Many of us may have a small share of the country's largest banks in our wallet: a debit card, a credit card, or for the old-schoolers, a checkbook.
And each month we get a statement showing our account activity, not the banks'...
That's because there's a staggering number that the banks will never show you, or even reference, on the statement...
Yet it directly impacts what you're paying them... this month... and for years to come.
It's the staggering amount of fines that they've paid out for a litany of misdeeds.
They're all here, in one place. You'll be shocked to see how colossal they are...
The "Gang of Six" Are the Biggest OffendersThe sheer number of abuses the six largest banks in the U.S. have committed - and I'm talking about the giant too-big-to-fail, too-big-to-jail banks - JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley - is enormous.
But not as enormous as the sums they've paid in fines and settlements...
Top 10 Heal Care Companies To Watch 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 Monica Gerson]
First Majestic Silver (NYSE: AG) is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.10 per share on revenue of $63.35 million.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.52 per share.
- [By Doug Ehrman]
In terms of individual companies, there are several good choices, but these can behave very differently. Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS ) , for example, missed revenue expectations and beat earnings expectations in its last earnings release. But despite the beat, EPS shrank considerably from a year earlier on a GAAP basis. The stock has been fairly flat ever since. Conversely, First Majestic (NYSE: AG ) reported strong revenue growth and a small bump in profits, sending the stock higher since the announcement. First Majestic reported increased cash costs and tightening margins, largely driven by lower silver prices. Each of these companies faces pressure from increasing production costs and environmental concerns.
- [By Doug Ehrman]
It is no secret that precious metals companies have been taking a pounding for some time now. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD ) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV ) , the gold and silver ETFs, have been hard hit and operating companies like First Majestic (NYSE: AG ) and Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX ) have been hit even harder. Through all of these struggles, and in some cases because of them, one precious metals company continues to look attractive for the long term: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW ) .
Best Gold Companies To Buy For 2014: 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 Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Basic Materials shares gained around 0.24 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Harmony Gold Mining Company (NYSE: HMY), up 4.1 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), up 3.8 percent. In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.36 percent. - [By Garrett Cook]
Monday morning, the basic materials sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from AK Steel Holding (NYSE: AKS) and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC).
Best Gold Companies To Buy For 2014: CME Group Inc.(CME)
CME Group Inc. operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX regulatory exchanges worldwide. The company provides a range of products available across various asset classes, including futures and options on interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, foreign exchange, weather, and real estate. It offers various products that provide a means of hedging, speculation, and asset allocation relating to the risks associated with interest rate sensitive instruments, equity ownership, changes in the value of foreign currency, credit risk, and changes in the prices of commodities. CME Group owns and operates clearing house, CME Clearing, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and counter derivatives transactions; and also engages in real estate operations. Its primary trade execution facilities consist of its CME Globex electronic trading platform and open outcry trading floors, as well as privately negotiated transact ions that are cleared and settled through its clearing house. In addition, the company offers market data services comprising live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as involves in index services business. CME Group?s customer base includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, and governments. It has strategic partnerships with BM&FBOVESPA S.A., Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Singapore Exchange Limited, Green Exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V., as well as joint venture agreement with Dow Jones & Company. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) was maintained as Buy, but earnings estimates were cut and the price target was cut to $13 from $15, by Sterne Agee. Wedbush downgraded it to Neutral from Buy after the warning.
- [By Holly LaFon]
Within equities, we believe that most companies will be negatively impacted by rising interest rates, but we did identify some exceptions. For example, the CME Group is a Chicago-based operator of numerous trading exchanges including a large volume of 铿�ed income futures contracts. Higher interest rates and greater interest rate volatility tends to be a catalyst for greater trading volumes, and hence, greater revenue for CME (CME). The company was our top-performing U.S. investment in the last three months with gains of nearly 30%. The insurance industry is another area that we believe can offer resilience in the face of rising rates. This quarter we added to our positions in Manulife Financial in Canada, AmTrust Financial in the U.S., and introduced U.K.-based Aon to our international portfolio. Many of our insurance companies enjoyed strong performance this quarter and helped offset the declines suffered within the 铿�ed income portfolio.
- [By Jayson Derrick]
CME Group (NYSE: CME) has agreed to acquire GFI Group (NASDAQ: GFIG) for $4.55 per share and will immediately sell it's wholesale brokerage and clearing business back to a group led by GFI Management. CME will retain GFI Group's Trayport which provides trading software in the European energy markets as well as FENICS, a provider of price discovery, analytics, risk-management and workflow connectivity services for over the counter foreign exchange options markets. Shares of CME Group gained 0.44 percent, closing at $75.83 while shares of GFI Group surged to new 52-week highs of $4.50 before closing the day at $4.47, up 43.73 percent.
- [By Lee Jackson]
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its Globex electronic trading platform and its trading facilities in New York and Chicago. The company also operates CME clearing, one of the world’s leading central counterparty clearing providers, which offers clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions. Investors are paid a solid 2.5% dividend. The consensus price target is $81.54. CME closed Wednesday at $75.71.
Best Gold Companies To Buy For 2014: Australian Dollar(AU)
AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
I think the answer to this is yes, but it's definitely going to need some help from gold spot prices, and it'll need to formulate solidly structured contracts with its labor force in Africa. Last year, AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU ) was forced to come to a pay raise agreement with some 10,000 striking workers, after a strike that completely closed its TauTona and Mponeng mines for months. AngloGold understands that higher labor costs are never welcomed from a business perspective, but the alternative of mine closures is even worse.
- [By Holly LaFon]
The second largest market cap company, at $11.22 billion, is Anglogold Ashanti Ltd. (AU). Its afternoon stock price of $29.15 is within 5% of its three-year low, and has experienced a more significant drop than Newmont ��it is down 44.9% from its high price of $52.86 a share.
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