3-Year Review: Best & Worst ETFs Across The Globe

10 Best Performing Stocks To Watch Right Now

In recent years, bullish momentum has been an undeniable force on Wall Street. Across the globe, however, this has not necessarily been the case. With funds flowing out of emerging market equities, and the euro debt crisis weighing heavily on several developed economies, certain corners of the world have not fared as well. Despite this, investors have still managed to capture lucrative returns from the foreign equities space . 

Below, we highlight a handful of ETFs across each region that have performed well over the past three years, as well as those that have struggled to keep up with the equity market's quick pace (note that inverse and leveraged ETFs are excluded from this list – data as of 08/06/13):

Africa & Middle East: Gulf States Catch Fire; Egypt and Israel Stocks StruggleFrom the Africa and Middle East equity markets, the funds targeting countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have performed well over the trailing three-year period, with MES and GULF both gaining nearly 40%. Equities from Egypt and Israel (EGPT and EIS), however, struggled to gain ground.

Broad & Developed Asia-Pacific: Financials, Real Estate, and Currency-Hedged ETFs Deliver; Australian Small Caps SlipIn the broad and developed Asia-Pacific space, the financials sector came out on top, rising more than 37% over the last three years. Wisdom Tree's Japan Hedged Equity Fund and the Asian real estate ETF  also posted stellar returns. The small cap Australia fund , however, slipped nearly 12% .

Emerging Asia Pacific: Thailand and Malaysia Outperform; India and China Fall BehindOut of emerging Asia, equities from Thailand and Malaysia  delivered stellar returns. Considering the significant economic slowdowns seen in China and India, however, it is not surprising to see funds like SCIN and CHIM come in at the bottom of ! the barrel.

Europe: Ireland And Switzerland Post Stellar Returns; Italy, Russia, and Spain Suffer LossesThough several years ago Ireland's financial state seemed rather dire, equities from the country have since  managed to post stellar returns. The Switzerland and Europe Small Cap Dividend Funds  also came out on top among European ETFs. Not surprisingly, however, the Italy , Russia , and Spain funds struggled to stay out of the red .

Latin America: Mexico ETF Delivers; Brazil Equities TankAcross the board, Latin American equities have struggled to gain ground over the past three years. The Mexico ETF , however, managed to post an over 35% return, while the majority of Brazil-focused funds logged in double digit losses.

North America: Biotechs and Pharma Skyrocket; Volatility and Mining ETFs TumbleOut of the over 650 North America-targeted ETFs, biotechnology funds have delivered stellar returns over the trailing three-year period; Van Eck's Market Vectors Biotech ETF has gained an incredible 152%. Volatility and mining ETFs, however, took a steep tumble .

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Disclosure: No positions at time of writing.

Why Calix Shares Plunged

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Calix (NYSE: CALX  ) dropped more than 30% during intraday trading Wednesday after the communications equipment supplier reported mixed third-quarter results and weak forward guidance.

So what: Quarterly revenue increased 27%, to a record $103.6 million, which translated to adjusted net income of $10.2 million, or $0.20 per share. Analysts, on average, were expecting lower adjusted earnings of $0.14 per share on higher sales of $104.35 million.

What's more, Calix stated that while spending from its tier 2 and tier 3 customers has been strong so far this year, those customers have indicated spending will slow down in the fourth quarter. As a result, management expects Q4 revenue to fall sequentially to a range of $97 million to $103 million, which will result in adjusted earnings per share in the range of $0.03 to $0.08.

By contrast, analysts were calling for fourth-quarter sales of $115.52 million, with earnings of $0.20 per share on the same basis.

Now what: No matter how you slice it, that's a big discrepancy from what investors were hoping for, and doesn't bode well for Calix stock over the short term. Even so, you've got to applaud management for being prudent in its guidance and, next year, Calix should still remain nicely positioned to benefit from the broader rollout of gigabit-speed services.

While I wouldn't be surprised if the stock has more downside over the next few months -- even with shares currently trading at a reasonable 13 times next year's estimated earnings -- I think investors would do well to at least add Calix to their watchlists.

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Xylem Gains as Profits Flow Like Water

Xylem (XYL) makes products for water collection and distribution. Xymox was a goth band from the Netherlands. What do they have in common, besides an X and a y at the beginning of their names? They demonstrate that anyone can be underestimated.

Jeff Thomas

For Xymox, that came when their song “Imagination” off their third album hit the Billboard Hot 100. For Xylem, it might just be today, as its shares have jumped 13% to $32.45 following its surprisingly good earnings. Bloomberg has the details:

Xylem's third-quarter earnings per share of 49 cents, excluding some items, topped the 35-cent estimate…Xylem raised its 2013 adjusted earnings per share forecast to $1.60 to $1.65 from $1.40 to $1.50. Analysts projected $1.37 on average.

Wedbush’s David Rose calls noted Xylem’s “impressive margin recovery.” He writes:

Operating margins before charges were 13.5% vs. 12.9% in the year-ago period and 380 bps above our estimate. Following a disappointing Q2 with substantially lowered guidance, XYL managed to see an impressive reversal in margin trends for its Water Infrastructure business, which experienced 15.5% adjusted operating margins versus our estimate for 11.8%. Margins for Applied Water were down YOY and below our estimate. Adjusted operating margins exclude special charges and realignment costs.

Xylem’s big day has also boosted other water-infrastructure stocks. Flowserve (FLS) has gained 1.2% to $70.59, Idex Corp. (IEX) has risen 0.5% to $68.69 and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) has advanced 0.4% t0 $98.22.

What Will Shield Do For Nvidia?

With shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) trading at around $14.56, is NVDA an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock's Movement

Nvidia has developed its own mobile gaming device called Shield. It will be released at the end of June, and it will cost $349. Many people following the story have complained about the price, but it's always better to test the market on the high side. Prices can easily be lowered, but they can’t be raised. If Nvidia were to set a price of $349 and it turned out that people would have paid $349, then Nvidia would have left a lot of money on the table. If Shield isn't selling well at $349, then the price can simply be lowered to attract more gamers.

There hasn't been a great deal of interest in the preorder, but that has to do with a lack of marketing more than anything else. Nvidia plans to greatly increase its marketing efforts for Shield later this month. That said, the company is still taking a slow and steady approach. For instance, Nvida won't test the international market until there is success in the United States. This decision shows a lot of poise, which relates to the quality leadership that has been shown by CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. According to Glassdoor.com, 90 percent of employees approve of their leader, which is an excellent sign.

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Shield will be the only portable gaming device on the Android operating system. It will also be able to stream games from a PC to a television without any loss of quality. Other features include a 5-inch flip-out display (720p/294ppi), an excellent battery life, high-end graphics, and the ability to play PC games, Steam games, Android games and TegraZone games.

Shield comes with: a Silver Lid, an AC Adapter, a USB Cable, and 2 Full Games. The two games are Expendable: Rearmed and Sonic 4 Episode II THD. A separate carrying case can be purchased for $39.99, and a custom lid can be purchased for $19.99.

What's inside Shield? A Tegra 4 quad-core processor and a 72-core GeForce GPU.

The chart below compares basic fundamentals for Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD), and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).

	NVDA	AMD	INTC
Trailing P/E	15.67	N/A	12.89
Forward P/E	17.79	133.50	12.77
Profit Margin	13.46%	-15.01%	19.45%
ROE	12.73%	-100.75%	21.06%
Operating Cash Flow	1.01B	-600.00M	20.20B
Dividend Yield	2.10%	N/A	3.70%
Short Position	6.20%	15.20%	4.50%

Let's take a look at some more important numbers prior to forming an opinion on this stock.

T = Technicals Are Strong

Nvidia might not be the top performer in the market over the past three years, but the returns have been steady. Also keep in mind the 2.10 percent yield.

	1 Month	Year-To-Date	1 Year	3 Year
NVDA	5.58%	20.18%	23.78%	16.76%
AMD	11.39%	67.08%	-30.02%	-53.86%
INTC	7.30%	27.21%	6.34%	30.32%

At $14.56, Nvidia is trading above its averages.

50-Day SMA	13.90
200-Day SMA	12.78

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E = Equity to Debt Ratio Is Strong

The debt-to-equity ratio for Nvidia is stronger than the industry average of 0.30. Debt management has been superb.

	Debt-To-Equity	Cash	Long-Term Debt
NVDA	0.00	3.71B	18.33M
AMD	4.93	1.00B	2.04B
INTC	0.26	17.16B	13.35B

E = Earnings Have Been Steady

Earnings might have suffered a setback in 2012, but they have improved considerably since 2010. Revenue has consistently improved on an annual basis.

Fiscal Year	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Revenue ($) in millions	3,425	3,326	3,543	3,998	4,280
Diluted EPS ($)	-0.05	-0.12	0.43	0.94	0.90

Looking at the last quarter on a year-over-year basis, revenue and earnings have improved. However, the sequential numbers weren’t as impressive.

Quarter	Apr. 30, 2012	Jul. 31, 2012	Oct. 31, 2012	Jan. 31, 2013	Apr. 30, 2013
Revenue ($) in millions	924.88	1,044.27	1,204.11	1,106.90	954.74
Diluted EPS ($)	0.10	0.19	0.33	0.28	0.13

Now let's take a look at the next page for the Trends and Conclusion. Is this stock an OUTPERFORM, a WAIT AND SEE, or a STAY AWAY?

Conclusion

Nividia has shown consistent revenue improvements over the past several years, and earnings have been steady. Debt management is superb, and employees believe in their leader, which should never be underestimated. On the negative side, the stock isn't resilient in bear markets.

Surf's Up: AIG Rides the Wave Today

An hour and a half into the trading day, American International Group (NYSE: AIG  ) is up 0.5%, with investors confidently shrugging off last week's news of a potentially expensive lawsuit and riding today's market wave.

Hurricanes and job gains
Last Wednesday, news broke that AIG and 10 other insurers were being sued by Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG  ) . The New Jersey-based gas and electric provider claims that damage from last fall's Hurricane Sandy far exceeded insurers' payouts of $50 million and is pursuing a total payout of $426 million. 

On a more macro scale, last Friday, the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy added 195,000 non-farm jobs in June, easily beating economists' expectations of 165,000. In addition, numbers for the previous two months were revised upwards by 70,000. Unemployment stayed at 7.6%, but only because more people are trying to return to the workforce.

Foolish bottom line
The market wave can clearly be chalked up to Friday's jobs numbers, but what wasn't clear was whether investors would react positively to such seemingly obvious good news.

Ever since the Federal Reserve announced that quantitative easing would start being dialed back sometime later this year, so long as positive economic news continued to roll in, markets have at times reacted negatively to similar news: out of fear that such news meant the end of QE. They were 100% right about that, but with Friday's jobs-driven market boost continuing today, it's possible there's been a shift in the market's thinking, back to a place of "normal," where good economic news is always good news for the stock market.

As for the lawsuit, there's no specific information about how much AIG may individually be on the hook for, but $426 million divided by the number of insurers named in the suit averages out to about $39 million per company.

Assuming AIG loses the suit, and even allowing for AIG's portion to hit $100 million, with more than $49 billion in cash in hand as of the first quarter, the insurance giant should have no problem absorbing the payout in a worst-case scenario. AIG has come a long way since the financial crisis, and investors have good reason to be confident in the insurer's balance-sheet strength in this instance. 

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Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014

Japan was back at the center of financial news today, not because the Nikkei is still getting rocked back and forth, but because the island-nation's central bank refused to adjust monetary policy today in the midst of a huge market correction. In April, the Bank of Japan had announced a $1.4 trillion stimulus program with room for additional funding if needed, but today passed on that opportunity, though Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda did say that the bank could unleash further stimulus if borrowing costs rise.

World markets were down on the news, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finishing down 117 points, or 0.8%, in a volatile session, as the blue chips opened down 1% before climbing to breakeven at midday, and finally tanking in afternoon trading. As stocks pulled back, treasuries hit a 14-month high, with the 10-year yield climbing to 2.29% at one point.

Among the Dow's biggest losers today was Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) , which fell 1.8% as rival Sony introduced its PlayStation 4 last night and said would be priced at $399, $100 less than Microsoft's Xbox One. The two are major competitors in the gaming arena, and Sony's moves could put pressure on Microsoft. In addition to beating the Xbox on price, the PS4 also allows users to sell or reuse second-hand games and does not require a fixed Internet connection. Both consoles are due out this fall in time for the holiday season.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Visa Inc.(V)

Visa Inc., a payments technology company, engages in the operation of retail electronic payments network worldwide. It facilitates commerce through the transfer of value and information among financial institutions, merchants, consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company owns and operates VisaNet, a global processing platform that provides transaction processing services. It also offers a range of payments platforms, which enable credit, charge, deferred debit, debit, and prepaid payments, as well as cash access for consumers, businesses, and government entities. The company provides its payment platforms under the Visa, Visa Electron, PLUS, and Interlink brand names. In addition, it offers value-added services, including risk management, issuer processing, loyalty, dispute management, value-added information, and CyberSource-branded services. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lennox Yieke]

  In light of this, payments bigwigs Visa (NYSE: V  ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) have increased their presence in the continent. Not only have Visa and MasterCard increased issuance of plastic money, but they have also made bold mobile money initiatives. Could this spur the next round of prolonged growth for the two bigwigs?

• [By Tim Beyers]

  Getty Images There are some people who spend $5,000 each year going out to lunch. And then there are some who spend nothing. But according to a new Visa (V) survey, on average, Americans spend $936 a year -- or $10 per outing -- on restaurant-made lunches. That kind of money could easily help fund a winter trip to the beach, but it's going to stale chips, soda, and six-inch subs instead. Or, if you're among the 1 percent who spend more than $50 a lunch -- nearly $5,000 a year -- you'd have that beach trip completely covered. Here's a closer look at how the rest of us spend our lunch breaks: Men spend more. They spend 44 percent more, specifically: $21 weekly compared to $15 on average for women. So do the poor. Those who makes $25,000 or less spent more per meal, $11.70, than any other income bracket. Chitown = cheaptown. Midwesterners spent the least on eating out, just $8.90 per meal. Northeasterners ate out the least often -- just 1.5 times per week -- while Southerners spent an average of $10 each time on two weekly visits to the lunch counter. Resisting the temptation to get takeout for lunch can really pay off. "Simple choices have a large impact on your wallet," says Nat Sillin, Visa's head of U.S. Financial Education."Clipping a coupon, choosing a less expensive item, or brown-bagging it can save you hundreds over the course of a year." But Sillin isn't condemning eating lunch out. Rather, it's about being aware of how much you're spending and whether you can afford to spend that amount. "Going into debt for a tuna sandwich isn't worth it." Fair point. But what if you don't know where to start? Here are four tips for reducing your lunch tab without going hungry: 1. Bring leftovers. This should be obvious, but for many it isn't. Cook enough over the weekend for multiple weekday meals and then store the remainder in portable containers you can bring to work. Reheat, serve, and bask in the savings as you watch YouTube at your desk. 2. Buy frozen.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Yet the challenge AmEx has faced for a long time is how to keep distinguishing itself in an industry that's increasingly dominated by leading payment-processors Visa (NYSE: V  ) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) . Both Visa and MasterCard have essentially used their payment networks as toll roads, luring third-party issuing banks to market their cards to customers and profiting from transaction volume, and they've issued 10 to 20 times the number of cards that AmEx has. By contrast, AmEx has adopted a much more vertically integrated business model, wherein AmEx maintains a much deeper connection to its cardholders, taking on credit risk but also reaping the rewards when it makes smart decisions about extending credit.

• [By Alex Planes]

  It was from these humble beginnings that Visa (NYSE: V  ) was born. BankAmericard became an independent corporation in 1970 and later changed its name to Visa in 1976 as a way to broaden its appeal internationally. By this point the Master Charge had been established as a competing credit card network, and it had actually grown larger than the former BankAmericard: In the first quarter of 1976, BankAmericard/Visa claimed 31.8 million cardholders and $2.3 billion in sales volume, while the Master Charge had 37.4 million cardholders and processed $2.9 billion in sales. Master Charge, of course, is the forerunner to MasterCard (NYSE: MA  ) , but it hasn't maintained its early lead over Visa. In 2012, Visa's total U.S. purchase volume clocked in at $981 billion compared to $534 billion for MasterCard, and Visa's 278 million American cardholders far outweigh MasterCard's 180 million American cardholders.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum, chemicals, mining, power generation, and energy operations worldwide. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment involves in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as holds interest in a gas-to-liquids project. The Downstream segment engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products; marketing of crude oil and refined products primarily under the Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex brand names; transportation of crude oil and refined products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car; and manufacture and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives. It a lso produces and markets coal and molybdenum; and holds interests in 13 power assets with a total operating capacity of approximately 3,100 megawatts, as well as involves in cash management and debt financing activities, insurance operations, real estate activities, energy services, and alternative fuels and technology business. Chevron Corporation has a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation. The company was formerly known as ChevronTexaco Corp. and changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005. Chevron Corporation was founded in 1879 and is based in San Ramon, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Given its size, Exxon has to work hard just to stand still on the production front. Because existing wells naturally see declines in output over their productive lifetimes, Exxon has to look for new sources constantly in order to replace aging wells. The company is even less nimble than fellow Big Oil players Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) and ConocoPhillips, both of which expect much greater production growth than Exxon's targeted 2% to 3% growth. Chevron now expects 6% growth per year through 2017, while Conoco is seeking 3% to 5% annual growth over that period.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Chevron (CVX) offered an update to its business yesterday after the close–and investors haven’t been pleased. Shares of the oil giant have fallen 0.7% to $115.36 at 1:19 p.m.

  Bloomberg

  Reuters has the details:

  Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, warned on Wednesday that third-quarter earnings would be lower than in the second quarter due to “significantly lower” earnings from its refining division as fuel margins were squeezed…

  Analysts, on average, had been expecting earnings per share of $3.08 for the third quarter, which would have been up from $2.77 in the second quarter and $2.57 in the third quarter of 2012, according to estimates on Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

  JPMorgan’s Katherine Lucas Minyar says the big hit from refining shouldn’t come as a surprise:

  CVX expects 3Q13 downstream earnings to decrease significantly relative to the prior quarter, though we note that one-time impacts related to timing effects and F/X losses may amplify the drop…The company indicated the sequential uptick in throughput was driven by higher volumes at its Richmond refinery, slightly offset by planned maintenance at the El Segundo facility. US marketing margins saw a notable decrease q-on-q across all regions, and refining margin indicators in the US West Coast and Singapore are sequentially lower as well. Given the currently weak refining margin environment, we believe most investors were anticipating relatively soft downstream results.

  That might explain why refiners are holding up better than expected today. Valero (VLO) has gained 3% to $35, while Tesoro (TSO) has risen 1.6% to $41.19.

  Citigroup’s Faisel Khan worries about the upstream business:

  Domestic production appears to be tracking in-line with our estimates with interim production through August averaging 651mboe/d. However, international interim guidance of 1,938mboe/d is notably lower than our 3

Best Penny Stocks To Watch For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides information technology (IT) products and services worldwide. Its Global Technology Services segment provides IT infrastructure and business process services, including strategic outsourcing, process, integrated technology, and maintenance services, as well as technology-based support services. The company?s Global Business Services segment offers consulting and systems integration, and application management services. Its Software segment offers middleware and operating systems software, such as WebSphere software to integrate and manage business processes; information management software for database and enterprise content management, information integration, data warehousing, business analytics and intelligence, performance management, and predictive analytics; Tivoli software for identity management, data security, storage management, and datacenter automation; Lotus software for collaboration, messaging, and so cial networking; rational software to support software development for IT and embedded systems; business intelligence software, which provides querying and forecasting tools; SPSS predictive analytics software to predict outcomes and act on that insight; and operating systems software. Its Systems and Technology segment provides computing and storage solutions, including servers, disk and tape storage systems and software, point-of-sale retail systems, and microelectronics. The company?s Global Financing segment provides lease and loan financing to end users and internal clients; commercial financing to dealers and remarketers of IT products; and remanufacturing and remarketing services. It serves financial services, public, industrial, distribution, communications, and general business sectors. The company was formerly known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. and changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924. IBM was founded in 1910 and is based in Armonk, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mani]

  International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is making the right kind of investments to position itself to win across key growth drivers including cloud, mobile, analytics and big data. All these mega-themes are expected to evolve in the next 3-5 years.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

McDonald?s Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a worldwide foodservice retailer. It franchises and operates McDonald?s restaurants that offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 32,478 restaurants in 117 countries, of which 26,216 were operated by franchisees; and 6,262 were operated by the company. McDonald?s Corporation was founded in 1948 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Other earnings
  McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) is also down in trading this morning after reporting lighter sales in many of its territories. Asia was the weakest geographical region, with lower sales in Japan and negative results in China. Overall revenue was up 1% and earnings were flat at $1.3 billion for Mickey D's, but the company still reported a 2% increase in EPS, though the $1.26 per share missed expectations by a penny. The fast-food chain is contending with some difficult comparisons to a strong period in 2012, making its results look weaker. The stock is down 1.84% as of this writing, with investors concerned about continued impacts of international economic headwinds and tougher outlooks for the coming quarters.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

Apple Inc., together with subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers, mobile communication and media devices, and portable digital music players, as well as sells related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications worldwide. The company sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores, direct sales force, third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. In addition, it sells third-party Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod compatible products, including application software, printers, storage devices, speakers, headphones, and other accessories and peripherals through its online and retail stores; and digital content and applications through the iTunes Store. The company sells its products to consumer, small and mid-sized business, education, enterprise, government, and creative markets. As of September 25, 2010, it had 317 retail stores, including 233 stores in the United States and 84 stores internationally. The company, formerly known as Apple Computer, Inc., was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Sparks]

  Most investors seem to gravitate toward either Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) or Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) . But Fool contributor Daniel Sparks thinks that investors who do this are missing the mark. Why not consider them both as potential investments? In the video below, Daniel does exactly that.

• [By Chris Neiger]

  Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) investors may already be on edge as of late, with the company's stock down about 20% from a year ago, and profit down over $2 billion this past quarter, year over year. Although Apple recently announced share repurchases, and boosted its dividend by 15%, many Apple stock investors aren't satisfied.

• [By Tim Brugger]

  The usual smartphone OS suspects
  The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel detailing Q1's domestic smartphone OS market share shows the usual cast of characters sitting at the top. That's not surprising. What is eye-opening is the dent Microsoft's Windows 8 is making in the U.S., even as Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) Android OS and Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iOS market shares remain flat, or worse.

• [By Andrew Tonner]

  After putting rival Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) in the rearview mirror over the last year, South Korean tech giant Samsung has seen its shares come back to earth lately courtesy of a reality check from the analyst community. And although the share price falling so much so fast certainly hurts, Samsung intends to prove the doubters wrong. In fact, rumor has it that Samsung is once again preparing to up the ante in the global smartphone wars, especially before Apple steals the show with its widely expected product launches in the second half of the year. So what's the scoop? Fool contributor Andrew Tonner breaks down the story and how investors should interpret it in the video below.

Top Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets consumer products worldwide. It offers oral care products, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, and mouth rinses, as well as dental floss and pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals; personal care products, such as liquid hand soap, shower gels, bar soaps, deodorants, antiperspirants, shampoos, and conditioners; and home care products comprising laundry and dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, bleaches, dishwashing liquids, and oil soaps. The company offers its oral, personal, and home care products under the Colgate Total, Colgate Max Fresh, Colgate 360 Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Lately, Johnson & Johnson has presented two different faces to investors. On one hand, the company has faced the challenge of dealing with a weak consumer-products business, as multiple recalls and close regulatory oversight of its production facilities have exacerbated J&J's problems. With its more focused consumer-goods business, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) has worked harder at taking advantage of international growth opportunities than many of its rivals, and Colgate's strong overseas sales, in comparison to J&J's international weakness, show the effectiveness of that strategy. In particular, Asia has been a focus point for Colgate, with revenue from the region having risen 9% year over year compared with less than 3% growth overall. Moreover, Latin America represents Colgate's biggest region for sales, with more than half again the revenue its U.S. segment produces.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Colgate-Palmolive
  Toothpaste and toothbrushes may not be exciting business, but it's consistent and consumers tend to develop habits they rarely break. Once they find a toothpaste brand they like, it could be years before they try another one. That leads to another incredibly consistent business for Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , one that has paid back investors with a dividend since 1895. �

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Investors have always been interested in stocks that pay dividends, but lately, low interest rates on bonds and other fixed-income investments have made solid dividend payers even more valuable. Among the most promising dividend stocks in the market is Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and one big reason is that it is one of the few exclusive companies to make the list of Dividend Aristocrats. In order to become a member of this elite group, a company must have raised its dividend payouts to shareholders every single year for at least a quarter-century. Only a few dozen stocks manage to make the cut, and those that do tend to stay there for a long time.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Moreover, it's starting to appear that Clorox has weathered a tough part of its business cycle. Throughout the industry, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  ) , Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL  ) , and Clorox all had to deal with rising costs for the inputs they needed to make their respective products. The companies responded by implementing price-cutting measures and passing on part of their higher costs to their customers. For its part, Clorox was able to expand its gross margins by a full percentage point, with a worse-than-normal flu season contributing to sales. Now that input-cost inflation is easing, P&G and Clorox expect to see better profitability, with growth starting to approach the faster rates that Colgate has enjoyed.

Twitter Quitters Putting a Crimp on Social Network's IPO

Richard Drew/AP SAN FRANCISCO -- Retired schoolteacher Donald Hovasse signed up for Twitter about a year ago at the urging of his daughter. He lost interest after trying the service a few times and finding lots of celebrities but few of his friends using the online social network. "I didn't really get the point of it at all," said the Las Vegas resident. "Most of them were people I wasn't interested in hearing what they had to say anyway." He said, however, that he does check Facebook everyday to see what his friends are up to. Hovasse's experience highlights a risk for investors as Twitter marches towards this year's most anticipated initial public offering in the United States, expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange in mid-November. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 36 percent of 1,067 people who have joined Twitter say they don't use it, and 7 percent say they have shut their account. The online survey, conducted Oct. 11-18, has a credibility interval, a measure of its accuracy, of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. In comparison, only 7 percent of 2,449 Facebook members report not using the online social network, and 5 percent say they have shut down their account. The results have a credibility interval of 2.3 percent. People who have given up on Twitter cite a variety of reasons, from lack of friends on the service to difficulty understanding how to use it. Twitter declined to comment for this story, saying it is in a quiet period ahead of its IPO. Twitter's attrition rate highlights a challenge that has dogged the online messaging site over the years: while it has managed to enlist many high-profile and avid users, from the pope to President Barack Obama, Twitter has yet to go truly mainstream in the way Facebook (FB) has. Convincing ordinary people to think of Twitter as an indispensable part of their lives is key to the company's ability to attract advertisers and generate a profit. Twitter reported it had 232 million "active" users -- people who access the service at least once a month -- at the end of September, up 6.1 percent from the end of June. Twitter's quarter-over-quarter growth in active users hasn't exceeded 11 percent since June 2012. When Facebook was a similar size, its active users were increasing by more than 20 percent every quarter, and it wasn't until the social network neared the half-a-billion member mark that its user growth decelerated to 12 percent. "Twitter is a great service, it's still got growth in front of it. But in my opinion, I would say the opportunities are less than that of Facebook, and it has to be valued appropriately," said Dan Niles, chief investment officer of tech-focused hedge fund firm AlphaOne Capital Partners. "The data would seem to imply that the ultimate revenue potential for this company is less than for Facebook," Niles said, referring to Twitter's number of active users. Twitter's revenue in the third quarter more than doubled from the year before to $168.6 million, while its net loss tripled to $64.6 million. Analysts expect Facebook, which is due to report its third-quarter results later this month, to bring in $1.9 billion in quarterly revenue. Quitters Twitter aims to become the "fabric of every communication in the world" and to eventually reach every person on the planet, Chief Executive Officer Dick Costolo has said. Still, Twitter acknowledged in its IPO prospectus that "new users may initially find our product confusing." The company prides itself on staying true to its roots: it lets people send 140-character messages and doesn't pack in scads of extraneous functions. Since its inception, Twitter has resisted overtly manipulating how people use its platform, instead preferring conventions to be formed organically. As a result, new users often find it initially difficult to grasp how discussions ebb and flow, complaining that features such as the "hashtags" that group Tweets by topic, abbreviations for basic functions (for instance, RT for retweet) and shortened Web links, are geared towards a technologically savvy crowd. "The average person that's coming on here, they're still baffled by it," said Larry Cornett, a former executive at Yahoo (YHOO) and designer at Apple (AAPL), who now runs product strategy and design consulting firm Brilliant Forge. "If they want the mass adoption and that daily engagement, they have to make it really easy for people to consume." According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 38 percent of 2,217 people who don't use Twitter said they didn't find it that interesting or useful. Thirteen percent said they don't understand what to use Twitter for. The results have a credibility interval of 2.4 percent. Twitter has taken steps to help new members. In December 2011, it introduced a new "Discover" section to highlight the most popular discussion topics based on a person's location and interests. The company also simplified some features and rolled out new tools that embed photos and videos directly in a person's tweet stream, making for a richer and easier-to-use experience. These changes may mean that Twitter's retention rate for the past several months is better than its overall retention rate, which includes people who joined years ago, say analysts. Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group, said Twitter's current user base is already big enough to be valuable to advertisers. Investors need to get more comfortable with the idea that Twitter isn't for everyone, he said. "The practical matter is that this is a niche medium," he said. "Their appeal, they will never be as broad as Facebook."

Thursday's Top Upgrades (and Downgrades)

This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature a downgrade for American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO  ) , an upgrade for ANN (NYSE: ANN  ) , and a brand new buy rating for a little company called Mazor Robotics (NASDAQ: MZOR  ) . Let's dive right in, beginning with why ...

American Eagle got its wings clipped
American Eagle is falling like a (small) rock this morning, down nearly 2% in response to twin downgrades to "neutral" from investment bankers Citi and Oppenheimer. The stock's now selling for $18 and change, and according to Oppy at least, that's right about where it will be trading a year from now, too. The analyst says the stock's worth about $19, no more.

But is Oppenheimer right? Is Citi? Let's take a look.

Priced at just 16.6 times trailing earnings, and paying a 2.6% dividend yield, American Eagle certainly doesn't look expensive. Presumably, therefore, the analysts are focusing on AE's presumed 11% long-term earnings growth rate, which falls short of the average estimate for the retail industry (12%), and is short, too, of the 14% or so growth rate we'd ordinarily want to see for a 16.6 P/E stock with AE's dividend yield.

On the other hand, though, don't overlook the fact that American Eagle is a strong cash generator. This company threw off $308 million in free cash flow over the past 12 months -- about 40% more than its GAAP-calculated "net income" would suggest. Valued on free cash flow, I see the stock trading for about an 11.5 multiple, which only seems appropriate given the growth rate ... and perhaps even cheap, in light of the dividend yield.

Long story short, I see no reason at all to be short this stock today. AE is still cheap and still worth owning.

ANN-ie no longer an orphan
I see similarly good things -- albeit with a caveat -- ahead for shareholders of ANN, the parent company of both Ann Taylor and LOFT. Oppy just assigned an "outperform" rating to ANN stock, and suggested a $38 price target -- about 19% above where the stock trades today.

On the surface, the numbers suggest this is the right call. ANN shares cost only a little more than 16 times earnings today. They're therefore cheaper than AE stock, yet share the same 11%-ish projected growth rate. If this were all there was to the story, I think I'd be very bullish on ANN indeed.

However, there are a couple of factors that suggest that just as it's selling American Eagle too short, Oppenheimer's overoptimistic about ANN. First and foremost, if ANN costs a bit less than AE, it lacks AE's sturdy dividend yield. Second, and perhaps related to the lack of a cash dividend policy, ANN's looking a bit light in the cash production department.

Free cash flow for the past year was only about $51 million, or about 54% of the net income ANN's claiming to have "earned." This works out to a price-to-free cash flow on the stock of about 29, or more than twice as expensive as AE shares look when valued on their ability to produce cash. As a result, given a choice between the two stocks -- ANN, which Oppenheimer likes, and AE, which it doesn't -- I think I'm going to have to go with AE as offering the better value.

And now for something completely different
As today's column winds down, we come to a new potential investment that's starting to garner some excitement. Caesarea, Israel-based surgical robot-maker Mazor Robotics hasn't been on the market long. It only went public back in late May . But it's getting some positive coverage this morning from NYC-based broker  WallachBeth Capital.

WallachBeth initiated coverage of Mazor today with a buy rating and an $18 price target. So far, investors don't seem impressed by the news (selling off the stock to the tune of 3.5%), and I can't say I blame them.

While billed as a rival to America's Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG  ) , Mazor actually bears closer resemblance to tiny Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN  ) . Lacking profits despite raking in nearly $15 million in revenues last year, Mazor doesn't generate positive free cash flow like Intuitive does. Instead, it burns it like Hansen does (albeit more slowly). Last year, negative free cash flows amounted to $2.1 million, which suggests that Wallachbeth's endorsement may be a bit premature.

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On the other hand, though, Mazor does have one thing going for it: It's improving a lot faster than Hansen has. Cash burn in 2012 dropped pretty dramatically at the Israeli robots firm in comparison to 2011 levels. Meanwhile, capital spending remains minimal, which suggests that if the company can turn even marginally cash flow positive in future years, it should be able to fund its ongoing operations quite nicely, without need for shareholder support in the form of additional stock dilution.

Long story short -- while I can't endorse a cash burner at this early stage, Mazor does show some signs of promise. I wouldn't buy it right away, but I would keep a close watch on it for signs of improving health.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool owns shares of Intuitive Surgical.

3 FTSE Shares Hitting New Highs

LONDON -- It seems a long time since the FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE  ) was hitting new highs almost daily, but it's actually less than three weeks since the index of top U.K. companies touched 6,876 points -- its highest level in 13 years. Since then, the index has fallen by about 7% to today's closing level of 6,400. But the index is still up 18% over the past 12 months, which is pretty good going.

And even if the FTSE itself is off its highs, there are plenty of individual shares breaking new ground and hitting fresh peaks. Here are three from the various indexes that have been on a climb and look set to beat the market today.

Whitbread (LSE: WTB  )
Whitbread shares reached a new 52-week high of 2,936 pence today before dropping back a bit to close at 2,925 pence -- still enough to beat the previous record. The company has seen profits rising nicely for its Premier Inn and Costa Coffee brands, and that has helped the share price gain 50% over 12 months.

With three years of double-digit earnings-per-share rises behind it, Whitbread is forecast to repeat the feat for the next two years. The shares are on a higher-than-average forward P/E of 17 for the year to February 2014, but if growth carries on at current rates, that could prove to be good value.

Dunelm (LSE: DNLM  )
Soft-furnishings retailer Dunelm Group, best known for its Dunelm Mills brand, has had an even better year, with its shares up more than 80%. They hit a new 12-month high of 924 pence today and finished the session at 921.5. Dunelm has grown its earnings and dividends steadily for years, and things were looking good again at the third-quarter stage in April: Total sales were up 14%, with like-for-likes up 3.2%.

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The full year to June 30 is forecast to bring in a 12% rise in EPS, but the shares are on a relatively lofty P/E of 22.5, with the growing dividend yielding less than 2%.

Headlam (LSE: HEAD  )
The pick-up in the homebuilding sector has had knock-on effects for companies such as Headlam Group, which supplies floor-covering products. After gaining more than 30% over the past year, the shares ended last week on a closing high of 378.75 pence -- they're slightly down since then to 375 pence.

The City is expecting no earnings growth this year, but there should be a well-covered dividend yielding around 4% from shares on a fairly modest P/E of less than 15 -- and there's growth in earnings and dividends penciled in for 2014.

Finally, if you're looking for high-performing top-drawer shares that should take you all the way to a comfortable retirement, I recommend the Fool's special new report detailing five blue-chip shares. They'll be familiar names to many, and they've already provided investors with decades of profits. But the report will only be available for a limited period, so click here to get your hands on these great ideas -- they could set you on the road to long-term riches.

Is Wall St. taking U.S. default risk too lightly?

NEW YORK -- Ask pretty much any money manager or economist on Wall Street the question: Are lawmakers crazy enough to let the U.S. default on its debts? And the answer invariably is: "No way!"

What if they're wrong?

When discussing the odds of the U.S. not paying its bills for the first time in its history, an event the U.S. Treasury says could occur as early as Oct. 17 and usher in a financial crisis on par, if not worse, than the 2008 financial storm, Wall Street keeps saying the odds are long. As in really, really, really long.

Adam Parker, chief U.S. equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, puts the chance of a default at "zero percent." Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, says it is "effectively zero." Craig Johnson, senior technical research analyst at Piper Jaffray, also says it won't happen, saying that if it does voters would "ensure that no one in Washington is re-elected."

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INVESTORS: How can I protect my portfolio if government defaults?

MARKETS: How stocks are doing Monday

Will Wall Street's complacency come back to bite them?

"The risk of a default is not zero," says Erik Davidson, deputy chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank. "It is a possibility but not a probability. That's the challenge."

In other words, the consequences of a default, such as a spike in borrowing costs, financial market upheaval, and a hit to the economy and consumer confidence, while low, can't be ruled out completely.

Wall Street, you recall, didn't think the government would let one-time Wall Street titan Lehman Bros. fail in September 2008. But they did. And every investor in America now knows what can happen if a so-called Black Swan event catches the market by surprise.

Indeed, the assumption that Washington politicians are reasonable people and won't allow the country to plunge into default might ! be a sign of over-confidence in a market-friendly outcome.

"(Ex-Federal Reserve chairman) Alan Greenspan talked about irrational exuberance in the mid-1990s," says Davidson. "We might have a little bit of irrational complacency now."

So is the high level of investor complacency "irrational"?

"No," says Joseph Quinlan, an investment strategist at U.S. Trust.

"Wall Street," says Quinlan, "is fully aware of the risks of the debt default but still believes Washington is not 'MAD,' or on the path of 'Mutually Assured Destruction.' "

Still, Gina Martin Adams, senior analyst at Wells Fargo Securities and Wall Street's most bearish strategist, says market indicators "suggest a high level of complacency, despite the policy risks."

She notes that bullishness of individual investors and stock market newsletter writers "has yet to be deterred."

As a result, Adams says the 2011 budget fight, which was resolved at the last minute, but still resulted in the U.S. losing its triple-A credit rating and a major stock selloff, is a good comparison to the market's current woes.

Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at R.W. Baird, is also concerned that so many investors are not that concerned about the political gridlock. He points to a dearth of pessimism: Tech stocks are leading the market and initial public offerings, or IPOs, are showing signs of froth.

"I'd be much more comfortable if there were a lot more fear in the market," says Bittles. "A lack of fear leaves little room for error if the market gets a surprise."

The Arian Foster IPO: Fantasy Football in Real Life

Arian Foster is one of the NFL's most intriguing players. He recently spoke out about the NCAA, he has been described as an "avid writer of poetry," and went "mostly vegan" last summer. 

Because Foster is so quirky, today's news that a company named Fantex is holding an IPO on Arian Foster's earnings in perpetuity might sound like a joke. But it's far from it. The paperwork to offer shares tied to Foster's earnings were filed this morning with the SEC. 

This is beyond fantasy football at its most extreme -- this is turning pro athletes into investments. 

Is there any way this is a good idea?

What is Fantex?

The company behind the "Arian Foster IPO" is Fantex. It's by no means an amateur operator. Its president was previously the co-president of a $6.5 billion hedge fund and previously worked in Goldman Sachs' investment banking division. On its board sits John Elway, one of the best quarterbacks of all-time and now the executive vice president of the Denver Broncos. 

Arian Foster is just the beginning for the company. Its goal is to create a marketplace around trading the brands of athletes. Beyond being a marketplace, the company's vision is to acquire minority interests in athletes' brands and increase their value through increased marketing endeavors. 

Fantex's vision is that the deal runs in perpetuity, meaning that income from athletes -- even if it means they're speaking at an event 20 years from now -- is paid out to stockholders. 

How do the economics work?

In the case of Arian Foster, 1.055 million shares are being sold for $10 a piece. In return, investors are entitled to 20% of all brand-related income from Foster in perpetuity. Fantex highlights areas like Foster's football contracts, endorsements, broadcasting, and speaking engagements all as "brand-related" areas of income. If Arian Foster appears in a television show as himself (as he recently did in Hawaii Five-O), shareholders are entitled to that income. If he appears as a different character, they're not. 

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Once all shares are sold, income generation goes back to Feb. 28, when the company signed a contract with Foster. 

For potential investors in Foster, the big problem is that he's 27-years old. For most athletes, that's the prime of their careers, but running backs have notoriously short careers. Foster has about $23.5 million left to be paid on his contract with the Texans, which runs through the 2016 season. Assuming he collects all income on that contract, shareholders would collect a bit less than $5 million. 

The problem is that the final three years of his contract aren't guaranteed and 2016 looks particularly dicey. If the Texans cut him that year, they get just a $2.5 million hit to their salary cap. If Foster is following the usual trajectory of running backs, there's a good chance he won't be collecting his $6.5 million contract in 2016. 

So investors in Arian Foster are not only counting on him to continue performing past the time running backs begin to struggle, but also on his endorsement deals and his "brand" living on well past his playing career. 

What could possibly go wrong?

But even more than the questionable ROI, there's really no shortage of potential problems with the idea. 

Owners of a publicly traded company, through an elected board, can force changes. If a CEO isn't working, he can be ousted in favor of someone who has a better chance of building shareholder value. That's not the case with the Fantex deal.

Let's look at Arian Foster, an athlete who comes across as more than a bit mercurial. What if he decides to retire in two years, and rather than being a lifetime "brand," decides to write poetry instead of becoming a broadcaster or taking part in other shareholder-friendly activities? In such a case, you can't fire Arian Foster from being Arian Foster. Shareholders are simply out of luck. 

Also, while the board of directors of Fantex is permitted to pay dividends, it's by no means required. That means owners of Arian Foster will likely have to count on his stock appreciating if they want to make money on the investment. 

Which presents a glaring problem -- will there really be a liquid marketplace for trading shares of Arian Foster, or for that matter, other professional athletes? If there is a marketplace, will it be based on the value of the athlete's career, or unpredictable intangibles like fan's wanting to "own a piece" of their favorite players?

And if most of the value of Foster's brand value comes from his long-term brand, will shareholders really be interested in collecting 20% from Foster's potential speaking engagements and broadcasting income across the next 20 years? Will Fantex be around to facilitate trades and enforce Foster's contract?

Finally, while Fantex says they vetted Foster's financials, it's not a secret that a whole lot of retired athletes go bankrupt. ESPN's 30 for 30 recently filmed a special on the phenomenon called "Broke." There are no restrictions on the players taking out debt or acting financially irresponsible. While this might not come into play with Foster, at a larger scale of players, it's definitely a concern. 

At the end of the day, the bottom line is that Fantex is a start-up, which makes it inherently risky, even if it does have some very smart and experienced employees and board members. If you want to own a piece of your favorite professional athlete, make sure you're using money you're willing to see disappear. 

A better investing approach

Instead of buying a very small piece of Arian Foster, smart investors choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. The Motley Fool's free report "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich" names stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.

Dow up nearly 200 as debt deal emerges

Click for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Stocks surged Wednesday as investors cheered news that Senate lawmakers have reached a deal to reopen the government and avoid a possible U.S. default.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 200 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both up more than 1% in late morning trading.

Stocks have been trading higher throughout the day, but the rally accelerated after Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said an agreement on the debt ceiling could be announced soon. House lawmakers have not yet decided on when to vote on the Senate bill, according to a spokesperson for majority leader John Boehner.

Investors have been on edge in recent weeks as talks in Washington have repeatedly broken down. A failure to reach an agreement before Thursday could trigger a default on U.S. debt and chaos in global markets. Some analysts have downplayed the Thursday deadline though, saying the Treasury Department has enough cash on hand to pay most of its obligations until the end of the month.

Still, yields on short-term Treasury bills have been rising lately as investors worry about the possibility that the U.S. may not be able to pay all its bills. The U.S. auctions one-month T-bills and one-year notes later Wednesday. and investors will be keeping an eye on those results. Demand was lackluster for bonds sold on Tuesday.

Rating agency Fitch put the U.S. on notice Tuesday afternoon, warning it could soon downgrade America's credit rating because of the "political brinkmanship" on display in Washington.

U.S. stocks plunged after Standard & Poor's cut the nation's credit rating in 2011, although Treasuries rallied in a somewhat ironic flight to safety. At the time, S&P blamed the political wrangling around the last debt ceiling increase.

While most invest! ors are still betting on a last-minute deal, few expect lawmakers to agree on a policy that addresses the nation's long-term debt problems.

"People are confident that it's going to get done, but they will probably just kick the can down the road," said Bernard Kavanagh, vice president of portfolio management at Stifel Nicolaus. That means politics will continue to weigh on the market for some time, he added.

One potential bright spot? The continued dysfunction in Washington means the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut back on, or taper, its bond-buying program anytime soon.

"With more uncertainty and the potential for the government shutdown to drag on the economy, the last thing the Fed wants to do is begin to taper," said Kavanagh. "That should give market a bit of a tailwind."

There were also plenty of earnings results to parse through Wednesday.

Shares of Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) gained after the financial giant reported better-than-expected third quarter results.

Mattel (MAT, Fortune 500) shares jumped after the Barbie and American Girl manufacturer reported quarterly revenue and profits that beat analysts' estimates.

  Barbie isn't worried about debt ceiling

Stanley Black & Decker (SWJ) tumbled roughly 10% after the power tools maker lowered its full-year earnings outlook. The company said it expected "uncertainty created by the U.S. government's sequestration and shutdown" to hurt business and consumer spending.

Meanwhile, shares in BlackRock (BLK, Fortune 500) and PepsiCo (PEP, Fortune 500) inched higher after both firms released quarterly results that topped forecasts. American Express (AXP, Fortune 500), IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) and eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) are set to report after-hours.

After t! he bell T! uesday, Twitter announced plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) shares slipped after the chipmaker issued a pessimistic outlook for the rest of 2013 and lowered its profit forecast late Tuesday. But shares of Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) rose following its earnings report.

European markets were under pressure as investors around the world fret about the political mess in Washington. Asian markets ended mixed.

Government shutdown thins Wal-Mart shopping list

Wal-Mart is feeling the pinch from the government shutdown.

That domestic crisis and a "tough and unpredictable global economy" has affected the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. CEO and president Mike Duke told investors and analysts at a meeting in Arkansas Tuesday.

"It should come as no surprise that the government shutdown is on the minds of our U.S. customers," Duke said, according to prepared remarks that he was to deliver at the investor conference. "As you would expect, we're following the situation very closely. The competition is also tough. I see it when I am out visiting their stores. And of course, the holidays are right around the corner -- raising the stakes even further on serving customers and delivering on performance."

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., President and CEO Mike Duke speaks Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the company's 20th Annual Meeting for the Investment Community in Rogers, Ark.(Photo: Photo: Courtesy of Wal-Mart)

The company did not offer specifics on the shutdown's affects, but Wal-Mart U.S. chief executive Bill Simon also mentioned the impact, Reuters reported. Since some of its shoppers are not getting paid, he said, they are shopping and spending less.

One way that the retailer plans to try to cut costs, Simon said, is a plan to use its Supercenters as holding areas for products eventually headed to smaller stores. That strategy will be tested in March in three unnamed markets.

The Arkansas-based firm saw its same-store sales slip 0.3% in the second quarter. Even though Wal-Mart expects its net sales for the full year to grow between 2% and 3%, that's down from previous estimates of 5% to 6%.

With the all-important holiday season near, Duke said, "near-t! erm execution is critical for us."

Debt Ceiling 2013: This Time Is Different

For the second time in three years, the U.S. government is again running perilously close to reaching the debt ceiling -- but Wall Street is indicating that its level of concern this time around is very different from last time.

While the situation in 2011 was a little different than it is today, as the government did not shut down entirely, the government was again just days away from hitting the debt ceiling in July 2011 -- which meant the U.S. government would not be able to pay its debts.

After intensive weekend negotiations, U.S. lawmakers signed a deal on Sunday July 31, 2011 that prevented the government from moving past the deadline that would inhibit its ability to borrow any more money. President Obama said then, "the uncertainty surrounding the raising of the debt ceiling for both businesses and consumers has been unsettling, and just one more impediment to the full recovery that we need, and it was something we could have avoided entirely."

While it was unsettling for both businesses and consumers, how nervous was Wall Street during that time? One way to gauge that is by looking at the yields of U.S. Treasuries. If investors thought probability of the government defaulting would go up, they would demand higher returns from the principal way the government borrows money.

A quick glance at U.S. Treasury yields in the days before the crisis reveals:

Source: U.S. Treasury Department.

As you can see in the chart above -- investors got increasingly nervous, and therefore the yields of U.S. Treasuries shot upwards as the probability of default became more and more real. But following the resolution of the of the debt ceiling fight -- the rates fell precipitously.

One glance at the 2013 rate curves reveals that investors are taking the current proposition of default much more seriously than they did in 2011:

Source: U.S. Treasury Department.

As you can see, rates have shot upwards to almost double what they were in 2011. While it isn't exactly fair to say that investors think that the probability of default is twice what it was in 2011, it is certainly striking to see how dramatically the rates have risen through the first 11 days of October.

But even more so than rates moving upwards is the fact that one-month Treasury rates stood at 0.16% just two business days before a potential default would have occured in 2011. Whereas in today they now stand at 0.25% almost two weeks before a potential meltdown would occur.

This all comes just days after BlackRock (NYSE: BLK  ) joined the two largest money market mutual funds, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) and Fidelity, in announcing they had sold their short-term holdings of U.S. Treasuries that would come due around the time of a potential default.

While Bob Corker noted Monday morning that a deal is "very possible" -- Wall Street has already shown that it believes this time may be very different.

More on the debt ceiling
The U.S. government has piled on more than $10 trillion of new debt since 2000. Annual deficits topped $1 trillion after the financial crisis. Millions of Americans have asked: What the heck is going on?

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The Motley Fool's new free report, "Everything You Need to Know About the National Debt," walks you through with step-by-step explanations about how the government spends your money, where it gets tax revenue from, the future of spending, and what a $16 trillion debt means for our future. Click here to read the full report!

How Much Influence Does The Fed Have?

The term monetary policy refers to the actions taken by a central bank to influence the price of credit to promote national economic goals. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 gave the Federal Reserve responsibility for setting monetary policy. The Act was amended in 1977 to include the following two goals:

Promote maximum sustainable output and employment Stabilize prices Read on to find out how these two goals affect the way the economy works.

What is Monetary Policy?
Monetary policy can be described as a change in something that the central bank can control, such as the money supply. Policy is considered to be "expansionary" if it increases the money supply or decreases the interest rate. For example, the Fed boosted the money supply to spur economic growth following the financial crisis of 2007-08 by buying large amounts of financial assets beginning in November 2008 under a program called quantitative easing. Policy is said to be "contractionary" if it reduces the money supply or raises the interest rate.

Another way of describing monetary policy is by its intended effects on the economy. According to Chapter 2 of the Federal Reserve's document, The Federal Reserve System: Purposes and Functions, "In the short run, some tension can exist between the two goals" of stabilizing prices and promoting output and employment. "In such circumstances, those responsible for monetary policy face a dilemma and must decide whether to focus on defusing price pressures or on cushioning the loss of employment and output." Thus, monetary policy is described as "accommodative" if the central bank is looking to spur economic growth, "neutral" if the central bank is neither attempting to increase growth nor fight inflation, or "tight" if it is intending to reduce inflation.

How Does the Federal Reserve Accomplish its Goals?
The Fed can't control inflation or influence output and employment directly. Instead, it affects them indirectly by using the following three tools of monetary policy:

Open market operations The discount rate Reserve requirements Using these three tools, the Federal Reserve influences the supply and demand for reserve balances of commercial banks at the central bank, and in this way alters the federal funds rate. The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which banks lend their excess reserve balances at the Federal Reserve to other banks that have reserves below the system's requirements. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets a target for the federal funds rate, but the market determines the actual rate itself. The Fed uses the above three tools to ensure that the actual funds rate follows its target.

For example, an open market purchase increases the reserve supply, causing the federal funds rate to fall. A higher discount rate - the interest rate that an eligible depository institution is charged to borrow short-term funds directly from the central bank - will discourage banks from borrowing from the central bank, decreasing the reserve supply and causing the federal funds rate to rise. Lower reserve requirements decrease the demand for reserves and can cause the federal funds rate to fall. A change in the federal funds rate, according to the Federal Reserve, "triggers a chain of events that affect other short-term interest rates, foreign exchange rates, long-term interest rates, the amount of money and credit, and, ultimately, a range of economic variables including employment, output and prices of goods and services."

In addition, the Federal Reserve can use "moral suasion" by pressuring certain market participants to act in a particular manner. Or the Fed can use "open mouth operations," where it states the goal it will be focusing on in hopes of getting the market to build these future monetary actions into expectations, and thus increase the effectiveness of current monetary actions.

Why Does Monetary Policy Matter to the Stock Market?
Monetary policy influences output and employment in the short run and can be used to smooth out the business cycle. But in the long run, output and employment are dependent on capital efficiency, labor productivity, savings and risk tolerance. For example, when demand weakens and there's a recession, the Fed can temporarily stimulate the economy and help push it back toward its long-run output level by lowering interest rates. The Fed will have some difficulty managing monetary policy perfectly, but the monetary forces it puts into play can either add wind to the sails of business or create a headwind that it must fight against.

An investment strategy designed to benefit from tailwinds and seek harbor in headwinds has been promoted as a method to achieve better than market returns. The mantra of this strategy is "Don't fight the Fed." When Fed policy is expansionary, the strategy is to invest in economically sensitive sectors such as industrials, financials and technology. When Fed policy is contractionary, the strategy is to decrease equity exposure and invest in economically less-sensitive sectors such as consumer staples and health care.

As always, there are risks with any investment strategy. A few concerns when following a strategy based on monetary policy include:

The fact that this strategy has proven profitable in the past doesn't mean it will continue to be effective going forward. Professional managers are typically prohibited from deviating too far from their stated investment objective. So they can't move a substantial proportion of the portfolio into money market instruments when the Fed tightens. The investment results reflect the average performance over long time periods. The strategy does not provide superior returns every period. The degree to which managers feel they are graded on short-term performance will probably affect their willingness to deviate from their stated investment objective even when it is possible. Empirical Evidence
A few studies have been done to determine if investors can earn higher profits by watching changes in Federal Reserve monetary policy. The following two studies have concluded that by using a simple rule to determine the monetary policy stance, investors can outperform the U.S. stock market. Written by Gerald Jensen, Robert Johnson and Jeffrey Mercer, the monograph "The Role of Monetary Policy in Investment Management" (Foundation of the Association for Investment Management and Research) was published in November 2000. The other article, titled "Is Fed Policy Still Relevant to Investors?" was written by the above men along with Mitchell Conover and published in the "Financial Analysts Journal" (Volume 61) in 2005.

These studies conclude that:

Periods of expansive monetary policy are associated with strong stock performance (higher-than-average returns and lower-than-average risk), whereas periods of restrictive monetary policy generally coincide with weak stock performance (lower-than-average returns and higher-than-average risk). Small-cap companies are more sensitive than large-cap companies to changes in monetary conditions. Cyclical stocks have a much higher sensitivity to changes in monetary conditions than defensive stocks. U.S. monetary policy has an important influence on global markets. On the other side of the argument is Benson Durham, who published the following articles in the July/August 2003 and July/August 2005 editions of the "Financial Analyst Journal." The articles were titled "Monetary Policy and Stock Price Returns" and "More on Monetary Policy and Stock Price Returns," respectively. Benson concludes that investors cannot earn superior returns by Fed watching. The author points to the following reason for his conclusion:

Studies that assume monetary policy affects stock prices, but stock prices don't affect monetary policy, should be taken with a grain of salt if they use ordinary least squares analysis. Although central banks do not target asset prices explicitly, it can be argued that stock prices contain information about expectations regarding the course of the economy and monetary policy. The potential joint determination of stock prices and monetary policy means statistical techniques using standard ordinary least squares may lead to false conclusions. Conclusion
Over the time periods studied, it seems monetary policy does matter to the stock market. However, as stated, an investment strategy tied to monetary policy does not necessarily work for every easing or tightening cycle. There are caveats. Investors should consider many other factors too, such as yield curve, before making their investment decisions.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now

Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has come out with a tax free bond issue offering 7.72% and 7.88% to the retail investors for a tenure of 10 years and 15 years, respectively. Interest received on the bond is fully exempt from income tax. The pre-tax yield on the bond for the highest tax bracket investors, therefore, works out to 11.17% and 11.40% for 10 years and 15 years, respectively, which is higher than the 8.5-9% yield on bank fixed deposit and other stable fixed income instruments. Given that REC is a government owned company, credit risk is very low. Hence, the REC tax free bond appears attractive vis-�-vis other fixed income instruments currently available for long term fixed income investment.

The Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 10(15)(iv)(h) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, authorises REC to issue during FY12-13, tax free, secured, redeemable, non-convertible bonds up to Rs 5000 crore. Pursuant to the CBDT circular, the company has raised Rs 500 crore through private placement. Hence, the shelf limit stands reduced to Rs 4500 crore.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Ascot Resources Ltd. (AOT.V)

Ascot Resources Ltd., a junior resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of mineral properties in the North America. Its properties include the Mt. Margaret porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold-silver located to the southwest of Randle Washington in Skamania county; the Premier gold mine located to the north of Stewart, British Columbia; the Dilworth property located to the north of Stewart, north western British Columbia; and the Swamp Point aggregate property, a sand and gravel deposit, located on the Portland Canal in northwestern British Columbia. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Renewable Energy Generation Ltd (WIND)

Renewable Energy Generation Limited (REG) is a wind power and bio power company. The principal activity of the Company and its subsidiaries is development, construction and operation of renewable energy facilities across the United Kingdom. The Company operates in two segments: wind energy generation and bio power generation. In addition, the Company had 10 megawatts of new plant under construction, seven wind sites totaling around 36 megawatts moving to construction and over 40 megawatts of short term operating reserve (STOR) projects available for construction as of June 30, 2012. In September 2013, the Company announced the sale of its 12 megawatt operational wind farm at Goonhilly Downs in Cornwall to a fund managed by BlackRock (BlackRock).

Top 5 Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: The Andersons Inc.(ANDE)

The Andersons, Inc. engages in the grain, ethanol, plant nutrient, railcar leasing and repair, turf products production, and general merchandise retailing businesses. It operates in six segments: Grain, Ethanol, Rail, Plant Nutrient, Turf & Specialty, and Retail. The Grain segment operates grain elevators; and is involved in the storage, merchandising, and trading of grains, as well as offers marketing, risk management, and corn origination services to its customers. The Ethanol segment operates three ethanol production facilities; and provides facility operations, risk management, and ethanol and distillers dried grains marketing to the ethanol plants. The Rail segment buys, sells, leases, rebuilds, and repairs a fleet of approximately 23,000 railcars and locomotives; offers fleet management services to private railcar owners; engages in metal fabrication business; and invests in short-line railroad. The Plant Nutrient segment manufactures, distributes, and retails dry an d liquid agricultural nutrients, and pelleted lime and gypsum products to agricultural farm supply dealers; and essential crop nutrients, crop protection chemicals, and seed products, as well as provides application and agronomic services to commercial and family farmers. This segment also offers warehousing, packaging, and manufacturing services to manufacturers and other distributors; and various industrial products, including nitrogen reagents for air pollution control systems. The Turf & Specialty segment produces granular fertilizer and control products for the turf and ornamental markets; and fertilizer and control products, and corncob-based animal bedding and cat litter for the consumer markets. The Retail segment operates The Andersons retail stores; The Andersons Market, a specialty food market; a distribution center; and a lawn and garden equipment sales and service shop. The Andersons, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Maumee, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Vodicka]

  The Anderson's, Inc. (ANDE) is an agriculture conglomerate, operating in 5 divisions that includes a rail shipping and nutrient business. But its Grain division is its biggest, accounting for more than 60% of revenue, where the company is a wholesaler of grain and grain storage services. The company's share price has been hot in 2013, posting a market and industry crushing return of 58%. Take a look below.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Ethanol producers like Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), The Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) and Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), as well as other members of the trade group Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), are mightily displeased by this EPA proposal. Refiner and ethanol producer Valero Corp. (NYSE: VLO), which is not a member of the trade group, has been among the loudest critics of the higher blending requirements.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  The Andersons Inc. (NASDAQ: ANDE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T Capital Markets.

  Buckeye Partners L.P. (NYSE: BPL) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Baxter International Inc. (BAX)

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets products for people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. It operates in three segments: BioScience, Medication Delivery, and Renal. The BioScience segment processes recombinant and plasma-based proteins to treat hemophilia and other bleeding disorders; plasma-based therapies to treat immune deficiencies, alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, burns and shock, and other chronic and acute blood-related conditions; products for regenerative medicine, such as biosurgery products; and vaccines. The Medication Delivery segment manufactures intravenous solutions and administration sets; premixed drugs and drug-reconstitution systems; pre-filled vials and syringes for injectable drugs; intravenous nutrition products; infusion pumps; and inhalation anesthetics. It also offers products and services related to pha rmacy compounding, drug formulation, and packaging technologies. The Renal segment provides products to treat end-stage renal disease or irreversible kidney failure. It manufactures solutions and other products for peritoneal dialysis, a home-based therapy; and distributes product for hemodialysis, which is conducted in a hospital or clinic. It markets its products to hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, doctors? offices, clinical and medical research laboratories, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company was founded in 1931 and is based in Deerfield, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  To give credit where it's due, Cytomedix, Inc. (OTCBB:CMXI) and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have both helped shape the landscape of the hemostasis (bleeding control) market with their products, AutoloGel and TISSELL, respectively. Arch Therapeutics Inc. (OTCBB:ARTH) has proverbially taken their concepts "up a notch", however, and its direct solution to a problem that CMXI and BAX can't quite solve may make ARTH the hottest trading candidate in the hemostasis space.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Basic guidelines
  In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Baxter International (NYSE: BAX  ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Baxter International doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue increased 1.8%, and inventory increased 8.3%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks decent. Revenue grew 1.8%, and inventory increased 8.3%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks worrisome. Revenue dropped 8.1%, and inventory grew 5.7%.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  There is plenty of good news to support the 30% move made by�Baxter (NYSE: BAX  ) shares in the past year. The company's dividend has risen 44% in that time frame. Sales, earnings, and cash flow notched record highs in 2012, which enabled the company to make $1.2 billion in capital investments and spend $2.3 billion on dividends and share repurchases. Last year also marked at least five straight years of growing dividend payments and revenue. Not too bad. �

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Healthcare giant Baxter (BAX) partly fits this mold, but is better than some of the megacaps in pharma because it is more specialized. Baxter provides sophisticated treatments for immune disorders, kidney disease and other specific medical conditions — meaning it might navigate competition and patent trouble better thanks to specialization.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Timberline Resources Corp (TLR)

Timberline Resources Corporation (Timberline), incorporated on August 28, 1968, is an exploration-stage company. The Company is engaged in evaluating, acquiring and exploring mineral prospects with potential for economic deposits of precious and base metals. In June 2010, the Company acquired Staccato Gold Resources Ltd., which is engaged in the business of acquiring, exploring and developing mineral properties with a focus on gold exploration in the gold producing trends in Nevada. In September 2010, the Company closed its drilling services operation in Mexico, which was operated by its wholly owned Mexican subsidiary, World Wide Exploration, S.A. de C.V. (WWE). In October 2011, the Company sold its wholly owned contract drilling subsidiary, Timberline Drilling, Inc. In November 2011, the Company announced the sale of its wholly owned contract drilling subsidiary, Timberline Drilling, Inc. (TDI).

As of December 2010, Timberline had acquired mineral prospects for exploration in Nevada, Montana and Idaho mainly for commodities of gold, silver, zinc and copper. The prospects are held by both patented and unpatented mining claims owned directly by the Company or through agreements conveying exploration and development rights to the Company.

Nevada Gold Properties

Nevada Gold Properties consist of South Eureka Property, which comprises 845 unpatented and 15 patented claims and several projects, including Lookout Mountain, Hiero/Syracuse, Windfall Patents, South Ratto, Hoosac/North Amselco and New York Canyon. The South Eureka property is located five miles south and southwest of the town of Eureka, within the southern part of the Eureka mining district of Eureka County, Nevada, within T19N, R53E and unsurveyed T17N and T18N, R53E at the southern end of the Cortez Trend (Battle Mountain/Eureka Trend).

The Hoosac/North Amselco project comprises the Hoosac, North Amselco, and South Rustler/W-claim groups. As of September 30, 2010, the Hoosac and North Amse! lco claims were owned by the Company and were under lease to DFH Co., a subsidiary of Royal Gold, Inc. As of September 30, 2010, the Lookout Mountain project had 373 unpatented claims; South Ratto had 108 unpatented claims, and New York Canyon had 45 unpatented claims. As of September 30, 2010, the Company held 72% interest in the ICBM Project (Cortez/Battle Mountain Trend) and is the operator of the ICBM joint venture. The ICBM Joint Venture Project (Timberline/Barrick) is located in the Battle Mountain Mining District, Lander County, Nevada.

Montana Gold Properties

Montana Gold Properties consist of Butte Highlands Gold Project, which is located approximately 15 miles south of Butte, Montana in Silverbow County. The property covers 1,142 acres consisting of a combination of patented and unpatented mining claims. As of September 30, 2010, the Butte Highlands Gold Project claims included BHC 1 thru BHC 61, MC 1 thru MC 48, J.B. Thompson, Main Ripple, Murphy, Only Chance, Purchance, Red Mountain, Main Chance, Island, Atlantic, Barnard and Pony Placer.

Idaho Copper-Silver Property

Idaho Copper-Silver Property consists of the Snowstorm Prospect and the Spencer Prospect. The Snowstorm property is located in two miles northeast of the Lucky Friday Mine near Mullan in Shoshone County, Idaho. Timberline controls 100% of the Snowstorm Project. As of September 30, 2010, Timberline controls 100% of the Snowstorm Project. The Spencer prospect covers 640 acres on the western end of the Kilgore-Spencer Trend. As of September 30, 2010, Timberline did not consider the Snowstorm prospect and the Spencer Prospect to be a material property.

Montana Copper-Silver Properties

Montana Copper-Silver Properties comprises four properties, such as The Minton Pass, East Bull, Standard Creek, Lucky Luke, Clear Peak and Copper Rock Prospects. These properties are considered early-stage exploration prospects. As of September 30, 2010, Timberline did no! t conside! r any of the Minton Pass, East Bull, Standard Creek, Lucky Luke, Clear Peak or Copper Rock prospects to be material properties.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Trafford Resources Ltd(TRF.AX)

Trafford Resources Limited engages in the mineral exploration activities in Australia. It primarily explores for iron oxide, copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, and uranium deposits. The company primarily holds interests in the Wilcherry Hill project covering 976 square kilometers located in South Australia; and the Lynas Find project consisting of 10 granted prospecting licenses covering approximately 792 hectares located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Trafford Resources Limited is based in West Perth, Australia.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Patriot Coal Corporation(PCX)

Patriot Coal Corporation engages in the mining, production, and sale of thermal coal primarily to electricity generators in the eastern United States. It has operations and coal reserves in the Appalachia and the Illinois Basin coal regions. The company is also involved in the production of metallurgical quality coal and sells it to steel mills and independent coke producers. As of December 31, 2011, Patriot Coal Corporation operated 11 active mining complexes in West Virginia; and 3 mining complexes in western Kentucky. In addition, it controlled approximately 1.9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves that comprise metallurgical coal and medium and high-Btu thermal coal, with low, medium, and high sulfur content. The company, through its subsidiary, Magnum Coal Company, operates eight mining complexes with production from surface and underground mines in Appalachia, as well as controls approximately 600 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves. Patrio t Coal Corporation is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Best High Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Traverse Energy Ltd(TVL.V)

Traverse Energy Ltd., a resource company, engages in the exploration for, and the development and production of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), and crude oil in Western Canada. As of 31 December 31, 2010, its asset base included proved and probable reserves of 800.3 million cubic feet of natural gas, and 146.5 thousands of barrels of oil and NGL; and an inventory of undeveloped lands totaling 156,000 gross acres. The company was formerly known as Firstland Energy Limited and changed its name to Traverse Energy Ltd. in June 2009. Traverse Energy Ltd. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.