5 Best Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- There isn't a day that goes by on Wall Street when certain stocks trading for $10 per share or less don't experience massive spikes higher. Traders savvy enough to follow the low-priced names and trade them with discipline and sound risk management are banking ridiculous coin on a regular basis.

Just take a look at some of the hot movers in the under-$10 complex from Thursday, including Tianli Agritech (OINK), which is skyrocketing higher by 31%; Ascent Solar Technologies (ASTI), which is soaring by 21%; Houston American Energy (HUSA), which is ripping higher by 12.7%; and Golden Star Resources (GSS), which is spiking higher by 11.6%. You don't even have to catch the entire move in lower-priced stocks such as these to make outsized returns when trading.

One low-priced stock that recently soared higher was alternative energy player China Ming Yang Wind Power (MY), which I highlighted in Sept. 19's "5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar" at $1.74 per share. I mentioned in that piece that shares of China Ming Yang Wind Power were uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $1.48 to its recent high of $1.92 a share. That move was quickly pushing shares of MY within range of triggering a major breakout trade above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.78 to $1.92 a share.

5 Best Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: QEP Midstream Partners LP (QEPM)

QEP Midstream Partners, LP (QEP), incorporated on April 19, 2013, is a limited partnership formed by QEP Resources, Inc. to owns, operates, acquires and develops midstream energy assets. The Company�� primary assets consist of ownership interests in four gathering systems and two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-regulated pipelines, through which it provides natural gas and crude oil gathering and transportation services. The Company�� assets are located in, or are within close proximity to, the Green River Basin located in Wyoming and Colorado, the Uinta Basin located in eastern Utah, and the portion of the Williston Basin located in North Dakota. As of December 31, 2012, the Company�� gathering systems had 1,475 miles of pipeline and an average gross throughput of 1.8 million british thermal units per hour of natural gas and 18,224 barrels of crude oil.

Green River System

The Company�� Green River System, located in western Wyoming, consists of three complimentary systems owned by Green River Gathering, Rendezvous Gas and Rendezvous Pipeline and gathers natural gas production from the Pinedale, Jonah and Moxa Arch fields. In addition to gathering natural gas, the system also gathers and stabilizes crude oil production from the Pinedale Field, transports the stabilized crude oil to an interstate pipeline interconnect, and gathers and handles produced and flowback water associated with well completion activities in the Pinedale Field. The Green River Gathering assets are comprised of 405 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines, 61 miles of crude oil gathering pipelines, 81 miles of water gathering pipelines and a 60-mile, FERC-regulated crude oil pipeline located in the Green River Basin. The Rendezvous Gas assets consist of three parallel, 103-mile high-pressure natural gas pipelines, with 1,032 million cubic feet per day of throughput capacity and 7,800 basic hydrogen peroxide of gas compression. Rendezvous Pipeline�� sole asset is a 21-mile, FERC-regu! lated natural gas transmission pipeline that provides gas transportation services from QEP�� Blacks Fork processing complex in southwest Wyoming to an interconnect with the Kern River Pipeline.

Vermillion Gathering System

The Vermillion Gathering System consists of gas gathering and compression assets located in southern Wyoming, northwest Colorado and northeast Utah, which, when combined, include 454 miles of low-pressure, gas gathering pipelines and 23,197 basic hydrogen peroxide of gas compression. The Vermillion Gathering System is primarily supported by life-of-reserves and long-term, fee-based gas gathering agreements with minimum volume commitments, which are designed to ensure that it will generate a certain amount of revenue over the life of the gathering agreement by collecting either gathering fees for actual throughput or payments to cover any shortfall. The primary customers on our Vermillion Gathering System include Questar, Samson Resources Corporation (Samson Resources), QEP and Chevron USA, Inc. (Chevron).

Three Rivers Gathering System

Three Rivers Gathering is a joint venture between QEP and Ute Energy Midstream Holdings, LLC (Ute Energy) that was formed to transport natural gas gathered by Uintah Basin Field Services, L.L.C., an indirectly owned subsidiary of QEP (Uintah Basin Field Services), and other third-party volumes to gas processing facilities owned by QEP and third parties. The Three Rivers Gathering System consists of gas gathering assets located in the Uinta Basin in northeast Utah, including approximately 50 miles of gathering pipeline and 4,735 basic hydrogen peroxide of gas compression.

Williston Gathering System

The Williston Gathering System is a crude oil and natural gas gathering system located in the Williston Basin in McLean County, North Dakota. The Williston Gathering System includes 17 miles of gas gathering pipelines, 17 miles of oil gathering pipelines 239 basic hydrogen peroxide o! f gas com! pression, and a crude oil and natural gas handling facility, located primarily on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

The Company competes with Enterprise Products Partners, L.P., Western Gas and The Williams Companies, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  QEP Resources Inc.(QEP) plans to separate its midstream business, QEP Field Services Co., into a separate entity, including its interest in QEP Midstream Partners LP(QEPM).

5 Best Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Zargon Oil & Gas Ltd (ZARFF.PK)

Zargon Oil & Gas Ltd. (Zargon), formerly Zargon Energy Trust, is engaged in the business of oil and natural gas exploration, exploitation, development, acquisition and production in Canada and the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Zargon�� average daily production were 9,879 barrels of oil equivalent. Its properties are concentrated within the Western Provinces in Canada and in North Dakota in the United States. Its Williston Basin core area encompasses a portion of southeast Saskatchewan, southwest Manitoba and three counties of North Dakota. During 2010, it accounted 51% of its oil and liquids production. During 2010, its Alberta Plains South core area contributed 27% of its oil and liquids production. In June 2012, the Company sold 275 barrels of oil per day pertaining to all of its southwest Manitoba assets and selected properties in the Elswick area of southeast Saskatchewan. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MLP Trader]

  Here are the current top five companies in the list:

  CompanySymbolEV/BOEPD/NetbackPrice/NAVEV/DACFPinecrest(PNCGF.PK)53564%4.0XLightstream(LSTMF.PK)131753%4.5XNovus(NOVUF.PK)133290%4.1XZargon(ZARFF.PK)138664%5.6XTwin Butte(TBTEF.PK)155885%5.5X

  Of the larger companies, one that remains obstinately near the top of the list is Lightstream . Lightstream trades at 40% of its book value and a whopping 13.4% yield.

Best Blue Chip Stocks To Buy Right Now: Alon USA Partners LP (ALDW)

Alon USA Partners, LP (Alon USA), incorporated on August 17, 2012, owns and operates refining and petroleum products marketing business. Its integrated downstream business operates primarily in the South Central and Southwestern regions of the United States. It owns and operates a crude oil refinery in Big Spring, Texas with total throughput capacity of approximately 70,000 barrels per day (bpd). The crude oil pipelines the Company utilizes consist of the Amdel, White Oil, Mesa Interconnect, Centurion and Centurion Interconnect. Its Big Spring refinery produces ultra-low sulfur gasoline, ultra-low sulfur diesel, jet fuel, petrochemicals, petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt and other petroleum products.

During the year ended December 31, 2011 and the six months ended June 30, 2012, sour crude, such as West Texas Sour (WTS), represented approximately 80.4% and 80.4% of its throughput, respectively, and sweet crude, such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), represented approximately 15.8% and 17.1% of its throughput, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2011 and the six months ended June 30, 2012, the Company produced approximately 49.1% and 49.2% gasoline, 32.3% and 32.5% diesel/jet fuel, 7.1% and 6.4% asphalt, 6.0% and 6.0% petrochemicals and 5.5% and 5.9% other refined products, in each case, respectively. The Company distributes fuel products through a product pipeline and terminal network of seven pipelines totaling approximately 840 miles and six terminals that it owns or access.

The Company competes with Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Dorsey]

  Over a several day period, I submitted questions and Mr. Eisman, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ) and the parent company of Alon USA Partners LP Inc. (ALDW) responded. He provided some key insights to some challenges the company faces, where the company is going, and the opportunities available in the future. This insight should provide investors with additional information to understand the value of the company and the opportunity as an investor in the company.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  I warned last week that refiners would report relatively poor earnings for Q3, and refinery MLPs could take a hit, presenting a buying opportunity. On Nov. 6 Alon USA Partners (NYSE: ALDW) reported a loss for the third quarter of $16.1 million, or ($0.26) per unit, compared with net income of $120.4 million for the same period last year. Paul Eisman, CEO and president, cited the deteriorating margins that I discussed in last week’s issue: “Our third quarter results were impacted by a volatile and deteriorating margin environment resulting primarily from decreasing discounts for West Texas crude oil.”

• [By Robert Rapier] In last week’s issue I discussed the basics of the refining sector. Today I will provide an overview of four MLPs that hold refining assets.
  
  To review, the refining sector was very profitable in 2012 thanks to unusually high crack spreads, which for many US refiners are approximated by the price differential between Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oils. For a more thorough explanation of this phenomenon, please refer to last week’s issue.
  
  After years of trading at a $1 to $3 per barrel discount to WTI, Brent began fetching a premium a few years ago as a glut of crude developed in the mid-continent area of the US. In 2011 the Brent-WTI price differential increased to more than $25/bbl, and it remained historically high in 2012.
  
  But pipeline capacity started to catch up this year, and the share prices of refiners retreated as the glut began to dissipate and the Brent-WTI differential shrank. In Q3 2012, the Brent-WTI differential averaged $17.43/bbl, but by Q3 of this year, the differential had fallen to $4.43/bbl. This promises bad news for refiners about to report Q3 earnings.
  
  Many analysts downgraded the refining sector in Q3, but as the differential fell below $5/bbl it was hard to imagine that the news could get much worse. With poor Q3 results largely priced in, the differential subsequently rose back above $10/bbl, signaling better refining margins moving into Q4.
  
  Refiners began to post earnings this past week, and as expected they were weak. Valero (NYSE: VLO) reported slightly higher revenues year-over-year, but net earnings fell more than 50 percent from a year ago. Nevertheless, they beat the extremely pessimistic expectations of analysts, and Valero shares rose on the news.
  
  Phillips 66’s (NYSE: PSX) refining unit actually posted a loss, but its chemical business turned in a solid quarter which more than compensated for the disappointing refining results.
  
  The rest of the refine
• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Wednesday
  Alon Partners USA (NYSE: ALDW  ) reports on Wednesday. Analysts see the oil refiner earning $1.36 per unit on Wednesday, and that's welcome news for investors. Alon Partners is set up as a limited partnership, passing on most of the money it makes to its stakeholders.

5 Best Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Kinder Morgan Management LLC (KMR)

Kinder Morgan Management, LLC is a limited partner in Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P (KMP), and manages and controls its business and affairs pursuant to a delegation of control agreement. Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc., of which Kinder Morgan, Inc. indirectly owns all of the outstanding common equity, is the general partner of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP). Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc., pursuant to a delegation of control agreement among the Company, Kinder Morgan G.P., Inc. and KMP, has delegated to the Company, to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law and KMP�� limited partnership agreement, all of its rights and powers to manage and control the business and affairs of KMP, subject to the general partner�� right to approve specified actions.

KPM is a pipeline limited partnerships in the United States. KMP owns an investment in or operates approximately 28,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport products, such as natural gas, crude oil, gasoline, and CO2, and its terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle materials like coal. Almost all of Kinder Morgan assets are owned by KMP, KMP operates in five business segments : Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, CO2, Terminals and Kinder Morgan Canada.

Kinder Morgan is a transporter and marketer of carbon dioxide in North America. It delivers approximately 1.3 billion cubic feet per day of CO2 through about 1,300 miles of pipelines. It is an oil producer in Texas, producing over 55,000 barrels of oil per day at the SACROC Unit and the Yates Field in the Permian Basin. In addition to CO2 pipelines and oil producing fields, this business segment owns interests in and operates CO2 source fields, natural gas and gasoline processing plants, and a crude oil pipeline. Kinder Morgan owns and operates approximately 24,000 miles of gas pipelines in the Rocky Mountains, the Midwest and Texas. Through its Products Pipelines business unit, it transports over two million barre! ls per day of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, natural gas liquids and other fuels through more than 8,000 miles of pipelines. The Company also has approximately 50 liquids terminals in this business segment that store fuels and offer blending services for ethanol and other products.

Kinder Morgan have more than 180 terminals that store petroleum products and chemicals, and handle bulk materials like coal, petroleum coke and steel products. Kinder Morgan operates a number of pipeline systems and terminal facilities in Canada including the Trans Mountain pipeline, the Express and Platte pipelines, the Cochin pipeline, the Puget Sound and the Trans Mountain Jet Fuel pipelines, the Westridge marine terminal, the Vancouver Wharves terminal in British Columbia and the North Forty terminal in Edmonton, Alberta.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  And finally, there are the Kinder Morgan triplets, Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) and Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) and Kinder Morgan Partners (KMP), which fell 6%, 4.7% and 3%, respectively today. The reason for the drop: a press release from Hedgeye Risk Management, which called Kinder Morgan “a house of cards,” and said to expect a report on Sept. 10, explaining why. Deutsche Bank came out with its own note today defending Kinder Morgan, but the damage was done. Considering that Hedgeye’s Kevin Kaiser (and our own Andrew Bary) got Linn Energy (LINE) right, you can see why.

• [By Albert Alfonso]

  (click to enlarge)
  Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is part of the Kinder Morgan family of companies with a combined enterprise value of over $115B. Kinder Morgan, Inc (KMI) is Kinder Morgan Energy Partners' general partner and has incentive distribution rights and owns about 10% of the partnership. Another way to own Kinder Morgan Energy Partners is via Kinder Morgan Management (KMR), whose shares are pari passu with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and has an equal distribution but pays its dividend in additional shares instead of cash. This in effects acts as a dividend reinvest program.

5 Best Energy Stocks To Watch For 2014: Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (CHKR)

Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (the Trust) is a trust formed to own royalty interests for the benefit of Trust unitholders conveyed to the trust by Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake). The royalty interests held by the Trust (Royalty Interests) are derived from Chesapeake�� interests in specified oil and natural gas properties located in the Colony Granite Wash play in Washita County in the Anadarko Basin of western Oklahoma. Chesapeake conveyed the Royalty Interests to the Trust from its interests in 69 existing horizontal wells (Producing Wells) and Chesapeake�� interests in 118 horizontal development wells (Development Wells) to be drilled on properties within the Area of Mutual Interest (AMI). The AMI is limited to only the Colony Granite Wash formation, where Chesapeake held approximately 45,400 gross acres (29,300 net acres) as of December 31, 2011. The Colony Granite Wash is located at the eastern end of a series of Des Moines-age granite wash fields that extend along the southern flank of the Anadarko Basin, approximately 60 miles into the Texas Panhandle. The Colony Granite Wash is a formation encountered at depths between approximately 11,500 feet and 13,000 feet that lies between the top of the Des Moines formation (or top of Colony Granite Wash A) and the top of the Prue formation (or base of Colony Granite Wash C). Colony Granite Wash is primarily a natural gas and natural gas condensate reservoir based on reserve volumes.

As of December 31, 2011, the all of the Producing Wells were completed, 66 Producing Wells were producing and approximately 11.5 Development Wells were completed and producing. As of December 31, 2011, the remaining three Producing Wells were temporarily offline. As of July 1, 2011, Chesapeake owned on average a 52.8% net revenue interest in the Producing Wells, and Trust received an average 47.5% net revenue interest in the Producing Wells, and Chesapeake on average owned a 52.0% net revenue interest in the Development Wells. As of March 15, 2012! , Chesapeake owned 61,100 net acres (of which 29,300 net acres are subject to the Royalty Interests). As of March 15, 2012, Chesapeake operated 95% of the Producing Wells and the completed Development Wells.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt DiLallo]

  Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (NYSE: CHKR  )
  Created by Chesapeake Energy, the Granite Wash Trust owns royalty interests in 69 currently producing wells and 118 wells that are still to be drilled in Oklahoma in an area of mutual interest. The wells within the trust are producing out of the Granite Wash formation of the Anadarko Basin.�As you can see on the map below, the trust has a very focused area of interest.

The Dumbest Way to Buy a New Car

Buying a new car is one of the biggest purchases many people ever make. But even for such a high-priced item, you should steer clear of what's becoming an increasingly popular way that many car buyers are financing their vehicles.

The scary trend in auto financing
Strapped for cash, more car buyers are taking on long-term loans to buy new vehicles. As a report in The Wall Street Journal discussed earlier this month, the average term for car loans late last year rose to a record-high 65 months. The proportion of loans ranging from six to seven years in length has grown by more than 50% since 2008, and some lenders are even offering 97-month car loans -- forcing you to make car payments for more than eight years.

Ford Focus. Photo source: Ford Motor Company.

The reason car buyers are taking on such long loans is pretty clear: Longer loans mean lower payments. With auto prices on the rise and even used-car prices remaining strong, buyers have little bargaining power in hoping for discounts and instead have to look to spread their payments out over longer periods of time.

3 reasons long loans are a bad move
Yet even with economic reality requiring many to consider longer auto-loan terms, there are many good reasons to consider alternatives. Even though you may have to put off buying a new car long enough to save more toward down payments, you'll be in a much better position to avoid these three pitfalls:

1. You'll be underwater on your car a lot longer.
As soon as you drive your car off the lot, its value drops below what you owe on your loan. With short-term loans, your payments quickly get you back to even, freeing you up to consider options like selling it or trading it in for another vehicle down the road.

With long-term loans, though, it can take years for you to get to the breakeven point. That means if you ever want to get rid of the car, you'll have to pay extra money upfront just to pay off your loan -- even after considering the trade-in value of your vehicle. That's not a good situation for anyone to be in.

2. You won't get as many promotional financing deals.
Many auto dealers offer low-cost loans as an incentive to buy. Over the years, Ford (NYSE: F  ) , General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) , and Chrysler all offered great financing deals to compete with more popular Japanese models. With Detroit now having rebounded, Honda (NYSE: HMC  ) and Toyota (NYSE: TM  ) have also renewed incentives that include financing deals. Even now, Ford offers 0% financing on some of its popular models, including the Focus pictured above.

But Ford's offer goes only with loans of up to 60 months. If you need longer-term financing, you may well end up paying a much higher interest rate, and combined with having to pay interest for a longer period of time, the result could be thousands of dollars in wasted money as a result of your needing lower monthly payments.

3. You'll strain your credit for other purchases.
Having an auto loan on the books may make it harder for you to get credit for other purposes, such as buying a home or getting a credit card. Even if you make payments on time, your monthly payment will sap available income to support other loan payments. That can leave you in the uncomfortable position of having your car keep you out of the home of your dreams.

The smarter move
As tough as it is to defer gratification, waiting until you can make a big down payment or settling for a less expensive vehicle to qualify for affordable short-term financing is the better way to buy a new car. Otherwise, you could end up digging yourself into a debt hole you'll have trouble ever getting out of.

For investors, Ford has come a long way, and the company still has big growth opportunities ahead. We've outlined those opportunities in detail, in the Fool's premium Ford research service. If you're looking for some freshly updated guidance to Ford's prospects in coming years, you've come to the right place -- click here to get started now.

Where Are the AMD Tablets?

It seems that every year AMD (NYSE: AMD  ) makes a pretty large fuss about a next-generation mobile product, but year after year these products don't materialize in many shipping designs. Some argue that the same argument could be applied to larger PC chip rival Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) , but there are numerous quality Windows-based tablets shipping with Intel silicon, even if Intel's Bay Trail on Android continues to be MIA. So a simple question that AMD investors should try to answer is: Where are all of the AMD tablets?

A trip to AMD's website: Trying to buy an AMD tablet
To see what kind of progress AMD has made in securing tablet designs, a trip to AMD's website is in order. Clicking on the "where to buy" button on AMD's tablet page reveals some interesting results. Of the 10 tablets available in total, the breakdown by chip is as follows:

AMD Dual-Core A4 Series: four tablets. AMD Dual-Core Z-Series APU: three tablets. AMD Quad-Core A6-Series: three tablets.

Of the four dual-core A4 based devices, three were 11.6-inch designs and one was a 13.3-inch detachable Windows 8 PC. Not a single one was a "tablet" in the sense of a traditional 10.1-inch or 9.7-inch design. Of the quad-core A6 based devices, all three were 13.3-inch designs from Hewlett-Packard. And naturally, the older Z-series APU based designs weren't anything to write home about, particularly as reviews panned both the performance and battery lives of products based on this chip (since the chip was unsuitable for thin and light tablets).

Compare that with Intel
Since AMD's chips are only targeted toward Windows right now, its only real competitor in the Windows tablet chip space is Intel, so a comparison is appropriate. Today there are a number of tablets with Bay Trail, Intel's latest 22-nanometer tablet-oriented chip, from many vendors, including:

ASUS. Acer. Fujitsu. Dell. Sharp. Lenovo. Toshiba. Ramos.

These designs come in both 10.1-inch and 8-inch flavors, and these tablets have gotten pretty solid reviews for their performance and battery life. Of course, there are varying degrees of quality across the vendors (and Windows tablets aren't anywhere near as big of a market as Android and iOS tablets are), and you'll probably notice that these are relatively small names in the tablet market, but the breadth and quality of the offerings looks markedly higher than those powered by AMD.

Will Mullins do the trick?
When the Z-60 came out, it was "wait for Temash". Now that Temash is out, about, and garnering very little design win traction, AMD has been talking up its successor SoC for tablets code-named Mullins. Mullins apparently features an updated CPU core (probably with more aggressive Turbo) and at the system-on-a-chip level manages to bring power down.

This may be as a result of removing some of the I/Os that are PC-use only (similar to what Intel did with Bay Trail-T versus Bay Trail-M) as well as some architectural optimizations and enhancements. Only time will tell whether Mullins can finally find its way in competitive Windows-based tablets, but by then AMD will be contending with Intel's next-generation Cherry Trail. 

Foolish bottom line
While AMD has talked a big game, particularly around tablets, it simply has yet to deliver the goods in terms of the right product (AMD's current tablet offerings are missing several key IP blocks for tablets such as a dedicated image signal processor) at the right time in the right designs. And even if AMD sorts its product story out, the right chip is only just the beginning in this highly competitive, cutthroat industry. It is a necessary, but insufficient, condition to long-term business success.

Are you ready for this $14.4 trillion revolution?
Every investor wants to get in on revolutionary ideas before they hit it big -- like buying PC maker Dell in the late 1980s, before the consumer computing boom, or purchasing stock in e-commerce pioneer Amazon.com in the late 1990s, when it was nothing more than an upstart online bookstore. The problem is, most investors don't understand the key to investing in hypergrowth markets. The real trick is to find a small-cap "pure play" and then watch as it grows in explosive fashion within its industry. Our expert team of equity analysts has identified one stock that's poised to produce rocket-ship returns with the next $14.4 trillion industry. Click here to get the full story in this eye-opening report.

Why 58.com Inc Shares Temporarily Jumped Today

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 58.com Inc (NYSE: WUBA  ) initially rose more than 10% in Friday's early trading, then settled to close up 3% after the Chinese online classified ad company priced its follow-on offering of American depositary shares.

So what: Though shares had risen nearly 70% since 58.com's IPO five months ago, the stock plunged more than 15% since 58.com first announced the dilutive offering on Monday. At the time, it proposed that both it and selling shareholders would each offer 4.0 million ADS, with each ADS representing two Class A ordinary shares. In addition, 58.com wanted to grant its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase another 1.2 million shares.

In today's release, however, 58.com stated it will only issue and sell 2.0 million new ADS, while selling shareholders will still offer 4.0 million. Shares were also priced at $38 apiece. In addition, 58.com granted its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 900,000 ADS. The company's gross proceeds -- which don't include those from selling shareholders -- will be roughly $76 million.

Now what: The lower net number of new shares was welcome news after Monday's announcement, which explains the early pop. What's more, it's hard to blame 58.com for wanting to take advantage of its impressive post-IPO run to raise new capital.

Even so, while 58.com has grown quickly, shares do look pricey trading around 10 and 40 times next year's estimated sales and earnings, respectively. As it stands, and given its big run so far, I don't mind letting the dust settle to look for a more attractive entry point during the next few quarters.

Three stocks poised to help you retire rich
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Utility Funds: Low-Risk Trio

For a low-risk investment, look at utility funds; they tend to be conservative, low-beta, defensive, and dividend paying, explains Bruce Vanderveen in Personal Finance.

Utilities provide essential electric and gas to their customers, so their services are always in demand. Surprises, both good and bad, are relatively rare.

In recent years, easily traded and inexpensive ETFs have proliferated. The utility sector alone has 22 of them. Also, established wealth management groups have many utility fund offerings. Below are three of the best to consider.

Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is the largest utility ETF; it has $5 billion in assets under management and currently has holdings in 32 large (mostly electric) US utilities.

Since the ETF owns a basket of (mostly) low-beta utility stocks, XLU is ideal for passive investors who wish to invest in a safe, broad-based, and dividend-paying US utility fund. XLU currently yields 3.7%.

Including dividends, XLU returned an annual average of 11.2% over the last five years and 11.4% over the last 12 months. The annual expense ratio is low at 0.18%.

Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) is similar to XLU. It has the same top ten holdings, but has a more diverse base, with smaller utilities included.

VPU is ideal for passive investors who want a broad-based stake in the US utility industry. The current annual yield is 3.6%.

VPU boasts a five-year return averaging 12% annually, including 12% over the last year. Vanguard funds have low annual expense ratios and VPU, with a 0.14% number, does not disappoint.

Fidelity Select Utilities Portfolio (US:FSUTX) is actively managed and seeks capital appreciation for its investors by investing in the equities of selected North American utility companies.

FSUTX is more concentrated and less diversified in its holdings than most utility funds, so stability and yield may be a concern for some investors. But FSUTX has returned an annualized 14.6% over five years and 17.4% over the last 12 months. There is a 0.79% annual expense ratio.

The above funds all invest in utilities but differ in their focus. XLU and VPU will appeal to passive investors for whom safety and income are paramount, while FSUTX is a little farther out on the risk curve but may offer more potential capital appreciation.

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Signs of cracks in small-cap armor?

Small-company stocks clobbered large-caps in the performance derby last year and have taken an early lead in 2014. But small-fry stocks are starting to exhibit "some cracks in the armor," Steven DeSanctis, small-cap strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, warned clients in a research note.

Why the sudden angst?

The Russell 2000, an index of small-cap stocks, was a market leader in 2013, posting a gain of 37%, outpacing the 29.6% return of the large-company Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. But despite a narrow performance lead this year, storm clouds are forming for small stocks.

Warning signs include:

Pricey shares. "Valuations reflect a lot of good news," said DeSanctis, noting that the price-to-sales metric for the Russell 2000 is "hitting a new all-time high."

What's more, when small caps are expensive from a price-to-earnings standpoint, which they now are, they "tend to deliver below-average performance and trail large-cap stocks by almost 5 percentage points.

Profit estimates are falling. "We have started to see 2014 estimates take a tumble," he wrote. In the last month, the earnings growth rate for 2014 has declined to 17.8% from 20.1%, BofA research shows.

Cash is exiting the space. Last year $18.7 billion flowed into small-cap funds, but so far this year $1.5 billion has flowed out, BofA says. Outflows can provide a "headwind," DeSanctis said.

Sanctions can hurt Russia, if EU can take pain

BERLIN – The European Union could impose harsh sanctions on Russia that would hurt, say analysts, but the growing economic ties between the two may may make that nearly impossible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has thus far been unfazed by the sanctions placed on his inner circle for his military takeover of Crimea, a province of Ukraine on the Black Sea.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte framed the conundrum for the world when he took the stage with President Obama at the Hague, where world leaders are meeting on nuclear issues but also discussing Ukraine.

"The Russia economy is very much gas and oil dependent," he said Tuesday. "If economic sanctions will be necessary … these things will hit Russia very badly."

Then came the rub.

"Obviously, you can never guarantee that the people in Europe, in Canada, in the U.S. would not be hurt," by sanctions aimed at Russia, he said.

"But obviously, we will make sure that we will design these sanctions in such a way that they will have maximum impact on the Russian economy and not on the European, the Canadian, the Japanese or the American economy."

The upshot? "We are not there yet," he said of strengthening sanctions.

Lilit Gevorgyan, senior sovereign risk analyst at IHS Global Insight in London, suggests Europe may never get there.

"The EU has been hesitant to pursue full scale embargo and serious sanctions against Russia precisely because not just Russia but also the European bloc will bleed from them, although arguably Russia will suffer more," Gevorgyan said.

The World Bank warned Wednesday that Russia's economy could contract this year if the country is hit with more serious sanctions following its annexation of Crimea.

The organization said in its annual report that it expects the Russian economy to grow 1.1% this year if the fall-out from the Crimean crisis is short-lived, but warned of a 1.8% fall if Russia is hit with more serious sanctions than those already specified.

So far,! the sanctions have been fairly limited and haven't touched on Russia's vital economic interests. The United States and the European Union have imposed travel bans and asset freezes on two dozen Russians who are believed to be close to Putin.

Over the past weeks, the European Union and the U.S. have imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans on at least 33 officials said to have been involved in the annexing of the Crimean peninsula from the Ukraine. The latest sanctions targeted individuals including Russian deputy prime minister Dmitri Rogozin.

But many claim the sanctions are too "tepid" and will do little to persuade Moscow to change course.

"It is not just energy dependence on Russia but also intertwined bilateral commercial relations, counting at an annual turnover of billions of US dollars that makes EU decision-makers cautious," said Gevorgyan.

Imports from Russia to the EU have grown consistently, from $88 billion in 2002 to almost $294 billion in 2012, when the Russian Federation joined the World Trade Organization. During the same decade, EU exports to Russia have increased from $47 billion to $170 billion, according to figures from the directorate general for trade of the European Commission.

Europe is Russia's biggest trading partner, And Europe gets a significant segment of its mineral energy, such as natural gas, as well as lubricants and related materials, from Russia. The last thing European leaders want is the hopes of a fragile fragile recovery amid years of economic woes dashed by a sudden drop in trade with Russia, and disruptions to its supply of energy, analysts say.

"It is very difficult to replace gas and oil from the global market in the short term…this discussion is even maybe dangerous for Europe and will not bring the desired effect in Russia," said Stefan Meister, senior policy fellow at the European Council of Foreign Relations in Berlin.

The talk of sanctions has overshadowed a meeting of the industrialized economi! es at G-7! meetings in the Hague. Rutte held out hope that sanctions could be made more muscular, but all 28 EU member states would have to agree if the EU is to act effectively, says Gevorgyan. Some countries would find that hard.

In 2010, Europe's biggest economy, Germany, imported 39% of its gas from Russia, according to the International Energy Agency, while some central and eastern European countries rely almost exclusively on Russia for their gas supply.

Although the EU produces its own energy, mostly nuclear, it is still dependent on Russia for the import of hard coal, crude oil and natural gas, 23% of which came from Russia in 2012, according to the statistical report of Eurogas, an organization representing the gas industry in Europe.

Ukraine remains the main corridor to bring gas and crude oil to Europe with 82.3 billion of a total of 167.2 cubic meters imported though the former Soviet satellite state in 2013, according to the International Energy Agency in Paris.

And despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the potential for escalation if Russia were to try to invade the east of the country, as some fear it might, the 28 EU member states will not agree on targeting the energy sector with sanctions, say some analysts.

The EU members "can only replace the supply from Russia in the long term by finding alternative resources," such as investing much more in Caspian resources," Meister said.

Some suggest Europe can make up for any disruption on gas supplies from Russia by buying from U.S. liquified natural gas suppliers. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee plans to hold hearings on expanding U.S. natural gas exports, which are subjhect to

"Diminishing Russia's economic leverage in the region should be a key component of America's response," said Nile Gardiner, an author of a recent white paper on U.S.-Russia relations as director of The Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.

"This could be accomplished to a large extent s! imply by ! liberalizing global energy markets. The U.S. has antiquated and unnecessary restrictions on exporting liquefied natural gas and crude oil, and Congress should make lifting these restrictions a priority."

Ukraine, which has seen its gas supplies shut off by Moscow in the dead of winter as a weapon, has been making plans to wean itself from dependency on Russia. In 2013, Ukraine reached deals with Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron to explore and develop the country's two large shale gas fields in Yuzivska and Olesska.

Though the United States has seen an increase in natural gas production due in part to exploitation of shale gas through hydraulic fracturing techniques, it does not have the facilities to rapidly increase exports.

An import terminal in the United States is being retrofitted to handle exports and may be ready in 2015, but it can take at least five years to get through the approval and construction to complete a new liquefied natural gas terminal in the United States.

"Lifting gas export restrictions might not have a direct impact on the Ukraine crisis in he near term, but it would send an important signal to Russia and the rest of the world," Gardiner. "It would show any leader from any country that derives power from controlling energy interests that such strategies will no longer be effective."

In the short-term, however, Europe and the USA can do things that will make Russia take notice. Issuing travel bans against Putin's inner circle of oligarchs who control Russia natural resources is not enough, say analysts.

"To inflict an immediate economic pain on Russia, the EU and U.S. have to impose far more serious economic and energy embargoes," said Gevorgyan.

"They need to cancel large contracts, freeze assets of a whole range of state-run Russian commercial entities, and target far more government-linked business people over a sustained period of time to send the Russian economy into dramatic decline, wiping away the wealth of the country's business bra! ss."

Five States Where Renters Can’t Afford to Live

With the collapse of the housing market, the argument about renting versus buying a home was reset. Home prices suddenly plunged. For people who kept their jobs through the Great Recession, houses in some markets like Las Vegas were available for prices 40% below 2005/2006 peaks. The other component of his argument is personal finances. People who have no savings cannot afford down payments. People with low incomes can barely afford to rent or buy.

The ability to rent a home was studied recently by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Its calculations were based on the fact that, nationwide:

[A]n individual needs to earn $18.92 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental unit at Fair Market Rent. This figure is referred to as the “Housing Wage.” Today’s national average Housing Wage is more than two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage, and 52% higher than it was in 2000.

Housing prices in many markets, on the other hand, have returned to near 2000 levels, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller report.

The coalition’s conclusions were grim, particularly for low-wage Americans. In its new report titled “Out of Reach 2014,” it concluded:

In 2014, the mean renter wage, or what the average American renter earned, is $14.64 an hour. While housing costs vary nationwide, Out of Reach 2014 finds that in no state can a full-time minimum wage worker afford a one-bedroom or a two-bedroom rental unit at the Fair Market Rent.

The worst markets for these Americans:

Hawaii, with a two-bedroom housing wage of $31.54 District of Columbia, with a two-bedroom housing wage of $28.25 California, with a two-bedroom housing wage of $26.04 Maryland, with a two-bedroom housing wage of $24.94 New Jersey, with a two-bedroom housing wage of $24.92

For more details, by city and region.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition suggests that the debate about raising the federal minimum wage and how to address income inequality must include the issue of the shortage of affordable housing for the lowest income households.

Nike Inc (NKE) Q3 Earnings Preview: Lacing Up For Anther Bullish Surprise

Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) plans to release its third quarter fiscal 2014 financial results on Thursday, March 20, 2014, at approximately 1:15 p.m. PT, following the close of regular stock market trading hours. Following the news release, NIKE management will host a conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT to review results.

Wall Street anticipates that the athletic apparel maker will earn $0.72 per share for the quarter, which is $0.01 less than last year's profit of $0.73 per share. iStock expects NKE  to beat Wall Street's consensus number. The iEstimate is $0.75, a bullish surprise of $0.03.

[Related -Lululemon Athletica inc. (LULU): Near-Term Risks Could Further Derail Investor Confidence]

Although earnings are expected to dip ever so slightly, Nike's revenue is expected to rise 8.10%. The consensus sales estimate for Q3 is $6.69 billion, up from last year's $6.19 billion.

Like you don't know, but the Just Do It company is engaged in the design, development and worldwide marketing and selling of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. NIKE is a seller of athletic footwear and athletic apparel worldwide. The Company focuses its product offerings in seven key categories: Running, Basketball, Football (Soccer), Men's Training, Women's Training, NIKE Sportswear (its sports-inspired products) and Action Sports.

The Dow Jones Index member has run past Wall Street's EPS expectations 10 of the last 12 quarterly checkups. On average, the bullish surprises averaged 7.69% more than forecasted with a range of 1.72% to 14% better than the consensus estimate. Meanwhile, the pair of bearish misses fell short by -14.6% and -3.57%.

[Related -Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Q2 Earnings Preview: Just Doing It, Again]

Despite the solid record of positive beats, NKE's earnings-driven price-sensitivity hasn't been as lopsided. In the last three years, seven announcements helped shares find higher ground, gaining anywhere from 1.45% to 8.57% with an average run of 4.74%.

That leaves a handful of stumbles where the stock backpedaled from -0.61% to -10.53%. The typical loss was -3.56% - manageable.

Strength in North America (NA) helped Nike in Q2, but this quarter Europe could add a big boost to the top and bottom lines in Q3.

According to ValueWalk, "We conducted a survey of 185 independent Nike retailers in Europe on their sales trends during Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE)'s FYQ3'14 (ending Feb '14) & upcoming expectations… We expect re-acceleration in W.Europe & stabilization in China to help mitigate potential slowdowns in N.America (cont'd growth, but comping 3yrs of +DD revs) and EM… Based on our survey results, average footwear sales for our respondents increased +3.6% y/y, while athletic apparel grew +2% y/y during FYQ3 (Dec – Feb)… retailers across the 5 countries we surveyed identified Nike as their top-selling brand, followed closely by Adidas AG (ADR)."

ValueWalk also expects China to stabilize. Ah, we aren't so sure about that one.

If North America remains strong, which is in doubt thanks to inclement weather for most of the polar-vortexed country, then the 1-2 Euro-American punch could lead to a bullish revenue surprise.

To get a sense of what to expect from the USA, iStock turned to Google Trends for the keyword "NIKE". The first thing we noticed is search volume intensity (SVI) is at an all-time high right now, which could be a plus for forward guidance.

Getting back to Q3, SVI for "NIKE" is up 12.3%. Add that to improving EU trends and a potentially stable China, and confidence for a bullish top-line surprise jog higher. More revenue than expected should lead to more earnings than anticipated.

We input some numbers into an excel spreadsheet, did some math, and modeled sales of $6.842 billion in sales for Nike's third quarter. Using Wall Street's forecasted net-margin of 9.53%, iStock arrives at EPS of $0.74; a penny below the iEstimate, but still two cents better than the current consensus.

Overall: Better sales, better earnings, and upbeat guidance should mean Nike Inc's (NYSE:NKE) enjoy a nice run following Thursday's profit review. 

FAA Releases Report on Boeing 787's Design, Manufacture

Boeing's design and manufacture of its cutting-edge 787 jetliner is safe despite the plane's many problems since its rollout, including a fire that forced a redesign of the plane's batteries, according to a report issued jointly Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration and the aircraft maker.

The yearlong review concluded "the aircraft was soundly designed, met its intended safety level, and that the manufacturer and the FAA had effective processes in place to identify and correct issues that emerged before and after certification," the agency said in a statement.

The report also makes several recommendations for further improvements by Boeing and FAA.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta asked for the review in January 2013 after a lithium-ion battery caught fire on a 787 parked at Logan International Airport in Boston. A battery aboard another 787 failed less than two weeks later.

The 787, Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced plane, is the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries. Since the FAA didn't have safety regulations for those batteries as installed equipment in planes when the 787 was designed, the agency and Boeing jointly developed the special safety conditions the plane's battery system should meet.

After the battery failures, the FAA was criticized for relying too heavily on designated Boeing employees to ensure the safety of the plane's design and manufacture.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the battery fire in Boston is still underway. Wednesday's report was not intended to address the battery's design, but rather the overall safety of Boeing's design and manufacture of the plane and the adequacy of FAA's oversight.

Why Ulta Salon (ULTA) Is Spiking After the Bell

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrances (ULTA) is spiking in extended trading following a better-than-expected fourth quarter.

After the bell, shares had added 6.7% to $95.50.

The beauty supplies retailer recorded revenue of $868.08 million, 14.4% higher than a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had anticipated $855.64 million in sales.

Net income of $1.09 a share was 2 cents higher than analysts' expectations. "We delivered earnings growth consistent with our expectations and made significant progress with our key growth strategies," said CEO Mary Dillon in a statement. Comparable sales increased 9.2% compared to an 8.6% gain in the year-ago quarter. Must Read: Warren Buffett's 10 Favorite Stocks STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. TheStreet Ratings team rates ULTA SALON COSMETCS & FRAG as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate ULTA SALON COSMETCS & FRAG (ULTA) a BUY. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself." You can view the full analysis from the report here: ULTA Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

Stock quotes in this article: ULTA 

Bring In Big Income With These 5 High-Yield REITs

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Despite the recent gains and rebounds in the housing market, the housing bubble completely changed the way we live.

In the wake of the housing bubble and the recession, more and more Americans are abandoning the traditional goal of owning a white-picket fence in favor of renting. Either through financial hardship or via choice, America is quickly becoming a "renter nation" when it comes to housing. According to real estate group Green Street, of the 5.5 million estimated new households that will form over the next three years, roughly 70% of them will choose to become renters.

That's a huge number — one that could provide plenty of profits for investors who bet on the right horses. In this case, we're talking about real estate investment trusts, or REITs.

Enacted in the 1960s by Congress, REITs were created to let average investors make investments in large-scale, income-producing commercial real estate. And I do mean income. REITs are required by law to spit out 90% of their taxable income back to shareholders annually. That results in some huge dividend yields.

Now, these big dividend yields aren't considered "qualified" for tax purposes — meaning they don’t get taxed as normal income. That makes REITs and their big dividend yields perfect holdings for an IRA or other tax-deferred account.

With that said, here's five of the best REIT plays for our growing “renter nation”:

AvalonBay Communities

When it comes to apartment REITs, AvalonBay Communities (AVB) is one of the largest. The firm has direct or indirect ownership in a massive 273 apartment communities, or roughly 81,500 different apartments or townhomes. The bulk of these buildings are located in markets with a high barrier to entry — Washington D.C., for example — and feature a stable and generally high-income renter's base.

However, AVB isn't done growing.

The REIT recently broke ground on another 13 new communities and has an additional 26 optioned for development rights. Aside from that organic construction, AVB partnered to real estate magnate Sam Zell to purchase Archstone from Lehman Brothers out of bankruptcy for $6.5 billion. That move gave AVB a stake in 66 additional properties.

Those new apartments will continue to help boost AVB's cash flows and its dividend yield. Already, AvalonBay saw its full-year 2013 funds from operations (FFO) rise 14% on the backs of these new units. That windfall helped the REIT raise its dividend 8.4% for the first quarter of this year.

AVB currently has a treasury-beating dividend yield of 3.2%.

Home Properties

While Home Properties (NYSE: HME) isn't as large as AvalonBay, the two REITs share a similar strategy — namely, focusing on the profitable East Coast. For HME that means owning multifamily properties in Washington D.C., Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York: places where the average home price is around $340,000 and potentially out of reach for many families.

And like its much larger rival, HME is quickly expanding in these key markets.

Since 2011, Home Properties has spent about $600 million on property acquisitions to expand its umbrella in these markets. That expansion continues today, as Home Properties has unveiled an aggressive plan to spend around $250 million more this year on additional purchases of multifamily communities.

However, the difference in the two REITs is that HME is willing to “flip” properties that don't necessarily meet its criteria for long-term ownership. That strategy helps boost cash flows and provides HME with additional funds to purchase more properties down the road.

It also results in a plenty of dividends for investors. HME currently yields 4.8%.

Investors Real Estate Trust

Most people wouldn't be shocked to find out that an average 2-bedroom apartment costs nearly $3,000 per month to rent in places like New York City or San Francisco. However, that is also the going price for a similar apartment in North Dakota.

Why? The boom in Bakken shale drilling. For various REITs it's a gold mine — and one company that’s definitely taking advantage of this trend is Investors Real Estate Trust (IRET).

IRET specifically focuses on the upper Midwest and North Dakota, putting it right in the center of Bakken shale country. In fact, its corporate office is the next county over from the epicenter of the Bakken boom.

Overall, IRET owns and manages a diversified portfolio properties including 72 apartment buildings in the region. High incomes and housing demand from the Bakken, from both rig workers and landowners, has helped IRET realize plenty of cash flows and rising rents from its stable of properties.

And while IRET has been flowing that cash back to investors since 1971 as dividends, the strong apartment demand in North Dakota should help the firm boost its dividend even higher in the future.

Currently, IRET has a dividend yield of 6.0%.

Associated Estates Realty Corporation

Some of the best bargains can be had in smaller REITs. A prime example is Ohio-based Associated Estates Realty Corporation (AEC).

The firm (which incidentally was the first publicly traded apartment REIT) owns 53 multifamily properties throughout the South, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. The key for AEC has been the fact that it has been transitioning away from lower-income housing toward higher-valued and more "luxury" apartments. That's helped AEC see rising community income growth than many of its rival REITs — which gives AEC the ability to charge higher rents.

AEC has also begun expanding its property holdings in these key markets; given its smallish size, the firm should be able to grow its top and bottom line quite easily.

As these projects take hold, analysts expect AEC's FFO to be flat throughout this year. But it should rise about 6% during 2015. That will help AEC strengthen its 4.4% dividend yield.

iShares Residential Real Estate ETF

Given just how powerful the rental trends are becoming, investors may be better suited in a wide swath of apartment REITs. To that end, the iShares Residential Real Estate ETF (REZ) may actually be the better choice.

The exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracks 36 different REITs … including all of the ones on this list. REZ also includes exposure to the various public storage REITs like Extra Space Storage (EXR). Those firms have also been seeing huge demand as renters need additional space for all of their stuff … especially if they've downsized from previous homeownership.

REZ has had pretty good performance, managing to return more than 15% annually over the last five years. The ETF also kicks out a 3.55% dividend yield. Costs for the broad REIT fund clock in at a relatively inexpensive 0.48% — or $48 per $10,000 invested.

Overall, REZ may be the best way to capitalize on the REITs catering to our new “renter nation.”

At the time of publication, Levitt had no positions in the securities mentioned.

Morning Market Movers

Related SYMX Mornings Movers for Feb. 27, 2014: PEIX, JCP, SYMX, CIE, SHLD, BBY Higher, INO, NDLS, HK, CY, DYAX Lower Synthesis Energy Systems Announces LOI with Karachi Electric Supply

Synthesis Energy Systems (NASDAQ: SYMX) shares jumped 26.01% to $2.18 on the receipt of a 20-year business license for China Clean Coal Gasification joint venture

Prothena Corporation plc (NASDAQ: PRTA) rose 24.40% to $46.23 after the company reported clinical data to be presented at International Symposium on Amyloidosis. Morgan Stanley raised the price target on the stock from $35.00 to $53.00.

Horizon Pharma (NASDAQ: HZNP) shares gained 24.15% to $18.23 after the company announced its plans to acquire privately held Vidara Therapeutics International for around $660 million.

Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ: PSUN) shares jumped 9% to $3.27 after the retailer reported upbeat Q4 results. The company posted an adjusted loss of $0.17 per share, versus analysts' expectations for a loss of $0.19 per share.

KB Home (NYSE: KBH) shares gained 8.99% to $19.27 after the company swung to a profit in the fiscal first quarter. KB Home posted a quarterly profit of $10.6 million, or $0.12 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $12.5 million, or $0.16 per share.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS) shares jumped 5.96% to $15.28 following the published results of colon cancer screening test.

Compugen (NASDAQ: CGEN) climbed 3.54% to $11.86 after Jefferies initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating and a $17.00 price target.

Posted-In: market moversNews Intraday Update Markets Movers

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5 Best Promising Stocks For 2014

FiveThirtyEight, the data analysis site founded by statistician-turned-journalist Nate Silver, relaunched Monday under ESPN's ownership, promising stories rooted in statistical analysis, interactive graphics, news applications, podcasts and films.

"One of our roles will be to critique incautious uses of statistics when they arise elsewhere in news coverage," he wrote on the site Monday. "At other times, we'll explore ways that consumers can use data to their advantage and level the playing field against corporations and governments."

REM RIEDER: Nate Silver's next act

Silver came to prominence in 2008 when he compiled and computed local election polls to predict Barack Obama's victory in the general election. The New York Times subsequently struck an agreement with Silver to host his work online, and Silver's updates and similar prediction for President Obama's 2012 re-election drew heavy traffic for the newspaper's website.

5 Best Promising Stocks For 2014: Dime Community Bancshares Inc.(DCOM)

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh that provides financial services and loans primarily for multifamily housing. The company accepts various deposit products, including savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, interest bearing checking accounts, and non-interest bearing checking accounts. Its loan products comprise multifamily residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate loans, one- to four-family residential mortgage loans, construction and land acquisition loans, and consumer loans. In addition, the company, through its other subsidiaries, involves in the management and ownership of real estate; the sale of non-FDIC insured investment products; and investing in multifamily residential, one to four-family, and commercial real estate loans. As of January 26, 2012, it operated 26 branches located throughout Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Nassau County, New York. The comp any was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  I always find it very interesting to see what long-term investors are selling in a given quarter. Kahn Brothers lightened up on many financials that have shot up and now trade above book value. The firm sold out of Flushing Financial (FFIC), TCF Financial (TCB) and Dime Community Bank (DCOM). Khan apparently shares my views on the large-cap drug stocks, easing up on both Pfizer (PFE) and Bristol Meyers (BMY) over the summer. Khan Brothers also sold the last of the Travelers shares (TRV) it has owned since 2008 at more than twice the purchase price.

5 Best Promising Stocks For 2014: STMicroelectronics N.V.(STM)

STMicroelectronics N.V., an independent semiconductor company, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of a range of semiconductor integrated circuits and discrete devices. Its products include discrete and standard commodity components, application-specific integrated circuits, custom devices and semi-custom devices, and application-specific standard products for analog, digital, and mixed-signal applications. The company also offers subsystems and modules for the telecommunications, automotive, and industrial markets comprising mobile phone accessories, battery chargers, ISDN power supplies, and in-vehicle equipment for electronic toll payment, as well as provides Smartcard products. Its products are used in various microelectronic applications consisting of automotive products, computer peripherals, telecommunications systems, consumer products, industrial automation, and control systems. The company sells its products through distributors and ret ailers. STMicroelectronics N.V. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Laundon]

  Analog Devices (ADI) is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the motion-sensing space, with a market cap of $15.87 billion. STM Electronics (STM) is a slightly smaller manufacturer; its market cap is $7.6 billion.

Best Consumer Service Companies To Own In Right Now: UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA (US)

UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA, formerly Fondiaria SPA, is an Italy- based company engaged in financial sector. The Company is a result of the merger of Unipol Assicurazioni SpA, Milano Assicurazioni SpA and Premafin Finanziaria SpA into Fondiaria Sai SpA. The Company operates through approximately 3 000 agencies under brands, such as Unipol, Sai, La Fondaria, Milano, La Previdente, Nuova Maa and Sasa. UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA specializes in non-life insurance, especially automobile insurance. Additionally, UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA provides products which protect its clients against damage and accident in the field, such as work, home, travel, health, life, aviation, railway, fire, maritime and goods in transit, as well as reinsurance and legal protection. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Umiastowki]

  Last week, Google Inc.'s (GOOG) stock price pushed past $1,000 (US) for the first time. The search giant, which first traded at $85 per share, has now produced a gain of more than 1,000% for those who bought it during its August 2004 initial public offering (IPO).

• [By Chris Umiastowki]

  Unfortunately for me, Twitter is taking advantage of a new rule that allows US companies with less than a billion dollars in revenue to file for their IPO confidentially. This hinders analysts, everyday investors and the press from digging into Twitter's financials or business strategy until shortly before the company's stock-market debut. Until I can see real numbers, I'll have to be satisfied reading the industry scuttlebutt and thinking about where Twitter's business may go in the coming years. Henry Blodget from BusinessInsider.com wrote just such a piece, referencing research from Wall Street analyst Robert Peck. It seems Twitter is expected to go public with a market capitalization of about $20-billion (US), which would represent 17 times next year's revenue estimate. This means, analysts think, admittedly based on very limited information, that Twitter will do about $1.2-billion in revenue in 2014. This seems like a crazy high multiple, until you realize that both Facebook and LinkedIn have gone public with similar forward revenue multiples, and both are posting excellent annual growth, which could justify their valuations.

• [By John Heinzl]

  The company also provides the tax breakdown on its Web site. For example, in 2012, the partnership distributed $1.50 (US) per unit to investors, or $1.4988 (Canadian). (The company��hich owns a global portfolio of utility, energy, and transportation infrastructure assets��ays distributions in US currency, but it also provides the tax breakdown in Canadian dollars.)

• [By Nicolas Johnson]

  There are a couple of reasons money managers often advise Canadian investors to overcome their home-country bias and to put part of their assets abroad. One goal is to get a chance at higher returns by investing in expanding businesses or industries that are absent from our own stock exchanges. Canada's stock market represents only about 3.4% of the world's $62-trillion (US) in publicly traded companies. A second goal is to diversify wealth and reduce the vulnerability of one's portfolio to a collapse in the Canadian market.

5 Best Promising Stocks For 2014: Wolseley PLC (WOS)

Wolseley plc is a specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a supplier of building materials in North America, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. The Company operates in seven segments: USA, UK, Canada, Nordic, France, Central and Eastern Europe, and Group. On September 1 2009, the Company acquired Decorative Product Source, Inc, a company engaged in the distribution and supply of construction materials and services. On January 8, 2010, the Company disposed of 100% of Wolseley Ireland Holdings Limited, which comprised all the Company's businesses in the Republic of Ireland and the Brooks business in Northern Ireland. In November 2011, the Company announced that it had completed the sale of its remaining interest in Stock Building Supply to The Gores Group. In April 2012, the Company sold its Brossette, the French Plumbing and Heating business to Saint Gobain. In October 2012, the Company acquired Davis & Warshow, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Wolseley Plc (WOS) added 3.1 percent to 3,296 pence, its largest gain in more than five weeks. The world�� biggest distributor of plumbing and heating products said so-called trading profit in the 12 months through July climbed to 725 million pounds ($1.2 billion) from 665 million pounds a year earlier. Analysts had predicted earnings of 704 million pounds, according to the average of 20 estimates compiled by the company. Wolseley proposed a special dividend payout of 300 million pounds.

5 Best Promising Stocks For 2014: Oncolytics Biotech Inc (ONCY)

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (Oncolytics), incorporated on April 2, 1998, is a development-stage company. The Company is focused on its research and development of REOLYSIN, which is its cancer therapeutic. REOLYSIN is developed from the reovirus. This virus has been demonstrated in tumour cells bearing an activated Ras pathway. Oncolytics is directing a clinical trial program with the focus of developing REOLYSIN as a human cancer therapeutic. The clinical program includes clinical trials, which it sponsors directly along with Third Party Clinical Trials. Third Party Clinical Trials are clinical trials that are being sponsored by other institutions. As of December 31, 2011, the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI), the University of Leeds and the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the University of Texas Health Center in San Antonio (CTRC) were sponsoring part of its clinical trial program.

The Company�� clinical trial program has included human trials using REOLYSIN alone, and in combination with radiation and chemotherapy, and delivered via local administration and/or intravenous administration. Oncolytics uses contract toll manufacturers to produce REOLYSIN. On December 31, 2011, the Company had two wholly owned subsidiaries, Oncolytics Biotech (Barbados) Inc. (OBB) and Valens Pharma Ltd. Oncolytics Biotech (US) Inc. and Oncolytics Biotech (U.K.) are wholly owned subsidiaries of OBB.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  The biotech sector along with small cap biotech stocks Cardiome Pharma Corp (NASDAQ: CRME), Oncolytics Biotech, Inc (NASDAQ: ONCY), Vital Therapies Inc (NASDAQ: VTL) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) have all been producing their share of news this week for investors and traders alike to trade on. Moreover and while some 42 ��ife sciences��companies have gone public raising about $3 billion from investors so far this year, there are a growing number of biotechs pulling the plug on upcoming IPOs who are citing market conditions. With that in mind, here is a look at important news from the biotech sector and small cap biotech stocks this week:

• [By Sean Williams]

  With this in mind, I feel it'd be prudent of biotech-savvy investors to give Oncolytics Biotech (NASDAQ: ONCY  ) a closer look.

  The big risks
  I'm quite aware that there are a lot factors that'd raise a red flag with Oncolytics. Similar to Affymax, you could say that Oncolytics has put all of its eggs in one basket with its lead experimental drug, reolysin. According to Oncolytics' website, including its U.K., Canadian, and U.S. studies, reolysin as either a monotherapy or combination therapy is the basis for all 31 clinical trials! Obviously, if reolysin proves ineffective or unsafe, Oncolytics is going to be a world of hurt.

Pay-TV providers see first yearly customer loss

Americans may be falling out of love with pay-TV for good.

U.S. multichannel TV providers, including cable TV operators, posted its first full-year decline in subscriptions last year, according to research firm SNL Kagan.

About 100 million subscribers still pay $30 or more per month to receive pay-TV but the total fell by about 251,000 in 2013, continuing a downward trend that has worried cable executives for years. The industry added 40,000 video subscribers in the fourth quarter, slightly weaker than the year-earlier period and not enough to offset the losses in earlier months.

Rising prices, pay-TV operators' poor customer service, enhanced offerings from video streamers and other online distractions are pushing more TV watchers to ditch their monthly cable bills. Until 2013, the industry has been able to maintain its year-over-year growth despite the defections, as legions of customers still enjoy its easy-navigation tools and live programming.

But the full-year decline is a worrisome development that could signal an irrevocable downturn for the video segment of the industry that is scrambling to upgrade options to retain customers.

"While seasonally driven quarterly declines have become routine for industry watchers, the annual dip illustrates longer-term downward pressure even as economic conditions gradually improve," SNL's report said.

In an interview with USA TODAY's editorial board Tuesday, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the nation's largest cable provider lost customers 26 quarters in a row until it eked out a gain in the fourth quarter last year.

To stem the loss in the video business, the Philadelphia-based company is offering more on-demand and other video options stored in the cloud and looking to introduce new subscription tiers, he said. "Our (profit) margin has gone back on video," he said, citing rising programming costs as a contributing factor.

The decline in video subscription is attributable partly to consumers who never bothered to o! rder new service as they moved into new homes. "Housing formation was modest but still outpaced new subscriptions," it said.

The cable operators suffered the highest rate of decline, losing nearly 2 million subscriptions to finish last year with fewer than 54.4 million.

The two main satellite TV providers, Dish Network and DirecTV, gained 170,000 subscribers, "forestalling an annual decline for perhaps another year," the report said. DirecTV contributed nearly all of their annual gain. There were 34.3 million satellite subscribers as of the year-end.

The "telco" segment, which includes the companies that offer fiber-optic based TV services, fared better than competitors. Verizon FiOS and AT&T's U-verse, the two dominant companies in the segment, gained 286,000 customers, reaching 10.7 million. Customers of CenturyLink's PrismTV totaled 175,000 after adding 9,000 new subscriptions. Consolidated Communications Holdings' IPTV added 1,000 to end the year at 110,000.

Could Copper’s Collapse Clobber General Electric?

Yes, according to the folks at Morgan Stanley, who think the falling price of copper could hit General Electric (GE), and 3M (MMM), too.

Bloomberg News

As we all know by now, copper has fallen recently on concerns about China’s economic strength–its dropped 7% in March through Friday’s close and is down 12% this year. On first glance, that would appear to be good news for General Electric, 3M and Lennox International, which purchase a lot of copper, so would benefit from lower prices.

There’s only one problem: “[Stock] prices tend to rise and fall in line with changes in commodity prices,” say Morgan Stanley’s Nigel Coe and team. They explain why:

This reality is largely driven by the notion that material pricing tends to rise when demand is high and vice versa. In other words, ignore the potential benefit of lower input cost prices for now – sharp recent falls in commodity prices are a warnings sign for a sector that continues to trade near its cycle highs.

The good news for General Electric is that it’s already been clobbered this year–it’s down 9.5%%–and its stock price has been less correlated to commodities because of General Electric Finance. 3M has fallen 5.7% in 2014.

Shares of General Electric have gained 1.1% to $25.39 today at 1:32 p.m., while 3M has risen 1.8% to $132.20.

Keurig Green Mountain Going Global?

Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) announced Friday morning that it has "updated" its agreement with Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX), eliminating Starbucks' exclusive deal to offer super-premium coffee in the K-Cups used by the company's Keurig brewing system. In exchange, Starbucks will get "improved business terms, including significantly expanded Starbucks K-Cup pack and variety types."

Shortly after that announcement, Keurig revealed a new multi-year manufacturing an distribution agreement for Peet's-branded coffee and tea in K-Cup packs. Peet's currently sells its single-cup offerings in more than 12,000 U.S. stores.

But what's most interesting about the deal is that Peet's is owned by German consumer products giant Joh. A. Benckiser (JAB). The German firm paid $1 billion for Peet's in July of 2012, but also owns D.E. Master Blenders 1753 and Caribou Coffee. D.E. Master Blenders 1753 makes single-serving pads for Nestle's Nespresso machines.

It's not a big stretch to think that if K-Cup sales go well in the U.S., JAB may strike a deal with Keurig for the much larger D.E. Master Blenders 1753 to package and distribute K-Cups in the 44 countries that the Netherlands-based beverage company services. D.E. Master Blenders 1753 is considerably smaller than Starbucks, but privately held JAB owns an 80% interest in cosmetics firm Coty Inc. and a number of other consumer brands. The company has deep pockets and the $11 billion or so it spent on acquiring its coffee businesses indicates that it is not fooling around here. JAB can definitely play in the big leagues.

Keurig's shares are up about 7.6% in late afternoon trading at $114.28 in a 52-week range of $52.58 to $124.42.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals: Higher Approval Probability, Higher Price

When a biotech stock has already gained 556% this year, like Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) has, there’s really only one thing for an analyst to do–raise their price target. And that’s exactly what Citigroup did today with Intercept Pharmaceuticals, the best performing biotech company in the Russell 2000.

Intercept Pharmaceutical has surged 576% this year after gaining today, besting InterMune’s (ITMN) 119% spike and Sangamo BioSciences’ (SGMO) 63% advance.

Citigroup’s Jonathan Eckard and team explain why they’re even more excited about Buy-rated Intercept Pharmaceuticals:

We are raising [Intercept Pharmaceuticals' target price] to $700 (+$100) based on higher regulatory confidence following a thorough assessment of FDA history with blood lipid changes in other settings involving liver damage/repair. We believe the FDA's understanding of these lipid changes is under-recognized by the Street and the agency's past "lack of" response to them highlights this. Therefore, we expect the lipid changes in the FLINT trial are likely to receive less regulatory scrutiny than current Street expectations and this is not reflected in [Intercept Pharmaceuticals'] current valuation. We also believe certain FLINT data could be publicly available by the end of July and before the anticipated AASLD showing.

What does all that mean for Intercept Pharmaceuticals? Here’s the one-sentence version: “Our increase is driven primarily by higher probability of approval and more rapid penetration into the most severe NASH population.”

Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals have gained 2.9% to $461.11, while InterMune has dropped 2.9% to $32.29 and Sangamo BioSciences has dipped 0.5% to $22.67.

3 Machinery Stocks to Buy Now

Popular Posts: 10 Best “Strong Buy” Stocks — TPL BITA QIHU and more15 Oil and Gas Stocks to Sell Now9 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now Recent Posts: 4 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now 3 Machinery Stocks to Buy Now 3 Durable Goods Stocks to Buy Now View All Posts

Three machinery stocks are moving up in their overall rating this week, according to the Portfolio Grader database. Every one of these is graded an “A” (“strong buy”) or “B” overall (“buy”).

WABCO Holdings () is bumping up its rating from a C (“hold”) to a B (“buy”) this week. Wabco Holdings manufactures and sells control systems, including advanced braking, stability, suspension, transmission control and air compressing and processing systems, that improve vehicle performance and safety and reduce overall vehicle operating costs. In Portfolio Grader’s specific subcategories of Earnings Growth, Earnings Momentum, Equity, Cash Flow and Margin Growth, WBC also gets A’s. Shares of WBC have increased 18.9% over the past month, better than the 1.7% decrease the S&P 500 has seen over the same period of time. .

American Railcar Industries, Inc. () shows solid improvement this week. The company’s rating rises from a C to a B. American Railcar Industries designs, manufactures, and sells hopper and tank railcars in North America. .

This week, Luxfer Holdings PLC Sponsored ADR () is showing good progress as the company’s rating jumps from a B (“buy”) last week to an A (“strong buy”). Luxfer Holdings, a materials technology company, engages in the design, manufacture, and supply of materials, components, and gas cylinders. The stock has inched up 2% over the past week. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Letter To The Grandkids: 12 Essential Investing Guidelines

By Charles D. Ellis

One of the great joys of my life is seeing my four young grandchildren growing up: learning to crawl and then walk, learning to talk and read stories, learning to ride bikes and play computer games—learning in all directions how to do all sorts of things.

Of course, they want to do all these things well: It's more fun and wins praise. It is way too early for my grandchildren, all under 10, to learn what they'll need to know—and will want to know—about how to be successful at investing. But that time is surely coming, and being successful in investing will be very important.

After 50 fascinating years of working closely with nearly 100 investing organizations, knowing many of the world's most effective and successful investment managers, teaching the advanced investment courses at both Yale and Harvard, writing over a dozen books and serving on 14 different investment committees, I've received a remarkable and treasured education in investing: theory and concepts, professional "best practices" and the realities of investing's history.

Having enjoyed this remarkable learning opportunity, I'd certainly like to share my understanding of investing with my adorable grandchildren. But, by the time they'll be really interested in learning about investing—in, say, 20 years—I may no longer be around. So what can I do?

I decided to write an investment letter to my grandchildren. I knew it should be brief so reading it would not be a chore. While "timeless" may sound a bit highfalutin, my message certainly should not be dated or too tied to one specific time or era. It should be appropriate for my grandchildren to use at any time and in any economy or any stock and bond market.

Since my grandchildren will probably open my letter when they are in their twenties—when they will have another 50 or 60 or even 70 years to live and invest—the letter should focus on truly long-term investing. Finally, since the chances are that they will not make their careers as professional investors, my letter should assume that my grandchildren will be consumers, not producers, of investment services.

Since most people don't like getting advice unless they ask for it, each grandchild's letter is in an envelope with his or her name on it and this sentence: "Please open only if and when you have decided you'd like to get some ideas about your investing from your loving grandfather." Inside each envelope is my letter.

The Letter to My Grandchildren

Dear Jade (or Morgan or Ray or Charles),

You decided to open this letter hoping to get some ideas about investing that you'll find useful and helpful. Naturally, in writing up these ideas for you, that's my hope too. So in writing this letter, my rule has been KISS – Keep It Short 'n' Simple.

You probably know that investing can be complicated, so this could have been a very long letter. (If you ever want a longer explanation of how to succeed in investing, you can always read my Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor (updated edition, John Wiley and Sons, 2013) or Winning the Loser's Game (6th edition, McGraw-Hill, 2013, which has sold more than 500,000 copies.)

Two suggestions: If, after reading the letter, you decide you're not yet all that interested in thinking seriously about saving and investing, put the letter back in the envelope and reopen it in about five years. If you're still not very interested, retain the valuable services of a professional investment adviser to guide you as you make your own decisions.

If you decide you are seriously interested in learning about investing, keep a diary of your investment decisions: what you expect of each investment when you make it and, later on, how the results compare to your original expectations.

Like a videotape of tennis or skiing, this objective feedback will help you learn—both more and faster—how to do your best in investing. (As in driving, the secret to success is simply not making big mistakes.)

12 Investment Guidelines
Here are 12 investment guidelines to consider. Naturally, I hope you'll find each of them useful.

1. Since you'll be investing for many years—you'll continue investing for at least 50 years—invest always for the very long term. Over the long term, the highest average returns are achieved with stocks. So, except for a modest "in case of emergencies" savings fund, concentrate your investing in stocks. (Before investing in bonds, give serious consideration to #11 below.)

2. Since nobody can know which companies and stocks will do "better," always diversify your investments widely. An important reality explains why: "Better" in investing really means better than expected by the full-time professional investors who have superb information and now dominate the stock market and set all the prices. (As I write this in 2013, professional investors do more than 95% of all NYSE trading, up extraordinarily from less than 10% 50 years ago.)

As my friend Burt Malkiel—author of bestselling A Random Walk Down Wall Street (10th edition, W.W. Norton & Company, 2012) and co-author of Elements of Investing, a two-hour read that covers all the basics—so wisely says, "Diversification is the only free lunch in investing."

3. When observing the short-term behavior of the stock market, ignore the day-to-day and the week-to-week price gyrations and news reports. Concentrate instead on longer-term averages or norms. Just as when buying a home, you would ignore thunderstorms or a heatwave—the daily weather—but would think carefully about the area's overall climate, always take a long-term view.

Remember that when stock prices go down that's actually good news for long-term investors, because you can buy more shares with the same dollars. Also remember that Mr. Market—a colorful, tricky rascal—is always trying to capture your attention and get you excited or upset so he can trick you into buying or selling by moving stock prices around. Don't let him ever interfere with your steady focus on the discipline and serious work of building long-term investment value.

4. Minimize trading to minimize costs and taxes. Never make an investment you don't expect to stay with for at least 10 years, and hope to stay with for 25 years. If you invest this way, you'll not only save on taxes and trading costs, you'll teach yourself to make better investment decisions before you act. That's why Warren Buffett suggests we all limit our lifetime investment decisions to 10, so we'll oblige ourselves to make more careful, thoughtful, long-term choices whenever we do take action.

5. Consider low-cost indexing very carefully. By reliably and consistently delivering the market rate of return with broad diversification and very low turnover (and so incurring low costs and taxes), index funds outperform a substantial objectives (i.e., growth, value, small cap, international, etc.) Those who know the most about investing agree that index funds are best for most investors. (Always check the fees to be sure you invest in low-cost funds.)

6. Beware of fees. They may look low, but they are actually very high when looked at realistically. Yes, most investors innocently describe mutual fund fees with one four-letter word and one number, but both word and number are wrong! Conventionally, we say mutual fund fees are "only" (the four-letter word) 1% (the number). But 1% of what? Your assets! Since you already have your assets, you are paying for something else: a return on your assets.

So, calculated as a percent of returns, that 1% of assets is closer to 15% of returns (if the consensus expectation of 7% returns holds). That 15% is a lot more than 1%—and nobody would say "only" 15%. But even 15% would be misleading.

As we all learned in Economics 101, every price should be compared to the price of every alternative good or service to reveal the incremental price of each alternative compared to its incremental value. (That's what smart shoppers do at the grocery store and what savvy diners do when studying a menu or a wine list.)

So, the incremental fees for an actively managed mutual fund relative to its incremental returns should always be compared to the fees for a comparable index fund relative to its returns. When you do this, you'll quickly see that that the incremental fees for active management are really, really high—on average, more than 100% of incremental returns!

7. While the past does not guarantee the future, understanding investment history is certainly the best way to understand how best to invest. So here are a few of the lessons of history:

Index funds achieve higher long-term returns than most actively managed funds, particularly after fees and taxes Index fund fees are less than 1/10th as much as the fees of actively managed funds Index funds incur much lower taxes While index funds will never have "beat the market" results, they avoid the bane of active management: underperformance Unlike active managers, index funds reliably and consistently achieve their investment objective—every day, every month, every year, and every decade

So please consider indexing carefully for all or most of your investments.

8. Active investment management is always "interesting," and in the short run, can be exciting—or painful. But be careful, because so many brilliant, imaginative, hard-working, extraordinarily well-informed, full-time professionals have flooded into investing institutions all over the world and are now competing with all the others all the time.

So it cannot be surprising that their collective best judgments—while necessarily imperfect—have become so good that by the millennium, two major changes were evident to careful observers. It had become difficult for any active manager to beat the market over the longer term and, equally daunting, it had become virtually impossible to fi gure out in advance which individual active managers would be the lucky ones that would beat the market.

9. Fortunately for you, finding managers who would beat the market—which used to be many investors' goal when markets and investing were so different back in the 1960s and 1970s—is not nearly as important for your long-term investing success as knowing yourself.

What really matters most is figuring out—often best done with a professional investment adviser—the long-term investment program that is best suited to you: your financial resources, your spending objectives, your time-horizon and your ability to stay the course.

Remember always that for long-term investment success, you are more important by far than the stock market and more important than active managers. So take the time to "know thyself " financially. Once you have done this well, your other decisions will be much easier to make and your decisions will be better matched to your true objectives.

10. Most investors who do not succeed have made at least one—and sometimes all—of three "classic" mistakes. Please be sure to avoid all three.