Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan declined to 4.42% from 4.46% last week. The average on the 15-year fixed loan dipped to 3.43% from 3.47%.
STOCKS THURSDAY: How markets are doing
Mortgage rates peaked at 4.6% in August and have stabilized since September, when the Federal Reserve surprised markets by taking no action on starting to reduce its bond purchases. The Fed meets next week and could slow the bond purchases if the economy shows further improvement.
The bond purchases are designed to keep long-term rates such as mortgage rates low.
A Commerce Department report issued Thursday signaled growing consumer confidence in the economy at the start of the holiday shopping season, as November retail sales rose at the fastest pace in five months.
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund Inc (AWF)
AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund, Inc., (the Fund), formerly Alliance World Dollar Government Fund II, Inc. is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. This Fund seeks high current income and secondarily, capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 65% of its total assets in sovereign debt obligations issued or guaranteed by foreign governments. Up to 35% of the Fund's investments may comprise high-yielding, high-risk fixed-income securities issued by United States corporations. AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc., an affiliate of AllianceBernstein L.P., is the manager of the Fund.
The Fund is permitted to invest, without limit, in securities denominated in non-United States currencies, as well as those denominated in the United States dollar. The Fund may also invest, without limit, in sovereign debt securities issued by emerging and developed nations and in debt securities of United States and non-United States corporate issuers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Adam Aloisi]
The following chart takes a comparative look at some widely held ETFs/CEFs holding different types of bonds. The objective is to visualize not only how much these products cost, but also to break down the percent of total yield depleted by management fees. I define total yield as current annualized yield plus net fees - in other words the yield of the fund if there were no management fees attached. The funds we will examine are aforementioned BND, iShares 20+ Treasury Bond (TLT), iShares High-Yield Corporate (HYG), Nuveen Municipal Value (NUV), Eaton Vance Limited Duration (EVV) and Alliance Bernstein Global High-Yield (AWF).
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: PowerShares S&P SmallCap Information Technology Portfolio (PSCT)
PowerShares S&P SmallCap Information Technology Portfolio (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of an index called the S&P SmallCap 600 Capped Information Technology Index (the Index). The Index consists of common stocks of the United States information technology companies. These are companies that are principally engaged in the business of providing information technology-related products and services, including computer hardware and software, Internet, electronics and semiconductors, and communication technologies. The Index is compiled, maintained and calculated by Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC. The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks of small-capitalization information technology companies. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Index. The Fund�� investment adviser is Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Stephen Leeb]
The PowerShares S&P 500 Small-Cap Technology (PSCT) is geared towards smaller, more agile, but also less-established firms, while iShares S&P North American Technology ETF (IGM) offers broad, blue-chip technology industry exposure.
Hot Wireless Telecom Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Global X China Industrials (CHII)
Global X China Industrials ETF (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S-BOX China Industrials Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index is a free float adjusted, liquidity tested and market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure performance of the investable universe of companies in the Industrials sector of the Chinese economy, as defined by Structured Solutions AG. Global X Management Company, LLC serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:- [By pamatlarge]
Investors looking to short a particular sector can choose from several Global X long ETFs. The Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) concentrates its investments in consumer cyclical goods and consumer defense goods. The Global X China Energy ETF (CHIE) primarily holds stocks in coal, oil and utility companies. The Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX) only invests in financial services companies and real estate companies. The Global X China Industrials ETF (CHII) holds stocks in industrial companies and basic materials companies. The Global X China Materials ETF (CHIM) invests in basic materials stocks. The Global X China Technology ETF (CHIB) holds technology stocks as the core of its investments. All of these ETFs are particularly sensitive to sector downturns and general economic contractions.
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: Furmanite Corp (FRM)
Furmanite Corporation (Furmanite), incorporated on January 23, 1953, is an on-site industrial plant turnaround maintenance and on-line contractor engineered services. The Company operates in two segments: Technical Services and Engineering & Project Solutions. Technical Services provides specialized technical services, including on-line, off-line and other services. The Engineering & Project Solutions segment includes Furmanite Technical Solutions (FTS), provides project planning, professional engineering, downstream non-destructive testing and inspection, construction management, mechanical integrity, field support, quality assurance and plant asset management services, as well as certain other inspection and project management services. The Company provides on-line repairs of leaks (leak sealing) in valves, pipes and other components of piping systems and related equipment used in flow-process industries.
The Company�� Technical Services segment�� On-line services include leak sealing, hot tapping, line stopping, line isolation, composite repair, valve testing and certain non-destructive testing and inspection services, while off-line services include on-site machining, heat treatment, bolting, valve repair and other non-destructive testing and inspection services. Other services include smart shim services, concrete repair, engineering services, valves and other products and manufacturing. The Engineering & Project Solutions segment�� customers include refining and petrochemical operators, as well as maintenance, and engineering and construction contractors servicing the downstream and midstream oil and gas markets, substantially, all of which are in the Americas.
The Company provides off-line services, including on-site machining, bolting, valve repair, heat treating, ultrasonic, radiography, phased array, tube testing and repair on such systems and equipment. These services tend to complement leak sealing and other on-line services since these off-line services a! re usually performed while a plant or piping system is not operating. In addition, the Company provides concrete repair, engineering services, valve and other products and manufacturing. The Company�� on-line; leak sealing services are performed on a range of flow-process industry machinery, often in difficult situations. The Company�� customer base includes petroleum refineries, chemical plants, mining operations, offshore energy production platforms, subsea piping systems, steel mills, nuclear and conventional power stations, pulp and paper mills, food and beverage processing plants and other flow-process facilities in more than 50 countries.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Furmanite (FRM), together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized technical services. This stock closed up 2.2% to $7.78 in Tuesday's trading session.
Tuesday's Range: $7.52-$7.83
52-Week Range: $6.90-$12.70
Tuesday's Volume: 639,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 150,022From a technical perspective, FRM trended higher here right above some near-term support at $7.21 with heavy upside volume flows. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last three months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $12 to its new 52-week low of $6.90. During that downtrend, shares of FRM have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of FRM have now started to rebound higher off that $6.90 low and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if FRM manages to take out Tuesday's intraday high of $7.83 to some more near-term overhead resistance at around $8 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FRM as long as it's trending above some key near-term support at $7.21 or above its 52-week low of $6.90 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 150,022 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then FRM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $8.50 to its 50-day moving average of $9.16, or even $9.50.
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: Bankrate Inc (RATE)
Bankrate, Inc. (Bankrate), incorporated on April 13, 2011, is a publisher, aggregator and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. The Company provides consumers with personal finances editorial content across multiple vertical categories, including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Company provides financial applications and information to a network of distribution partners and through national and state publications. The Company develops and provides Web services to over 75 co-branded partners, including personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, CNN Money, CNBC and Comcast. The Company licenses editorial content to over 100 newspapers on a daily basis, including including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe. The Company offers services, including Mortgages and Home Lending, Deposits, Insurance, Credit Cards and Other financial products, including those related to retirement, tax, auto, and debt management.
The Company online publishing, is the sale of advertising, sponsorships, leads and hyperlinks, and lead generation within its Online Network through Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwidecardservices.com, Creditcardsearchengine.com, Feedisclosure.com, Insureme.com, Bankrate.com.cn (China), CreditCards.com, Creditcards.ca, Netquote.com, CD.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com and InsWeb.com. The print publishing and licensing business is primarily engaged in the sale of advertising in the Mortgage Guide and CD & Deposit Guide.
Mortgages and Home Lending
The Company offers information on rates for different types of mortgages, home lending and refinancing options. The Company�� rate information is specific to geographic location and contains nearly 600 local markets, covering all 50 United States. Consumers can customize searches for mor! tgage rates by loan size, maturity, and location through its online portals. The Company also provides original articles that cover topics, such as trends in housing markets and refinancing perspectives to help consumers with their decision making.
Deposits
The Company offers rate information on different deposit products, such as money market accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit. It also provides online analytic tools to help consumers calculate investment value using customized inputs.
Insurance
The Company facilitates a consumer�� ability to receive multiple competitive insurance quotes for auto, business, home, life, health and long-term care based on a single application. It also provides advice and detailed descriptions of insurance terms, aiding consumers in deciding amongst a range of policy options. Insurance quotes can be customized by age, marital status and location. In addition, the Company provides articles on topical subjects, such as recent healthcare reforms, as well as the basics to understanding an insurance policy.
Credit Cards
The Company offers a selection of consumer and business credit and prepaid cards for visitors. It provides detailed credit card information and comparison capabilities, and allows consumers to search for cards that cater to their specific needs. It displays cards by bank or issuer, credit quality, reward program, or card limit. The Company further hosts news and advice on credit card debt and bank policies, as well as tools to estimate credit score and credit card fees.
Other Personal Finance Products
The Company offers information on retirement, taxes, auto, and debt management. The content provided on such topics include 401(k), Social Security, tax deductions and exemptions, auto loans, debt consolidation, and credit risk.
The Company sells leads to insurance agents, insurance carriers and credit card issuers. Its credit c! ard compa! rison marketplace is one of the third party online application sources for all issuers. The Company charges its advertisers on a per-lead basis based on the total number of leads generated for insurance products, and on a per-action basis for credit cards (upon approval or completion of an application). Advertisers that are listed in the Company�� rate tables have the opportunity to hyperlink their listings. In addition, advertisers can buy hyperlinked placement within its qualified insurance listings. It sells its hyperlinks on a per-click pricing model. The Company provides a variety of digital display formats. Its common digital display advertisement sizes are leader boards and banners, which are prominently displayed at the top or bottom of a page, skyscrapers, islands and posters. The Company charges for these advertisements based on the number of times the advertisement is displayed or based on a fixed amount for a campaign.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Goldman Sachs thinks Bankrate must fall�
Our marquee ratings change this morning is Bankrate (NYSE: RATE ) , operator of the website of the same name, and many home shoppers' and credit card customers' go-to site for finding up-to-date rates on financial products. Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to "sell" this morning, and they're not shy about telling you why.
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: O'Reilly Automotive Inc.(ORLY)
O?Reilly Automotive, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of automotive aftermarket parts, tools, supplies, equipment, and accessories in the United States. The company?s stores provide new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, including alternators, starters, fuel pumps, water pumps, brake system components, batteries, belts, hoses, chassis parts, and engine parts; maintenance items comprising oil, antifreeze, fluids, filters, wiper blades, lighting, engine additives, and appearance products; and accessories, such as floor mats, seat covers, and truck accessories. Its stores also offer auto body paint and related materials, automotive tools, and professional service provider service equipment. The company?s stores sell its brand name and private label products for domestic and imported automobiles, vans, and trucks to do-it-yourself customers and professional service providers. As of March 31, 2011, it operated 3,613 stores. The company was foun ded in 1957 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By kcpl]
Reseller's exchange retailer Autozone (AZO) has done well in 2014. Even though the stock has been exceptional than the S&P 500, its performance has been weaker than O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY) and Advance Auto Parts (AAP). Then again, Autozone is a steady performer and is the cheapest of the part from a valuation perspective, which is the reason investors should consider investigating it.
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: Costco Wholesale Corporation(COST)
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses that offer a selection of branded and private label products in a range of merchandise categories in no-frills, self-service warehouse facilities. The company's product categories include candy, snack foods, tobacco, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and cleaning and institutional supplies; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, office supplies, garden and patio, sporting goods, toys, seasonal items, and automotive supplies; dry and institutionally packaged foods; apparel, domestics, jewelry, house wares, media, home furnishings, cameras, and small appliances; meat, bakery, deli, and produce; and gas stations, pharmacy, food court, optical, one-hour photo, hearing aid, and travel. It also provides business and gold star (individual) membership services. As of April 26, 2011, the company operated 581 warehouses, including 425 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 80 in Canada, 22 in the Uni ted Kingdom, 7 in Korea, 6 in Taiwan, 8 in Japan, 1 in Australia, and 32 in Mexico. It also has Costco Online, an electronic commerce Web site, at costco.com in the United States and at costco.ca in Canada. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Johanna Bennett]
Meanwhile, Barclays Capital analyst Matthew McClintock expects to get �� good read��on the teen category from both Aeropostale (ARO) and American Eagle (AEO) when they report results on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. Meanwhile, November sales for Gap (GPS), L Brands (LB), and Costco Wholesale (COST) are slated to be released on Thursday.
- [By Andrew Marder]
March was a solid month for Costco (NASDAQ: COST ) , and the company posted a 4% increase in comparable sales. The stock was stagnant, though, as analysts had been expecting a 5% increase. But investors shouldn't be alarmed, as the shortfall was due mainly to exchange rates and lower fuel sales. In its press release, the company said that stripping out exchange rates and fuel changes, comparable sales rose 6%.
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: Encore Wire Corp (WIRE)
Encore Wire Corporation (Encore), incorporated on April 5, 1989, is a manufacturer of electrical building wire and cable. The Company is a supplier of building wire for interior electrical wiring in commercial and industrial buildings, homes, apartments, and manufactured housing. Encore offers an electric building wire product line that consists of nonmetallic-building ( NM-B) cable, underground feeder-building (UF-B) cable, thermoplastic high heat resistant nylon coated/thermoplastic heat and water resistant nylon coated (THHN/THWN)-2 and other types of wire products, including metal clad and armored cable. All of these products are manufactured with copper or aluminum as the conductor. The principal customers for Encore�� wire are wholesale electrical distributors, who sell building wire and a variety of other products to electrical contractors. The Company sells its products primarily through 31 manufacturers��representatives located throughout the United States. The Company also purchases small quantities of other types of wire to re-sell to customers that buy products that the Company manufactures. The manufacturing process for the Company�� various products involves multiple steps, including: casting, drawing, stranding, compounding, insulating, jacketing and armoring.
The Company�� non-metallic sheathed cable is used primarily as interior wiring in homes, apartments and manufactured housing. NM-B cable is composed of either two or three insulated copper wire conductors, with an un-insulated ground wire, all sheathed in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) jacket. UF-B cable is an underground feeder cable is used to conduct power underground to outside lighting and other applications remote from buildings. UF-B cable is composed of two or three PVC insulated copper wire conductors, with an un-insulated ground wire, all jacketed in PVC. THHN/THWN-2 cable is used primarily as feeder, circuit and branch wiring in commercial and industrial buildings. It is composed of a copper or aluminu! m single conductor, either stranded or solid, and insulated with PVC, which is further coated with nylon.
Cross-linked high heat water resistant insulated wire (XHHW)-2 Cable is a XHHW-2 wire used for general purpose applications utilized in conduit or other recognized raceways for service, feeders, and branch-circuit wiring. It�� composed of a copper or aluminum single conductor, either stranded or solid, and with a single layer of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation. Underground service entrance (USE)-2 Cable. USE-2 or rubber high heat-resistant (RHH) or RHW-2 wire is used for general purpose applications utilized in conduit or installed in underground applications or in recognized raceways for service, feeders, and branch-circuit wiring. It�� composed of a copper or aluminum single conductor, either stranded or solid, and with a single layer of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation suitable for wet locations.
Metal clad and armored cable is used primarily as feeder, circuit and branch wiring, primarily in commercial and industrial buildings. It is composed of multiple conductors, either stranded or solid, and insulated with PVC, which are further coated with nylon and then fully encased in a flexible aluminum or steel armored protective sheath that eliminates the need to pull the wire through pipe or conduit. The Company�� photovoltaic style cables are designed to meet the different needs of the emerging solar industry by providing connections between photovoltaic (PV) panels, collector boxes and inverters; and where also allowed by the National Electric Code (NEC). Its bare copper conductors are used in overhead electrical transmission and distribution systems for grounding electrical systems and circuit grounding.
The Company competes with Southwire Company, Cerro Wire LLC, United Copper Industries, BICC General and AFC Cable Systems, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Basic guidelines
In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Encore Wire (Nasdaq: WIRE ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Encore Wire doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue decreased 9.2%, and inventory increased 0.3%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks decent. Revenue grew 3.9%, and inventory expanded 0.3%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks healthy. Revenue dropped 4.1%, and inventory dropped 5.1%. - [By Eric Volkman]
Encore Wire (NASDAQ: WIRE ) , like a strip of its namesake product, seems to believe in keeping its shareholder payouts long and straight. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, to be paid on July 19 to shareholders of record as of July 5. That amount is in line with every one of the firm's previous distributions stretching back to early 2007.�
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: Pall Corporation(PLL)
Pall Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets filtration, purification, and separation products and integrated systems solutions worldwide. The company?s Life Sciences segment provides technologies that facilitate the process of drug discovery, development, regulatory validation, and production used in the research laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, food and beverage industry, blood centers, and hospitals at the point of patient care. It also offers medical products that enhance the safety of the use of blood products in patient care and help control the spread of infections in hospitals; and cell therapy products that enable technologies for the regenerative medicine market. In addition, this segment sells various filtration and purification technologies, appurtenant hardware, and engineered systems for the development and commercialization of chemically synthesized and biologically derived drugs, plasma, and vaccines, as well as offers filtration solutions; validation services to drug manufacturers; and laboratory products for use in drug research and discovery, quality control testing, and environmental monitoring applications. Further, it serves the filtration needs of the food and beverage market. The company?s Industrial segment provides enabling and process enhancing technologies for the industrial market. It offers filtration and fluid monitoring equipment to the aerospace industry; filtration and purification technologies for the semiconductor, data storage, fiber optic, advanced display, and materials markets; and a suite of contamination control solutions for chemical, gas, water, chemical mechanical polishing, and photolithography processes. This segment also provides various technologies to producers of energy, oil, gas, renewable and alternative fuels, electricity, chemicals, and municipal water. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Port Washington, New Yo rk.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Johanna Bennett]
With the euro dropping to a 22-month low today against the greenback, it’s little surprise to see companies like McDonald’s (MCD), Philip Morris International. (PM) and Pall (PLL), �which derived more than 40% of their revenue from Europe over the last 12 months, put in some lackluster showings.
10 Best US Stocks To Buy Right Now: Walter Bau AG (WTB)
Walter Bau AG is an international construction group based in Augsburg, southern Germany. The Company's core construction-related services are planning, financing, project development and facilities management. It is active in the fields of turnkey construction, civil engineering, international construction and transportation infrastructure. Its subsidiary, DYWIDAG-Systems International markets the Company's products and systems worldwide, particularly in the field of post-tensioning and geotechnics, as well as special civil engineering processes. Walter Bau also provides operation and financing solutions, as well as developing commercial and residential real estate projects. Facilities Management is offered by DYWIDAG Service GmbH. Its Logistics Competence Center in Augsburg bundles the Company's Germany-wide activities as a general contractor in the planning, construction and support of distribution centers. The Company commenced insolvency proceedings in April 2005. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sofia Horta e Costa]
Whitbread Plc (WTB) added 4.1 percent to 3,114 pence, its largest advance since September 2012. Oriel Securities Ltd. raised its rating on the shares to buy from hold, citing improvement in the U.K. hotel market.
- [By Namitha Jagadeesh]
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Group, the world�� biggest mining companies, fell at least 3 percent. Whitbread Plc (WTB) dropped 2.8 percent after UBS AG downgraded the owner of the Costa Coffee chain. British Land Co., the U.K.�� second-largest real estate investment trust, advanced 1.2 percent after saying it bought commercial property in London for 470 million pounds ($707 million).
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