Eneryg Stocks To Invest In 2013, Best Energy Stocks For 2013: March 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

2 Different Ways to Play a Life-Changing Trend

When you are following a powerful investment trend, I have a technique you can use to quickly and easily expand your investing horizon. If you add this one additional angle to your trading toolbox, you can realize impressive gains along the way to your ultimate long-term payout.I’m talking about adding shorter, more time-sensitive investments to compliment a bigger idea. By playing the long-term and shorter-term facets of a trend, it is possible for you to take faster profits — all while waiting for as your investing trend to finally reach maturity. Technology correspondent Patrick Cox has been following one of these life-changing trends from the very beginning. I’m talking about nutraceuticals. If you’ve been keeping up with this important story, you know that nutraceuticals are substances derived from foods that are either synthesized or purified, and sold for health benefits.Nutraceuticals have been steadily gaining prominence for some time now. But new technology has broadened and accelerated growth in this small industry. And Patrick’s research indicates that the market is getting closer to widespread acceptance and use of these unique products.“Those of us who have examined the science know that this is a world-changing technology. Ultimately, I believe it will prevail.” Patrick says.Patrick has recommended two companies heavily involved in the nutraceutical sector to his readers. With these recommendations, Patrick is looking to ride the longer-term rise in the nutraceutical trend. The companies he has recommended are the best, most innovative forces behind the nutraceutical movement.In short, Patrick believes the companies behind these substances could lead to the biggest market story in history.“Things we thought were impossible are coming to pass on a regular basis,” he writes. “To prosper, we’ll all have to re-examine practically everything we thought we could take for granted…”That’s why Patrick is searching for these transformation companies. He wants to find the firm that can one day become a household name.Patience can be crucial when dealing with these kinds of investments. That’s why I encourage you to supplement your longer-term buys by finding the companies that stand to immediately benefit from the trend. Not only does this offer you the chance to book profits along the way to your ultimate goal, it also alerts you to important milestones in the life of your idea.These positive signals are important. After all, when the shorter-term trends begin to align in favor of your longer-term ideas, you know you’re onto something…That’s exactly the kind of angle we’ve been taking with our small-cap investing strategies. In the last several months, my co-editor Jonas Elmerraji and I have talked a lot about taking a “tactical” approach to buying and selling stocks in our portfolio. From our standpoint, being tactical means seeking out cheap stocks from a value perspective and then entering a position using various market timing techniques.Of course, this strategy sometimes points us in the direction of a much bigger investment trend. This time, our paths have crossed with Patrick and his nutraceuticals. Our research has led us to a shorter-term play on the raw ingredients that go into various nutraceutical products. I’m talking about omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s have been found to defend against heart disease, alleviate arthritis, and improve brain and eye function — so it’s no great shock that this substance is in high demand from health conscious consumers right now.This small-cap company’s products are used as everything from feedstock for animals and plants to key ingredients in high-priced nutraceutical for humans like you and I. And with both the timing and fundamental factors lining up in our favor right now, we were eager to jump on this stock for our premium readers.While the time horizon for our investment in omega-3s and nutraceuticals might be considerably shorter than Patrick’s, we’re both after the same goal: to make considerable gains by riding a key health trend.

Nvidia Off 7%: Semi Accurate Sees Delay In Tegra Roadmap

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) are down 98 cents, or 7%, at $14.19, and swung as low as $13.86, and the catalyst would appear to be a negative piece today by Semi Accurate’s Charlie Demerjian, which claims that Nvidia’s roadmap for its “Tegra” processor for smartphones and tablets has slipped by a year.

Demerjian writes that the company, facing delays with a part named “T40,” an intended 28-nanometer part based on an ARM Holdings (ARMH) “A9″ CPU core, since upgraded to an “A15″ core, has rolled out a “stopgap” part called the “T35,” meant to be less ambitious, a mere shrink of the existing “Tegra 3” chip, “Kal-El.” This is the new “Tegra 4” part, while the “more ambitious T40 now has to wait, says Demerjian.

On top of that, “Insiders tell us that Denver is the T50 core, T50 is the chip family based around it, not the other way around. Or at least it was before everything slipped a few weeks ago.”

There’s a lot of inside baseball in all this, and there are no sources mentioned, it all seems to be anonymous sourced, as far as I can tell.

Demerjian’s conclusion is:

The Tegra roadmap just slipped a year. Nvidia faces a rather painful 2012 and likely early 2013 with a core that is a generation behind, so expect lots of self-congratulatory press releases. In the mean time, Qualcomm is releasing Krait, TI has OMAP5, and Nvidia has hot air. Anyone want to join our pool for when the stock bubble bursts?

However, on confusing aspect is the inclusion in the article of references to “Denver,” a 64-bit chip really meant more for high-end compute tasks, not for mobile devices.

Raymond James’s Hans Mosesmann remarked responded to a phone call I placed this morning, telling me that he thinks there’s no delay in Tegra’s roadmap, and that “Denver is an entirely different direction for Nvidia beyond Tegra,” and therefore has nothing to do with Tegra.

Compoundind injury today, it would appear that JP Morgan’s Harlan Sur has a note out making reference to Demerjian’s piece. More on that as it becomes available.

IPO Market Alive, Not Well: Broadsoft Shrs Sell Off After Launch

The IPO market continues to struggle.

Broadsoft (BSFT), a Gaithersburg, Maryland-based provider of voice over IP software, this morning priced an offering of 7.5 million shares at $9, at the low end of the previous target range of $9-$11 a share. Of the shares being sold, 2.45 million are from selling holders.

The company’s investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Grotech Partners and Charles River Ventures. Underwriters of the deal are led by Goldman Sachs and Jefferies.

The deal is not being well received: BSFT has dropped 92 cents, or 10.2% from the IPO price, to $8.08.

Timeless Investment Classics, Part X: The Money Game by Adam Smith

This is the final review of the Top 10 Timeless Investment Classics that I keep within arm’s reach of my desk. My criteria to be a “classic”? Brilliant and original investing insights and accessible writing that still speaks to us today. To be considered a “classic,” the book must have stood the test of time. These 10 qualify; they were published as far back as 169 years (and as recently as 43 years) ago. I believe these books can teach us more about human nature, investing, and wealth and risk management than anything written before or since. (Of course, if you want to buy my more recent book as well, who am I to discourage you?)

In chronological order of their original publication, here are the preceding 9 reviews:

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackey (1841)

The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, by Gustave Le Bon (1896)

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, by Edwin LeFevre (1923)

Security Analysis, by Graham & Dodd (1934)

The Battle for Investment Survival, by Gerald M. Loeb (1935)

Where Are the Customers' Yachts?, by Fred Schwed, Jr. (1940)

The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham (1949)

The Art of Contrary Thinking, by Humphrey Bancroft Neill (1954)

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, by Philip Fisher (1958)

And now #10, written in 1967 by ‘Adam Smith’, the pseudonym used by Jerry Goodman, a successful novelist, screenwriter, non-fiction writer and (hence the pseudonym when writing about Wall Street and stock markets) the former editor of the financial monthly Institutional Investor.

I began this series with Charles Mackay’s 1841 Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. It is only fitting to end with The Money Game. Both books, though written 126 years apart, offer timeless insights into how investors (including, in the latter book, allegedly “professional” investors) provide substantive food for thought on how investors make and lose money in the markets.

Mr. Goodman delves a bit more deeply into fundamental and technical analysis, accounting practices, behavioral finance, random walk theories and such than Mr. Mackay did, but in the final analysis the game is about the players, not the rules or the features of the board. Some players are serious solely about leaving with a greater net worth than they came with; but others are motivated by a desire to win, or to beat others (not always the same thing), or to get the adrenalin flowing, or to avoid bigger decisions, or for a myriad of other reasons. Understanding this makes the vagaries and vicissitudes of the market easier to accept, if not to understand. As he says most succinctly in his first Irregular Rule: “If you don’t know who you are, this [the market] is an expensive place to find out.” But the most important Irregular Rule, still dealing with people, albeit in this case the people you want to see running the companies whose stocks you own, is “…find smart people, because if you can do that, you can forget a lot of the other rules.” (Predating Warren Buffett by some number of years…)

In the second paragraph of the very first page of the book, Goodman tells you what it’s all going to be about: “This is a book about image and reality and identity and anxiety and money.” When he says “image,” he refers to what government or a corporation or Wall Street tells you is true. When he says “reality,” he refers to what is really true. As he pens a bit further on, echoing Mackay, as well as great investors before and since,

Market values are fixed only in part by balance sheets and income statements; much more by the hopes and fears of humanity; by greed, ambition, acts of God, invention, financial stress and strain, weather, discovery, fashion and numberless other causes.

After devoting Part I of the book primarily to market and investor psychology, he turns in Part Two to “Systems,” be they academic roads to finding the perfect and occasionally efficient frontier or the technicians’ zeal to be right, even if they are not rich. One may say every day that prices can be predicted from the past moves, while the other says (this week) that there is no way to beat the market, so you may as well simply buy an index fund. Which is the best system? Neither – and none, including today’s quants’ belief in the infallibility of computers, algorithms and programmed trading. Goodman shows that all “systems” depend on analyzing something that has happened before to predict what will happen next. This may well work in academic papers or in an algorithm, but you cannot reduce the whims of 50 million souls to an algorithm. And you never will.

In Part III, the author deflates any notion that the “professionals” have any special relationship with the Clue Bird that is unknown to the average investor. True they have more information – but they have no better information. And they are as subject to the emotions of their Everyman counterpart when faced with making the tough decisions.

If some of these conclusions seem obvious, it is not because they were once obvious, but rather because authors like Jerry Goodman made such a convincing case that we finally began to take them as truisms. The delightful discovery here is that he does it with great wit, great verve, and great humor. Good writing about a great subject or great writing about a good subject, the result is the same: a great read.

Think not that this book is dated, any more than a mere 159 years makes Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds dated. Whether it is the Go-Go Sixties of Goodman’s day, the dot-com New Economy Nineties, or the Real Estate Will Never Decline 2000s, those in the game rely more than they know on their passions, hopes, and dreams. Just change the names of the companies or the sectors and you’d never know which of these periods, or some other, you were in. Reading The Money Game will give you that perspective – and maybe even a shot of inner peace for context.

Disclosure: No positions mentioned. These books are about lifetime knowledge, not flash-in-the-pan trading.

Disclaimer: As Registered Investment Advisors, we see it as our responsibility to advise the following: we do not know your personal financial situation, so the information contained in this communiqué represents the opinions of the staff of Stanford Wealth Management, and should not be construed as personalized investment advice.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results, rather an obvious statement but clearly too often unheeded judging by the number of investors who buy the current #1 mutual fund only to watch it plummet next month!

We encourage you to do your own research on individual issues we recommend for your analysis to see if they might be of value in your own investing. We take our responsibility to proffer intelligent commentary seriously, but it should not be assumed that investing in any securities we are investing in will always be profitable. We do our best to get it right, and we “eat our own cooking,” but we could be wrong, hence our full disclosure as to whether we own or are buying the investments we write about.

Insiders Are Selling These 4 Dividend Stocks

There are many reasons why insiders sell stock in their own company. Some decide to diversify their holdings, others may do it for tax reasons, while many investors see a rally in the company's stock as excessive and find the current price level as a good opportunity to unload their shares. Insider sales could be potential red flags, sending a strong signal to investors that, perhaps, now may be a good time to sell the shares. Here are four dividend-yielding stocks that recently insiders have been selling heavily.

(click to enlarge)

FirstEnergy (FE) is a $20.3 billion diversified energy company providing electric power to 6 million customers in six U.S. states. The utility company pays a dividend yield of 4.6% on a payout ratio of 81%. FirstEnergy's peers Dominion Resources (D) and American Electric Power Co. (AEP) pay dividend yields of 3.9% and 4.7%, respectively. The company's shares have hit 52-week high of $48.49 and are up 13.3% from the beginning of the year.

Since the beginning of May, there have been four insider sales of FirstEnergy stock, including the sale of 257,100 shares at $47.28 by the company's President and CEO, Anthony J. Alexander. The company's Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Ms. Leila L. Vespoli, sold 14,372 shares at an average price of $47.08 a share on May 23. Most recently, on June 5, First Energy's Vice President and Treasurer, James F. Pearson, sold 2,000 shares at an average price of $46.78 a share. It should be noted that recently Jefferies downgraded the stock from hold to underperform, citing increasing regulatory risks.

Southern Company (SO) is a $41.4 billion public utility holding company whose subsidiaries are selling electric power to some 4.4 million customers in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi. The company boasts a dividend yield of 4.1% on a payout ratio of 79%. Its peers CenterPoint Energy (CNP), Entergy Corporation (ETR), and NextEra Energy (NEE) pay dividends yielding 4.0%, 5.0%, and 3.6%, respectively. The company's shares are currently trading around its 52-week high of $48.19 a share. The stock is up 6.7% year-to-date.

As regards insider selling, from May 30, there have been four insider sales. In two transactions on May 30-31, the company's Executive Vice President and COO, Anthony J. Topazi, sold a total of 125,385 shares at an average price of $46 a share. Recently, Charles D. Mccrary, President and CEO of Alabama Power Company, one of Southern Company's subsidiaries, sold 179,165 shares at an average price of $46.70 a share. His sale was followed by that of Christopher C. Womack, Executive Vice President and President of External Affairs, who sold 25,113 shares at an average price of $47.16 a share.

Sempra Energy (SRE) is a $16.3 billion energy services holding company whose subsidiaries provide natural gas and power to customers. It is also the largest natural gas storage company in the United States. The company pays a dividend yield of 3.6% on a payout ratio of 43%. The company's peers PG&E Corp. (PCG), AGL Resources (GAS), and Enbridge (ENB) pay dividends yielding 4.0%, 4.8%, and 2.9%, respectively. Sempra Energy's stock is hovering around its 52-week high of $68.01 a share and is up 23.7% from the beginning of the year.

Since the beginning of June, there have been six insider sales at Sempra Energy. The company's Chairman, Donald E. Felsinger, in a series of four transactions in the June 11-15 period, sold 151,800 shares at an average price of the four transactions of $67.16 a share. Earlier, Sempra Energy's Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Javade Chaudhri, sold in two transactions 16,000 shares at average prices of $65.00 (6,000 shares) and $64.45 (10,000 shares).

Wynn Resorts (WYNN) is a $10 billion casino resorts operator with facilities in Las Vegas, U.S., and Macao, China. The company pays a dividend yield of 2.0% on a payout ratio of 42%. The company's rival Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) pays a dividend yield of 2.2%, while competitor MGM Resorts International (MGM) does not pay any regular dividends. Wynn Resort's stock is trading at $99.53 a share, down 12.7% year-to-date. Recently, investors have been unnerved by Wynn Resorts' large exposure to the slowing Chinese market, the competitive pressures within the industry, and a quarrel about the ownership structure of the company with one of its insiders. As regards insider sales, on June 5, one of the company's Directors, Alvin V. Shoemaker, sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $100.08 a share. It should be noted, however, that on May 30, Goldman Sachs upgraded Wynn Resorts' rating to buy, with a target price of $136, implying a 36.6% upside potential from the current price.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

A Comeback for King Coal?

Natural gas prices have enjoyed a phenomenal run so far this year. After suffering from severely depressed prices over the past year and a half, natural gas has surged more than 20% this quarter, as chilly temperatures have lingered for longer than expected.

For the week ended March 22, natural gas rose by as much as 1.3% after a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that inventories fell by 95 billion cubic to 1.781 trillion cubic feet. �

Natural gas producers are obviously rejoicing. But rising gas prices are also a boon to coal companies, because coal is one of natural gas' biggest competitors for U.S. electricity generation.

Does the natural gas rally signal a resurgence for King Coal? Or are coal's best days behind it?

A rough year for coal
Over the past year and a half, an unmistakable trend among utility companies was the switch away from coal and toward natural gas as a fuel source for powering their plants. For instance, in the first quarter of last year, when gas prices were less than $3 per Mcf, several utility companies announced plans to curtail or retire coal-fired plants in favor of natural gas-powered facilities.

For instance, AEP (NYSE: AEP ) , one of the largest utilities in the country, announced that it would eliminate roughly 5,000 megawatts of coal-powered capacity by retiring five of its 25 coal plants and shutting down coal-fired units at some of its other plants. Early last year, the company said it expected coal to generate just half of its total power by 2020, compared with 67% in 2011. �

Other utilities followed suit. Southern (NYSE: SO ) recently revealed that it burned more natural gas last year than coal for the first time in the company's 100-year history. The share of coal it used for total power generation declined from 70% to 30%, while the natural gas share rose from 11% to 47%. �

Not surprisingly, coal's share of U.S. electricity generation plunged to 37% last year, down from 42% in 2011. Meanwhile, the natural gas share increased to 30%, up from 25%. But now, with gas prices sharply higher and coal prices still depressed, coal is starting to look a lot more attractive as a fuel source -- especially when you take a step outside the U.S. and consider global opportunities.

Global demand for coal set to increase big-time
As Fool contributor Tyler Crowe recently noted, the global outlook for coal is much brighter than the domestic one for two important reasons.

First, natural gas is a lot tougher to transport than coal is. It requires a much more complex infrastructure, including massive pipeline networks and complex liquefaction and regasifaction terminals. In contrast, coal can be shipped more easily, typically requiring only existing railroads, ports, and roads.

Second, unlike in the U.S., where natural gas prices are market-determined, the prices in Europe and Asia are indexed to oil on an energy-equivalency basis, as measured by BTUs. That means coal should continue to be much more competitive in the international arena than it is in North America.

In fact, a January report by the International Energy Agency forecasted that coal will surpass even oil as the largest energy source by 2017. China and India, which together account for roughly a third of the world's population, are expected to be the primary drivers of this projected increase in global demand.

As these large, emerging economies continue to grow and their citizens transition toward higher income levels, their demand for energy will increase much faster than demand from developed countries. According to some estimates, China and India's total consumption of coal for electricity generation will be nearly double that of all the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development put together. �

Coal companies look to foreign markets
To capitalize on these expected trends, numerous U.S. coal companies are planning to boost their export capacity. For instance, Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR ) , which exported just 14 million tons of coal in 2011, has boosted its export capacity to about 25 million tons per year. �

And Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU ) last year announced that it entered into an agreement with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP ) to expand its export platform in the Gulf Coast. The deal provides Peabody with greater access to export coal from Kinder Morgan's Deepwater, Houston Bulk, and International Marine terminals and boosts its Gulf Coast export capacity to between 5 million and 7 million tons per year. �

Final thoughts
If gas prices continue to rise further, coal will become increasingly more attractive. However, there is one factor working against its comeback -- tightening environmental regulations.

Because coal spews far greater quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than does natural gas, more stringent environment regulations are sure to have a disproportionately negative impact on the demand for coal. In fact, Exelon CEO Christopher Crane recently said that some 19,000 megawatts of coal-fired plant capacity is scheduled to be permanently retired by 2015 because of tougher environmental regulations.

Coal might be down, but it's far from out. Even though the EIA forecasts only a modest increase in U.S. coal production over the next couple of years -- 1% in 2013 and 1.3% in 2014 -- the global market points to a much brighter future for King Coal and for aptly positioned U.S. coal producers.

Peabody Energy is one company that stands to benefit from the coming growth in global coal demand. The company already has deals in place to get its cheaper coal from the Powder River and Illinois basins to India, China, and the EU. For investors looking to capitalize on a rebound in the U.S. coal market, The Motley Fool has authored a special new premium report detailing exactly why Peabody Energy is perhaps most worthy of your consideration. Don't miss out on this invaluable resource -- simply click here now to claim your copy today.

Why Pandora Will Never Be a Great Investment

In the following video, Jeremy Phillips and Austin Smith discuss the future of Pandora.

Jeremy calls the company a "dumb pipe" that doesn't own its content, all while it goes up against Apple and Amazon.com, which have billions of dollars to play with as they seek to build on their market shares.

Austin notes that those two companies are willing to sustain losses in this business -- Apple for the sake of further developing its products' ecosystems -- and says there may be no winner in this market at all, as there are no economies of scale and costs keep rising. Even worse for Pandora is that it has no intellectual property, leaving its business ripe for disruption.

For more details, check out the video.

Pandora has won millions of devotees among music fans but few supporters on Wall Street. The online jukebox seems to be redefining the way we consume music, a transformation that�s only likely to grow. But high royalty rates and competition from all corners threatens to silence the company. Can Pandora translate success with its listeners into a prosperous business model that will deliver for investors? Learn about the key opportunities and potential pitfalls facing the upstart radio streamer in The Motley Fool's new premium research report. All you have to do is click here now to subscribe to this invaluable investor's resource.

Will "Going Private" Hurt Facebook?

In the following video, Jeremy Phillips and Austin Smith discuss Facebook.

Austin says Facebook's having trouble monetizing its user base. Increasing ads drives many users away, and still others are turning to mobile, which is even harder to monetize.

As for Web stocks that can be successful in online advertising, Austin points to Google, with its wide moat, the success of Chrome and Android, and its control of search engine optimization and search algorithms around the Web.

For more details, check out the video.

Of course, this is just one side of the story, and there are things every investor needs to know about Facebook. We've outlined them in our newest premium research report. There's a lot more to Facebook than meets the eye, so read up on whether there is anything to "like" about it today, and we'll tell you whether we think Facebook deserves a place in your portfolio. Access your report by clicking here.

Google’s plan to eat Amazon’s lunch and dominate retailing - 01:30 PM

(gigaom.com) -- Marc Andresseen, the kingmaker of Silicon Valley, is fond of pointing out that “software is eating the world.” Google’s recent purchase of Channel Intelligence, a data management platform for retailer inventory, underscores its unstated, Borg-like goal of slowly gobbling up every industry it encounters.

This particular move, though, is a not-so-subtle signal to the marketplace that Google intends to become the dominant player in global ecommerce – which in the U.S. alone is already a $186 billion goldmine. Yes, for Google this is not just about going deeper into the ads business. The ever-expanding behemoth’s intention is to take a bite out of retailers margins too, starting first with those generated by ecommerce websites.

How To Start Every Day Investing Organization?

Before everything else, what exactly is day investing? As per Wikipedia’s definition, Day trading represents the practice of selling and buying financial instruments (such as stocks, futures, alternatives, etc.) as a strategy to generate a return in less than exactly the same investing day. Stock traders that exercise day trading are called active investors or day investors.

Day trading, like any other corporation professions, needs serious education, quality planning, and a lot of exercise. Many beginners enter the day trading business in one day in hope of making quick cash. On the other hand simply some of those who get properly educated possess an excellent investing strategy and self-control can survive and thrive in the industry. Numerous of them make lots of capital in one day trading just for a couple of hours, and spend the remainder of their days freely with their family and friends, doing whatever they love to do.

On the other hand how to be a great day investor and make real money in the industry? Let’s take a look the idea:

Step 1. We must give ourselves a thorough education on the economic marketplace. We must find out what fiscal instruments would be found in the marketplace, and what instruments go well with our day traders finest. Next we should familiarize ourselves with the various day investing methods and try to acquire one that fits us the best. Seek engines including Google and Yahoo are great places to obtain day investing courses and ways. We’ll must carry out our in depth analysis and use our own judgment to find the proper one that fits us most. We must also equip ourselves with the trading tools such as marketplace analysis tools, real-time trading software, and search for and sign-up with a trustful discount broker.

Step 2. Once we have found our trading formula, the next task is to write up a trading formula. Yes, we need to place our investing plan in paper. In less than this trading program, we will outline our mission statement-what we prefer to achieve in day trading? What are our short-term and long-term purposes? Do we prefer to acquire a little more earnings aside from our constant job, or will we desire to turn into financially independent by doing day investing? We will also desire to prepare an in depth strategy on our daily investing activities that include pre-market analysis, our entry and exit formula, and our after-market groundwork.

Step 3. Set up an account for paper trading. When we have written up our investing plan, we are set out to test the water by paper trading or carrying out trading simulation. This is quite essential as we do not would like to danger our real funds prior to us are comfy with the game. You’ll find a lot of investing simulation software readily available for cost-free on the marketplace and we might also check out with our broker to determine if they provide a real-time investing simulation platform. Once doing simulation, try to consider ourselves as trading with our real fund and act depending on our investing plans.

Step 4. Set an in one day limit, both for profits and for loss. After we have built up self-confidence in day trading, we attempt to trade when or twice a 7-day period with actual fund. It’s really momentous set an in one day limit for both profits and loss. For instance, we could set an in one day earnings target at $200, and a loss limit of $100. Once we have reached either limit, we ought to discontinue trading. Turn off your computer, go out and take a walk or have a cup of tea. Never over-trade.

Step 5. Have a great fund management method in put. Before we enter every single trade, we ought to evaluate our worst case scenario. How much cash we can afford to lose in every trade we enter if we happen to lose in every single trade we made for the day? Realizing our maximum affordable loss for every trade is essential as we will deliberately limit our dimension of entry and set up our discontinue loss even before our trade. This may keep away from us from getting rid of enormous and keep us in the game.

Step 6. Fix our emotion errors through writing trade logs. For day traders, keeping our emotions in check is a massive challenge and need much disciple and practice. A day, we could be distracted by a few emotions such as fear, pride, ego, etc. These emotions could keep away from us from following our trading plans and eventually deteriorate our confidence. An effective method to fix this issue is to write trade logs consistently on a per day basis. Once writing logs, we will analyze every investing action and record the real logic or emotion behind trade. When we look at ourselves fall in the trap of emotions, we will remind ourselves not to produce a similar mistake the next time. By practicing these lots of time, we will train our mind to follow the logic and keep our emotions in check.

Step 7. Reward ourselves when we abide by our rules. Whenever we follow our formula or investing strategy to the letter, even though a winning or a losing trade, we ought to give ourselves a huge pat on the back, because we have conquered our emotions and created a huge leap toward day investing achievement and monetary freedom. When we have achieved our short-term purpose, we need to not forget to reward ourselves for the hard work and accomplishment. Be it a trip to Las Vegas or a cool iPad; place this in our investing program as it will motivate us to achieve our purpose. In the end, we deserve it anyway.

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Top Stocks For 3/31/2013-16

DENVER, Nov. 19, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MusclePharm(R) Corporation (OTCBB:MSLP), one of the fastest growing nutritional supplement companies in the United States, today announced former UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida, will be wearing MusclePharm apparel at the main fight which takes place on Saturday, November 20, 2010 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. UFC newcomer Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves will also sport MusclePharm’s apparel on the UFC 123 Fight Card that includes his fight shorts, t-shirt, hat, and a banner with the MSLP Ticker Symbol. UFC 123 Event will draw an estimated 850,000 pay per view buys and is watched by an estimated 10 million viewers. “We are very excited to have one of our UFC athletes compete in the main event fight. UFC continues to be a tremendous partner for MusclePharm as we increase our consumer demographic exposure during Saturday night’s fight,” commented Cory Gregory, MusclePharm’s President. “We will continue to focus on opportunities with UFC to further increase MusclePharm’s brand awareness and expand MusclePharm’s supplement and apparel market penetration.” Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida (fighting out of Belem, Brazil / 16-1) is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Machida Karate. The former UFC light heavyweight champion won his first 16 professional fights. Winning five of his first six fights in the UFC, the 32-year-old has finished three bouts, including a submission win over Rameau Sokoudjou and knock out victories against Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans. Maiquel Jose Falcao Goncalves is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He was signed to make a debut at UFC 123 against Gerald Harris. Prior to his UFC appearance, Maiquel collected a 25-3 record with only one win coming by way of decision and 23 of the wins coming by knockout or TKO. About MusclePharmHeadquartered in Denver, Colorado, MusclePharm is a rapidly expanding healthy life-style company that develops and manufacturers a full line of NSF and scientifically approved, nutritional supplements that are 100% free of any banned substances. Based on years of research, MusclePharm products are created through an advanced six-stage research protocol involving the expertise of top nutritional scientists and field tested by more than 100 elite professional athletes from various sports including the NFL, MMA, and MLB. The Company’s propriety and award winning products address all categories of an active lifestyle including muscle building, weight loss, and maintaining general fitness through a daily nutritional supplement regimen. MusclePharm is sold in over 120 countries and available in over 5,000 US retail outlets that include GNC, and Vitamin Shoppe, as well as over 100 online stores, including bodybuilding.com, Amazon and Vitacost.com. For more information, please visit www.musclepharm.com. Forward-looking StatementsMusclePharm Corporation believes the information set forth in this Press Release may include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. Certain factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are set forth in “Risk Factors” in Item 2.02 of the Company’s Form 8-K dated February 18, 2010, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact:ICR
Investor Contact:
John Mills, Senior Managing Director
310.954.1105

CRWEnewswire is not liable for the contents of this news, as well as not being liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY OR SELL ANY SECURITY!

Revlon Crushes Earnings Estimates

Revlon (NYSE: REV ) reported earnings on Feb. 5. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Revlon beat expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Revlon recorded revenue of $391.3 million. The one analyst polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see a top line of $380.4 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 8.8% higher than the prior-year quarter's $359.8 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.89. The one earnings estimate compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.73 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.89 for Q4 were 27% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.70 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 64.4%, 170 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 21.0%, 230 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.9%, 180 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.47 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.73.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a one-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 81 members out of 166 rating the stock outperform, and 85 members rating it underperform. Among 53 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 34 give Revlon a green thumbs-up, and 19 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Revlon is buy, with an average price target of $22.00.

Looking for alternatives to Revlon? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

Add Revlon to My Watchlist.

A Weak Employment Report

Health care and temporary service employment accounted for the bulk of the weaker-than-expected payroll report, and the so-called underemployment rate actually rose. The BLS writes,

Temporary help services employment increased by 40,000 in
March. Since last September, employment in this industry has
grown by 313,000, or 18 percent.

Health care added 27,000 jobs in March, compared with an
average monthly gain of 18,000 over the prior 12 months. Mining
employment rose by 8,000 in March. This industry has added
31,000 jobs since last October.

Throw in 15,000 factory jobs, and that’s it. The ADP report showed a decline in manufacturing employment, so that’s within the range of statistical error. It’s remarkable how little manufacturing employment has grown given the improvements in Asia, suggesting that the tidal effect of Asian growth on the US is limited.

A major factor in the improvement is the fact that construction employment has stabilized at extremely low levels. It really is so bad that it can’t get much worse. During the past two months, construction deducted about 60,000 from the totals. Add this to the 48,000 pop in census-driven government employment, and the number looks very weak indeed.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

FTSE Shares That Soared and Plunged This Week

LONDON -- Although the FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE ) ended the week just 20 points up, at 6,412, it trod an erratic path getting there, slumping as low as 6,344 points on Wednesday as the worst of the Cyprus banking fallout hit European markets. With a bailout agreed to for the island member of the eurozone by the end of the week, the index of top U.K. stocks recovered, though the eventual punishment to be faced by savers in Cyprus is yet to be known.

Here's a look at the big movers on the FTSE this past week.

TUI Travel (LSE: TT )
TUI Travel gained 14.6 pence (4.7%) during the week to end at 325.6 pence, after the owner of the U.K.'s Thomson and First Choice brands told us that profit growth this year could approach 10%. In its first-half update, the company revealed a 2% rise in winter sales and told us that the momentum had continued into a 7% rise in mainstream summer vacation sales. The stock price has now doubled since last summer's low of 158 pence.

Legal & General (LSE: LGEN )
The U.K. insurance sector has been very mixed of late, but Legal & General had a reasonable week, up 3.6 pence (2%) to 172.7 pence. The rise comes after the company announced that it is to acquire the 75% of the Cofunds financial services investment platform that it doesn't already own. The deal will cost 131 million pounds in cash, valuing Cofunds Holdings at 175 million pounds.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets (LSE: MRW )
Wm Morrison Supermarkets continued its recent recovery this week, picking up a further 7.7 pence (2.9%) to 276 pence. The supermarket chain has seen its price slump over the past year, losing 18% in the 12 months to early February, as it has lost market share to Tesco and J Sainsbury. Since then, the price has rebounded by 11%, but the stock is still at a forward P/E of only around 10.5, based on forecasts for January 2014.

Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC )
Eurasian Natural Resources saw its stock price slide further over the past week, dropping 39 pence (14%) to 246 pence. Since the Kazakhstan-focused natural resources company revealed an annual loss of $852 million on March 20, the price has slumped by 21%. But that's nothing compared with the longer term -- the stock has lost 80% since its 2010 high of 1,267 pence. There will be no final dividend this year.

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3 Health-Care Stories You Should Know

Heading into this holiday weekend, health-care stocks continue to lead the S&P 500 in 2013. But behind the share-price gains is an industry undergoing dramatic changes. While fellow fool Sean Williams recaps the week's biotech and pharmaceutical news, here's a look at the top stories from the other parts of the health-care industry.

Two stories this week displayed the uncertainty that surrounds some forthcoming Obamacare changes. In addition, a Consumer Reports investigation showed which drugstores have the lowest margins on generic drugs.

The Volunteer State and Medicaid
Arkansas' tentative permission to use federal Medicaid expansion money to purchase private insurance led many other states to pursue that route. But the matter's a bit more complicated, and Sarah Kliff reports at WonkBlog that Tennessee has run into opposition from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The problem wasn't the state's desire to use the money for private insurance, but that Gov. Bill Haslam also proposed that the newly eligible Medicaid members should have similar co-pays to others in the health-insurance exchanges. And that could mean the government might spend far more than it would on a traditional Medicaid plan. The HHS remains open to negotiations, but Gov. Haslam seems firm in his proposal.

Tennessee's Medicaid program includes Magellan (NASDAQ: MGLN ) as its pharmacy benefits manager and counts UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH ) and WellPoint (NYSE: WLP ) as its major insurance backers. So investors for those companies should keep an eye on this story.

Medicare cuts
Turning to the Medicare side of the Affordable Care Act, health plans rose this week on the suggestion that Medicare Advantage rates might see lower cuts than previously announced. Those rates were based on the assumption that Congress will go through with a 25% physician pay cut for next year, which would require the higher insurance rates for balance. But Congress hasn't implemented the pay cut in more than a decade, so the rate cuts haven't been necessary. We'll find out for sure with the final rate announcement on Monday. Humana (NYSE: HUM ) is overly dependent on Medicare, and shares were up nearly 3% on Wednesday following the news.

Finding cheap drugs
Consumer Reports was out with a study showing which drugstores have the best prices on generic medications. Costco�had the lowest prices, while CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS ) had the highest. The publication theorizes that the price difference comes from how much the pharmacy segment means to the overall business. After all, a big-box store like Costco can afford narrower margins on its generics because there's more general store than pharmacy, while CVS is more dependent on its pharmacy to drive the bottom line.

The story of our generation?
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$1 Billion Flextronics Notes Priced at 4.625% and 5.0%

Hours after it announced plans to sell up to $1 billion of senior unsecured notes, Flextronics� (NASDAQ: FLEX ) priced the offering into two separate, $500 million amounts, the company announced yesterday.

Denoted "2020 Notes," the first $500 million of notes have an interest rate of 4.625%, while the $500 million of "2023 Notes" have an interest rate of 5%. Unless repurchased or redeemed, the notes will mature on Feb. 15, 2020 and�Feb. 15, 2023, respectively.

Once the sale of notes to institutional and non-U.S. buyers closes on Feb. 20, Flextronics will use the net proceeds along with cash on hand to repay debts from its 2007 term loan facility, which is set to mature in 2014.

Fitch Ratings has assigned a "BBB-" rating to the offering.�

The Singapore-based company offers design, engineering, and manufacturing services to a number of industries, among them aerospace and defense, automotive, computing, medical, energy, and mobile OEMs.

link

U.S. Housing Starts Dip but Remain at Solid Pace

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. homebuilders began work at a slower pace in January than in December. But all of the drop occurred in the volatile area of apartment construction, which sank 24 percent. By contrast, the rate of single-family homebuilding rose 0.8 percent.

Even with the overall decline, the pace of home construction in January was the third-highest since 2008 and was evidence of continued strengthening in residential real estate.

And in an encouraging sign for the rest of the year, applications for building permits, a signal of future construction, topped December's rate. Applications for permits are at their highest point since mid-2008.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders started work at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000 homes last month. That was down 8.5 percent from December, when housing starts had hit an annual rate of 973,000, the most since June 2008.

Analysts had expected a decline on January construction, given the sharp gain in December. December had initially been reported at an annual rate of 920,000. On Wednesday, the department revised up the December pace to 973,000.

January's was only the second drop in construction in the past six months. It still left the annual pace of homebuilding 23.6 percent higher than a year ago.

Economists noted that building permits keep increasing. Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist for BTIG, said the increase in permits suggested that the January decline in construction starts would be temporary and that "as the year progresses, housing starts will continue to push higher."

Greenhaus said he wouldn't be surprised if construction starts topped 1 million for 2013.

The U.S. housing market is slowly regaining its health after stagnating for roughly five years after the housing boom collapsed. Steady job gains and near-record-low mortgage rates have encouraged more people to buy.

A steady rise in prices reflects, in part, fewer homes for sale. The supply of previously occupied homes for sale has reached its lowest level in more than a decade. And the pace of foreclosures, while still rising in some states, has slowed sharply on a national basis. That means fewer low-priced foreclosed homes are being dumped on the market.

Those trends, and the likelihood of further price gains, have led builders to step up construction. Last year, builders broke ground on the most homes in four years.

For all of 2012, builders started work on 780,000 homes. That was still only about half the annual number consistent with healthy markets. But it represents a 28 percent jump from 2011. And it was the most housing starts since 2008, when construction was still falling after the housing bubble burst more than six years ago.

Sales of new homes jumped nearly 20 percent last year to 367,000, the most since 2009. Still, many economists don't foresee a full housing recovery before 2015 at the earliest.

The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday that confidence among U.S. homebuilders slipped in February from a 6 1/2-year high in January. Many builders reported less traffic by prospective customers before the critical spring home-buying season begins.

The home builders' sentiment index dipped to 46 in February from 47 in January. It was the first monthly decline in the index since last April.

Readings below 50 suggest negative sentiment about the housing market. The last time the index was at 50 or higher was in April 2006, when it was 51. It began trending higher in October 2011, when it was 17.

Many builders are facing higher costs for building materials and having trouble obtaining financing for construction. Some also are facing a shortage of workers in markets where residential construction has picked up sharply, such as Texas and Arizona.

Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to statistics from the home builders.

By region, January's decline in home construction was led by a 50 percent drop in the Midwest and a 35.3 percent decline in the Northeast. Analysts saw both declines as likely weather related. Construction rose 16.7 percent in the West and 4.1 percent in the South.

Einhorn Protests Apple Proposal

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn sued Apple Inc. Thursday over a plan by the company to make it more difficult to issue preferred shares that pay a dividend�something Mr. Einhorn has urged the company do to return more of its cash pile to investors.

Mr. Einhorn, who runs Greenlight Capital Inc., has been lobbying Apple's board to exercise its authority to issue such shares, though so far it hasn't done so.

Apple's board already has the right to issue preferred stock, but it is asking shareholders at its annual meeting later this month to vote on a proposal that would require shareholder approval to issue the stock.

Microsoft: ‘Win Blue’ Shows Upgrade Tempo Picking Up, Says UBS

UBS‘s Brent Thill this morning reiterates a Buy rating on Microsoft (MSFT) and a $33 price target after reflecting on the buzz around the company’s forthcoming update to Windows 8, “Windows Blue,” screen shots of which have been leaking onto the Internet, as The Verge’s Tom Warren noted earlier this week.

After hosting a conference call with Microsoft expert Mary Jo Foley, Thill concludes Microsoft is pursuing a more aggressive pace of updates for Windows and its other products:

MSFT starting to issue updates more quickly vs. big bang refresh approach which is important as it more quickly improves the competiveness of MSFT�s platform adding necessary new features/fixes/UI tweaks as well as deep level kernel changes that improve the MSFT experience and open-up new markets like sub-10 inch tablets. MJF expects RTM for Client and Server Blue around August ’13, Office Blue (Gemini) in fall �13, Phone Blue late 2013/early 2014. The Build conference just announced for the last week of June in SF, usually MSFT needs things to show developers so perhaps we see 7 or 8 inch W8 tablet by then even if just in demo form.

Additional observations from Foley include that the Surface tablet computer is too pricey, and battery life too slim at 4 to 5 hours: “MSFT needs to cut the price on Surface RT to a couple hundred dollars.”

Also, Foley believes Microsoft Office is coming for Apple‘s (AAPL) iOS-based devices, and Google‘s (GOOG) Android, this year, based on Office 365 subscriptions:

MJF believes we will see Office on iOS/Android perhaps as soon as this year. MJF believes the delivery/payment model will be as an add-on to an O365 Home/Business Premium subscription entitling you to install a localized version of Office to an iPad. MJF notes MSFT is not denying Office on iOS/Android which is telling and has heard from people that claim they’ve seen Office on iPad (though she hasn�t seen it herself). Strategically this move makes sense as MSFT is reimagining itself as �device and cloud services� focused so extending Office to other platforms fits that shift.

Microsoft shares today are up 18 cents, or 0.6%, at $28.55.

Some Numbers at Altra Holdings that Make Your Stock Look Good

There's no foolproof way to know the future for Altra Holdings (Nasdaq: AIMC ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

A cloudy crystal ball
In this series, we use accounts receivable and days sales outstanding to judge a company's current health and future prospects. It's an important step in separating the pretenders from the market's best stocks. Alone, AR -- the amount of money owed the company -- and DSO -- the number of days' worth of sales owed to the company -- don't tell you much. However, by considering the trends in AR and DSO, you can sometimes get a window onto the future.

Sometimes, problems with AR or DSO simply indicate a change in the business (like an acquisition), or lax collections. However, AR that grows more quickly than revenue, or ballooning DSO, can, at times, suggest a desperate company that's trying to boost sales by giving its customers overly generous payment terms. Alternately, it can indicate that the company sprinted to book a load of sales at the end of the quarter, like used-car dealers on the 29th of the month. (Sometimes, companies do both.)

Why might an upstanding firm like Altra Holdings do this? For the same reason any other company might: to make the numbers. Investors don't like revenue shortfalls, and employees don't like reporting them to their superiors.

Is Altra Holdings sending any potential warning signs? Take a look at the chart below, which plots revenue growth against AR growth, and DSO:

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. FQ = fiscal quarter.

The standard way to calculate DSO uses average accounts receivable. I prefer to look at end-of-quarter receivables, but I've plotted both above.

Watching the trends
When that red line (AR growth) crosses above the green line (revenue growth), I know I need to consult the filings. Similarly, a spike in the blue bars indicates a trend worth worrying about. Altra Holdings's latest average DSO stands at 49.2 days, and the end-of-quarter figure is 48.8 days. Differences in business models can generate variations in DSO, and business needs can require occasional fluctuations, but all things being equal, I like to see this figure stay steady. So, let's get back to our original question: Based on DSO and sales, does Altra Holdings look like it might miss its numbers in the next quarter or two?

I don't think so. AR and DSO look healthy. For the last fully reported fiscal quarter, Altra Holdings's year-over-year revenue grew 3.2%, and its AR grew 1.2%. That looks OK. End-of-quarter DSO increased 0.2% over the prior-year quarter. It was down 1.0% versus the prior quarter. Still, I'm no fortuneteller, and these are just numbers. Investors putting their money on the line always need to dig into the filings for the root causes and draw their own conclusions.

Looking for alternatives to Altra Holdings? It takes more than great companies to build a fortune for the future. Learn the basic financial habits of millionaires next door and get focused stock ideas in our free report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Click here for instant access to this free report.

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Cooking site Food52 raises $2M to expand publishing, mobile and shopping initiatives - 04:06 PM

(gigaom.com) -- Food52, the crowdsourced cooking website cofounded by former New York Times food writer Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, has raised $2 million in Series A funding, the company announced on its blog Wednesday.

The round was led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and included participation from Vocap Ventures, Zelkova Ventures and Gary Vaynerchuk. Lerer Ventures, 15 Angels and investor Joanne Wilson, who had also participated in the company’s $750,000 seed round in 2010, contributed to this round as well.

IMF Seeks End to Energy Subsidies

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report this week that urges governments, including the U.S. government, to reform their energy subsidies substantially. In its report "Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications," [link opens PDF] the IMF says that while subsidies are meant to protect consumers, they have significantly negative consequences that ultimately hurt those same consumers.

The report says that subsidies "distort resource allocation by encouraging excessive energy consumption, artificially promoting capital-intensive industries, reducing incentives for investment in renewable energy, and accelerating the depletion of natural resources." The IMF highlights further negative effects, including aggravated financial inequality and depressed private investment.

The report identifies the U.S. among the top three subsidizers across the world, in absolute terms, at $502 billion. China ($279 billion) and Russia ($116 billion) round out the list. In advanced economies like that of the U.S., the report finds that "prices remain below the levels needed to fully capture the negative externalities of energy consumption on the environment, public health, and traffic congestion."

Among its reform recommendations, the IMF urges governments to phase in energy price increases across energy products, and to implement institutional reforms that depoliticize energy pricing, such as automatic pricing mechanisms. The report is dated Jan. 28 but was released this week.

link

Is TJX a Cash King?

As an investor, it pays to follow the cash. If you figure out how a company moves its money, you might eventually find some of that cash flowing into your pockets.

In this series, we'll highlight four companies in an industry, and compare their "cash king margins" over time, trying to determine which has the greatest likelihood of putting cash back into your pocket. After all, a company can pay dividends and buy back stock only after it's actually received cash -- not just when it books those accounting figments known as "profits."

Today, let's look at TJX (NYSE: TJX ) and three of its peers.

The cash king margin
Looking at a company's cash flow statement can help you determine whether its free cash flow actually backs up its reported profit. Companies that can create 10% or more free cash flow from their revenue can be powerful compounding machines for your portfolio. A sustained high cash king margin can be a good predictor of long-term stock returns.

To find the cash king margin, divide the free cash flow from the cash flow statement by sales:

Cash king margin = Free cash flow / sales

Let's take McDonald's as an example. In the four quarters ending in December, the restaurateur generated $6.97 billion in operating cash flow. It invested about $3.05 billion in property, plant, and equipment. To calculate free cash flow, subtract McDonald's investment from its operating cash flow. That leaves us with $3.92 billion in free cash flow, which the company can save for future expenditures or distribute to shareholders.

Taking McDonald's sales of $25.5 billion over the same period, we can figure that the company has a cash king margin of about 14% -- a nice high number. In other words, for every dollar of sales, McDonald's produces $0.14 in free cash.

Ideally, we'd like to see the cash king margin top 10%. The best blue chips can notch numbers greater than 20%, making them true cash dynamos. But some businesses, including many types of retailing, just can't sustain such margins.

We're also looking for companies that can consistently increase their margins over time, which indicates that their competitive position is improving. Erratic swings in margins could signal a deteriorating business, or perhaps some financial skullduggery; you'll have to dig deeper to discover the reason.

Four companies
Here are the cash king margins for four industry peers over a few periods.

Company	Cash King Margin (TTM)	1 Year Ago	3 Years Ago	5 Years Ago
TJX�	8%	4.8%	9.1%	4.6%
Kohl's (NYSE: KSS )	2.5%	6.4%	9.4%	(2%)
Macy's (NYSE: M )	5.6%	5.8%	5.9%	4.7%
Saks (NYSE: SKS )	1.4%	6.3%	4.5%	(2%)

Source: S&P Capital IQ; TTM = trailing 12 months.

None of these companies meets our 10% threshold, but TJX comes the closest. While its current cash king margins are lower than they were three years ago, they are higher than five years ago. Macy's comes in second, and has consistently offered margins close to the 5% range. Kohl's has 2.5% cash king margins, which have consistently declined over the past three years as operating cash flow has fallen. Saks has the lowest margins at below 2%. While its current margins are up from five years ago, they are the lowest they've been in three years.

TJX has benefited from consumer interest in name brands at discount prices. This strategy has a number of advantages. First, by combining low prices with an in-person, hands-on shopping experience, TJX can draw customers away from online shopping. Also, because these companies consistently discount their products, they avoid the trap of changing consumer expectations and changing value perceptions created by companies like Macy's, Kohl's, and Saks when they discount their products.

The cash king margin can help you find highly profitable businesses, but it should only be the start of your search. The ratio does have its limits, especially for fast-growing small businesses. Many such companies reinvest all of their cash flow into growing the business, leaving them little or no free cash -- but that doesn't necessarily make them poor investments. Conversely, the formula works better for slower-growing blue chips. You'll need to look closer to determine exactly how a company is using its cash.

Still, if you can cut through the earnings headlines to follow the cash instead, you might be on the path toward seriously great investments.

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

Top Stocks For 3/28/2013-10

Orofino Gold Corp. (ORFG.PK) has several Gold development properties in Colombia, a current hot spot of gold production in the world markets.

The company is please to announce that the Board Of Directors have appointed Mr. Ning Shi Long as Chairman of the Board and Executive Director.

Mr. Ary Fernando Pernett Marque has been appointed as the new President/CEO & Executive Director of Orofino Gold Corp.

Mr. Pernett will be responsible for all affairs of the Company in Colombia. Mr. Pernett has 30 years of experience working in the Colombian Mining sector and will over the near term choose his new development team to assist in the development of the company’s Senderos de Oro gold camp in the Sur de Bolivar Colombia.

The company and Mr. Pernett will continue to work with Contexto Legal of Medellin and Bogota, the company’s legal counsel as well as Discovery Consultants, (The Qualified 43-101 team) Canada, as they have in the past. The new team will now aggressively pursue other known Gold occurrences in the companies Senderos de Oro Gold Camp while the development team works to improve production at La Azul Mine.

The Board of Director’s have accepted resignation of John T. Martin, former Managing Director of the Company. His resignation is effective immediately. The Company wish him well and success in future endeavors.

SavWatt USA, Inc. (SAVW.PK), pioneers in LED lighting, announced that beginning 1Q 2011, SavWatt will be selling LED T-8 florescent tube replacements assembled in the USA. SavWatt’s 16 Watt , 4 foot, T-8 LED tube will replace a typical 40 Watt florescent tube (includes ballast), providing immediate energy savings of 60%, which does not include savings for service and replacement costs. Based on an average USA energy cost of 15 cents per kilowatt, the tube has a 24 month payback.

Features of SavWatt’s LED Tube Lights.

Energy Saving – SavWatt LED tubes consume low power. Power efficiency reaches 90 percent, with energy saving of 60% compared with traditional florescent tubes.
Environmental Friendly – SavWatt LED tubes contain no ultraviolet, infrared ray radiation, mercury or heat from the illumination.
Long Life Span – SavWatt LED tube has a 50,000 – 80,000 hours life span compared to 8,000 hours for traditional florescent tubes. Good heat dissipation techniques are achieved through the use of SavWatt’s Eco-Watt technology.
Ultra Bright – using high illumine LITKY LED’s separate SavWatt from others.
Stable – SavWatt’s superior component quality control and 48 hour USA burn in procedures makes it top in its class.

Sam Abecassis, SavWatt’s VP of Product Development commented, “We have worked hard over the last 2 years to develop and bring to market a UL approved true T-8 high quality Led tube. Our Eco-Watt technology and LITKY LED’s make us shine above the rest. We have listened to our distributors and by assembling here in the USA we now will be able to handle the faster to market demand and quality concerns.”

Jefferies Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) announced a definitive agreement to sell the firm�s clearing and custody relationships with introducing broker-dealer firms to Pershing, LLC, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Company, Inc. According to the agreement, Jefferies will transition correspondent customers to Pershing, which offers a comprehensive array of customizable products, processing services and technology solutions tailored to meet their needs.

Jefferies Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a securities and investment banking company in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Capital Markets and Asset Management. The Capital Markets segment engages in securities execution operations, such as sales, trading, and research in equities, equity-linked, and fixed income securities, including investment grade corporate bonds, high yield and distressed securities, government and agency securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, municipal securities, bank loans, leveraged loans, and emerging markets debt, as well as offers prime brokerage services.

Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (NYSE:OPY) a unit of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., is pleased to announce two more strategic hires. Mark Anderson has joined the firm as Managing Director in the Institutional Fixed Income Sales and Trading department. In addition, Neil Snoep has accepted a position as Director – Bank Strategist. Senior Managing Director of the Taxable Fixed Income group. �I am very pleased that the firm has attracted another senior fixed income manager of Mark�s caliber to help build out our fixed income operations. Mark�s work on the West Coast has had an immediate impact on our business,�

Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a middle-market investment bank and full service broker-dealer. It offers full-service brokerage services covering various investment alternatives, such as exchange-traded and over-the-counter corporate equity and debt securities, money market instruments, exchange-traded options and futures contracts, municipal bonds, mutual funds, and unit investment trusts.

The Board of Directors of Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. (NYSE:NTG) declared the company�s fourth quarter 2010 distribution of $0.36 per share, an increase from the previously declared distribution of $0.21 per share. The distribution will be paid on Nov. 30, 2010, to stockholders of record on Nov. 22, 2010. The company reiterates its expectation of paying a first quarter 2011 distribution of not less than $0.40625, a 6.5 percent annualized yield on a $25.00 public offering price, following full investment of the remaining leverage proceeds.

Tortoise MLP Fund Inc.�s investment objective is to provide its stockholders a high level of total return with an emphasis on current distributions.

Tortoise MLP Fund, Inc. seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in energy infrastructure master limited partnership (MLPs) and their affiliates, with an emphasis on natural gas infrastructure MLPs.

Opinion: Best of the Web Today: Fowl Play

(Best of the tube this weekend: Catch us on "The Journal Editorial Report" discussing the Supreme Court and same-sex marriage. Fox News Channel, Saturday at 2 p.m. ET and Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.) The other day brought a charming email from Jim Messina, "chair" of Organizing for Action, Barack Obama's new 501(c)(4) "social welfare" group:

Friend--I want to make one thing absolutely clear:We're up against a whole lot more than just opposition in Congress.We're up against interest groups with money to burn--organizations willing to drop every last penny they have to stop President Obama's agenda in its tracks. We're already seeing it on gun violence, and immigration reform--they're going to spend millions to throw a wrench in the works of progress.You can be damned sure that this is not going to stop.Organizing for Action is going to shift the balance of power in Washington back to real people. People like you have shown over and over again that no amount of spending can stop millions of Americans calling for change.It's going to take each of us rolling up our sleeves, getting to work, and chipping in what we can when we can.We have our first fundraising deadline this weekend. Donate $5 or more right now to become a founding member of this organization: [link redacted]This is going to be fun. If we do this right, the other side won't know what hit 'em.

Our first reaction was that it's funny OFA is still asking for $5 donations when it's also renting the president for 100,000 times that. It's like some Silicon Valley hot shot spending the morning meeting with venture capitalists and the afternoon panhandling on the street.

Some of our fellow writers had other interesting reactions. "What's neat about this is that it's a pure appeal for political warfare," one wrote. "The particular issues involved are secondary, mentioned in passing or not at all. The point is to fight Obama's opponents, period." Another replied: "Yes. And at the bottom after all the chipping and wrenching and fighting: 'This is going to be fun.'�"

It made us think of seagulls.

We've been reading "The Territorial Imperative," playwright-turned-anthropologist Robert Ardrey's brilliant and engaging 1966 survey of animal behavior, including the behavior of that species of great ape that calls itself Homo sapiens. Ardrey describes a form of animal society he calls the noyau, a word he borrows from the delightfully named French ethologist Jean-Jacques Petter and defines as follows: "groups of individuals held together by mutual animosity, who could not survive had they no friends to hate." (Noyau literally means "core" or "nucleus" and also refers to cherry or apricot kernels used in cooking and to a liqueur made from nut-kernel brandy.)

One of Ardrey's examples of such a society is a seagull:

This is the herring gull, vital, vociferous, numerous, enduring, one of evolution's noisiest successes. And yet the only obvious good he acquires from his community is the opportunity to quarrel with his neighbors. These are the fellows who will stand at their boundaries in a rage so purple that both will find vent for it by pulling up all the grass in sight. It is a society, in my opinion, formed and maintained by the lure of its inward antagonisms.�.�.�.Nature may abhor a vacuum, but it has even less use for boredom. In species after species natural selection has encouraged social mechanisms which seem ultimately to exist for no reason other than to provide conditions for antagonism and conflict and excitement. We may comprehend the evolutionary necessity for bringing together a breeding community and through migration and other forms of homing capacity for ensuring its reproductive isolation. But why must it live in a dense, disturbing, challenging, competing, squabbling, argumentative mass? If it is not to avoid boredom, then why must the animal demand for privacy stand cheek-by-jowl with the urge to plunge into the largest available crowd?

To put it more concisely: "This is going to be fun."

Note that "gun violence" is one of only two subjects Messina specifically mentions in his email. Yesterday President Obama gave a speech on that topic, and here's a sample:

Less than 100 days ago that [the massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn.] happened, and the entire country was shocked. And the entire country pledged we would do something about it and that this time would be different. Shame on us if we've forgotten. I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten.�.�.�.Tears aren't enough. Expressions of sympathy aren't enough. Speeches aren't enough. We've cried enough. We've known enough heartbreak. What we're proposing is not radical, it's not taking away anybody's gun rights. It's something that if we are serious, we will do.

Well, are they serious? Ask Jim Messina: "This is going to be fun."

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A common gull (top) fights with a herring gull. Evolution eventually produced David Frum.

To be sure, Obama also echoed Messina's call for antagonism, vilifying "powerful voices on the other side" that are "doing everything they can to make all our progress collapse." But that theme was secondary to the overall call for national unity: "The entire country pledged we would do something about it."

That last statement, by the way, is manifestly false. As we chronicled Dec.�17, within hours of the massacre, antagonists on both sides of the gun-control debate were on Twitter--the avian name is especially appropriate here--"pulling up all the grass in sight," to employ an Ardrey phrase as a metaphor:

� David Frum of the Daily Beast: "Obviously, we need to lower the age limit for concealed carry so toddlers can defend themselves."

� Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association: "Another 'gun-free zone.' Makes children sitting ducks."

� Andrew Rosenthal, editorial page editor of the New York Times, responding to Fischer: "Sickeningly quick."

� Rosenthal, a few sickeningly quick hours later: "Bloomberg wonders, and so do we, when it WILL be time to do something about gun violence."

If Obama really mistook the massacre as a moment of national unity, he must be quite isolated inside the White House--and it's quite possible that he is.

Of course such moments of unity are known to occur, and Ardrey recounts one of them. Having grown up in cynical interwar America, he never had much sense of patriotism. But on Dec.�7, 1941, upon hearing the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, "I ached with gratitude for Ecuador [which had just declared war on Japan], I ached with my love for my country, I ached with horror at the Japanese deception, I ached with sickness for the American loss."

Ardrey was not alone: "As my response was instant and voluntary, so was it universal among my social partners. Dissent must have existed, particularly among Americans of German or Japanese extraction: but dissent was so rare as to be statistically nonexistent."

The reaction after the attacks of Sept.�11 was similar, though it was somewhat further from universal and it dissipated more quickly. Ardrey died in 1980, but he might have explained the disparity in terms of what he called "the amity-enmity complex." He encapsulated it in a metaphorical equation, A=E+h. "The amity .�.�. which an animal expresses for others of its kind will be equal to the sum of the forces of enmity and hazard which are arrayed against it."

The spectacular nature of the 9/11 attacks made both enmity and hazard appear enormous. Within a few years both appeared considerably less so, perhaps because the enemy's capabilities were quickly degraded; perhaps because they were never that great to begin with, so that 9/11 was more or less a one-off; perhaps because the opening of a second front in Iraq signaled a diminished focus. Whatever the case, we were soon back to ordinary political squabbling.

As horrific as the Newtown massacre was, it was an act of madness, not war. If there was a "common enemy," he had already died at his own hand. The massacre could not galvanize the nation as Pearl Harbor or 9/11 did. It could only galvanize already antagonistic domestic groups against each other: the gun-control nuts vs. the gun-rights advocates (or, as the former would have it, the gun-control advocates vs. the gun nuts).

There is comfort in watching politics with an ethologist's detachment, in thinking of it as the playing out of biological instincts. Your adversaries don't seem quite so menacing when you imagine them as herring gulls pulling up grass to make their point. Thinking of yourself that way is an antidote to self-seriousness. And the most comical gulls of all are the angry centrists--the Nolabelists, the Frums and the Avlons and the Cupps--who madly pull up grass to express their outrage about all the partisan grass-pulling going on.

None of this is to deny that the political noyau is problematic. Collective action is difficult in a society organized around mutually antagonistic groups, and the absence of collective action can pose serious dangers. Then again, collective action poses dangers of its own. Our acrimonious politics have given us an unsustainable public debt, but they've made it impossible for Obama to take away your guns. Like much in life, it's a trade-off.

Question and Answer Blogger Calvin Massey, also a law professor at the University of New Hampshire, has written a succinct response to a question we raised yesterday, namely why the Supreme Court might hold that the appellants in U.S. v. Windsor (the Defense of Marriage Act case) have standing to appeal while those in Hollingsworth v. Perry (the Proposition 8 case) lack it:

It is a general rule that a litigant who suffers an injury that is held in common with all citizens (such as seeing a law enforced) does not have standing unless the litigant can show some concrete, personalized or particularized injury that is not shared in common with all others. See United States v. Richardson and Schlesinger v. Reservists Comm. to Stop the War . In Windsor it is the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, an agent of the House, that seeks to defend [DOMA's] section 3. The House has an injury that is not the same as all citizens--it is one half of the body that passed DOMA, and the President's failure to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" by his refusal to defend DOMA operates as an effective after-the-fact veto of a bill passed by the House and Senate. That is a distinct injury that is not held in common with all citizems [sic]. By contrast, in Hollingsworth the proponents of Prop 8 suffer the same injury as all Californians--the indignity of the Governor and Attorney General failing to defend a constitutional amendment. True, the proponents spent a lot of money, time, and energy to persuade Californians to vote for Prop 8, but the interest they seek to vindicate is the same that all Californians have.

In the Hollingsworth oral arguments, Justice Samuel Alito was troubled by the implications of this distinction:

Start from the proposition that a State has standing to defend the constitutionality of a State law. .�.�. The question then is, who represents the State? Now, in a State that has initiative, the whole process would be defeated if the only people who could defend the statute are the elected public officials. The whole point .�.�. of the initiative process was to allow the people to circumvent public officials about whom they were suspicious.

If elected officials can effectively nullify citizen initiatives--and in this case amend the state constitution--by refusing to defend them in court, that seems a serious setback for self-government.

Then again, maybe this isn't problematic from a strict constitutionalist standpoint. After all, the U.S. Constitution guarantees "to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." It says nothing about direct democracy, which, though it has been employed for a variety of ideological ends, was a Progressive Era innovation.

Fox Butterfield, Is That You? "Despite a reputation for social liberalism, California scores badly on personal freedoms."--FreedomInThe50States.org, March�28

We Blame George W. Bush "EPIC FAIL: Team Cuomo Blames Mayor Bloomberg for Mistakes in NY Gun Law"--headline, YidWithLid.com, March�28

We Blame Global Warming "White People Celebrate Heat Loss in Exceedingly White Fashion"--headline, SBNation.com, March�28

Shortest Books Ever Written "What the GOP Autopsy Proves"--headline, TheDailyBeast.com, March�28

It Couldn't Hit the Broad Side of the Barn "Sens. Rubio, Paul and Cruz: Gun Control Bill Won't Hit Senate Floor"--headline, Washington Times, March�29

Wow, He Really Is Libertarian on Drug Policy "Rand Paul Endorses Mitch McConnell, Deals Blow to Potential Tea Party Challenge"--headline, Puffington Host, March�28

They'll Be Scared to Change the Name Again, Because 7 Ate 9 "After Sale to Chinese Firm, Bankrupt Battery Maker A123 Gets a New Name: B456"--headline, Detroit Free Press, March�28

Evidence for the Existence of God "Boxes Sealed With ATHEIST Tape Lost by USPS 10X More Often Than Controls"--headline, BoingBoing.net, March�26

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Is Still Dead "Argentina's Leftist Leader Still Ranting About the Falkland Islands"--headline, HotAir.com, March�28

Mainly in the Plain "Spain Leads EU in GM Crops, but No One Knows Where They Are"--headline, Inter Press Service, March�27

Here's Some Good News for a Change

"Community Wins in Hunt for Eyeballs"--headline, Brandtford (Ontario) Expositor, March�24
"Worker Finds Eyeballs on Gas Station Trash Can"--headline, KRMG-AM website (Tulsa, Okla.), March�28

Problem and Solution

"Easter Dilemma: Chicks vs. Peeps"--headline, Tucson Citizen, March�28
"Bloomberg: Social Media Is Only Useful if My Peeps Are Using It"--headline, NewsBusters.org, March�29

'As God Is My Witness, I Thought Easter Eggs Could Fly!' "Church to Drop 50,000 Easter Eggs by Helicopter on Saturday"--headline, ChristianPost.com, March�28

Very Timely Considering It's the 1st Full Week of Spring "Huffington This Week: The Lion in Winter"--headline, Puffington Host, March�29

What a Heel "Japan Man 'Tries to Kill Woman With Poisoned Shoes'�"--headline, Agence France-Presse, March�28

The Lonely Lives of Fans "Female Science Blogger Stuns Fans"--video title, CBSNews.com, March�27

Hey, Kids! What Time Is It? "Ho Hum, Time for Yet Another 60s-Radicals-Were-Misunderstood Film"--headline, HotAir.com, March�28

Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking

"Got a Sexually Transmitted Disease and Looking for Love? No Problem, Just Log On to a Dating Site for People With STIs"--headline, Daily Mail, March�28
"Why Politicians Are Sensitive to Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage, Immigration and Guns, but Not on the Economy"--headline, Puffington Host, March�29

It's Always in the Last Place You Look

"Socrates (in the Form of a 9-Year-Old) Shows Up in a Suburban Backyard in Washington"--headline, NPR.org, March�27
"DHS Tries to Find Tunnels Below the Surface"--headline, Federal Times, March�26

Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control "The Coming Homeless Die-Off"--headline, SFGate.com, March�27

Breaking News From Exodus 24:12 "Can the Tablet Please Take Your Order Now?"--headline, The Wall Street Journal, March�28

Breaking News From 1970 "Steelers Nearing Offer to Bradshaw"--headline, Sports Illustrated website, March�29

Bottom Story of the Day "Fired SendGrid Developer Evangelist Adria Richards Speaks Out"--headline, ClutchMagOnline.com, March�28

A Woman's Work Is Never Done "Managing our work and personal lives has been spinning in the news cycles for weeks," Ellen Galinsky informs us in a Daily Beast piece. "While I am deeply grateful for business leaders who amplify the debates and reporters who give a platform to the debates .�.�. I'm reminded yet again how much I loathe the terms of the debates."

Galinsky lists "the top five terms I dislike and suggestions for different language." For instance, she wants to ban the phrase "having it all" and replace it with "thriving through it all":

The image of "having it all" implies you have to do it all. And that is not realistic in any of our lives, as a recent study of free time we conducted proves.�.�.�.Given this misfit between the images of work and personal life, I decided to ask employees themselves in a survey how they saw themselves�the juggler, the balancer, the super-person, etc.? I found in my research that most want to be able to do their personal best (not be perfect) at work and in their personal lives. They would also like fewer constraints so that they could be more likely to thrive. So I suggest we focus on reducing the constraints and let each of us define how to best thrive, or THRIVING THROUGH IT ALL, on an everyday basis, not the guilt-producing image of having it all and doing it all.

Wait a second. If women are so burdened with responsibilities at the office and at home, where do they get time to obsess over such trivial matters as this?

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(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Lynn Bateman, Bo Burlingham, Ed Lasky, Rick Wiesehan, William Thode, Charlie Gaylord, Eric Jensen, Ben Johnson, Richard Wong, Jeffrey Marver, Jamison Landey, James Paternoster, Miguel Rakiewicz, Bill Hines, Charles Rosett, John Bobek, Kris Tufts, Michele Schiesser, Jon Wolter, John Sanders, Irene DeBlasio, Kyle Kyllan, Steve Thompson, Ethel Fenig, William Gately, Daniel Foty and Kevin Patrick. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)