Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Chip-based credit cards coming to Target

target credit card NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Target learned from its massive hack and will start issuing more advanced chip-and-PIN credit cards early next year.

The company announced it will swap out its current Target REDcards, which only work at the chain, to newer models that are enabled with computer chips and require customers to type in a PIN. It might sound annoying for consumers, but it's a major step forward to preventing the kind of mass credit card theft Target experienced in 2013.

Target (TGT, Fortune 500) is also replacing payment terminals at all 1,797 U.S. stores by this September. It's part of a $100 million investment to better secure its stores.

"Target and MasterCard are taking an important step forward in providing consumers with a secure shopping experience," MasterCard (MA, Fortune 500) executive Chris McWilton said in a statement.

Related story: Why retailers aren't protecting you from hackers

This makes Target the first big retailer to move into the more advanced credit card system, which is already used worldwide but not in the United States.

Most U.S. consumers are unaware of how unsafe and outdated their credit cards are right now. A card's magnetic stripe delivers all your data without hiding anything: your name, credit card provider, card number, expiration date and more. That worked in the 1960s, but it's dangerous at a time when hackers can collect that in bulk.

That's how hackers stole credit card information from 40 million Target shoppers. It's how the Neiman Marcus hack hit 1.1 million customers and the Michael's hack hit 3 million.

Chip-and-PIN credit cards are significantly more secure, because thieves can't easily replicate the card -- and even if they do, they still need to know the victim's secret, four-digit PIN code.

But don't expect Target's move to be a catalyst for other retailers to follow suit. Target is a special case, because it issues its own branded credit cards through TD Bank (TD), and the card doesn't work at any other retailer. That means this upgrade is like a domino that falls all by itself, explained Jason Oxman, CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association trade group. He compared it to how Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) introduced mobile payments. They work at Starbucks, but paying with your cell phone hasn't caught on elsewhere.

Brian Krebs demystifies today's hacker   Brian Krebs demystifies today's hacker

There are also several barriers delaying a full-blown migration to new credit card technology. Merchants don't want to slow down lines, and forcing customers to type in a PIN could add a few seconds to every order. That adds up and could cost big chains millions of dollars.

"At any quick-service restaurant, the last thing they want you to do is spend another five seconds using a PIN. They don't even require a signature anymore for anything under $25. They want you out of there as fast as possible," Oxman said.

Then there's the massive cost associated with updating payment systems. The National Retail Federation estimates that an upgrade to chip-and-PIN machines and cards will cost anywhere between $25 billion and $30 billion nationwide. Every card needs to be reissued, and 9 million retail terminals would have to be replaced at more than $2,000 each. Shop owners know they'll be better off, but it's not easy.

"It's a very expensive wall to scale," explained Mallory Duncan, the group's lobbyist.

Related story: Target hack is a wake-up call on privacy

The upgrade is bound to happen, though. Every U.S. merchant faces a game-changing deadline in October 2015, when liability for credit card fraud shifts to merchants if they haven't upgraded equipment or banks if they haven't issued new cards.

What might speed the process up is if retailers notice that Target customers who use chip-and-PIN say they feel more secure with that new technology, according to Jeremy Gumbley, chief technology officer of CreditCall, which helps merchants upgrade their credit card systems.

"We're living in a post-Target-hack world. Consumer confidence is dented," he said. "They'll ultimately vote for the technology they feel is safest." To top of page

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Video Energy Guru Boone Pickens - Redrawing the World Energy Map

Every modern economy runs on energy. The horizontal drilling and multi-stage fracturing boom in North America could be a game changer for the future of that energy.

The Milken Institute assembled a panel to discuss all of the current dynamics of the energy market including fracking, OPEC, Russia, nuclear and coal:

Also check out: T. Boone Pickens Undervalued Stocks T. Boone Pickens Top Growth Companies T. Boone Pickens High Yield stocks, and Stocks that T. Boone Pickens keeps buyingAbout the author:Canadian Valuehttp://valueinvestorcanada.blogspot.com/
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Monday, April 28, 2014

The Internet of Everything Will End Cisco's Woes

Cisco has been underperforming on the index for a while now and the earnings for FQ2 have only added to the decline. Though the results for the quarter beat Street estimates on revenue and EPS, it failed to appease investors because of bleak business prospect for the future and lack of direction on new initiatives.

The results were not disappointing

As I mentioned, the revenue and EPS numbers announced by the company as well as the guidance for FQ3 are in alignment with their previous stance but the big highlight that put-off investors and sparked a selling session on the exchange was with respect to order numbers. For the second quarter, orders declined 4% on a y-o-y basis, similar to first quarter. A major chunk of Cisco's revenue comes from switching equipment where the orders declined 6% and for routers, the decline stood at 5%. This stagnancy in Cisco's business has been visible for a while and it has given birth to a farrago of questions concerning company's growth prospects.

Yes, the stock price has hit stagnancy

Cisco's stock price has stayed in the range of $19-$23 for a major part of last year and this has not been received well by the investors. However, the company has exhibited a strong sense of generating value for its shareholders via its dividend and buyback policies. An increase of 12% in dividend to 19 cents per share for the quarter testifies management's positive outlook on the cash position of the company. Cisco has done a commendable job in compensating for the slow growth in its share price via a dividend yield of 3.5% even when the company is struggling with a mature product line and global slowdown.

Top 10 Information Technology Companies To Own In Right Now

Cisco provided a guidance on EPS within the range of $0.47-$0.49 for the next quarter which concurs with the consensus estimate of $0.46 per share. It is in fact unjustified to blame the company for delivering not-so-good results because the management went a bit subdued into the quarter and the actual performance has met expectations. Even though the road ahead is difficult, the guidance is in conformity with the expectation of analysts

Up Next: Internet of Everything

During the earnings call, CEO John Chambers mentioned the term "Internet of Everything" umpteen number of times stating that it has moved on from being a concept to a business imperative. While there is still ambiguity regarding the implications of IOT, it is highly evident that the management is largely banking on it to provide growth opportunities. Cisco is investing heavily on creating architectures with services and partners in order to provide solutions to its clients and be in centre of "Internet of Everything".

An opportunity of $2 billion in top 50 targeted accounts is the number that Cisco has anticipated as of now and this highlights a massive chance for Cisco to use its competency in an all-pervasive business concept. The company's current product line that essentially includes switches and routers besides other networking equipment has attained reasonable level of maturity in the market, making it tough for the company to generate exponential growth.

On cloud nine

Cisco's cloud networking platform, Meraki, is another silver lining that will positively impact the company's revenue streams in future. Meraki grew 100% y-o-y and more than doubled its number of customers in the quarter. A good number of tech giants including Microsoft and Google have showcased the significance of cloud computing in the coming years and Cisco's leadership in networking space has helped it become a leading cloud infrastructure provider.

Final thoughts

The Wall Street punished Cisco after the results because investors could not foresee any valuable future opportunities for growth. While a credible argument is the stagnancy in the company's share price range, I believe that Cisco is a worthwhile investment for the undermentioned reasons:

· The "Internet of Everything" can turn out to be a massive option for the company to initiate a new line of operations and the fact that the management has been able to quantify the opportunity conveys reasonable optimism.

· Currently, Cisco is trading at a yield of 3.5% with its latest dividend increase. Additionally, the company's buyback policy is also a boon to its shareholders.

· On the basis of an EPS guidance for next quarter, Cisco's P/E works out to be a modest 11x, which makes it a significantly inexpensive leader and a strong buy.

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Saturday, April 26, 2014

Here’s how Twitter becomes a multibagger in fiv…

Twitter is finally going public, and its shares are expected to trade between $23 and $25 on the first day of trading. That means the company could be valued as high as $14 billion on day one.

Investors may be wary of such a high valuation considering all the uncertainty surrounding the company's business model and future prospects. I'm actually quite comfortable with Twitter at these prices, however. I think there's a good chance the company will be worth $50 billion in five years. Here are five reasons why:

1. It's already at scale.

Twitter has become very big, very fast. The platform has delivered more than 350 billion tweets since inception. What's more, its more than 230 million monthly active users (MAUs) tweet a billion more every two days. And the platform continues to grow, MAUs increased 39% in the third quarter.

We shouldn't be surprised by how quickly Twitter usage has grown since hitting a critical mass of users. The platform is easy to use. And once you pick up a couple of key pieces of the Twitter vocabulary, anyone can join the billions of conversations happening all over the world.

Speaking of the world, Twitter is a global company. Nearly 200 million of its MAUs are outside the United States and grew 41% last quarter. As more people flock to Twitter, I expect the company to one day report the platform generates one billion tweets per day.

2. Twitter's writing the next chapter of the online advertising playbook.

Google (ticker: GOOG ) established a new paradigm in advertising: the keyword ad. As more and more people gravitated to Google's search engine, marketers followed, bidding for placements in the results. Last quarter, 84% of its $14.9 billion in sales came from advertising, a staggering figure indeed.

The keyword ad is going to stay relevant for a long time. But Twitter, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB ) , and LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD ) are writing the next chapter of the online-advertising playbook using the social ad. The social ad is a form o! f content marketing that is growing as a result of all the conversations happening on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and in many other places.

It's a very simple. Marketers create and distribute "relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience." The end game is to drive "a profitable customer action," but the social realm can do so much more. On Twitter, its Promoted Products can build awareness, association, preference, and even direct actions. They are going to be a huge force in online advertising.

3. Twitter has an established place in the marketplace.

If you're a little nervous about Twitter going up against Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn, don't be. First, marketers spend more than $500 billion annually on advertising. So there's plenty of room for everyone, especially if you're differentiated from the competition.

Fortunately, Twitter has established its territory in the marketplace. Facebook may know what you "like," but Twitter knows what you're interested in -- in real time. In fact, Twitter generates an ever-shifting Interest Graph for its users depending on what they're talking about and who they're connected with.

Remember the definition of content marketing I gave you above? The Interest Graph is exactly what marketers need to bring valuable and relevant content to a target audience. That's why marketers have ramped up their spending at Twitter.

In 2012, the company generated $317 million of revenue. In the first nine months of 2013, revenues have grown to $422 million, up 106% from the previous nine-month period. Just like with Google's keyword ads, marketers know a good deal when they find one. And they've found one at Twitter.

4. Monetization is just beginning.

Twitter has staked its claim as a real-time communication leader and a content-marketing specialist. Now the company has focused its attention on monetizing its assets. And as I showed above, its opportunity is huge.

! We are st! ill in the early stages of the social-advertising trend, giving Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn plenty of room to grow going forward, especially on mobile devices. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently said that, "Today mobile represents 12% of consumer media time, but it's still only 3% of ad budgets."

What we will see is that, over time, ad budgets will follow the eyeballs. With 76% of its engagement and 71% of its revenue coming from mobile, Twitter is well positioned to grow as more marketers allocate more dollars to social ads on mobile devices.

The company only started generating revenue in 2010, waiting for the platform to attract users and get to scale before thinking about generating revenue. That may seem daunting to some investors, but to me it was a great strategy. It allowed the company to build its first-mover advantage and strengthen its network effects.

Its revenue model is very straightforward: It's based on the number of monthly active users, how often those users view their timelines, and how much Twitter can charge advertisers per 1000 timeline views. In the third quarter, Twitter averaged 232 million MAUs, up 39%. Timeline views per MAU increased 8% to 685, and ad revenue per 100 timeline views increased 49% to $0.97. Those are all moving higher, foretelling more revenue going forward.

5. Twitter can expand in many directions.

Today, Twitter generates its revenue from two sources: Promoted Products and data licensing. Promoted Products include Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts, and Promoted Trends: Promoted Tweets are ways advertisers can interact with users directly. Promoted Accounts help advertisers build their following. And Promoted Trends make users aware of things that are happening which may be relevant to them.

As we saw above, these products are attracting incredible attention of marketers. Although I don't expect Twitter's sales to grow more than 100% for much longer, there's good reason to believe the company's sales will grow at a fa! st rate f! or quite some time. The proliferation of mobile devices is the first catalyst. Analysts expect 1.1 billion smartphones and tablets to be sold in 2013. They expect that number to jump to 1.9 billion in 2017. That means more users coming to Twitter to create and digest information on their mobile devices.

As more people become comfortable using Twitter, timeline views should continue to rise. The company will be able to use the data collected to fill out more Interest Graphs, which will enable marketers to create more relevant and targeted advertising. That should lead to higher returns of investment for those advertising dollars, causing more marketers to come to Twitter -- thus bidding up the prices required to place ad.

I will end this section with a simple question highlighting growth options to consider in the future: What if the platform could facilitate commerce?

Putting it all together equals multibagger

Here's where Twitter stands at the end of the third quarter of 2013.

Users: 232 million monthly active users.

Engagement: 685 timeline views/MAU.

Ad spending: $0.97/1000 timeline views.

Putting all of that together, Twitter generated about $154 million of ad revenue per quarter. It also generated $15 million of revenue from data licensing, for a total of $169 million, up 105%.

But the question is, "Where can Twitter go from here?" Over the next five years, it's very possible that Twitter could have:

Users: 575 million monthly active users, up 20% per year

Engagement: 875 timeline views/MAU, up 5% per year

Ad spending: $2.50/1000 timeline views, up 21% per year

Let's put those figures and growth rates in perspective. In five years, Twitter would have less than half the numbers of users that Facebook has today (1.19 billion). Remember, the number of users grew 39% last quarter. Twitter's ad revenue per 1,000 timeline views rose 49% last quarter, with the international contingent rising 112% from $0.17 to $0.36. By comparis! on, price! s ended at $2.58 in the United States, up 50%. What we're seeing at Twitter, and many other companies, is that marketers are becoming more comfortable with online and mobile advertising in social media. Prices will continue to rise, as long as those ads remain effective.

According to S&P's Capital IQ, analysts estimate that Twitter will generate $4.1 billion in revenue. I think that could be low, as the numbers above show Twitter could generate over $5 billion in annual ad revenue. As revenue increases, margins should increase quickly. Twitter is spending a great deal of money today to build its infrastructure and develop new products for users and customers. Those costs should fall as a percentage of revenue, making the company very profitable in the future.

Twitter will remain one of the most important global communication platforms. And as its network grows and becomes more profitable over time, the market is very likely to give the company a high EV/Sales multiple. We can look at the early years of a strong, profitable network like eBay for a comparison. So I wouldn't be surprised to see an EV/Sales multiple of 10. Yes, that's high. But it does not include the data licensing revenue segment, nor does it account for the commerce potential I mentioned above. Hence, the multiple could be lower.

Top 10 Retail Stocks To Buy Right Now

Don't get me wrong. An investment in Twitter comes with risks. But I think it is a company that investors should own, even if it's only a tiny piece of their portfolios. Yes, that's right. I will be an early buyer. Twitter is changing the way we communicate. It has an incredible tailwind behind it and a management team that wants to strengthen and grow the platform over time. I look forward to holding my shares for many, many years.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people tak! e control! of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Friday, April 25, 2014

The Opportunities of Geopolitical Conflict

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So far, 2014 has been a year of heightened geopolitical risk. Russia has annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine, Syria remains embroiled in a civil war, political protests continue in Egypt and Turkey, and North Korea has once again fired missiles into the sea to protest joint US-South Korea military exercises.

Earlier this month, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, pointed to these simmering geopolitical tensions as an impediment to global economic growth.

Geopolitical risk can affect a variety of asset classes, ranging from energy and gold to bonds and equities. In the energy space, Brent crude, essentially the equivalent of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), traded above $109 a barrel thanks to worries that Russia might make a play for more Ukrainian territory. While WTI also spiked, it finished the week essentially flat following a stronger than expected inventory report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Even as oil prices are on the rise, so is production. In the US, the EIA reports that crude production average 7.5 million barrels per day (BPD) last year, 1 million BPD over 2012 and the highest annual rate since 1989. The agency estimates that production should run about 8.5 million BPD this year and hit 9.6 million BPD next year, the highest level of production since 1970.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which produces about 40 percent of the world's oil, is forecasting similar supply growth. This past January production rose by 28,000 BPD to 29.71 million BPD, largely thanks to increased production from Libya. Including America's production increase, non-OPEC countries are expected to boost their supply by 1.29 million BPD to 55.43 million BPD.

With consumption forecast to grow by about 1.3 million BPD in 2014, that leaves supply and demand in almost perfect balance, supporting strong oil prices eve! n when and if the crisis in Ukraine abates.

Not only does that make energy stocks a compelling investment theme for the remainder of this year, given the impact of geopolitics on energy prices it also makes them an ideal hedge against instability. Energy stocks also happen to be one of the best bargains in the market right now.

According to data from FactSet, of the energy stocks included in the S&P 500 that have reported first quarter earnings so far, 75 percent have reported revenue that’s above estimates. That makes energy the best performing sector in terms of revenue beats in the quarter. On the other hand, the energy and financials sectors have reported the biggest decline in earnings as a result of higher operating expenses and lower production volumes.

That said, largely because of higher prices, analysts expect the energy sector to swing to double-digit profit growth in the remaining three quarters of 2014 and into 2015, making the sector an attractive bargain following the recent weakness.

There are a couple of ways to play the global energy sector in your portfolio.

The first is to focus on individual names, such as China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (NYSE: SNP), otherwise known as Sinopec.

While China's economic growth has been slowing over the past several quarters, energy consumption in the country has been growing. China accounted for one-third of the world's oil consumption growth last year, making the country the world's largest net importer of oil. By 2015, while China is expected to produce about 4.3 million barrels of oil per day, it will consume nearly 12 million.

That creates huge growth opportunities for Sinopec, an integrated oil company, which produces about 1.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day with refining capability for about 5 million. At the same time, the Chinese government has introduced a more market-based pricing mechanism that allows Sinopec to reap higher profits on its refined products.
However,! Sinopec isn't a perfect hedge against geopolitical instability and its impact on oil prices. The company must import about 80 percent of the crude it uses so, while it can now pass on more of higher crude costs than it could in the past, it still has some degree of price exposure. Still, it's a great bet on growing global energy consumption.

China Petroleum & Chemical is a buy up to 120.

A less risky way to employ an energy hedge in your portfolio is with an exchange-traded fund (ETF) such as iShares Global Energy (NYSE: IXC).

This ETF holds positions in 93 companies and integrated oil and gas companies account for about half of assets, followed by exploration and production companies at a quarter of assets and equipment and services, pipelines and refiners all at less than 10 percent. With the exception of Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) at 14.9 percent of assets, none of the remaining 92 companies in the portfolio account for more than 8 percent of assets.

In geographical terms, 53.2 percent of the ETF’s assets are devoted to the US. While that is a sizable chunk, the fund also offers exposure to companies based in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, China, Australia and Brazil. And given the global nature of the energy business, even companies based in the US have limited exposure to the country.

The S&P 500 is only up 1.5 percent so far this year and the Dow is essentially flat, but iShares Global Energy has gained nearly 6 percent while most emerging market indexes are off by about 1.5 percent.

Additionally, the fund has a low 0.48 percent expense ratio, making it one of the cheapest global energy funds available. It also currently offers a 2.5 percent yield with a steadily growing semiannual payout.

Another compelling characteristic is that during the global turmoil sparked off the financial crisis, the ETF was less volatile than either the S&P 500 or the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, largely thanks to steady global energy demand.
Offeri! ng an effective downside hedge against geopolitical risk, iShares Global Energy is a buy under 50.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Move Inc. is On the Move (MOVE, Z, TRLA)

No, it's not a Trulia Inc. (NYSE:TRLA) or a Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ:Z). In fact, it's not even close to being a Zillow or a Trulia. Yet, for the time being anyway, Move Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE) may be the best trade within the online real estate group right now.

For those not familiar with it, Move Inc. is.... well, it's a lot of things, all of which are aimed at homebuyers ready to make a purchase or sale of a home. Although it's not a carbon copy of Zillow or a Trulia - which provide information about individual homes for sale to help people find a house and determine if it's a good fit and worth the price - TRLA and Z are still very relevant comparisons.

So the recent buzz surrounding Zillow and Trulia is infecting Move Inc. in a positive way? Maybe, though even that association isn't the core of the reason a newcomer may want to take on a position in MOVE today. No, the reason a traded may want to get into Move Inc. soon (as in today) is much lower-brow than that.... it's because the chart says the selling is over and a bounce has begun.

You can sense the reversal on the daily chart of MOVE, but to do the theory justice, you really have to zoom out to a weekly chart. That's what you'll see below. After a major pullback from a peak of $18.36 in October of last year to a low of $9.98 last week, MOVE was due for a rebound. And, last week's bar - with an open and close near the high for the week but a long-tailed low - suggests the last of the sellers were flushed out , and the first of the buyers are now trickling in... a proverbial changing of the guard from a net-bearish to a net-bullish situation. That fact that the bulls have followed-through this week confirms the rebound effort.

With all of that being said, the underpinnings for the technical move may be more fundamentally-based than it seems on the surface. Yesterday the company announced it would be releasing last quarter's earnings numbers on May 6th. Odds are good that some people knew they were on the way, but more than that, given the pre-earnings action, it seems that "somebody knows something". This strong rebound effort appears to have materialized out of nowhere, but nothing ever happens in the market for no reason. It looks like somebody out there is making a bet that things are going to be encouraging when the company unveils Q1's numbers.

Do we take that hint being dropped by speculators? Ya know, the crowd is right - even if they don't know they're right - a surprising amount of the time. Translation: Yes, the potential reward from that hint is worth the risk.

For more trading ideas and insights like these, be sure to sign up for the free SmallCap Network newsletter. You'll get stock picks, market calls, and more, every day. Here's what you've missed recently.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

3 Favorite Growth Stocks

In the following video, Fool contributor Matt Thalman discusses his current three favorite growth stocks and why he thinks they can all continue growing in the coming quarters and years. Investors who bought into Zillow (NASDAQ: Z  ) , 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD  ) , and LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD  ) in the past have all done very well, but Matt says those who have missed the run-ups still have time to profit on these great companies because of a strengthening economy and a renewed manufacturing industry.

Tired of watching your stocks creep up year after year at a glacial pace? Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner, founder of what Hulbert Financial calls the No. 1 growth stock newsletter in the world, has developed a unique strategy for uncovering truly wealth-changing stock picks. And he wants to share it, along with a few of his favorite growth stock superstars, with you! It's a special 100% free report called "6 Picks for Ultimate Growth." So stop settling for index-hugging gains, and click here for instant access to a whole new game plan of stock picks to help power your portfolio.

Hot Consumer Service Companies To Watch In Right Now

Monday, April 21, 2014

A Case for Small Caps, in One Chart

Early last month we warned that small-cap stocks were ripe for a pullback. Valuation metrics and technical indicators flashed red flags that the Russell 2000 index had gotten overly extended, and that a pullback was needed before small stocks could continue rallying.

Sure enough, the small-cap index slumped 8% in a month amid a selloff that brought down the so-called momentum stocks that had been soaring higher and higher for much of the previous year.  Small caps were caught up in the selloff as the high-flyers–including social-media companies, cloud-computing firms and early stage drug producers–came back to earth.

More In Stocks Correction Odds, Delayed Not Diminished Morning MoneyBeat: Another Selloff Averted Selloff? What Selloff? Stocks Notch One of Best Weeks of the Year No Profits, No Problem? Think Again Morning MoneyBeat: Big Blue's Big Drag

But the Russell rebounded 2.4% last week amid a broad-market rally. And now, some market watchers suggest small caps could be poised for even better times ahead.

In a white paper, portfolio managers at Deutsche As(DBK.XE)set and Wealth Management make the case for investing in global small- and mid-cap stocks for a longer time horizon. Historical performance backs up their thesis: Since 1926, small-cap stocks have outperformed large caps by 2.38% annually as of Dec. 31, according to data compiled by Deutsche.

Smaller stocks tend to outpace their larger brethren mainly because small caps are more isolated to global economic troubles than multinational firms. They tend to be more thinly traded, which can exacerbate their price swings in either direction. The Russell is up 232% from the March 2009 low, compared to a 175% rally for the S&P 500 and a 150% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Even after the big rally over the past five years, Deutsche is still bullish on small caps, primarily because of their positive long-term track record. As the chart below shows, small-cap stocks have had a positive performance over every rolling 10-year period since June 1930, the firm says.

Click for bigger image Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management

In 2014, the Russell 2000 is down 2.2% year-to-date, whereas the S&P 500 is up 0.9%. But over the past 12 months, the Russell is up 26%, while the S&P 500 is up 21%.

Best Long Term Stocks To Buy Right Now

“We believe after three years the performance potential of small-cap stocks may outweigh their volatility,” Deutsche said in the white paper. “Therefore, in our opinion, investors with time horizons of greater than three years may wish to consider allocating a portion of their equity portfolios to small-cap stocks.”

Sunday, April 20, 2014

5 Things to Do Right Now for Your Taxes Next Year

For those of you who met the tax deadline and didn't file an extension, give yourself a pat on the back -- it's another tax season in the books. But, just because one tax season is out of the way doesn't mean you can't start thinking about how to make life easier for yourself when it comes time to doing your 2014 taxes.

Today, we're going to look at five things you can do right now to not only make your taxes easier, but potentially put more money in your pocket over the long run.


Source: Jarmoluk, Pixabay.

1. Stay organized
Consider this to be "practice what you preach" advice because it's my single greatest hurdle each and every tax season. Instead of spending hours searching through receipts, W-2s, 1099s, investment statements, and bank statements, consider entering all of this information on a monthly basis into an Excel file or money-management software platform so you can be organized come tax time. Keep in mind that your time is valuable, and having the right information at your fingertips will save you from a lot of hassle in the long run.

2. Narrow down your projected tax liability for 2014
If you're one of the many Americans that gets a four-digit refund from the IRS, or who winds up owing $1,000 or more to the IRS at the end of the year, you aren't doing yourselves any favors. Refunds are a nice way of forcing Americans to save their hard-earned money, but it's also not earning any interest or helping in any investable way while in the government's hands. Similarly, underpaying your taxes, if you make quarterly payments, by a significant amount can result in a penalty equal to 10% of the underpayment.

To correct this, you should take the time to plot out with some level of certainty what you expect to earn this year. This isn't to say you're going to hit your final tax liability on the nose, but it should allow you more of your own money upfront if you're due a refund, which you can put to work sooner, or reduce the surprise of an unwelcome underpayment penalty. This means being proactive on your W-4s and with your quarterly tax payments in 2014.

3. Max out your 401(k)
We have practically beaten down the door talking about individual retirement accounts around tax time at The Motley Fool, but that's primarily because Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs allow you to make contributions for the prior year up until April 15. There's no previous year catch-up, though, on 401(k) contributions, meaning you should be thinking right now about how you plan to max-out your contribution in 2014.

One of the biggest retirement mistakes investors make is in not taking advantage of a company's 401(k) match. As I noted in November as an example, a 30-year employee of IBM making $40,000 a year, who plans to retire at age 65, and gets a match up to 6% by IBM (one of the most generous matches among big business), would be retiring with about $344,000 less in their account than if they took advantage of IBM's match. A 401(k) can play a big role in your retirement, and the contribution limit this year is $17,500, so get to it!

Source: StockMonkeys.com, Flickr.

4. Open a Roth IRA
A Traditional IRA is a great upfront boost for taxpayers looking to reduce their taxable income, but it may not be the best solution for long-term investors. In fact, many investors should really consider opening or switching to a Roth IRA which will net you no upfront tax breaks but could deliver incredible tax breaks over your lifetime.

Although both IRAs are similar in that they penalize you for an early withdrawal before age 59 1/2, the big difference is that while you do owe taxes on the gains in your Traditional IRA once you begin taking distributions, the money in your Roth IRA can grow completely tax-free (in exchange for no upfront contribution deduction). You can see how this could be valuable to someone in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s who can use the power of compound returns to their advantage without ever worrying about paying a cent in taxes once they begin taking distributions at age 59 1/2.

5. Seek out deductions early
Lastly, don't wait until December before you decide you want to make a big impact on your deductions in 2014. There are a number of things you can consider doing year-round that could help reduce your tax liability including donating to your favorite charity and performing energy-efficient upgrades on your home. The point is that a number of people realize far too late in the game that they want to beef up their deductions, so be proactive in 2014 about how you're going to make your dollar go farther.

Have you taken advantage of this little-known tax "loophole"
Recent tax increases have affected nearly every American taxpayer. But with the right planning, you can take steps to take control of your taxes and potentially even lower your tax bill. In our brand-new free special report "The IRS Is Daring You to Make This Investment Now!," you'll learn about the simple strategy to take advantage of a little-known IRS rule. Don't miss out on advice that could help you cut taxes for decades to come. Click here to learn more.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015

Did Wall Street initially misread and misinterpret Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's spoken words regarding the timing of interest rate hikes? Thursday's stock market rebound, which erased most of Wednesday's $150 billion paper loss, suggests that they did.

Thursday's price action was a mirror image of Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rallied 109 points, or 0.7%, to 16,331, regaining most of the previous day's 114-point loss.

Investors reassessed their initial analysis that it is a foregone conclusion that the Fed will start to raise short-term interest rates sooner than expected next year.

Traders also second-guessed the knee-jerk reaction that says rising rates a year from now is necessarily a bull market killer, especially with fresh evidence that the economy is regaining some of its vigor after a soft patch this winter.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: Rock-Tenn Co (RKT)

Rock-Tenn Company (RockTenn), incorporated on September 20, 1985, is a North America's integrated manufacturer of corrugated and consumer packaging. The Company operates locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico and China. The Company operates in three segments: Corrugated Packaging, consisting of its containerboard mills and its corrugated converting operations; Consumer Packaging, consisting of its coated and uncoated paperboard mills, consumer packaging converting operations and merchandising display facilities, and Recycling, which consists of its recycled fiber brokerage and collection operations. On June 22, 2012, the Company acquired Mid South Packaging LLC. On October 28, 2011, the Company acquired four entities doing business as GMI Group.

Corrugated Packaging Segment

The Company is a producer of linerboard and corrugated medium (containerboard) measured by tons produced and a producer of graphics pre-printed linerboard in North America. It operates an integrated system, which manufactures containerboard, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging and preprinted linerboard for sale to industrial and consumer products manufacturers and corrugated box manufacturers. It produces a range of corrugated containers designed to protect, ship, store and display products made to its customers' merchandising and distribution specifications. It also converts corrugated sheets into corrugated products ranging from one-color protective cartons to point-of-purchase packaging. Corrugated packaging is used to provide protective packaging for shipment and distribution of food, paper, health and beauty and other household, consumer, commercial and industrial products and in the case of graphically enhanced corrugated packaging for retail sale, particularly in club store locations and retail sale. It also provides structural and graphic design, engineering services, and custom and standard automated packaging machines, offering customers turn-key instal! lation, automation, line integration and packaging solutions. It feeds linerboard and corrugated medium into corrugators, which flutes the medium to specified sizes, glues the linerboard and fluted medium together and slits and cuts the resulting corrugated paperboard into sheets to customer specifications. Its container board mills and corrugated container operations are integrated with its containerboard production used internally by its corrugated container operations. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), sales of corrugated packaging products to external customers accounted for 65.7% of its net sales.

Consumer Packaging Segment

The Company operates an integrated system of coated recycled mills and a bleached paperboard mill, which produces paperboard for its folding carton operations and third parties. The Company is a manufacturer of folding cartons in North America measured by net sales. Its folding cartons are used to package food, paper, health and beauty and other household consumer, commercial and industrial products for retail sale. It also manufactures express mail envelopes for the overnight courier industry. Folding cartons protect customers��products during shipment and distribution and employ graphics to promote them at retail. It manufactures folding cartons from recycled and virgin paperboard, laminated paperboard and substrates with specialty characteristics, such as grease masking and microwaveability. It prints, coats, die-cuts and glues the cartons to customer specifications. It ships finished cartons to customers for assembling, filling and sealing. It employs a range of offset, flexographic, gravure, backside printing, and coating and finishing technologies. It supports its customers with package development, innovation and design services and package testing services.

The Company manufactures temporary and permanent point-of-purchase displays. The Company designs, manufactures and packs temporary displays for sal! e to cons! umer products companies. These displays are used as marketing tools to support new product introductions and specific product promotions in mass merchandising stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, home improvement stores and other retail locations. It also designs, manufactures and pre-assemble permanent displays for the same categories of customers. It makes temporary displays from corrugated paperboard. It provides contract packing services, such as multi-product promotional packing and product manipulation, such as multipacks and onpacks. The Company manufactures lithographic laminated packaging for sale to its customers, which require packaging with graphics and strength characteristics.

The Company operates an integrated system of specialty recycled paperboard mills, which includes its Seven Hills Paperboard LLC (Seven Hills) joint venture. Its specialty recycled paperboard mills, excluding Seven Hills, produce paperboard for its solid fiber interior packaging converting operations and third parties, and its Seven Hills joint venture manufactures gypsum paperboard liner for sale to its joint venture partner. It sells its specialty recycled paperboard to manufacturers of solid fiber interior packaging, tubes and cores, and other paperboard products. It also converts specialty paperboard into book covers and other products. Its 65% owned subsidiary, RTS, designs and manufactures solid fiber and corrugated partitions and die-cut paperboard components. It manufactures and sells its solid fiber and corrugated partitions principally to glass container manufacturers and producers of beer, food, wine, spirits, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals and to the automotive industry. During fiscal 2012, sales of consumer packaging products to external customers accounted for 27.5% of its net sales.

Recycling Segment

The Company�� recycled fiber brokerage and collection operations provide a strategic advantage to its mills. Its recycling operations procure recovered paper (or! recycled! fiber) for its paper mills, as well as for third parties from factories, warehouses, commercial printers, office complexes, grocery and retail stores, document storage facilities, paper converters and other wastepaper collectors. It handles a range of grades of recovered paper, including old corrugated containers, office paper, box clippings, newspaper and print shop scraps. It operates recycling facilities, which collects, sorts, grades and bales recovered paper and after sorting and baling, it transfer recovered paper to its paperboard mills for processing, or sell it to the United States manufacturers of paperboard, as well as manufacturers of tissue, newsprint, roofing products and insulation and to export markets. It also collects aluminum and plastics for resale to manufacturers of these products. Its waste reduction services extract additional recyclables from the waste stream by working with customers. In addition, it operates a nationwide fiber marketing and brokerage system, which serves regional and national accounts, as well as its recycled paperboard and containerboard mills and sells scrap materials from its converting businesses and mills. Brokerage contracts provide bulk purchasing. Its recycling facilities are located close to its recycled paperboard and containerboard mills, ensuring availability of supply with reduced shipping costs. During fiscal 2012, sales to external customers accounted for 6.8% of its net sales.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Boring doesn't always mean "buy"
    You may have heard me mention recently that boring industries can often make the most profitable industries. That is generally true, but it's not a rule! This is why packaging products maker Rock-Tenn (NYSE: RKT  ) has found its way onto my "sell-now" radar.

  • [By Ray Merola]

    International Paper Co Share Price versus Competitors RockTenn (RKT), MeadWestvaco Corp (MWV), Packaging Corporation of America (PKG), and S&P 500 (March 2009-to-date)

  • [By Dr. Melvin Pasternak]

    Although I still remain cautious because of fears of tapering by the Federal Reserve, I am again trading from the long side. One stock I am currently attracted to is Rock-Tenn (NYSE: RKT), an international paper and packaging company, which according to Bloomberg, sports the highest earnings per share (EPS) in its industry.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: Bemis Company Inc (BMS)

Bemis Company, Inc., incorporated on May 18, 1885, is a manufacturer of packaging products and pressure sensitive materials. The Company's business activities are organized around its three reportable business segments, U.S. Packaging , Global Packaging and Pressure Sensitive Materials. The majority of the Company�� products are sold to customers in the food industry. Other customers include companies businesses, such as chemical, agribusiness, medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, electronics, automotive, construction, graphic industries and other consumer goods. In July 2013, Bemis Company Inc acquired all of the common stock of Foshan New Changsheng Plastics Films Co., LTD.

The Company�� flexible packaging businesses has a technical base in polymer chemistry, film extrusion, coating, laminating, printing, and converting. The Company�� pressure sensitive materials business specializes in adhesive technologies. On August 22, 2012, the Company acquired two flexible packaging businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

U.S. Packaging segment

The U.S. Packaging segment represents all food, consumer, and industrial products packaging-related manufacturing operations located in the United States. This segment manufactures multilayer polymer, blown and cast film structures to produce packaging sold for food and personal care product applications as well as non-food applications. Additional products include custom thermoformed packaging, and multiwall paper bags. Markets for these products include processed and fresh meat, liquids, frozen foods, cereals, snacks, cheese, coffee, condiments, candy, pet food, bakery, seed, lawn and garden, tissue, fresh produce, personal care and hygiene, disposable diapers, agribusiness, and minerals. This segment has 35 manufacturing plants located in 16 states, of which 32 are owned directly by the Company or its subsidiaries and three are leased from outside parties.

Global Packaging segment

The ! Global Packaging segment includes all packaging-related manufacturing operations located outside of the United States as well as global medical device and pharmaceutical packaging manufacturing operations. This segment manufactures multilayer polymer, blown and cast film structures to produce packaging sold for a variety of food, medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, and industrial applications. Additional products include injection molded plastic and folding carton packaging. Markets for these products include processed and fresh meat, liquids, snacks, cheese, coffee, condiments, candy, bakery, tissue, fresh produce, personal care and hygiene, disposable diapers, agribusiness, pharmaceutical, and medical devices. This segment has 32 manufacturing plants located in three United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and ten non-United States countries, of which 26 are owned directly by the Company or its subsidiaries and six are leased from outside parties.

Pressure Sensitive Materials segment

The Pressure Sensitive Materials segment is a global manufacturer of pressure sensitive adhesive coated paper and film substrates sold into label, graphic, and technical product markets. Products for label markets include narrow-Web rolls of pressure sensitive paper, film, and metalized film printing stocks used in high-speed printing and die-cutting. Products for graphic markets include pressure sensitive films used for decorative signage through computer-aided plotters, digital and screen printers, and photographic overlaminate and mounting materials including optically clear films with built-in ultraviolet (UV) inhibitors. Products for technical markets include micro-thin film adhesives used in delicate electronic parts assembly and pressure sensitive applications utilizing foam and tape based stocks to perform fastening and mounting functions. This segment has seven manufacturing plants located in three states and two non-United States countries, all of which are owned directly b! y the Com! pany or its subsidiaries.

The Company competes with Amcor Limited, Berry Plastics Corporation, Bryce Corporation, Exopack Company, Hood Packaging Corporation, Printpack, Inc., Sealed Air Corporation, Sonoco Products Company, Wihuri OY, Winpak ltd, 3M, Acucote, Inc., Avery Dennison Corporation, FLEXcon Corporation, Green Bay Packaging Inc., Ricoh Company, Ltd., Ritrama Inc., Spinnaker Industries, Inc., Technicote Inc., UPM-Kymmene Corporation, and Wausau Coated Products Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By The Part-time Investor]

    The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

    Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

    Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Looking to increase its presence and market share in Asia, specialty packaging maker Bemis (NYSE: BMS  ) announced today it was acquiring a Chinese manufacturer of specialty films, Foshan New Changsheng Plastics Films.�

Hot India Companies To Buy Right Now: International Paper Co (IP)

International Paper Company (International Paper), incorporated on June 23, 1941, is a global paper and packaging company, with primary markets and manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia and North Africa. The Company operates in four segments: Industrial Packaging, Printing Papers, Consumer Packaging and Distribution. As of December 31, 2012, in the United States, the Company operated 28 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 187 converting and packaging plants, 18 recycling plants and three bag facilities. Production facilities as of December 31, 2012 in Europe, Asia, Latin America and South America included 11 pulp, paper and packaging mills, 65 converting and packaging plants, and two recycling plants. It distribute printing, packaging, graphic arts, maintenance and industrial products principally through over 88 distribution branches in the United States and 32 distribution branches located in Canada, Mexico and Asia. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or managed approximately 327,000 acres of forestland in Brazil and had, through licenses and forest management agreements, harvesting rights on government-owned forestlands in Russia. On July 2, 2012, it sold Ontario and Oxnard (Hueneme), California containerboard mills to New-Indy Containerboard LLC, and its New Johnsonville, Tennessee containerboard mill to Hood Container Corporation. On January 3, 2013, it acquired joint venture partner, Sabanci Holding.

Industrial Packaging

International Paper is a manufacturer of containerboard in the United States. Its production capacity is about 14 million tons annually. The Company�� products include linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft. About 80% of its production is converted domestically into corrugated boxes and other packaging by its 178 United States container plants. In addition, it recycles approximately one million tons of old corrugated containers (OCC) and mixed and white paper through ! our 20 recycling plants. In Europe, our operations include one recycled fiber containerboard mill in Morocco and 20 container plants in France, Italy, Spain, and Morocco. In Asia, its operations include 19 container plants in China and additional container plants in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Its container plants are supported by regional design centers, which offer total packaging solutions and supply chain initiatives.

Printing Papers

International Paper is a producer of printing and writing papers. Products in this segment include uncoated and coated papers, uncoated bristols and pulp. This business produces papers for use in copiers, desktop and laser printers and digital imaging. End use applications include advertising and promotional materials, such as brochures, pamphlets, greeting cards, books, annual reports and direct mail. Uncoated papers also produce a variety of grades that are converted by its customers into envelopes, tablets, business forms and file folders. Uncoated papers are sold under private label and International Paper brand names that include Hammermill, Springhill, Williamsburg, Postmark, Accent, Great White, Chamex, Ballet, Rey, Pol and Svetocopy. The mills producing uncoated papers are located in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil and India. The mills have uncoated paper production capacity of approximately five million tons annually.

Pulp products include fluff, and southern softwood pulp, as well as southern and birch hardwood paper pulps. These products are produced in the United States, France, Poland, Russia, and Brazil and are sold around the world. International Paper facilities have annual dried pulp capacity of about 1.7 million tons.

Consumer Packaging

International Paper is a producer of solid bleached sulfate board with annual United States production capacity of about 1.7 million tons. Its coated paperboard business produces coated paperboard for a variety of packag! ing and c! ommercial printing end uses. Its Everest, Fortress, and Starcote brands are used in packaging applications for everyday products, such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, computer software and tobacco products. Its Carolina brand is used in commercial printing end uses, such as greeting cards, paperback book covers, lottery tickets, direct mail and point-of-purchase advertising. Its United States capacity is supplemented by about 365,000 tons of capacity at its mills producing coated board in Poland and Russia and by its International Paper & Sun Cartonboard Co., Ltd. joint venture in China, which has annual capacity of 1.0 million tons. Its Foodservice business produces cups, lids, food containers and plates through three domestic plants and four international facilities.

Distribution

xpedx, the Company�� North American merchant distribution business, distributes products and services to a number of customer markets, including commercial printers with printing papers and graphic pre-press, printing presses and post-press equipment; building services and away-from-home markets with facility supplies; manufacturers with packaging supplies and equipment, and to a number of customers, it provides distribution capabilities, including warehousing and delivery services. xpedx is the wholesale distribution marketer in these customer and product segments in North America, operating 108 warehouse locations in the United States and Mexico.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John McCamant, Editor, Medical Technology Stock Letter]

    SGMO continues to create strong intellectual property (IP), which is the core strength of the company. We also expect SGMO to continue translating their strong IP into solid revenue streams.

  • [By Dividend]

    International Paper (IP) has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion. The company employs 70,000 people, generates revenue of $27.833 billion and has a net income of $693.00 million. International Paper�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $3.377 billion. The EBITDA margin is 12.13 percent (the operating margin is 3.68 percent and the net profit margin 2.49 percent).

  • [By Ray Merola]

    In 2006, International Paper Co. (IP) CEO John Faraci embarked upon a vision to transform the company. He sought a larger, leaner and more competitive enterprise operating in one of the most commoditized of industries: paper and containerboard products.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: TriStar Wellness Solutions Inc (TWSI)

TriStar Wellness Solutions, Inc., formerly Biopack Environmental Solutions Inc., incorporated on August 28, 2000, is engaged in developing, marketing and selling, NCP's Beaute de Maman product lines, which is a line of skincare and other products specifically targeted for pregnant women, as well developing the Soft and Smooth Assets. The Company supplied biodegradable food containers and industrial packaging products to multinational corporations, supermarket chains and restaurants located across North America, Europe and Asia. In May 2013, the Company acquired HemCon Medical Technologies Inc.

The Company�� priority direct-to-consumer target markets are focused on women�� health and wound care. The second core product area is directed at the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) wound care market space. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company focused the sales and marketing resources for the Beaute de Maman brand on efficient Internet portals via the brand Website and selected Web-based retailers.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Peter Graham]

    Last Friday, small cap stocks Tristar Wellness Solutions Inc (OTCMKTS: TWSI) jumped 14.94% while Hybrid Coating Technologies (OTCBB: HCTI) and Bulova Technologies Group, Inc (OTCMKTS: BTGI) sank 23.53% and 13.04%, respectively. It should be mentioned that only one of these small cap stocks appears to be the subject of paid promotions or investor relations type activities. So what will these three small cap stocks do for investors this week? Here is a quick reality check to help you decide on a trading or investing strategy:

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: Fibria Celulose SA (FIBR3)

Fibria Celulose SA, formerly Votorantim Celulose e Papel SA, is a Brazil-based company involved in the production and sale of short fiber pulp. The Company operates pulp manufacturing plants in Aracruz (Espirito Santo), Tres Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul), Jacarei (Sao Paulo) and Veracel (Bahia). Additionally, the Company is engaged in the cultivation of eucalyptus. It has plantations in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia and Espirito Santo. In 2011, the Company sold a business unit active in paper production. The Company has a number of subsidiaries in Brazil and abroad, including Normus Empreendimentos e Participacoes Ltda, Fibria Overseas Finance Ltd and Fibria Celulose (USA) Inc, among others. On October, 2013, the Company announced merger by incorporation of Normus Empreendimentos e Participacoes Ltda, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, in order to simplify the corporate structure. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Harry Suhartono]

    The Ibovespa dropped 1.8 percent as iron-ore producer Vale SA (VALE5), whose main export market is China, snapped a two-day gain. Pulp producer Fibria Celulose SA (FIBR3) retreated after posting quarterly earnings that trailed analysts��estimates. Brazil plans to sell dollar bonds due in 2025, creating a new benchmark security in international markets, and buy back notes maturing in as little as four years.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: Iberpapel Gestion SA (IBG)

Iberpapel Gestion SA is a Spain-based holding company engaged in the paper industry. The Company operates through three divisions: Forestry, involved in the acquisition and cultivation of eucalyptus plantations in Argentina, Uruguay and Spain; Industrial, focused on the production of bleached pulp and paper products, and Commercial, specialized on the distribution of products such as printing and photocopy paper, offset paper, light-coated paper, laser printing paper, paper bags and envelopes. The Company�� subsidiaries include Distribuidora Papelera SA, Moliner Dominguez y Cia SA, Ibereucaliptos SA, Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicunaga SA, Central de Suministros de Artes Graficas Papel SA and Copaimex SA, among others. The Company�� major shareholders include ONCHENA, SL and BESTINVER GESTION, SA. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By GURUFOCUS]

    The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

  • [By Holly LaFon]

    The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: Berry Plastics Group Inc (BERY)

Berry Plastics Group, Inc. (Berry), incorporated on November 18, 2005, is a provider of plastic consumer packaging and engineered materials. Berry owns 100% interest of Berry Plastics Corporation. Berry sells its solutions predominantly into end markets, such as food and beverage, healthcare and personal care. The Company operates in three segments: Rigid Packaging, Engineered Materials and Flexible Packaging. As of September 19, 2012, the Company supplied its customers through 82 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States (68 locations) and select international locations (14 locations). In June 2012, the Company acquired 100% interest of Frans Nooren Beheer B.V. and its operating companies (Stopaq). In September 2011, the Company acquired 100% interests of Rexam Closures Kentucky Inc., Rexam Delta Inc., Rexam Closures LLC, Rexam Closure Systems LLC, Rexam de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Rexam Singapore PTE Ltd., Rexam Participacoes Ltda. and Rexam Plasticos do Brasil Ltda. (collectively, Rexam SBC). In August 2011, Berry acquired 100% interest of LINPAC Packaging Filmco, Inc.

Rigid Packaging

The Company�� Rigid Packaging business consists of containers, foodservice items, house wares, closures, over caps, bottles, prescription vials, and tubes. The end uses for these products are consumer-oriented end markets, such as food and beverage, retail mass marketers, healthcare, personal care and household chemical. The Company manufactures a collection of container products. The Company produces 32 ounce or thermoformed polypropylene (PP) drink cups and offers a product line with sizes ranging from 12 to 52 ounces. The Company�� products of house wares market is focused on producing semi-disposable plastic home and party and plastic garden products. The Company produces closures and over caps across several of its product lines, including continuous-thread and child-resistant closures, as well as aerosol over caps. The Company also provides a range of custom closure ! solutions including fitments and plugs for medical applications, cups and spouts for liquid laundry detergent, and dropper bulb assemblies for medical and personal care applications.

The Company competes with Airlite, Letica, Polytainers, Silgan, Aptar Group and Reynolds.

Engineered Materials

Berry�� Engineered Materials business primarily consists of pipeline corrosion protection solutions, specialty tapes and adhesives, polyethylene-based film products, and can liners served to a variety of end markets including oil, water and gas infrastructure, industrial and consumer-oriented end markets. The Company produces anti-corrosion products to infrastructure, rehabilitation and pipeline projects throughout the world. Products include heat-shrinkable coatings, single- and multi-layer sleeves, pipeline coating tapes, anode systems for cathodic protection and epoxy coatings. These products are used in oil, gas and water supply and construction applications.

Berry is the manufacturer of cloth and foil tape products. Other tape products include range of splicing and laminating tapes, flame-retardant tapes, vinyl-coated and carton sealing tapes, electrical, double-faced cloth, masking, mounting, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) medical and specialty tapes. These products are sold under the National, Nashua and Polyken brands in the United States. The Company manufactures and sells a portfolio of PE-based film products to end users in the retail markets. These products are sold under brands, such as Ruffies and Film-Gard. Its products include drop cloths and retail trash bags. The Company manufactures customized PP-based, woven and sewn containers for the transportation and storage of raw materials, such as seeds, titanium dioxide, clay and resin pellets.

The Company offers range of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) meat film and agricultural film. Berry�� products are used primarily to wrap fresh meats, poultry and produce for supermarket applic! ations. I! n addition, the Company offers a line of boxed products for food service and retail sales. Berry sells trash-can liners and food bags for offices, restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels, municipalities and manufacturing facilities. The Company also sells products under the Big City, Hospi-Tuff, Plas-Tuff, Rhino-X and Steel-Flex brands. The Company produces both hand and machine-wrap stretch films, which are used by end users to wrap products and packages for storage and shipping. It sells stretch film products to distributors and retail and industrial end users under the MaxTech and PalleTech brands.

The Company competes with AEP, Sigma and 3M.

Flexible Packaging

The Company�� Flexible Packaging business consists of barrier, multilayer film products, as well as finished flexible packages, such as printed bags and pouches. Berry manufactures and sells a range of film products ranging from mono layer to coextruded films having up to nine layers, lamination films sold primarily to flexible packaging converters and used for peelable lid stock, stand-up pouches, pillow pouches and other flexible packaging formats. The Company also manufactures barrier films used for cereal, cookie, cracker and dry mix packages that are sold directly to food manufacturers like Kraft and Pepsico. It also manufactures films for industrial applications ranging from lamination film for carpet padding to films used in solar panel construction.

The Company supplies component and packaging films used for personal care applications. Berry is a converter of printed bags, pouches and roll stock. Its manufacturing base includes integrated extrusion that combines with printing, laminating, bagmaking, Innolok and laser-score converting processes. The Company is a supplier of printed film products for the fresh bakery, tortilla and frozen vegetable markets with brands, such as SteamQuick Film, Freshview bags and Billboard. The Company manufactures specialty coated and laminated produ! cts for a! range of packaging applications. Its products are sold under the MarvelGuard and MarvelSeal brands and are sold to converters who transform them into finished goods.

The Company competes with Printpak, Tredegar and Bemis.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    One of the most famous scenes in the cult classic, the Graduate, was when Mr. McGuire�took Dustin Hoffman�� character aside and said�"Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics"; but what about the Berry Plastics Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) and its performance verses that of the�iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV), iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: IWR) and iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IJR)? I should mention that plastics and the Berry Plastics Group was not the place to be yesterday as the stock took a tumble on reduced guidance.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: Domtar Corp (UFS)

Domtar Corporation, incorporated on August 16, 2006, designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a range of fiber-based products, including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers and adult incontinence products. The Company operates in three business segments: Pulp and Paper, Distribution and Personal Care. Its Pulp and Paper segment consists of the manufacturing, sale and distribution of communication, specialty and packaging papers, as well as softwood, fluff and hardwood market pulp. The Company�� Distribution segment includes the purchasing, warehousing, sale and distribution of its paper products and those of other manufacturers. These products include business and printing papers, certain industrial products and printing supplies. Its Personal Care segment consists of the manufacturing, sale and distribution of adult incontinence products.The Company is an integrated marketer and manufacturer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America for a variety of customers, including merchants, retail outlets, stationers, printers, publishers, converters and end-users. The Company produces incontinence care products marketed primarily under the Attends brand. The Company owns and operates Ariva. On May 10, 2012, the Company acquired EAM Corporation. In June 2013, the Company announced the completion of its acquisition of Xerox Corp paper and print media products business in the United States and Canada. In July 2013, Domtar Corp announced that completion of the acquisition of Associated Hygienic Products (AHP) from DSG International. In January 2014, the Company acquired Laboratorios Indas, SAU.

Pulp and Paper

The Company produces 4.2 million metric tons of hardwood, softwood and fluff pulp at 12 of its 13 mills. The majority of its pulp is consumed internally to manufacture paper and consumer products, with the balance being sold as market pulp. The Company also purchases papergrade pulp from third parties. The Company has 10 pulp and paper mills (eight in the! United States and two in Canada), with an annual paper production capacity of approximately 3.4 million tons of uncoated freesheet paper. Its paper manufacturing operations are supported by 15 converting and distribution operations, including a network of 12 plants located offsite of its paper making operations. In addition, it has forms manufacturing operations at three offsite converting and distribution operations. Approximately 81% of its paper production capacity is in the United States, and the remaining 19% is located in Canada.

The Company produces market pulp in excess of its internal requirements at its three non-integrated pulp mills in Kamloops, Dryden, and Plymouth, as well as at its pulp and paper mills in Espanola, Ashdown, Hawesville, Windsor, Marlboro and Nekoosa. The Company sells approximately 1.6 million metric tons of pulp per year depending on market conditions. Approximately 50% of its trade pulp production capacity is in the United States, and the remaining 50% is located in Canada. The fiber used by its pulp and paper mills in the United States is hardwood and softwood, both being readily available in the market from multiple third-party sources. The fiber used at its Windsor pulp and paper mill is hardwood originating from a variety of sources, including purchases on the open market in Canada and the United States, contracts with Quebec wood producers��marketing boards, public land where it has wood supply allocations and from its private lands. The softwood and hardwood fiber for its Espanola pulp and paper mill and the softwood fiber for its Dryden pulp mill, is obtained from third parties, directly or indirectly from public lands, through designated wood supply allocations for the pulp mills. The fiber used at the Company�� Kamloops pulp mill is all softwood, originating from third-party sawmilling operations in the southern-interior part of British Columbia.

The Company uses various chemical compounds in its pulp and paper manufacturing facili! ties that! it purchases, primarily on a central basis, through contracts. For pulp manufacturing, it uses numerous chemicals, including caustic soda, sodium chlorate, sulfuric acid, lime and peroxide. For paper manufacturing, it also uses several chemical products, including starch, precipitated calcium carbonate, optical brighteners, dyes and aluminum sulfate. It owns power generating assets, including steam turbines, at all of its integrated pulp and paper mills, as well as hydro assets at four locations: Espanola, Ottawa-Hull, Nekoosa and Rothschild. The Company�� business papers include copy and electronic imaging papers, which are used with ink jet and laser printers, photocopiers and plain-paper fax machines, as well as computer papers, preprinted forms and digital papers. These products are primarily for office and home use. The Company�� commercial printing and publishing papers include uncoated freesheet papers, such as offset papers and opaques. These uncoated freesheet grades are used in sheet and roll fed offset presses across the spectrum of commercial printing end-uses, including digital printing. Its publishing papers include tradebook and lightweight uncoated papers used primarily in book publishing applications, such as textbooks, dictionaries, catalogs, magazines, hard cover novels and financial documents. Design papers, a sub-group of commercial printing and publishing papers, have features of color, brightness and texture and are targeted towards graphic artists, design and advertising agencies, primarily for special brochures and annual reports. These products also include base papers that are converted into finished products, such as envelopes, tablets, business forms and data processing/computer forms.

The Company also produces paper for several specialty and packaging markets. These products consist primarily of base stock for thermal printing, flexible packaging, food packaging, medical gowns and drapes, sandpapers backing, carbonless printing, labels and other coating a! nd lamina! ting applications. The Company also manufactures papers for industrial and specialty applications, including carrier papers, treated papers, security papers and specialized printing and converting applications. The Company sells business papers primarily to paper stationers, merchants, office equipment manufacturers and retail outlets. The Company distributes uncoated commercial printing and publishing papers to end-users and commercial printers, mainly through paper merchants, as well as selling directly to converters. The Company sells its specialty and packaging papers mainly to converters, who apply a further production process, such as coating, laminating, folding or waxing to its papers before selling them to a variety of specialized end-users.

Distribution

The Company's Distribution business involves the purchasing, warehousing, sale and distribution of the Company's various products and those of other manufacturers. These products include business, printing and publishing papers and certain packaging products. These products are sold to diverse customer base, which includes small, medium and large commercial printers, publishers, quick copy firms, catalog and retail companies and institutional entities. The Company's Distribution business operates in the United States and Canada under a single banner and umbrella name, Ariva. Ariva operates throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest areas from 16 locations in the United States, including 12 distribution centers serving customers across North America.

Personal Care

The Company's Personal Care business sells and manufactures adult incontinence products and distributes disposable washcloths marketed primarily under the Attends brand name. The Company is a supplier of adult incontinence products sold into North America and Northern Europe, selling to hospitals (acute cares) and nursing homes (long-term care) and the Company has a growing presence in the homecare and retail channels. The C! ompany op! erates two manufacturing facilities, with each having the ability to produce multiple product categories. The Company also has a research and development facility and production lines which manufacture high quality airlaid and ultrathin laminated absorbent cores.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Rich Duprey]

    Specialty paper maker�Domtar� (NYSE: UFS  ) �wrote it all down yesterday: it�will pay a�regular quarterly dividend�of $0.55 per share that's 22% higher than the $0.45 per share payout it made last quarter. Shareholders of record on June 14 will receive the new dividend rate at the close of business on July 15.

  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    CAPS, a stock-tracking game developed by The Motley Fool, is a great way to keep track of long-term picks even when they fall off of your watchlist.�In the following video, Fool.com contributor and active CAPS community member, Maxx Chatsko, explains why he hasn't given up on his CAPS pick of�Domtar� (NYSE: UFS  ) . He believes this company's progress has not been adequately rewarded by the market in the last six months, but feels as confident as ever that it presents a great opportunity for investors hunting for a great dividend or an undervalued and under-the-radar growth opportunity. You can follow all of his CAPS picks by clicking on the link in the disclosure below.�

  • [By Rich Smith]

    On Wednesday, Xerox announced that it has received a binding offer from French paper company Antalis to buy Xerox's European paper and�print media�products business. This follows Xerox's March announcement that it had agreed to sell its U.S. and Canadian paper operations to Canada's Domtar (NYSE: UFS  ) .

  • [By Saibus Research]

    Weyerhaeuser is the largest forest products real estate investment trust in the United States. Weyerhaeuser grows and harvests trees, builds homes and makes a range of forest products essential to everyday lives. The company has undergone a dramatic level of strategic and organizational level change over the past several years in the wake of its debt-funded hostile takeover of Willamette Industries in 2002. In 2006, Weyerhaeuser agreed to spin off its fine paper business under a split-off transaction with Domtar (UFS). Under the terms of the deal, Weyerhaeuser would spin-off the fine paper business and the business would merge with Domtar Inc to create Domtar Corporation. Weyerhaeuser has four business segments as follows:

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: UPM-Kymmene Corporation (UPM1V)

UPM-Kymmene Corporation is a Finland-based paper and forest products company. The Company operates, along with its subsidiaries, in three segments: the Energy and Pulp segment is divided into three units: Energy, which includes the Company�� hydropower plant and shares in energy companies; Pulp, which includes the Company�� pulp mills, and Foster and Timber, which includes forests, wood procurement, sawmills and further processing; the Paper segment includes the Company�� paper mills, producing magazine paper, newsprint, fine papers, and specialty papers, and the Engineered materials segment is structured into two units: Label, which includes label-stock factories and slitting, and distribution terminals, and Plywood, which includes plywood mills. The Company�� other operations include the wood plastic composite unit, development units and logistic services. On October 2, 2013, it completed the sale of the wood processing mill in Aigrefeuille d'Aunis, to Groupe FP Bois. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Tom Stoukas]

    UPM-Kymmene (UPM1V), a rival maker of paper, dropped 1.9 percent to 10.23 euros.

    Aryzta surged 4 percent to 60.45 Swiss francs, the biggest gain since March 28. The owner of bakery brands including Delice de France and Otis Spunkmeyer posted full-year revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($6.1 billion), beating analysts��estimates of 4.43 billion euros. The company also forecast a double-digit percentage gain in 2014 earnings.

10 Best Paper Stocks To Watch For 2015: Resolute Forest Products Inc (RFP)

Resolute Forest Products Inc., AbitibiBowater Inc., is a global forest products company. The Company�� products include newsprint, commercial printing papers, market pulp and wood products. The Company owns or operates pulp and paper mills and wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. On November 7, 2011, it began doing business as Resolute Forest Products. As of December 31, 2011, it owned or operated 18 pulp and paper mills and 23 wood products facilities in the United States, Canada and South Korea. The Company�� segments include newsprint, coated papers, specialty papers, market pulp and wood products. On January 14, 2011, it acquired the noncontrolling interest in Augusta Newsprint Company (ANC). In April 2012, the Company held approximately 48.8% of the outstanding shares of Fibrek Inc. In December 2012, the Company purchased Bowater Mersey Paper Company Limited. oklyn Power Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Calling all cash flows
    When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: RFP  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

  • [By George Putnam]

    Resolute Forest Products (RFP), formerly known as AbitibiBowater, entered into bankruptcy in early 2009, weighed down by roughly $6 billion in debt.