Massachusetts Regulator Finds Custody Infractions Among Switching Advisors

Of the 139 advisors that switched from federal to state registration in Massachusetts under the Dodd-Frank Act, only three had been examined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the years before the law took effect, and the state has found custody infractions among the switching advisors it has examined.

So says a new report released by Massachusetts securities regulator William Galvin. The Massachusetts Securities Division so far has examined half of the Massachusetts-based advisors that switched.

The state says investment advisors’ custody of clients’ funds or securities has been a “common deficiency.”

To this end, Galvin released a policy statement Thursday to make clear that the investment advisors who register with the Division in the wake of the Dodd-Frank Act must follow the “stricter” state rules on reporting when they have custody of client funds.

“In many instances, advisors unknowingly possessed custody of clients’ trust assets due to the advisor or a related person’s position as a trustee of the trust,” according to the report. “Many of the advisors deemed by the Division to have custody failed to disclose that in their regulatory filing, nor have they had a surprise independent audit as required by state rules."

“With the recent Madoff scandal we have all seen the risks that can occur when an adviser abuses custody authority,” said Galvin, in a statement.

The policy statement sets out the Division’s custody requirements and specifically states that the Division does not follow the SEC exemption from custody for appointments of supervised persons of an advisor as executors, conservators or trustees that arise as a result of family or personal relationship with the decedent, beneficiary or grantor.

Advisors directly deducting advisory fees from client accounts are deemed to have custody unless they comply with certain additional requirements, the policy statement says.

The policy statement says that state-registered investment advisors “must comply with the custody rules as spelled out in the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940, specifically Rule 206(4)-2 which requires, among other things, an annual surprise audit of advisors by an independent public accountant.”

While this will mean additional costs to registered investment advisors, the “cost is outweighed by the additional protections these measures afford to investors,” the Division said.

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Check out SEC: Don’t Use ‘Protected’ or ‘Guaranteed’ in Fund Names on ThinkAdvisor.

U.S. Index Futures Advance Before Shortened Trading Day

U.S. stock-index futures increased, indicating the Standard & Poor's 500 Index may extend a record in today's shortened trading session, before economic reports next week.

Apple Inc. climbed 0.8 percent in early New York trading after a report showed the company sold three of every four smartphones in Japan last month. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. rose 0.5 percent in European trading after Australia blocked a A$2.2 billion ($2 billion) takeover of GrainCorp Ltd.

S&P 500 futures expiring in December advanced 0.3 percent to 1,809.10 at 7:20 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts added 51 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,125. The S&P 500 climbed 27 percent this year, and the Dow gained 23 percent, after the Federal Reserve refrained from tapering its third round of economic stimulus.

"Investors are waiting for indications on when tapering may come," said Ioan Smith, strategist at KCG Europe Ltd. "The minutes revealed a wide-ranging discussion of various policy scenarios and contingencies. It is still the case that there's not enough sustained evidence to meet the taper criteria as soon as next month."

The S&P 500 and the Dow closed at records on Nov. 27, as jobless claims unexpectedly declined and a measure of consumer confidence beat estimates. U.S. markets were closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday and trading in the New York Stock Exchange will end at 1 p.m. local time today.

Fed Minutes

Minutes of the last Fed meeting released on Nov. 20 showed that officials are considering scaling back their $85 billion in monthly bond purchases "in coming months" if the economy improves as anticipated.

Investors will await reports on manufacturing and home sales next week, and the November release of non-farm payrolls on Dec. 6. Janet Yellen, who will replace Ben S. Bernanke as chairman of the Fed, has said she will ensure monetary stimulus isn't removed too soon to support economic recovery in the U.S. There are no economic reports scheduled for today.

Apple rose 0.8 percent to $550.30 in early New York trading. The company accounted for 76 percent of smartphone sales in Japan last month after the country's largest carrier, NTT Docomo Inc., began offering the iPhone, market researcher Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said yesterday.

ADM (ADM) rose 0.5 percent to $41.69 in European composite trading. Australia's rejection of the agricultural commodities producer's takeover prompted a record 22 percent drop in GrainCorp, the biggest crop handler on Australia's east coast, and a slide in the local currency.

"This proposal has attracted a high level of concern from stakeholders and the broader community," Treasurer Joe Hockey said today, ruling U.S.-based ADM's bid of A$12.20 a share isn't in the national interest. "Now is not the right time for a 100 percent foreign acquisition of this key Australian business."

#DigitalSkeptic: This Bull Market Is a Turkey

Top Dividend Companies To Invest In 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Thanksgiving or no, the so-called technology bull market investors are gobbling up is nothing more than a crop of turkeys.

I know, I know, today is supposed to be the bright, shining moment where we bend our knees and praise the heavens for family, friends and good food. But I cant be the only one barely able to stomach the ranting and raving over the supposedly succulent 16,000-plus Dow Jones Industrial Average.

See, on turkey days such as these, investors need not struggle through the usual Digital Age valuation digestion challenges -- such as how the information economy has already torched trillions in public market valuation devouring the music, publishing, financial services and other information sectors.

Rather, Thanksgiving does information economy investors a favor. There's just one thing they need do to get a taste for how bony this bull market is: consider the economics behind that lovely Thanksgiving meal you and your family are sharing today. By any conceivable valuation metric, the unheralded, unhyped -- yes, unhip -- agriculture business simply eats the Information Economys lunch. And breakfast and dinner, for that matter.
Also see: #DigitalSkeptic's Guide to Black Friday Tech for the Investor>> The information-free food business
Whats unexpected -- and critical -- about the agriculture business is how tech averse it turns out to be. As much as food tech giants such as Monsanto, Dow Chemical or Bayer like to paint the agro economy as a high-tech food marvel, it takes almost no sniffing to determine that the average American farm is, at best, a low-tech operation. I grew up on a farm, started two businesses serving the technology needs of farmers, Jesse Vollmar told me over the phone. This lower-Michigan native has founded a fascinating Ann Arbor startup called FarmLogs that is seeking to upgrade the technology quotient for the average farm. And Vollmar makes it clear that while new technologies such as global positioning systems and more sophisticated farming combines are indeed part of the average farmer, the filter down -- slowly. More often than not, farmers get a tech upgrade only once every several years when they invest in a big new piece of equipment from a Caterpillar or John Deere, he said. And even when farmers do invest in new technology, they rarely take full advantage of it. Farming has few centralized tech standards and no tradition of information technology continuing education. And the sector fights an overall skepticism to new systems. Real change comes at a snails pace to most farmers, Vollmar said. But in spite of not bothering to access the supposed backbones of todays tech bull market -- network access, social sharing and Web-based supply chain logistics -- the American farmer is enjoying a golden age. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, national net farm income (basically the backbone indicator of U.S. farm well-being) is on track to set a record of $121 billion this year, up 6% from last year and about $3 billion above 2011s previous record. Thats many percent more than tech giants such as Amazon or Google will sell. And if investors factor in the real wealth in farming -- the land, assets and the value of the reality of what farmers do -- agro simply knocks the stuffing out the Information Age bird.
Also see: #DigitalSkeptic: Hurricane Internet Is the Most Evil of All>> In addition to net revenue, farm wealth is also at record levels, Randy Schnepf, specialist in agricultural policy for the agricultural trend-tracking Congressional Research Service, wrote in his report U.S. Farm Income. Schnepf estimates that asset values are up 49% since 2008 and debt-to-asset ratios are at their lowest levels since the 1960s. Farm asset values are expected to rise 7% in 2013, he wrote, to a record $3,101 billion for the fifth year in a row. Sorry, Web hipsters, you can slice, dice or food process Information Age companies all you like from over the past five years and theres no way Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, Twitter or anybody else has harvested anything close to $3.1 trillion in value. The vaunted Information Economy is nothing more than over-toasted anorexic bird sitting on a platter, smoldering. The most valuable meal: food
Thanksgiving makes it clear what we all should be thankful for: that almost by accident, a group of humble farmers who did nothing more than ignore the supposed iron rules of the Information Age have sent Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Jack Dorsey and the like to the woodshed. It all makes you wonder what our world could have been if these men had sowed their digital fields properly. The fact is: The 16,000 Dow is not a bumper crop. Its like Thanksgiving in 17th century Jamestown -- the last hot meal before a long, cold winter.

ORCL – Oracle’s Problems Signal a Sell

Popular Posts: MSFT – Microsoft’s Boom More Than Just Ballmer StorylineT – Now is the Time to Hang Up on AT&T StockKO – The Fizz Is Out of Coca-Cola Stock: Time to Sell Recent Posts: Expect a Market Rally From Thanksgiving to January AAPL IBM Among 44 Technology Stocks to Sell Right Away ORCL – Oracle’s Problems Signal a Sell View All Posts

Welcome to the Stock of the Day!

For much of 2013, Oracle (ORCL) has struggled to get its footing. However, with a $10 billion stock buyback in the works and its next earnings announcement in a few weeks, is now a good time to pick up this software titan on the cheap?

Let’s take a closer look and find out.

Company Profile

Oracle is one of the nation’s largest hardware and software companies. Notably, the company has been around since 1977—so it has kept pace with much of the computer revolution. Over the years, the company has rolled out wave after wave of successful database management systems and has managed to capture the third-highest software sales. Oracle  is also known for its enterprise resource planning software, its customer relationship management software as well as its supply chain management software. The company currently employs 120,000 worldwide.

Earnings Buzz

Oracle is due to release its second-quarter operating results after the closing bell on Tuesday, December 17. Right now, analysts expect sales to tick up 0.8% (compared with the same quarter prior year) and earnings to climb 4.7%. Those are pretty modest projections, but it’s still better than the industry average for Application Software companies.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks For 2014

On average, analysts expect Oracle’s competitors to see earnings fall 14.3% compared with last year. However, starting the following quarter, the trend reverts to what it has been for quite some time: For the bulk of 2014, Oracle is expected to underperform the industry average.

Competition Breakdown

As you can tell, Oracle is not the only major software player to have issues. Oracle competes with the likes of computing giants International Business Machines (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT). If you plug all three of these companies in my Portfolio Grader tool, you can see that Microsoft is the strongest right now in terms of buying pressure and fundamentals. So of the three, MSFT is the only stock I’d recommend at current prices.

Meanwhile, Oracle and IBM are both D-ranked sells due to poor buying pressure, anemic sales growth and slow earnings momentum.

Current Ratings

This stock has had a rough time over the past 12 months, oscillating between hold and sell territory. And things have been looking down lately. Currently, the stock is rated a sell due to weakening buying pressure (as shown by its F-rated Quantitative Grade).

Meanwhile, Oracle’s sales growth and earnings momentum have both been downgraded to C-ratings. However, the company still ranks highly on cash flow and return on equity, which are both A-rated. Operating margin growth and earnings growth earn B-ratings. So ORCL receives a B for its overall Fundamental Grade.

Bottom Line: As of this posting I consider ORCL a D-rated Sell.

Would you like to check the fundamentals backing up one of your stocks? For more stock grades, please visit my Portfolio Grader website!

Winners & Losers: Sony Is No. 1; Discomfort for Select Comfort

Alamy Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From a changing of the guard in the video game console business to retailers planning to cut our Thanksgiving get-togethers short, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst moves in the business world. Sony (SNE) -- Winner After 32 consecutive months as the top-selling video game console in the country, Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 was unseated in September by Sony's PS3, according to industry tracker NPD Group. Microsoft was never expected to stay on top forever, but the timing of its fall could be better. Both companies are introducing new consoles next month, and while it's widely assumed that Microsoft's Xbox One will be more popular than Sony's PlayStation 4, watching Sony retake the lead last month does make this holiday season's new console war that much more unpredictable. Sony rarely gets mentioned as a weekly winner these days, so let it bask in the glory of success. Thanksgiving Dinner -- Loser Remember when Thanksgiving was all about getting together with the family for a traditional feast as your uncles bickered about politics and you tried to sneak your vegetable onto your little cousin's plate? Well, that part of the holiday's festivities seems to be getting shorter and shorter shrift these days, with even more retailers announcing this week that they will opening for Black Friday before some of us have even finished our pumpkin pie.

SEC eyes ‘information overload’ in filings

Publicly traded U.S. firms could soon face less-inclusive public disclosure requirements, a top securities regulator signaled Tuesday.

The number and type of issues companies must disclose has grown "more and more detailed," Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White said in a speech to the National Association of Corporate Directors. She questioned whether investors need or are well-served by all of that information.

"When disclosure gets to be 'too much' or strays from its core purpose, it could lead to what some have called 'information overload' — a phenomenon in which ever-increasing amounts of disclosure make it difficult for an investor to wade through the volume of information she receives to ferret out the information that is most relevant."

The SEC's staff is studying the disclosure issue in compliance with a mandate under the 2012 federal Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. A recommendation is expected soon, White said.

A 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision requires U.S. publicly traded companies to disclose "material" information — which the ruling defined as matters where "there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable shareholder would consider it important in deciding how to vote."

White used her appearance at the Maryland conference to question whether firms could meet the court mandate without continuing to disclose information that's now easily available via the Internet, such as historical share-closing prices, share dilution data and the ratio of earnings to fixed charges.

She also questioned whether there's a need for duplicate disclosures, noting that many companies report information about significant pending lawsuits under the "Legal Proceedings' portion of SEC filings, and again under "Risk Factors."

"Accountants say that lawyers insist on the repetition and the lawyers blame the accountants," said White. "Rather than focus on who may be perpetuating this, we should simply figure out what investors want and whethe! r such repetition is really such a burden for companies."

As investors come to expect nearly-instantaneous information on their smartphones and computers, White also said the SEC should consider whether the agency's reporting deadlines should be shorter, and examine whether such a change would "impose an undue burden" on companies.

Hot Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014

"Clearly, there is no one system of disclosure that will satisfy everyone," said White. "Too much information for some is not enough for others. Too little for some may be too much for others. And what some investors might want may not be what reasonable investors need."

Nest’s next challenge: make fire detectors sexy

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Nest Labs, a startup founded by former Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, unveiled a fire detector called Nest Protect Tuesday, attacking a market it reckons is about four times the size of the thermostat market it entered two years ago.

The new device is a fire, smoke and carbon monoxide detector that talks to you, lights your way down dark corridors and gives you a heads-up before setting off a piercing alarm.

The device lets users wave to stop the alarm before it starts — for instance, if someone has opened an oven and let out smoke but there's no fire risk.

If multiple detectors are installed in a home, they communicate wirelessly with each other. At bedtime, a circle at the center of the device glows green to show there is no fire danger in the house.

Nest Protect even has a humidity sensor, which Nest hopes will be used in the future to detect the difference between smoke and steam.

This is the next step in what Fadell, 44, and Rogers, 30, hope is a long line of Nest products that turn previously boring, annoying home gadgets into desirable devices — similar to the iPods and iPhones the two designed at Apple.

"We are focusing on unloved, ugly, dumb, plastic boxes that have had no innovation for years," Rogers said.

About two years ago, Nest launched a circular, brushed metal thermostat that connects wirelessly to the Internet. The new Protect device will connect to existing Nest thermostats. For instance, if it detects carbon monoxide, it will contact the thermostat, which will automatically switch off your furnace.

Nest Labs co-founder Matt Rogers(Photo: Nest Labs)

However, Rogers played down the idea that Nest plans to automate homes in the future by connecting all it! s devices into one over-arching operating system.

"It's less about automation and more about the re-invention of unloved gadgets," he said. "Our goal is to build all these gadgets and only connect them if it makes sense."

Soon after the Nest thermostat came out, Fadell and Rogers decided to develop a new type of fire detector, partly because the market for these devices is so large.

"It's four times the size of the thermostat market and homes are required by law to have several of them," Rogers said. "There's an enormous business case for this."

Some of Silicon Valley's top venture capital firms agree. Nest was backed by firms including Kleiner Perkins, Google Ventures and Al Gore's investment fund Generation Capital. In January, the company raised $80 million at an $800 million valuation, in a round led by Google Ventures, according to GigaOM.

"We're doing pretty well. It's been a good year," said Rogers, while declining to comment on funding or whether Nest is making money.

Rogers would not discuss sales either. However, the Nest is the top-selling thermostat on Amazon.com. The company also shared a map of the U.S., showing Nest thermostat installations as of Oct. 4 and the dots cover large areas of the Northeast, Illinois, Florida, Texas, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Nest thermostat installations(Photo: Nest Labs)

Nest's thermostat has been installed in more than 90 countries — even though the company has only sold the device in the U.S. and Canada so far.

The company is tapping into that demand by launching a new version of its thermostat in the U.K. The new Nest Protect detector will also be sold in the U.K.

In the U.S., the Nest Protect will cost $129 and come in black or white. The compan! y expects! the device will be available in November, pending testing.

Nest has almost 300 employees, up from about 100 two years ago when the company launched the Nest thermostat. The company has also been accumulating patents and has about 200 of them now to help defend it from legal challenges as it designs and launches new products for the home.

Follow Alistair Barr on Twitter: @alistairmbarr.

EMC Update - Numerous Billionaires Hold, Three Gurus Reduce in Third Quarter

Three billionaires reduced EMC Corporation (EMC) in the third quarter, but a large group of billionaires remains heavily invested in the global data storage company, and here's why. EMC has invested $17 billion in acquisitions in the last 10 years, integrating more than 70 technology companies to strengthen their core business and extend their reach to 86 countries. The company's revenue growth is 14.80% over 10 years and 6.70% over 12 months. EMC's EBITDA growth rate is 18.80% over 10 years and 5.40% over 12 months, and its book value growth is 9.50% over 10 years and 9.60% over 12 months, all based on annual rates per share. Furthermore, as a Fortune 500 company, EMC Corporation ranks 139th, and the company had its record revenue year in 2012, with reported revenue at $21.7 billion. EMC has around 400 sales offices and employs approximately 60,000 people worldwide.

EMC Corporation's third quarter update shows revenue increasing across four major global geographies, with strong revenue growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), representing around 40% of the world's population.

Here's a company update and a look at three gurus reducing in the third quarter of 2013.

EMC Corporation (EMC)

Predictability: 3 out of 5 Stars

Down 4% over 12 months, EMC Corporation, the data storage company, has a market cap of $50.38 billion; its shares were traded at around $24.21 with a P/E ratio of 19.40. The dividend yield is 0.80%.

Tracking EMC share price, revenue and net income since 1990:

[ Enlarge Image ]

Founded in 1979, EMC Corporation and its subsidiaries develop, deliver and support the information technology industry's range of information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure technologies and solutions. The company manages its business in two broad catego! ries: EMC Information Infrastructure and VMware Virtual Infrastructure.

The company's EMC Information Infrastructure segment provides a foundation for organizations to store, manage, protect, analyze and secure their vast and ever-increasing quantities of information, improve business agility, lower cost of ownership and enhance their competitive advantage within traditional data centers, virtual data centers and cloud-based IT infrastructures. EMC's VMware Virtual Infrastructure segment represents the company's majority equity stake in VMware Inc. and provides virtualization infrastructure solutions.

Third Quarter Financials: EMC Corporation reported financial results for the third quarter of 2013 with revenue up 5% at $5.5 billion compared to the same quarter of 2012. Net income for the quarter was $586 million (GAAP). The company reported $0.27 for earnings per weighted average diluted share for the third quarter of 2013. EMC's operating cash flow increased 25% over the same quarter of 2012. At the end of the third quarter 2013, EMC Corporation had $17.5 billion in cash and investments on the balance sheet.

Third Quarter Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2013, the top guru stakeholder Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. reduced its position by 1.44%, selling 440,059 shares at an average price of $25.97, for a loss of 6.6%.

Based on a five-year trading history, the firm bought a total of 44,512,835 shares at an average price of $19.05 per share, averaging a gain of 27%. Selling a total of 26,390,835 shares at an average price of $16.24, the firm averaged a gain of 49%.

Manning & Napier's highest gain was 130.8% in the fourth quarter of 2008 when the firm bought 5,779,587 shares at an average price of $10.51 per share.

Current shares of 30,039,743 represent 1.44% of shares outstanding and comprise 3.6% of the firm's total assets managed.

As of Sept. 30, 2013, Scott Black reduced his position by 3.72%, selling 16,930 shares at an average price of $25.97, for! a loss o! f 6.7%.

Across six quarters of trading, Scott Black bought a total of 455,012 shares at an average price of $25.34 per share, averaging a loss of 4%. Selling a total of 16,930 shares at an average price of $25.97, he averaged a loss of 7%.

Current shares of 438,082 represent 0.02% of shares outstanding and comprise 1.3% of his total assets managed.

As of Sept. 30, 2013, Ken Fisher reduced his position by 17.15%, selling 9,846 shares at an average price of $25.97, also for a 6.7% loss.

Fisher's five-year history shows he averaged a gain of 31% buying a total of 4,764,205 shares at an average price of $18.44. Selling 25,567,801 shares at an average price of $24.39 per share, he had a loss of 1%.

Fisher's current shares are 47,561.

Check out the numerous gurus holding EMC and very active insider selling.

GuruFocus Real Time Picks reports the stock purchases and sales that Gurus have made within the prior 2 weeks. The report time lag can be as short as 2 days after the date of the transaction. This feature is for Premium Members only.

If you are not a Premium Member, we invite you for a 7-day Free Trial.

Europe stocks up as HSBC, PMI support; airlines off

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets moved higher on Monday, lifted by HSBC Holdings PLC after the heavyweight bank posted results, while the broader market welcomed encouraging data on euro-zone factory activity. Airline and travel stocks were among the biggest losers, after Ryanair Holdings PLC cut its outlook and warned of falling fares.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index (XX:SXXP)  rose 0.4% to 322.61, extending gains seen last week, when the benchmark scored its fourth weekly advance in a row.

Click to Play Europe faces threat of too little inflation

Michael Casey and Brian Blackstone discuss the possibility of a rate increase in the euro zone, and Charles Jaffe looks at why investors should be more like Wayne Gretzky.

Banks helped support the main Europe index, with HSBC (UK:HSBA)   (HBC)   (HK:5)  up 2.4% after posting a 28% rise in third-quarter profit. The gain helped lift the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX)  0.5% to 6,767.10.

Shares of Ryanair (IE:RY4B)  led the decliners list, tumbling 12% after the Irish-based budget airline cut its full-year guidance due to a dip in average fares. Ryanair said it expects fares to fall by a further 9% in the third quarter and by up to 10% in the fourth quarter.

The news rippled through the sector, with EasyJet PLC (UK:EZJ)  losing 4.1%, Thomas Cook Group PLC (UK:TCG)  down 2.5%, and Air France-KLM SA (FR:AF)  dropping 2.1%.

Shares of Weir Group PLC (UK:WEIR)  were also being hit hard, off 7.1% after the engineering company cut its 2013 revenue expectations due to further project-delivery delays and industrial unrest in South Africa.

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More broadly, investors welcomed data that showed euro-zone factory activity edged higher in October, thanks to modest strength in Germany and other northern economies. The Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index for currency bloc rose to 51.3 from 51.1 in September, above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction. The reading was unchanged from an earlier estimate.

"More encouraging indications about the recovery can be gained by looking at increasingly broad-based nature of the upturn, and especially the fact that increasingly robust gains in production are now being seen in countries such as Spain, Italy and Ireland, to suggest that structural reforms to boost competitiveness are starting to pay off," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, in the release.

PMIs were also in the spotlight in China, where the country's official non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 56.3 in October, marking a 14-month high.

Some miners pushed higher after the data, as China is a big user of natural resources. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC (UK:RIO)   (RIO)   (AU:RIO)  rose 2.5%, and shares of BHP Billiton PLC (UK:BLT)   (BHP)   (AU:BHP)  gained 1.1%.

10 Best Stocks To Watch Right Now

Among other notable movers, shares of PostNL NV (NL:PNL) jumped 6.4% after the Dutch mail firm lifted its full-year outlook.

The German DAX 30 index (DX:DAX)  rose 0.3% to 9,037.55, while the French CAC 40 index (FR:PX1)  added 0.3% to 4,285.02.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now

This biotech company was just issued a New Key Patent and a Notice of Allowance for the US patent application entitled "Novel DNA-binding Proteins and Uses Thereof", notes John McCamant, editor of The Medical Technology Stock Letter.

The claims cover core architectural aspects of engineered Transcription Activator-Like Effectors, or TALEs, which enable these proteins to be useful in potential therapeutic applications of genome editing or gene regulation, and for the efficient use of the technology in biomedical research and plant applications.

The company-Sangamo (SGMO)-expects that TALE architectures to be broadly adopted and become the industry standard.

When combined with Sangamo's proprietary engineered ZFP technology, or DNA cutting domains, the TALE technology can be harnessed to efficiently and precisely edit gene sequences.

The ability to modify the genome of plants and animals has already transformed cell biology and holds promise for the development of many more new medicines and agricultural products.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Oncolytics Biotech Inc (ONCY)

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (Oncolytics), incorporated on April 2, 1998, is a development-stage company. The Company is focused on its research and development of REOLYSIN, which is its cancer therapeutic. REOLYSIN is developed from the reovirus. This virus has been demonstrated in tumour cells bearing an activated Ras pathway. Oncolytics is directing a clinical trial program with the focus of developing REOLYSIN as a human cancer therapeutic. The clinical program includes clinical trials, which it sponsors directly along with Third Party Clinical Trials. Third Party Clinical Trials are clinical trials that are being sponsored by other institutions. As of December 31, 2011, the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI), the University of Leeds and the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the University of Texas Health Center in San Antonio (CTRC) were sponsoring part of its clinical trial program.

The Company�� clinical trial program has included human trials using REOLYSIN alone, and in combination with radiation and chemotherapy, and delivered via local administration and/or intravenous administration. Oncolytics uses contract toll manufacturers to produce REOLYSIN. On December 31, 2011, the Company had two wholly owned subsidiaries, Oncolytics Biotech (Barbados) Inc. (OBB) and Valens Pharma Ltd. Oncolytics Biotech (US) Inc. and Oncolytics Biotech (U.K.) are wholly owned subsidiaries of OBB.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  T-VEC is not your traditional biologic drug. It is actually a bioengineered form of the herpes virus that, once injected into cancerous tumors, replicates, and produces an immune-stimulating protein that puts a bulls eye on cancer cells throughout the body. Despite its promise and intriguing mechanism of action, T-VEC is not in further development at Amgen. However, Oncolytics (NASDAQ: ONCY  ) has shown promising results for its bioengineered form of reovirus called Reolysin. Initial phase 3 results showed that 86% of patients taking the drug had reduced tumor mass or growth after six weeks of treatment. �

• [By Sean Williams]

  With this in mind, I feel it'd be prudent of biotech-savvy investors to give Oncolytics Biotech (NASDAQ: ONCY  ) a closer look.

  The big risks
  I'm quite aware that there are a lot factors that'd raise a red flag with Oncolytics. Similar to Affymax, you could say that Oncolytics has put all of its eggs in one basket with its lead experimental drug, reolysin. According to Oncolytics' website, including its U.K., Canadian, and U.S. studies, reolysin as either a monotherapy or combination therapy is the basis for all 31 clinical trials! Obviously, if reolysin proves ineffective or unsafe, Oncolytics is going to be a world of hurt.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc (APNT)

Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc., incorporated on May 22, 1989, is engaged in nanotechnology research and development business. The Company's nanotechnology research involves performing contract research and development services for others to develop products and materials for new applications, and then leveraging this research by applying it to other similar applications in other industries. The Company also develops intellectual property (IP) around its products and technologies. The Company develops five technology platforms: nanosensor technology; nanocomposites, based on carbon nanotube composites; thermal management materials; nanoelectronics applications, and electron emission activities, primarily in the display area. The Company's electron emission IP is divided into display activities and non-display activities. Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. is the parent company. Applied Nanotech, Inc. (ANI) is a subsidiary of ANHI. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company formed EZDiagnostix, Inc., (EZDX).

Sensors

The Company develops sensors based on ion mobility sensor technology and differential mobility spectroscopy. The Company is involved in projects to develop Mercaptan and Methane sensors for uses in the natural gas industry. The Company is also applying this technology to other applications, including agricultural pathology, wound care, and breath analysis. The Company develops hydrogen sensor for use in the measurement of hydrogen in power transformer products. The Company develops carbon monoxide sensor that can last for 10,000 hours on a single battery. The Company's carbon nanotube technology is for use in biosensors. Sensors based on carbon nanotubes or other nanomaterials can be used to detect chemical, organic, or biological warfare agents, as well as explosives, hydrogen, ammonia and numerous other chemicals.

Nanocomposites

The Company is in the advanced stages of development of nanomaterials using carbon nanotube (CNT) and! other composites. Epoxies are used in industries with worldwide markets, with applications, including adhesives, paints, coatings, and composites. In addition to epoxy resins, the Company develops other types of resins, including polyesters and vinyl esters. Vinyl esters are used in a variety of industrial applications, including storage tanks, piping, and construction. The Company develops a process for coating nylon pellets with CNTs to improves electrical conductivity. Nylon 6 with improved electrical conductivity can be used for its anti-static qualities, electrostatic discharge, and electromagnetic/RF shielding.

Thermal Management

The Company markets thermal management material called CarbAl. CarbAl provides a passive thermal management solution for temperature control issues that plague electronics manufacturers. CarbAl is a carbon based metal nanocomposite comprised of 80% carbonaceous matrix and a dispersed metal component of 20% aluminum. The Company also develops a simplified version of CarbAl based on graphite.

Conductive Inks

The Company develops aluminum and silver inks and pastes that is ideal for use in the production of solar cells. The Company also develops aluminum paste that can be used in current solar cell production.

The Company competes with Zyvex Performance Materials, GSI Creos, Amroy Europe, Ltd., DuPont and Ferro

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anuchit Nguyen]

  India�� S&P BSE Sensex rose, holding at a three-year high, amid better-than-estimated corporate earnings. Engineering company Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (LT) rallied to a three-month high and Asian Paints Ltd. (APNT) surged about 6 percent after reporting profit that beat forecasts.

Hot Biotech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Osiris Therapeutics Inc.(OSIR)

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., a stem cell company, focuses on the development and marketing of therapeutic products to treat various medical conditions in the inflammatory, autoimmune, orthopedic, and cardiovascular areas. It operates in two business segments, Therapeutics and Biosurgery. The Therapeutics segment focuses on developing biologic stem cell drug candidates from a readily available and non-controversial source, adult bone marrow. The Biosurgery segment works to harness the ability of cells and novel constructs to promote the body's natural healing. This segment focuses on developing biologic products for use in surgical procedures. The company?s lead biologic drug candidate is Prochymal, which is in phase 2 and 3 clinical trails for various indications, including acute graft versus host disease (GvHD), Crohn's disease, acute myocardial infarction, type 1 diabetes, pulmonary disease, and gastrointestinal injury resulting from radiation exposure. Its biologic drug candidates also include Chondrogen, a preparation of adult mesenchymal stem cells that is in phase 2 clinical trials for osteoarthritis and cartilage protection. The company has collaboration agreements with Genzyme Corporation for the development and commercialization of Prochymal and Chondrogen in various countries except in the United States and Canada. It also has a partnership with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for the development of Prochymal as a treatment for the preservation of insulin production in patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus. Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Additionally, stem cell therapies have remained elusive as the industry's ultimate Holy Grail. Osiris (NASDAQ: OSIR  ) received Canadian approval for the world's first stem cell drug, Prochymal, for children battling acute graft-versus-host disease, or GvHD, last year. The approval meant more symbolically than to the bottom line, but it definitely put the potential of stem cells front and center for investors.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Algeta ASA (ALGETA.OL)

Algeta ASA is a Norway-based biotechnology company engaged in the development of targeted cancer therapies based on its alpha-pharmaceutical platform. The Company�� principal product is Alpharadin for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from castration-resistant prostate cancer. The Company�� pipeline also includes Alpharadin for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from breast cancer, a combination of Alpharadin with Taxotere for the treatment of bone metastases resulting from prostate cancer and Thorium-227 showing various cancer indications. The Company develops Alpharadin in a development and marketing cooperation with Bayer Schering Pharma. Algeta ASA is active through the two wholly owned subsidiaries, Algeta Innovations AS and Algeta UK Limited. On April 12, 2012, the Company announced that it estabilished a subsidiary active in the United States, Algeta US.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Bioanalytical Systems Inc.(BASI)

Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. provides drug discovery and development services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, and government organizations primarily in North America, the Pacific Rim, and Europe. The company operates in two segments, Contract Research Services and Research Products. The Contract Research Services segment offers various services, including product characterization, method development, and validation; bioanalytical testing to measure drug and metabolite concentrations in complex biological matrices; stability testing to establish and confirm product purity, potency, and shelf life; in vivo sampling services for the continuous monitoring of chemical changes in life; and pharmacokinetic and safety testing services, as well as provides screening and pharmacological testing, preclinical safety testing, formulation development, regulatory compliance, and quality control testing services. The Research Products segment offers analytical products compris ing liquid chromatographic and electrochemical instruments with associated accessories; in vivo sampling products, such as Culex family of automated in vivo sampling and dosing instruments; and Vetronics? products consisting of instruments and related software to monitor and diagnose cardiac function, and measure other vital physiological parameters in cats and dogs. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Nektar Therapeutics(NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing a pipeline of drug candidates that utilize its PEGylation and polymer conjugate technology platforms. The company?s product pipeline consists of drug candidates across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, pain, anti-infectives, anti-viral, and immunology. Its research and development activities involve small molecule drugs, peptides, and other potential biologic drug candidates. The company?s proprietary drug candidates in clinical development comprise NKTR-118, a peripheral opioid antagonist, which has completed Phase II clinical trail for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation; BAY41-6551 that has completed Phase II clinical trail to treat gram-negative pneumonias; NKTR-102, a topoisomerase I inhibitor-polymer conjugate, which is in Phase II clinical trail for multiple cancer indications, including breast, ovarian, and colorectal; and NKTR-105 that is in Phase I clinica l trail to treat solid tumors. Its preclinical products consists of NKTR-119 (Opioid/NKTR-118 combinations) for the treatment of pain; NKTR-181 (abuse deterrent, tamper-resistant opioid) to treat pain; NKTR-194 (non-scheduled opioid) for the treatment of mild to moderate pain; NKTR-171 (tricyclic antidepressant) to treat neuropathic pain; and NKTR-140 (protease inhibitor candidate) to treat HIV. The company has collaboration with Bayer Healthcare LLC to develop BAY41-6551 (NKTR-061, Amikacin Inhale), which is an inhaled solution of amikacin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic; and a license agreement with AstraZeneca AB for the development and commercialization of Oral NKTR-118 and NKTR-119. In addition, Nektar Therapeutics has various license, manufacturing, and supply agreements for its technology with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, such as Affymax, Amgen, Baxter, Roche, Merck, Pfizer, and UCB Pharma. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in San Franc isco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  This is particularly intriguing now both to Allergan, which purchased MAP Pharmaceuticals earlier this year for $958 million, and to�Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR  ) , which would gain royalties from the sale of Levadex due to its intellectual property contribution to the making of the drug.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: ArQule Inc.(ARQL)

ArQule, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the research and development of cancer therapeutics directed toward molecular targets and biological processes. Its lead product ARQ 197 is non-adenosine triphosphate competitive inhibitor of the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase, which is being evaluated as monotherapy and in combination therapy in a Phase II clinical development program that includes trials in non-small cell lung cancer, c-Met-associated soft tissue sarcomas, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, germ cell tumors, and colorectal cancer. The company is also developing ARQ 621, a Phase I program focused on inhibition of the Eg5 kinesin spindle protein. Its clinical stage products include ARQ 501, ARQ 761, and ARQ 171, which are designed to kill cancer cells selectively while sparing normal cells through the direct activation of DNA damage response/checkpoint pathways. In addition, the company involves in pre-clinical development o f B-RAF and AKIP Kinase inhibitors. The company has collaborations with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. and Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. ArQule, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Best Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: StemCells Inc (STEM)

StemCells, Inc. (StemCells), incorporated in August 1988, is engaged in the research, development, and commercialization of stem cell therapeutics and related tools and technologies for academia and industry. The Company is focused on developing and commercializing stem and progenitor cells as the basis for therapeutics and therapies, and cells and related tools and technologies to enable stem cell-based research and drug discovery and development. The Company�� primary research and development efforts are focused on identifying and developing stem and progenitor cells as potential therapeutic agents. The Company has two therapeutic product development programs, including its CNS Program, which is developing applications for HuCNS-SC cells, its human neural stem cell product candidate, and its Liver Program, which is characterizing the Company�� human liver cells as a therapeutic product.

CNS Program

The Company in its CNS Program, is in clinical development with its HuCNS-SC cells for a range of disorders of the central nervous system. The CNS includes the brain, spinal cord and eye. In February 2012, the Company had completed a Phase I clinical trial in Pelizeaus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a fatal myelination disorder in the brain.

The Company�� CNS Program is focused on developing clinical applications, in which transplanting HuCNS-SC cells protect or restore organ function of the patient before such function is irreversibly damaged or lost due to disease progression. The Company�� initial target indications are PMD, and more generally, diseases in which deficient myelination plays a central role, such as cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis; spinal cord injury, disorders in which retinal degeneration plays a central role, such as age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa. The Company�� product candidate, HuCNS-SC cells, is a purified and expanded composition of normal human neural stem cells. Its HuCNS-SC cells can be directly transp! lanted.

Liver Program

Liver stem or progenitor cells offer an alternative treatment for liver diseases. A liver cellular therapy or cell-based therapeutic provide or support liver function in patients with liver disease. The Company held a portfolio of issued and allowed patents in the liver field, which cover the isolation and use of both hLEC cells and the isolated subset, as well as the composition of the cells themselves.

The Company�� range of cell culture products, which are sold under the SC Proven brand, includes iSTEM, GS1-R, GS2-M, RHB-A, RHB-Basal, NDiff N2, and NDiff N2B27. Its iSTEM is a serum-free, feeder-free medium that maintains mouse embryonic stem cells in their pluripotent ground state by using selective small molecule inhibitors to block the pathways, which induce differentiation. RHB-A is a defined, serum-free culture medium for the selective culture of human and mouse neural stem cells and their maintenance and expansion as adherent cell populations. RHB-Basal is a defined, serum-free basal medium. When supplemented with specific growth factors, this media is formulated for the propagation and differentiation of adherent neural stem cells. RHB-Basal can also be tailored to specific-cell type requirements by the addition of customer preferred supplements.

The Company�� NDiff N2 is a defined serum-free scell culture supplement for the derivation, maintenance, expansion and/or differentiation of human and mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and tissue-derived neural stem cells supplement. Its NDiff N2-AF is a serum-free and animal component-free version of NDiff N2. Its NDiff N2B27 is a defined, serum-free medium for the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells to neural cell types. NDiff N27-AF is a serum-free and animal component-free version of NDiff N27. Its GS1-R is a serum-free media formulation shown to enable the derivation and long-term maintenance of true, germline competent rat embryonic stem cells without the add! ition of ! cytokines or growth factors. Its GS2-M is a defined, serum- and feeder-free medium for the derivation and long-term maintenance of true, germline competent mouse iPS cells.

The Company also markets a number of antibody reagents for use in cell detection, isolation and characterization. These reagents are also under the SC Proven brand and it includes STEM24, STEM101, STEM121 and STEM123. Its STEM24 is a human antibody that recognizes human CD24, also known as heat stable antigen (HSA), a glycoprotein expressed on the surface of many human cell types, including immature human hematopoietic cells, peripheral blood lymphocytes, erythrocytes and many human carcinomas. Its CD24 is also a marker of human neural differentiation. Its STEM101 is a human-specific mouse antibody that recognizes the Ku80 protein found in human nuclei. Its STEM121 is a human-specific mouse antibody that recognizes a cytoplasmic protein of human cells. Its STEM123 is a human-specific mouse antibody that recognizes human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).

The Company�� Other products marketed under SC Proven include total cell genomic DNA (gDNA), RNA and protein lysate reagents purified from homogenous stem cell populations for intra-comparative studies, such as Epigenetic fingerprinting, Southern, Western and Northern blots, PCR, RT-PCR and microarrays. This range of purified stem cell line lysates includes mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells propagated in SC Proven 2i inhibitor-based GS2-M media and mouse ES cell-derived and fetal tissue-derived neural stem (NS) cells propagated in SC Proven RHB-A media.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  When an investor thinks of spinal-related stem cell stocks, usually a name like Neuralstem, Inc (NYSEMKT: CUR) or StemCells Inc (NASDAQ: STEM) comes to mind. And well they should. STEM has logged some amazing breakthroughs in the field of spinal cord repair, while CUR has done the same. Not all back problems are spinal cord related though. In fact, most back problems - and therefore the most opportunity - are bone and disc related problems. That's where a young gun like BioRestorative Therapies (OTCBB: BRTX) can step in and make stem cell waves. BRTX has developed an approach to rejuvenate and revive failing spinal discs, potentially ending pain for millions of back-pain sufferers, and circumventing expensive spinal surgeries that are in increasing burden on insurance companies.

Baird Adds to Training, Women’s Programs

To boost the size of its advisor force and its business, Baird is expanding training programs and encouraging client associates, especially women, to become advisors. It’s also tweaking conferences, including those held for its female employees and its female advisors, both of which just wrapped up this week in Milwaukee.

“Client associates attended the Women at Baird event,” which drew about 450 female employees, said Kimberly Thekan, who heads up talent acquisition and integration for the company’s wealth management unit, in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.

Later in the week, about 50 of Baird’s roughly 75 female financial advisors, and three women in its Foundations Program attended Baird’s Women Advisors event. “The Foundations Program aims to help bring people into the business who want to be advisors, and there’s a big focus on diversity and networking,” Thekan explained.

Best Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014

Baird, which has some 715 advisors, started its Foundations Program last year to encourage associates to become advisor trainees or to pursue other careers in wealth management. The company aims to have 10 employees in the program next year. This year it has six, three of whom are women.

Its advisor training program, which includes about 30 trainees per year, targets employees who have five years of sales experience and want to become an advisor.  

Kim Haws Falasco, a Baird branch manager in Akron, Ohio, attended this week’s event, along with her client associate, who will enter the training program in the spring.

“Our practice is a team of five women,” said Haws Falasco, who moved to Baird from Smith Barney in 1997. “We cater to suddenly single women, who are divorced and widowed.”

The advisor said she was glad to hear speeches by Paralympic skier, executive and author Bonnie St. John and participate in discussions about best practices, as well. “It’s good to talk about our businesses, why were are doing what we do, what’s working, what’s not working and what we can do about that,” she said.

Also attending the Women at Baird event was CFO Steve Booth, who will take over the role of CEO and president from Paul Purcell early next year.

“This was the fifth year of the events, which have been held annually to support senior leadership’s focus on doing everything possible to support women and their business growth at Baird,” said Thekan.

The company plans to separate the two female-focused events going forward, hold them in months other than November and explore venues outside Milwaukee.

---

Check out 8 Overlooked Tips to Bond With, and Retain, Clients on ThinkAdvisor.

Biotech News Watch: Bubble Talk, Biotech IPO Setbacks and More (XON & TNIB)

Hot Heal Care Companies To Watch In Right Now

Bubble talk, biotech IPO setbacks plus news about small cap biotechs like Intrexon Corp (NYSE: XON) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) have dominated biotech news this week or in recent weeks. Just consider the following news:

Why There is No Biotech Bubble & Where to Look for Value in Biotech. Marshall Gordon, the Director and senior health-care analyst of ClearBridge Investments, was recently interviewed by Barron's where he stated his belief that there is no biotech bubble because biotech stocks have delivered new drugs and have shown an ability to innovate. With that said, he added that the sector got ahead of itself while some biotechs suffered setbacks plus hedge funds decided to trim risk from their portfolios. Nevertheless, Marshall likes or is watching mid cap biotechs BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc (NASDAQ: BMRN) and Pharmacyclics, Inc (NASDAQ: PCYC) along with small cap biotechs Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: PCRX) and Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: CLVS). He also added that recent biotech IPOs have been lesser quality names than earlier offerings. A Trio of Biotech IPO Setbacks. FierceBiotech has summarized how a trio of biotech IPO have suffered setbacks. Specifically, Relypsa (NASDAQ: RLYP), a late-stage biotech developing a treatment for hyperkalemia, slashed its asking price on 6.9 million shares to $12 a share to raise $82 million from a range of $16 to $19 a share while Xencor (NASDAQ: XNCR), a biotech developing antibodies for severe autoimmune/allergic diseases and cancer, has dropped its IPO price to $7 a share to raise $75 million from a range of $14 to $16. Meanwhile, Celladon, which is developing a first-in-class gene therapy for patients with systolic heart failure, has postponed its IPO citing poor market conditions. Coming Biotech IPOs. Nevertheless, FierceBiotech has noted that GeNO Healthcare (NASDAQ: GNO) is looking to raise $50 million for its new, patient-friendly approach for delivering inhaled nitric oxide on the go plus Dutch biotech uniQure is apparently positioning itself to go public after pioneering the world's first approved gene therapy. David Einhorn Likes Intrexon Corp. Greenlight Capital Inc, a hedge fund managed by billionaire David Einhorn, has added 2,176,868 shares of small cap Intrexon Corporation, a biotech company that issued stock to the public last August. Intrexon Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on collaborating with companies in Health, Food, Energy and the Environment to create biologically based products. It should be mentioned that Intrexon Corporation reported net income of $15.4 million verses a net loss of $20.5 million last week and that the IPO raised approximately $168.3 million. TNI BioTech. Small cap TNI BioTech, which acquires patents, develops treatments, markets and licenses immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS and autoimmune diseases, has been producing a steady stream of news lately. For starters, TNI BioTech recently announced that its subsidiary, TNI BioTech International, Ltd., has a distribution agreement with a Nigerian company called AHAR Pharma to market Lodonal™ in Nigeria for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. TNI BioTech says the deal will generate just over $53,000,000 in gross revenue for the company in 2014 with approximate $21,000,000 in available cash flow to meet TNIB's financial clinical trial commitments plus AHAR Pharma has pre-paid for the API necessary for the soft launch and has committed to purchase a minimum of $1,000,000 worth of capsules between now and January 2014. In addition, TNI BioTech has announced a manufacturing and supply agreement with Laboratorios Ramos for the production of Low Dose Naltrexone ("LDN") and has provided a financing update which noted the receipt of $826,250 as consideration for the exercise of previously-issued warrants and $531,250 for the purchase of common stock under the Private Placement (for an aggregate sum of $1,357,500).

Hunt for Sony’s PlayStation 4 a game in itself

The consumer quest has begun for the current video game holy grail, the PlayStation 4.

Sony's new PS4 home game console officially goes on sale Friday for $399.

Demand for the PS4 and Microsoft's own new home system, the Xbox One (out Nov. 22, $499) is expected to outstrip supply through the holiday season and into 2014, says Norman Fong, CEO and co-founder of BuyVia, which has a smartphone app for tracking retail deals.

Consumers started lining up at retailers in San Francisco on Thursday morning, Fong says, in anticipation of the first systems to be sold after midnight.

Elsewhere, the line at the Game Stop store in West Ocean City, Md., began at 4 a.m. Thursday, when 14-year-old James Stewart brought a folding lawn chair and parked it right beside the entrance.

Top Performing Stocks To Buy Right Now

Stewart, of Ocean Pines, Md., got a ride to the store at the White Marlin Mall from his uncle, Danny Parker, 46. They showed up so early because they expected a much longer line by daybreak, but that never materialized, both said.

14-year-old James Stewart of Ocean Pines, Md., was first in line at his local GameStop in West Ocean City, Md., to get a Sony PlayStation 4 Thursday.(Photo: Brian Shane, The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times)

"Later on tonight it's going to be a lot worse, because that's when all the people who got pre-orders are going to come down here," Stewart said.

Tony Coffield, 21, of Ocean Pines, Md., said he knows the rival XBox One is coming out soon, but he won't be buying it. Besides the fact that the new Xbox retails for $100 more, he thinks PlayStation 4 has superior graphics and gameplay. "The realism is amazing," he s! aid.

A handful of gamers arrived at Best Buy in Green Bay, Wis., when the store opened at 10 a.m. Thursday to get in line for a limited supply of the $399 consoles, a sales associate said.

In Appleton, Wis., a GameStop store roped off a waiting area for the die-hards hoping to get a first play of the new system.

Jason Allen was the first in line shortly after noon Thursday. He joked that the console would be a Christmas gift for his kids, but might have to be opened shortly after midnight, "just to make sure the thing works."

Consumers are eager because the PlayStation 4 is Sony's first new home system in seven years, an eternity in the fast-paced consumer technology world. Sony and Microsoft hope to reinvigorate the console game market with their new higher-powered systems and more immersive and innovative games.

Retailers from Best Buy to Target have sold many of the initial systems to consumers on pre-order. But most stores hope to have a few extras available for the hopeful.

"We have thousands of pre-orders, but we also have PlayStation 4s on hand for people to purchase," says Walmart spokeswoman Sarah McKinney.

While it expects to run out, Walmart will have PS4 and Xbox One systems for Black Friday shoppers. "We're going to be putting them out as fast as we can get them in," she says.

Sony has sold more than 1 million PS4s to retailers already and hopes to sell more than 5 million globally by the end of March. "Getting out of the gate is important," says Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Andrew House.

Competitor Nintendo released its Wii U last November and has had moderate success with that new system. It has sold more than 3 million so far. That's a much slower sales rate than that of its predecessor the Wii. Sony and Microsoft are expected to perform better and to benefit from slow Wii sales, says Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games research for global market analysis firm IHS.

By beating Xbox One to market by a week and bein! g priced ! $100 below the competition, Sony "has got itself into a much stronger position at the launch of the PS4 compared to the PS3," he says.

Still, he expects few Xbox defectors because of Microsoft's successful Xbox Live online gaming network, which is extremely popular in the U.S. "As such in these opening weeks we expect Xbox One to outsell PS4 in North America, with the reverse taking place in Europe," he says.

Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler, The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent; Brian Shane, The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times.

5 Money Moves To Make In September

Top Gold Stocks For 2014

September is a month that marks many endings and many beginnings. Summer ends as the warm weather starts to fade away. Kids are heading back to school to meet new teachers and prepare for a new year. From a financial perspective, September is also a great time for a quick reboot of your financial mind-set.

Here's are some financial moves you should consider this month:

1. Check your free credit report.

You get a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. While you can check all three credit report at once, it is usually a better idea to pull them four months apart. If you decided to do just that, by pulling one in January and one in May, then you should be pulling your last free credit report of the year in September.

2. Review your television needs and cut the bill.

Before the fall TV season kicks off, take a look at some of the shows that are a must-watch while noting the ones that have ended. Why pay for channels that you won't be watching? With the advent of services such as Hulu and Netflix, you might find that the monthly cost of cable TV is not worth it. (You might even use this as leverage to negotiate a lower cable bill.)

3. Take advantage of the ending life cycle of consumer goods.

The end of summer is the point in the year when companies are looking to clear out this year's items before ramping up production for next year's inventory. Rebates, discounts and other incentives may be in store for major purchases such as cars and appliances. If you don't mind using an older model of a consumer good, then look out for the opportunities to buy some things on cheap.

4. Quarterly taxes are due.

If you are self-employed, a freelancer or a small-business owner, remember that your estimated quarterly tax payments are due. The deadline is Sept. 16 -- many of you should have marked it on the calendar!

5. Holidays are expensive, so start saving.

Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. Whether its travel or gifts, you're likely to be spending money for these occasions. Start thinking about any holiday plans and how much you expect them to cost. Getting your costume, booking flights and buying presents are some of the major tasks that you need to start thinking about to avoid the holiday rush. (And, don't forget about the shopping frenzy of Black Friday.)

5 Best Undervalued Stocks For 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- CHANGE IN RATINGS

First Majestic Silver (AG) was upgraded to hold at TheStreet Ratings.

Bank of America (BAC) was initiated with a buy rating at Societe Generale. $17 price target. Company is cutting costs and has a positive outlook for revenue growth, Societe Generale said.

Bruker (BRKR) was downgraded at Wells Fargo to market perform. Valuation call, as the company lacks near-term catalysts, Wells Fargo said. CF Industries (CF) was upgraded at Citigroup to buy from neutral and given a $240 price target. Less downside in nitrogen market is expected, Citi said. Clorox (CLX) was downgraded at Credit Suisse to underperform from neutral. $78 price target. Company will struggle to meet 2014 targets, Credit Suisse said. JP Morgan Chase (JPM) was initiated with a hold rating at Societe Generale. $56 price target. Rising litigation and regulatory scrutiny could keep a lid on the stock, Societe Generale said. [Read: 4 Tech Stocks Under $10 Triggering Breakout Trades] National Penn (NPBC) was upgraded at Sterne Agee to neutral from underperform. Company has excess capital and can grow through deals, Sterne Agee said. Nokia (NOK) was upgraded to hold at TheStreet Ratings. Pacwest Bancorp (PACW) was upgraded at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to outperform. $40 price target. CSE deal should add to earnings, KBW said. Pier 1 (PIR) was upgraded at Credit Suisse to outperform from neutral. $25 price target. Company can correct its marketing errors and continue a successful business turnaround, Credit Suisse said. Solarwinds (SWI) was downgraded at Goldman Sachs to sell from neutral. $35 price target. Stock is not pricing in a slower macro environment and potential secular challenges, Goldman said. [Read: Pep Boys Still Needs a Tune-Up] Synaptics (SYNA) was upgraded at Oppenheimer to outperform from perform. $55 price target. Company is expanding presence in China and gaining market share, Oppenheimer said. Urban Outfitters (URBN) was upgraded to buy at Canaccord Genuity. $48 price target. Company's growth prospects appear undervalued, Canaccord Genuity said. STOCK COMMENTS / EPS CHANGES Ares Capital (ARCC) estimates were reduced at UBS. Earnings estimates were reduced to reflect earnings and the recent capital raise, said UBS. Price target is $19. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) numbers were raised at UBS. Earnings estimates were raised given tailwinds from the housing market, said UBS. Price target goes to $80.

5 Best Undervalued Stocks For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  It took a lot longer than many pundits predicted, but we finally hit that ballyhooed mark: Dow 15,000. The blue-chip index briefly tipped over the 15,000-point mark during today's triple-digit surge. As of 2:15 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) has pulled in gains of 150 points, or 1%, to sit just below its earlier highs. Stocks are on a roll today, and investors are patting themselves on the back -- particularly investors in Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) , which has soared today. Here are the top stories you need to know on this record-setting day.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  While the U.S. economy is sitting pretty as China slows, things aren't so black-and-white for American companies. Leading manufacturers such as Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) have seen China as a major opportunity for growth in future years on the back of the country's previous growth. While the U.S. rebound and housing recovery should help Caterpillar, a major Chinese infrastructure investment would have propelled this company -- and the industrial sector as a whole -- back up the charts. That obviously won't happen if China's economy keeps falling and its manufacturing sector continues to be mired in contraction territory.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings report tomorrow, and investors are bracing for a substantial drop in net income. Yet for all of Caterpillar's woes, the long-term question is whether the pullback is part of a normal cyclical decline or the result of longer-term macroeconomic trends toward slowing growth in formerly red-hot areas of the world.

5 Best Undervalued Stocks For 2014: Tupperware Corporation(TUP)

Tupperware Brands Corporation operates as a direct seller of various products across a range of brands and categories through an independent sales force. The company engages in the manufacture and sale of kitchen and home products, and beauty and personal care products. It offers preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home, as well as kitchen cookware and tools, children?s educational toys, microwave products, and gifts under the Tupperware brand name primarily in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company provides beauty and personal care products, which include skin care products, cosmetics, bath and body care, toiletries, fragrances, nutritional products, apparel, and related products principally in Mexico, South Africa, the Philippines, Australia, and Uruguay. It offers beauty and personal care products under the Armand Dupree, Avroy Shlain, BeautiControl, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics, Nuvo, and Swissgar de brand names. The company sells its Tupperware products directly to distributors, directors, managers, and dealers; and beauty products primarily through consultants and directors. As of December 26, 2009, the Tupperware distribution system had approximately 1,800 distributors, 61,300 managers, and 1.3 million dealers; and the sales force representing the Beauty businesses approximately 1.1 million. The company was formerly known as Tupperware Corporation and changed its name to Tupperware Brands Corporation in December 2005. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arie Goren]

  After running this screen on May 21, 2013, before the markets' open, I discovered the following eight stocks: Sunoco Logistics Partners LP (SXL), Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG), Copa Holdings SA (CPA), RPC Inc. (RES), Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP), Herbalife Ltd. (HLF), John Wiley & Sons Inc. (JW.A) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW).

Top Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates discount variety stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores offer merchandise primarily at the fixed price of $1.00. The company operates its stores under the names of Dollar Tree, Deal$, Dollar Tree Deal$, Dollar Giant, and Dollar Bills. Its stores offer consumable merchandise, including candy and food, and health and beauty care, as well as household consumables, such as paper, plastics, household chemicals, in select stores, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise, which includes toys, durable housewares, gifts, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, and other items; and seasonal goods, such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas merchandise. As of April 30, 2011, it operated 4,089 stores in 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 88 stores in Canada. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Deutsche Bank is making a change in its coverage of dollar store themes on Monday: Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Buy from Hold and Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO)�was downgraded to Hold from Buy, but the price target was raised to $74 from $70.

• [By Mani]

  Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) is one of the companies that are set to exploit the ongoing trend of consumers' increasing focus on value with significant opportunity to grow its store base, and expand margins.

• [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]

  Costly market share gains
  The problem is that Family Dollar has had to pay up for its increasing market share and sales levels. The company's gross profit margin fell by more than a full percentage point, to 34.7% last quarter. In contrast, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) booked an expansion of profits, to 35.2%, continuing a trend that's seen it pull away from Family Dollar.

5 Best Undervalued Stocks For 2014: Schlumberger N.V.(SLB)

Schlumberger Limited, together with its subsidiaries, supplies technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to the oil and gas exploration and production industries worldwide. The company?s Oilfield Services segment provides exploration and production services; wireline technology that offers open-hole and cased-hole services; supplies engineering support, directional-drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services; and testing services. This segment also offers well services; supplies well completion services and equipment; artificial lift; data and consulting services; geo services; and information solutions, such as consulting, software, information management system, and IT infrastructure services that support oil and gas industry. Its WesternGeco segment provides reservoir imaging, monitoring, and development services; and operates data processing centers and multiclient seismic library. This segment also offers variou s services include 3D and time-lapse (4D) seismic surveys to multi-component surveys for delineating prospects and reservoir management. The company?s M-I SWACO segment supplies drilling fluid systems to improve drilling performance; fluid systems and specialty tools to optimize wellbore productivity; production technology solutions to maximize production rates; and environmental solutions that manages waste volumes generated in drilling and production operations. Its Smith Oilfield segment designs, manufactures, and markets drill bits and borehole enlargement tools; and supplies drilling tools and services, tubular, completion services, and other related downhole solutions. The company?s Distribution segment markets pipes, valves, and fittings, as well as mill, safety, and other maintenance products. This segment also provides warehouse management, vendor integration, and inventory management services. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1927 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  Even though the country has so much oil, it has struggled to keep up production growth and has asked for outside help. This week, Venezuela has signed financing deals with Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) , Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , and Russia's Rosneft that will total $5.6 to expand production. The country hopes to increase production from 3 to 5 million barrels per day by 2015.

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Opportunities for oilfield services firms
  Not surprisingly, Halliburton and other major energy companies view Chinese shale gas development as a significant opportunity for future growth. Many of them, including Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI  ) , ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) , and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB  ) , have already developed strategic relationships with Chinese firms to better evaluate the nation's shale gas potential.

4 Mortgage Stocks to Buy Now

Popular Posts: 6 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now5 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy Now9 Biotechnology Stocks to Sell Now Recent Posts: 3 Aerospace and Defense Stocks to Buy Now 4 Mortgage Stocks to Buy Now 5 Diversified Utilities Stocks to Buy Now View All Posts

This week, four Mortgage stocks are improving their overall rating on Portfolio Grader. Each of these rates an “A” (“strong buy”) or “B” overall (“buy”).

This week, New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:) is showing significant improvement as the company’s rating hops from a C (“hold”) to a B (“buy”). New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares is a holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, which is a provider of banking and other financial services in New Hampshire and Vermont. .

The rating of Radian Group (NYSE:) moves up this week, rising from a C to a B. Radian Group operates as a credit enhancement company in the United States. .

Home Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:) gets a higher grade this week, advancing from a C last week to a B. Home Bancorp is a federally chartered mutual savings bank. .

This week, WSFS Financial Corporation’s (NASDAQ:) ratings are up from a C last week to a B. WSFS Financial is a savings and loan holding company, which provides residential and commercial real estate, commercial and consumer lending services, as well as retail deposit and cash management services. Shares of WSFS have increased 10.8% over the past month, better than the 1.3% decrease the Nasdaq has seen over the same period of time. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

Breaking Down The Balance Of Trade

Top 5 Stocks To Buy Right Now

The balance of trade is the difference between a nation's exports and its imports. A crucial point to note is that both goods and services are counted for exports and imports, as a result of which a nation has a balance of trade for goods (also known as the "merchandise trade balance") and a balance of trade for services. The net or overall figure forms the balance of trade or "trade balance," a major contributor to a country's economic well-being. A nation has a trade surplus if its exports are greater than its imports; if imports are greater than exports, the nation has a trade deficit.

Trade Data – Census Basis and BOP Basis
While data on a nation's exports and imports of physical goods can be collated from customs documents such as export declarations and import manifests, this is not possible for trade in intangible services. The latter is therefore compiled based on the flow of funds, the foundation on which balance of payments (BOP) trade statistics are based. Therefore, data on merchandise trade is available based on both custom-based trade statistics and BOP, while data on services is only available on a BOP basis.

For example, in the U.S., statistics on exports and imports are compiled by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and released in a monthly report. The BEA collates information on exports from exporters' electronic export information (EEI) that have been submitted to the U.S. Automated Export System (AES). Exporters submit this export information to the U.S. Census and also to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Similarly, import data is compiled from documents collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection pertaining to goods that have arrived in the U.S. from foreign countries. The BEA adjusts the goods total on a census basis to bring the data in line with the concepts used to prepare national and international accounts. The BOP-basis data derived in this manner enables goods trade numbers to be summed with services trade figures to arrive at a more accurate picture of overall U.S. trade, goods and services.

Distinguishing Between a Service Export and Import
Statistics for trade in services are derived from the BEA's estimates of service transactions between foreign countries and the U.S., based on periodic surveys and partial information from monthly reports. The BEA provides export and import data on services in a number of categories – travel, passenger fares, royalties and license fees, transfers under U.S. military sales contracts (only for exports), and direct defense expenditures (only for imports).

While the distinction between an export and import of a physical good is readily apparent, it is not as clear for a service. Here, the flow of funds determines whether a service transaction qualifies as an export or an import, depending on whether it is a debit transaction that results in a payment or outflow of funds, or a credit transaction that results in a receipt or inflow of funds.

So, for instance, fares received by U.S. carriers from foreign residents for travel between the U.S. and foreign countries, or between two points overseas, would show up on the export side of the trade balance for services. Likewise, fares paid by U.S. residents to foreign carriers would show up on the import side of the trade balance for services.

Breaking Down the Balance of Trade Numbers
Consider the U.S. trade balance figures for June 2013. The U.S. reported a trade deficit of $34.2 billion, the smallest deficit since October 2009 and well below the $45 billion deficit expected on average by economists.

Here's how the numbers stacked up for that month:
The merchandise trade (balance of trade for goods) deficit was $53.16 billion, as exports of $134.26 billion were exceeded by imports of $187.42 billion. These figures are BOP-based. The numbers on a census basis are slightly different, with exports of $133.31 billion and imports of $185.10 billion, for a trade deficit of $51.79 billion. The balance of trade for services was a surplus of $18.94 billion (exports of $56.91 billion less imports of $37.97 billion). The overall balance of trade was therefore -$53.16 billion + $18.94 billion = -$34.22 billion. Total exports of goods and services (BOP-based) amounted to $191.17 billion ($134.26 + $56.91), while total imports were $225.39 billion ($187.42 + $37.97). Subtracting total exports of goods and services from total imports gives the same trade deficit number of $34.22 billion. Capital goods ($46.22 billion) and industrial supplies ($42.32 billion) were the biggest export categories for goods in the month. On the goods import side, industrial supplies and materials ($54.6 billion, of which petroleum accounted for $22 billion) and capital goods ($45.58 billion) were the biggest categories. In services, the biggest categories among exports were "other private services" ($25.87 billion) and travel ($11.27 billion). The former category includes financial services, insurance services, business and professional services, and so on. Among service imports, these two categories were the biggest as well (other private services totaled $17.26 billion and travel $7.15 billion). Factors That Affect Trade Balance
Numerous factors affect a country's trade balance. These include:
Trade policies: Nations that are insular and have restrictive trade policies such as high import tariffs and duties may have larger trade deficits than countries that have open trade policies, since they may be shut out of export markets because of these impediments to free trade. Exchange rates: A domestic currency that has appreciated significantly may pose a challenge to the cost-competitiveness of exporters, who may find themselves priced out of export markets. This may pressure a nation's trade balance. Foreign currency reserves: To compete effectively in extremely competitive international markets, a nation has to have access to imported machinery that enhances productivity, which may be difficult if forex reserves are inadequate. Inflation: If inflation is running rampant in a country, the price to produce a unit of a product may be higher than the price in a lower-inflation country. This would affect exports, affecting the trade balance. Use Trade Balance As An Economic Indicator
The utility of trade balance data as an economic indicator depends on the nation. The biggest impact is generally seen in nations with limited foreign exchange reserves, where the release of trade data can trigger large swings in their currencies.

The trade data is usually the largest component of the current account, which is closely monitored by investors and market professionals for indications of the economy's health. The current account deficit as a percentage of GDP, in particular, is tracked for signs that the deficit is becoming unmanageable and could be a precursor to a devaluation of the currency.

However, a temporary trade deficit may be viewed as a necessary evil, since it may suggest that the economy is growing strongly and needs imports to maintain the growth momentum.

Trade data is also parsed to see which trading partners are contributing to the overall surplus or deficit. In June 2013, for example, the U.S. had a trade deficit of $26.6 billion with China, bringing its year-to-date deficit with the Asian giant to $147.7 billion. In contrast, the trade deficit with Canada – the biggest trade partner of the U.S., accounting for 16.8% of total trade in the first half of 2013 – was only $1.6 billion, for a YTD deficit of $15.5 billion. China's enormous trade surplus with the U.S. may lead to renewed calls for the nation to revalue its yuan, which critics opine is being held artificially low to stimulate exports.

U.S. trade data occasionally affects the greenback, which in turn has an impact on commodity prices because of the negative correlation between the two (stronger dollar causes weaker commodity prices and vice versa). These moves often result in volatility in Canada's TSX Composite index, which has a heavy weighting in commodities.

In general, market watchers appear more concerned with trade deficits than trade surpluses. This may be because chronic deficits often trigger a steep currency devaluation, leading to severe repercussions for the local economy as the higher interest rates that are used to prop up the currency take their toll. In summer of 2013, the currencies of India and Indonesia slumped 14% in just over two months as investors focused on nations with large trade and current account deficits. While India's foreign currency reserves grew in leaps and bounds after the economic reforms of the 1990s, rising gold imports in 2013 led to widening trade deficits, causing the Indian government to take measures to restrict gold imports.

The Bottom Line
The balance of trade is a key indicator of a nation's health. Trade balance data is available on a census / customs basis and BOP-basis for goods, and only on a BOP-basis for services. In general, investors and market professionals appear more concerned with trade deficits than trade surpluses, since chronic deficits may be a precursor to a currency devaluation.