For several days at the end of January, presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and corporate titans jostle with actors, rock stars and major influencers for top billing at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. The confab takes place in the Alpine village of Davos, about 90 miles southeast of Zurich, and for a brief spell each year the pristine ski resort half-sheds its Graub眉nden roots and becomes a ground zero for the political and business elite.
"It's a fascinating event that occurs on any number of levels," says Boston-based Nariman Behravesh, a Davos veteran and chief global economist at IHS, a consultancy.
"The top-level political leadership give their speeches, but usually they don't tell you anything you don't already know. In the open forums there are a lot of talking heads, and you kind of know what they are going to say. However, the private meetings, often in the hallways and mostly off the record, are much more interesting, with lots of good discussion. There's also the partying. You have to be careful not to overdo it," he says.
Best Gas Utility Companies To Own In Right Now: Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund Inc (TTP)
Tortoise Pipeline & Energy Fund, Inc. (the Fund) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is to provide a high level of total return. It focuses to provide stockholders a vehicle to invest in a portfolio consisting of equity securities of pipeline and other energy infrastructure companies. It focuses on pipeline companies, which are engaged in the business of transporting natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined petroleum products, and on other energy infrastructure companies. It focus invest at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities of pipeline and other energy infrastructure companies. It may invest up to 30% of its total assets in unregistered or otherwise restricted securities, primarily through direct investments in securities of listed companies. Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. serves as the Fund�� investment adviser. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Robert Rapier]
As I write this, Tortoise Pipeline and Energy (NYSE: TTP) trades at a discount of 15.1 percent to its underlying assets, while at the other end of the spectrum Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE: SRV) trades at a 17.4 percent premium. The average MLP closed-end fund listed trades at a 4.9 percent discount, which is perhaps reasonable given the loss of certain tax advantages and the fact that management fees will eat into returns.
- [By Robert Rapier]
As I write this, Tortoise Pipeline and Energy (NYSE: TTP) trades at a discount of 15.1 percent to its underlying assets, while at the other end of the spectrum Cushing MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE: SRV) trades at a 17.4 percent premium. The average MLP closed-end fund listed trades at a 4.9 percent discount, which is perhaps reasonable given the loss of certain tax advantages and the fact that management fees will eat into returns.
Hot US Companies To Watch For 2014: Comfort Systems USA Inc. (FIX)
Comfort Systems USA, Inc. provides installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in the mechanical services industry in the United States. The company engages in the design, engineering, integration, installation, and start-up of HVAC, building automation controls, and related systems; and maintenance, repair, replacement, reconfiguration, and monitoring of HVAC systems and industrial process piping. It also provides specialized applications, such as building automation control systems, fire protection, process cooling, electronic monitoring, and process piping, as well as electrical and plumbing services. The company offers its services for office buildings, retail centers, apartment complexes, and manufacturing plants, as well as healthcare, education, and government facilities. It serves building owners and developers, general contractors, architects, consulting engineers, and property manag ers in the commercial, industrial and institutional HVAC markets. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Hot US Companies To Watch For 2014: Acme United Corp (ACU)
Acme United Corporation, incorporated in 1882, is a worldwide supplier of cutting, measuring and safety products to the school, home, office, hardware and industrial markets. It markets and sells under five main brands - Westcott, Clauss, Camillus, PhysiciansCare and Pac-Kit. The Company has grouped its operations into three segments based on the Company's geographical organization and structure: United States, which includes its Asian operations; Canada and Europe. On February 28, 2011, the Company purchased all of the assets of The Pac-Kit Safety Equipment Company, which is a manufacturer of first aid kits for the industrial, safety, transportation and marine markets. In June 2012, the Company acquired selected assets of The C-Thru Ruler Company. In August 2013, the Company purchased a manufacturing and distribution center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
The Company's operations are in the United States, Canada, Europe (located in Germany) and Asia (located in Hong Kong and China). The operations in the United States, Canada and Europe are primarily engaged in product development, marketing, sales, administrative and distribution activities. The operations in Asia consist of sourcing, product development, production planning, quality control and sales activities.
Cutting
Principal products within the cutting device category are scissors, shears, guillotine paper trimmers, rotary paper trimmers, rotary cutters, knives, hobby knives and blades, utility knives, pruners, loppers, saws, manicure products, medical cutting instruments and pencil sharpeners. During the year ended December 31, 2011, products introduced included an expanded line of heavy duty school and office iPoint pencil sharpeners. Other recent product introductions included Westcott TrimAir paper trimmers with patented titanium coating and a blade change system for rotary and personal trimmers, Westcott Ultra Soft Handle scissors with anti-microbial product protection, True Professional sewing shear! s, as well as a line of iPoint pencil sharpeners utilizing the Company's non-stick coating. The Company also added to its KleenEarth family of recycled products by modifying the production process to allow for multi-colored products as opposed to the traditional black. During 2011, Clauss introduced the AirShoc line of titanium coated non stick garden tools.
Measuring
Principal products within the measuring instrument category are rulers, and math tools. During 2011, product introductions included Westcott branded compasses, protractors, rulers and math kits with anti-microbial product protection.
Safety
Principal products within the safety product category are first aid kits, personal protection products and over-the-counter medication refills. The Company markets these products under the PhysiciansCare brand.
The Company competes with Fiskars Corporation, Helix International Ltd. and Johnson and Johnson.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bristol Voss]
Acme United (NYSE: ACU) is a global supplier of cutting, measuring and safety products to consumer and industrial markets. It has neatly tracked the S&P small-cap index and shown the least volatility of the three stocks. While its $43.7 million market cap is the lowest of the three, its nearly $14 share price is the highest. It has a forward P/E of 9.2, and its dividend yield is the best of the three at 2.3%. In its most recent quarter, Acme posted a 7% increase in net income and a 3% rise in earnings.
Hot US Companies To Watch For 2014: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)
Wells Fargo & Company, through its subsidiaries, provides retail, commercial, and corporate banking services primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Community Banking; Wholesale Banking; and Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement. The Community Banking segment offers deposits, including checking, market rate, and individual retirement accounts; savings and time deposits; and debit cards. Its loan products comprise lines of credit, auto floor plans, equity lines and loans, equipment and transportation loans, education loans, residential mortgage loans, health savings accounts, and credit cards. This segment also provides equipment leases, real estate financing, small business administration financing, venture capital financing, cash management, payroll services, retirement plans, loans secured by autos, and merchant payment processing services; purchases sales finance contracts from retail merchants; and a family of funds, and investment managemen t services. The Wholesale Banking segment offers commercial and corporate banking products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, letters of credit, asset-based lending, equipment leasing, international trade facilities, trade financing, collection services, foreign exchange services, treasury and investment management, institutional fixed-income sales, commodity and equity risk management, insurance, corporate trust fiduciary and agency services, and investment banking services. This segment also provides banking products for commercial real estate market, and real estate and mortgage brokerage services. The Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement segment offers financial advisory, brokerage, and institutional retirement and trust services. As of December 31, 2010, the company served its customers through approximately 9,000 banking stores in 39 States and the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in San Franci sco, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Grgurich]
Versus other big banks reporting for the first quarter, a drop in revenue of only 1% is good. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) reported a nearly 4% drop in year-over-year total revenue. And Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) reported a 1.4% drop. It's tough out there, and BNY Mellon is holding its own. At least that's one way of looking at it.
- [By Heather Long]
A number of prominent companies will report earnings Tuesday including JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) in the morning and Intel (INTC, Tech30) after the bell. Their results will likely set the tone for trading.
- [By Philip van Doorn]
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) on Friday kicked off earnings season for the nation�� largest banks by meeting the consensus second-quarter earnings estimate of $1.01 a share, among analysts polled by FactSet.
- [By John Maxfield]
At the end of last week, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) reported that its purchase-money mortgage originations shot up in the second quarter by 46% compared to the first quarter, while JPMorgan Chase's (NYSE: JPM ) were higher by 44%. Earlier today, meanwhile, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) said that its first-lien mortgage production was up by 40% compared to the same quarter last year.
Hot US Companies To Watch For 2014: Matrix Service Company(MTRX)
Matrix Service Company provides construction, and repair and maintenance services primarily to the energy and energy related industries in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Construction Services, and Repair and Maintenance Services. The Construction Services segment offers aboveground storage tanks for the bulk storage/terminal industry, capital construction for the downstream petroleum industry, and specialty construction, as well as electrical/instrumentation services, such as civil/structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation, millwrighting, and fabrication for various industries. This segment focuses on renovations, retrofits, modifications, and expansions to existing facilities, as well as construction of new facilities. The Repair and Maintenance Services segment provides aboveground storage tank repair and maintenance services, including tank inspection, cleaning, and American Society of Mechanical Enginee rs code repairs; planned major and routine maintenance for the downstream petroleum industry; specialty repair and maintenance services; and electrical and instrumentation repair and maintenance. It serves integrated oil companies, independent petroleum refiners, power companies, engineering firms, general contractors, and petrochemical and industrial gas companies, as well as pipeline, terminal, and oil and gas marketing companies. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Travis Hoium]
What: Shares of energy service provider Matrix Service (NASDAQ: MTRX ) jumped 10% today after an analyst upgraded the stock.
So what: Analysts at Sidoti upgraded the stock from "neutral" to "buy" today. This was the only news out about the stock and drove traders to push volume to nearly twice its three-month average. �
Hot US Companies To Watch For 2014: TriMas Corporation(TRS)
TriMas Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes various products for commercial, industrial, and consumer markets worldwide. Its Packaging segment offers steel and plastic closure caps, drum enclosures, rings and levers, and specialty plastic closures, as well as dispensing systems, such as pumps and specialty sprayers to store, transport, process, and dispense various products for industrial, agricultural, food, beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medical markets. The company?s Energy segment provides metallic and non metallic gaskets; and various types of stud bolts, industrial fasteners, and specialty products for petroleum refining, petrochemical, oil field, and industrial markets. Its Aerospace and Defense segment offers aerospace fasteners and military munitions components to serve aircraft and weapons platforms in the aerospace and defense industries. The company?s Engineered Components segment provides natural gas engines and par ts, compressors, gas production equipment, and chemical pumps engineered for well sites for the oil and gas industry; and high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders for the transportation, storage, and dispensing of compressed gases. Its Cequent Asia Pacific and Cequent North America segments offer custom-engineered towing, trailering, and electrical products, including trailer couplers, winches, jacks, trailer brakes and brake control solutions, lighting accessories, and roof racks for recreational vehicle, agricultural/utility, marine, automotive, and commercial trailer markets; and functional vehicle accessories and cargo management solutions comprising vehicle hitches and receivers, sway controls, weight distribution and fifth-wheel hitches, hitch-mounted accessories, and other accessory components. The company sells its products through direct sales force, third‑party agents, distributors, licensees, and independent sales representatives. TriMas Corporation is based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Basic materials sector was the top decliner on Monday. Top losers in the sector included TriMas (NASDAQ: TRS), down 9.9 percent, and Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), off 8.5 percent.
- [By Luke Jacobi]
Shares of TriMas (NASDAQ: TRS) were down 10 percent to $26.59 after the company cut its full-year profit outlook. The company also announced its plans to buy Allfast Fastening Systems for around $360 million.
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