Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015

U.S. stock-index futures gained, indicating the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index will extend its record, as Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program.

Alcoa (AA) Inc. climbed 2.4 percent in early New York trading after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended buying shares in the largest U.S. aluminum maker. Barrick Gold Corp. and Randgold Resources Ltd. fell following a retreat in gold.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December advanced 0.3 percent to 1,807.1 at 6 a.m. in New York. The equity benchmark index rose for the past seven weeks, its longest winning streak since February, as reports showed retail sales beat estimates and fewer Americans than expected filed for jobless benefits. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts added 63 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,090 today.

��ome of the risk premium has been taken out because of the Iran deal,��Henk Potts, who helps oversee about $310 billion as a strategist at Barclays Plc�� wealth-management business in London, said by telephone. ��he agreement creates a reduction in terms of global risk and is seen as beneficial for global markets. High commodity prices are one of the key costs to businesses and consumers so a decline in oil equates to lightening up the tax burden.��

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: NEW GOLD INC.(NGD)

New Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, extraction, processing, and reclamation of mineral properties. The company primarily explore for gold, silver, and copper deposits. Its operating properties include the Mesquite gold mine in the United States; the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in Mexico; and the Peak gold-copper mine in Australia. The company also has development projects, including the New Afton gold, silver, and copper project in Canada; and a 30% interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile. The company was formerly known as DRC Resources Corporation and changed its name to New Gold Inc. in June 2005. New Gold Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING]

  New Gold Inc. (NSYEMKT: NGD) completed its takeover of Rainy River Resources back in October. New Gold got 4 million ounces in a good jurisdiction (Ontario) and paid less than book value.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: First Majestic Silver Corp.(AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the production, development, exploration, and acquisition of mineral properties with a focus on silver in Mexico. The company owns interests in La Encantada Silver Mine comprising 4,076 hectares of mining rights and 1,343 hectares of surface land located in Coahuila; La Parrilla Silver Mine consisting of mining concessions covering an area of 69,867 hectares; and San Martin Silver Mine comprising approximately 7,841 hectares of mineral rights and approximately 1,300 hectares of surface land rights located in Jalisco. It also holds interests in Del Toro Silver Mine consisting of 393 contiguous hectares of mining claims and an additional 129 hectares of surface rights located in Zacatecas; Real de Catorce Silver Project comprising 22 mining concessions covering 6,327 hectares located in San Luis Potosi state; and Jalisco Group of Properties consisting of mining claims totalling 5,240 hectares located in Jalisco. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  In terms of individual companies, there are several good choices, but these can behave very differently. Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) , for example, missed revenue expectations and beat earnings expectations in its last earnings release. But despite the beat, EPS shrank considerably from a year earlier on a GAAP basis. The stock has been fairly flat ever since. Conversely, First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) reported strong revenue growth and a small bump in profits, sending the stock higher since the announcement. First Majestic reported increased cash costs and tightening margins, largely driven by lower silver prices. Each of these companies faces pressure from increasing production costs and environmental concerns.

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  It is no secret that precious metals companies have been taking a pounding for some time now. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV  ) , the gold and silver ETFs, have been hard hit and operating companies like First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) and Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) have been hit even harder. Through all of these struggles, and in some cases because of them, one precious metals company continues to look attractive for the long term: Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) .

• [By Doug Ehrman]

  Despite the weakness seen in precious metals a few weeks ago, silver has been relatively stable ever since mid-April, with the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV  ) trading in a dollar-wide range ever since. With the presidents of the Chicago and Philadelphia Federal Reserve banks��releasing conflicting statements, turmoil may be just around the corner. Miners like Pan American (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) and First Majestic (NYSE: AG  ) are still facing operating challenges, while silver streaming darling Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) struggles as well.

Top 10 Food Stocks To Watch For 2015: CME Group Inc.(CME)

CME Group Inc. operates the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX regulatory exchanges worldwide. The company provides a range of products available across various asset classes, including futures and options on interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, foreign exchange, weather, and real estate. It offers various products that provide a means of hedging, speculation, and asset allocation relating to the risks associated with interest rate sensitive instruments, equity ownership, changes in the value of foreign currency, credit risk, and changes in the prices of commodities. CME Group owns and operates clearing house, CME Clearing, which provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts and counter derivatives transactions; and also engages in real estate operations. Its primary trade execution facilities consist of its CME Globex electronic trading platform and open outcry trading floors, as well as privately negotiated transact ions that are cleared and settled through its clearing house. In addition, the company offers market data services comprising live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as involves in index services business. CME Group?s customer base includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, and governments. It has strategic partnerships with BM&FBOVESPA S.A., Bursa Malaysia Derivatives, Singapore Exchange Limited, Green Exchange, Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V., as well as joint venture agreement with Dow Jones & Company. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

  Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) was maintained as Buy, but earnings estimates were cut and the price target was cut to $13 from $15, by Sterne Agee. Wedbush downgraded it to Neutral from Buy after the warning.

• [By Lee Jackson]

  CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its Globex electronic trading platform and its trading facilities in New York and Chicago. The company also operates CME clearing, one of the world’s leading central counterparty clearing providers, which offers clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded contracts and over-the-counter derivatives transactions. Investors are paid a solid 2.5% dividend. The consensus price target is $81.54. CME closed Wednesday at $75.71.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  We re-established an investment in CME Group, Inc. (CME) during the period. CME is the largest and most diversified derivatives marketplace in the U.S. Its exchanges support trading across a variety of asset classes, including interest rates, equity indexes, energy, agricultural commodities, foreign exchange and metals. We believe CME has the opportunity to significantly accelerate its growth rates due to the eventual normalization of interest rates and the attendant interest rate volatility. CME's interest rate trading volumes (ADV) have been depressed as a result of the Fed's zero interest rate policy and low interest rate volatility. For example, interest rate ADV was 4.8 million in 2012compared to 7.1 million in 2007, before the financial crisis. However, given the Fed's recent policy statements (discussed above), market participants are starting to anticipate an end to quantitative easing (QE). On May 30, CME experienced record volume for interest rate derivatives with ADV of 19.4 million. With the globalization of CME's business, a host of new products, and the regulatory requirement for interest rate swaps to be cleared on an exchange, we believe CME's interest rate volumes can surpass their prior peak, significantly driving earnings growth for the company.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: 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 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.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top losers in the sector included Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), down 4 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), off 3 percent.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Basic Materials shares gained around 0.24 percent in trading on Wednesday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Harmony Gold Mining Company (NYSE: HMY), up 4.1 percent, and Thompson Creek Metals Company (NYSE: TC), up 3.8 percent. In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.36 percent.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Golden Star Resources Ltd(GSS)

Golden Star Resources Ltd., a gold mining and exploration company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of gold properties. It owns and operates the Bogoso/Prestea gold mining and processing operation that covers approximately 40 kilometers of strike along the southwest-trending Ashanti gold district in western Ghana; and the Wassa open-pit gold mine located to the east of Bogoso/Prestea in southwest Ghana. The company also has an 81% interest in the Prestea underground gold mine located in Ghana. In addition, it holds interests in various gold exploration projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Cote d?Ivoire, as well as holds and manages exploration properties in Brazil in South America. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Littleton, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Clash of the titans
  When bears are raging on the gold bullion market, it's not surprising to see gold stocks getting mauled as well. Golden Star Resources (NYSEMKT: GSS  ) was the biggest loser in the sector, losing a quarter of its market cap on no company-specific news, though a report last Friday indicated that a large number of hedge funds had recently dumped their positions in the mid-tier miner. Yet it wasn't all that much better among the majors, either, as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) fell almost 13% and Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC  ) was down 14%.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)

Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  In the longer term, IAMGOLD could potential challenges from higher taxes on some of its holdings. The Canadian province of Quebec is considering changing the current 16% profit tax either to what amounts to a gross revenue tax or to a more progressive profit tax with higher rates on high-margin mining operations. Under current conditions, those taxes might not have much effect either on IAMGOLD or rivals Agnico-Eagle (NYSE: AEM  ) and Goldcorp (NYSE: GG  ) , both of which also have projects in the province, but it's hard to predict how a changes might affect future results if they take effect.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  He increased his holdings in gold companies in the fourth quarter accordingly. Gold stocks he found attractive in the fourth quarter are: Novagold Resources (NG), Randgold Resources (GOLD), Iamgold Corp. (IAG), Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX), Agnico Eagle (AEM) and International Tower Hill (THM).

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  Other gold miners that have seen intensive insider buying during the past four months include St. Andrew Goldfields (STADF.PK), Continental Gold (CGOOF.PK), Kinross (KGC) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM).

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Australian Dollar(AU)

AngloGold Ashanti Limited primarily engages in the exploration and production of gold. It also produces silver, uranium oxide, and sulfuric acid. The company conducts gold-mining operations in South Africa; continental Africa, including Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Namibia, and Tanzania; Australia; and the Americas, which include Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. It also has mining or exploration operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, the company had proved and probable gold reserves of 71.2 million ounces. The company has a strategic alliance with Thani Dubai Mining Limited to explore, develop, and operate mines across the Middle East and parts of North Africa. AngloGold Ashanti Limited, formerly known as Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company Limited, was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  We've seen the flip side of that trend play out in recent years, as rock-bottom interest rates in the U.S. have encouraged investment in higher-yielding income investments in places like Australia, Brazil, and South Africa. Interest from foreign investors got to be so extensive in Brazil that the federal government imposed a tax on foreign investors in bonds in order to curb demand and slow the pace of the Brazilian real's appreciation. Exchange-rate issues also likely played a role in the health of the commodities markets, as mining giants BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP  ) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO  ) in Australia benefited from increased demand largely for base metals. Similarly, South African gold miners AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU  ) and Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI  ) outperformed rivals from elsewhere in the world, benefiting from strength in the South African rand currency.

Best Gold Stocks To Watch For 2015: Iamgold Corporation(IAG)

IAMGOLD Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties worldwide. It primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, copper, niobium, diamonds, and other metals. The company holds interests in eight operating gold mines, a niobium producer, a diamond royalty, and exploration and development projects located in Africa and the Americas. Its advanced exploration and development projects include the Westwood project in Canada; and the Quimsacocha project, which consists of 3 mining concessions covering an aggregate area of approximately 8,030 hectares in Ecuador. The company was formerly known as IAMGOLD International African Mining Gold Corporation and changed its name to IAMGOLD Corporation in June 1997. IAMGOLD Corporation was founded in 1990 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Blair]

  IAMGOLD (IAG) is one of my favorite gold stocks principally because it is a relatively high cost producer with long lived mines. That paradox arises since high cost producers have the most volatility when gold prices change. If they are operating close to break even, a relatively small rise in gold prices makes them quite profitable. Conversely, when prices fall they bleed all over the floor.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  At just $6.50, AKS is still one of the cheap stocks, but it may not be cheap for long.

  Cheap Stocks to Buy Now: Iamgold (IAG)

  Without a doubt, the most hated metals and mining sector has to be gold mining stocks. Faced with rising costs and falling gold prices, many of the precious metals miners have tanked, moving them into the cheap stocks category.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG  ) might specialize in a precious metal, but it's continuing to pay its dividend in hard currency. The company has declared its latest semi-annual distribution at $0.125 per share of its common stock.