At the�Berkshire Hathaway� (NYSE: BRK-A ) (NYSE: BRK-B ) , a shareholder asked Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger which 10 books they've read that have influenced them the most that�weren't�written by Ben Graham or Phil Fisher. Buffett, being the maverick that he is, had to buck the rules and pointed out just how much Graham's�The Intelligent Investor�meant to him as an investor, saying:
The Intelligent Investor�changed my life.
That's a strong sales pitch. Buffett continued:
Graham's book gave me a bedrock philosophy on investing that made sense... he taught me how to think about a stock and how to think about a stock market.
To be sure, the quality of Graham's classic probably can't be trumpeted enough. But it's also a bit ho-hum for most avid Berkshire shareholders and Buffett fans. Buffett's love of that particular book is very well known.
Top Up And Coming Stocks To Own For 2015: Universal American Corp (UAM)
Universal American Corp., incorporated on December 22, 2010, through its health insurance and managed care subsidiaries, primarily serves the growing Medicare population by providing Medicare Advantage products. It provides a variety of healthcare services, including case management and care coordination, clinical quality and utilization review and behavioral health services to Medicaid agencies and other third parties. The Company�� business segments include Senior Managed Care, which provides Medicare Advantage segment reflects its Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO and PFFS businesses, and Traditional Insurance segment reflects its insurance products not offered through government programs, which includes Medicare supplement, other senior health insurance, specialty health insurance and life insurance. The Company provides medical management services, information and analysis, and other support services to enable its health care partners to serve their patients better.
In addition , it seeks an opportunity to address the high cost of health care for the remaining 75% of the Medicare population enrolled in traditional fee-for-service Medicare and have joined primarily with primary-care and multi-specialty provider groups to form thirty-one Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, pursuant to the Medicare Shared Saving Program, or Shared Savings Program.
On March 2, 2012, the Company acquired APS Healthcare, Inc., known as APS Healthcare. APS Healthcare provides specialty healthcare solutions primarily to Medicaid agencies. APS Healthcare offers a broad range of healthcare solutions, including case management and care coordination, clinical quality and utilization review, and behavioral health services that enable its customers to improve the quality of care and reduce healthcare costs.
Senior Managed Care - Medicare Advantage
The Company�� Senior Managed CareMedicare Advantage segment reflects its Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO and PFFS bu! sinesses.. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company operated Medicare coordinated care plans including PPOs and HMOs as well as its network-based private fee-for-service (PFFS) and rural PFFS business, which provides coverage to Medicare beneficiaries in 36 states. These businesses provide managed care for persons with Medicare under contracts with CMS. Its HMO plans are offered under contracts with CMS and provide all basic Medicare covered benefits with reduced member cost-sharing as well as additional supplemental benefits, including a defined prescription drug benefit. It operates HMO plans are offered under contracts with CMS and provide all basic Medicare covered benefits with reduced member cost-sharing as well as additional supplemental benefits, including a defined prescription drug benefit. It also has Medicare Advantage HMO operations in locations outside of Southeastern Texas including four counties in North Texas offering TexasFirst Health Plans through SelectCare Health Plans; nine counties in Oklahoma City offering Generations Healthcare through Today's Options of Oklahoma, Inc; and three counties in Indianapolis, Indiana offering Today's Options HMO through SelectCare Health Plans.
The Company�� PPO plans are provided under the name Today's Options PPO, which offered under contracts with CMS and provide all basic Medicare covered benefits with reduced member cost-sharing as well as additional supplemental benefits, including a defined prescription drug benefit. This coordinated care product is built around contracted networks of providers who, in cooperation with the health plan, coordinate an active medical management program. In 2012, the Company offered PPO plans to 41 markets in 120 counties in 17 states.
The Company�� PFFS plans are provided under the name Today's Options, which offered under contracts with CMS and provide enhanced health care benefits compared to traditional Medicare, subject to cost sharing and other limitations. These pl! ans have l! imited provider network restrictions, which allow the members to have more flexibility in the delivery of their health care services than other Medicare Advantage plans with limited provider network restrictions. Some of these products include a defined prescription drug benefit. In addition to a fixed monthly payment per member from CMS, individuals in these plans may be required to pay a monthly premium in selected counties or for selected enhanced products. In 2012, it offered PFFS products in a total of 36 states, which included PFFS products with network restrictions to 51 markets in 280 counties in 18 states and PFFS products without network restrictions to 1,052 counties in 32 states.
Traditional Insurance
The Company�� traditional insurance segment reflects the results of its Medicare supplement, other senior health insurance, specialty health insurance, and life insurance. It designed the products in this segment primarily for the senior market and market them through its career agency force and its network of independent general agencies. The Company discontinued marketing and selling traditional insurance products after June 1, 2012. This segment also includes other products that it stopped selling several years ago, such as long-term care, medical insurance and disability insurance, as well as previously produced or acquired term, universal life, and whole life insurance products and single and flexible premium fixed annuities.
The Company competes with United Healthcare, Humana, Wellpoint, Aetna and Cigna
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Orelli]
Health insurers such as Universal American (NYSE: UAM ) and Humana (NYSE: HUM ) that offer supplementary Medicare insurance could be hurt if seniors decided to drop the added coverage, but I doubt the increased premiums will put a major dent in seniors' budgets. Retirees making more than $85,000 per year will have to pay about $250 more per year than they do right now. Any losses will be more than be made up for by the�Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' decision this month to reverse its �previously announced cuts to reimbursement rates.
Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: Outerwall Inc (OUTR)
Outerwall Inc, formerly Coinstar, Inc., incorporated on October 12, 1993, is a provider of automated retail solutions, which offers convenient products and services. the Company's offerings in automated retail include its Redbox business, where consumers can rent or purchase movies and video games from self-service kiosks (Redbox segment), and its Coin business, where consumers can convert their coin to cash or stored value products at self-service coin counting kiosks (Coin segment). Its New Ventures business (New Ventures segment) is focused on identifying, evaluating, building, and developing self-service concepts in the marketplace. On June 9, 2011, the Company completed the sale transaction of the Money Transfer Business to Sigue Corporation (Sigue). In June 2012, the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary, Redbox Automated Retail, LLC, acquired certain assets of NCR Corp's self-service entertainment DVD kiosk business. In October 2013, Jana Partners LLC acquired a 13.5% stake in Outerwall Inc.
Redbox
Within the Company�� Redbox segment, it operates 35,400 Redbox kiosks, in 29,300 locations, where consumers can rent or purchase movies and video games. Its Redbox kiosks are available in every state, as well as Puerto Rico and are installed at grocery stores, mass retailers, drug stores, restaurants and convenience stores, including Walgreens, Walmart and McDonalds. Its Redbox kiosks supply the functionality of a traditional video rental store, which occupy an area of less than 10 square feet. Consumers use a touch screen to select their titles, swipe a valid credit or debit card, and receive their movie or video game. The daily rental fee at a Redbox kiosk is a flat fee plus tax for one daily rental and, if the consumer chooses to keep the movie or video game for additional days, the consumer is charged for each additional day at the same daily rental fee. Its consumers can rent a movie or video game from one location and return their rental to any of its Redbox locations.! In addition, its consumers may reserve a movie or video game online or through a smart phone application and pick it up at the selected Redbox location.
The Company generates revenue through fees charged to rent or purchase a movie or video game, and it pays retailers a percentage of its revenue. Its content library consists of movies and video games available for rent or purchase. It obtains its movie and video game content through revenue sharing agreements and license agreements with studios and game publishers, as well as through distributors and other suppliers.
Coin
As of December 31, 2011, within the Company�� Coin segment, it owned and operated approximately 20,200 coin-counting kiosks (approximately 17,200, of which offer a range of stored value products to consumers) in 19,900 locations, where consumers feed loose change into the kiosks, which count the change and then dispense vouchers or, in some cases, issue stored value products, at the consumer�� election. Its Coin kiosks are available across the United States, where they provide service to retailers, such as Kroger and Walmart, and in Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland and the United Kingdom. It generates revenue through transaction fees from its consumers and product partners. Each voucher lists the dollar value of coins counted, less its transaction fee. When consumers elect to have a stored value product issued, the transaction fee normally charged to the consumer is charged instead to the card issuers for the coin-counting services.
New Ventures
Within the Company�� New Ventures segment, it identifies, evaluates, builds and develops self-service concepts in the automated retail space. Its New Ventures segment consists of its coffee, refurbished electronics and photo self-service concepts. It generates revenue through fees charged for products and services offered to consumers in select test markets where it is testing business concepts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Austin Smith]
The Motley Fool is on the road in Seattle!�Recently we visited Coinstar -- now officially renamed�Outerwall (NASDAQ: OUTR ) -- to speak with CFO-turned-CEO Scott Di Valerio about the 22-year-old company's well-known coin-cashing machines, as well as its more recent acquisition of Redbox, and future initiatives to expand into other aspects of the automated retail market.
Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: RRSat Global Communications Network Ltd.(RRST)
RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd. provides content management and distribution services to television and radio broadcasting industries. The company, through its proprietary ?RRsat Global Network? comprising satellite and terrestrial fiber optic transmission capacity and the public Internet, offers distribution services for content providers. Its content distribution services consist of worldwide transmission of video and audio broadcasts. The company also offers content management services, including digital archiving and compilation of customer?s programming and advertising content into various broadcast channels. In addition, RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd. provides various production services on a contractual basis and satellite newsgathering services through its fleet of vans for outside broadcasting and electronic news gathering crews and packages. Further, it offers live broadcast studios and editing facilities to its customers. The company?s RRs at Global Network delivers content to various end markets, including cable operators, satellite operators, Internet protocol television operators, direct to home market, and public Internet. Additionally, RRSat Global Communications Network provides mobile satellite telecommunications services, such as global telephony, fax, data, Internet, and other value added services for shipping, aviation, construction, and oil companies; humanitarian aid organizations; governmental agencies; and other end customers that require telephony and Internet services in remote areas. As of December 31, 2009, it provided services to approximately 545 television and radio channels in approximately 150 countries. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in D.N. Shikmim, Israel.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Thursday, telecommunications services shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.83 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Internet Initiative Japan (NASDAQ: IIJI), with shares up 9.5 percent, and RRSat Global Communications Network (NASDAQ: RRST), with shares up 4.9 percent. - [By Garrett Cook]
Telecommunications services shares fell by 0.74 percent in Wednesday’s trading. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included RRSat Global Communications Network (NASDAQ: RRST), down 5.9 percent, and China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), off 4.6 percent.
Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: Rock Energy Inc (RENFF.PK)
Rock Energy Inc. (Rock) is an energy company engaged in the exploration for and development and production of crude oil and natural gas in Western Canada. Rock owns 35,915 (35,881 net) acres of land in the Plains area of east central Alberta and west central Saskatchewan. Rock owns 6,280 (5,960 net) acres of land in the Onward area of south west Saskatchewan, which consists primarily of two Lloydminster heavy oil pools. As of December 31, 2011, the Mantario area consisted of 4,480 (4,480 net) acres of land. Its Bigstone area, which is within the Greater Kaybob region includes Rock�� Saxon, Tony Creek and Waskahigan properties. As of December 31, 2011, Rock owned 101,278 (58,992 net) acres of land in the Elmworth area of Alberta, with two dimensions (2D) and three dimensions (3D) seismic coverage. The property included 38 (12.77 net) producing natural gas wells. During the first quarter of 2012, Rock acquired an additional 5,748 (5,748 net) acres of land. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Value Digger]
Same thing happened with Rock Energy (RENFF.PK), when I recommended it at $1 about three months ago. My article is here.
Rock Energy is at $1.3 today, and its annual report confirmed my bullish call. I have been alone in that bullish call once again.
Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited(CLWT)
Euro Tech Holdings Company Limited, through its subsidiaries and associated companies, engages in marketing and trading air, water, and waste water related process control, analytical, and testing instruments, as well as disinfection equipment and related automation systems. The company distributes a range of advanced air and water pollution control equipment, chlorination equipment, laboratory instruments, analyzers, test kits, and related supplies; and power generation related equipment, including recorders and power quality analyzers. It also manufactures air and water analytical instruments and testing equipment, as well as undertakes air, water, and waste-water treatment engineering projects. Euro Tech primarily sells its products through its retail shops and representative offices, as well as through independent sub-distributors to commercial customers, governmental agencies, or instrumentalities in Hong Kong and the People?s Republic of China. The company was found ed in 1971 and is headquartered in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By James E. Brumley]
If you're like most investors, you've probably never heard of Euro Tech Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ:CLWT). I have a confession to make - until a few days ago, I hadn't heard of it either. Yet, in just the few short days I've had to get to know CLWT, I've come to the conclusion that if you're the kind of person who would be just as comfortable taking an extra $1000 to the casino as you would be in putting that money into a brokerage account and putting into a crazy stock, then Euro Tech Holdings may be worth a shot to you.
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