The mobile revolution continues to gain speed. A new survey from Pew Internet Research arrived on June 5, and it revealed that the majority of the U.S. population owns a smartphone. But while some companies are tapping into this trend, others are starting to lose their footing, even as the number of total users gets bigger.
Who's the latest winner in the battle of the smartphones? Has Apple's�iOS smote Google Android? Are sales of Nokia's�Lumia and its Microsoft� (NASDAQ: MSFT ) Windows Phone OS waning in comparison to BlackBerry� (NASDAQ: BBRY ) ? And does being a loser in the smartphone market necessarily make a company a bad investment? Motley Fool contributor Caroline Bennett has answers to these questions and more in the video below.
It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.
Top 10 International Companies For 2015: Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc.(IDIX)
Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral diseases in the United States and Europe. Its primary research and development focus is on the treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The company?s HCV discovery program focuses on various classes of drugs, including nucleoside/nucleotide polymerase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors, and NS5A inhibitors. It develops products and drug candidates for the treatment of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type-1, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The company principally has a collaboration agreement with Novartis Pharma AG for the development and commercialization of telbivudine, a drug for the treatment of HBV under the Tyzeka/Sebivo names. Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
The market doesn’t necessarily want to go higher–it just can’t seem to help itself. Walt Disney (DIS), Analog Devices (ADI) and Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX) gained.
- [By Keith Speights]
The FDA's concerns stem from elevated liver enzyme levels found in patients participating in a phase 1 drug-drug interaction study with�sovaprevir with ritonavir-boosted atazanavir. Clinical holds for hep-C drugs have become something of a pattern for the FDA. Last August, the agency halted trials for two drugs developed by�Idenix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDIX ) . Idenix ultimately dropped both clinical programs earlier this year.
- [By Max Macaluso, Ph.D.]
Idenix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDIX ) received more bad news today after reporting that the FDA will require more preclinical data before it can proceed with clinical trials for its experimental hepatitis C drug IDX20963. In the following video, health-care analyst Max Macaluso discusses what this news means in the context of Idenix's previous drug development problems.�
Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now: McEwen Mining Inc (MUX)
McEwen Mining Inc. (McEwen Mining), formerly US Gold Corporation, is engaged in the exploration for and production of precious metals in the United States, Mexico and Argentina. McEwen Mining�� operating segments include USA and Mexico. The Company holds an interest in numerous exploration and development stage properties and projects in Nevada, Mexico and Argentina, as well as a 49% equity interest in the gold-silver San Jose Mine in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The Company holds interests in approximately 1,631 square miles of mineral concessions in west central Mexico. Its primary property in Mexico is the El Gallo Complex, located in Sinaloa state on the Sierra Madre Trend, a geological area of gold and silver mineralization. The Company holds interests in approximately 254 square miles in Nevada, United States. The Company�� Nevada properties, including its interests in the Gold Bar Project and Tonkin Complex, are located along the Cortez Trend, in north central Nevada. It also owns property, including the Limo Project, on the southern end of the Carlin Trend. On January 24, 2012, it acquired of Minera Andes Inc. (Minera Andes).
On January 24, 2012, the Company acquired a 49% interest in Minera Santa Cruz SA, owner of the San Jose Silver-Gold Mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina; a 100% interest in the Los Azules Copper Deposit in San Juan, Argentina, and a portfolio of exploration properties in Santa Cruz, Argentina. The San Jose Mine is operated by the majority owner of the joint venture, Hochschild Mining plc (Hochschild). The Company holds mineral rights and applications for mineral rights covering approximately 944 square miles in Argentina.
Tonkin Complex
The Tonkin Complex is divided functionally into five areas: the Mine Corridor, Tonkin North, Patty, Keystone and Tweed. The Tonkin Complex represents its holding in the State of Nevada at approximately 93 square miles (241 square kilometers). The Tonkin Complex is located on the Cortez Trend. During ! the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company drilled one hole, and 2,190 feet reverse circulation drilling. The Tonkin Complex also includes the Patty Project. On October 18, 2011, Barrick Gold U.S. Inc. (Barrick), the former holder of a majority of the project and operator, entered into a joint venture agreement with Rye Patch Gold U.S. Inc. (Rye Patch) under which Rye Patch has the right to acquire a 60% undivided interest in the Patty Project. As of December 31, 2011, it held a non-operating minority interest (12%). The Patty Project is a property (approximately 18.1 square miles) located in the northeast portion of the Tonkin Complex and consists of 544 unpatented mining claims. The 372 claims (included in the 1,478 under US Gold's Historic Tonkin Property) covering the area of the property, Tonkin North were previously owned by unaffiliated parties and held by the Company under a lease agreement. The lease expired on January 1, 2011. In July 2011, it acquired these claims. The Company held an interest of in 106 claims (included in the 156 under Cornerstone) in the Cornerstone property. On July 19, 2011, it acquired the Tonkin North and Cornerstone claims.
Gold Bar Complex
The Gold Bar Complex is located south of the Tonkin Complex on the continuation of the Cortez Trend. In November 2011, the Company announced the completion of a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) by SRK Consulting for the Gold Bar Project. Exploration drilling at the Gold Bar Complex in 2011 totaled approximately 7,245 feet (2,208 meters) in 41 reverse circulation drill holes that were focused on extensions to the Gold Pick-Gold Ridge and Cabin Creek mineralization, as well as targets found by geologic mapping and sampling.
The Gold Pick-Gold Ridge area occurs on the Battle Mountain-Eureka mineral belt in a window of lower-plate carbonate rocks surrounded by upper-plate rocks. The lower-plate carbonates at Gold Pick-Gold Ridge consist of an east-dipping section of Silurian Lone Mountain Do! lomite, D! evonian McColley Canyon Formation, Devonian Denay Formation, and Devonian Devils Gate Limestone. Northwest-trending and northeast-trending structures cut the area; the Gold Pick mineralization is localized in an apparent northwest-trending horst of McColley Canyon Formation, which is cut by a series of northeast-trending structures.
Limo Property
The Limo Property is located in east-central Nevada. The Limo Property position totals approximately 44.5 square miles (115 square kilometers). Gold mineralization has been identified in numerous places along the 15 mile (24 kilometers) length of the property. Exploration drilling at the Limo Property in 2011 totaled approximately 59,157 ft. (18,031 meters) in 10 diamond drill core holes and 70 reverse circulation drill holes. The drilling was focused on two targets, Cadillac and Continental, outside the existing mineralization. The mineral interests controlled by the Company at the Limo property consist of 1,392 contiguous claims that cover approximately 44.5 square miles (115 square kilometers), plus 15 claims (for a total of 1,407) near the southern boundary of the property that were acquired through a lease in August 2011. Its land package extends for about 15 miles (24 kilometers), and covers the western side of the southern Cherry Creek Range.
Battle Mountain Complex
The Battle Mountain Complex is located within Humboldt and Lander Counties in the valleys and on the flanks of the mountains surrounding Battle Mountain on the Cortez Trend north of our Tonkin complex. Battle Mountain, Nevada. In 2011, exploration drilling in the Battle Mountain Complex totaled 2,205 feet (672 meters). Work during 2011, also included geologic mapping, soil and rock sampling. Results of this work identified two target areas, Medea and Lucky Strike, on its BMX property. Three holes were drilled on the Medea prospect during 2011.
Other United States Properties
The Company acquired additional mineral! properti! es in Nevada. The mineral properties included in the acquisition of Tone (Roberts Creek, Kobeh, Gold Bar North, South Keystone, Big Antelope Springs, Red Ridge, Fish Creek and Kent Springs) are generally subject to a 1% net smelter return royalty interest in favor of KM Exploration Ltd. Certain properties (Roberts Creek, Kobeh, Gold Bar North, South Keystone and Big Antelope Springs) are also subject to earn-in rights in favor of Teck Cominco American Incorporated (Teck).
Alaska
On July 1, 2011, its Company and Select Resources Corporation, Inc. (Select) signed a four-year Exploration Lease and Purchase Option Definitive Agreement (the Definitive Agreement) with respect to the Richardson Mineral Project (Richardson) in the Tintina Gold Belt of Alaska. Under the terms of the Definitive Agreement, it acquired an exploration lease for the Richardson project, and an exclusive option to purchase a 60% interest in the project and enter into a joint venture with Select. The Richardson project is located 70 miles (115 kilometers) southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska, and covers an area of approximately 52 square miles (136 square kilometers). Extensive field sampling and mapping, airborne geophysics, and three core holes were completed in 2011. Drilling at the Richardson Project in Alaska during 2011, included three holes and 2, 863 feet core drilling.
Mexican Properties
The Company has a property in Mexico, called the El Gallo Complex, which includes the El Gallo, Magistral, and Palmarito deposits in Sinaloa state. The Company control mineral concessions of approximately 1,631 square miles (4,224 square kilometers) located in the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Nayarit. It holds its interests through ownership of Pangea Resources Inc., which in turn holds 100% ownership of Compania Minera Pangea S.A. de C.V. (Minera Pangea). The El Gallo Complex is located in Sinaloa state, northwestern Mexico in Mocorito Municipality. The El Gallo Complex is being developed in tw! o phases.! The El Gallo Project lies within two of its controlled concessions, Rocio Fraccion A and Pangea. These concessions have an area of 86,764 acres and 3,946 acres respectively. It controls the properties immediately surrounding El Gallo. Exploration work completed in 2011 at El Gallo consisted of core and conventional rotary drilling. The mineralization at the Magistral Mine Property is classified as a low-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver mineral system. During 2011, 203 core holes were drilled for a total of 88,891 feet (26,088 meters).
Other Exploration Areas
During 2011, it drill-tested a number of prospective exploration targets throughout the El Gallo district, which resulted in the discovery of four new veins. Three veins, Los Mautos, Mina Grande, and Haciendita were all located six miles (10 kilometers) north of El Gallo, and the fourth vein, San Dimas, is located 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of El Gallo.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Luke Jacobi]
McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX) closed down, falling 5.14 percent to $2.40 following a Seeking Alpha article commenting on news of an Argentinian taxation raid on mining companies.
- [By Selena Maranjian]
McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX ) slid 52%, and has also been cutting costs at Mexico-based mines. Management has suggested that the price of gold may be near a bottom, and it's looking into strategic partnerships, too. In its second quarter, McEwen upped its gold production by 30% over year-ago levels. Still, it's not yet turning a profit and is free-cash-flow negative.
Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now: Phillips 66 (PSX)
Phillips 66 is a holding company. The Company is engaged in producing natural gas liquids (NGL) and petrochemicals. The Company operates in three segments: the Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment, the Midstream segment and the Chemicals segment. The Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment purchases, refines, markets and transports crude oil and petroleum products, mainly in the United States, Europe and Asia, and also engages in power generation activities. The Midstream segment gathers, processes, transports and markets natural gas, and fractionates and markets NGL, predominantly in the United States. The Chemicals segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics on a worldwide basis. The Company�� operations encompass 15 refineries with a gross crude oil capacity of 2.8 million barrels per day, 10,000 branded marketing outlets and 7.2 billion cubic feet per day of gross natural gas processing capacity.
R&M
The Company�� R&M segment primarily refines crude oil and other feedstocks into petroleum products (such as gasolines, distillates and aviation fuels); buys, sells and transports crude oil; and buys, transports, distributes and markets petroleum products. This segment also engages in power generation activities. R&M has operations in the United States, Europe and Asia.
The Company�� Bayway Refinery is located on the New York Harbor in Linden, New Jersey. The refinery produces a high percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as petrochemical feedstocks, residual fuel oil and home heating oil. Its Trainer Refinery is located on the Delaware River in Trainer, Pennsylvania. Refinery facilities include fluid catalytic cracking units, hydrodesulfurization units, a reformer and a hydrocracker. The Alliance Refinery is located on the Mississippi River in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. The single-train facility includes fluid catalytic cracking units, hydrodesulfurization units and a reformer and aromatics unit. Alli! ance produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil and anode petroleum coke.
The Lake Charles Refinery is located in Westlake, Louisiana. Its facilities include crude distillation, fluid catalytic cracker, hydrocracker, delayed coker and hydrodesulfurization units. The refinery produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, off-road diesel and jet fuel, along with home heating oil. It owns a 50% interest in Excel Paralubes, a joint venture which owns a hydrocracked lubricant base oil manufacturing plant located adjacent to the Lake Charles Refinery. The Sweeny Refinery is located in Old Ocean, Texas, approximately 65 miles southwest of Houston. Refinery facilities include fluid catalytic cracking, delayed coking, alkylation, a continuous regeneration reformer and hydrodesulfurization units. It produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil and coke.
The Company�� Merey Sweeny, L.P. (MSLP) owns a delayed coker and related facilities at the Sweeny Refinery. Fuel-grade petroleum coke is produced as a by-product and becomes the property of MSLP. The Company owns 50% operating interest in Sweeny Cogeneration, a joint venture, which owns a simple cycle, cogeneration power plant located adjacent to the Sweeny Refinery. The plant generates electricity and provides process steam to the refinery, and it also provides merchant power into the Texas market.
The Company�� Wood River Refinery is located in Roxana, Illinois, about 15 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri, at the convergence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Operations include three distilling units, two fluid catalytic cracking units, hydrocracking, coking, reforming, hydrotreating and sulfur recovery. The refinery produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline,! diesel a! nd jet fuel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt and coke. Its Borger Refinery is located in Borger, Texas, in the Texas Panhandle, approximately 50 miles north of Amarillo. The refinery facilities consist of coking, fluid catalytic cracking, hydrodesulfurization and naphtha reforming, in addition to a 45,000-barrels-per-day NGL fractionation facility. It produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as coke, NGL and solvents.
The Ponca City Refinery is located in Ponca City, Oklahoma. It is a high-conversion facility, which includes fluid catalytic cracking, delayed coking and hydrodesulfurization units. It produces a range of products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and anode-grade petroleum coke. The Billings Refinery is located in Billings, Montana. Its facilities include fluid catalytic cracking and hydrodesulfurization units. The Ferndale Refinery is located on Puget Sound in Ferndale, Washington, approximately 20 miles south of the United States-Canada border. Facilities include a fluid catalytic cracker, an alkylation unit, a diesel hydrotreater and an S-Zorb unit. The Los Angeles Refinery consists of two linked facilities located about five miles apart in Carson and Wilmington, California. The San Francisco Refinery consists of two facilities linked by a 200-mile pipeline. The Santa Maria facility is located in Arroyo Grande, California, about 200 miles south of San Francisco.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company marketed gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel through approximately 8,250 marketer-owned or -supplied outlets in 49 states. At December 31, 2011, its wholesale operations utilized a network of marketers operating approximately 6,875 outlets that provided refined product offtake from its refineries. In addition to automotive gasoline and diesel, it produces and markets aviation gasoline, which is used by smaller piston engine aircrafts. As December 31, 2011,! aviation! gasoline and jet fuel were sold through dealers and independent marketers at approximately 875 Phillips 66-branded locations in the United States.
The Company manufactures and sells automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants, which are marketed worldwide under the Phillips 66, Conoco, 76 and Kendall brands, as well as other private label brands. It also manufactures Group II and import Group III base oils and market both globally under the respective brand names Pure Performance and Ultra-S. It manufactures and markets graphite and anode-grade petroleum cokes in the United States and Europe for use in the global steel and aluminum industries. It also manufacture and market polypropylene to North America under the COPYLENE brand name. Its ThruPlus Delayed Coker Technology, a process for upgrading heavy oil into higher value, light hydrocarbon liquids, was sold in June 2011. In October 2011, it sold Seaway Products Pipeline Company to DCP Midstream. In December 2011, the Company sold its 16.55% interest in Colonial Pipeline Company and its 50% interest in Seaway Crude Pipeline Company. The Company manufactures and sells a variety of specialty products, including pipeline flow improvers and anode material for high-power lithium-ion batteries. Its specialty products are marketed under the LiquidPower and CPreme brand names.
The Company owns four refineries outside the United States: the Humber Refinery, Whitegate Refinery, Melaka Refinery and Wilhelmshaven Refinery. The Humber Refinery is located on the east coast of England in North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is an integrated refinery, which produces a high percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. Humber�� facilities encompass fluid catalytic cracking, thermal cracking and coking. The refinery has two coking units with associated calcining plants, which upgrade the heaviest part of the crude barrel and imported feedstocks into light oil products and graphite and anode petroleum cokes.
!
Th! e Whitegate Refinery is located in Cork, Ireland. The refinery primarily produces transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and fuel oil, which are distributed to the inland market, as well as being exported to Europe and the United States. It also operate a crude oil and products storage complex consisting of 7.5 million barrels of storage capacity and an offshore mooring buoy, located in Bantry Bay, about 80 miles southwest of the refinery in southern Cork County.
The Mineraloelraffinerie Oberrhein GmbH (MiRO) Refinery, located on the Rhine River in Karlsruhe in southwest Germany, is a joint venture in which it owns an 18.75% interest. Facilities include three crude unit trains, fluid catalytic cracking, petroleum coking and calcining, hydrodesulfurization units, reformers, isomerization and aromatics recovery units, ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and alkylation units. MiRO produces a percentage of transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. Other products include petrochemical feedstocks, home heating oil, bitumen, and anode- and fuel-grade petroleum coke. The Wilhelmshaven Refinery is located in the northern state of Lower Saxony in Germany, and has a 260,000 barrels-per-day crude oil processing capacity.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately 1,430 marketing outlets in its European operations, of which approximately 900 were Company-owned and 330 were dealer-owned. It also held brand-licensing agreements with approximately 200 sites. Through its joint venture operations in Switzerland, it also has interests in 250 additional sites.
Midstream
The Midstream segment purchases raw natural gas from producers, including ConocoPhillips, and gathers natural gas through pipeline gathering systems. Its Midstream segment is primarily conducted through its 50% investment in DCP Midstream. DCP Midstream also owns or operates 12 NGL fractionation plants, along with propane terminal facilities and NGL pipeline assets. It has a 25% inte! rest in R! ockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX).
Chemicals
The Chemicals segment consists of its 50% investment in CPChem. As of December 31, 2011, CPChem owned or had joint-venture interests in 38 manufacturing facilities. CPChem�� business is structured around two primary operating segments: Olefins & Polyolefins (O&P) and Specialties, Aromatics & Styrenics (SA&S). The O&P segment produces and markets ethylene, propylene, and other olefin products, which are primarily consumed within CPChem for the production of polyethylene, normal alpha olefins, polypropylene and polyethylene pipe. The SA&S segment manufactures and markets aromatics products, such as benzene, styrene, paraxylene and cyclohexane, as well as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Dan Caplinger]
Marathon Petroleum has capitalized on the supply and demand disparities between U.S. producers and worldwide consumers of energy products. With high demand from resource-poor countries like Japan and South Korea as well as several Western European nations, Marathon, Valero (NYSE: VLO ) , and Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX ) have all boosted their exports of refined products to more than half a million barrels at the end of 2012.
- [By Claudia Assis]
Among energy stocks on the S&P 500 Index, refiner Phillips 66� (PSX) �was the worst hit, with shares off 1.6%.
- [By Rich Smith]
As for GE, though, it appears to be only shifting focus. On Tuesday, GE Capital Retail Bank announced a deal to provide private label credit card support to Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX ) . Beginning Aug. 1, GE will begin to manage and service credit cards for Phillips customers -- both individual consumers using Phillips 66�, Conoco, and 76�personal gas cards, and commercial customers using revolving charge cards also branded Phillips 66, Conoco, and 76.
Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now: Spdr Dj Wilshire Small Cap Value Etf (SLYV)
SPDR DJ Wilshire Small Cap Value (ETF) seeks to replicate, as closely as possible, the performance of the Dow Jones Wilshire Small Cap Value Index (the Index). The Index represents the small-cap portion of the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index (the Composite Index). The Composite Index tracks all the United States common stocks regularly traded on the NYSE, the AMEX and the NASDAQ National Market.
The Index includes the components of the Composite Index ranked 751 to 2,500 by full market capitalization and that are classified as value based on analysis that accounts for six factors. The six factors are projected price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), projected earnings growth, price-to-book ratio, dividend yield, trailing revenue growth and trailing earnings growth. The Fund uses a passive management strategy designed to track the total return performance of the float-adjusted Index.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tom Lydon]
The following ETFs are some of the top-ranked small-cap ETFs by Zacks. SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV) is up 5.8% over the past three months, and up 20.6% in 2013. The financial and industrial sectors are top weightings. Vanguard S&P Small Cap 600 Value ETF (VIOV) is up 6.4% and has gathered 21.5% year-to-date. Similar to SLYV, VIOV is heavy on the financial and industrial sectors.
Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now: Alamos Gold Inc (AGI)
Alamos Gold Inc. is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and extraction of precious metals in Mexico and Turkey. It owns and operates the Mulatos mine (Mulatos or the Mine) and holds the mineral rights to the Salamandra group of concessions in the State of Sonora, Mexico. The Mulatos mine is approximately 220 kilometers by air east of the City of Hermosillo. In addition, the Company owns the Agi Dagi and Kirazli advanced-stage gold development projects located in the Biga Peninsula of northwestern Turkey. Agi Dagi is located about 50 kilometers southeast of Canakkale, and Kirazli is located approximately 25 kilometers northwest of Agi Dagi. In January 2013, it acquired 14.3% interest of Aurizon Mines Ltd. (Aurizon). In August 2013, the Company acquired Esperanza Resources Corp. In September 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Orsa Ventures Corp. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Alamos�Gold Inc. (NYSE: AGI) was reinstated as Buy with a target price of $21 in Canada, which would translate to closer to $20 in U.S. share prices (versus $16.33 current), at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now: Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC)
Northrop Grumman Corporation (Northrop Grumman), incorporated on January 16, 2001, provides products, services, and integrated solutions in aerospace, electronics, information and services to its global customers. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated in four segments: Aerospace Systems, Electronic Systems, Information Systems and Technical Services. The Company conducts most of its business with the United States Government, principally the Department of Defense (DoD) and intelligence community. It also conducts business with local, state, and foreign Governments and domestic and international commercial customers. Effective as of March 31, 2011, the company completed the spin-off of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII). HII operates the Company�� former shipbuilding business. In September 2012, it acquired M5 Network Security Pty Ltd.
Aerospace Systems
Aerospace Systems is engaged in the design, development, integration and production of manned and unmanned aircraft, spacecraft, high-energy laser systems, microelectronics and other systems and subsystems. Aerospace Systems��customers, primarily domestic government agencies, use these systems in a number of different mission areas, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; communications; battle management; strike operations; electronic warfare; missile defense; earth observation; space science; and space exploration. The segment consists of four business areas: Strike & Surveillance Systems; Space Systems; Battle Management & Engagement Systems; and Advanced Programs & Technology. Strike & Surveillance Systems designs, develops, manufactures and integrates tactical and long-range strike aircraft systems, unmanned systems, and missile systems. Key programs include the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance system, B-2 stealth bomber, F-35 Lightning II (F-35), F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter, Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aircraft syste! m, and Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP).
Space Systems designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates spacecraft systems, subsystems and electronic and communications payloads. Its main programs include the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) payload and many restricted programs. The Battle Management & Engagement Systems designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates airborne early warning, surveillance, battlefield management, and electronic warfare systems. Key programs include the E-2 Hawkeye, Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS), Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft system, EA-6B Prowler and its next generation platform, the EA-18G Growler, and Long Endurance Multi Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV). Advanced Programs & Technology creates advanced technologies and concepts. Its programs include the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System (N-UCAS), and other directed energy and advanced concepts programs.
Electronic Systems
Electronic Systems is engaged in the design, development, manufacture, and support of solutions for sensing, understanding, anticipating, and controlling the environment for its global military, civil, and commercial customers and their operations. Electronic Systems provides a variety of defense electronics and systems, airborne fire control radars, situational awareness systems, early warning systems, airspace management systems, navigation systems, communications systems, marine systems, space systems, and logistics services. The segment consists of five business areas: Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance Systems; Land & Self Protection Systems; Naval & Marine Systems; Navigation Systems; and Targeting Systems. Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems delivers products and services for space satellite applications, airborne and ground-based surveillance, multi-sensor processing, analysis, and dissemination for com! bat units! and national agencies both domestically and internationally, providing battlespace awareness, missile defense, and command and control. Key products include the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), Defense Support Program (DSP), ground processing, exploitation and dissemination systems, the TPS-78/703 family of ground based surveillance radars, and the Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar.
Land & Self Protection Systems delivers products, systems, and services that support ground-based, helicopter and fixed wing platforms (manned and unmanned) with sensor and protection systems. These systems perform threat detection and countermeasures that defeat infrared and radio frequency (RF) guided missile and tracking systems. The division also provides integrated electronic warfare capability, communications, and intelligence systems; unattended ground sensors; automatic test equipment; and advanced threat simulators. Key programs include the U.S. Marine Corps Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) multi-mission radar; the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and strategic international and NATO allies; the AN/ALQ-131(V) electronic countermeasures pod; the LR-100 high-performance radar warning receiver (RWR)/electronic support measures (ESM)/electronic intelligence (ELINT) receiver system; the U.S. Army�� STARLite Synthetic Aperture Radar for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); the U.S. Army Vehicle Intercom Systems (VIC-3 and VIC-5); the U.S. Army Next Generation Automated Test System (NGATS); the U.S. Air Force Joint Threat Emitter (JTE) training range system; and the Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) system that enable airborne platforms to track individual persons or vehicles.
Naval & Marine Systems delivers products and services to defense, civil, and commercial customers supporting smart navigation, shipboard radar surveillance, ship control, mac! hinery co! ntrol, integrated combat management systems for naval surface ships, high-resolution undersea sensors (for mine hunting, situational awareness, and other applications), unmanned marine vehicles, shipboard missile and encapsulated payload launch systems, propulsion and power generation systems, and nuclear reactor instrumentation and control. Key products include Integrated Bridge and Navigation Systems, Voyage Management System, Integrated Platform Management Systems, Integrated Combat Management System, AN/WSN-7 Inertial Navigator, anti-ship missile defense and surveillance radars (Cobra Judy, AN/SPQ-9B, AN/SPS-74), propulsion equipment, missile launch, and sonar systems for the Virginia-class submarine, and launch system support for the Ohio-class submarine.
Navigation Systems delivers products and services to defense, civil, and commercial customers supporting situational awareness, inertial navigation in all domains (air, land, sea, and space), embedded Global Positioning Systems, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems, acoustic sensors, cockpit video monitors, mission computing, and integrated avionics and electronics systems. Key products include the Integrated Avionics System, the AN/TYQ-23 Aircraft Command and Control System, Fiber Optic Acoustic Sensors, and a robust portfolio of inertial sensors and navigation systems. Targeting Systems delivers products and services supporting airborne combat avionics (fire control radars, multi-function apertures and pods), airborne electro-optical/infrared targeting systems, and laser/electro-optical systems including hand-held, tripod-mounted, and ground or air vehicle mounted systems. Key products include fire control radars for the B-1B, F-16 (worldwide), F-22 U.S. Air Force, and F-35; AN/APN-241 navigation/weather radar; the AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING family of targeting pods; Distributed Aperture EO/IR systems; and the Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder (LLDR). In addition, the Electronic Systems segment also includes the Advanced Co! ncepts & ! Technologies Division (AC&TD), which develops next-generation systems and architectures.
Information Systems
Information Systems is a provider of advanced solutions for the DoD, national intelligence, federal civilian, state and local agencies, and commercial and international customers. Products and services focus on the fields of command, control, communications, computers (C4) and intelligence; airborne reconnaissance; intelligence processing; air and missile defense; decision support systems; cybersecurity; information technology; and systems engineering and integration. The segment consists of three business areas: Defense Systems; Intelligence Systems, and Civil Systems. Defense Systems is a provider of net-enabled Battle Management, C4 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, decision superiority, and mission-enabling solutions and services in support of the national defense and security of our nation and its allies. Defense Systems is a developer and integrator of many of the DoD�� programs-of-record, particularly for command and control (C2) and communications for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and Joint Forces. Major products and services include C4ISR Integration, Mission Systems Integration, Military Communications and Networks, Battle Management C2 and Decision Support Systems, Tactical and Operational C2, Ground and Maritime Combat Systems, Air and Missile Defense, Combat Support Solutions and Services, Enterprise Infrastructure and Applications, Defense Logistics Systems, Identity Management and Biometric Solutions, Cloud Computing, Maritime Mission Systems and Force and Critical Infrastructure Protection. Systems are installed in operational and command centers worldwide and across all DoD services and joint commands.
Intelligence Systems is focused on the delivery of intelligence-related systems and services to the United States Government and the international security community. Intelligence Systems focuses ! on missio! n areas, including Airborne Intelligence, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Systems, Cybersecurity, Geospatial Intelligence, Pervasive Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Ground Systems, Multi-Source Intelligence Data Fusion, and Dynamic Cyber Defense. Its offerings include intelligence sensing, processing, exploitation and dissemination systems, extremely Large-Scale Data Information Management, Intelligence and Prime Systems Integration, Knowledge Discovery Processes, ISR/Communications Quick Reaction Capability Solutions, Sensor Systems, Support to Special Operations, Cyber-SIGINT Mission Management/Multi-Intelligence, Language Services/Intelligence Analysis, Cyber Exploitation, Satellite Ground Stations, Weather Services, Geospatial Systems, Product Generation and Dissemination, Counter Narco-Terrorism, Drug Enforcement Operations, Geo-Intelligence Tradecraft Training, Enterprise Information Technology, Ground-Based Sensing, Studies and Analysis, Sustainment, Operations and Maintenance. Civil Systems provides specialized information systems and services in support of critical civilian government missions, such as homeland security, health, cybersecurity, civil financial, law enforcement and public safety. Primary customers are federal civilian agencies with some state and local and international customers. Civil Systems develops and implements solutions that combine a deep understanding of civil government domains with core expertise in prime systems integration, enterprise applications development, and high value information technology service, including cybersecurity, advanced networking and cloud computing.
Technical Services
Technical Services is a provider of logistics, infrastructure, and sustainment support, while also providing an array of modernization, high technology, and training and simulation services. The segment consists of three business areas: Defense and Government Services; Training Solutions; and Integrated Logistics and Modernization. De! fense and! Government Services provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of combat vehicles, engineering and high technology services for nuclear security and space missions, civil engineering work, military range work, launch services, and range-sensor-instrumentation operations. The division�� customer base includes the United States Army, Department of Energy, the DoD, NASA, and the intelligence community. Training Solutions provides training to senior military leaders, international and peacekeeping forces. The division designs and develops future conflict training scenarios, and provides warfighters and allies with live, virtual, and constructive training programs. The division offers training applications ranging from battle command to professional military education. Primary customers include the DoD, Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security. Integrated Logistics and Modernization provides life cycle product and weapon system sustainment and modernization. The division is focused on providing direct support to warfighters and delivering aircraft MRO; subsystem MRO and modernization; supply chain management services, warehousing and inventory transportation, field services and mobilization, sustaining engineering, maintenance, repair and overhaul supplies, and on-going weapons maintenance and technical assistance. The division specializes in quick reaction capability and deployed operations in support of customers. Primary customers include the DoD, as well as international military and commercial customers.
The Company competes with Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Raytheon Company, General Dynamics Corporation, L-3 Communications Corporation, SAIC, BAE Systems Inc., EADS and Finmeccanica SpA.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
The U.S. Department of Defense announced a half dozen new contracts benefiting the U.S. Navy Wednesday. Of these, five went to publicly traded companies, namely:
- [By MONEYMORNING.COM]
And Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) has a wide spectrum of operations that cover everything from advanced sensors to missile defense to cyber security.
- [By Rich Smith]
AlamyA US Navy X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System aircraft is towed into the hanger bay aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush -- the first aircraft carrier to successfully catapult launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. With a fiscal 2013 defense budget of nearly $614 billion, the United States is widely known to be a big spender on defense. By some estimates, U.S. defense spending accounts for nearly 60 percent of the $1.19 trillion the top 10 military powers spent on defense in 2011. In fact, our country allocates more than five times more money to defense than does its closest spending rival, China. And that's not the half of it. In the cutting-edge field of military unmanned aerial vehicles, the United States has such a huge lead over its rivals that it makes their combined UAV fleets look like a rounding error in a world that's essentially 100 percent dominated by U.S. drones. Pax Americana As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, the U.S. military commands a fleet of 429 "large drone" aircraft such as the General Atomics Predator and Northrop Grumman (NOC) Global Hawk. Meanwhile, America's smaller drones, built by everyone from Boeing (BA) to Textron (TXT) to tiny AeroVironment (AVAV), maker of the ubiquitous Raven man-portable UAV, number in the thousands. In contrast, the military of the United Kingdom, not even a U.S. rival but a close ally, boasts a fleet of precisely 10 large drones, most of which we built for them, and the rest imported from Israel. Italy has nine, France, four, and Germany has three. As a result, when allied forces need a drone to "put eyes" on a target, more often than not, they have to ring up the U.S. military to get one. Who You Gonna Call? For allied nations, that has to be embarrassing -- but it's a situation unlikely to change soon. As the Journal reports, European defense giant European Aeronautic Defence & Space (EADSY), the parent company of Airbus, is only just now beginning to test a
Best Consumer Service Stocks To Buy Right Now: Triad Guaranty Inc (TGICQ)
Triad Guaranty Inc., incorporated in 1993, is a holding company which, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Triad Guaranty Insurance Corporation (TGIC), is a nationwide mortgage insurer. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Collateral Mortgage, Ltd. (CHL) owns 16.8% of the common stock of TGI. The Company has historically provided Primary and Modified Pool mortgages guaranty insurance coverage on United States residential mortgage loans.
Primary insurance provides mortgage default protection to lenders on individual loans and covers a percentage of unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest and certain expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure (collectively, the insured amount or claim amount). Primary insurance was written on both flow and structured bulk transactions. Flow transactions consisted of loans originated by lenders that were submitted to the Company on a loan-by-loan basis, whereas structured bulk transactions involved underwriting and insuring a group of loans with individual coverage for each loan. Insurance on primary policies consists of 80% of the Company's total insurance in force at December 31, 2011.
Modified Pool insurance was written only on structured bulk transactions. Policies insured as part of a Modified Pool transaction have individual coverage, but an aggregate stop-loss limit applies to the entire group of insured loans. In addition, some of the Modified Pool transactions included deductibles representing a percentage of the total risk originated under which the Company pays no claims until the losses exceed the deductible amount. Modified Pool insurance consists of 20% of the Company's total insurance in force at December 31, 2011.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Zachary Tracer]
Mortgage insurers PMI and Triad Guaranty Inc. (TGICQ) filed for bankruptcy after housing crashed. Old Republic International Corp. also retreated from the mortgage guaranty business.
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