life easy for Eisenhower did coax extra cost-cutting.

But 60 years ago, "making do" was a plausible fiscal strategy -- budget shortfalls were small enough to be manageable. As a result, few involved in the 1953 debate believed that default was a real possibility. Certainly not Byrd, who was a fiscal conservative of the old school -- he would have been appalled by the prospect of national default. Yes, Byrd was gambling that the Treasury could stay under the debt ceiling, but it was a pretty safe bet.

Now it's anything but.

Historian Joseph J. Thorndike is a contributing editor at Tax Analysts and a columnist for Tax Notes magazine, where a version of this article first appeared. His book Their Fair Share: Taxing the Rich in the Age of FDR (Urban Institute Press) was published earlier this year.

Is ConocoPhillips a Worthwhile Investment?

With shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) trading around $62, is COP an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, and bitumen on a worldwide basis. The portfolio includes assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; growing North American shale and oil sands businesses; a number of international development projects; and a global exploration program. Energy products and services are essential to consumers and companies across the globe. So long as crude oil and natural gas products continue to see high demand, look for companies like ConocoPhillips to see rising profits.

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T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

ConocoPhillips stock has been coasting higher over the last several years. The stock is now trading near multi-year highs and looks to be ready to continue higher. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, ConocoPhillips is trading above its rising key averages which signal neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of ConocoPhillips options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
ConocoPhillips Options	20.63%	66%	64%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a significant amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
June Options	Flat	Average
July Options	Flat	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Decreasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

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Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on ConocoPhillips’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for ConocoPhillips look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-23.79%	-54.86%	-23.56%	-25.31%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	-8.90%	2.52%	-9.62%	-14.16%
Earnings Reaction	0.18%	-5.05%	2.16%	-2.56%

ConocoPhillips has seen decreasing earnings and revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these figures, the markets have had mixed feelings about ConocoPhillips’s recent earnings announcements.

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P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has ConocoPhillips stock done relative to its peers, BP (NYSE:BP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS), and sector?

	ConocoPhillips	BP	Exxon Mobil	Royal Dutch Shell	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	7.92%	4.25%	6.07%	-1.78%	4.13%

ConocoPhillips has been a relative performance leader, year-to-date.

Conclusion

ConocoPhillips provides essential crude oil and natural gas products and services to companies and consumers worldwide. The stock has been steadily trending higher and is now trading slightly below all-time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have decreased, which has produced mixed feelings among investors. Relative to its peers and sector, ConocoPhillips has been a year-to-date performance leader. WAIT AND SEE what ConocoPhillips does this coming quarter.

Can Vodafone Dial in to Higher Prices?

Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world with over 450 million customers. The company's reach is largely concentrated in Europe, but it also owns a large interest in Verizon Wireless—the second largest mobile phone provider in the U.S. The stock is up a paltry 1 percent in the last 12 months; however, with several upcoming positive catalysts and an attractive dividend, is the stock a better investment than its recent returns indicate? Let's use our CHEAT SHEET investing framework to decide whether Vodafone is an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY.

C = Catalysts for the Stock's Movement

Vodafone has been able to maintain exposure—albeit indirectly—to the healthy U.S. telecommunications market by way of a 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless. Vodafone has benefited immensely from its position in Verizon Wireless, earning $8 billion in dividends from the company in the last two years. Parent company Verizon Communications (NASDAQ:VZ) has talked about possibly buying Vodafone's stake in Verizon Communications for between $100 and $140 billion. While the two telecommunications giants haven't talked formally about a deal, the current economic environment is right for both companies. A cash infusion of upwards of $100 billion would certainly be a positive catalyst for the stock.

Investors have raised concerns about Vodafone withholding a recent $2.1 billion dividend payment it received from Verizon. The company's revenues were down 4.2 percent for the most recent quarter, while its earnings per share decreased roughly 3 percent. The declines were the result of a drop in service revenue from southern Europe, as consumers continue to struggle amidst an economic recession.

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Vodafone recently announced the purchase of the biggest cable company in Germany, Kabel Deutschland, for $10 billion. The company believes the acquisition will boost operating synergies, and lead to around $400 million more in revenue per year. Kabel Deutschland has an extensive telecommunications infrastructure in Germany—one that Vodafone can piggyback off of for its mobile operations. The acquisition shows investors that Vodafone's management is tackling its recent woes in Europe head on as it looks to increase operating efficiencies across the continent.

E = Excellent Performance Relative to Peers?

Vodafone has performed reasonably well compared with its two largest competitors AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon Communications. While the forward price to equity multiple is, admittedly, based on hypothetical earnings, Vodafone has the lowest of the group, implying that it is relatively cheap given its future earnings. Vodafone's operating margin is second highest to Verizon's at 12.33 percent; however, it may rise due to synergies created from the Kabel Deutschland acquisition. Most impressive is Vodafone's dividend—yielding an attractive 7 percent and well above the industry average. The company has increased dividends by 7 percent in each of the last four years despite a fickle European economy.

	VOD	T	VZ	Industry
Forward P/E	11.40	13.36	15.75	N/A
Operating Margin	12.33%	10.11%	12.79%	N/A
Growth Est. (5 yr.)	3.30%	6.36%	10.48%	6.86%
Dividend Yield	7.00%	5.00%	4.10%	4.80%

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Strong

Vodafone is currently trading at around $29.31, above both its 200-day moving average of $28.06 and its 50-day moving average of $28.78. The stock has experienced a strong uptrend since late February, and is up around 14 percent in the last six months. Recently, the 50-day moving average crossed over the 200-day moving average, implying strong investor sentiment. Vodafone is trading right around its 52-week high of $30.80.

 

Conclusion

Vodafone seems undervalued given that it is trading at a relatively low forward price to earnings multiple of 11.40, pays an industry-leading 7 percent dividend, and is exposed to several upcoming positive catalysts. There is downside risk in that the European economy—where the majority of Vodafone's operations are located—will not recover as quickly as expected. Additionally, those bearish on the stock argue that Vodafone's high dividend is not sustainable; however, there has been no evidence that its solid dividend history will cease. Given that investors can purchase exposure to several upcoming beneficial catalysts and a high dividend yield for a relatively low price, Vodafone is an OUTPERFORM.