U.S. stock futures in retreat mode

U.S. stock futures were moving lower on Wednesday as markets in Asia saw broad-based declines.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average index futures dipped 0.2%, Standard & Poor's 500 index futures shed 0.3% and Nasdaq index futures lost 0.3%.

On Wall Street Tuesday, the Dow fell 0.2% to 15,750.67 and the broader S&P 500 closed 0.2% lower at 1,767.69. The Nasdaq composite inched up to 3,919.92.

TUESDAY: Stocks mostly down as Dow retreats from record

Asian stock markets fell after a highly anticipated meeting of Chinese leaders did not announce bold reforms to overhaul a growth model that is running out of steam.

The Shanghai composite index fell 1.8% to 2, 087.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.9% to 22,463.83. Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2% to 14,567.16.

Communist Party leaders in Beijing pledged to promote market forces in the country's state-dominated economy after the four-day meeting wrapped up late Tuesday. But in a disappointment for reform advocates, they failed to announce dramatic changes such as curbing the dominance of state industry, extending property rights to farmers or relaxing the one child birth control policy.

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Major European benchmarks were lower. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 1.2% to 6,646.23 and France's CAC-40 dropped 0.8% to 4,228.80. Germany's DAX shed 0.3% to 9,046.58.

In energy markets, benchmark crude for December delivery was up 22 cents to $93.26 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract plunged $2.1 to $93.04 on Tuesday as market anticipated another increase in U.S. supplies.

Contributing: Associated Press

Fed Balance Sheet Clearly Over $4 Trillion

Earlier in 2013 we saw something that will create serious issues down the road. The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet seemed to be clearly on its way to $4 trillion in assets. Our projection was that it would likely hit the $4 trillion mark by the end of 2013, and that has now occurred on a daily and week-ending balance basis.

The Federal Reserve’s reported balance sheet for the week ending December 25, 2013, was at $4.071 trillion, and the balance on December 25 was $4.074 trillion. A $10 billion per month of tapering will only slow down the growth of the Fed’s balance sheet. Meanwhile, the balance sheet can continue to grow and grow. It can grow even if the Fed cuts its bond buying in half.

Some $3.759 trillion are of securities held outright. Of that, some $2.204 trillion is held in U.S. Treasury securities. Another $1.497 trillion is held in mortgage securities.

Now go back to before the recession and look at the chart from the Federal Reserve below. This had been handily under $1 trillion before the recession and the bank bailouts. It screamed higher in 2008 and 2009 as the Fed and powers that be raced to save the banks and the financial system.

Through the start of 2011, the balance managed to remain less than $2.5 trillion, and the balance sheet remained under $3 trillion until the start of 2013. Now the $4 trillion mark has been hit due to the $85 billion per month of bond buying.

Maybe politicians in favor of quantitative easing will claim through time that the percentage gains from one inflection point to the next were on par with gains around other woes, but the problem now is that a few hundred billion dollars has turned into a few trillion dollars.

Very few people can predict how this balance sheet growth is going to end. Even predicting how the markets will treat the ending is a coin toss. Some fear hyperinflation. Some fear deflation.

Our own take on how the Fed balance sheet growth will end is a scenario that may not yet be legal. That does not mean that laws are broken, but the rules and methods governing them simply do not yet exist.

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Stay tuned. This is no longer just your kids’ futures and the financial future of your grandchildren at stake. At some point someone with enough clout somewhere is going to realize that $4 trillion (or $5 trillion in 2014 or 2015) is actually a serious pile of assets that cannot be dealt with in a rapid manner.

The markets consider Janet Yellen a severe dove. She is on track to succeed Ben Bernanke as the chairman of the Federal Reserve. What she will do with the balance sheet is anybody’s guess.

Source: FRB

DirectTV Sunday Ticket Subscribers May Want a Refund!

Service disruptions on DirecTV’s (DTV) website temporarily interfered with subscribers’ ability to stream National Football League (NFL) games online for the last two Sundays.

Subscribers who paid for NFL Sunday Ticket service through the satellite TV provider could still watch the games on their TVs and through DirecTV’s mobile app. However, since DirecTV prices its NFL Sunday Ticket Max, which includes website streaming, $75 higher than the non-online version, TVPredictions wonders if the company should offer a public refund for affected subscribers.

DirecTV in Trouble With or Without the NFL

The service interruptions on the website lasted about an hour on both Sundays.

TVPredictions noted that DirecTV will often offer partial refunds to customers who take the effort to complain about service problems. The company did not comment on any plans to offer a refund due to the NFL Sunday Ticket website issue.

Shares of DirecTV rose slightly in Tuesday morning trading.

Tiger 21: Real Estate Is Hot, Cash Is Not

High-net-worth investors in the Tiger 21 networking group reduced their allocation to cash and cash equivalents to 10% in the second quarter from 12% in the previous three-month period.

The group’s latest asset allocation report  said this was members’ lowest allocation to cash since the third quarter of 2008.

Tiger 21’s more than 200 members across North America maintain investable assets upward of $19 billion. Their asset allocations are tracked quarterly.

The report showed no drastic changes in allocation, the largest shifts coming in private equity, real estate and cash.

The real estate allocation increased from 19% in the first quarter to 21% in the second quarter. This was the first upward movement after five consecutive quarters of flat or declining allocations.

Investors reduced their private equity allocation by two percentage points from the first quarter to 20%. This was still two points above the second quarter 2012 allocation of 18%.

“The reverse in the private equity numbers certainly does not indicate a disfavor by members with that asset class,” Michael Sonnenfeldt, Tiger 21’s founder and chairman, said in a statement, noting that the allocation is 11 percentage points higher than the low recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Rather, he said, “members hold a cautiously optimistic view of equities in general and slight shifts in allocation can be expected as some investments mature and members evaluate new opportunities.”

Sonnenfeldt said the real estate allocation number was not surprising. “Combined with public and private equities, real estate comprises roughly 60% of members’ portfolios. It is an important asset class and one that many of our members have significant experience in.”

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5 Best Safest Stocks For 2014

LONDON --�Remember the good old days when investors held banking shares for their safe dividend income? The financial crash shattered that. More recently, banking stocks have been a recovery play for those investors brave enough to bet that the eurozone crisis wouldn't blow up in their faces. It's been a remarkably successful bet.

But if you're hankering for a safer play on the banking sector and yearn for those reliable dividends, it's worth having a look at�HSBC� (LSE: HSBA  ) (NYSE: HBC  ) . After recent broker upgrades, its shares are on a prospective yield of 5%, with a 4.2% historic yield in the bag. That's well ahead of�Standard Chartered�and�Barclays,�the other two dividend-paying banks. And HSBC surely has the safest dividend in the sector.

Safety in numbers
It's not just that HSBC is the second largest company on the FTSE 100, with a market cap roughly equal to the other four banks put together. HSBC's global footprint underpins its safety. With over 6,000 offices in 80 countries, its worldwide reach provides a strong competitive advantage to capture international trade flows and service multinational corporations.

5 Best Safest Stocks For 2014: Fluor Corporation(FLR)

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management services worldwide. Its Oil & Gas segment offers design, engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to upstream oil and gas production, downstream refining, chemicals, and petrochemicals industries. This segment also provides consulting services comprising feasibility studies, process assessment, and project finance structuring and studies. The company?s Industrial & Infrastructure segment offers design, engineering, procurement, and construction services to the transportation, wind power, mining and metals, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial and institutional, telecommunications, microelectronics, and healthcare sectors. Its Government segment provides engineering, construction, logistics support, contingency response, management, and operations services to the United States government focusing on the Departme nt of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. The company?s Global Services segment offers operations and maintenance, small capital project engineering and execution, site equipment and tool services, industrial fleet services, plant turnaround services, temporary staffing services, and supply chain solutions. Its Power segment provides engineering, procurement, construction, program management, start-up and commissioning, and operations and maintenance services to the gas fueled, solid fueled, plant betterment, renewables, nuclear, and power services markets. The company also offers unionized management and construction services in the United States and Canada. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  South America has become an unsettled region to mine in. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM  ) had its Peruvian Conga project brought to a short stop over environmental concerns, while Vale (NYSE: VALE  ) recently abandoned an Argentinean project because of the country's policies.�Costs for Pascua-Lama have ballooned over the past decade and now stand at about $8.5 billion, putting it at risk of becoming an albatross around the miner's neck even before the court decision. Barrick even resorted to bringing in engineering specialist Fluor (NYSE: FLR  ) to expand the scope of its project management before the court order.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  If we look at the sector using Portfolio Grader, we see that many of the big names in the group like Flour (FLR), Granite Construction (GVA) and KBR incorporated (KBR) are rated ��ell.��The anticipated spending for both government and private industry simply hasn�� materialized, and the companies are not seeing revenue or profit growth.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Fluor Corporation (FLR) is one of the world�� leading heavy construction and engineering firms. I don’t want to imply that this is a bad company because it is actually a very good one. However, Fluor has divisions including Oil & Gas, Industrial Infrastructure, Government, Global Services and Power. Virtually all of them are seeing limited spending as a result of the global slowdown and reduced government spending around the world. The stock is up more than 23% this year, but earnings are actually down on flat revenues. Analysts have been lowering their estimates for the rest of this year as well as 2014, and the stock is currently rated as a by Portfolio Grader. When the economy recovers, I expect will see this company’s fundamentals improve substantially … but until that happens investors should avoid the stock.

5 Best Safest Stocks For 2014: Under Armour Inc.(UA)

Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Under Armour�(UA) has gained 0.2% to $78.65 in pre-open trading after being downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

  Potash Corp.�(POT) has gained 1.9% to $33.10 on speculation that a spat between Belarus and Uralkali may be close to getting resolved.

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Can VF scale the peak?
  The bar is high, and VF is now committed to hitting its impressive goal. Competitors are certainly not going to back down, and VF is going to be under pressure for the next five years. On its main front, expect VF to see a siege from rival brand Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ: COLM  ) and sporting champion Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) .

• [By John Maxfield]

  Shares of Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) started the day almost 5% higher after the apparel company reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of the year, though they were sold off throughout the day, leaving the stock slightly below breakeven as of 2 p.m. EDT.

Top 5 Gold Companies To Invest In Right Now: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

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

5 Best Safest Stocks For 2014: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras(PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. primarily engages in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining, trade, and transportation businesses. The company?s Exploration and Production segment involves in the exploration, production, development, and production of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas in Brazil. This segment supplies its products to the refineries in Brazil, as well as sells surplus petroleum and byproducts in domestic and foreign markets. Its Supply segment engages in the refining, logistics, transportation, and trade of oil and oil products; export of ethanol; and extraction and processing of schist, as well as holds interests in companies of the petrochemical sector in Brazil. The Gas and Energy segment involves in the transportation and trade of natural gas produced in or imported into Brazil; transportation and trade of LNG; and generation and trade of electric power. In addition, the segment has interests in natural gas transportation and d istribution companies; and thermoelectric power stations in Brazil, as well engages in fertilizer business. The Distribution segment distributes oil products, ethanol, and compressed natural gas in Brazil. The International segment involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as well as in supplying, gas and energy, and distribution operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Further, the company involves in biofuel production business. Petroleo Brasileiro was founded in 1953 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sarfaraz A. Khan]

  The Brazilian energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro S.A (PBR), more commonly known as Petrobras, has been eyeing a turnaround but so far, it has fallen short of expectations. It managed to deliver a decent performance in its last quarter, but its ADR has fallen by 21.45% this year. The company is controlled by the Brazilian government through its 63% voting power. Petrobras has struggled with profitability because the business has been used as a tool to curb inflation. The company is eyeing an uptake in production in H2-2013, but I believe that, for now, investors should avoid this stock.

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Like gold, silver is having a nice run, and investors are taking notice.

The iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) moved up 9% last week, while the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) ticked up 2%.

ETF Securities recently focused on the precious metal’s changing outlook in its newsletter Silver Shines as Gold: Silver Ratio at 3-Year High Attracts Investors.

To understand the major factors driving the uptick in silver, ThinkAdvisor spoke with Mike McGlone, CFA, FRM, director of U.S. research for ETF Securities in New York.

Gold-to-Silver Price Ratio

This ratio can give investors a sense of relative valuation.

Before 2008, it took roughly 50 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold, says McGlone. During the recent economic crisis, the ratio increased to 80.

As of early August, the ratio was 66-to-1.

At that level, says McGlone, it “looks like silver at 66 is generally pretty cheap vs. gold, or you can say gold is rich vs. silver.”

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  However, Pandora isn't necessarily doomed if iRadio is embraced by earbud-donning music fans. Spotify, Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) , and Pandora have all posted spectacular growth over the years in the face of growing competition.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Pandora pays one rate for songs from one record label and some different rate for another label's content. Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) has a totally different menu of, again, very different rates -- even if you're streaming songs through Sirius' web browser interface or smartphone app. Looking at traditional radio giant CBS (NYSE: CBS  ) and the picture changes drastically again, usually toward lower or nonexistent rates.

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Bloomberg via Getty Images Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From an online educator getting schooled to a PC dinosaur showing signs of coming back to life, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst in the business world. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -- Winner PC sales continue to slide, but market leader HP is turning things around. Industry tracker IDC may have served up some grim metrics for the state of desktops and laptops -- global PC shipments were down by nearly 8 percent, making this the sixth consecutive quarter of slipping sales -- but IDC estimates that HP bucked the trend by shipping more computers than it did a year earlier. The trend is even better domestically. HP was already having a good week when CEO Meg Whitman explained why she felt her company was well-positioned to thrive in the future. The IDC report suggests that HP's rosy future is now. K12 (LRN) -- Loser Online learning has come under fire in recent years. Are the students engaged enough? Is the education effective? Are the cost savings worth the shortcomings of the virtual classroom? We still don't have all of the answers, but we may be seeing enrollments peaking. Shares of K12 were slammed this week after the provider of Web-based curriculums for grade school students posted a disappointing outlook. K12 saws enrollments increased by a softer than expected 6 percent in its latest quarter. K12 also now sees revenue for the entire fiscal year that ends in June clocking in between $905 million and $925 million. Analysts were perched at $988 million. Ouch. That's not a passing grade. Microsoft (MSFT) -- Winner HP wasn't the only winner in IDC's review of the PC industry during the third quarter. Four of the five largest PC makers in this country saw their shipments increase. The lone holdout was Apple (AAPL) experiencing an 11 percent slide in Mac and MacBook sales during the period. That's sweet news for Mic

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) is teaming up with Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX  ) Entertainment Weekly to launch a new station devoted entirely to entertainment news and chatter.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: First Busey Corporation(BUSE)

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It accepts noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing transaction, savings, money market, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans; individual, consumer, installment, first mortgage, and second mortgage loans; and commercial real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans. It also provides money transfer, safe deposit, fiduciary, automated banking, and automated fund transfer services. In addition, the company provides asset management, brokerage, and fiduciary services, including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and trust and estate advisory services to individuals; investment management, business succession planning, an d employee retirement plan services to businesses; and investment management, investment strategy consulting, and fiduciary services to foundations. Further, it offers pay processing solutions, such as walk-in payments processing for payments delivered by customers to retail pay agents; online bill payment solutions for payments made by customers on a billing company?s Website; customer service payments for payments accepted over the telephone; direct debit services; electronic concentration of payments delivered by the automated clearing house network; money management software and credit card networks; and lockbox remittance processing of payments delivered by mail. The company has 33 locations in Illinois, 7 locations in southwest Florida, and 1 location in Indianapolis, Indiana. First Busey Corporation was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Watch For 2014: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  We all saw the share prices tank after JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM  ) , Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) , and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) reported earnings. But did the banks' earnings really justify the negative reactions they received? In the video below, Motley Fool contributor Jessica Alling discusses the reason for the drops and why Foolish investors should see past the initial reactions.�

• [By John Grgurich]

  Down slightly on the day, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) looks like it's going to finish the week slightly up: by a healthy 1.80%. After last week's weirdness, this is better news than investors probably dared hope for.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: WebMediaBrands Inc(WEBM)

WebMediaBrands Inc., an Internet media company, provides content, education, and career services to media and creative professionals through a portfolio of vertical online properties, communities, and trade shows. The company operates mediabistro.com, a blog network that provides content, education, community, and career resources about media industry verticals, including new media, social media, Facebook, TV news, sports news, advertising, public relations, publishing, design, mobile, and the semantic Web. Its mediabistro.com also includes a job board for media and business professionals focusing on various job categories, such as social media, online/new media, publishing, public relations/marketing, advertising, sales, design, and television. The company also operates a network of online properties, including AdsoftheWorld, DynamicGraphics, LiquidTreat, BrandsoftheWorld, Graphics.com, StepInsideDesign, Creativebits, and GraphicsDesignForum that provide content, educatio n, community, career, and other resources for creative and design professionals. In addition, it offers community, membership, and e-commerce offerings comprising a freelance listing service, a marketplace for designing and purchasing logos, and premium membership services. Further, the company provides online and in-person courses, panels, certificate programs, and video subscription libraries for media and creative professionals. Additionally, it organizes various trade shows that include Semantic Technology Conference, Monetizing Social Media, Social Media Optimization Conference, Social Gaming Summit, and Virtual Goods Summit. The company was formerly known as Jupitermedia Corporation and changed its name to WebMediaBrands Inc. in February 2009. WebMediaBrands Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in New York, New York.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Advance Auto Parts Inc(AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items. It operates in two segments, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and Autopart International (AI). The AAP segment operates stores, which primarily offer auto parts, including alternators, batteries, chassis parts, clutches, engines and engine parts, radiators, starters, transmissions, and water pumps; accessories comprising floor mats, mirrors, vent shades, MP3 and cell phone accessories, and seat and steering wheel covers; chemicals consisting of antifreeze, freon, fuel additives, and car washes and waxes; and oil and other automotive petroleum products. This segment also provides battery and wiper installation, battery charging, check engine light reading, electrical system testing, video clinics and project brochures, loaner tool programs, and oil and battery recycling services; and sells its products through online. The AI segm ent operates stores that offer replacement parts for domestic and imported cars, and light trucks to customers in northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, as well as to warehouse distributors and jobbers in North America. As of January 1, 2011, the company operated 3,369 AAP stores, including 3,343 stores located in the northeastern, southeastern, and Midwestern regions of the United States under the Advance Auto Parts and Advance Discount Auto Parts trade names; 26 stores situated in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands under the Advance Auto Parts and Western Auto trade names; and 194 stores under the Autopart International trade name in the United States. It serves do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me, or commercial customers. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Roanoke, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ning Jia]

  Reuters Description: Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (Advance), incorporated on August 1, 2001, is a specialty retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries and maintenance items primarily operating within the United States. The Company operates in two segments: Advance Auto Parts (AAP), and Autopart International (AI). The AAP segment is comprised of its store operations, which operate under the trade names Advance Auto Parts and Advance Discount Auto Parts.The AI segment consists of the operations of Autopart International, Inc. which operates under the Autopart International trade name. The Company�� stores carry a product line for cars, vans, sport utility vehicles and light trucks.The Company serves both do-it-yourself (DIY), and do-it-for-me (Commercial), customers. Its Commercial customers consist primarily of delivery customers for whom the Company delivers product from its store locations to it Commercial customers��places of business, including independent garages, service stations and auto dealers. On December 31, 2012, the Company acquired B.W.P. Distributors, Inc.
  

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  What's interesting, though, is that historically, auto-parts makers are seen as relying on the lack of success among automakers. After all, new cars don't need parts nearly as often as older cars do, and when Ford and GM perform well, their customers don't have to rely as much on Genuine Parts or competitors AutoZone (NYSE: AZO  ) and Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP  ) for replacements. Yet, even though Advance's 15% gain, and AutoZone's 20% rise year to date, aren't quite as substantial as Genuine Parts, they still signal a paradigm shift in the way investors look at the industry, perhaps recognizing that for every new car sold, there's usually a used car that gets traded in, and so good news for Ford and GM sales might actually translate into more business for the parts industry.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Mattel Inc.(MAT), Stanley Black & Decker Inc.(SWK) and Advance Auto Parts Inc.(AAP)

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: TII Network Technologies Inc.(TIII)

Tii Network Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells products for use in the networks to service providers in the communications industry in the United States. It provides network interface devices (NID), including overvoltage surge protectors, digital subscriber line (DSL) service splitters, and customer bridge modules; building entrance terminals; and accessories comprising station protectors, customer wiring modules, electro-magnetic interference filters, and line test modules. The company also offers broadband products, such as DSL electronic products that include xDSL plain old telephone service splitters to isolate voice and data signals; Outrigger, an outdoor intelligent residential gateway; HomePlug technology that enables networking of voice, data, and audio devices through the consumers? AC power lines. In addition, it provides connectivity products consisting of connector block and terminal block products; voice over I nternet protocol products; switchable voice NID products; voice intercom systems for use in multi-dwelling units; and wire terminals and other connectivity products. Further, the company offers fiber optic products which comprise wall mount enclosures, rack mount enclosures, OSP fiber enclosures, cable assemblies, miscellaneous fiber accessories, and optic network terminals installation accessories. Additionally, it offers overvoltage surge protection products, including two and three electrode gas tubes; station overvoltage surge protectors; protector modules; and protector packs and cat 5 cat 6 protection products, as well as other surge protection products comprising a 75 ohm coaxial protector for cable networks; a 50-ohm coaxial protector for wireless service providers? cell sites; a gel-sealed Ethernet data protector; and power line/data line protectors for personal computers and home entertainment systems. The company was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Edgewoo d, New York.

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Express-1 Expedited Solutions Inc.(XPO)

XPO Logistics, Inc. provides third-party logistics services using a network of relationships with ground, sea, and air carriers in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It operates in three segments: Express-1, Concert Group Logistics, and Bounce Logistics. The Express-1 segment offers ground expedited surface transportation services for freight. It operates a fleet ranging from cargo vans to semi tractor trailer units. The Concert Group Logistics segment provides domestic and international freight forwarding services through a network of independently owned stations. Its domestic freight forwarding services include air charter, expedites, and time sensitive services, as well as cost sensitive services comprising deferred delivery, less than truckload, and full truck load services; and international freight forwarding services consist of on-board courier and air charters, time sensitive services, less-than-container and full-container-loads, and vessel charters. This segm ent also offers documentation on international shipments, customs clearance and banking, trade show shipment management, time definite and customized product distributions, reverse logistics and on site asset recovery projects, installation coordination, freight optimization, and diversity compliance support services. The Bounce Logistics segment provides premium freight brokerage services for truckload shipments. The company serves approximately 4,000 retail, commercial, manufacturing, and industrial customers through 6 U.S. operations centers and 22 agent locations. It offers its services to the automotive manufacturing, automotive components and supplies, commercial printing, durable goods manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food and consumer products, and high tech sectors. The company was formerly known as Express-1 Expedited Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to XPO Logistics, Inc. in September 2011. XPO Logistics, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is based in Buchanan, Michi gan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO  ) jumped 13% today after announcing an acquisition.

  So what: The company will pay $365 million for logistics provider 3PD, consisting of $357 million in cash an $8 million in XPO restricted stock. Is will use its own cash and borrow $195 million from Credit Suisse Group for the remainder of the purchase. �

Top Cheap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Lattice Semiconductor Corporation(LSCC)

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets programmable logic products and related software. The company offers field programmable gate array (FPGA) products, including LatticeECP family for deployment in wireless infrastructure and wireline access equipment, as well as in video and imaging applications; and LatticeXP for the security, surveillance, and display markets. It also provides programmable logic device (PLD) products comprising various versions of ispMACH4000 in-system programmable complex programmable logic device family; MachXO family that is designed for a range of low density applications; platform manager, power manager, and ispClock programmable mixed signal devices; and software development tools and intellectual property cores. The company sells its products directly to end customers through a network of independent manufacturers? representatives and indirectly through a network of independent sell-in and sell-through distributors. It primarily serves original equipment manufacturers in the communications, computing, consumer, industrial, military, automotive, and medical end markets. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: LSCC) is a top chip stock to buy at Jefferies. The company announced last month three new complete reference designs that will make it easier for electronic OEMs to deliver media-rich experiences to their end users by taking advantage of low-cost, industry-standard MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) camera, application processor and display technologies. The Jefferies price objective for the stock is $6.50, and the consensus is also at $6.50. Lattice closed yesterday at $4.63.

This FDA Approval Is Exciting News for Hepatitis-C Patients

People with hepatitis-C and those who carry the virus without even realizing it -- you have a reason to celebrate this weekend.

Hepatitis-C is a contagious virus that attacks the liver and can be found in acute or chronic forms. In nearly all instances, acute cases of hepatitis-C lead to a chronic form of the condition, which can cause cirrhosis of the liver and possibly even liver cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 3.2 million people in the U.S. (about 1% of the population) are estimated to have a chronic version of the hepatitis-C virus, which is known as one of the silent killers because many of its symptoms go undetected. To put things mildly, it's a serious disease currently commanding a lot of attention from researchers.

That attention manifested itself into the approval by the Food and Drug Administration of Abbott Laboratories' (NYSE: ABT  ) first-ever hepatitis-C genotyping test on Thursday. Known as the Realtime HCV Genotype II, this fully automated test is capable of examining patients' blood to determine which specific genotype of the HCV virus is present out of the 11 known subtypes. Since different medications work better on certain genotypes, Abbott's Realtime HCV Genotype II test is going to revolutionize the speed of, and personalization, of hepatitis-C care.

Source: Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills; Flickr.

Abbott's perfect timing
This approval from Abbott also comes on the heels of some fantastic new opportunities with regard to how hepatitis-C patients are treated.

One of today's FDA-approved treatments is Vertex Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: VRTX  ) Incivek, which is an oral medication administered with ribavirin and a type of interferon called peginterferon alfa. While relatively effective, interferon can cause lingering flu-like symptoms in patients for up to 48 weeks, which can make the side-effects of the medication as unpleasant as the chronic HCV disease is itself. However, new drugs are currently in the works which could change all that.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD  ) and AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) have the two most-advanced all oral hepatitis-C medications, which could revolutionize patient care.

I've been stating for months that Gilead's sofosbuvir has blockbuster potential written all over it. In its four late-stage clinical trials, sofosbuvir performed considerably better than the placebo in every instance. Delivering an impressive sustained viral response (SVR) of 90% in genotype 1 patients, the drug, when combined with a ribavirin, was also very effective at knocking out detectable levels of the virus in genotype 2 and 3 patients after a 12-week treatment course. Currently under review by the FDA, sofosbuvir may find dual success as a stand-alone compound and as a combination therapy.

AbbVie's hepatitis-C drug combination could be as equally exciting, with the combo producing a 97% SVR in mid-stage trials, and with it receiving the relatively new breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA in May. If AbbVie's success continues over to phase 3 trials, then, with the breakthrough therapy designation already attached, it should sail right through to an expected approval.

However, not all drugmakers have been so lucky. Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY  ) , for example, shelled out $2.5 billion to purchase Inhibitex early last year, only to have its lead hepatitis-C candidate, later renamed BMS-986094, cause the death of a patient in trials and get completely scrapped, resulting in a $1.8 billion writedown.

Top Dividend Stocks To Own For 2014

This is a reason to celebrate
Overall, though, those with hepatitis-C and those who carry the highly mutable virus and who aren't aware of it could be on the precipice of a big shift in the quality and type of care they receive. With Abbott's test now approved, we have the personalization required to treat hepatitis-C patients; it should be only a matter of months before we have two potential blockbusters from Gilead and AbbVie dueling it out to improve patient quality of life.

Obamacare will undoubtedly have far-reaching effects on the health-care industry. The Motley Fool's new free report "Everything You Need to Know About Obamacare" lets you know how your health insurance, your taxes, and your portfolio could be impacted. Click here to read more. 

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Incivek is administered through an IV and did not state that ribavirin is also part of the treatment. The Fool regrets the error.

HP Needs to Copy Kraft's and News Corp's Bold Moves

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) shares soared sky-high on Thursday thanks to a surprisingly solid second-quarter report. On Friday, HP threw its engines into reverse. The strongest Dow Jones (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) component one day became the weakest of the next day.

Fellow Fool Dan Caplinger posits that HP's 2.5% drop is nothing but a pullback after Thursday's 17% dose of enthusiasm. That's certainly part of the picture, but I think there's more to this steep reversal.

I'm not convinced that HP's recent success is sustainable, and HP investors are slowly waking up to this uncomfortable idea. It's not a bucket of ice water to the face, but rather more of a sluggish, queasy morning after the earnings-induced party.

CEO Meg Whitman remains committed to HP's current strategy. This means keeping the company intact, rather than splitting it into two nimbler companies, while firing diluted blunderbuss shots at every market in sight. Separating into a consumer company and a business-class company would help each division double down on the opportunities that truly matter while dropping unprofitable lead weights as appropriate.

There's even a growing body of precedent for this kind of strategy. News Corp (NASDAQ: FOX  ) just announced its intention to split into separate news and entertainment businesses, letting investors support the 20th Century Fox or News sides of the company. This move will "unlock the true value of both companies and their distinct assets," says News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch.

Last year saw Kraft Foods (NASDAQ: KRFT  ) refocus on grocery items while splitting off its snack-foods segment into brand-new ticker Mondelez (NASDAQ: MDLZ  ) . Again, the split inspired Kraft Foods CEO Tony Vernon to operate his half with "the spirit of a start-up and the soul of a powerhouse," while Mondelez is free to "unleash a global snacking powerhouse" that is "the world's greatest start-up." Neither Kraft nor Mondelez has the scale to stay on the Dow, but the company went ahead with the split anyway.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Buy For 2014

Since that game-changing event, Mondelez shares have largely tracked the Dow's performance, while Kraft shares more than doubled the Dow's returns. Maybe there's something to this "start-up spirit" talk after all.

KRFT data by YCharts.

Granted, all this big talk may not match the long-term reality, but wouldn't you agree that HP could use a shot of entrepreneurial spirit right now? The inveterate Silicon Valley giant would be better off ripping that page from the Kraft and News Corp playbooks, but Whitman prefers sticking to her guns.

I'm far from the only HP critic, even in the afterglow of Thursday's celebration. Powerhouse analyst house Goldman Sachs reiterated its "sell" rating on the stock, noting that while last quarter was impressive, "HP's businesses are facing even more distress than we originally anticipated, and we believe the company's short-term, restructuring-driven profit and cash flow recovery is unsustainable."

Short-term fixes to permanent problems. I rest my case.

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. HP's stock is surging, but does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool's technology analyst details exactly what investors need to know about HP in our new premium research report. Just click here now to get your copy today.

Hefty tax bills could lurk in failed life insurance policies

The failure of a life insurance policy is bad enough. But the situation instantly goes from bad to worse if there are loans against the policy — a hefty tax bill could be waiting in the wings.

In-force life insurance policies of all varieties that were written during the 1980s and 1990s are facing pressure due to current low interest rates. The problem lies in the fact that the policies were written with optimistic interest rate assumptions. For universal life policies, clients expected to receive an attractive credited interest rate on their cash value — a rate high enough that would sufficiently cover the policy's costs. For whole life policies, dividends credited to the cash value were expected to foot expenses.

Today's low rates make it hard for insurers to continue being so generous, so clients now are expected to chip in even more money to foot the bill for keeping the policy in force — or else surrender the policy. Alternatively, clients can cut death benefits or try to sell the policy to a buyer on the secondary market.

Life insurance experts warn that another threat looms with failed policies: Should the client surrender the insurance coverage or let it lapse, and there are loans against the cash value, they could face a giant tax bill for so-called “phantom income.”

Many insurance policies will default to an automatic payment schedule if the client stops paying the premiums. In this case, the costs will be deducted from the cash value, and those deductions are considered an internal loan.

“It collapses these policies from the inside out; there are sometimes seven- or eight-figure loans on these policies,” said Bill Boersma, president of Opportunity Concepts, a life insurance consulting firm. “The worst that can happen is that you lose the policy and you are in debt to the IRS.”

So-called phantom income in the context of a life insurance policy can be calculated in two ways.

In the event of a surrender, phantom income is the gross distribution the insurer pays to the client at surrender minus the amount the client invested into the contract. The difference left over is considered taxable income. This amount is also called “phantom income” because if the client has outstanding loans (and interest) against the cash value, the gross distribution will go toward repayment of that loan. As such, a client who has large loans against a policy could receive a very small check from the insurer at surrender — but still face a very large income tax bill.

In case of a lapse, where the client just stops paying premiums, the phantom income is the difference between the policy loan and the premiums paid into the policy: A $100,000 loan minus $80,000 in past premiums paid equates to $20,000 of taxable income.

For example, the U.S. Tax Court on Dec. 2 found a New York couple liable for income taxes on $33,125 from a surrender of a life insurance contract. The husband sought to surrender a life insurance policy in 2010, some 26 years after purchasing it, when h! e and his wife became unable to pay premiums. There were loans against the cash value. The issuing insurer made a gross distribution of $65,903 when the policy was surrendered, of which the husband's investment in the contract was $32,778 — but the couple received a check for only $3,786, the net value of the policy after repayment of outstanding loans. The couple still wound up on the hook for $33,125 in taxable income.

There are few ways out of this scenario once a client lapses or surrenders the policy and winds up holding the taxable-income bag.

One possibility is to negotiate a deal with the insurance company to reduce the face amount of the policy so that the policy costs less to maintain, according to Peter Katt, a fee-only life insurance adviser at Katt & Co. The odds are relatively slim, however, and much rides on whether the insurer is willing to make the adjustment. “In the last five or six cases I've had, two or three insurers have been cooperative,” Mr. Katt said. “I've seen people get hit with $200,000 to $300,000 in phantom income.”

“When you surrender or change the policy, that's when the loans become a problem,” said Thomas J. Henske, a partner with Lenox Advisors Inc. “If the client died, [the additional income taxes] wouldn't be a problem.”

The moral, Mr. Henske said, is to review life insurance policies on a regular basis, but also to make sure that if the client is considering surrendering or letting the policy lapse — or exchanging it for another — to ask the insurer for a quote on what the taxable income would be.

“It comes back to policy monitoring,” said E. Randolph Whitelaw, founder of the TOLI Center. ”Most people don't understand how life insurance works. If they have loans, they have a problem.”

Rising Household Wealth Signals Surge in Consumer Spending

Here's one piece of economic news that bodes well for economic growth in coming months: Household net worth is on the rise. Between a 27% increase in the S&P 500 so far this year and housing prices that are rising at double-digit rates in most major markets, overall gains in household wealth are the strongest since at least 2005, two years before the financial meltdown and housing bust.

See Also: Kiplinger's Economic Outlook

Why is that good news for economic growth? Because when consumers are sitting on a bigger stash — whether it's held in a 401(k) stock portfolio or in the form of more equity in their homes — they tend to spend more, and that contributes to the virtuous economic cycle. More spending spurs more production, more hiring and more income, which in turn fuels even more spending.

Top 5 Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014

Household net worth has increased dramatically since 2011, jumping $6.0 trillion in 2012 and $6.3 trillion through September 2013 to a total of $77.3 trillion. But to assess the impact of this on the economy, we need to measure wealth by how big it is relative to total disposable personal income. The graph below measures this for the two main components of household wealth, financial assets less liabilities and homeowners' equity. Financial net worth has been rising steadily since the end of the 2008-2009 recession. Indeed, given the strong stock market performance of recent months, it is probably now at or near the previous peak — roughly 4.8 times disposable personal income. Meanwhile, homeowners' equity, again measured as a multiple of disposable income, started rising in 2012 for the first time since the housing bubble burst and should soon return to a more "normal" range compared to its historical average.

Federal Reserve, Kiplinger

So how much of a bump to spending does more wealth provide? For every $100 increase in their home equity, homeowners save about $3 less for their golden years, instead spending it on movies, meals, apparel, new tech gizmos and hundreds of other goods and services. Similarly, for every $100 increase that consumers see in their financial portfolio, they reduce savings by about $1.50 and spend that.

Together, gains in home equity and financial assets could have added an estimated $30 billion to consumer purchases each quarter of the past two years. Consumers feeling wealthier could have especially been responsible for the recent run-up in spending on nonessentials such as luxury items, increased travel (see graph below), sporting and recreational equipment, and hobbies.

Bureau of Economic Analysis, Kiplinger

Of course, increases in household net worth benefit some types of goods and services a great deal more than others. Household wealth, and gains in it, aren't distributed evenly across society. They're concentrated among the very wealthy and the upper middle class. So, gains in the aggregate don't mean that all consumers are better off. And makers and sellers of luxury items — pricey cars, boats, jewelry, and designer shoes, apparel and accessories, for example — are more likely to be blessed with higher sales than those who produce and sell toothpaste, toilet paper and other consumer staples. Moreover, wealth in the form of increased home equity can't always be easily tapped. Still, over the past 30 years, the pattern is clear: When wealth rises, consumers as a group loosen their grips on their wallets and pump more bucks into the economy. And that can't be bad.

Mining Data For Profits

With data available at the touch of a smart phone, today’s patients are more informed than ever. After discussing a condition or illness with their doctor, most folks these days immediately start their research, educating themselves about available drugs and treatment options and returning to their doctor able to take an active role in their care.

But patients aren’t the only ones enjoying an informational edge.

Thanks to electronic health insurance claims processing and the rise of electronic health records, millions of data points regarding treatment decisions and billing operations are collected each day. Much of that data can then be privatized—a process of removing personally identifiable details—and then analyzed to identify treatment decisions that can be improved or potential fraud that can be prevented.

Verisk Analytics (NSDQ: VRSK), a company in the risk assessment side of health care, capitalizes on that treasure trove of data.

Verisk provides information for risk management in all industries, a largely undifferentiated pool that accounts for about a third of revenue. The company specializes in the insurance (32 percent), health care (17 percent) and financial services industries (11 percent).

Americans spend $2.7 trillion on health care annually, a sum that amounts to 17 percent of US gross domestic product and is growing rapidly. All that spending creates huge amounts of electronic “paperwork,” much of which Verisk can access.

The company’s health care unit operates in two basic service areas: risk assessment and fraud prevention.

The company’s risk assessment unit offers web-based tools that help health care payers, providers and government entities evaluate their health care risks of both a financial and clinical nature. Its suite of products allows users to assess the illness burden posed by units as small as an ! individual or as large as an entire population, creating the ability to forecast spending rates and cost drivers. That information can then be used to create budgets and take interventional steps to control costs, such as steering patients towards care management programs.

The risk assessment industry also includes Health Care Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) compliance services.

HEDIS comprises a collection of performance measures used by more than 90 percent of America’s health plans as a tool to evaluate effectiveness at both a clinical and financial level. Verisk’s HEDIS compliance and reporting software allows users to analyze claims and record data, calculate specific HEDIS metrics and submit them to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (which oversees the program).

The company’s fraud prevention services offer the ability to monitor claims activity at almost any level of the chain. Claims data can be aggregated at the system level, allowing payers to monitor all of their claims activity or drill down to specific physician or facility claims. The company also provides the ability to monitor dental and pharmaceutical claims activity.

Federal regulators estimate that inefficient health care spending costs the system as much as $900 billion annually, including $300 billion in unnecessary care, $230 billion in fraud and waste, and $210 billion in administrative red tape.

Verisk offers a total of 19 different products to its clients. As health care payers have become increasingly focused on cost containment for both profit maximization and compliance reasons, the company has been extremely successful at cross-selling its clients on additional products.

Last year, only 70 percent of the company’s clients bought just one product (down from 86 percent in 2011), with 19 percent buying at least two products (12 percent), 7 percent buying three products (2 percent) and 4 percent buying at least four products (none in 2011! ).
In addition to pure organic growth in terms of acquiring new clients, Verisk estimates it could grow its sales by as much as $400 million, based on historical demand trends from existing clients.

Verisk also enjoys an advantage in that most of its products across all business lines are sold primarily as subscription services and generate recurring revenue. In the third quarter of 2013, 68 percent of revenue was subscription based, with just 32 percent as one-time transactional revenue.

In the third quarter of this year, Verisk’s revenue grew by 10 percent on a year-over-year basis, reaching $438.6 million. Its fastest growing business segment was financial services, where revenue grew by 26.6 percent to $48 million, largely thanks to Dodd-Frank implementation, with health care revenue up 6.2 percent to $73.6 million. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share gained 14.8 percent year-over-year to reach $0.62.

Verisk commands a variety of channels through which to grow revenue and earnings.

In the health care sector, analysts estimate that the sector’s use of analytics will become an annual market of $21.3 billion by the end of this decade. That’s largely thanks to mandates to increase efficiencies at all levels of the sector, originating with both the government and private sectors.

The analytics space is highly fragmented, allowing Verisk to take advantage of acquisitions to grow. The company has spent an average of about $90 million annually on purchases of competitors.

Another interesting growth avenue is Verisk’s recently formed Climate division.

Although debate still exists as to whether climate change is caused by human activity, severe weather events such as Hurricane Sandy and Typhoon Haiyan, as well as a multitude of droughts and wildfires, are increasingly common. That’s costing the global insurance industry billions of additional dollars each year, prompting the industry to include those risks into its underwriting ! programs.!

Verisk’s Climate division provides new weather and environmental analytic capabilities to its clients, allowing them to develop strategies to minimize costs. The company is among only a handful of firms offering this type of data on a large-scale basis. Verisk Analytics is a buy up to 70.

Michael Kors Had Better Look Out

At the very beginning of this year, Gap (NYSE: GPS  ) decided to drop $130 million to pick up a little chain of stores called Intermix. The brand has only 32 locations in North America and no international footprint. It sits well outside Gap's other brands, offering $2,000 dresses and jeans for hundreds of dollars.

Gap is expecting good things from Intermix, though. The brand has very little online presence and no international offerings. Last week, management highlighted the potential for Intermix, no doubt hoping to capitalize on some of the success that Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS  ) has seen recently.

High-end, high-margin
In its first foray into high fashion, Gap decided to purchase a non-designer. Intermix doesn't make its own clothing; it's a boutique for other designers. That means that Gap was able to get into the business without having to acquire excess production and design capabilities. The boutiques don't carry Kors but do have offerings from designers such as Jimmy Choo and Fendi.

While the product offering is similar to Kors', the operating model is closer to The Buckle's. Buckle also carries other brands -- though there is a Buckle line. The company used that middleman status to run a 27% operating margin last quarter. Gap would love to have that pulling its operating margin up, as last year it managed only 12%.

The competition
Kors isn't going to go quietly along with Gap's growth plan, though. The company has been pushing sales up at a crazy pace over the past nine months. Comparable sales are up 41% across the brand, and total revenue was up 71%. Kors' brand strength has never been higher, and it's quickly becoming the go-to brand for big names.

If Intermix wants to compete, Gap is going to have to scale up quickly and expansively. Thirty-two locations can't compete with Kors' 388 stores. But even if Gap can't beat Kors, it still has a chance to break into a profitable new market. High-end customers have bounced back faster than Middle America from the crisis, and sales at many luxury stores have been strong.

If Intermix can tap into that segment, it should be able to help generate extra cash for Gap and bring that operating margin up slightly. That will give the company more room to run with its secondary brands, such as Athleta.

In the next three years, as Intermix speeds up and Kors slows down, the fight is going to get hotter. Be on the lookout for an Intermix near you soon, and watch Kors' margins to see whether the company has to dip into discounting to fight off the new threat from Gap.

Michael Kors is one of today's hottest high-end fashion brands, and that's translated into one of the best-performing stocks in retail -- since its debut on the market in late 2011, the share price has more than doubled. But with all that growth, has the stock finally become too expensive, or is there still room left to run? The Motley Fool's new premium report on Michael Kors gives investors all the information they need to make the right decision. We cover the key must-watch areas, opportunities, and threats to the company that investors need to know. To claim your copy, simply click here now for instant access.

Change a Life with DRIPs

Anyone reading this article has the potential to effect real change in people's lives. How, you ask? By introducing them to the power of investing via DRIPs, advises Chuck Carlson, editor of DRIP Investor.

I know this may sound a bit, well, over-the-top. Well, I'm not embarrassed to say that DRIPs changed my life.

Prior to investing in DRIPs, I had no real investment program. Then I discovered DRIPs. The DRIP style of investing fit my limited pocketbook—I could buy quality stocks with amounts as little as $50 or $100. And DRIP investing helped put some of my investing program on autopilot via dividend reinvestment.

Once I started, I wanted more. I started finding more money to put into my DRIPs. I started adding new DRIPs. I stated working on other investments, such as contributing to IRAs and maxing out my 401(k) plan.

I started thinking about my future and how I wanted my retirement to look. And before I knew it, my life had truly changed for the better.

We are entering the holiday season, which means you will be searching for gifts for the young people in your lives.

Why don't you change a person's life by giving the gift of DRIPs. I guarantee you, it is the best stocking stuffer you can give someone. And it won't require a lot of money.

The companies below allow any individual to buy the first share, and every share of stock, directly from the company. All of the stocks have minimum initial investments of $100 or less, and rank among my favorites.

Interestingly, you can take initial positions in all 11 of the highlighted stocks with just $765. Now that's the type of starter portfolio that could end up changing the life of a loved one.

If you are new to DRIP investing, treat yourself to a few DRIPs this holiday season. Trust me—It'll change your life.

American Water Works (AWK)—yielding 2.7% with a DRIP minimum of $100

Cincinnati Financial (CINF)—yielding 3.2% with a DRIP minimum of $25

CVS Caremark (CVS)—yielding 1.4% with a DRIP minimum of $100

Dominion Resources (D)—yielding 3.4% with a DRIP minimum of $40

Domino's Pizza (DPZ)—yielding 1.2% with a DRIP minimum of $65

Eaton (ETN)—yielding 2.3% with a DRIP minimum of $100

Flowserve (FLS)—yielding 0.8% with a DRIP minimum of $100

Kellogg (K)—yielding 3.0% with a DRIP minimum of $50

New Jersey Resources (NJR)—yielding 3.7% with a DRIP minimum of $100

Quest Diagnostics (DGX)—yielding 2.0% with a DRIP minimum of $100

Tim Hortons (THI)—yielding 1.7% with a DRIP minimum of $25

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Information Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:III): The Mega-Millions Winner

Tonight, at 11 p.m. EST, perhaps some lucky person(s) will win the Mega-Millions Jackpot of $291 million. Whew, how nice would that be? For some readers that might be chump change, but for the rest of us…

According to the Mega-Millions' website, the cash payout is $157 million. Whenever the lottery numbers start to pile up and become ridiculous, iStock likes to see which publicly traded company we'd buy with the winnings.

For the sake of our shopping spree, we don't pay a premium so we can get the most for our new found riches. Let's turn to our trusty stock screener to see how many companies have a market cap of $157 million or less. Ok, we have a deep pool to choose from with 3,393 names.

Businesses are in business to make money, except Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). So, any buyout target must be profitable during the past year. That minor demand reduces our list quite dramatically, only 686 made cut two.

[Related -Harmonic Inc (HLIT): Profit From The Rise Of Mobile Video With This Stock]

Profitability in the past is one thing; any new business owner wants to make money tomorrow, too. Analysts believe 79 of our 686 will increase the top line in the next year, and 49 of the 79 will see a fatter bottom line, too.

Wow, from 3,393 to 49 just by insisting on turning a profit and expectations of growth tomorrow, too. That's somewhat scary – no?

Next, we'll turn to valuation. As we mentioned up top, iStock is economical with our hard earned lottery winnings. We don't want to pay more than one times sales, which leaves 21 with price-to-sales ratios of one or under.

[Related -Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Forget Drones: Here's Why Amazon's A 'Sell']

Market pro Warren Buffet concentrates on equities with return-on-equity (ROE) of 14 or more, only a handful remain.

Sticking to our thrifty theme, a forward P/E that's less than projected EPS growth sure would be nice. Ahh, that leaves two companies: Information Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:III) and ! Vertex Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR).

Of the two, our preference would probably be III as it trades more daily volume. Information Services provides fact-based sourcing advisory services in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It offers research, benchmarking and analytics, strategic consulting, and managed services with a focus on information technology, business process transformation, program management services, and enterprise resource planning.

The management services company's market-cap is $150 million (leaving us some walk around money), is expected to grow sales by 8.50% and EPS by 53.8% in 2014, is valued at 0.73 times sales, produces a ROE of 18.64%, and has a forward P/E of 20.18, which is less than half of projected EPS growth.

There you have it. If you win the Mega-Millions lottery, Information Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:III) could help your newly acquired gold coins generate more gold coins.

Good Luck!

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014

Just recently we encountered two troubling personal stories reflecting the costs involved in caring for loved ones who are aged or in need of medical management or assisted living.

The first was a woman whose husband has Alzheimer's. Susan "signed over" their home to a continuous care facility in the U.S. in payment for her husband's health needs, and she moved into a smaller place that she can afford on her own. Not only is she losing her husband to the illness of Alzheimer's, she has lost the home they shared together for years. Susan saw no other financial alternative.

The second was a loving son who is taking care of his 85-year-old mother and has been doing so for some time. Tom wrote to us concerned about the daunting $7,000-per-month cost of a nursing home in his state, and was afraid of losing his only residence in order to pay for it. Though he'd been self-employed in the past, that business dried up when the caring of his mother took so much of his time that he could no longer pursue business leads. He was looking to relocate to another country just so he could afford the care his mother needed.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Cassius Ventures Ltd. (CZ.V)

Cassius Ventures Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. The company has an option to earn a 60% interest in the Carrot River Property comprising 15 mining claims totaling 3,073 hectares located in north-central Manitoba. It also holds an option to earn a 100% interest in certain mineral claims covering 4,212.71 hectares located in the Alberni Mining Division of British Columbia. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Atlantic Power Cor Com Npv (ATP.TO)

Atlantic Power Corporation operates as a power generation and infrastructure company with a portfolio of assets in the United States and Canada. The net generating capacity of the company�s projects is approximately 2,140 megawatts consisting of interests in 31 operational power generation projects across 11 states in the United States and 2 provinces in Canada; one 53 megawatts biomass project under construction in Georgia; and an 84 mile, 500-kilovolt electric transmission line located in California. Atlantic Power Corporation also owns an interest in Rollcast Energy, a biomass power plant developer with various projects under development. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Best China Companies To Watch In Right Now: U.S. Dollar Index(DX)

Dynex Capital, Inc. operates as a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT). It invests in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by a federally chartered corporation, non-agency mortgage-backed securities, and securitized mortgage loans, as well as unsecuritized single-family and commercial mortgage loans. The company finances its investments through a combination of repurchase agreements, and non-recourse collateralized financing, such as securitization financing Dynex Capital, Inc. has qualified as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income tax, provided it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1987 and is based in Glen Allen, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Dynex Capital Inc. (NYSE: DX) is rated as Buy, with a price target of $9.00, versus a recent price of $8.02. The book value was $8.94 at the end of last quarter and was projected to be $8.91 by the end of August.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Dynex Capital (NYSE: DX  ) is maintaining its dividend. The company on Thursday declared a Q2 common stock distribution of $0.29 per share to be paid on July 31 to shareholders of record as of June 28.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Croda Intl(CRDA.L)

Croda International Plc, a marketing and technology company, produces and sells specialty chemicals. The company offers personal care products, including biochemical actives for sebum regulation, wrinkle reduction, skin firming, and protection from free radicals; traditional and microwave plant extracts for use in personal care and industrial applications; and natural oils for personal care applications. It also provides excipients, solubilisers, plant and marine oils, proteins, and biopolymers for the nutritional, pharmaceutical, dermatological, and animal health care markets; and formulation aids and adjuvants under Atlox, Atplus, and Crovol brand names for various applications, including emulsifiable concentrates, microemulsions and O/W emulsions, seed treaters, soluble liquids, suspension concentrates, suspo emulsions, water dispersible granulates, and wettable powders. In addition, the company offers specialty products for formulators in the automotive and industrial lubricant markets; oleochemicals and specialty surfactants for resin manufacturers, formulators, and additive producers; emulsification and demulsification solutions for oilfield, mining, and water treatment markets; polymer additives for use in applications, such as polyolefins, PVC, styrenics, polyamides, and biopolymers; and natural specialty ingredients for home care and tissue, car care, and industrial and institutional applications. Further, it provides ingredients, additives, and processing aids for various consumer applications, including construction chemicals, emulsion technology, technical and industrial fiber chemicals, advanced materials, ceramic ink-jet ink additives, bitumen additives, leather auxiliaries, paper chemicals, candles and waxes, and rubber compounders. The company has operations in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. Croda International Plc was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Goole, the United Kingdom.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: PC-Tel Inc.(PCTI)

PCTEL, Inc. provides propagation and optimization solutions for the wireless industry. It designs and develops software-based radios (scanning receivers) for wireless network optimization; and develops and distributes antenna solutions. The company?s scanning receivers, receiver-based products, and interference management solutions are used to measure, monitor, and optimize cellular networks. It offers various antenna products for worldwide interoperability for microwave access antennas, land mobile radio antennas, and precision global positioning systems antennas that serve applications in telemetry, radio frequency identification, WiFi, fleet management, and mesh networks. The company?s antenna solutions address public safety, military, and government applications; supervisory control and data acquisition, health care, energy, smart grid, and agricultural applications; and indoor wireless, wireless backhaul, and cellular applications. PCTEL, Inc. supplies its products to public and private carriers, wireless infrastructure providers, wireless equipment distributors, value added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers through distributors and direct sales force. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Bloomingdale, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  I'm perfectly happy recycling past investment ideas, and PCTEL (PCTI) treated me quite well indeed when I owned the stock about a decade ago. Since that time, though, the company has gone through a significant transformation and is really only the same in name only. Different isn't always better, but I do believe that PCTEL now operates a collection of businesses with interesting growth and margin potential. PCTEL does not appear to be tremendously undervalued today on a cash flow basis, but with almost $3 per share in cash on the balance sheet further acquisitions could improve its growth prospects further.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: AEP Industries Inc.(AEPI)

AEP Industries Inc. engages in the production, manufacture, and distribution of plastic packaging products in the United States and Canada. The company offers a line of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene flexible packaging products for consumer, industrial, and agricultural applications. Its products include custom films for industrial applications, including sheeting, tubing, and bags; films that protect items stored outdoors or in transit, such as boats and cars; a range of shrink films, barrier films, and overwrap films; stretch film products for hand wrap and rotary applications; and pre stretch and high performance products for commodity and specialty uses. The company also provides food wraps products, including blown plastic film fold-top bags, twist-tie bags, and food containers under the Seal Wrap brand for the supermarket and industrial markets; a range of coextruded polyolefin films and monolayer films for food, pharmaceutical, and medical appli cations; and canliners product line comprising trash bags and institutional bags. In addition, it offers printed rollstock to the food and beverage industries, and manufacturing and distributing companies; and unplasticized polyvinyl chloride films for use in battery labels, twist films, and credit card laminates; and various film products with agricultural applications, such as silage, smooth mulch films, and fumigation films. Further, the company provides disposable consumer and institutional plastic products, which include table covers and skirts, aisle runners, aprons, bibs, gloves, boots, freezer/storage bags, saddle pack bags, locker wrap and custom imprint designs for the food service, party supply, and school/collegiate markets under the Sta-Dri brand. AEP Industries Inc. markets its products directly to end-users, as well as through distributors. The company was founded in 1970 and is based in South Hackensack, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of plastic packaging manufacturer AEP Industries (NASDAQ: AEPI  ) sank 14% today after its quarterly results and outlook disappointed Wall Street.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Gentium SpA(GENT)

Gentium S.p.A., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and manufacture of its primary product candidate, defibrotide, an investigational drug based on a mixture of single-stranded and double-stranded DNA extracted from pig intestines. It develops defibrotide for the treatment and prevention of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), a condition that occurs when veins in the liver are blocked as a result of cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation, that are administered prior to stem cell transplantation. The company has completed a Phase III clinical trial of defibrotide for the treatment of severe VOD in the United States, Canada, and Israel; and a Phase II/III pediatric trial in Europe for the prevention of VOD. It also offers sulglicotide that is developed from swine duodenum, and has ulcer healing and gastrointestinal protective properties in South Korea; and urokinase, which is made from human urine to treat various vascular disorders, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms. The company was formerly known as Pharma Research S.r.L. and changed its name to Gentium S.p.A. in July 2001. Gentium S.p.A. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Villa Guardia, Italy.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  A parabolic problem
  It has also been a year to remember for shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Gentium (NASDAQ: GENT  ) whose share price has catapulted approximately 600% off its lows thanks to growth in its lead drug Defibrotide (known as Defitelio in the European Union).

• [By James Oberweis]

  Gentium Spa (GENT) is focused on the development and commercialization of its leading product, defibrotide, to treat certain complications arising from chemotherapy, and bone marrow and stem cell transplantation therapy.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Continental Coal Limited(CCC.AX)

Continental Coal Limited engages in the production and sale of thermal coal in South Africa. It primarily holds interests in the Vlakvarkfontein mine; and the Ferreira project. It also holds interests in various development projects in South Africa, as well as exploration projects in Botswana. The company was formerly known as Continental Capital Limited and changed its name to Continental Coal Limited in July 2009. Continental Coal Limited is based in West Perth, Australia.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.(TC)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

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

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  The biggest new holdings are Chesapeake Energy�puts, and shares of Discovery Communications. Other new holdings of interest include Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK  ) , and Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE: TC  ) . Oil and gas company Halcon, operating in the promising Bakken region, as well as Texas's productive Eagle Ford shale region, among others, is expected to grow by 30% annually over the coming years. It recently reported 2012 net daily production 128% higher than year-ago levels, and proven reserves up 417%. Halcon was recently one of my colleague Joel South's top two energy holdings, and analysts at Stifel recently upped its rating�from Hold to Buy.

10 Best High Tech Stocks To Invest In 2014: Parlane Resource Corp(PPP.V)

Parlane Resource Corp. does not have significant operations. It intends to identify, evaluate, and negotiate a qualifying transaction. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Best Black Friday TV Deals: Where to Go Depends on What You Want

AFP/Getty Images TVs stand out as one of the premiere, big-ticket items of Black Friday. Even Kohl's (KSS), a store known for its clothing (not electronics), will have a few in stock that day, in an attempt to lure in a few extra bargain hunters. With so many different stores running specials, and all the different models on sale, there are literally dozens of different Black Friday TVs to choose from. While there are plenty of great deals available, a few stand out as being particularly noteworthy. Head to Walmart for the All-Around Cheapest Flat-Screen TV Walmart (WMT) will be selling a 32-inch LED Funai for just $98, making it one of the very cheapest TVs on sale this year. Discriminating buyers, however, should likely stay away -- Funai isn't in the same league as Sony (SNE) or Panasonic (PCRFY) when it comes to picture quality, and this particular set is just 720p (in contrast to full-HD 1080p). If you've never heard of Funai, the company generally sells its TVs under the Sylvania and Magnavox brands, two budget names not exactly known for their quality. Nevertheless, $98 for a 32-inch LED is hard (perhaps impossible) to beat. Shoppers looking for the cheapest flat-screen they can get their hands on should plan to be at Walmart Thanksgiving night. For a Great Deal on a Quality Samsung, Hit h.h. gregg At h.h. gregg (HGG), they'll also be offering a 32-inch LED, but unlike Walmart's Funai deal, this is on a model known for its quality. The set, Samsung's UN32EH5300, was declared one of the best 32-inch LCD TVs you can buy by LCD TV Buying Guide for 2012. It sports full-HD 1080p, and comes equipped with Samsung's smart TV suite -- owners can access digital content from sites like Netflix (NFLX) and Youtube. h.h. gregg will sell the TV for $299.99, what it claims is a 33 percent discount. Right now, Amazon (AMZN) is charging about $330 for the TV as part of its "Countdown to Black Friday" sale, making the h.h. gregg discount closer to 10 percent. (Oops. Just checked back on Amazon and now the TV is selling at $297.99 at Amazon. Lesson learned: Up until the moment you hand over your credit card, keep comparison shopping.) This Set Comes with a Sound Bar In terms of discounts, BJ's Wholesale has one of the best: It will sell an LG 47-inch LED for $580, about 30 percent off its regular price. Even Amazon can't come close -- it charges nearly $70 more. LG is considered a respectable TV brand, but the set in question (the 47LN5790) is a budget model that hasn't been reviewed by the big websites. Still, it offers 1080p and smart TV functionality. Most interesting, it comes packaged with a separate sound bar, an accessory that's practically become a necessity in the age of paper-thin TVs with low-quality speakers. Even entry-level sound bars retail for about $100. So factor that into your buying decision. The Best Deal on the Biggest Screen? In addition to selling the cheapest TV overall, Walmart will also offer the cheapest large TV -- a massive 70-inch, 1080p Vizio for $998. Like the Samsung and LG sets, it also includes smart TV functionality, giving owners access to Netflix and Hulu without having to attach an external media player. Walmart claims buyers will be saving $700 on the set; indeed, Amazon charges about $1,700 for the TV. In terms of reviews, the reception has only been lukewarm -- PC Mag gave it just 3.5 stars out of 5, lamenting its modest black levels. Nevertheless, shoppers looking for an enormous TV at a rock-bottom price will be hard pressed to find a better deal. Shopping for a Screen, From Your Screen Those looking to stay home on Friday, but who still want to buy a TV on the cheap, should browse over to Dell's website. In addition to its own PCs, Dell will be selling a 50-inch, 1080p Sharp for just $498. Normally, that TV retails for closer to $700. Unfortunately, it's just a mid-range set, with a 60Hz refresh rate, making it less than ideal for watching sports or playing video games. But of the deals that have been announced, it's one of the best ones among online retailers. Online shoppers, however, should keep their eyes on Amazon. Though it doesn't preannounce its specials, come Friday, it's likely to have a competitive slate of products -- including TVs -- on sale. Buying a TV on Black Friday Of course, these are just a small sampling of the deals available; other retailers, including Sears (SHLD), Best Buy (BBY), and Target (TGT), have an extensive lineup of TVs on sale. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference -- are you aiming for the largest TV possible? The cheapest price? Are you willing to pay a little more for a set that's higher quality? Perhaps most important, with retailers' limited inventory, will you be lucky enough to get one?

Pentagon Announces $110 Million in Defense Contracts Thursday

The Department of Defense had a slow day Thursday, announcing only five new defense contracts, with a combined value of only $109.5 million. Of these contracts, only two went to publicly traded defense contractors:

AECOM Government Services (NYSE: ACM  ) , whose National Security Programs unit was awarded a $10 million modification to a public relations contract with the U.S. Army. AECOM will provide U.S. Forces-Afghanistan with a capability to passively gather, analyze, and disseminate open source "atmospheric" information throughout the Afghanistan Combined Joint Operating Area. AECOM will assist with monitoring, tracking, and measuring local sentiment toward U.S. Forces-Afghanistan programs and policies, and will also provide professional advice and assistance on local social, religious, political, economic, and tribal matters, and communication strategies, and will finally assist with producing open source "atmospheric" information supporting Afghanistan-related strategic, operational, and tactical decision making. AECOM will provide these services through December 4, 2015. Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC  ) , whose Technology division won an $11.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee task order from the U.S. Navy under a previously awarded General Services Administration Alliant Multiple Award contract for information technology services. Jacobs will be providing various IT services to the Navy involving software development, engineering, and enterprise architectural compliance through January 2015.