Why Arotech Corporation (ARTX) Is Tumbling After Hours

Top 5 Food Stocks To Buy For 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Arotech Corporation (ARTX) is slipping in extended trading after missing analysts' estimates in its recent quarter.

After the bell, shares had taken off 14.6% to $5.31.

In its December-ended fourth quarter, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based business reported a net loss of 3 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had anticipated break-even earnings.

Revenue of $20.9 million came in 5.6% lower than a year earlier and missed forecasts for $21.7 million. Must Read: Warren Buffett's 10 Favorite Stocks STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. TheStreet Ratings team rates AROTECH CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate AROTECH CORP (ARTX) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed -- some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's profit margins have been poor overall." You can view the full analysis from the report here: ARTX Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Stock quotes in this article: ARTX 

New Study on Advisor Satisfaction Invokes Chickens, Eggs

In the case of broker and customer satisfaction, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

Do satisfied customers lead to satisfied brokers? Or are customers satisfied when their brokers are?

It's a question I asked Craig Martin, director of investment services at J.D. Power and Associates and the lead on the new 2013 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction study. The study measures satisfaction among advisors who are employed directly with an investment services firm, as well as those who are affiliated with, but independently operated from, a broker-dealer. Among the findings: Overall satisfaction among advisors is up since 2010; advisors want their firms to focus more on customers than on profits, and nearly a third of all advisors are ambivalent about their firm, which could ultimately cause them to change firms.

The top firms in the employee segment were Edward Jones, Raymond James and Associates, UBS (NYSE: UBS  ) Financial Services, Merrill Lynch Financial Management , Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) , and Chase. In the independent-advisor segment, the highest-ranked firms were Commonwealth Financial Network, Cambridge Investment Research, Raymond James Financial Services, Northwestern Mutual, and LPL Financial. J.D. Power looked at factors including compensation, contact, people, job duties, work environment, products and offerings to clients, technology, and services and support offered to financial advisors.

The results of the 2013 Customer Satisfaction Survey will be released in May, but if last year's dual studies are any indication, the results of the two will dovetail very closely. That's what I found in covering last year's studies, and Martin says it's likely to be similar this year. And, he says, that's to be expected year after year. "People are generally happier when they're successful," he told me, "and for an advisor to be successful, he or she has to be able to serve their clients. The question is, how do you create a level of engagement you want with a customer, one that not just satisfies them, but truly makes them an advocate of your firm, one who tells their friends and is loyal?"

Top 5 Bank Companies To Invest In 2014

That, Martin says, only comes when advisors are supported by their firm. With 40% of advisors saying they experienced a technological or paperwork issue in the past year, how those issues are handled makes a difference in advisor satisfaction, and ultimately, customer satisfaction. "The higher-services firms prevent the challenges that prevent advisors from being in front of the client," Martin says. "Those at the top eliminate issues and limit the impact to the advisor on a daily basis."

But what does all this happiness mean for investors? Ultimately, very little. Martin says that although J.D. Power hasn't done any studies on the impacts of their reports on share prices, he suspects there aren't any dramatic changes. "This [report] isn't a surprise. It's a validation," he says. "If you're losing customers and losing advisors, that's going to have a bottom-line impact, and will show up long before our review."

So, which comes first? A happy customer or a happy advisor? Martin has the formula: "The advisor must like their firm. The customer must like the advisor. The customer then is an advocate for the firm."

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Mexico's 'green gold': Growers guard limes

MEXICO CITY — Citrus growers in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz guard their groves as lime prices surge to the point that pistol-packing thieves pick pieces of fruit right off their trees.

Truckers, meanwhile, travel with escorts — especially after criminals started targeting their vehicles and commandeered a cargo of limes worth nearly $50,000 this month.

"There are a lot of people stealing limes, even entering the groves with weapons," says Adriana Melchor, director of fruit exporter Inverafrut.

Limes have always been a coveted crop in Mexico, where a squirt of the small citrus brightens the taste of everything from tacos to tequila to guacamole.

But a combination of poor winter weather, plagues and threats from organized crime have caused production to plunge and prices to rise — a trend that has many Mexicans calling the citrus "green gold."

Newspapers are covering the shortages as prices rise to more than $6 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) in some places. La Prensa, a tabloid catering to the cost-conscious working classes, replaced its usual blood-soaked front-page photos with the headline: "Like Meat!" and a subhead saying limes sell for the same price as chicken.

STORY: U.S. lime market squeezed by shortage in Mexico

Vendors say sales are on the decline, even though limes — along with chilies and salt — accompany many Mexican dishes.

"One year ago it was 15 to 20 pesos ($1.15 to $1.50) per kilogram. Now it's 50 pesos" ($3.80), says Mario Aguilar, who sells fruit from a market near the president's residence in Mexico City and reports people purchasing half of what they used to buy.

Taco stand operator Fidel González used to put out bowls of limes for his patrons. Now he portions out slices selectively to keep costs down.

"We have to charge the same price for our tacos, so we give out less limes," he says.

The quality of limes is also lacking, according to both growers and restaurateurs.

"We're getting a smaller-size lime ! and it doesn't produce as much juice as it should," says Claudio Hall, chef at Fonda El Refugio in Mexico City, where his bartenders now use twice as many limes to make margaritas.

"We just tighten our belts and pay the higher prices," he says.

The consumer prosecutor's office, Profeco, says prices have on average increased by 221% since December and promises to prosecute anyone hoarding the fruit or speculating. Profeco's director, Lorena Martínez, said the sanctions for speculation include prison terms of up to 10 years.

Melchor insists no one is hoarding any fruit — at least not in Veracruz, one of Mexico's three main growing regions and an area famous for its production of Persian limes, which are exported to the U.S. and Europe.

Production in her partners' groves has dropped from 20 tons per day to 3 tons per day, while customers in the USA have offered as much as $90 for a 40-pound box of limes, she says — more than seven times the price of $12 per box paid last year.

Melchor blames bad weather. Hurricane Ingrid stormed through last September, and unusually cold winter temperatures made matters worse.

Producers in other parts of Mexico who supply the domestic market with a smaller, more acidic lime variety suffered other problems such as a plague that wiped out the crop in the western state of Colima.

In the neighboring state of Michaocán, where self-defense groups formed to fight off drug cartels carrying out crimes like kidnap and extortion, a spokesman for the growers' association also blames bad weather. But he acknowledged that insecurity prevented some producers from working their lime groves last year.

"Producers didn't go out to their groves, didn't attend to their trees as they should have," says Leonardo Santibáñez, spokesman for the Citrus Growers Association of the Apatzingán Valley. "This brought about smaller harvests."

The growers formed a group five years ago to fetch better prices for their crops — currently 15 pesos! ($1.15) ! per kilogram (2.2 pounds), Santibáñez says, nearly double the 8 pesos ($0.61) per kilo they received last year. The growers' increased organization and marketing muscle is getting them a better price, Santibáñez says, but he rejects suggestions they're unduly profiting at a time when production from Michaocán can barely supply one-third of the Mexican market.

"The benefit of being organized is that there's a regulation of prices, regulation of harvests, that we take care of each other because if we don't the profits will stay in the commercialization process (and) not be distributed to those in the production process."

Mexican retailers reject any allegations of jacking up prices.

"Our prices are reflecting what we are paying in the market," says Antonio Ocaranza, spokesman for Wal-Mart de México, the nation's largest retailer. "We try to provide the lowest possible price and have been working closely with authorities to share what we are seeing in the market."

Rentrak: Measuring Media

Our latest featured stock is a global media measurement and distribution company serving the entertainment, television, and advertising industries, notes small-cap expert Jim Oberweis, Jr., editor of The Oberweis Report.

Rentrak (RENT) offers technology that merges television viewership, advanced demographics, and actual consumer behavior information across multiple platforms, devices, and distribution channels.

Rentrak processes and aggregates data from hundreds of billions of transactions from multiple screens wherever entertainment content is viewed, whether at the box office, on a television screen, over the Internet, on a smart phone, or other portable device.

It measures these transactions whether purchased, rented, recorded, downloaded, or streamed from multiple channels. These content databases measure viewership across every screen and are fused with third-party consumer segmentation and purchase databases.

By linking multiscreen viewership information with information about the products those viewers consume and prefer, Rentrak provides its clients with the knowledge necessary to more precisely target their advertising.

Its clients include content producers, distributors, advertisers, and advertising agencies. On January 16, CBS became the first major broadcast network to subscribe to Rentrak's service.

In the company's latest reported third quarter, sales increased approximately 27% to $31.6 million from $24.9 million in the third quarter of last year. Rentrak Corp. reported earnings per share of $.12 in the latest reported third quarter, versus a loss in the same quarter of last year.

Clients of Oberweis Asset Management own approximately 16,000 shares. These shares may be appropriate for risk-oriented investors.

Subscribe to The Oberweis Report here…

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Lululemon: Not Quite H(om)e Yet

What a year it’s been for Lululemon Athletica (LULU). The athletic-apparel and yoga-wear giant made headline after headline–for all the wrong reasons. It’s dealt with negative PR challenges. But that would all be noise if it weren’t for the fact that they’ve has a big impact on Lululemon’s business. So, naturally our burning questions have been: How big an impact and when will those issues go away?

Getty Images

We got some clues today after Lululemon reported earnings that made us snooze a little at the market open. For the period ended Feb. 2, earnings went sideways at $109.7 million or 75 cents, unchanged from last year's $109.4 million and 75 cents. Revenue rose to $521 million from $485.5 million a year prior. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 72 cents a share on revenue of $515 million. Lululemon also said it expects to earn 31 to 33 cents per share in the first quarter, lower than the Wall Street consensus for 38 cents.

On the conference call, the new CEO Laurent Potdevin said Lululemon has done some soul searching and plans to take steps to become a more inclusive brand.

"We've reflected on last year and we've learned from last year," he said. "We've done that with humility. If you go back to our mission, it's elevating the world to greatness. To do that well, we need to be inclusive."

Still, Lululemon’s shares have jumped 5.5% to $50.90, and left its competitors in the dust. Nike (NKE) has dropped 0.2% to $73.11, Under Armour (UA) has gained 0.7% to $114.42 and the Gap (GPS), whose Athleta brand competes head on with Lululemon, has risen 0.2% to $39.91.

Lululemon’s big gain didn't go unnoticed by one analyst. Brian Sozzi of Belus Capital Advisors writes:

Lululemon shares have popped in response. I would be hesitant to warp into a #LuluBull at the drop of a dime given the clear challenges facing the brand. The stock has acted favorably for a few reasons:

1.       Fourth-quarter 2013 same-store sales came in at the better part of the company's lowered guidance (-1% to -5%; actually -2%).

2.       First-quarter 2014 flat comp guidance implies quarter to date traction is being made in regaining customers, in spite of continued harsh weather impacting mall traffic.

Analyst Sam Poser of Sterne, Agee & Leach pointed to Lululemon’s low to mid-single digit same-store sales guidance to justify maintaining an Underperform rating. And Poser is still worried about the impact of the bad press on the Lululemon:

Product and supply chain issues will be resolved, but the value of Lululemon products come from the combination of great product and great in store experience. That combination has been damaged. Hence customers are looking to other brands that may offer a better value proposition.

Top Sliver Stocks To Watch For 2014

Here's to hoping their lost customer base can meet Lululemon where they are in the future.

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2014

Top 5 Casino Stocks To Own For 2014: Scientific Games Corp (SGMS)

Scientific Games Corporation (Scientific Games), incorporated on July 2, 1984, is a global supplier of solutions to lottery and gaming organizations worldwide. The Company's products and services include instant lottery games, lottery gaming systems, terminals and services, and Internet applications, as well as server-based interactive gaming machines and associated gaming control systems. The Company reports its operations in three segments: Printed Products Group, Lottery Systems Group and Diversified Gaming Group. Printed Products Group is a provider of instant lottery tickets in the world. The Company's Lottery Systems Group is a provider of customized computer software, software support, equipment and data communication services to lotteries. Its Diversified Gaming Group provides services and systems to private and public operators in the wide area gaming industry, including server-based gaming machines and sports betting systems and services. On September 23, 201 1, the Company acquired Barcrest Group Limited. During 2011, the Company launched MDI Interactive, a content services powerhouse dedicated to delivering gaming solutions for the Internet, mobile and all digital things. In October 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of WMS Industries Inc.

Printed Products

Printed Products segment is primarily consists of instant ticket lottery business. The Company generates revenue from the manufacturing and sale of instant tickets, as well as the provision of value-added services, such as game design, sales and marketing support, specialty games and promotions, inventory management and warehousing and fulfillment services. It also provides lotteries with cooperative service programs (CSPs), to help them manage and support their operations. The Company also provides licensed games, pro! motional entertainment and Internet-based services to the lottery industry. It operates six instant ti cket printing facilities across five continents.

!

The Company provides lotteries with access to some entertainment brands on lottery products through its subsidiary MDI Entertainment LLC (MDI). The Company's licensed entertainment brands include Harley-Davidson, Major League Baseball, Monopoly, National Basketball Association, The Price is Right, Wheel-of-Fortune and World Poker Tour. It also provides branded merchandise prizes, advertising, promotional support, turnkey drawing management services and prize fulfillment programs. In addition, it offers lotteries a Web-based platform called Properties Plus, which features players clubs, reward programs, second chance promotional websites, interactive games and, subject to applicable law, a subscription system that enables players to purchase lottery games securely over the Internet. The Company owns 20% interests in LNS ad Northstar, and 49% in CSG.

Lottery Systems

The Company is a provider of customized computer software, software support, eq uipment and data communication services to lotteries. In the United States, the Company typically provides the necessary equipment, software and maintenance services pursuant to long-term facilities. Internationally, it typically sells terminals and/or computer software to lottery authorities and may provide ongoing fee-based systems and software support services. The Company's lottery systems business includes the supply of transaction-processing software, draw lottery games, keno, point-of-sale terminals, central site computers and communication platforms as well as ongoing operational support and maintenance services. The Company is the instant ticket validation network provider to the China Sports Lottery.

The Company has lottery systems operating in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Mexico, Norw! ay, the P! hilippines, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In addition, it provides video lottery central monitoring , and control systems and networks primarily to lotteries an! d gaming ! regulators. It also provides software, hardware and support for sports wagering systems. The Company has 50% interest in Guard Libang, a provider of instant ticket activation and validation and inventory management systems and services.

Gaming

The Company is a provider of server-based gaming machines and systems and other products and services to operators in the gaming industry. The Company's Gaming segment includes The Global Draw Limited (Global Draw), a supplier of server-based gaming machines and systems, and game content primarily to bookmakers that operate licensed betting offices (LBOs) in the United Kingdom, and to gaming operators outside the United Kingdom. The Gaming segment also includes Barcrest Group Limited (Barcrest) and Games Media Limited (Games Media), suppliers of gaming machines, systems and game content to pubs, bingo halls and arcades in the United Kingdom and continental Europe.

The Company provides its Gami ng customers with gaming machines, remote management of game content and management information, central computer systems, secure data communication and field support services. It develops its own game content, and supplements its offering with content from third parties. As of December 31, 2011, the Company installed approximately 23,100 LBO gaming machines in the United Kingdom, which included approximately 8,000 LBO gaming. As of December 31, 2011, it had an installed base of approximately 6,100 gaming machines in its United Kingdom pub, bingo hall and arcade business, and installed approximately 6,500 gaming machines outside of the United Kingdom. During 2011, the Company owned a 50% interest in Sciplay, a joint venture with Playtech Services (Cyprus) Limited. It also owns 29.4% interests in RCN, and 20% in Sportech.

The Compnay competes wi! th Pollar! d Banknote Limited, GTECH, BI Worldwide Ltd., Alchemy3, LLC, ePrize, LLC, GTECH, Pollard, Intralot Technologie s, Inc., International Lottery and Totalizator Systems, Inc.! , Inspire! d Gaming Group Limited, Danoptra Ltd, Sceptre Leisure plc, Games Warehouse Limited, International Game Technology, Lottomatica, Bally Technologies, Inc., Inspired, Aristocrat Leisure Ltd, Novomatic AG, Multimedia Games, Inc., WMS Industries Inc., Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., Amaya Gaming Group, Inc., Cryptologic Ltd., IGT, Microgaming Software Systems Ltd., Net Entertainment NE AB, NYX Gaming Group, OpenBet Technology Ltd. and Playtech Limited.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of Scientific Games (NASDAQ: SGMS  ) jumped 10% in late trading today after signing an important customer.

  So what: The company announced that it has signed a contract extension to provide lottery gaming and instant ticket services for the Oklahoma Lottery. This was actually disclosed earlier this year, but investors bid up shares leading up to the announcement and nearly five times the three-month average volume of shares traded hands today.  

• [By Stock Maelstrom]

  We are likely approaching the last time I will be reporting on WMS Industries (WMS), the former Williams Electronics. It has agreed to be acquired by Scientific Games (SGMS) for $26 per share, plus the assumption of WMS' modest debt. The deal is scheduled to close by the end of this year. On its own, WMS is having a dismal fiscal year, which ends June 30. For this year, the company, no doubt with distracted management, earnings are likely to end at about $0.90 per share, compared with fiscal 2012's $1.31 per share. Helping drive earnings lower are additional measures the company is taking to drive up revenues, which remain well below last decade's peak. WMS' stock has flat lined the past few months at within three percent of the $26 price. There is virtually no upside, though there is do! wnside if! the deal collapses. I see no reason to get invested in WMS.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-casino-stocks-to-own-for-2014.html

The Week's Winners and Losers: Netflix, Walmart, Pandora

Frank Micelotta/Invision/The Associated PressIn a new Netflix sitcom, Lily Tomlin (left) and Jane Fonda play former foes who unite when their husbands desert them. An identity theft specialist lost its identity, a soda maker teamed up with an old-school appliance brand, Walmart made a play for video games, Netflix announced a new show and yet another online service upped its subscription price. Here's a rundown of the week's smartest moves and biggest blunders in the business world. Netflix (NFLX) -- Winner The leading video service keeps building its digital catalog of original content. Netflix announced on Wednesday that it will be the home of "Grace and Frankie," a new sitcom starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin that's partly the handiwork of "Friends" creator Marta Kaufman. The first season will debut next year. We naturally won't know until we dive into the 13 half-hour episodes come 2015 if the show is any good, but that's also the point of Netflix beefing up its portfolio of first-run shows introduced exclusively on Netflix. Walmart Stores (WMT) -- Loser The world's largest retailer is getting into the video game resale business. Walmart announced on Tuesday that it will begin accepting trade-ins at most of its stores next week. The discounter will swap the games for in-store credit. It will then send off the trade-ins to get refurbished. It will start offering the pre-owned wares later this year. The market is playing this out to be a big hit for GameStop (GME), but let's not kid ourselves. GameStop's sales of pre-owned games fell sharply in 2012 and have gone on to decline in each of 2013's first three quarters. Walmart won't make things easier, but this was already a fading market. Too many new systems rely on digital delivery, making physical discs and their eventual resale obsolete. Walmart's late to the game. SodaStream International (SODA) -- Winner Making soda at home is as popular as ever, and niche leader SodaStream is getting a boost with KitchenAid introducing a new soda maker that uses SodaStream's technology to fizz up tap water. KitchenAid's Sparkling Beverage Maker will hit the market in June with s a suggested retail price of $250, well ahead of SodaStream machines that can be had for as little as $80. However, this is still a big win for SodaStream because it doesn't make much of a profit on the soda makers. The real margins are in the CO2 refills and licensed soda syrups. Having KitchenAid promoting its stylish design will mean fewer inventory hassles for SodaStream with the starter kits, something that destroyed its profitability during the holiday quarter. SodaStream will merely cash in on the uptick in CO2 and flavor sales from KitchenAid buyers. Intersections (INTX) -- Loser Intersections seems to be at the right place at the right time -- but it's not. The provider of identity theft and risk management solutions posted another quarter of disappointing results this week. Revenue fell 14 percent for the quarter, which is easy to imagine with total subscribers shrinking from 4.5 million to 2.9 million through all of 2013. Identity theft is a big deal, but Intersections sells its safeguarding plans primarily through banks and other financial institutions that have come under regulatory fire for the way they tack on premium services to their banking customers. Guidance calls for revenue to decline again in 2014. With Intersections barely breaking even in its latest quarter, it leads one to wonder if it can continue to keep paying its generous dividend. Pandora Media (P) -- Winner The leading music service is hopping on the trend of popular online services raising prices. Pandora's ad-free offering will go from $3.99 a month to $4.99 a month for new users in May. Higher prices isn't something that's typically applauded in this weekly column, but Pandora's going about it the right way. It will grandfather in the folks still paying $3.99 a month for now. The new rate is only for new or returning subscribers. That's important because it will likely keep the folks paying $3.99 a month now from canceling Pandora One. The vast majority of Pandora users put up with ads to enjoy the service for free, and this move may motivate some freeloaders to become premium members to take advantage of the $3.99 a month rate before it goes up.

What to Expect in 2014

Market veteran Ned Riley shares his outlook for the market in 2014 as well as for some of the recent high-flying technology stocks.

TERRY:  I'm Terry Savage from MoneyShow.com talking with Ned Riley of Riley Asset Management, formerly chief investment strategist for State Street Global Advisors. 

NED:  Right, Terry. 

TERRY:  So that's a very good point to start out, we're early in the year.  We had some terrific gains last year.  What do you see ahead for 2014? 

NED:  I think this year is going to be a little bit more difficult.  It was pretty easy last year.  We had the markets up 30% and if anybody want up at least that much money they probably are kind of wondering what they did for strategy.  2014 is going to be real hard in many respects.  First of all, the profit momentum is good this year, it's positive.  It was riding off the fourth quarter at 7% growth but it's going to be more difficult if Europe and the Far East don't kick in with growth.  I think our US companies are going to depend more on the international scene in 2014 than they do on the domestic scene. 

TERRY:  Well, that's not too exciting, right.  I mean, we had a weak January and now we've got the emerging markets having problems, currency woes all over.  The feds, you know, while they're not cutting back they're just not putting quite as much money in.  Can any of that be good for the stock market? 

NED:  Most of that is not good, but the tapering aspect for the Federal Reserve, I mean, we've expanded the balance sheet so much to $4 trillion that, you know, $800 to $1 trillion, you know, what's that to the fed?  They can reduce the balance sheet to $3 trillion and we still have a lot of liquidity, Terry.  When you start to look at things, there's a lot of cash, money market funds, and bonds, and I'm looking for the poor public to get whipsawed again where they'll be selling out bonds this year to put into the stock market.  Unfortunately there's the old repetition of selling at lows and buying at highs. 

TERRY:  So what's your net net for the stock market this year?  Are you predicting it will be an up year by the time the New Year's Eve bell rings? 

NED:  I think it will be an up year, but more modest, 8% to 10%.  I think the profits will be the primary factor behind that growth.  The expansion of price earnings ratios is not going to be great this year as it was last. 

TERRY:  Any sectors you like particularly? 

NED:  I like technology.  I still like the groups that I've liked for the last several years.  It's funny, between the old and the new, I actually still like the old tech stocks.  I like Apple, yes, they didn't have the quarter that everybody wanted them to, but it's cheap.  I still like companies like Hewlett-Packard which clearly out -

TERRY:  What about the hot and happening stuff, the Facebook and the Twitters? 

NED:  Well, I get a twitter every time I see the stocks go up.  Facebook hit a new high, that's wonderful.  Things are going just brilliantly for all three companies like Tesla, like Facebook, like Twitter.  The only problem is they're priced to perfection, and at some point someone is going to make a mistake along the line and that stock price is going to get hit quite dramatically, so -

TERRY:  Inaudible. 

NED:  Well, I'm a little apprehensive, yeah.  If I was going to sell the stock, I don't own any of the three so I was a fool not to own them, obviously, but I would do it in increments.  I wouldn't do it at all once.  I would sell -

TERRY:  It's always hard to look back and you sold everything at one point.  Better to just kind of average in and out.  Thanks for joining us.  We had Ned Riley of Riley Investment Management.  I'm Terry Savage from MoneyShow.com.

Hot Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now

Alan Diaz/AP NEW YORK -- The struggling parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster reported a sharply lower quarterly profit Friday and said that its president and chief operating officer will retire. Darden Restaurants (DRI) said Drew Madsen, 57, will be succeeded by the president of its specialty restaurant group, Gene Lee. The appointment is effective immediately. The company's specialty restaurant group, which includes chains such as The Capital Grille and Bahama Breeze, has performed better than the company's flagship chains. At Olive Garden, the company's biggest chain, sales fell 4 percent at restaurants open at least a year in the latest quarter. The figure fell 5.2 percent at Red Lobster. The declines came despite the company's ongoing efforts to revitalize menus and advertising to better reflect changing eating habits. In the specialty restaurant group, sales edged up 0.5 percent at restaurants open at least a year. The metric is a key gauge because it strips out the impact of newly opened and closed locations. To cut spending by about $50 million a year, the company is also reducing its workforce by between 80 to 85 positions, as well as making program cuts. A representative said the personnel cuts won't be at the restaurant level. For the three months ended Aug. 25, the company said it earned $70.2 million, or 53 cents a share. That's compared with $110.8 million, or 85 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts expected a profit of 70 cents a share. Sales rose to $2.16 billion, helped by the opening of new locations. That was short of the $2.19 billion Wall Street expected, according to FactSet. Darden, based in Orlando, Fla., said Madsen will work with Lee and Darden's other executives on the transition until he retires. Madsen joined the company in 1998 as executive vice president of marketing for Olive Garden. He became COO in December 2004. Lee joined Darden in 2007. Kim Lopdrup will take over leadership of the company's specialty restaurant group and continue to lead its new business development initiatives. Darden's stock fell in premarket trading Friday.

Hot Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now: Chanticleer Holdings Inc (HOTR)

Chanticleer Holdings, Inc., incorporated in 1999, is a business operator focused on expanding the Hooters casual dining restaurant brand in international markets. Chanticleer has rights to develop and operate Hooters restaurants in South Africa and has joint ventured with the current franchisee in Australia. The company also has franchise rights to develop Hungary and parts of Brazil while evaluating several additional opportunities internationally. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Chanticleer and a group of private equity investors acquired Hooters of America, Inc. (HOA). HOA is the franchisor and operator of over 450 Hooters restaurants in 44 states and 28 foreign countries. In October 2013, Chanticleer Holdings Inc purchased American Roadside Burgers, Inc. In December 12, 2013, Chanticleer Holdings Inc acquired a 51% interest in JF Restaurants LLC, an owner and operator of restaurants. In February 2014, it acquired Hooters' United States Pacific Northwest franchise rights and two existing restaurants in Oregon and Washington.

The Company operates in two business segments: Hooters franchise restaurants, and investment management and consulting services businesses. Hooters has also branched out to other areas, including licensing its name to a golf tour and the sale of packaged food in supermarkets. Its subsidiaries include Chanticleer Advisors, LLC, (Advisors), Avenel Ventures, LLC (Ventures), Avenel Financial Services, LLC (AFS), Chanticleer Holdings Limited (CHL), Chanticleer Holdings Australia Pty, Ltd. (CHA), Chanticleer Investment Partners, LLC (CIP), DineOut SA Ltd. (DineOut), Kiarabrite (Pty) Ltd (KPL), Dimaflo (Pty) Ltd (DFLO), Tundraspex (Pty) Ltd (TPL), Civisign (Pty) Ltd (CPL), Dimalogix (Pty) Ltd (DLOG) and Crown Restaurants Kft. (CRK).

South Africa

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had four Hooters locations in South Africa in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg (two locations), which are owned by four companies, which it control. The Com! pany formed a management company to operate the current South African Hooters locations. It owns 80% of the management company, with two members of local management owning the remaining 20%. The management company charges a management fee of 5% of net revenues to the Hooters locations in South Africa.

Other Countries

The Company has acquired development rights for Hooters in five states of Brazil, which would include Rio de Janeiro. It has applied to HOA for franchise rights in Hungary, where it own 80% of the entity the Company anticipate will hold the franchise rights and its local partner owns the remaining 20%. The Company has partnered with the Hooters franchisee in a joint venture in which it owns 49% and its partner 51%. The first Hooters restaurant under this joint venture (which would be the third Hooters restaurant open in Australia) opened in January 2012 in Campbelltown, a suburb of Sydney. It has a non-binding letter of intent with a franchisee to purchase 100% of an existing Hooters location.

Management and consulting services

The Company provides management and consulting services for small companies, which are seeking to become publicly traded. The Company also provides management and investment services for Investors LLC and Investors II, which are affiliates of the Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Konrad Kuhn]

  Chanticleer Holdings (HOTR), a franchisee of international Hooters restaurants, has exploded through its upside target prices; however, in our view, the stock has a long way to go, as it expands its restaurants abroad, and in the US.

Hot Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now: Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc (BAGL)

Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (ENRGI), incorporated on October 21, 1992, is an owner/operator, franchisor and licensor of bagel specialty restaurants in the United States. ENRGI operates under the Einstein Bros. Bagels (Einstein Bros.), Noah�� New York Bagels (Noah��) and Manhattan Bagel Company (Manhattan Bagel) brands. ENRGI operates in three business segments: the Company-owned restaurants segment, the manufacturing and commissary segment, and the franchise and license segment. The Company-owned restaurants segment includes the restaurants that it owns. The manufacturing and commissary segment produces and distributes bagel dough and other products to its Company-owned restaurants, licensees and franchisees and other third parties. The franchise and license segment earns royalties and other fees from the use of trademarks and operating systems developed for the Einstein Bros., Noah�� and Manhattan Bagel brands.

During the fiscal year ended January 1, 2013 (fiscal 2012), ENRGI acquired eight restaurants and opened an additional 15 Company-owned restaurants. It closed one Company-owned restaurant during fiscal 2012. On January 31, 2012, the Company sold a Company-owned restaurant. As of January 1, 2013, it had 816 restaurants in 39 states and in the District of Columbia. In January 2013, the Company opened an Einstein Bros. franchise in Montana. Its product offerings include fresh-baked bagels and other bakery items baked onsite, ma de-to-order breakfast and lunch sandwiches on a range of bagels, breads or wraps, gourmet soups and salads, assorted pastries, premium coffees and an assortment of snacks. Its manufacturing and independent distribution network delivers ingredients that are delivered fresh to its restaurants.

Company-owned restaurants

Einstein Bros. offers a menu that provides food for breakfast and lunch, including fresh-baked bagels and hot breakfast sandwiches, freshly prepared lunch sandwiches, cream cheese and other spreads, specia! lty coffees and teas, soups, salads and other menu offerings. Noah�� is a neighborhood-based bakery/deli restaurant that serves fresh-baked bagels, hot breakfast sandwiches, made-to-order deli-style sandwiches, cream cheese and other spreads, specialty coffees and teas, soups, salads and other menu offerings. Manhattan Bagel provides a traditional New York style boil and baked bagel. Manhattan Bagel also serves a range of grilled sandwiches, freshly made deli sandwiches, freshly prepared breakfast sandwiches, soups, and a range of other fresh-baked sweets. Similar to Einstein Bros. and Noah��, Manhattan Bagel also features a line of fresh brewed coffees and specialty coffee/espresso beverages. During fiscal 2012, ENRGI generated approximately 90% of its total revenue from restaurant sales at its Company-owned restaurants.

Manufacturing and Commissaries

ENRGI operates a bagel dough manufacturing facility in Whittier, California and has contracts with two suppliers to produce bagel dough and sweets to the specifications. These facilities provide frozen dough, partially-baked frozen bagels and fully baked sweets for its Company-owned restaurants, franchisees and licensees. These operations provide the restaurants with food products, such as sliced meats, cheeses, and/or certain salad ingredients. It has recipes and production processes for the bagel dough, cream cheese and coffee. Frozen, or partially baked and frozen, bagel dough is shipped to all of its Company-owned, franchised and licensed restaurants where the dough is then baked onsite. Its purchases other ingredients used in the restaurants, such as meat, lettuce, tomatoes and condiments, from a select group of third party suppliers.

Franchise and Licensing

ENRGI offers Einstein Bros. franchises to qualified area developers. As of January 1, 2013, the Company was registered to offer Einstein Bros. franchises in 49 states and the District of Columbia. It also has a franchise base in the Manhatt! an Bagel ! brand. Its licensees are located primarily in colleges and universities, hospitals, airports and military bases. As of February 25, 2013, it had 28 development agreements in place for 136 total restaurants, 34 of which have already opened. During fiscal 2012, it opened 13 franchised locations and 27 licensed locations. During fiscal 2012, approximately 3% of its total revenue was generated by the Company�� franchise and license operations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street hedge-fund investor David Einhorn was active in the last quarter of 2013, taking new stakes in technology and energy companies, while trimming existing holdings in insurer Aetna (AET) , NCR Corp (NCR) and WPX Energy (WPX) , according to an SEC filing Friday. Einhorn's Greenlight Capital picked up stakes in Anadarko Petroleum (APC) , BP (BP) , McDermott Intl. (MDR) , Micron Technolgy (MU) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) , according to the latest 13F filing. He trimmed stakes in Aetna, Einstein Noah (BAGL) and WPX Energy, according to the filing.

• [By John Udovich]

  At the end of last week, small cap sandwich stock Potbelly Corp (NASDAQ: PBPB) had a delicious surge of 120% for its IPO���meaning its probably a good idea to see whether its still worth getting in on the action plus take a look at the performance of peers�Cosi Inc (NASDAQ: COSI), Panera Bread Co (NASDAQ: PNRA) and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc (NASDAQ: BAGL) as Subway remains private. I should mention that competing with Subway in the sandwich business is a tall order as they have 40,229 restaurants in 102 countries and territories as of early September���making them the�largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator globally. However, Potbelly Corp and its peers Cosi Inc, Panera Bread Co and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group aren�� slugging it out directly with Subway.

Top 5 Consumer Stocks To Buy Right Now: Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW)

Burger King Worldwide, Inc., incorporated on April 2, 2012, is a fast food hamburger restaurant, under the Burger King brand. The Company generates revenues from three sources: franchise revenues, consisting primarily of royalties based on a percentage of sales reported by franchise restaurants and fees paid by franchisees; property income from properties that it leases or subleases to franchisees, and retail sales at Company restaurants. In September 2012, it sold 41 Company-owned BURGER KING restaurants in Singapore to Rancak Selera Sdn Bhd. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or franchised a total of 12,997 restaurants in 86 countries and United States territories. In April 2013, it announced the sale of Burger King Restaurants of Canada (BKRC), including 94 Company owned BURGER KING restaurants in the Canada market to Redberry Investments Corp.

The Company operates in the FFHR category of the quick service restaurant (QSR), segment of the restaurant industry. In the United States, the QSR segment is the segment of the restaurant industry and has demonstrated steady growth over a long period of time. The Company launched four new menu platforms (salads, wraps, smoothies and desserts) and expanded its chicken, coffee and ancillary menu platforms. It has established a data driven marketing process, which is focused on driving restaurant sales and traffic, while targeting a broader consumer base with more inclusive messaging to reach women, parties with children and seniors.

United States and Canada (U.S. and Canada)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 7,293 franchise restaurants and 183 Company restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company refranchised 752 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, bringing the region to 98% franchised. During the year ended December 31, 2012, it also continued to implement its Four Pillars strategy to improve comparable sales growth and franchise profitability by enhancing its Menu, Marke! ting Communications, Image, and Operations.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 2,989 franchise restaurants and 132 Company restaurants in EMEA. While in Germany continues with 684 restaurants as of December 31, 2012, Turkey and Russia are two of its growing markets with net openings of 78 restaurants and 47 restaurants, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2012.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 1,290 franchise and 100 Company restaurants in LAC. In 2011, the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Vinci Partners for Brazil and granted franchise and development rights to the joint venture. The Company received a minority stake and board seats in the joint venture without deploying its own capital.

Asia Pacific (APAC)

As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 1,007 franchise and 3 Company restaurants in APAC. As of December 31, 2012,the Company had 357 restaurants in Australia. It contributed 44 Company restaurants in China. In September 2012, the Company sold 38restaurants to Rancak Selera, the Burger King franchisee in Malaysia.

The Company competes with McDonald�� Corporation, Wendy�� Company, Carl�� Jr., Jack in the Box and Sonic.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Burger King Worldwide Inc.'s(BKW) third-quarter earnings soared from a year earlier as the fast-food chain posted significantly fewer operating expenses and as same-store sales increased in its international regions. Results beat Street estimates. Shares rose 1.2% to $20 premarket.

Hot Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now: Sodexo SA (SW)

Sodexo SA, (formerly Sodexho Alliance SA), is a global provider of services in three primary business areas: The On-site Services Solutions offer various services that range from food services to construction management, reception to the maintenance of scanners and laboratory equipment, management of data centers, leisure cruises and provides housekeeping to rehabilitation services at correctional facilities. The Motivation Solutions division provides passes and vouchers, comprising Restaurant Pass, Gift Pass, Sport Pass, Training Voucher, Service Card and Book Card, among others. The Company also provides Personal and Home Services in the form of childcare, tutoring, concierge services and in-home service care facilities. The Company is present in 80 countries in a number of geographic areas, such as North America, South America, Continental Europe and United Kingdom and Ireland. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Glenwoods]

  Recently giant food conglomerate, Cargill announced it had partnered with the Swiss biosynthetic pharmaceutical company, Evolva (EVE:SW), to develop a more consistent and less expensive stevia sweetener via Evolva�� microbial fermentation-based process.� This is big news for the future of stevia because a microbial fermentation-based process does not have to rely on soil conditions or weather, and stevia can be manufactured anywhere, thus having the potential of guaranteeing an endless supply line of stevia.� Through the microbial fermentation, the manufacturer has the capability to process the key sweet individual components of stevia using low-cost plant sugars, and allows for the individual components of stevia, regardless of how minute, to be developed creating blends in any volume, which then could open the door for these manufacturers to fine-tune its stevia to local tastes.� But what would be most attractive is that, because the fermentation process does not require the entire plant, the method could conceivably shave upwards of 70% off the cost of producing stevia extracts.�

Hot Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now: Brinker International Inc (EAT)

Brinker International, Inc. (Brinker), incorporated on September 30, 1983, owns, develops, operates and franchises the Chili�� Grill & Bar (Chili��) and Maggiano�� Little Italy (Maggiano��) restaurant brands. As of June 27, 2013 (fiscal 2013), the Company's system of Company-owned and franchised restaurants included 1,591 restaurants located in 50 states, and Washington, D.C. It also has restaurants in the Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Chili�� Grill & Bar

Chili�� operates in the Bar and Grill category of casual dining. The Company has operations worldwide, with locations in 32 foreign countries and two United States territories. Chili�� menu features items, such as Baby Back Ribs smoked in-house, Big Mouth Burgers, Sizzling Fajitas, hand-battered Chicken Crispers and house-made Chips and Salsa. The all-day menu offers a range of appetizers, entrees and desserts. A special lunch section is available on weekdays. In addition to its flavorful food, Chili�� offers a line of alcoholic beverages available from the bar, including Margaritas and draft beer. During fiscal 2013, food and non-alcoholic beverage sales constituted approximately 86.1% of Chili�� total restaurant revenues, with alcoholic beverage sales accounted for the remaining 13.9%.

Maggiano�� Little Italy

Maggiano�� is a full-service, casual dining Italian restaurant brand. Its Maggiano�� restaurants feature individual and family-style menus, and its restaurants also have banquet facilities designed to host party business or social events. It has lunch and dinner menu offering chef-prepared, classic Italian-American fare in the form of appetizers, entrees with portions of pasta, ch! icken, seafood, veal and prime steaks, and desserts. The Company�� Maggiano�� restaurants also offer a range of alcoholic beverages, including wines. In addition, Maggiano�� offers a full carryout menu, as well as local delivery services. During fiscal 2013, food and non-alcoholic beverage sales constituted approximately 83.0% of Maggiano�� total restaurant revenues, with alcoholic beverage sales accounted for the remaining 17.0%.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  AP/Shiho FukadaActivist investor Carl Icahn loves to give advice to public companies. But this week, his advice for eBay felt a couple of years behind the curve. Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From a classy handbag maker carrying its latest financials to market, to a blowout report by the leading streaming video service, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst in the business world. Netflix (NFLX) -- Winner Netflix was last year's top performer among S&P 500 stocks, and it's off to another strong start in 2014. Shares of the leading video service hit another all-time high this week after it posted blowout quarterly results. Netflix closed out the year on a strong note with more than 44 million streaming subscribers worldwide and expanding profit margins. It expects to top 48 million streaming members by the end of March. Strong financial results naturally make you a winner, but Netflix also got the market excited by announcing that it will soon offer a variety of pricing plans. More importantly, it's suggesting that it may eventually increase the price of its basic $7.99 a month plan. Coach (COH) -- Loser Luxury handbags are still selling, but Coach totes aren't faring as well. The iconic maker of high-end purses and accessories posted disappointing quarterly results on Tuesday. Sales declined by 6 percent during the seasonally potent holiday quarter, and net income took an even bigger hit. Foreign currency translations weighed on the results, but sales still would have been lower if there weren't any currency fluctuations. Coach investors shouldn't be surprised. Sales, net income, and store-level comparable sales also slipped three months earlier. It's not the niche. Michael Kors (KORS) has been able to post healthy double-digit growth through the gradual fade in prominence at Coach. Beats Music -- Winner Music streaming has become popular, and that's big for the musi

• [By Meetu Anand]

  Brinker International (NYSE: EAT  ) has been no exception to the trend of falling comps, while BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ: BJRI  ) and Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI  ) have also followed along�.

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  Brinker International Inc. (EAT) owns, develops, operates, and franchises various restaurant brands primarily in the United States. August 22nd the company increased its quarterly dividend 20% to $0.24 per share. The dividend is payable Sept. 26, 2013 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 6, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 2.3%.

Hot Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now: Ignite Restaurant Group Inc (IRG)

Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc., incorporated on February 4, 2002, operates two restaurant brands, Joe's Crab Shack (Joe's) and Brick House Tavern + Tap (Brick House). The Company�� Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern + Tap operate in a diverse set of markets across the United States. Joe's Crab Shack is a national chain of casual seafood restaurants serving a variety of seafood items, with an emphasis on crab. Brick House Tavern + Tap is a casual restaurant brand that provides guests a gastro pub experience by offering a blend of menu items. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned and operated 144 restaurants in 33 states. In September 2013, Ignite Restaurant Group Inc announced the opening of its newest Joe's Crab Shack restaurant, located in Newark, New Jersey.

Joe's Crab Shack

The Company�� Joe's Crab Shack offers an outdoor patio for guests to enjoy eating and drinking and a children's playground. Joe's also has many locations that are located on waterfront property. Interior design elements include a nautical, vacation theme to invoke memories of beach vacations and a genuine crab shack experience. Joe's Crab Shack restaurants have over 200 seats. Many of the Company�� restaurants also include a small gift shop where guests can purchase souvenirs to commemorate their dining experience. Joe's Crab Shack also leverages its crab-forward menu with other crab items, including Made-From-Scratch Crab Cakes, Crab Nachos and Crazy-Good Crab Dip. In addition to its core crab-focused menu, Joe's also offers a range of entrees featuring a variety of seafood, including the Get Stuffed Snapper, Surf 'N Turf Burger and The Big Hook Up, as well as a range of traditional seafood entrees like the Fisherman's Platter. Joe's also offers several out of water options, such as Pan Fried Cheesy Chicken and Whiskey Smoked Ribs. In addition, alcoholic beverages include the Shark Bite, Category 5 Hurricane and Mason Jar cocktails emerging as guests' top choices. Joe's menu inc! ludes more than 29 items made with either Queen, Snow, Dungeness or King Crabs sourced from government regulated and sustainable fisheries. Its menu offers 14 appetizers, including Made-From-Scratch Crab Cakes, Crab Nachos and Crazy-Good Crab Dip, and over 50 entrees, including Steampots, Crab in a Bucket, Skillet Paella, Stuffed Snapper and out of water options like Whiskey Smoked Ribs.

Brick House Tavern + Tap

The Company�� Brick House's interior decor includes custom lighting, dark mahogany woods, open sight lines, high definition television (HD TVs), and an inviting fireplace. In addition to a traditional dining room and bar area, Brick House also offers large communal tables and a section of leather recliners positioned in front of large HD TVs, where guests receive their own TV tray for dining. Outdoor seating is also available on the patio or around an open fire pit at nearly all locations. Both food and beverages are served by personable and engaging service staff. The typical Brick House restaurant is approximately 8,500 square feet and averages approximately 250 seats, which includes both traditional tables and seating options. Brick House offers its guests a selection of contemporary tavern food. Brick House's menu includes 17 appetizers and over 53 entrees. Handcrafted appetizers include Deviled Eggs, Meatloaf Sliders, Brick Pizza, Meat and Cheese Board and Fried Stuffed Olives. Brick House offers an array of burgers, including The Kobe, which is hand formed from American Wagyu beef. Guests can also choose from a selection of homemade entrees, such as Drunken Chops, BBQ Baby Backs, Chicken & Waffles, and its Prime Rib Sandwich. In addition, Brick House's Brick Burgers, include the Gun Show Burger and the Black & Bleu Burger. Brick House's beverage selection includes imported and domestic beers along with hand-pulled cask beer. All Brick House restaurants have a bar that supports a variety of liquor drinks, wine and beer cocktails like the Shandy and Bee Sting, a! s well as! specialty cocktails like the Dark & Stormy, Moscow Mule and The Zombie.

The Company competes with Red Lobster, Bonefish Grill, Landry's Seafood, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, BJ's Restaurants, Yard House, Cheesecake Factory, Bravo Brio and Buffalo Wild Wings, Applebee's, Chili's, T.G.I. Friday's, Texas Roadhouse and Outback Steakhouse.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Margins matter. The more Ignite Restaurant Group (Nasdaq: IRG  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Ignite Restaurant Group's competitive position could be.

Hot Restaurant Companies To Own In Right Now: Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc (ARCO)

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc., incorporated on December 9, 2010, is a McDonald�� franchisee. As of December 31, 2010, the Company operated or franchised 1,755 McDonald��-branded restaurants, which represented 6.7% of McDonald�� total franchised restaurants globally. It operates McDonald��-branded restaurants under two different operating formats, Company-operated restaurants and franchised restaurants. As of December 31, 2010, of its 1,755 McDonald��-branded restaurants in the territories, 1,292 (or 74%) were Company-operated restaurants and 463 (or 26%) were franchised restaurants. It generates revenues from two sources: sales by Company-operated restaurants and revenues from franchised restaurants, which consist of rental income, which is based on the greater of a flat fee or a percentage of sales reported by franchised restaurants. As of December 31, 2010, it owned the land for 510 of its restaurants (totaling approximately 1.2 million square meters) and the buildings for all but 12 of its restaurants. It divides its operations into four geographical divisions: Brazil; the Caribbean division, consisting of Aruba, Curacao, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas; North Latin America division (NOLAD), consisting of Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama, and South Latin America division (SLAD), consisting of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. As of December 31, 2010, 35.1% of its restaurants were located in Brazil, 29.7% in SLAD, 27.1% in NOLAD and 8.1% in the Caribbean division. The Company conducts its business through its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary Arcos Dorados B.V.

Company-Operated and Franchised Restaurants

The Company operates its McDonald��-branded restaurants under two basic structures: Company-operated restaurants operated by the Company and franchised restaurants operated by franchisees. Under both operating alternatives the real estate location may ! either be owned or leased by the Company. It owns, fully manages and operates the Company-operated restaurants and retains any operating profits generated by such restaurants, after paying operating expenses and the franchise and other fees owed to McDonald�� under the Master Franchise Agreements (MFAs). In Company-operated restaurants, it assumes the capital expenditures for the building and equipment of the restaurant and, if it owns the real estate location, for the land as well. Under its franchise arrangements, franchisees provide a portion of the capital required by initially investing in the equipment, signs, seating and decor of their restaurants, and by reinvesting in the business over time. It is required by the MFAs to own the real estate or to secure long-term leases for franchised restaurant sites. It subsequently leases or subleases the property to franchisees.

In exchange for the lease and services, franchisees pay a monthly rent to the Company, based on the greater of a fixed rent or a certain percentage of gross sales. In addition to this monthly rent, it collects the monthly continuing franchise fee, which generally is 5% of the United States dollar equivalent of the restaurant�� gross sales, and pays these fees to McDonald�� pursuant to the MFAs. However, if a franchisee fails to pay its monthly continuing franchise fee, it remains liable for payment in full of these fees to McDonald��. As of December 31, 2010, it was engaged in several joint ventures, which collectively owned 24 restaurants, in Argentina, Chile and Colombia.

Restaurant Categories

The Company classifies its restaurants into one of four categories: freestanding, food court, in-store and mall stores. Freestanding restaurants are the type of restaurant, which have ample indoor seating and include a drive-through area. Food court restaurants are located in malls and consist of a front counter and kitchen and do not have their own seating area. In-store restaurants are part ! of a larg! er building and resemble freestanding restaurants, except for the lack of a drive-through area. Mall stores are located in malls like food court restaurants, but have their own seating areas. As of December 31, 2010, 808 (or 46.2%) of its restaurants were freestanding, 359 (or 20.5%) were food court, 265 (or 15.1%) were in-stores and 319 (or 18.2%) were mall stores. In addition, it has four non-traditional stores, such as food carts.

Reimaging

As of December 31, 2010, the Company had completed the reimaging of 308 of 1,569 restaurants. Many of the reimaging projects include the addition of McCafe locations to the restaurant. It has developed system-wide guidelines for the interior and exterior design of reimaged restaurants.

McCafe Locations and Dessert Centers

McCafe locations are stylish, separate areas within restaurants where customers can purchase a range of customizable beverages, including lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, hot and iced premium coffees and hot chocolate. As of December 31, 2010, there were 267 McCafe locations in the Territories, of which 12% were operated by franchisees. Argentina, with 71 locations, has McCafe locations, followed by Brazil, with 67 locations. In addition to McCafe locations, it has Dessert Centers. Dessert Centers operate from existing restaurants, but depend on them for supplies and operational support. As of December 31, 2010, there were 1,306 Dessert Centers in the Territories.

Product Offerings

The Company�� menus feature three tiers of products: affordable entry-level options, such as its Big Pleasures, Small Prices or Combo del Dia (Daily Extra Value Meal) offerings, core menu options, such as the Big Mac, Happy Meal and Quarter Pounder, and premium options, such as Big Tasty or Angus premium hamburgers and chicken sandwiches and low-calorie or low-sodium products, which are marketed through common platforms rather than as individual items. These platforms can be based on the ty! pe of pro! ducts, such as beef, chicken, salads or desserts, or on the type of customer targeted, such as the children�� menu.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoffrey Seiler]

  Analyst John Ivankoe took Arcos Dorados (ARCO) from neutral to overweight and increased his target from $13 to $14. It is the first time the analyst has had a positive view on the stock since it IPO'd.

Top 5 Energy Companies To Own In Right Now

Top 5 Energy Companies To Own In Right Now: Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGS)

Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. (TGS) is engaged in the transportation of natural gas and production and commercialization of natural gas liquids (NGL). TGS's pipeline system connects major gas fields in southern and western Argentina with gas distributors and industries in those areas and in the greater Buenos Aires area. The Company also renders midstream services, which consist of gas treatment, removal of impurities from the natural gas stream, gas compression, wellhead gas gathering and pipeline construction, operation, and maintenance services. The Company operates in three segments: natural gas transportation services through its pipeline system; NGL production and commercialization, and other services, which include midstream and telecommunication services.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company's gas transportation represented approximately 42% of total net revenues. During 2009, its NGL production and commercialization segment a ccounted for 50% of the total revenues of the Company. During 2009, its other services segment accounted for 8% of total revenues of the Company. Its other services segment consists of midstream and telecommunications services. Through midstream services, TGS provides integral solutions related to natural gas from wellhead up to the transportation systems. The services consists of gas gathering, compression and treatment, as well as construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines, which are generally rendered to natural gas and oil producers at wellhead. The customers' portfolio also includes distribution companies, industrial users, power plants and refineries.

During 2009, the Company provided a range of technical services to different customers. The services consisted of connections to the transportation system, engineering insp! ections, project management and professional technical counseling. Telecommunication services are provided through Telcosur S. A. (Telcosur), who renders services both as an independent c! arrier of carriers and to corporate clients within its area. Telcosur has a digital land radio connection system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Telecom Italia SpA (TIT) lost 1.8 percent as Standard & Poor's said it may downgrade the phone company's debt to non-investment grade. TGS Nopec Geophysical Co. (TGS) tumbled the most in two years after reducing its revenue forecast. Celesio AG jumped to a three-year high on a report that McKesson Corp. may buy the German drug distributor.

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  TGS (TGS) slumped 7.4 percent to 176.90 kroner as Norway's largest surveyor of underwater oil-and-gas fields lowered its forecast for full-year revenue to $920 million to $1 billion because of lower-than-expected demand from industry. It had projected sales of $970 million to $1.05 billion.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-energy-companies-to-own-in-right-now.html

Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now

Top Warren Buffett Companies To Buy Right Now: RAIT Financial Trust(RAS)

RAIT Financial Trust operates as a self-managed and self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT). The company, through its subsidiaries, invests in, manages, and services real estate-related assets with a focus on commercial real estate. It also offers a set of debt financing options to the commercial real estate industry along with fixed income trading and advisory services. In addition, RAIT Financial Trust owns and manages a portfolio of commercial real estate properties, and manages real estate-related assets for third parties. The company qualifies as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income tax to the extent that it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. RAIT Investment Trust was founded in 1997 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Commercial real estate holding real estate investment trust (REIT) RAIT Financial (RAS) raised its quarterly dividend 7% to 16 cents per share, payable on Jan. 31 to share holders of record as of Jan. 7.
  RAS Dividend Yield: 7.48%

• [By Eric Volkman]

  RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE: RAS  ) investors will be getting slightly more than they did last quarter, as a reward for putting their faith in the company (NYSE: RAS  ) . The real estate investment trust has declared a common stock dividend of $0.13 per share, to be handed out on July 31 to shareholders of record as of July 12. That amount is $0.01, or 8%, higher than RAIT's previous distribution of $0.12, which was paid in April. Prior to that, the firm dispensed $0.10 per share.

• [By Thomas Sobon]

  Instead of expressing my thoughts in vague generalities, let me be specific and tell you what I am actually doing on a r! eal time basis to cope with the market dynamics occurring right now: I have a core position in one stock, which is the RAIT Financial Trust (RAS). Its size is about 60% of what I would consider to be a "full" position. I also have a lot of cash that I intend to use for trading purposes. Last Friday I sold shares of RAS at $7.55 which I bought on Monday with a low-ball bid of $7.11, so my gain on the trade was 6.2%. In early trading yesterday (Monday July 1) RAS is priced at $7.67, up from where I sold on Friday. That's great news because I accomplished what I wanted to do with the trade and now paper profit on the core shares in my portfolio is increasing.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-warren-buffett-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Hot Casino Companies To Buy For 2014

Hot Casino Companies To Buy For 2014: Boyd Gaming Corporation(BYD)

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 1,042,787 square feet of casino space, containing approximately 25,973 slot machines, 655 table games, and 11,418 hotel rooms. It also owned and operated 16 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and New Jersey. In addition, the company owns and operates a pari-mutuel jai-alai facility located in Dania Beach, Florida, as well as a travel agency in Hawaii. Further, it holds a 50% controlling interest in the limited liability company that operates Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boyd Gaming Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Tuesday’s session are American Eagle Outfitters Inc.(AEO), Boyd Gaming Corp.(BYD) and Dick's Sporting Goods Inc.(DKS)

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Boyd Gaming Corp. (BYD)  rose 8% to $12.75 on moderate volume after hedge fund Elliot Associates L.P. disclosed in a regulatory filing it had acquired a 4.99% stake in the casino operator.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD) reported an adjusted Q4 loss of $0.24 per share on revenue of $681.5 million. However, analysts were projecting a loss of $0.24 per share on revenue of $683.2 million. Boyd shares declined 3.96% to $11.15 in the after-hours trading session.

• [By Travis Ho! ium]

  What: Shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) jumped 10% today after the company got an analyst upgrade.

  So what: Morgan Stanley upgraded shares to overweight today, and gave the stock a $12 price target. The analyst cited the potential for online gaming as the driver of the stock, potentially bringing as much revenue to the industry as Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined.  

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-casino-companies-to-buy-for-2014.html

Housing Starts Fall, But Permits Rebound

Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Housing starts in the U.S. were little changed in February after declining less than previously estimated a month earlier, indicating the home-building industry is stabilizing after bad winter weather curbed construction. The 0.2 percent decrease to 907,000 homes at an annualized rate last month followed a revised 909,000 pace in January, figures from the Commerce Department in Washington showed Tuesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey called for a 910,000 rate after a previously reported 880,000 in January. Warmer temperatures, a pickup in demand during the spring selling season and limited housing supply may help fuel further gains in new residential construction. The outlook for the industry later this year depends on whether hiring picks up enough to overcome higher mortgage rates and home prices. "We will see improvement as the year goes on and weather improves," said David Sloan, a senior economist at 4cast in New York and the top-ranked forecaster of starts in the last two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. "The pace of increase will be fairly moderate. It suggests we're going to get respectable economic growth, but maybe not a strong acceleration." Estimates of 82 economists surveyed by Bloomberg ranged from 792,000 to 986,000. The February pace was the slowest in four months. Another report showed consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in February for a second month, according to the Labor Department. More than half the increase was due to higher food costs. Stock-index futures held earlier gains after the figures, with the contract on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index maturing in June rising 0.4 percent to 1,857.4 at 8:43 a.m. in New York. Building Permits Permits filed for future projects increased 7.7 percent to a 1.02 million pace in February, the most since October and reflecting a surge in applications for apartment-building construction. One-family home-building permits dropped for a third straight month to the lowest level in a year. The median forecast in the Bloomberg survey called for a 960,000 rate. Work on single-family houses rose 0.3 percent to a 583,000 rate in February from 581,000 the prior month. Construction of multifamily projects such as condominiums and apartment buildings decreased 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 324,000. Two of four regions showed increases in groundbreaking last month, led by the Midwest and South. February ended with its coldest final week since 2003, according to Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based weather data provider Planaytics Inc., The second week of the month was the snowiest such period since 2007. Winter Weather Inclement weather has extended beyond builders. It also kept customers from visiting car dealerships and retailers, weighing on sentiment. The University of Michigan's measure of U.S. consumer confidence declined to a four-month low in March, data last week showed. Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose less than forecast in March, with more builders reporting bad conditions than good. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder sentiment climbed to 47 this month from 46 in February, a report from the Washington-based group showed yesterday. Readings below 50 mean more survey respondents signaled poor market conditions. Beyond weather, borrowing costs have increased for buyers. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage from Freddie Mac rose to 4.37 percent in the week ended March 13, up from 3.63 percent a year earlier. Homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV), which reported a wider loss for its fiscal first quarter as inclement weather extended construction times and slowed demand, sees better times ahead for the industry. 'Temporary Pause' "We believe this is a temporary pause in the industry's recovery," Ara Hovnanian, chief executive officer New Jersey's largest homebuilder, said in a statement on March 5. "Based on the level of housing starts across the country, we continue to believe the homebuilding industry is still in the early stages of recovery." Lean inventories will probably keep builders busy. A report from the Commerce Department last month showed the months' supply of new homes declined to 4.7 in January, the fewest since June, from 5.2 at the end of 2013. Lowe's (LOW), the Mooresville, N.C.-based home-improvement retailer, also remains optimistic about the outlook for the housing industry.

Best Shipping Companies To Invest In Right Now

Shares of Altra Holdings, Inc. (AIMC) touched a new 52-week high of $30.44 during its trading session on Jul 9. This represents an increase over the previous high of $30.10 reached on May 28.

Altra Holdings closed the trading day on Jul 9 at $29.94, reflecting a solid year-to-date return of 88.9%. The trading volume for the session was 0.052 million shares. Further upside potential exists for this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) industrial electrical equipment maker as can be deduced from its earnings estimate revisions in the last 60 days and expected earnings growth of 19.9% for 2013.

Growth Drivers

Altra Holdings posted quite decent financial results for the first quarter 2013 with its non-GAAP earnings per share coming in at 45 cents versus 40 cents earned in the year-ago quarter. Results were in-line compared with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Fewer shipping days led to a revenue decline of 3.7% in the quarter. Offsetting this was lower cost of sales that helped improve gross margin by 50 basis points to settle at 30%. Interest expense was down by 55%.

Best Shipping Companies To Invest In Right Now: Statoil ASA (STO)

Statoil ASA (Statoil), incorporated on September 18, 1972, is an integrated energy company primarily engaged in oil and gas exploration and production activities. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had business operations in 41 countries and territories. Effective from January 1, 2011, the Company�� segments were Development and Production Norway; Development and Production International; Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy; Fuel & Retail, Other. As of 31 December 2011, the Company had proved reserves of 2,276 million barrels (mmbbl) and 3,150 billion cubic meters (bcm) (equivalent to 17,681 trillion cubic feet (tcf)) of natural gas, corresponding to aggregate proved reserves of 5,426 mmboe. In December 2011, the Company acquired Brigham Exploration Company. On April 14, 2011, Statoil's formation of a joint venture and sale of 40% of the Peregrino field off the coast of Brazil to the Sinochem Group was closed. With effect from January 2011, Statoil formed a joint venture with PTTEP of Thailand in its oil sands business and, as part of that transaction, sold PTTEP a 40% interest in the leases in Alberta, Canada. Statoil retains 60% ownership and operatorship of the oil sands project. In June 2012, the Company divested its 54% interest in Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA to Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Development and Production Norway

Development and Production Norway (DPN) consists of the Company�� field development and operational activities on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Development and Production Norway is the operator of 44 developed fields on the NCS. Statoil's equity and entitlement production on the NCS was 1.316 mmboe per day in 2011, which was about 71% of Statoil's total production. Acting as operator, DPN is responsible for approximately 72% of all oil and gas production on the NCS. In 2011, its average daily production of oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) on the NCS was 693 mboe, while its average daily gas production on the NCS was 99.1 mmcm (3.5 b! illion cubic feet (bcf)). The Company has an ownership interests in exploration acreage throughout the licensed parts of the NCS, both within and outside its production areas. It participates in 227 licenses on the NCS and is the operator for 171 of them. As of 31 December 2011, Statoil had a total of 1,369 mmbbl of proved oil reserves and 444 bcm (15.7 tcf) of proved natural gas reserves on the NCS. Total entitlement liquids and gas production in 2011 amounted to 1,316 mmboe per day.

Statoil's NCS portfolio consists of licenses in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. It has organized its production operations into four business clusters: Operations South, Operations North Sea West, Operations North Sea East and Operations North. The Operations South and Operations North Sea West and East clusters cover its licenses in the North Sea. Operations North covers the Company�� licenses in the Norwegian Sea and in the Barents Sea, while partner-operated fields cover the entire NCS and are included internally in the Operations South business cluster. During 2011, it two Statoil-operated oil discoveries: the Aldous discovery (PL265) in the North Sea and the Skrugard discovery (PL532) in the Barents Sea. The Aldous Major South discovery in PL265 on the Utsira Height in the Sleipner area is situated 140 kilometers west of Stavanger and 35 kilometers south of the Grane field. The Skrugard discovery is located about 250 kilometers off the coast from the Melkoya LNG plant in Hammerfest.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� fields under development included the Gudrun, Valemon, Visund South, Hyme, Stjerne, Vigdis North-East, Skuld, Vilje South, Skarv, and Marulk. In 2011, the Company�� total entitlement oil and NGL production in Norway was 252 mmbbl, and gas production was 36.2 bcm (1,287 bcf). The main producing fields in the Operations South area are Statfjord, Snorre, Tordis, Vigdis, Sleipner and partner-operated fields. Operations North Sea East is a gas area tha! t also co! ntains quantities of oil. The area includes the Troll, Fram, Vega, Oseberg and Tune fields. The Company�� producing fields in the Operations North area are Asgard, Mikkel, Yttergryta, Heidrun, Kristin, Tyrihans, Norne, Urd, Alve, Njord, Snohvit and Morvin.

Development and Production International

Development and Production International (DPI) is responsible for the development and production of oil and gas outside the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). In 2011, the segment was engaged in production in 12 countries: Canada, the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Angola, Nigeria, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Azerbaijan, Russia and the United Kingdom. In 2011, DPI produced 28.9% of Statoil's total equity production of oil and gas. Statoil has exploration licenses in North America (Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Alaska), South America and sub-Saharan Africa (Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania), Middle East and North Africa (Libya and Iran) and Europe and Asia (the Faeroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia). The main sanctioned development projects in which DPI is involved are in the United States, Angola and Canada. The Brigham Exploration Company acquisition added production of approximately 21 mboe per day (as of December) to Statoil's production and gave access to 1,500 square kilometers (375,000 acres) in the Bakken and Three Forks formations in the Williston Basin.

The Company has exploration licenses in North America (Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Alaska), South America and sub-Saharan Africa (Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania), Middle East and North Africa (Libya and Iran), and Europe and Asia (the Faroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia). It completed 16 wells in 2011. Five were announced as discoveries: the Mukuvo and Lira discoveries in Angola, the Gavea and Peregrino South discovery in Brazil and the Logan discovery in Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Statoil acquired in! terests i! n six new licenses in Indonesia in 2011. Statoil has activities in the United States, with approximately 300 exploration leases in the GoM and 66 in Alaska. It is also an operator and partner in exploration licenses off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. Statoil is operator and partner in exploration licenses off the coast of Newfoundland (11,138 square kilometers). It has exploration licenses in Brazil, Cuba, Suriname, Venezuela, Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania. The Company has licenses in Libya, Iran, Faroes, Greenland, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan and Indonesia. In 2011, Statoil's petroleum production outside Norway amounted to an average of 334 mboe per day of entitlement production and 534 mboe per day of equity production.

The Company has activities in the United States Gulf of Mexico, the Appalachian region, south-west Texas, the Williston Basin, off the East Coast of Canada and in the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. It also has a representative office in Mexico City. Offshore, the Company has production interests in Hibernia and Terra Nova, and interests in two development projects. Its development and production activities in South America and sub-Saharan Africa comprise the Peregrino operatorship in Brazil, the Petrocedeno project in Venezuela, the Agbami offshore field in Nigeria and four Angolan offshore blocks. Statoil's development and production in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, primarily encompassed Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The Company�� Development and Production in Europe and Asia primarily comprises Azerbaijan, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland.

Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy

Marketing, Processing and Renewable Energy (MPR) is responsible for the transportation, processing, manufacturing, marketing and trading of crude oil, natural gas, liquids and refined products, and for developing business opportunities in renewables. It runs two refineries, two gas processing plants, one methanol plant and three crude! oil term! inals. MPR is also responsible for marketing gas supplies originating from the Norwegian state's direct financial interest (SDFI). In total, it is responsible for marketing approximately 80% of all Norwegian gas exports. In 2011, Statoil sold 36.1 bcm (1.3 tcf) of natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) on its own behalf, in addition to approximately 33.5 bcm (1.2 tcf) of NCS gas on behalf of the Norwegian state. Statoil's total European gas sales, including third-party gas, amounted to 79.8 bcm (2.9 tcf) in 2011, of which 39.5 bcm (1.4 tcf) was gas sold on behalf of the Norwegian state. The Natural Gas business cluster is responsible for Statoil's marketing and trading of natural gas worldwide, for power and emissions trading and for overall gas supply planning. In 2011, the Company sold 36.1 bcm (1.3 tcf) of natural gas from the NCS on its own behalf, in addition to approximately 33.5 bcm (1.2 tcf) of NCS gas on behalf of the Norwegian state. Statoil's total European gas sales, including third-party gas, amounted to 79.8 bcm (2.9 tcf) in 2011, of which 39.5 bcm (1.4 tcf) was gas sold on behalf of the Norwegian state. In addition, it sold 5.5 bcm (0.2 tcf) of gas originating from its international positions, mainly in Azerbaijan and the United States, of which 2.7 bcm (0.1 tcf) was entitlement gas. As technical service provider (TSP), Statoil is responsible for the operation, maintenance and further development of the Karsto gas processing plant on behalf of the operator Gassco.

Statoil is the seller of crude oil, operating from sales offices in Stavanger, Oslo, London, Singapore, Stamford and Calgary and selling and trading crude oil, condensate, NGL and refined products. Statoil holds the lease for the South Riding Point crude oil terminal in the Bahamas, which includes, oil storage as well as loading and unloading facilities. It also operates the Mongstad terminal and has shared ownership with Petoro. The Company is a majority owner (79%) and operator of the Mongstad ref! inery in ! Norway, which has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 220,000 barrels per day. It is the sole owner and operator of the Kalundborg refinery in Denmark, which has a crude oil and condensate distillation capacity of 118,000 barrels per day. In addition, it has rights to 10% of production capacity at the Shell-operated refinery in Pernis in the Netherlands, which has a crude oil distillation capacity of 400,000 barrels per day. The Company�� methanol operations consist of an 81.7% interest in the gas-based methanol plant at Tjeldbergodden, Norway, which has a design capacity of 0.95 million tons per year. It also operates the Oseberg Transportation System (36.2% interest), including the Sture crude oil terminal.

Technology, Projects and Drilling

Technology, Projects and Drilling (TPD) is responsible, as a global service provider to Statoil, for delivering projects and wells and for providing support through global expertise, standards and procurement. TPD is also responsible developing and implementing new technological solutions. Statoil's research and development portfolio is organized in seven programs covering the upstream building blocks. The research and development organization operates and develops laboratories and test facilities and has an academia program that addresses cooperation with universities and research institutes.

Global Strategy and Business Development

Global Strategy and Business Development (GSB) was established in 2011, with its main office in London. GSB sets the direction for Statoil and identifies, develops and delivers opportunities for global growth.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  In similar fashion, Noble is going to concentrate its efforts on the high-margin deepwater drilling business and leave the shallow-water business. Last May, Noble won a contract with Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) for a North Sea project in deep water and a harsh environment that Noble hopes will lead to strategic relationship with Statoil in the coming developments in the Arctic.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Now more than ever, a comfortable retirement depends on secure, stable investments. Unfortunately, the right stocks for retirement won't just fall into your lap. As part of an ongoing series, I'm looking today at 10 measures to show whether Statoil (NYSE: STO  ) makes a great retirement-oriented stock.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  The field, located about 250 miles southwest of New Orleans, is one of the biggest oil discoveries in the ultra-deepwater frontier of the Gulf of Mexico and is estimated to contain nearly 6 billion barrels of oil resource in place. Exxon and Statoil (NYSE: STO  ) , the Norwegian oil and gas giant, each hold a 50% interest in the field.

Best Shipping Companies To Invest In Right Now: Biosev SA (BSEV3)

Biosev SA, formerly LDC Bioenergia SA, is a Brazil-based company active in the sugar and energy business. It is primarily engaged in the sugarcane processing. The Company produces sugar and ethanol, and supplies its products to domestic and international markets. Its refined sugar is sold under the Estrela brand name on the Brazilian retail market. The ethanol products comprise: hydrous ethanol, anhydrous ethanol and neutral ethanol. Other products from its plants include animal feed, dry yeast, molasses powder and bioelectricity from sugarcane bagasse. The Company�� customers include Nestle, Coca-Cola, AmBev, Kraft, Dori and Unilever, among others. The Company's production units are present in five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso do Sul, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraiba and Rio Grande do Norte. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lucia Kassai]

  Biosev SA (BSEV3), Louis Dreyfus Holding BV�� Brazil unit, tumbled in its debut after giving investors in its initial public offering a money-back guarantee.

Hot Cheapest Stocks To Buy For 2014: GigaMedia Limited (GIGM)

Gigamedia Limited, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the operation of online games for online game players in Asia. The company provides a portfolio of online games, including MahJong, a traditional Chinese tile game; MMORPG, an Internet-based computer game; advanced casual games; and card, chance-based, and simple casual games. It also develops and licenses online poker, casino, and sports betting gaming software solutions, as well as offers application services for the online poker and casino markets primarily in the continental European markets. The company has strategic alliances with SoftStar Entertainment Inc., Neostorm Holdings Limited, XLGames Inc., Access China Holding Limited, Gorilla Banana Entertainment Corp., JC Entertainment Corporation, Possibility Space Incorporated, East Gate Media Contents & Technology Fund, and BetClic. GigaMedia Limited was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  GigaMedia (NASDAQ: GIGM  ) results for the company's fiscal Q4 and 2012 have been released. For the quarter, revenue was $4.8 million, down by 34% from the $7.4 million in the same period the previous year. Attributable net loss, however, narrowed considerably to $15.4 million ($0.30 per diluted share) from Q4 2011's shortfall of $51.3 million ($1.01).

Best Shipping Companies To Invest In Right Now: Bona Film Group Limited(BONA)

Bona Film Group Limited distributes films in the People?s Republic of China. It distributes films to movie theaters, as well as to non-theatrical distribution channels, including DVD and Blu-ray and other home video products; Internet and digital distribution; in-flight entertainment; and cable, satellite, and broadcast televisions. The company also invests in the production of Chinese and Hong Kong films in order to obtain the distribution rights for movie theaters and non-theatrical channels. In addition, Bona Film Group operates six movie theaters in five cities of the People?s Republic of China; operates a talent agency business that represents artists; and involves in film advertising and television production businesses. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  With just a quick glance at the chart, Bona Film Group Ltd (NASDAQ:BONA) doesn't look like anything other than an erratic mess. When you take a step back and take a look at the longer-term chart of BONA, however, you can see the last several weeks have ushered in a major bullish change of direction for the stock... meaning now's a great time to start wading into a position.

Best Shipping Companies To Invest In Right Now: ServiceNow Inc (NOW)

ServiceNow, Inc., incorporated in June 2004, is a provider of cloud-based services to automate enterprise information technology (IT) operations. The Company�� service includes a suite of applications built on its platform that automates workflow and integrates related business processes. It focuses on transforming enterprise IT by automating and standardizing business processes and consolidating IT across the global enterprise. Organizations deploy its service to create a single system of record for enterprise IT. It helps transform IT organizations from reactive, manual and task-oriented, to pro-active, automated and service-oriented organizations. Its on-demand service enables organizations to define their IT strategy, design the systems and infrastructure. It provides a set of integrated applications that are configurable and can be implemented and upgraded. In July 2013, ServiceNow Inc announced that it has acquired Mirror42.

The Company offers its service under a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), business model. Its suite of applications was developed to address core ITIL processes, as well as additional business processes, and runs on a single extensible platform. Its platform includes workflow automation, notification, assignment and escalation, third-party integration capabilities, reporting and administration capabilities. Its cloud-based service is designed to be deployed in a modular fashion, allowing customers to solve immediate business needs and access new application functionality as needs evolve. Its service automates the documentation, categorization, prioritization, assignment, notification and escalation of IT and other business processes. Additionally, its service automates routine and repeatable data center operations, such as rebooting a server, cloning a database or deploying a virtualized environment.

The Company�� services include core ITIL applications and extended IT applications. Its incident management manages the process of restoring a failed se! rvice to an operational state; problem management manages the process of resolving the root cause of recurring service outages or issues affecting multiple users; change management manages the proposal and approval process for changes to be made to the IT infrastructure; release management assigns, manages and monitors the various tasks comprising the actual implementation or execution of a proposed change; configuration management database (CMDB), serves as the inventory repository of all hardware, software and network equipment comprising the IT infrastructure; service catalog displays the various goods and services an IT department makes available to the rest of the organization; knowledge management stores and displays knowledge articles or documents for use by the IT staff or broader supported employee base; service portfolio management presents business services offered to the enterprise by the IT organization in consumer-oriented fashion, and service level agreement management monitors and manages progress being made by IT staff on the completion of assigned tasks which have specific due dates.

The Company�� project and portfolio Management tracks and manages projects planned or being worked on by the IT staff. IT Cost Management tracks and monitors staff work time, project-related expenses and labor costs. IT Asset and Contract Management tracks the financial elements of IT infrastructure. Software development lifecycle Management tracks and manages new features and functions to be developed in upgrades or new software applications. Field Service Management manages the process of dispatching field based technicians and routing of field-based spare parts to a customer location. Social IT provides users with a collaboration capability to interact with a set of users to enable IT self-service, as well as a chat functionality for one-to-one online communication with IT staff. Discovery discovers the various hardware and software assets comprising the IT infrastructure, as well as mapp! ing the o! perational dependencies between those assets, and then populates and maintains that inventory in the CMDB application. Runbook Automation is designed to execute routine and repeatable projects in the datacenter.

The Company provides technical training and implementation services to customers through its professional services and through a network of certified partners. Its professional services include customer guidance on implementation, as well as integration and implementation projects, and can include the development of custom applications.

The Company competes with BMC Software, Inc., CA, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company and International Business Machines Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Cintolo]

  ServiceNow (NOW) makes Cloud-based software that keeps work flowing, consolidates data, automates the administration of new computers, and lets the IT department monitor activities.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) was started as Buy with a $55 price target at Canaccord Genuity.

  Siemens A.G. (NYSE: SI) was raised Buy from Hold in overseas coverage by Societe Generale.

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

• [By MarketWatch]

  Discussing cloud-computing stocks, the Barron�� article also said: ��ndustry leader Salesforce.com (CRM) � doesn�� earn a profit based on GAAP earnings that includes its stock compensation expense and yet it has a market value of $34 billion. Other hot plays with 2014 price/sales ratios above 10 and no GAAP earnings include Workday, NetSuite (N) , and ServiceNow (NOW) .��

Best Shipping Companies To Invest In Right Now: Kiwibox.com Inc (KIWB)

Kiwibox.Com, Inc. (Kiwibox), incorporated on April 19, 1988, is an early stage company. The Company owns and operates Kiwibox.com, which is a social networking Website. The Company has equipped the Website with the advertising features, which enable sponsors to self-direct their message to specific target audiences based on gender, age, geographic region, education, and interests. As of December 31, 2011, the Company generated the majority of its revenue from advertising/sponsorships. On September 30, 2011 Kiwibox.com acquired 100% interests in the social network, KWICK!! Community GmbH & Co. KG, and interest of its general partner, Kwick!! Community Beteiligungs GMBH. On March 7, 2011 the Company acquired Pixunity.DE a German photo book community.

Kiwibox.com has developed a monitoring model. The Kiwibox.com platform is equipped with technology features, which includes the private sphere configuration of users, contact blocs, anti-spam protection and intelligent self-learning user-scoring feature.

The Company competes with Facebook.com, Twitter and MySpace.com.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Last Friday, small cap stocks Kiwibox.com Inc (OTCMKTS: KIWB), Eyes on The Go Inc (OTCMKTS: AXCG) and Green Endeavors Inc (OTCMKTS: GRNE) were sinking 37.5%, 28.57% and 23.9%, respectively. Moreover, it should be mentioned that all three small cap stocks have been the subject of recent paid promotions or investor relation campaigns which have gotten them mentions in various investment newsletters or investor alerts. So are the promotional or investor relation campaigns over with for these three small caps? Here is a quick look to help you decide:

  Kiwibox.com Inc (OTCMKTS: KIWB) Makes an Acquisition in Germany and Reports Surging Registrations

  Small cap Kiwibox.com Inc owns and operates social networking sites like Kiwibox.com, a site that has over over 14 years experience as social network. On Friday, Kiwibox.com Inc sank 37.5% to $0.005 for a market cap of $3.41 million plus KIWB is down 58.3% over the past year and down 63% over the past five years according to Google Finance.