Guilty plea in $45 million 'cyber heist'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) A third defendant has pleaded guilty to taking part in a global $45 million ATM fraud scheme, prosecutors said.

Evan Jose Peña was part of a cybercrime ring that allegedly stole debit card data, then hacked bank systems and ultimately emptied the accounts.

Peña and two other men, who pleaded guilty last month, allegedly formed the worldwide group's New York cell, which by itself fraudulently withdrew nearly $3 million in just hours.

"These three defendants participated in a criminal flash mob, using data stolen through the most sophisticated hacking techniques to withdraw millions of dollars in mere hours in an unprecedented cyber heist," said Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Prosecutors said hackers targeted MasterCard-connected accounts at banks in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. They stole card data and changed withdrawal limits, then sent the card information to associates worldwide who withdrew nearly unlimited sums from ATMs.

The three defendants who pleaded guilty were allegedly involved in two such thefts, one in 2012 and another last spring. The first heist brought in $400,000 in under three hours, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

They said the ringleader, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Peña, was murdered in the Dominican Republic in April. Four other defendants who initially pleaded not guilty are pending trial, said spokesman Robert Nardoza of the U.S. attorney's office.

The theft is one of the largest bank heists in history. The only larger theft in New York was the 1978 robbery of cash and jewelry at John F. Kennedy International Airport, which was depicted in the movie "Goodfellas."

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Peña's attorney could not be reached for comment.

  How hackers stole $45 million from banks

--CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed to this report

Radio Shack is falling apart

Earlier this year, RadioShack (ticker: RSH) installed a new management team that was tasked with turning around a rapidly deteriorating business. RadioShack's legacy products like cables, adapters, and computers have been under pressure for years. Moreover, the company's move to focus on selling mobile devices was faltering in the face of strong competition from Best Buy (BBY) and others.

In the second quarter, RadioShack showed some signs of life, posting its first comparable store sales gain since 2010. But at the time, CEO Joseph Magnacca warned that investors should expect an uneven performance over the next few quarters as the company implemented its new strategy.

On Tuesday, investors saw exactly what Magnacca was talking about. RadioShack reported a significant drop in sales and an even more dramatic fall in earnings for the recently ended third quarter. While management did have some good news to report on the success of RadioShack's new concept stores, these efforts may be too little, too late.

A sales stumble or something worse?

In the third quarter, comparable store sales dropped 8.4% year over year, with declines in all product categories. Gross profit dropped from $341 million to $243 million, with about half of the decline attributable to writedowns for inventory that is being discontinued and sold below cost to wholesalers and clearance businesses.

Part of the shortfall in sales may be attributed to clearance activity, as RadioShack decided to simplify its stores by cutting the number of SKUs (distinct products) that it carries from 4,500 to 3,500. This reduction in SKUs could be a longer-term headwind to revenue if some customers can no longer find what they are looking for at RadioShack. But that effect should be offset by the introduction of new products like fitness gear.

A bigger worry is RadioShack's performance in the mobile category. The company's strategy still revolves around selling lots of smartphones and tablets and then adding on higher-mar! gin accessories like cases and chargers. But the mobile market may be moving away from RadioShack.

Trouble in mobile

The U.S. smartphone industry is increasingly dominated by just two players: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL ) and Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF ) . As of August, a whopping 65% of U.S. smartphone subscribers used an Apple or Samsung device, and that percentage has been growing rapidly. This emerging duopoly could be a big problem for RadioShack.

Apple already has a significant retail footprint in the U.S., with more than 250 Apple Stores here. CEO Tim Cook hopes to eventually sell half of all new iPhones in the U.S. through the Apple Store, up from less than 15% today. It's not clear how Apple could reach that goal, but possible strategies include aggressively adding new Apple Stores, providing better trade-in offers, or offering new enticements to customers who buy through the Apple Store.

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Meanwhile, Best Buy unveiled the "Samsung Experience Shop" earlier this year. These shops have received priority placement within Best Buy stores, and feature consultants hired and trained by Samsung to assist customers who are interested in Samsung devices. Best Buy has now rolled out around 1,400 of these stores-within-a-store.

The likely result is that the Apple Store will gain market share for iPhone sales over time, while Best Buy will gain market share for sales of Samsung phones. Retailers like RadioShack that rely on being an "honest broker" will be less useful the more the smartphone market becomes a two-horse race. Adding insult to injury, if RadioShack continues to lose shares in mobile, it will also have trouble selling high-margin mobile accessories.

Not dead yet, but not much hope

I think it is unlikely that RadioShack will be able to establish its relevance with a new generation of customers. The company is too reliant upon sel! ling mobi! le devices and accessories, and market conditions are deteriorating for "neutral" retailers, compared to brand-oriented stores like the Apple Store and Best Buy's Samsung Experience Shop.

As a result, RadioShack will not be able to recover the revenue it has lost over the last two years. Furthermore, the company's operating expenses are already quite low, so it doesn't have the ability to cut its way to profitability. RadioShack has a fairly strong balance sheet, which could allow it to stagger on for a few more years, but by the end of the decade I expect this storied company to disappear.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Corning shares surge on Samsung deal

CORNING, N.Y. (AP) -- Shares of Corning jumped Tuesday after it announced a new tie-up with a Samsung Electronics subsidiary that will boost the glass maker's earnings immediately and guarantees that it will supply Samsung with liquid crystal display glass through 2023.

Corning, the maker of Gorilla Glass screens for smartphones and tablets, will acquire the South Korean company's 43 percent stake in Samsung Corning Precision Materials, an LCD glass joint venture in Korea, and will buy out other minority shareholders.

The joint venture makes glass substrates, the key material in high-end LCD televisions, monitors and mobile devices.

In exchange for giving up its stake in the venture, Samsung Display will receive $1.9 billion worth of Corning preferred shares. It will also invest another $400 million in preferred shares of Corning. If converted, the shares would give Samsung Display a 7.4 percent stake in Corning. They are not convertible for seven years.

The transactions are expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

Corning said its board had also approved buying back $2 billion worth of its shares, which it expects will cover the dilutive effect of issuing preferred shares to Samsung Display.

Taking over the venture gives Corning immediate access to $1.2 billion in cash on the joint venture's balance sheet. The company believes it will add $2 billion in annual sales and 20 percent to earnings, excluding one-time items, in 2014 and 2015.

Part of the benefit comes from the share buyback as well as $100 million in expected cost savings in 2015.

Shares of the Corning, N.Y.-based company rose 25 percent to $19.24 in after-hours trading.

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Corning also said Tuesday that it expects to earn 33 cents per share in the third quarter, excluding one-time items. That beats Wall Street's prediction by a penny. It also said! revenue rose 5 percent to $2.1 billion, in line with analysts' expectations. The company will release full results for the July-September quarter on Oct. 30.

Where Have all the Shoppers Gone?

Recently, not just one, but three major retail outlets announced disappointing third quarter sales numbers, and MoneyShow's Jim Jubak, also of Jubak's Picks, wonders if this might be indicating shoppers' sentiment this holiday season.

Nobody expects Sears Holdings (SHLD) to report earnings growth—and the company didn't disappoint last Thursday, when it announced a $534 million loss for the three months that ended on November 2 and a 3.1% drop in same store sales.

But last Thursday, Target (TGT) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) also reported disappointing third quarter sales.

Which certainly suggests that the better-than-expected retail sales growth for October, reported by the Census Bureau earlier last week, is going to turn out—at best—to be very spotty indeed. At 0.4% growth in October, this isn't a tide running strong enough to lift all boats.

Target, at least, has a one-time excuse. The company's expansion into Canada is proving to be really, really rough going. Costs for expanding into Canada, and discounts Target had to offer to move excess inventory at its 124 Canadian stores, took 29 cents a share out of earnings for the quarter.

This excuse doesn't explain, however, why the company reduced guidance in the fourth quarter for US same store sales to flat, which would put results below Wall Street expectations.

Abercrombie & Fitch looks like it may have lost its fashion edge, just when it needs that boost to carry it through a tough holiday retail season. For the third quarter, US same store sales fell 14% year over year. You can see the company's problems in its inventory numbers for the quarter. Total inventory rose 22% from the third quarter of 2012. This continues a pattern of over-buying, leading to inflated inventories, and to subsequent price-cutting and promotions that eat into profit margins.

A comment from the Credit Suisse analyst report on Abercrombie earnings nails the problem at the company—but also suggests a wider problem for the retail sector (and the economy as a whole). "We believe," the analyst wrote, "the company can no longer sell jeans at a $70-160 price point to teen consumers who have comparable options at $30-50."

And if teens are now price-conscious, I'm left wondering who isn't in this economy.

Full disclosure: I don't own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this post in my personal portfolio. When in 2010 I started the mutual fund I manage, Jubak Global Equity Fund, I liquidated all my individual stock holdings and put the money into the fund. The fund may or may not now own positions in any stock mentioned in this post. The fund did not own shares of Abercrombie & Fitch, Sears Holdings or Target as of the end of June. For a full list of the stocks in the fund as of the end of June see the fund's portfolio here.

China’s economic growth rebounds to 7.8%

BEIJING (AP) — China's economic growth rebounded in the latest quarter, easing pressure on communist leaders for more stimulus and allowing them to focus on longer-term reforms.

The world's second-largest economy grew by 7.8% over a year earlier in the three months ending in September, boosted by higher government spending, data showed Friday. That was up from a two-decade low of 7.5% the previous quarter.

"The fundamentals of China's economy are turning for the better," said a National Bureau of Statistics spokesman, Sheng Laiyun, at a news conference.

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The improvement eases pressure on communist leaders who say their priority is longer-term reforms aimed at steering the economy to slower, more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption instead of exports and investment.

The abrupt drop in global demand for Chinese goods prompted them to backtrack temporarily and launch a mini-stimulus of higher spending on railway construction and other public works to prop up growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses.

Communist leaders are due to meet in November to craft an economic development blueprint that reform advocates hope will include market-opening and more financial support to private entrepreneurs.

The country's top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, said earlier Beijing would try to keep growth above 7.5%. That is far above levels forecast for the United States, Europe and Japan but barely half of 2009's 14.2% growth.

Asian stock markets were boosted by the Chinese growth figure but analysts have warned the rebound might not last because growth depends on government spending. Global demand is weak and Chinese consumer spending is growing more slowly than Beijing wants.

"China's economy rebounded in the third quarter because of the government's stimulus measures," said Moody's Analytics economic Alaistair Chan i! n a report.

The deceleration of China's economy is denting revenues for suppliers of commodities and industrial components such as Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Lower Chinese demand already has depressed prices for iron ore and other raw materials.

Friday's data highlighted the economy's heavy reliance on government-led investment and the weakness of trade.

Spending on factories and other fixed assets contributed 55.8% of the latest quarter's growth, or 4.3 percentage points of the 7.8% expansion, according to Sheng. Domestic consumption was 45.9% of growth, or 3.7 percentage points of the total.

Trade was so weak that its contribution to overall growth was negative, according to Sheng, and detracted 0.1 percentage point from the quarter's growth rate.

September exports suffered a rare and unexpectedly sharp decline of 0.3%, falling short of forecasts. Surveys of manufacturers show September activity barely expanded.

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting Chinese growth this year of 7.6%, which would be the weakest performance since the early 1990s. Some private sector analysts have cut their growth forecasts for next year to below 7%.

In an apparent effort to lower expectations, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said in June that growth as low 6.5% might be acceptable.

In a positive sign for the ruling party, Sheng said the economy created 10 million jobs in the first three quarters of the year.

Factory output in September rose 10.2% from a year earlier, up 1.1 percentage points from the first half's growth rate, according to statistics bureau data.

Growth in fixed asset investment rose 20.2% in the first three quarters of the year, compared with 20.1% for the first half, the data showed. Retail sales also accelerated, rising 13.3% in September, up from a 12.9% growth rate for the first three quarters.

Old and redesigned Nissan Rogues both sold as 2…

Nissan says it'll keep selling the current version of the Rogue compact SUV even as it introduces a redesigned Rogue.

The carryover model is continuing to flow into U.S. dealershiips from Japan as a 2013 model. Starting in January, it will be renamed Rogue Select and designated a 2014 model.

The price of that 2014 Select will be about $21,000, or slightly less than the $21,170 base price of the 2013 Rogue.

The redesigned 2014 Rogue -- meant to be a higher-level model -- is due in November with startling prices ranging from $23,350 to $30,280.

2014 ROGUE: More on the redesigned 2014 Rogue (not Select)

The simple explanation for the overlap of old and new models: If Nissan didn't keep shipping previous-generation Rogues, it wouldn't have enough to sell.

The redesigned model is being built at Smyrna, Tenn., instead of Japan. It'll take awhile for production there to ramp up. Without continued supplies, via the carried-over Select (shipped from Japan), dealers would run short.

Rogue is Nissan's second-best-selling vehicle, so running low would anger customers, dealers and Nissan's accountants, left wondering what happened to all the profits from such a popular vehicle.

Sometimes car companies keep the old one around after a new one comes out -- aasily done if the two are built at different factories, as with the Rouge.

The carried-over model becomes a cheap version for rental fleets and other commercial buyers who care more that the car has wheels, brakes and steering, and less about the higher prices that come with the new-tech redesigns.

Chevrolet's Malibu Classic is an example. And Chevy's holding over the outgoing Impala through next summer even as the sexy, and completely different, 2014 Impala makes its debut.

Ford kept its last version of the old, oval-flavored Taurus sedan in production as a fleet car in 2005 and 2006 after the Taurus replacement,called the 500, went on sale.

But Nissan sells few Rogues to commercial buyers! "It's not a fleet play, not at all," says spokesman Dan Bedore.

Instead, NIssan intends to avoid the so-called Marchionne Misstep.

Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne shut off production of the Jeep Liberty in August 2012, and only now is about to get production going on the replacement, called Cherokee. That eliminated 70,.000 to 90,000 sales.

Nissan had its own misstep when it halted the Versa hatchback before the replacement Versa Note was ready. "We lost three or four months of sales," Bedore says.

Consumers Slightly Less Confident in U.S. Economy

Matt Rourke/AP WASHINGTON -- Americans' confidence in the economy fell slightly in September from August, as many became less optimistic about hiring and pay increases over the next six months. The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dropped to 79.7 in September. That's down from August's reading of 81.8, which was slightly higher than previously estimated. Consumers' confidence is closely watched because their spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. The September reading was only slightly below June's reading of 82.1, the highest in 5½ years. While confidence has bounced back from the depths of the Great Recession, it has yet to regain a reading of 90 that typically coincides with a healthy economy. In September, confidence fell on a dimmer outlook for the next few months. Lynn Franco, who oversees the survey, said that reflected concerns about the job market and wages. Consumers were actually more optimistic about present conditions. "While overall economic conditions appear to have moderately improved, consumers are uncertain that the momentum can be sustained in the months ahead," Franco said. Recent data suggest economic growth may be slowing. Consumers spent more cautiously in August as their income barely grew. And higher interest rates are threatening to slow home sales, just as many markets are starting to recover. The economy added 169,000 jobs in August, a modest gain but hardly enough to signal robust job growth. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.3 percent from 7.4 percent. But the decline was mostly because more people stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. A weaker outlook for the rest of the year was a key reason the Federal Reserve decided last week to hold off on slowing its $85-billion-a-month in bond purchases. The bond purchases have kept longer-term interest rates low, making mortgages and other consumer loans more affordable. Many economists believe the Fed won't reduce the bond purchases until December at the earliest. The economy has been held back this year by tax hikes, federal spending cuts and weaker global growth. It expanded at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the April-June quarter. But many economists say growth is slowing in the July-September quarter to an annual rate of 2 percent or less.

Home Sale Contingencies: What Buyers And Sellers Need To Know

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A home sale contingency is one type of contingency clause frequently included in a real estate sales contract (or an offer to purchase real estate). With a home sale contingency in place, the transaction is dependent (or contingent) upon the sale of the buyer's home. If the buyer's house sells by the specified date, the contract moves forward; if it doesn't sell by the specified date, the contract is terminated. Here, we take a look at what buyers and sellers need to know about home sale contingencies.

Two Types of Home Sale Contingencies

There are two types of home sale contingencies:

Sale and Settlement Contingency Settlement Contingency As the name implies, a sale and settlement contingency is dependent upon the buyer selling and settling an existing home. This type of contingency is used if the buyer has not yet received and accepted an offer to purchase on the current home. In general, this type of contingency allows a seller to continue to market the home to other potential buyers, with the stipulation that the buyer will be given the opportunity to remove the sale and settlement contingency within a specified time period (typically 24-48 hours) if the seller receives another offer. If the buyer cannot remove the contingency, the contract is terminated, the seller can accept the other offer and the earnest money deposit is returned to the buyer.

A settlement contingency, on the other hand, is used if the buyer has already marketed his or her property, has a contract in hand and a settlement date on the calendar. Because the property isn't truly sold until the settlement (or closing) takes place, this protects the buyer if the sale falls through for any reason. In most cases, this type of contingency prohibits the seller from accepting other offers on the property for a specified period of time. If the buyer's home closes by the specified date, the contract remains valid. If the home does not close, the contract can be terminated.

Considerations for Buyers

Most buyers need to sell their existing home to purchase a new one, especially when "trading up" to a more expensive house. A home sale contingency gives buyers the time they need to sell and settle before committing to a new home. Buyers can avoid owning two homes and holding two mortgages at one time while waiting for their own home to sell. A home sale contingency can also make for a seamless transaction: the buyer can sell one home and move into the next since the new home is already "locked in."

Even though a home sale contingency helps bring peace of mind to the buyer, it doesn't avoid other costs of home buying. Buyers must still spend money on home inspections, bank fees and appraisal fees, and these expenses are not refunded if the deal falls through due to the property not selling on time. In addition, the buyers will likely have to pay more for the property than if they made an offer without the home sale contingency. This is because they are essentially asking the seller to "gamble" on their ability to sell their current home and the seller will expect to be compensated for this risk.

Considerations for Sellers

A home sale contingency can be risky to sellers, because there is no guarantee that the home will sell. Even if the contract allows the seller to continue to market the property and accept offers, the house may be listed "under contract," making it less attractive to other potential buyers. Many people looking for homes will steer clear of a property that is under contract, because they don't want to waste time and risk falling in love with a property they may never have the chance to buy.

Before agreeing to a home sale contingency, the seller (or the seller's real estate agent) should investigate the potential buyer's current home to determine:

If the home is already on the market. If not, this is usually a red flag because it indicates the potential buyer is just thinking about buying and selling at this point. If it listed at the correct price. A real estate agent can prepare comparables to make sure the house is priced to sell. How long it has been on the market. If it's been a long time, the home may be priced too high, the showing procedure may be difficult or the market could just be dry. The average time on the market for homes in the neighborhood. If the average time is 30 days or so, one could expect the home to sell. If it's 90 days or more, the seller could be waiting with little chance that the buyer's home will sell. A home sale contingency, however, might be a good thing if the seller's property has been on the market a while. If the seller has had trouble finding a buyer, a contract with a contingency is still a contract, and there is a chance that the property will sell. In many cases, it is advisable to limit the amount of time the buyer has to sell his or her home to one to four weeks. This puts pressure on the buyer to lower the asking price and make a sale while preventing the seller from losing too much time in the event that the transaction does not close.

A seller can include a "kick-out clause" to provide a measure of protection against a home sale contingency. A kick-out clause states that the seller can continue to market the property and accept offers from other buyers. In this case, the seller gives the current buyer a specified amount of time (such as 72 hours) to remove the home sale contingency and continue with the contract. If the buyer does not remove the contingency, the seller can back out of the contract and sell to the new buyer.

The Bottom Line

Home sale contingencies protect buyers who want to sell one home before purchasing another. The exact details of any contingency must be specified in the real estate sales contract. Because contracts are legally binding, it is important to review and understand the terms of a home sale contingency. A qualified real estate professional or real estate attorney should be consulted with any questions or concerns regarding real estate contracts and home sale contingency clauses.

2 'Syria-Proof' Oil Stocks With Yields Up To 6.4%

When Syria uses chemical warfare or Iran threatens to launch missiles, it puts the collective world on edge, pushes stock markets over the edge and launches oil prices off the charts. The mere mention of Middle East mayhem has been known to spur investors to sell and seek shelter from a potential storm of profit-taking.

Unrest in oil-rich parts of the world has been a part of history seemingly forever. Although Syria, the latest Middle Eastern country on the global radar, accounts for just 0.5% (half a million barrels per day) of world production, it's the domino effect that has investors on pins and needles.  

Syria's allegiance with Iran, a potential civil war in Iraq, and continuous tension in Egypt--home to the oil-transporting Suez Canal -- puts about 3.5 million barrels a day at risk. Any escalation could trigger economic sanctions, sending the price of oil back to the $150 mark or more.

But you don't need to let it wreak havoc on your portfolio.

Why not grab the oil bull by the horns and invest in stocks with nothing at stake should someone stick a cork in the Suez Canal, and everything to gain from panic-driven oil prices? Let's look at a couple of oil companies that stand to profit amid either peace or war in the Middle East -- and deliver hefty dividends to boot.

For our first gem, we look to Canada. A Canadian energy trust operating as a real estate investment trust (REIT), Enerplus (NYSE: ERF) is the largest conventional oil and natural gas income fund in North America. The Calgary-based company typically invests in mature properties located in Western Canada -- far from any upheaval in the Middle East.

Here's something you may not know: Our Northern friends are one of the top oil exporters to the United States; Mexico and Venezuela are the others. It's a misconception that the U.S. imports most of its oil from the Middle East. Last year, an average of 2.8 million barrels per day came from Canada, double what the U.S. imported from Saudi Arabia last year. 

There is little doubt that Enerplus has benefited from the recent increases in energy prices. The price of oil hit a year-to-date low of $97 per barrel on April 17 and increased 10% to $107 per barrel in September. Since mid-April, shares of ERF have shot up 31%.

Enerplus said in its second-quarter earnings report that daily production rose 10% year over year and that it remains on track to meet or beat analysts price targets of $22.50 this year. Add to that a meaty 6.4% yield, and I think we've found a way to sleep well at night.

The next opportunity takes us across the Atlantic. French supermajor Total (NYSE: TOT)) is the world's fifth-largest publicly traded oil and gas company. Like Enerplus, its stock performance is strongly correlated with the price of oil and is highly likely to benefit from further spikes. Over this summer, Total's stock rose from $47 to $57 in just three months on the back of high oil prices.

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That's not even the best part.

2012 Proved Reserves By Region

In late August, China National Petroleum (NYSE: SNP) finalized an agreement with Total and Tethys Petroleum (OTC: TETHF) to develop petroleum assets in Tajikistan in Central Asia. According to a Woods Mackenzie report, China will spend $500 billion a year on crude oil imports by 2020 and overtake the U.S. as the biggest consumer by 2014. Total also recently secured new developments in Africa and Australia.

But -- and this is a big "but" -- Total also just bought retail and commercial fuel operations in Egypt from Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX). It may be risky to buy anything with ties to Egypt right now, but the company's exposure is small: About 8.5% of production is in "high-risk" countries.

With Total's dividend yield near 5%, I can look past the Egyptian connection. Only Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) exceeds Total's ability to extract cheap oil and achieve higher earnings per barrel of produced oil. Total's sales grew 8% from the previous year to $266 billion in 2012, and its operating income increased 2.4% over the same period.

Looking ahead, Total has a target of 3% annual production growth up to 2015, backed by geographically diverse pipeline of new projects. The company expects output to reach about 3 million barrels a day in 2017.

Risks to Consider: Commodities and volatility go hand in hand. It's never a good idea to devote a large percentage of your portfolio to oil stocks. Should oil take a turn south, you might want to limit any exposure to 10% or less.

Actions to Take --> Both Enerplus and Total are trading above their 50- and 200-day moving averages and have strong upside potential. If oil appeals to you, these stocks might also.

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Why Won't Every Netflix Box Get the New Design?

The new Netflix interface, designed for high-def and wide-screen TV sets. Image source: Netflix.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) just introduced a unified user interface for a wide range of viewing experiences. The redesigned interface is the payoff for nearly two years of design work, and will make it easier to move from one device to another. Over the next few weeks, you'll receive the exact same Netflix user experience whether you're watching via a Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) Xbox 360, a Sony (NYSE: SNE  ) PlayStation 3 or 4, a low-cost Roku box, or a variety of smart TV sets and Blu-ray players.

This is a step toward the tightly unified design philosophy of Apple, where knowing your way around an iPhone also makes you feel at home on an iPad or the iPod Touch. By contrast, the Android mobile platform often catches flak for being fragmented. A Samsung-made Android tablet probably won't look and feel the same as an LG one; tablets and smartphones get wildly different user interfaces; and even the same handset can feel different when the network operator adds its own tweaks.

Apple doesn't play those games, and now Netflix is moving in the same direction. From the digital media veteran's perspective, it couldn't really matter what hardware you're using to watch your movies or TV shows. They should all give you that smooth Netflix feel and nothing else.

But you'll notice a few important and popular boxes missing from the lineup above. If Sony supports two generations of PlayStations, where's the Xbox One? And what happened to Nintendo (NASDAQOTH: NTDOY  ) ?

Netfix isn't just leaving these platforms high and dry for no reason. There are technical reasons for all of these omissions.

Microsoft's Xbox One isn't getting a carbon copy of everyone else's exact experience, because Netflix wants to take advantage of the built-in Kinect system's unique features. It would be a shame not to take advantage of the revamped Kinect's high-powered voice control, for example, and Netflix has enough shared history with Microsoft to ensure a tight integration. So Xbox One gets something different, but you should expect a premium experience rather than a diluted one.

The new Netflix interface is explicitly designed for high-definition, widescreen TV sets. There's plenty of fine detail and text to handle, none of which would look good in less than 720p. The good old Nintendo Wii simply can't handle that kind of pixel-pushing -- it tops out at 480p even with the upgraded composite cables. So this particular design will never make it to the original Wii.

But how about the newer Wii U? This box was made for 1080p displays, and should have no trouble at all handling the demands of the new Netflix design. However, the Wii U already has a bottoms-up 1080p interface for Netflix. In fact, it was the first console to receive the high-definition treatment. Like the unified environment, the Wii U display was built on HTML5 standards rather than console-specific code, and it's likely that the unified version is based on the Wii U work. And like the Xbox One, the Wii U can do things that other consoles can't. Netflix takes advantage of the tablet-style Wii U controller, so this box deserves some personalized TLC.

So there you have it. The original Wii simply can't handle the new Netflix design, while the company just doesn't want to waste the unique benefits of the Wii U and Xbox One consoles.

So it's not a perfect across-the-board unification play, but then Apple didn't roll out the latest version of its iOS platform to older gear like the iPhone 3GS and fourth-generation iPod Touch. Obsolescence happens, folks. On the other end of the spectrum, Netflix doesn't design its own hardware but aims to work with anything you might connect to your big-screen TV. In that situation, it's simply good business to support advanced features from forward-thinking hardware providers.

Netflix has quadrupled its R&D budget over the last five years to support tripling revenues and pave the road toward further gains. And Netflix shareholders aren't exactly complaining about the results.

NFLX R&D expense (TTM) data by YCharts.

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Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now

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

What: Shares of Standard Motor Products (NYSE: SMP  ) weren't looking up to snuff today, falling as much as 10% today after Goldman Sachs downgraded the entire U.S. auto sector and lowered its rating on Standard form "neutral" to "sell."

So what: The investment bank dropped its rating on the entire industry from "attractive" to "neutral," primarily on rising interest rates, which could affect borrowing for auto loans. Goldman noted that auto stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by an average of 26% in three of the past four periods of rising interest rates. The downgrade weighed on much of the auto industry, as Ford fell 3.1% and General Motors 0.9%, but Standard, which makes replacement parts for the aftermarket industry, took its downgrade particularly hard.

Now what: Considering Standard serves the automotive aftermarket, which should not be affected as much by any immediate decline in demand, it's surprising to see shares tumbling like this. Goldman cited valuation concerns and potential earnings deterioration for slapping a sell rating as shares of the company had nearly tripled in the past year. Still, a drop like this on a simple downgrade seems exaggerated, and shares are still modestly valuated. Notably, shares closed less than $1 away from Goldman's $34 price target. I'd expect at least some of today's loss to be recovered in the coming weeks.�

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  Despite the weakness seen in precious metals a few weeks ago, silver has been relatively stable ever since mid-April, with the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV  ) trading in a dollar-wide range ever since. With the presidents of the Chicago and Philadelphia Federal Reserve banks��releasing conflicting statements, turmoil may be just around the corner. Miners like Pan American (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) are still facing operating challenges, while silver streaming darling Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) struggles as well.

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Newmont Mining Corporation(Holding Company)

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

Top 5 Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

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

• [By Rich Duprey]

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

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Claude Resources Inc.(CGR)

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

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By vaninaegea]

  In august, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) published the mid-year review for the agricultural sector. Their findings point to a slowdown for the industry, highlighting a 9.5% decline on exports through the first half of 2013. Also, late soybean planting in the USA is expected to compound the industry�� slowdown. So, what are the prospects for AGCO (AGCO), CNH Global (CNH), and Deere & Co. (DE) under such conditions?

• [By Itinerant]

  Before we continue, we would like to give references to sources that we used liberally for this article: Brian Christie, VP Investor Relations at Agnico-Eagle (AEM), gave a talk at the Denver Gold Group Luncheon on May 6 in Toronto and the presentation can be viewed here. Andrew J Vigar of Mining Associates gave a keynote at the Mines and Money conference in Hong Kong in March 2013 and the presentation is here. The Visual Capitalist has uploaded a relevant presentation on the topic here. And the Break Away Digger has an interesting piece available here. These documents come with a recommendation for your weekend reading from your humble scribe.

• [By Hebba Investments]

  Even with rising Q2 costs, GG still has lower true all-in costs than many of its larger competitors' Q1FY13 costs. Compared to Q1FY13 numbers of competitors such as Yamana Gold (AUY) (costs just over $1300), Kinross Gold (KGC) (costs above $1350), Silvercrest Mines (SVLC) (costs below $1100), Newmont Gold (NEM) (costs around $1300) Agnico-Eagle (AEM) (costs around $1400) and Barrick Gold (ABX) (costs around $1200).

• [By Daniel Putnam]

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

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

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

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

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

• [By Selena Maranjian]

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

• [By Jim Jubak]

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

Best Gold Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Blair]

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

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now

The advice industry is still struggling to attract new talent while facing a potentially huge number of retirements by aging advisers.

By 2017, the industry will shed more than 25,000 advisers, down from just over 280,000, due largely to retirements, according to a new report Monday from Cerulli Associates Inc.

After peaking in 2005, the overall industry head count has fallen by more than 32,000 advisers, according to Cerulli. The firm is predicting that the losses will come mostly from the wirehouse, independent broker-dealer, bank and regional channels.

The latest predictions point to a continued trend toward fewer advisers, a worrisome development as the ranks of retired baby boomers swell.

“A good number of advisers are coming up on retirement,” said Sean Daly, a Cerulli analyst. About 10% of advisers were over age 65 as of yearend, so “the potential is there for rapid retirements.”

Whether a significant number of advisers continue to work past normal retirement age remains to be seen, he said.

Regardless, financial firms must work on ways to bring in a new generation of advisers, Mr. Daly said.

He noted that some firms have been improving and lengthening training programs, offering scholarships to CFP candidates, and giving incentives for teams to bring on junior partners.

The traditional recruitment channel is to go to a wirehouse, but new advisers get burned out in that channel, said David Grant, founder of Finance for Teachers, Inc.

“Even if they know about the independent channel, [young advisers] say it's hard to get hired,” he said.

Spots at promising independent firms are few, and competition is robust, said Mr. Grant, who has led a National Association of Personal Financial Advisors' networking program for young advisers.

At the same time, advisory firms have complained about not being able to find good entry-level candidates.

Some independent firms prefer people with some business experience who may relate better to wealthier clients than a fresh-scrubbed graduate, Mr. Daly said. And they may have a limited pool of candidates in their geographic area.

Some college students are turned off by financial planning because the perception is that “they have to go out and sell stuff,! 221; said Michael Kitces is a partner and the director of research for Pinnacle Advisory Group Inc.

And other financial careers have better defined career paths, Mr. Kitces added.

Meanwhile, financial firms will have to figure out how to manage more assets per adviser, Mr. Daly added.

In fact, that's already happening. The average adviser last year managed about $35 million, but today that's closer to $41 million, Mr. Daly said.

Are you a young adviser looking to become a financial adviser? Join us for our virtual career fair on Nov. 8. Register now

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Artesian Resources Corporation(ARTNA)

Artesian Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides water, wastewater, and engineering services on the Delmarva Peninsula. It distributes and sells water to residential, commercial, industrial, municipal, and utility customers in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The company also offers water for public and private fire protection to customers in its service territories. In addition, it provides contract water and wastewater services, water and sewer service line protection plans, and wastewater management services, as well as design, construction, and engineering services. As of December 31, 2011, the company served approximately 78,600 metered water customers through 1,148 miles of transmission and distribution mains. Artesian Resources Corporation was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Newark, Delaware.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Artesian Resources Corporation (ARTNA) provides water, wastewater, and other services on the Delmarva Peninsula. Sept. 17, the company increased its quarterly dividend 1.5% to $0.2088. The dividend is payable Nov. 22, 2013 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 8, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.

• [By Mike Deane]

  On Tuesday, Artesian Resources (ARTNA) declared a quarterly dividend of 20.88 cents per share, a 1.5% increase from the company’s previous quarterly payout.

  The Newark, Delaware-based water distribution company previously had a yearly payout of 82.28 cents, and will now pay 83.52 cents per year.

  The dividend will be payable on November 22nd, 2013 to all shareholders of record on November 8th, 2013. The ex-dividend date is November 6th, 2013.

  ARTNA shares were up 6 cents, or .27%, at Tuesday’s market close. The company’s stock is down just over 3% YTD.

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Yhi International Limited (Y08.SI)

YHI International Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the import, export, and distribution of automotive and industrial products. The company offers automotive products, including tires, alloy wheels, and automotive batteries; and industrial commercial products, such as industrial batteries and golf buggies. It also designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes alloy wheels and alloy wheel moulds, as well as offers tires under the Neuton brand name; and industrial and automotive batteries under the Neuton Power brand name. In addition, the company engages in the retail of tires, alloy wheels, industrial batteries, and related goods. YHI International Limited operates primarily in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Singapore. YHI International Limited is a subsidiary of YHI Holdings Pte Ltd.

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In 2014: Nuveen New York Quality Income Municipal Fund Inc.(NUN)

Nuveen New York Quality Income Municipal Fund, Inc. is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc. The fund is managed by Nuveen Asset Management. It invests in the fixed income markets of New York. The fund invests in tax exempt municipal bonds. It employs fundamental analysis, with bottom-up stock picking approach, to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor?s New York Municipal Bond Index and Standard & Poor?s Insured National Municipal Bond Index. Nuveen New York Quality Income Municipal Fund, Inc. was formed on July 25, 1991 and is domiciled in the United States.

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: OGE Energy Corporation(OGE)

OGE Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and energy services provider that offers physical delivery and related services for electricity and natural gas primarily in the south central United States. The company is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in Oklahoma and western Arkansas; and gathering, processing, transporting, storing, and marketing of natural gas. It furnishes retail electric service in 268 communities and their contiguous rural and suburban areas. OGE Energy Corp. operates coal-fired and natural gas-fired units, as well as wind-powered units. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 12 generating stations with an aggregate capability of 6,790 megawatts; and a transmission system comprising 51 substations and 4,258 structure miles of lines in Oklahoma, and 7 substations and 279 structure miles of lines in Arkansas. Its distribution system consisted of 353 substations , 27,854 structure miles of overhead lines, 1,895 miles of underground conduit, and 10,120 miles of underground conductors in Oklahoma, as well as 37 substations, 2,250 structure miles of overhead lines, 212 miles of underground conduit, and 572 miles of underground conductors in Arkansas. The company also owned approximately 6,019 miles of intrastate natural gas gathering pipelines in Oklahoma and Texas; approximately 2,250 miles of intrastate natural gas transportation pipelines in Oklahoma; and 2 underground natural gas storage facilities and 8 operating natural gas processing plants in Oklahoma. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, oilfield, public authorities, and street light operators. OGE Energy Corp. was founded in 1995 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  OGE Energy Corp. (OGE): Another Utility with Slightly Higher Growth

  Our second example, OGE Energy Corp., differs from our first only by virtue of the fact that its earnings growth rate since 1998 has averaged over 5% per annum. Nevertheless, we once again discover that the PE ratio of 15 represents a strong proxy for this company�� valuation. During the short time intervals when price deviates from fair value PE of 15, it doesn�� take long for price to move back into alignment with earnings.

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Transatlantic Petroleum Corp Co (TNP.TO)

TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd., an international oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties. The company holds interests in developed and undeveloped oil and natural gas properties in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. As of March 1, 2012, it held approximately 5.4 million net onshore acres. The company had interests in 57 onshore exploration licenses and 9 onshore production leases covering 4.3 million net acres in Turkey; 2 onshore exploration permits in Bulgaria; and 1 onshore production license in Romania. TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. was founded in 1985 and is based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Not Even a Market Selloff Can Slow Tesla Down

Roben Farzad, my old buddy from BusinessWeek, takes a look at Tesla’s (TSLA) amazing rise:

REUTERS

And just like that, Tesla Motors sports a $20 billion market value.

That's a mind-boggling milestone for a 10-year-old car marker currently targeting delivery of just 21,000 luxury sedans this year. While Tesla has one percent of Ford's (F) U.S. monthly sales, the electric car company already has nearly a third of Ford's $64 billion market capitalization. Investors value Tesla at roughly 41 percent of GM's (GM) $48 billion market value. Indeed, Tesla is now worth more than Suzuki Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp., and Fiat SpA, the majority owner of Chrysler Group LLC, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Tesla shares, which are up 390 percent this year, change hands at an otherworldly 260 times estimated 2013 earnings, versus 10 for General Motors and 11 for Ford.

Investor’s Business Daily notes that the number of charging stations for electric cars is set to increase exponentially:

The number of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles will soar to nearly 200,000 worldwide by 2020, up from just 1,800 or so last year, says research firm IHS Automotive.

Japan is home to half of today’s fast-charging stations, and it will continue to utilize CHAdeMO technology, says IHS Automotive. Japan began deploying CHAdeMO, roughly translated as “charge for moving,” in 2009.

Germany is set on using CCS (combined charging system), while Tesla Motors is pushing its proprietary Supercharger system in the U.S., and has made adding more such stations a priority

By one measure, Tesla’s volatility has increased, even as its stock price has surged. Its 120-day volatility, which measures its price swings during the past six months of trading, has increased to 77 today, up from 37 on March 28. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has a 120-day volatility of 12.

Even a broad-market selloff hasn’t been able to slow Tesla down. Its shares have gained 0.6% to $165.31, while GM has dropped 3.6% to $33.65 and Ford has fallen 3.2% to $15.89. Toyota Motor (TM) has dropped 0.9% to $124.08.

Disney Falls After Cable Division Registers Profit Drop

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) dropped in extended trading after reporting lower income at cable networks including ESPN, the company's biggest source of profit.

Disney fell as much 3.3 percent to $64.95 after releasing fourth-quarter results yesterday. The stock lost 2.7 percent to $67.15 at the close in New York and has gained 35 percent this year, compared with a 19 percent advance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (INDU)

Higher programming costs for football and baseball weighed on a division that typically produces 40 percent of Disney's earnings, according to Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at Wedge Partners Corp. Profit from cable, largely ESPN and the Disney Channels, slid 7 percent, the company said yesterday.

"We remain confident in ESPN's value and continued reign as the leader in sports," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said on a conference call.

Net income for the quarter rose 12 percent to $1.39 billion, or 77 cents a share, from a year earlier, Burbank, California-based Disney said yesterday, citing growth at its theme parks, consumer products and film studio.

Profit topped the 76-cent average of 27 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue grew 7.3 percent to $11.6 billion in the period ended Sept. 28, beating the $11.4 billion average of estimates.

Those gains were overshadowed by the rare profit drop in cable, where ESPN faced new competition from Rupert Murdoch's new Fox Sports 1. In addition to higher programming costs, Disney recognized $172 million less in deferred affiliate revenue after recording the payments earlier in the year.

Disney Channel

Investments in the Disney Channel in Germany also crimped cable profit, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo said on the call. In addition, Disney recorded less income from its investment in A&E Television Networks and sold ESPN U.K.

"We think the Street will view the results as soft given that cable networks revenue and operating income came in below our estimates," Vasily Karasyov, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc., said in a note after the results were announced.

Profit at Disney's parks and resorts division increased 15 percent to $571 million in the quarter, as revenue grew 8.5 percent. New attractions at U.S. resorts spurred higher guest spending and occupancy, and let the company increase ticket prices. Disney is working on "Star Wars" attractions for the parks, Iger said on Bloomberg Television.

"There is a fair amount of development going on at Disney Imagineering right now to expand the 'Star Wars' presence in California and in Orlando, and eventually in other parks around the world," Iger said.

Johnny Depp

Popular films such as "Planes" and "Monsters University" led to growth at the consumer products division, Disney said. The unit boosted profit by 30 percent to $347 million, with sales growing 14 percent. The results were also driven by sales of merchandise tied to the Disney Junior cable network for preschoolers. They doubled to $1.8 billion at retail for the fiscal year.

Disney's film studio increased its profit to $108 million from $80 million as revenue grew 7.4 percent, while weathering a loss on the Johnny Depp film "The Lone Ranger." The company credited growth from television and subscription video on demand services, such as Netflix Inc. (NFLX)

Disney said yesterday it will produce four Marvel superhero TV series for Netflix, leveraging a brand that has produced box-office-leading returns for the company. Disney will also make more original content for other outlets. Iger cited the potential of Twitter Inc. (TWTR), which went public yesterday.

Twitter Potential

"It's yet another means of distribution," Iger said. "We're also seeing that migration in media, you know yesterday's short is today's long. I think we have to be mindful of that, too."

Disney's "Iron Man 3" is the top-performing film of 2013 with $1.22 billion in worldwide box-office sales, underscoring the growing value of Marvel to Disney. "Thor: The Dark World," also from Marvel, opens today.

The first "Star Wars" film under Disney's ownership of Lucasfilm is scheduled for release on Dec. 18, 2015.

Top 10 Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014

Disney Interactive, which began selling the new Disney Infinity video-game products, posted a profit of $16 million in the quarter, reversing a year earlier loss. Revenue more than doubled to $396 million.

Profit at Disney's ABC broadcast division fell 18 percent to $158 million, with revenue growing 2 percent to $1.37 billion. The company isn't selling its local TV stations, Iger said.

"As long as we're in the network business, we'll be in the station business," Iger said on the call.

Where Will Tesla Motors Go Next?

With shares of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) trading around $150, is TSLA an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Tesla Motors designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and electric vehicle powertrain components. The company also provides services for the development of electric powertrain systems and components and sells electric powertrain components to other automotive manufacturers. It markets and sells its vehicles through Tesla stores as well as over the Internet. Consumers and companies are looking to save at the pump, and what better way to do so than with electric vehicles?

10 Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2014

Tesla Motors reported earnings after the closing bell yesterday that beat expectations, with the electric car maker's losses falling from $111 million to $38 million and revenue increasing from $50 million to $431 million year-over-year. But Tesla's guidance didn't impress investors. According to The New York Times, Tesla predicted that fourth-quarter numbers would be about the same as this quarter, as the company invests in infrastructure and and research and development. CEO Elon Musk called the company "production-constrained, not demand-constrained" during the earnings call.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

Tesla Motors stock has been exploding higher in the past several months. The stock is currently trading near highs for the year. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Tesla Motors is trading between its rising key averages, which signals neutral price action in the near term.

Source: Thinkorswim

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

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Tesla Motors Options	57.99%	0%	0%

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

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
December Options	Average	Average
January Options	Average	Average

As of Wednesday, there is average demand from call and put buyers or sellers, all neutral over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a minimal amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral over the next two months.

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

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter-Over-Quarter

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

	2013 Q3	2013 Q2	2013 Q1	2012 Q4
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	-86.96%	105.62%	113.95%	-1.27%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	1102.65%	1420.08%	1762.78%	677.88%
Earnings Reaction	N/A	14.34%	24.39%	-8.77%

Tesla Motors has seen mixed earnings and rising revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have had conflicting feelings about Tesla Motors’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Excellent Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Tesla Motors stock done relative to its peers – General Motors (NYSE:GM), Toyota (NYSE:TM), and Ford (NYSE:F) — and sector?

	Tesla Motors	General Motors	Toyota	Ford	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	346.8%	28.20%	38.83%	30.97%	33.66%

Tesla Motors has been a relative performance leader, year to date.

Conclusion

Tesla Motors offers electric vehicles that consumers and companies are opting for over other luxury vehicles. The company recently reported earnings that didn’t impress investors. The stock has been exploding higher recently and is now trading near highs for the year. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been rising, which has left investors with conflicting feelings about the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Tesla Motors has been a year-to-date performance leader. Look for Tesla Motors to continue to OUTPERFORM.

3 Stocks in Breakout Territory With Big Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Stocks Poised to Break Out

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) is a producer of aggregates products for the construction industry. This stock closed up 4.2% at $102.75 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 1.31 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 326,695

Volume % Change: 292%

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy in November

From a technical perspective, MLM soared higher here back above its 200-day moving average of $100.32 and into breakout territory above $100.50 with strong upside volume. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $94.25 to $94.01. Following that bottom, shares of MLM have started to uptrend and move back above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. That move has now pushed shares of MLM within range of triggering a breakout trade. That trade will hit if MLM manages to take out Monday's high of $104.56 to some past overhead resistance at $106.54 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MLM as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $100.32 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 326,695 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then MLM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $110 to $112.76, or its 52-week high at $113.65.

YY

YY (YY) is a social communication platform that engages users in real-time online group activities through voice, text and video. This stock closed up 9.6% at $54.55 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 3.20 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.67 million

Volume % Change: 215%

>>3 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

From a technical perspective, YY exploded higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $50.79 with heavy upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of YY within range of triggering another major breakout trade. That trade will hit if YY manages to take out Monday's high of $54.75 to its all-time high of $55.35 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in YY as long as it's trending above $52 or $51, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 1.67 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then YY will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $60 to $65.

Stancorp Financial

Stancorp Financial (SFG) together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the U.S. This stock closed up 1.5% at $60.35 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 690,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 211,792

Volume % Change: 215%

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

From a technical perspective, SFG bounced modestly higher here right above some near-term support at $58 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares soaring higher from its lows of $43.01 to its recent high of $61.50. During that uptrend, shares of SFG have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of SFG within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if SFG manages to take out Monday's high of $60.45 to its 52-week high at $61.50 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SFG as long as it's trending above $59 or $58, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 211,792 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SFG will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $65 to $70.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Making Big Moves

>>5 Dividend Boosters That Could Really Pay Off

>>Hack Earnings Season With These Serial Surprisers

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (MLNX): Potential Return Of HPC Buyers Could Boost Topline

Shares of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) have fallen 54 percent in the last one year. However, the company could see potential upside from the return of hyperscale high performance computing (HPC) buyers driven by Intel's Grantley later next year, more storage market sales required due to flash, and Ethernet switch share gain helped by open source Layer 3 software.

Mellanox Technologies is a leading supplier of end-to-end InfiniBand and Ethernet interconnect solutions and services for servers and storage. Mellanox interconnect solutions increase data center efficiency by providing the highest throughput and lowest latency, delivering data faster to applications and unlocking system performance capability.

Yokneam, Israel-based Mellanox sells InfiniBand and Ethernet networking switches, adaptors, chips, cards, and cables. Mellanox's products are high-performance and target a number of markets including HPC, enterprise data centers, Web 2.0, and financial services.

"For the stock to work at 18x next year's EPS some proof of the pudding is required. Evidence, in the form of improving top-line growth, is needed," UBS analyst Steven Milunovich said in a client note.

There are various sources of sales. The first would be the release of Intel's Grantley chips. Intel's Grantley chipset, due out in the second half of 2014, is needed to get the cyclical portion of the high-performance computing business going (hyperscale clusters). This could be roughly $50 million -$70 million in extra FDR (faulty device replacement) sales.

In addition, Mellanox's 100Gbps InfiniBand release in 2014 or 2015 could ignite a full HPC refresh, which would include hyperscale cluster users and possibly an extra 50 percent of baseline business.

Layer 3 open source software for Mellanox's nascent Ethernet switch business is coming. It's unclear how much share Mellanox could grab, but the opportunity is large. Gartner estimates that 10GE accounted for 33 percent of the $18 billion enterprise ethernet switch market in 2012.

"Mellanox has had a number of design wins for the back end (inside) of storage arrays—we think nearly all of its roughly $80mn in run-rate storage sales is back end. Getting InfiniBand on the front end could accelerate sales," Milunovich said.

Mellanox estimates the front-end storage market to be $1.3 billion today. Higher speed arrays! (like all-flash) should push customers to InfiniBand. Moreover, private and public cloud and Web 2.0 are moving to InfiniBand slowly, which could accelerate if more lighthouse accounts endorse InfiniBand.

Microsoft (MSFT), salesforce.com (CRM), EMC's Pivotal, and Oracle (ORCL) have gone public with their use of InfiniBand. Mellanox's support for OpenStack could help.

"We believe the growth in storage, Web 2.0, and cloud is being hidden by the cyclical drop in HPC, which is about half of revenue. Growth should return in later 2014 when Intel's Grantley ships and could be turbo-boosted in late-2014 into 2015 if Mellanox can deliver 100Gbps," Milunovich noted.

The key to Mellanox's success is improving interconnect speed and reliability. Wire speed is how fast the physical layer can move bits. Mellanox is the fastest today at 56 Gbps and is working hard to get to 100 Gbps before anyone else. The acquisitions of Kotura and IPtronics will enable Mellanox to control the complete vertical stack.

Meanwhile, RDMA (remote direct memory access) could provide upside for Mellanox. RDMA, which can be used with both InfiniBand and Ethernet, will see widespread adoption. RDMA over Ethernet even has a catchy marketing name—"rocky"—for RoCE (RDMA over Converged Ethernet).

"Mellanox is the leader is RDMA, the remote nature is the new element since DMA has been around for decades. By remotely putting data into another application's buffer, the system becomes much more efficient," Milunovich said.

CPUs don't have to spend as much time handling data transfers and waiting for results. Tests show CPU efficiency can jump from 53 percent to 88 percent. The growth of enterprise flash will require faster networks to deliver the promised speed improvements of flash.

Disk drive latency is typically 6,000 microseconds while the typical SSD is 25 milliseconds. By using RDMA, the latency drops all the way down to 46 ms (a 136-fold improvement).

As a result, for the stock to work, h! igh-perfo! rmance computing (accounts for half of the revenue) needs to improve. This is expected in the second half of 2014 with the release of Intel's Grantly chip. Storage is now the second largest segment bolstered by flash and also could boost sales.

"For 2014, we project a 27% revenue increase to $500mn accompanied by substantial operating margin improvement from 11.5% to 19%, resulting in $2.00 of earnings," Milunovich added.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now

NEW YORK (ETF Expert) -- The U.S. dollar has certainly lost value since the Federal Reserve began printing greenbacks to purchase U.S. bonds.

On the other hand, most of the damage occurred at the onset of the Fed's quantitative easing program(s). Since the euro came under extreme pressure during the sovereign debt crisis of 2011, and since Japan's campaign to radically devalue its currency (yen) in 2012, PowerShares DB Dollar Bullish (UUP) has been remarkably stable.

On the other hand, current market participants have sniffed out a highly probable outcome over the next six months. Specifically, the idea of the Fed slowing down its bond purchases (a.k.a. tapering) is preposterous. In my July 30 feature, Bond ETFs Could Shock Pundits in the Months Ahead, I expressed serious doubts that the Bernanke-led Fed would begin tapering in 2013. I wrote: Who genuinely believes that unemployment is falling at a rapid enough clip to warrant a change in direction? Who actually sees the Fed's inflation measure rising at a fast enough pace to justify a policy modification? Last but not least, why would Bernanke want to rock the apple cart in any shape or form prior to his January departure? Most experts believed that I was way off base. In particular, my suggestion that the 10-year yield would likely be closer to a 2% to 2.25% range than a 2.75% to 3% range by year's end seemed like a long shot. Equally controversial, I advocated that taxable account owners revisit municipal bond opportunities like iShares National Muni (MUB). Today, however, a few more folks may be coming around to my way of thinking. The number of new jobs have been steadily dropping for months. The budget debate is only getting started. If Janet Yellen replaces Bernanke, the Fed may even try to print more money to buy bonds rather than pull away from the project. The 10-year yield is declining... Courtesy of StockCharts.com ...the U.S. dollar via UUP is testing 2011 lows... Courtesy of StockCharts.com ...and the prospects for munis in the intermediate term appear to be brightening. Courtesy of StockCharts.com I am not suggesting that investors abandon the stock ship for the supposed safer shores of fixed income. In actuality, the electronic printing of dollars to buy bonds is benefiting stocks and commodities as well. In particular, the economies of China and Europe may be recovering with less overt currency devaluation or obvious rate manipulation. It follows that funds like iShares Australia (EWA) may benefit from greater internal demand on the mainland. Additionally, broader-based international assets like Vanguard All World excl U.S. (VEU) and iShares MSCI EAFE Small Cap (SCZ) may figure prominently in any year-end running of the bulls. Follow @etfexpert This article was written by an independent contributor, separate from TheStreet's regular news coverage.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

FuelCell Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation primarily in South Korea, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Japan. The company offers proprietary carbonate Direct FuelCell Power Plants that electrochemically produce electricity from hydrocarbon fuels, such as natural gas and biogas. Its fuel cells operate on a range of hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas, renewable biogas, propane, methanol, coal gas, and coal mine methane. The company also develops carbonate fuel cells, planar solid oxide fuel cell technology, and other fuel cell technologies. It provides its products to universities; manufacturers; mission critical institutions, such as correction facilities and government installations; hotels; and natural gas letdown stations, as well as to customers who use renewable biogas for fuel, including municipal water treatment facilities, br eweries, and food processors. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Green Energy Addict]

  On June 3, 2013 I gave my 5 Bullish Signs ahead of the FuelCell Energy (FCEL) Q2 2013 earnings report. I cited the large backlog as one of the reasons for my bullish views. I gave as my reasoning the following:

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Hot Topic Inc.(HOTT)

Hot Topic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall- and Web-based specialty retailer in the United States. The company operates Hot Topic and Torrid store concepts, as well as an e-space music discovery concept, ShockHound. Its Hot Topic stores sell music/pop culture-licensed merchandise, including tee shirts, hats, posters, stickers, patches, postcards, books, novelty accessories, CDs, and DVDs; and music/pop culture-influenced merchandise comprising women?s and men?s apparel and accessories, such as woven and knit tops, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets, shoes, costume jewelry, body jewelry, sunglasses, cosmetics, leather accessories, and gift items for young men and women primarily between the ages of 12 and 22. The company?s Torrid stores sells casual and dressy jeans and pants, fashion and novelty tops, sweaters, skirts, jackets, dresses, hosiery, shoes, intimate apparel, and fashion accessories for various lifestyles for plus-size females primarily betw een the ages of 15 and 29. As of July 30, 2011, it operated 636 Hot Topic stores in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada; 145 Torrid stores; and Internet stores, hottopic.com and torrid.com. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in City of Industry, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  In May True Religion (TRGL) announced a buyout offer from TowerBrook Capital for $826 million. Also in May, Rue21 decided to sell itself to Apax Partners for $2.2 billion. Before that, in March, Hot Topic (HOTT) announced that Sycamore Partners was buying out it out for $600 million.

Best China Stocks For 2014: Texas Instruments Incorporated(TXN)

Texas Instruments Incorporated engages in the design and sale of semiconductors to electronics designers and manufacturers worldwide. The company?s Analog segment offers high-performance analog products comprising standard analog semiconductors, such as amplifiers, data converters, and interface semiconductors; high-volume analog and logic products; and power management semiconductors and line-powered systems. Its Embedded Processing segment includes DSPs that perform mathematical computations to process and enhance digital data; and microcontrollers, which are designed to control a set of specific tasks for electronic equipment. The company?s Wireless segment designs, manufactures, and sells application processors and connectivity products. Its Other segment offers smaller semiconductor products, which include DLP products that are primarily used in projectors to create high-definition images; and application-specific integrated circuits. This segment also provides handhe ld graphing and scientific calculators, as well as licenses technologies to other electronic companies. The company serves the communications, computing, industrial, consumer electronics, automotive, and education sectors. Texas Instruments Incorporated sells its products through a direct sales force, distributors, and third-party sales representatives. It has collaboration agreements with PLX Technology Inc.; Neonode, Inc.; and Ubiquisys Ltd. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  We have tracked the key short interest changes as of September 30 in the following semiconductor leaders: Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT). We also chose to look at how the Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (NYSEMKT: SMH) has held up.

• [By Beth Piskora]

  They are listed below:

  Altera (ALTR)��ielding 1.7%
  
  Apple (AAPL)��ielding 2.5%
  
  Applied Materials (AMAT)��ielding 2.6%
  
  Cisco (CSCO)��ielding 2.9%
  
  EMC Corp. (EMC)��ielding 1.5%
  
  International Business Machines (IBM)��ielding 2.0%
  
  KLA-Tencor (KLAC)��ielding 3.2%
  
  Microchip Technology (MCHP)��ielding 3.6%
  
  Oracle (ORCL)��ielding 1.5%
  
  Qualcomm (QCOM)��ielding 2.1%
  
  Texas Instruments (TXN)��ielding 2.9%
  
  Xilinx (XLNX)��ielding 2.3%
  
  

  Subscribe to S&P's The Outlook here��/P>

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: InterDigital Inc.(IDCC)

Interdigital, Inc. engages in the design and development of digital wireless technology solutions. The company offers technology solutions for use in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It holds patents related to the fundamental technologies that enable wireless communications. The company licenses its patents to equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular and IEEE 802-related products; and licenses or sells mobile broadband modem solutions, including modem IP, know-how, and reference platforms to mobile device manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and other equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular products. InterDigital?s solutions are incorporated in various products comprising mobile devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, notebook computers, and wireless personal digital assistants; wireless infrastructure equipment, such as base stations; and components, dongles, and modules for wireless devices. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC) reported that certain of its subsidiaries have completed the previously announced sale of roughly 1,700 patents and patent applications to Intel Corporation for $375 million in cash.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) have gotten crushed today by as much as 20% after the company lost a patent suit against several smartphone makers.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of treatments for infectious diseases. The company focuses on the development of antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C; and the development of antibacterials for the treatment of resistant bacterial infections. Its drug candidates for the treatment of chronic HCV include ACH-1625, a protease inhibitor, which is in phase IIa clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV; ACH-2684, a pangenotypic protease inhibitor, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV infection; and NS5A inhibitors for the treatment of chronic HCV infection, including ACH-2928, which is to enter a phase I clinical trial, as well as various additional NS5A inhibitors in preclinical development. Its pipeline of product candidates also includes ACH-702 and ACH-2881 for drug resistant bacterial infections; elvucitabine for HIV infection; and AC H-1095 for HCV infection. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Monday’s session are Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN), Active Network Inc.(ACTV) and Harvest Natural Resources Inc.(HNR)

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  We took a look at Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) after two directors bought 40,000 shares for $394,800. Dennis Liotta bought 20,000 shares for $158,100 and Jason Fisherman bought 20,000 shares for $155,000. InsiderScore gave Liotta a nod, writing, ��iotta has been a smart buyer at Achillion in the past. He bought the same number of shares here, this time at a price 28% higher, which is the highest price he has paid for shares.��/p>

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Rackspace Hosting Inc(RAX)

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. operates in the hosting and cloud computing industry. It provides information technology (IT) as a service, managing Web-based IT systems for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises worldwide. The company?s service suite includes dedicated hosting comprising customer management portal and other management tools that manage data center, network, hardware devices, and operating system software; and cloud computing that enables customers to provide and manage a pool of computing resources, as well as delivery of computing resources to business when they need them. It offers cloud servers, cloud files, and cloud sites, as well as cloud applications, such as email, collaboration, and file back-ups; and hybrid hosting that provides a combination of dedicated hosting and cloud computing services. The company also offers customer support services. It sells its service suite through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners, an d online ordering. The company was formerly known as Rackspace.com, Inc. and changed its name to Rackspace Hosting, Inc. in June 2008. Rackspace Hosting, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Web-hosting company Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

• [By Investometrica]

  Servers: Server revenue is also in a dangerous position. The graph shows how the market changed from 2008 through 2012, favoring the Iaas (infrastructure as a service) hosting business model (Amazon (AMZN) and Rackspace (RAX)), while leaving the server-side infrastructure business model in great trouble. At this point, the trend towards adoption of hosted Iaas as a replacement for traditional in-house server-side infrastructure can't possibly be reversed.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  Rackspace is probably being unfairly treated based on the company�� fundamentals, consistent revenue and earnings performance, and future potential. On the other hand, with the stock trading at 45 times earnings and 41 times future earnings, it will be difficult for Rackspace to meet expectations. This also makes the stock more susceptible to market corrections.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Petroquest Energy Inc(PQ)

PetroQuest Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and gas company. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of oil and gas properties in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, as well as onshore and in the shallow waters offshore the Gulf Coast Basin. As of December 31, 2009, the company had estimated proved reserves of 1,931 thousand barrels of oil and 167,361 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. It owned working interests in 9 net producing oil wells and 277 net producing gas wells. PetroQuest Energy was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  PetroQuest Energy Inc. (NYSE: PQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

  Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Panera Bread Company(PNRA)

Panera Bread Company, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises retail bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada. Its bakery-cafes offer fresh baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, and other complementary products, as well as provide catering services. The company also manufactures and supplies dough and other products to company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes. As of March 29, 2011, it owned and franchised 1,467 bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  Even so, investors have remained frustrated by Chipotle's refusal to either open stores at a faster pace or raise prices to improve tepid same-store sales growth, which came in at just 3.8% last quarter. That's shy of competing healthy eateries, including�Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) which recently said its same-store growth came in at an impressive 5.1% last quarter. Even still, by not immediately raising prices, Chipotle is intelligently building customer goodwill, and remains open to the possibility of raising prices as economic conditions improve.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

ATA Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides computer-based testing services in the People?s Republic of China. It offers services for the creation and delivery of computer-based tests utilizing its test delivery platform, proprietary testing technologies, and testing services; and provides logistical support services relating to test administration. The company?s computer-based testing services are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology (IT) services, banking, securities, teaching, and insurance. Its e-testing platform integrates various aspects of the test delivery process for computer-based tests ranging from test form compilation to test scoring, and results analysis. ATA also provides career-oriented educational services, such as single course programs, degree major course programs, and pre-occupational training programs focusing on preparing students to pass IT and other vocational certification tests; test preparation and training programs and services to test candidates preparing to take professional certification tests in securities, futures, banking, insurance and teaching industries; online test preparation and training platform for the securities and banking industries; and test preparation software for the teaching industry. In addition, the company offers HR select employee assessment solution, an online system that utilizes its proprietary software and an inventory of test titles to help employers improve the efficiency and accuracy of their employee recruitment process. As of March 31, 2010, it had contractual relationships with 1,988 ATA authorized test centers. The company serves Chinese governmental agencies, professional associations, IT vendors, and Chinese educational institutions, as well as individual test preparation services. ATA Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: OmniVision Technologies Inc.(OVTI)

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor image-sensor devices. The company offers CameraChip image sensors, which are single-chip solutions that integrate various functions, such as image capture, image processing, color processing, signal conversion, and output of a processed image or video stream for use in various consumer and commercial mass-market applications; and CameraCube imaging devices that are image sensors with integrated wafer-level optics. It also provides companion chips used to connect its image sensors to various interfaces, including the universal serial bus and other industry standard interfaces; and companion digital signal processors that perform compression in standardized still photo and digital video formats. In addition, the company designs and develops software drivers for Linux, Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows, as well as for embedded operating systems, such as Blackberry OS, Palm OS, Symbian, Windows CE, Windows Embedded, and Windows Mobile. Its products are used in mobile phones, notebooks, Webcams, digital still and video cameras, commercial and security and surveillance, and automotive and medical applications, as well as in entertainment devices. The company sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers and value added resellers, as well as indirectly through distributors worldwide. OmniVision Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of image sensor specialist OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) spiked 19% today after its quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street expectations.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.