5 Best Quality Stocks To Own Right Now

5 Best Quality Stocks To Own Right Now: CVR Energy Inc (CVI)

CVR Energy, Inc. (CVR Energy), incorporated September 2006, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, acts as an independent petroleum refiner and marketer of transportation fuels in the mid-continental United States. In addition, the Company, through its majority-owned subsidiaries, acts as an independent producer and marketer of nitrogen fertilizer products in North America. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned the general partner and approximately 70% of CVR Partners, LP (the Partnership), a limited partnership which produces nitrogen fertilizers in the form of ammonia and an aqueous solution of urea and ammonium nitrate used as a fertilizer (UAN). The Company operates in two segments: the petroleum segment and the nitrogen fertilizer segment. On December 15, 2011, the Company acquired Gary-Williams Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries (GWEC).

Petroleum Business

The Company operates a 115,000 barrels per day complex full coking medium-sou r crude oil refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas and, as of December 15, 2011, a 70,000 barrels per day crude oil unit refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Its combined production capacity represents approximately 15% of its region's output during the year ended December 31, 2011. The Coffeyville facility is situated on approximately 440 acres in southeast Kansas, approximately 100 miles from Cushing, Oklahoma, a crude oil trading and storage hub. The Wynnewood facility is situated on approximately 400 acres located approximately 65 miles south of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and approximately 130 miles from Cushing, Oklahoma. During 2011, its Coffeyville refinery's product yield included gasoline (mainly regular unleaded) (44%), diesel fuel (42%), and pet coke and other refined products, such as natural gas liquids (NGL) (propane and butane), slurry, sulfur and gas oil (14%). Its Wynnewood refinery's product yield included gasoline (54%), diesel fuel (31%), asphalt (6%), jet! fuel (3%) an d other products (6%) during 2011.

The Company! owns and operates a crude oil gathering system serving Kansas, Oklahoma, western Missouri and southwestern Nebraska. The system has field offices in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Plainville, Kansas and Winfield, Kansas. The system consists of approximately 350 miles of feeder and trunk pipelines, 100 trucks, and associated storage facilities for gathering sweet crude oils purchased from independent crude oil producers in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri. It also leases a section of a pipeline from Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (Magellan), which is incorporated into its crude oil gathering system. During 2011, the Companys crude oil gathering system had a gathering capacity of approximately 38,000 barrels per day. During 2011, it gathered an average of approximately 35,000 barrels per day.

CVR Energy owns a pipeline system capable of transporting approximately 145,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Caney, Kansas to its refinery. Crude oils sourced out side of its gathering system are delivered by common carrier pipelines into various terminals in Cushing, Oklahoma, where they are blended and then delivered to Caney, Kansas via a pipeline owned by Plains Pipeline L.P. (Plains). The Company also owns associated crude oil storage tanks with a capacity of approximately 1.2 million barrels located outside its Coffeyville refinery, 0.5 million barrels of crude oil storage at Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and lease an additional 3.3 million barrels of storage capacity located at Cushing, Oklahoma and other locations. In addition to crude oil storage, it owns approximately 4.5 million barrels of combined refinery related storage capacity.

CVR Energy has access to foreign crude oil from Latin America, South America, West Africa, the Middle East, the North Sea and Canada. It purchases domestic crude oil from Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, North Dakota, Missouri, and offshore deepwater Gulf of Mexico produc! tion. Dur! ing 2011 , its Coffeyville crude oil supply blend consisted of approx! imately 8! 0% light sweet crude oil, 2% light/medium sour crude oil and 18% heavy sour crude oil. During 2011, Wynnewood's crude oil supply blend consisted of approximately 88% sweet crude oil and 12% light/medium sour crude oil.

During 2011, approximately 35% of the Coffeyville refinery's products were sold through the rack system directly to retail and wholesale customers, while the remaining 65% was sold through pipelines via bulk spot and term contracts. The Company makes bulk sales (sales into third party pipelines) into the mid-continent markets via Magellan and into Colorado and other destinations utilizing the product pipeline networks owned by Magellan, Enterprise Products Operating, L.P. (Enterprise) and NuStar Energy, LP (NuStar). Approximately 60% of the Wynnewood refinery's finished products sold are distributed in Oklahoma. Customers for its petroleum products include other refiners, convenience store companies, railroads and farm cooperatives.

The Company competes with BP, Conoco Phillips, HollyFrontier, NCRA, Valero, Flint Hills Resources, CHS and Shell.

Nitrogen Fertilizer Business

The nitrogen fertilizer business, operated by the Partnership, is the nitrogen fertilizer plant in North America. It utilizes a pet coke gasification process to produce nitrogen fertilizer. The nitrogen fertilizer facility's primary input is pet coke. The nitrogen fertilizer facility includes a 1,225 ton-per-day ammonia unit, a 2,025 ton-per-day UAN unit and a gasifier complex having a capacity of 84 million standard cubic feet per day. Linde LLC (Linde) owns, operates, and maintains the air separation plant that provides contract volumes of oxygen, nitrogen and compressed dry air to the gasifier for a monthly fee.

The primary geographic markets for the nitrogen fertilizer business' fertilizer products are Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Texas.! The nitr! ogen fertilizer bu siness markets the ammonia products to industrial and agricu! ltural cu! stomers and the UAN products to agricultural customers. The nitrogen fertilizer business sells ammonia to agricultural and industrial customers. Agricultural customers include distributors such as MFA, United Suppliers, Inc., Brandt Consolidated Inc., Gavilon Fertilizer LLC, Transammonia, Inc., Agri Services of Brunswick, LLC, Interchem and CHS Inc. Industrial customers include Tessenderlo Kerley, Inc., National Cooperative Refinery Association, and Dyno Nobel, Inc. The nitrogen fertilizer business sells UAN products to retailers and distributors.

The Company competes with Agrium, Koch Nitrogen, Potash Corporation and CF Industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier] There were a half a dozen initial public offerings (IPOs) by master limited partnerships in the first half of the year, and all but one are now in the green while one has nearly doubled in value.
  
  The first MLP IPO of 2013 debuted on Jan. 15. USA Compression Partners (NYSE: USAC), which I mentioned in last week’s issue, provides compression services for the oil and gas industry. Units have advanced 36 percent since the IPO, and at the current price yield 7.3 percent.
  
  The day after the USA Compression Partners IPO, CVR Refining (NYSE: CVRR) made its debut.  CVRR was spun off from CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI), and both companies remain majority-owned by Carl Icahn. CVR Refining’s primary assets are two refineries located in Kansas and Oklahoma with a combined processing capacity of approximately 185,000 barrels per day (bpd). These refineries are strategically located near the major Cushing, Oklahoma shipment and storage hub, with easy access to discount ed feedstock from the nearby Permian basin, as well as the Bakken shale and Canadian oil sands.
  
  But refiners have struggled with diminished margins in 2013 because of a much lower Brent-WTI differential. After the recently c! oncluded ! second quarter, CVRR declared a distribution of $1.35 per unit, bringing its per-unit distributions for the first half of the year to $2.93. At the same time, CVR Refining lowered its annual distribution target to a range of $4.10 to $4.80 per unit. This was lower than the outlook issued in March, when it foresaw annual distributions of $5.50 to $6.50. CVRR units slid on the news, and are presently trading slightly below the $25 IPO price. The lower end of the revised forecast implies distributions of $1.17 per unit in the second half of the year, for a forward annualized yield of 10 percent based on the recent $23.50 unit price.
  
  SunCoke Energy Partners (NYSE: SXCP) was the third IPO to debut during a very busy third week of January . SXCP is the first M
• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, petroleum refiner CVR Energy (NYSE: CVI  ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/5-best-quality-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

Canada’s Key LNG Players Form an Alliance

Last week's announcement of Russia's USD400 billion deal to export its natural gas to China has global liquefied natural gas (LNG) players scrambling.

The good news, as we noted last week, is that as staggering as the numbers are, the 30-year contract between Russia's state-controlled OAO Gazprom and the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) will fulfill just 9 percent of projected Chinese gas demand by the time natural gas starts flowing through East Siberian pipelines toward the end of this decade.

And the Chinese are shrewd enough to know that the Russians are only as dependable as current exigencies allow. In other words, they understand the importance of diversification when it comes to meeting the country's critical energy demands. So while Canada's political and regulatory process is proceeding at a glacial pace, the country's relative stability is a welcome complement to its resource riches.

Besides China, the Asia-Pacific region includes other major consumers of natural gas, including Japan, South Korea, India and Malaysia, all of which will need Canadian LNG.

Still, this landmark deal means the LNG market just got even more competitive than it was already. And there's a real possibility that Canada could squander some of its advantages if politics continue to get in the way.

Fortunately, the companies involved in developing Canada's LNG export infrastructure are now even more motivated to do what it takes to expedite the approval process. To that end, the companies behind four of coastal province British Columbia's largest LNG export projects have formed the B.C. LNG Developers Alliance to lobby the government for sensible policymaking, help each other navigate the thorny approval process, and avoid duplicate efforts when it comes to the infrastructure itself.

According to The Globe and Mail, the group's four members are: Petronas-led Pacific No! rthWest LNG, Shell Canada Energy-led LNG Canada, BG Group PLC's Prince Rupert LNG, and the Kitimat LNG project, which is co-owned by the Canadian units of Chevron Corp and Apache Corp.

Three smaller LNG projects are also considering joining the group. The alliance might also team with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers on issues related to drilling for natural gas.

For now, the fledgling group is not quite yet in launch mode. According to a representative from Kitimat LNG, alliance members are still working out the details involving governance, while staff need to be hired, including a leader, who will act as spokesperson for the group, as well as outside consultants.

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The companies hope that by working together they'll be able to more easily secure the imprimatur of key constituencies, such as First Nations groups, environmentalists and labor unions, among others. Outreach efforts will include an LNG literacy program to address the sort of misconceptions that have hindered the approval process for other energy infrastructure projects, such as Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline.

And once they receive the blessing of these various groups, the companies behind these LNG projects could also negotiate with the provincial government as a collective entity, instead of on a one-on-one basis. There's a solid precedent for the collective approach, as it apparently helped facilitate the negotiations that led to the development of Alberta's oil sands.

Additionally, as these projects are approved, the alliance will also work toward ensuring a steady supply of skilled labor is available for both construction and operation, as labor shortages have plagued past ramp-ups in the energy sector.

According to a report issued last year by the B.C. Natural Gas Workforce Strategy Committee, LNG export! s will re! quire more than 100,000 new skilled workers: about 60,000 to build gas liquefaction plants starting in 2016 and 75,000 workers to operate them after they’re built.

Finally, LNG project stakeholders may even broker the sharing of certain pipelines, which would not only save on construction costs, but also help speed the approval process.

Nevertheless, the political and regulatory process remains formidable. And this likely means that only a few of the 14 LNG projects that have filed for export licenses with the country's National Energy Board will ever become operational.

For instance, according to Canada's Business News Network, Calgary-based investment bank Peters & Co Ltd believes that just one LNG export plant will be operational by the end of this decade, with "maybe" two on line by 2025.

AltaCorp Capital Inc notes that Petronas' Pacific NorthWest LNG and Shell Canada Energy's LNG Canada are the two presumptive leaders at the moment, though this could very well change, particularly if the provincial tax and compliance regime becomes so onerous that companies decide it's no longer economic to pursue these projects.

LNG projects must appease the provincial government, as well as the aforementioned constituencies, which enjoy considerable political clout. The B.C. government estimates the LNG industry will create at least 75,000 new jobs in the province, while it hopes taxes and royalties will help fund a CAD100 billion prosperity fund. At the same time, it hopes to allay the concerns of First Nations groups, as well as ensure that these projects are in compliance with stringent environmental regulations.

All of these demands add up. Companies investing in these massive multi-billion-dollar LNG projects must not only enjoy a rate of return that justifies their risk, but Asian buyers of LNG are becoming increasingly adamant that contracted commodities be delivered on time and within budget, as they've seen other developed-world energy project! s hit by ! huge cost overruns.

The energy industry has already balked at the B.C. government's proposed tax of 7 percent on the income from LNG facilities after the recovery of capital costs. That's just the latest tax on top of many others already proposed or in existence. And the resulting thicket of taxes has created extraordinary complexity for which the government still needs to provide clarity. That's not expected to happen until the B.C. legislature's fall session, at the earliest.

That timing is crucial, as Petronas is expected to make its final investment decision by year-end. And while the CEO's tough talk at a Vancouver energy conference last week may be just another negotiating tactic, there's definitely a point at which it will no longer make sense for the company to commit further resources to Canadian LNG.

Canada's federal government certainly is in favor of developing the country's LNG export market. And British Columbia clearly sees significant benefits for the province as well. But the provincial government is going to have to shake off its bureaucratic malaise by moving faster and making more concessions, or it will risk killing the golden goose.

Ex-Microsoft CEO Ballmer to buy Clippers for $2B

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer agreed to pay $2 billion for the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday, which stands to be the most ever paid for an NBA franchise.

The person, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said Shelly Sterling had a signed contract with Ballmer that was sent to the NBA for approval. At least three-quarters of the league's owners must approve the sale.

The person said Donald Sterling does not have to sign off on the agreement because he has been determined to be mentally unfit to make decisions about the family trust, which owns the team with each spouse having a 50% share. The trust spells out provisions and procedures related to the trustees' mental capacity, and an expert determination was made about Donald Sterling that left Shelly Sterling in charge of the trust, the person said.

ARMOUR: $2 billion is much too much

MAGIC: Clippers fans will love Ballmer

Sterling's attorney has maintained that no sale can occur without his approval even though Sterling authorized his wife in writing last week to sell the team. The attorney did not return calls seeking comment late Thursday.

The sale price would shatter the previous record paid for an NBA team, $550 million for the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month. It would be the second-highest price for a sports franchise in North America, trailing only the $2.1 billion paid for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.

Shelly Sterling had pushed to find a buyer before Tuesday, when league owners are scheduled to vote on whether to terminate the Sterlings' ownership. The NBA declined to comment Thursday night.

Silver announced on April 29 that he would force a sale of the Clippers after Sterling was heard in an audio recording making racist remarks about African-Americans in a private conversation with his companion, V. Stiviano. The recording was leaked months later to the gossip site TMZ, promptin! g Silver to ban Sterling for life and fine him $2.5 million.

In a scathing 32-page response to the league, Sterling argued that his comments occurred in a private conversation that was illegally recorded under California law, and that he had not broken any NBA rules.

Ballmer, who was chief executive of Microsoft for 14 years, beat out other bidders that included Los Angeles-based investors Tony Ressler and Steve Karsh and a group that included David Geffen, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Ellison and executives from the Guggenheim Group, the Chicago-based owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ballmer was part of a group headed by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen that bid last year to buy the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle. But Ballmer told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month that he would not want to move the Clippers, should he buy them, because that would hurt the team's value.

Brent Schrotenboer is an investigative and enterprise reporter for USA TODAY Sports. Contact him on Twitter or via e-mail.

GALLERY: Donald Sterling through the years

FacebookTwitterGoogle+LinkedInClippers owner Donald Sterling through the years FullscreenPost to FacebookPosted!

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Longtime Clippers owner Donald Sterling, shown in 2010, has been banned by the NBA. Flip through this gallery for more of Sterling.  Mark J. Terrill, APFullscreen Sterling and former Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley pose for a photo in 1987.  Andrew D. Bernstein, NBAE/Getty ImagesFullscreen A portrait of Sterling, who also is a real estate entrepreneur, as he holds a mug and stands near a deck chair in Malibu, Calif., June 1989.  Rob Lewine, Time & Life Pictures/Getty ImageFullscreen Sterling sits courtside during a game in 2010.  Danny Moloshok, APFullscreen Sterling and LaLa Vazquez sit next to each other at a Clippers-Nuggets playoff game, where Vazquez's future husband, Carmelo Anthony, starred for Denver.  Garrett Ellwood, NBAE/Getty ImagesFullscreen Sterling and former GM Elgin Baylor pose after Baylor, who later sued the team for wrongful termination, won the 2005-06 NBA Executive of the Year Award.  Andrew D. Bernstein, NBAE/Getty ImagesFullscreen Sterling smiles during the first round of the 2012 playoffs, when the Clippers beat the Grizzlies.  Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling and wife Shelly attend a game in November 2013.  Kirby Lee, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling sits courtside at a December 2012 game.  Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling greets fans during December 2012.  Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling takes in player introductions during the 1997 playoffs, when his team lost to the Jazz.  Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling has a laugh with former Clippers star Elton Brand in 2001.  Catherine Steenkeste, NBAE/Getty ImagesFullscreen Sterling talks with former Clippers star Lamar Odom before a 2000 game.  Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling and former NBA commissioner David Stern meet with officials before a Clippers 2012 second-round playoff game vs. the Spurs.  Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling and wife Shelly pose for a photo before a 2012 playoff game.  Andrew D. Bernstein NBAE/Getty ImagesFullscreen Sterling during the 2012 NBA playoffs.  Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY SportsFullscreen Sterling in Nov. 2012.  Mark J. Terrill, APFullscreenLike this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:ReplayA! utoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext Slide

Hot Freight Stocks To Watch Right Now

Hot Freight Stocks To Watch Right Now: Agility Public Warehousing Co KSC (AGLTY)

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

• [By Fiona MacDonald]

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

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-freight-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

Best Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now

Best Consumer Service Stocks To Own Right Now: Kadant Inc (KAI)

Kadant Inc., incorporated in November 1991, is a supplier of equipment used in the global papermaking and paper recycling industries and a manufacturer of granules made from papermaking byproducts. Through its Papermaking Systems segment, the Company develops, manufactures and markets a range of equipment and products for the global papermaking, paper recycling, and process industries. Through its Fiber-based Products business, the Company manufacture and sell granules derived from pulp fiber for use as carriers for agricultural, home lawn and garden, and professional lawn, turf and ornamental applications, as well as for oil and grease absorption. Its Papermaking Systems segment consists of product lines, such as stock-preparation, fluid-handling, doctoring and water-management. On May 27, 2011, its subsidiary, Kadant Johnson Europe B.V., acquired all the interests in m-clean papertech holding AB. In April 2013, it completed the acquisition of Companhia Brasileira de Tecn ologia Industrial (CBTI).

The Company's customer base includes major global paper manufacturers and with its equipment found in most of pulp and paper mills. The Company manufactures its products in nine countries in Europe, North and South America and Asia. It develop, manufacture and market complete custom-engineered systems and equipment, as well as standard individual components, for pulping, de-inking, screening, cleaning, and refining recycled and virgin fibers for preparation for entry into the paper machine. Its principal stock-preparation products include recycling and approach flow systems and Virgin pulping process equipment.

The Company develop, manufacture and market rotary joints, precision unions, steam and condensate systems, components, and controls used primarily in the dryer section of the papermaking process and during ! the production of corrugated boxboard, metals, plastics, rubber, textiles, chemicals and food. Its principal f luid-handling systems include rotary joints, siphons, turbul! ator bars, and engineered steam and condensate systems. Its mechanical devices, used with rotating shafts, allow the transfer of pressurized fluid from a stationary source into and out of rotating machinery for heating, cooling, or the transfer of fluid power. Its devices, installed primarily inside the rotating cylinders of paper machines, are used to remove condensate from the drying cylinders through rotary joints located on either end of the cylinder. Its steel or stainless steel axial bars, installed on the inside of cylinders, are used to induce turbulence in the condensate layer to improve the uniformity and rate of heat transfer through the cylinders. Its steam systems control the flow of steam from the boiler to the paper drying cylinders, collect condensed steam, and return it to the boiler to improve energy efficiency during the paper drying process.

The Company develop, manufacture and market a range of doctoring systems and related consumables that continuously clean rolls to keep paper machines running efficiently; doctor blades made of a variety of materials to perform functions, including cleaning, creping, web removal, flaking, and the application of coatings, and profiling systems that control moisture, Web curl, and gloss during paper converting. Its principal doctoring products include doctor systems and holders, profiling systems and doctor blades. Its doctor systems clean papermaking rolls to maintain the operation of paper machines and other equipment by placing a blade against the roll at a constant and uniform pressure. A doctor system consists of the structure supporting the blade and the blade holder. It offers profiling systems that control moisture, Web curl, and gloss during paper converting. It manufacture doctor and scraper blades made of a variety of materials, including metal, bi-met! al, or sy! nthetic materials that perform a variety of functions, including cleaning, creping, Web removal, flaking and the application of coatings.

The Company devel! ops, manu! facture and markets water-management systems and equipment used to continuously clean paper machine fabrics and rolls, drain water from pulp mixtures, form the sheet or Web, and filter the process water for reuse. Its principal water-management systems include shower and fabric-conditioning systems, formation systems, and water-filtration systems. Its shower and fabric-conditioning systems assist in the removal of contaminants that collect on paper machine fabrics used to convey the paper Web through the forming, pressing and drying sections of the paper machine. A typical paper machine has between 3 and 12 fabrics. It supplies structures that drain, purify, and recycle process water from the pulp mixture during paper sheet and Web formation. It offer a variety of filtration systems and strainers that remove contaminants from process water before reuse and recover reusable fiber for recycling back into the pulp mixture.

The Company competes with Voith Paper GmbH , Metso Corporation, Maschinenfabrik Andritz AG, Deublin Company, Barco Company, Christian Maier GmbH & Co. KG, Duff-Norton Company, Joh. Clouth GmbH & Co. KG, Bonetti, S.p.A., Metso Corporation and IBS-Paper Performance Group.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-consumer-service-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Hot Cheap Companies To Invest In 2015

Hot Cheap Companies To Invest In 2015: Hewlett-Packard Company(HPQ)

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

Advis! ors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) is adding to tech's gains with a 1.8% rise, but the company's victory today is a strange one. Rival PC maker Lenovo leaped past HP as the top PC-maker in the world today -- normally not a cause for celebration from investors, and HP leadership certainly didn't take it as a good thing. However, HP desperately needs to pivot away from the PC market, and while the firm is still reliant on the industry for sales, other high-growth areas will chart HP's future. It's unusual for investors to cheer on bad news, but for HP, more motivation to turn away from the PC market is good.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-cheap-companies-to-invest-in-2015.html

Celgene: Willing to ‘Sacrifice the Stock’ to Protect Revlimid?

Celgene (CELG) has been embroiled in a patent suit over its Revlimid, which went to a so-called Markman hearing, which is used to define key terms in patents, on May 5. The US District Court for New Jersey released its decision today, earlier than many had expected–and it looks to be good news for Celgene, whose shares have gained.

Citigroup’s Yaron Werber explains the implications of today’s Markman decision:

While the court agreed with Natco on the disputed R/S terms in the '230 and '554 patents, these patents expire in '16 before Celgene's '19 compound and '23/'24 method patents which still provide protection. Importantly the court agreed with Celgene's definition of a hemihydrate as described in the '800 patent which expires in '27. While the court narrowed the scope of the '598 and '357 patents which expire in '24/'25 as limited to anhydrous Form A, the court agreed with Celgene's definition in the '219 polymorph patent which expires in '24 and protects other anhydrous polymorphs. With the '23 method patents settled before the Markman hearing and no longer at play, earliest Natco could launch generic lenalidomide would be post '23 assuming they can get around the '24/'25 Form A and '27 hemihydrate polymorph patents. Thus, we continue to believe Celgene has a strong case.

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In our view and from speaking with mgt, we don’t believe Celgene will likely settle quickly with Natco. Celgene’s management believes that they have a strong case and as a result would look to settle only if they get a good deal. While Celgene’s management does care about the stock price, we believe that they are more concerned about protecting Revlimid and maximizing the value of the franchise over the long-term. Hence, they may be willing to sacrifice the stock over the near-term especially given that they have a strong hand in the patent case. In our view, Celgene will only settle if they can get a 2024/25 protection.

Today, at least, it doesn’t look like Celgene will have to sacrifice anything. Shares of Celgene have gained 2.6% to $153.97 at 2:30 p.m. today, a day which has been good for biotech stocks generally. Gilead Sciences (GILD) has risen 1.4% to $82.03, Biogen Idec (BIIB) has advanced 2.2% to $306.38 and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) is up 2.6% at $305.89.

The Least Candid Companies

While many investors may think corporate communication is unclear, some companies are far more candid than others. In fact, According to corporate communications consulting firm Rittenhouse Rankings, clear and transparent language in investor letters is indicative of reliable performance.

Generally, investors assess a company's performance by studying key financial metrics. But another useful strategy, according to Rittenhouse Rankings, is to study the language rather, than just looking at the numbers. By reviewing the language in the letters to shareholders, Rittenhouse Rankings evaluates how transparent a company is with the public. According to the report, some companies, including Cigna and Hewlett-Packard, have released letters that are confusing and lack details that would allow shareholders to better understand the company.

Click here to the 10 least candid companies

Rittenhouse Rankings reviews annual letters to shareholders in order to assess candor and FOG, or “fact-deficient, obfuscating, generalities.” Companies benefit in the study by demonstrating their candor and are penalized for including so-called FOG language. FOG language provides little, unclear or non-specific information about a business, and it is usually jargon.

In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Rittenhouse Rankings President Laura Rittenhouse said that companies that are less transparent with their shareholders may have problems communicating candidly within the company as well. “If the CEO is communicating to the owners with this degree of obfuscation, it's likely [he or she is] communicating this way internally," explained Rittenhouse. As a result, employees do not know what to do, she said.

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The least candid companies not only produced a large amount of unspecific jargon in their shareholder letters, but, notably, they also often failed to demonstrate leadership and vision. The average company in the top 10 scored more than 3.5 times as many points in the category than the bottom 10. Top companies also received nearly three times as many points for leadership than the least candid companies.

Rittenhouse Rankings' data do not take into account several other documents that might be used as a means for analyzing candor. Among these are SEC filings and public comments by senior management. However, the shareholder letter in a public company's annual report is an important opportunity for the CEO to articulate to all investors the most important highlights of past, present and future operations of the company. If this letter is deficient, it may point to a flaw in management's ability to disclose the information most critical to shareholders.

In order to assess candor and FOG, the 2012 Rittenhouse Rankings Culture & Culture Survey reviews annual letters to shareholders written by the CEO. Companies then receive points for demonstrating accountability, leadership, strategy and vision, among other factors. These points are then totaled and compared to the amount of FOG — or "fact-deficient, obfuscating, generalities" — these letters contain. Companies with the highest ratios of FOG to statements that show candor receive the lowest grades. The shareholder letters used by Rittenhouse Rankings for all the 10 least candid companies are from 2011. The companies included in the survey initially were selected in 2000, based on four criteria: capitalization, financial performance, Fortune 500 reputation and industry representation. Companies are replaced in the study if they cease to exist, or do not publish a shareholder letter.

Best Valued Companies To Own In Right Now

Best Valued Companies To Own In Right Now: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc.! in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT): Tuesday close: $107.15. RSI: 71.

  Caterpillar is up 18 percent for the year and up 24.3 percent since early February.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Deere have dropped 0.7% to $93.65 at 3:49 p.m. today, while Agco (AGCO) has dipped 0.1% to $55.12, Toro (TTC) has gained 1% to $65.17 and Caterpillar (CAT) has risen 1.2% to $106.27.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Earnings season will continue this week for the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) , with eight of its components reporting earnings between Tuesday and Thursday. But if you don't have the time to look at all of those earnings reports, the two stocks you shouldn't miss are Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) and AT&T (NYSE: T  ) , whose results will be especially important in setting the direction of the Dow and the stock market in general.

• [By Charley Blaine]

  But keep this in mind: Thirteen of the 30 Dow stocks are still ahead on the year, led by Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), both up about 11.7 percent. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Visa (NYSE: V) and aerospace giant Boeing (NYSE: BA) are the laggards -- down 13.8 percent, 11.7 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively. More than 230 S&P 500 stocks are still ahead on the year.

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

Will This Idea From Amazon Prove Beneficial for Investors?

Recently Amazon (AMZN) announced that the company is expanding its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service to Los Angeles. The service, which has existed for a few years solely in Seattle, carries an annual fee of $299 and free shipping on qualified orders. Amazon has been slow to expand the service, learning from the mistakes of failed grocery delivery companies of the past. Amazon plans to expand the service to San Francisco later this year to around 20 more markets by the end of 2014.

What does this expansion mean for Amazon, and what does it mean for companies like Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, and Costco?

What Amazon Fresh means for Amazon

Amazon's quest to grow revenue and ignore profits continues. The grocery delivery business is a graveyard of failed companies, with margins razor-thin and competition fierce. But if any company is capable of delivering groceries in a sustainable way, it's Amazon.

Amazon has been extremely slow and cautious with the expansion of Amazon Fresh, largely due to the tough economics of the business. In the short-term and intermediate-term Amazon Fresh will have little effect on the company's results due to the limited footprint, but if new markets prove successful Amazon Fresh could eventually bring in billions of dollars in revenue.

The problem is that Amazon Fresh only makes sense for people who can afford to not only pay more for their groceries but also the $299 annual fee. This excludes, I think, a significant fraction of the American population. And considering that Amazon Fresh only makes sense in densely populated areas, there's a limit on how expansive the service can become.

Just running a grocery delivery service at break-even is extremely difficult, so it's unlikely that Amazon will derive much profit at all from Amazon Fresh, now or in the future. The return on investment here is terrible, and investors should be concerned.

What Amazon Fresh means for Wal-Mart

I think it's safe to say that people who grocery shop at Wal-Mart do so because of the low prices. Wal-Mart uses its grocery business to give shoppers a reason to visit its stores more often, leading them to buy other higher-margin goods. Wal-Mart has taken a big chunk of the grocery market from traditional grocery stores and is unlikely to lose that share to a grocery delivery service.

Many people can't afford to pay $299 for access to a grocery delivery service which then costs more than brick and mortar groceries. There is likely no overlap at all between Wal-Mart shoppers and possible Amazon Fresh members, so even if Amazon Fresh becomes widespread Wal-Mart will not be affected.

What Amazon Fresh means for Whole Foods

Whole Foods carries the most risk of losing customers to Amazon Fresh, given its high prices and upscale products. But going to Whole Foods is an experience, one which many shoppers wouldn't want to give up for convenience. In Austin, TX, where the flagship Whole Foods store is located, Whole Foods is a tourist destination. Many people go there for lunch at the cafe or get take-out from the buffet-style prepared food selection. Calling Whole Foods a grocery store is a vast understatement.

Whole Foods could lose some customers to Amazon Fresh, but I think the losses will be minimal. The idea of having meat left outside your door is a little strange, and most people prefer to choose their own produce at the store. Grocery delivery may be appealing for some types of items, but I doubt Whole Foods will be greatly affected.

What Amazon Fresh means for Costco

Costco's business model is vastly different than its competitors. The company charges an annual membership, about $55, and then prices its products around 15% above cost. Almost all of Costco's profits come from the membership fees, and this allows Costco to have extremely low prices.

You could argue that Amazon is attempting the same type of model with Amazon Fresh, but that would require the service itself to at least break even. This is unlikely given the delivery overhead, something that Costco doesn't have to deal with.

To some degree Costco is an experience, although not to the same degree as Whole Foods. People like shopping at Costco, something that is rarely said of traditional supermarkets. The low prices pay for the membership very quickly, and socially conscious shoppers appreciate that Costco pays high wages to its employees. And with a high membership renewal rate a Costco membership is extremely sticky. Amazon Fresh will not put a dent in the Costco Juggernaut.

The bottom line

Grocery delivery is a strange business. The market seems small, as people who shop at traditional grocery stores or chains like Wal-Mart care more about price than convenience. The target market appears to be the higher-end shopper who frequents Whole Foods or privately held Trader Joe's, but it's questionable whether or not convenience would trump the benefits that these types of stores offer. And environmentally it seems that door-to-door grocery delivery has a much larger carbon footprint than other options, potentially turning people off from the service. I don't think that Amazon Fresh will revolutionize anything, instead being just another profitless business for Amazon.

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Hot Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now

Hot Retail Companies To Watch In Right Now: Burberry Group PLC (BURBY)

Burberry Group plc (Burberry) is a holding company. The Company designs and sources luxury apparel and accessories, selling through a diversified network of retail (including digital), wholesale and licensing channels worldwide. The Company's Retail/wholesale channel is engaged in the sale of luxury goods through Burberry mainline stores, concessions, outlets and digital commerce, as well as Burberry franchisees, prestige department stores globally and multi-brand specialty accounts. The Company's retail channel includes approximately 206 mainline stores, 214 concessions within department stores, digital commerce and 49 outlets. The Company's wholesale channel includes sales to department stores, multi-brand specialty accounts, Travel Retail and franchisees who operates approximately 65 Burberry stores. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Rambourg’s favored luxury stocks include Burberry (BURBY), Richemont, Coach (COH)…and Tiffany, whose “higher-end repositioning, along with lower raw material prices, should continue to support the stock,” he says.

• [By Reuters]

  Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBurberry Group CEO Angela Ahrendts. LONDON -- Christopher Bailey, the designer credited with restoring the cachet to fashion brand Burberry, is to become chief executive next year when long-standing boss Angela Ahrendts will move to Apple. The 157-year-old British fashion house, famous for its camel, red and black check pattern, said Tuesday that Ahrendts would step down by mid-2014 after which Bailey would combine his role as chief creative officer with chief executive. News the 42-year-old Yorkshireman would hold both positions sparked concern among some analysts that he might be taking on too much, and sent shares in the group down 6 percent in early tr! ading, valuing the business at 6.6 billion pounds. "There will undoubtedly be relief that Mr. Bailey, the driving force behind the brand for the last 12 years, is staying," Morgan Stanley (MS) said in a note to clients. "But we anticipate some investor concern about combining the chief creative officer and CEO roles, which are both time consuming and require very different skill sets." Ahrendts, who has been Burberry (BURBY) boss for eight years, during which time its share price has soared about 250 percent, will take up a newly created position at Apple as a senior vice president with oversight of retail and online stores. She will report directly to CEO Tim Cook. Ahrendts will be looking to do better than the last chief executive of a British company who left London to join Apple (AAPL) -- John Browett who quit Dixons to lead the iPad and iPhone maker's global retail expansion in 2012. He left six months later. Bailey joined Burberry in 2001 and has held the major creative role for six years, helping to rebuild the group after it became a victim of its own success in the 1990s when its trademark pattern was embraced by the mass market, losing its appeal to its core wealthy clientele. Under Ahrendts and Bailey, the group has refocused on the luxury market, inc

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-retail-companies-to-watch-in-right-now.html

4 Big Stocks to Trade (or Not)

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

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

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

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

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

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

These "most active" names are the most heavily-traded names on the market -- and often, uber-active names have some sort of a technical or fundamental catalyst driving investors' attention on shares. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.

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

Yoku Tudou

Nearest Resistance: $20

Nearest Support: N/A

Catalyst: Earnings

Yoku Tudou (YOKU) is seeing big volume this afternoon, after the Chinese online video website posted its first quarter numbers for investors. YOKU posted a 14-cent loss for the quarter, beating Wall Street's estimates. But the proof is in the pudding with earnings reactions, and so today's 8.6% selloff is a pretty good indication that investors aren't satisfied with the less worse loss.

YOKU has been a breakdown machine for the last several months, failing to catch a bid at several successive price floors. With today's breakdown violating yet another key support level at $20, this stock is a falling knife. It's best avoided for longs.

Marvell Technology Group

Nearest Resistance: $16.30

Nearest Support: $15

Catalyst: Earnings

Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) posted a strong set of earnings stats after the bell yesterday, a big factor in today's big volume session for the semiconductor stock. MRVL earned 27 cents last quarter, beating revenue expectations by a nickel. Next quarter, the firm expects to earn between 26 and 30 cents per share, results that come in at the top of analysts' expected range.

MRVL is mostly flat following its earnings call. Likewise, shares have been consolidating in a flat range for the last several months -- but that changes if buyers can muster the strength to push shares above $16.30 resistance. That's the next barrier that needs to get cleared for more upside in MRVL in 2014.

TiVO

Nearest Resistance: $13

Nearest Support: $12.25

Catalyst: Earnings

DVR maker TiVO (TIVO) is up modestly this afternoon, following the firm's fiscal first quarter 2015 numbers. TIVO earned 7 cents last quarter, beating expectations by a penny. Likewise, the firm posted subscriber numbers of 4.5 million, growth that eclipses the record the firm set back in 2006. That's a promising development for a firm that's been trying to innovate its way out of a long-term slump – and we're seeing that shift play out in shares this week.

TIVO broke out of a rectangle consolidation today, pushing its way above $12.25 -- now that level is acting as support. With no upside resistance until $13, now looks like a solid time to be a buyer in TIVO.

FireEye

Nearest Resistance: $40

Nearest Support: $25.50

Catalyst: Analyst Upgrade

2014 has been challenging for computer security firm FireEye (FEYE) -- after rallying hard at the start of this year, the mid-cap name made an about-face at the beginning of March, dropping like a stone. But shares caught a bid again early last week, and now an analyst upgrade from Barclays is tacking some upside onto this stock. A rounding bottom setup triggered earlier in the week, but it's only breaking the downtrend in shares today. With buyers in control of shares again, now looks like a good time to be a buyer -- just keep a tight stop in place.

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



-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS:

>>3 Stocks Spiking on Big Volume

>>5 Airline Stocks to Trade for Flyaway Gains in 2014

>>3 Stocks Under $10 Triggering Breakouts

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

Ross Stores: Don’t Blame JC Penney

After volatile trading this morning following its earnings release, Ross Stores (ROST) has headed higher this afternoon.

Ross Stores reported a first-quarter profit of $1.15 per share, meeting analyst forecasts, though sales of $2.68 billion missed forecasts for $2.69 billion. Same-store sales rose 1%, which was at the bottom of the range Ross Stores had provided earlier. Ross also raised the low-end of its full year guidance.

MKM Partners‘ Patrick McKeever says don’t blame JC Penney (JCP) for Ross Stores’ less-than-blockbuster results:

Same-store sales increased 1%, which is commendable in the context of all the negative comps across the apparel space, but it was a bit disappointing for Ross, which has shown greater outperformance in recent years. While there’s some concern about JC Penney’s return to sales growth and increased promotional intensity, we do not believe this has been a significant factor for Ross, just as we don’t think Ross saw much benefit during JC Penney’s near implosion. Accordingly, we view this, at most, as a marginal issue.

Cowen’s John Kernan and Jerry Gray think the second half of the year will be better for Ross as it takes advantage of weakness at Sears (SHLD):

We see Ross Stores’ same-store sales potentially accelerating into the 2H of 2014 as the retail traffic environment normalizes and inventory overhangs decline at competitors. Aside from JCPenney’s one quarter of resurgence, the mid-tier department store channel remains a share donator, and we see weakness and store closures at Sears and Kmart as market share and real estate opportunity for Ross Stores. We note Sears and K-Mart have a $9.5B apparel and soft goods business.

Shares of Ross Stores have gained 1% to $68.77 today after dropping as much as 0.4% earlier this morning. Sears has dropped 1.3% to $37.59, while JC Penney has gained 1% to $8.96.

Sears ‘Significantly Overvalued,’ Credit Suisse Says

Sears (SHLD) is sagging once again after the shrinking retailer reported financial results this morning.

Associated Press

Sears reported a loss of $402 million, much bigger than the year-ago loss of $279 million, while revenue declined to $7.88 billion, which beat analyst forecasts of $7.71 billion. Gross margins fell to 23.2% from 25.5%, while same-store sales rose 0.2%.

Credit Suisse analysts Gary Balter and Andrew Kinder tries to give Sears the benefit of the doubt:

Best Gas Stocks To Own Right Now

Some investors…believe that we are too negative on Sears Holdings’ outlook…So let's accept their math and take the low end of their assumed improvements. Based on that, we would add $1 billion to EBITDA from initiatives, which adding to trailing twelve months would give them positive EBITDA (yes you read that right) of $300 million. Here is the problem. The bulls on Sears argue for the most part that the value is in the real estate and brand names. If Mr. Lampert is trying to make it as an operator we should value them as such, but that’s a bigger problem. Using a positive $300 million EBITDA, that would imply a multiple of 29.5x lets say in 2017 to give them time for the turnaround. That would place their multiple well above anything we cover, including our best growth names such as The Container Store (TCS), Tractor Supply (TSCO)…Lumber Liquidators (LL), and CarMax (KMX). So if one accepts the turnaround and we give them an eight multiple of EBITDA three years out, a somewhat generous multiple for a non-top-line grower, then the value of the equity would be negative. H'mmm. Maybe the company should explore the asset sale. Said another way, this remains a significantly overvalued stock and while we are not moving to a negative target price, we maintain our $20 price target.

Shares of Sears have dropped 3.9% to $5.13 at 10:14 a.m., while the Container Store has gained 0.8% to $25.60, Tractor Supply has ticked up 0.2% to $64.07, Lumber Liquidators has risen 1.6% to $80.77 and CarMax is up 0.4% at $44.53.

Pound flirts with $1.69; dollar up vs. yen, euro

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)—The dollar fell against the British pound Wednesday after minutes from the Bank of England and Federal Reserve latest meetings showed both central banks are examining ways to eventually tighten monetary policy, with expectations still for the U.K. bank to make the first move.

Minutes from the Bank of England's latest meeting suggested some bank officials are becoming more comfortable with the prospect of raising interest rates. Across the pond, Federal Reserve officials discussed "several approaches" for how to eventually tighten monetary policy but made no decision on what tools to use, according to the minutes from its April meeting.

"Our view has not changed. I would expect that the Bank of England will raise rates ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve," said Lennon Sweeting, corporate dealer and strategist at USForex. The pound could make a run on $1.70 "very soon," he added.

Getty Images Views are diverging between Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney, above, and other officials about rate increases.

The pound (GBPUSD)  rose to $1.6899 from $1.6842 late Tuesday. That's the highest level since May 8, according to FactSet. Read: Best stocks to play a thriving U.K. economy

Minutes from the Bank of England's May meeting showed diverging views among Monetary Policy Committee officials about the amount of slack left in the labor market and the best way to eventually hike rates. The minutes added to speculation that the strengthening U.K. economy could force the BOE to raise interest rates sooner than it currently expects, which would make the pound more attractive to investors.

"The minutes hint at a divided committee, with some MPC members wanting to hike sooner than the expected Q2 2015 in order to be able to hike more gradually," said Greg Anderson, global head of foreign-exchange strategy, in a note.

10 Best Internet Stocks To Own Right Now

/quotes/zigman/4867886/realtime/sampled GBPUSD 1.6902, +0.0063, +0.3753% British pound rallies this year

UK retail sales in April rose 1.3% from March and jumped 6.9% from a year ago, the biggest annual increase in nearly a decade.

The dollar (USDJPY)  rose to 101.44 yen from ¥101.29 late Tuesday, reversing an earlier loss. The dollar fell as low as ¥100.82 earlier Wednesday after the Bank of Japan made no change to monetary policy . Japan's trade deficit narrowed in April.

Treasury yields rose Wednesday.

The ICE dollar index (DXY) , a measure of the currency's strength against six rivals, rose to 80.086 from 80.036 late in the prior session. The WSJ Dollar Index (XX:BUXX) , an alternate gauge, was at 72.99 versus 72.95.

The euro (EURUSD)  fell to $1.3683 from $1.3703 late Tuesday.

The Australian dollar (AUDUSD)  moved down to 92.34 U.S. cents from 92.51 U.S. cents late Tuesday. The Aussie lost ground Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting minutes showed that officials think accommodative policy will remain appropriate "for some time yet," making a rate hike seem unlikely in the near term.

More must-reads on MarketWatch:

Volatility in the currency market is at an all-time low

How China may be dragging down the U.S. dollar

Treasury's Jack Lew talks yuan, slowing China economy

Anadarko Petroleum: That Was Quick

It wasn’t that long ago (just over five months to be exact) that shares of Anadarko Petroleum (APC) plunged as potential damages for Tronox liabilities swelled. Now those shares are looking too pricey for Barclays following Anadarko’s big gain since resolving that dispute.

AP

Barclays’ Thomas Driscoll explains why Anadarko’s valuation has enough concerns for him to slash its rating to Equal Weight from Overweight:

We believe Anadarko Petroleum offers investors a better-than-average portfolio with attractive high-potential deepwater program and solid onshore assets, particularly the dominant position in the Niobrara and an exciting position in the emerging Delaware Basin. When you also consider the track record of solid deep water exploration success, the willingness to monetize assets, the large discovery in Mozambique and the $10-billion interest in GPM it is easy to understand investor enthusiasm. When we contrast Anadarko Petroleum’s delivery in comparison to several of its better positioned peers we find better value elsewhere in the group. We believe Continental Resources (CLR), EOG Resources (EOG) and Noble Energy (NBL) are all likely to grow twice as fast as Anadarko Petroleum – yet there is no appreciable premium in any of those shares. Debt-adjusted cash-flow multiples using 2015 estimates are 7.6x, 6.1x and 7.2x for the peers Continental Resources, EOG Resources, and Noble Energy, respectively, as compared to Anadarko Petroleum’s 7.3x.

Devon Energy (DVN) is a better bet, says Driscoll, who upgraded its shares to Overweight from Equal Weight. He explains why:

Devon has made decisive steps to high-grade its portfolio in recent months, significantly improving its near-term investment opportunity set. The two more important changes since Devon's portfolio have been the 1) $6bn Eagleford acquisition and 2) the dramatic expansion of drilling inventory in the Delaware Basin (risked remaining inventory now stands at 5000+ locations and will likely continue to grow as Devon and the industry de-risk the Wolfcamp opportunity. These two oil assets join the Canadian heavy oil assets to provide a trio of high-return oil opportunities and the three areas will account for 70% of total E&P capital spending this year. On the other hand, the 50%+ reduction in spending in the Barnett/Cana/Mississippian plays does not, we believe, reflect a degradation of returns in those areas, but rather stiffer competition for capital within Devon's portfolio. The announced sale of the Canadian conventional properties for $2.8 billion strengthens the balance sheet along with monetizing an asset that did not compete for capital in the portfolio.

Shares of Anadarko Petroleum have dropped 1.2% to $98.87 at 2:46 p.m. today, while Continental Resources has gained 0.4% to $134.48, EOG Resources has fallen 0.5% to $101.77, Noble Energy has dipped 0.3% to $69.34 and Devon Energy has jumped 1.1% to $72.04.

Orion Launches Open-Source Client Portal

Orion announced in early May that it has launched a redesigned client portal that uses open-source code so other providers can build their own pages to integrate into the site.

“We’ve had a client portal since we started our business years ago. As web technology evolved, we felt like, ‘Hey, depending on the size of the tablet or the device that somebody is looking at this on, we need to make the design and menu systems responsive,” Eric Clarke, president and founder of Orion, told ThinkAdvisor on Wednesday.

“All those things are nice, but we have a lot of other systems that we interact with here at Orion to help our advisors be efficient. What we thought would be really neat would be to open up the code for the portal to outside integration partners to add additional pages and contribute back to the project.”

Clarke said Orion has reached out to providers like InStream, MoneyGuidePro and Finance Logix to contribute code for the project. So far, more than 40 firms have been set up to access GitHub, where the portal code is stored, to build integrated pages for the portal.

“GitHub allows us to share that code and information, share the project with our vendor partners and allow them to come back in and contribute their own pages,” Clark said. “The development effort really has become more of a community effort. We’re really excited in the coming months to see the integration pages that our partners provide.”

The portal integrates account aggregation from Intuit, which allows clients to add data on accounts not managed by their advisor.

“They enter their user name and password and hit enter, and those accounts will be added to the list of accounts,” Clarke said.

When clients log in to the portal, they’ll see their accounts listed on the left-hand side of the screen with a summary of their holdings. Clients can view their assets by category or class, and can view the underlying holdings that make up those classes.

“In addition to seeing everything in the household, they can select one of the [individual] accounts and the screen will refresh.” Advisors can set up household accounts that include all the individual accounts for each member, or “if they have a household that has a unique situation and they want to keep things separate, they can set up two households,” Clarke said.

“The portfolio tab allows the client to come in, interact with their portfolio, get positions, performance, cost basis and transaction-level information without having to run a report. It’s just an interactive, on-screen experience.”

Clients can also link their accounts on Dropbox or Box so they can share documents with their advisor easily, Clarke said.

Since launching the portal on May 1, more than 500 advisors have logged in for training sessiona, Clarke said. “Firms are out there beta testing it right now before they go live with their client accounts.”

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