Colleges slashing tuition, offering 3-year degrees

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A growing number of colleges are taking extreme measures to attract more students by cutting tuition or speeding up the rate at which they graduate.
While some private colleges are introducing double-digit percentage cuts in tuition or freezing prices altogether, other schools are offering three-year degree programs or four-year graduation guarantees.
In part, these schools are responding to consumers' concerns about the rising cost of college, said Tony Pals, spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. "These types of initiatives have been used to some degree in the past, but have become increasingly prevalent since the economic downturn -- and we expect to continue to see them spread," he said.
But colleges have their own motivations as well. By offering a more competitive price, they are ultimately hoping to attract more students -- and increase their bottom line, said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of financial aid website Finaid.org.
"This is about boosting enrollment, local competition and improving an individual school's finances rather than any noble purpose," Kantrowitz said.
While making school more affordable for students has become more common, it's still far from a widespread trend. Many more schools continue to hike tuition, he said. Overall, tuition at private colleges has been increasing more than 4% each year for the past three years, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
Tuition at a discount: After seeing enrollment decline for the first time in a decade, the University of Charleston, in West Virginia, cut its tuition by 22% to $19,500 per year.
In addition, Seton Hall University in New Jersey, Lincoln College in Illinois, and Pennsylvania's Cabrini College have all slashed tuition by at least 10% for the upcoming academic year.

5 colleges slashing tuition

But there's a tradeoff: ! "Te mporary tuition cuts and freezes are usually accompanied by financial aid cuts -- so the money isn't all going back to students," Kantrowitz said.
The University of Charleston, for example, may be slashing tuition but it's also reducing the amount of financial assistance that's available to students to $10 million from $15 million.
Instead of making cuts, other schools are freezing tuition at current levels or giving students four-year tuition guarantees.
For the upcoming academic year, Burlington College in Vermont is guaranteeing it won't increase tuition for four years. Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts is also holding tuition steady -- its first tuition freeze since 1968.
"[C]olleges and universities cannot continue to threaten access and add to already burgeoning loan burdens for students," Mount Holyoke president Lynn Pasquerella said in a statement.
Pals said at least 14 additional colleges have frozen tuition for the upcoming school year -- the highest number of tuition freezes on record.
Other colleges are joining forces with community colleges to increase enrollment and lower costs for students.
Baylor University in Texas, for example, is offering a pilot program this fall where students can take most of their classes at a local community college for a year or two before transferring to Baylor, where they will eventually graduate.
Texas students enrolled in the program that take 12 hours at McLennan Community College and three hours at Baylor will pay about $20,000 per year -- less than half of Baylor's $45,000 annual cost, including tuition, fees, and room and board.
A degree in four years or less: With average tuition at four-year private colleges costing $28,500 a year, according to the College Board, failing to graduate on time is a costly proposition. As a result, some colleges are reducing the time it takes to graduate or guaranteeing that students will get their degree in four years.
Beginn ing next year, Ashland University in Ohio is granting bachelor's degrees that can be completed in three years instead of four -- saving students an estimated $34,000 in tuition costs and giving them a year's head start in the work force.

College 101: Everything you need to know

Ohio's Baldwin-Wallace College is introducing a "Four-Year Graduation Guarantee" program this fall. Under the program, the school guarantees that students who meet certain requirements, like maintaining a GPA of 2.0 or higher, will graduate in four years. If not, the college will pay for the extra time.
Some colleges are taking it a step further by offering joint-degree programs that allow students to graduate with both a bachelor's and master's degree in four years. Simmons College in Boston is offering joint-degrees in areas including social work and public policy, while Wilson College in Pennsylvania is launching a program that lets students graduate with both a bachelor's and master's degree in humanities.
Meanwhile, Lipscomb University in Tennessee is reducing the number of credits students need to take to graduate on time from 132 hours to 126 hours for the 2012 school year -- the equivalent of about two classes.

How much does college actually cost?

While tuition cuts and freezes likely won't have an impact on the quality of the education that the colleges provide -- unless enrollments increase so much that the student-to-teacher ratio climbs too high -- some fast-tracked degrees are another matter, Kantrowitz said.
"If you eliminate core requirements to become more job-focused, it may allow you to cut a semester off, but the purpose of core requirements is to teach the very basic skills like the ability to write and read critically that also have an impact on job performance," he said. 

Recession Lessons: 3 New Money Rules

The McMansion-owning, designer-bag toting, new-Mercedes-driving consumer is, well, so 2006. These days, faced with scary job prospects, fat credit card bills (that Louis Vuitton tote wasn�t even worth it, was it?!) and houses worth much less than we paid for them, the American consumer looks a lot different than she used to. In fact, she�s living by a whole new set of rules (or, at least, she should be). Here�s a look at what they are:

New Rule #1

Old Rule: Save 3 – 6 months worth of income in your �emergency fund�
New Rule: Save 8 – 12 months worth of income in your �emergency fund�
Back when jobs were plentiful and it was easy to tap into your home equity for cash, you could get away with having an �emergency fund� — money you�d use in case something happened, like you lost your job or had to fix the roof, that had just three to six months worth of income in it. “Now, that�s not enough,” says Elle Kaplan, the CEO of Lexion Capital Management. �You need at least eight months to a year.”
That�s because unemployment is still high and layoffs are common, so you may need a larger cushion. �Desperation can foil a job search,� she adds. “You don�t want to have to take a job that could hurt your career trajectory simply because you don�t have the money to keep searching for a better opportunity.”

New Rule #2

Old Rule: Go to grad school
New Rule: Do a cost-benefit analysis before taking on any school debt
Just a few years ago, it was common to head to grad school when you couldn�t decide on a career path after graduation, or you just simply hated the job you ended up with. These days, jumping into grad school is risky because you will likely take on tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt and not be able to land a job that pays well.
�You have to ask yourself: does this make sense financially?� says Suki Shah, co-founder of career-s! earch we bsite, GetHired.com. As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn�t take on more debt than what you expect your starting salary to be, experts say. For example, if your starting salary is $50,000, don�t take on more than $50,000 in debt.
“It�s also important to look at the job market for the job you hope to get,” Shah says. �Are people getting jobs in that industry?� These days, you may be better off taking a professional development course in the field you want to move into or going to school part-time. Doing so will minimize the amount of debt you�ll have to take on.

New Rule #3

Old Rule: Buy a home
New Rule: Consider renting
A few years ago, everyone from personal finance gurus to Joe-schmo were screaming, �Buy, buy, buy!� from their overpriced rooftops. �Pre-2007, a lot of people were buying as big of a house as they could afford and then trying to flip it,� says Brian Conroy, a financial planner at Savant Capital Management.
But the tune has changed completely — to the point that in many cases, it�s simply better to rent than to buy. “It�s usually only a good idea to buy if you plan to stay in the house for a least five to ten years,” says Kaplan. �You have to expect slow appreciation.” Even then, it�s important to do your homework on everything from pricing to location to construction quality.

Gingrich: U.S. should reconsider gold standard

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is calling for the United States to think about returning to the gold standard.
Speaking at a foreign policy forum in South Carolina on Tuesday, Gingrich advocated a "commission on gold to look at the whole concept of how do we get back to hard money."
Gingrich, a former Speaker of the House, has spoken in favor of a "hard money" policy in the past, but these were his strongest comments to support reinstating the gold standard.
Gingrich would model his "gold commission" after one put in place after Ronald Reagan was elected, when the nation was battling double-digit inflation. But even then, the commission overwhelmingly rejected the idea of a return to the gold standard.
One of only two members of the 17-member commission to endorse a return to the gold standard was Ron Paul, one of Gingrich's rivals for the GOP nomination.
The United States first moved away from the gold standard, under which the dollar was backed by the nation's gold reserves, in 1933, and dropped it altogether in 1971. Despite support for its return by some on the political right, few mainstream economists support its reinstatement.

Local currencies: 'In the U.S. we don't trust'

Chief among the problems is that with a dollar pegged to gold, U.S. goods could become uncompetitive on the global markets compared to goods priced in euros or yen.
The return to a gold standard is a central point in the campaign of Paul, a Congressman from Texas who also advocates abolishing the Federal Reserve.
In his comments Tuesday, Gingrich also spoke sharply against the Fed, saying it should focus on keeping prices in check, dropping the dual mandate of job growth and fighting inflation.
"We need to say to the Federal Reserve: Your only job is to maintain the stability of the dollar because we want a dollar to be worth thirty years from now what it is worth now," he said. &q! uot;Hard money is a discipline. It means you can't inflate away your difficulties."
The Fed has become a major target of Republicans in the last year. Republican congressional leaders wrote to the Fed in September asking it to not take any additional steps to help spur the economy.
Other leading Republicans have echoed Gingrich's call to end the Fed's dual mandate. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, another presidential candidate, even suggested Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke might be guilty of treason if the Fed moved to buy more Treasuries in an attempt to spur greater growth. 

Forex Trading Software – Why Should You Choose Forex Robot?

A large number of people are building good profit in Forex market. Many are those who are seasoned traders, have learnt the tactics of the Forex trading through the very hard way and had given a lot of time to this market. Bυt these days you can find traders who are comparatively new but building good profits in this money market. Hοw is it possible? Iѕ Forex trading easy now? Anԁ the аnѕwеr is yes, Forex trading software, made it possible.
Robots are acting as a beneficial tool for earning money in Forex market. Many beginners are building good profit with the hеƖр of these software; even they have little knowledge of this market. Qualities offered by these software are forcing even experienced traders to bυу them as their assistants. If you want to know that whу y ! 1;u should bυу a Forex robot, here are few major reasons.
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o Forex trading robots save lot of time. It calculates and updates very quickly, which saves a lot of time. In addition, being fully automated they can work even in the absence of the owner. Trading software can take all decisions itself.

o Thеѕе software are easy to υѕе. A person having basic knowledge of computer can easily use th&#! 1077m.
Thеѕе are reasons that a trader can go for these Forex trading software. Thеу are available in a fаntаѕtіс range of price and with different qualities. Yου can сhοοѕе the one which fulfills your needs and suitable with your temperament of trading. Bυt be careful bυу an authentic product from genuine source. Don’t waste your money in buying scams as a bounty of them are available in market.

Pace of Mutual Fund Flows to Slow, FRC Study Says

Mutual fund net sales posted a record-high year in 2009 and despite their strong flows year-to-date through April this year ($187 billion), Financial Research Corporation (FRC) expects they will slow down overall by the end of 2010, according to the fourth edition of FRC's Mutual Fund Market Sizing study, released Monday, June 7.
Findings in the study indicate that investors appear to have stopped chasing equity market performance and are shortening their average mutual fund holding periods. FRC predicts flows into mutual funds will begin to normalize in 2011 and continue rising through 2014. This study is based on an analysis of FRC's database of mutual fund assets and net sales, FRC IMPACT, and FRC's Advisor Insight Series, as well as data from various industry sources, including the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
"Generally speaking, we do not expect 2010 to be a repeat of 2009's record-breaking performance," said Bridget Bearden, the study's author, in a statement. "However, we do expect 2010 net sales to remain high relative to the period prior to the financial crisis of 2008."
The study said there were several factors shaping the marketplace, including risk adversity within the larger investor population, not just with retirees, and declining levels of asset "stickiness."
Examining the factors that drove mutual fund inflows to new highs in 2009, FRC noticed that although equities rebounded strongly during 2009, investors didn't respond like they have during historical equity market upticks and were simply unwilling to take on more risk at the time.
"Investors are still too risk averse to invest new money into products that are traditionally associated with higher risk levels," commented Bearden. "Generally speaking, what we are seeing is a lull in investor performance-chasing behavior."
FRC also analyzed average long-term mutual fund holding periods, identifying that they reached their high in 2005 and 2006 at an average holding period of 4.4 years, and subsequently declining to 3.8 years at the end of 2007 followed by a 2.9-year holding period at the end of 2008.
"The huge drop in 2008 is indicative of the anomalous and tumultuous market environment; however, we also anticipate holding periods to continue to decline through the rest of 2010," noted Bearden.
Other findings in FRC's study:
Declining Advisor Headcounts -- The advisory landscape has shifted dramatically over the past year. The number of retail advisors declined 17% between 2009 and 2010. Specifically, advisors in the independent channel declined due to consolidation and closures of independent broker/dealers, while advisor headcount in the insurance channel fell due to insurance firms spinning off non-core brokerage arms.
Advisors Still Drive Fund Sales -- Despite a reduction in the advisory force, retail advisors still represented nearly 60% of total mutual fund gross sales for 2009, representing the channel's stability as a core mutual fund distribution channel.
RIAs Largest Opportunity for Asset Managers -- In addition to being the largest generator of mutual fund gross sales among intermediary channels, FRC projects the RIA channel to more than double its mutual fund assets by 2014.

This Medical Device Stock Could Double your Money

In today's uneven stock market, investors end up overlooking many appealing companies. And right now, they are particularly ignoring growth stocks. This usually happens when fears surface that the global economy could be heading into recession.
In times of economic stress, the health care sector is usually seen as a safe haven. But recently, many leaders in the industry have also been out of favor.

The passing of a historic health care bill in the United States last year has increased concerns that regulation will cut into profits of health care firms. Among those concerns: a 2.3% excise tax on medical-device sales, set to begin in 2013. This is obviously a negative aspect, but it isn't likely to adversely affect the inherent appeal of companies with leading devices, technologies and global growth platforms.
Add it all up, and I see a rare opportunity for investors to buy quality health care stocks.

Medical device firm St. Jude (NYSE: STJ), for instance, has such appeal. Besides a focus on growth, one of the company's main goals is to save and improve lives with its medical devices, which have become vital in the treatment of cardiac, neurologic and chronic-pain disorders. The company makes, for example, mechanical heart valves and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which detect cardiac arrhythmia and correct it by delivering shocks to the heart.
This wide range of technologically sophisticated devices is being widely adopted across the world, which has put the St. Jude on a remarkable growth trajectory. Last year, healthy sales of existing products, new product introductions and increased global reach resulted in a 10% sales growth to $5.2 billion, compared with $4.7 billion in the year before. In fact, 2010 marked the first time sales exceeded $5 billion. Earnings growth was even better, rising more than 20% to $2.75 per diluted share. In addition,! foreign sales -- which make up more than half of the company's total sales -- are growing in excess of 20% a year.
The company is also impressively profitable. Last year alone, it boasted a net profit margin of almost 18%. This represented the highest margin in the past five years, placing the company well ahead of rivals and the market in general. To put this into perspective, the health care industry as a whole has a net margin of roughly 6%, while the S&P500 average is only about 12%.
Growth expectations for all of 2011 speak to St. Jude's operating consistency. Analyst projections are currently calling for sales growth of 10% to $5.7 billion and $3.27 in earnings per share, a growth of nearly 20%. But these levels of annual increases are nothing new to existing shareholders. In the past five years, annual sales and profit growth have averaged 12% and 21.5%, respectively. The past decade is equally impressive, with annual sales growth of 16% and annual profit growth of 22%.
St. Jude also has a healthy new lineup of devices that will likely drive growth going forward. Included in the new product mix are neuromodulation devices that deliver small amounts of electricity to the nervous system to help treat chronic conditions such as Parkinson's disease and migraine headaches. Its management team estimates 18 new growth drivers should generate $18 billion in additional sales within the next five years.
In terms of archrivals, St. Jude competes against pure-play rivals such as Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) and Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX). Medtronic boasts a market capitalization of nearly $36 billion, which is close to three times St Jude's market cap of $12.5 billion. But despite an equally impressive lineup of medical devices, its already substantial size is a barrier to double-digit growth. Boston Scientific has a current market cap of less than $9 billion, but has had obstacles to overcome, including the acquisition of Guidant back in 20! 06, whic h hamstrung it with too much debt, and manufacturing problems that continued well after the purchase was completed.

Investing Online is an Investment to Your Success

While investing online, one has to ensure that they have the correct mindset to go into the future business. One has to have a definite aim and plan accordingly to reach a successful stance. There are many areas that have to be given the importance and prioritized when an online advertisement is designed. Not all the avenues can be catered to by a single individual who owns the website. Hence it is always advisable to allocate work to the specific task holders and segregate the work according to their expertise. It is not always done this way, however by dividing the work in a professional manner helps in achieving success.
It is always what one gets is what one pays for. So there is absolutely no point in saving money by getting things done free in an online investment. One has to look at the long term benefits before making any kind of decisions pertaining to finances or the investment amount. One has to be sure that the job has to be done right with the right kind of knowledge. This will ensure that one does not really try and save money initially and end up losing more than what they actually try and save, at the end of the complete process.
One has to keep imposing a lot of questions to oneself when considering the correct recruit for online marketing efforts. By asking questions, one finds out answers that will provide solutions to the requirement. This in turn aids in making the right decision for the existing situation. Thus online marketing is just not another job that is carried out but it’s an investment into the individual’s future. Each and every decision taken is important and by investing online with all the above mentioned points in mind, one is sure to have the investment to success.

Morning Movers: MLM, HHS, MA, VNO Down; ADM, BZ, OSK Up

Martin Marietta (MLM) Q3 beat earnings estimates with $1.23 per share in profit, but fell short of the sales estimates, and forecast ’09 EPS well below estimates at $2.20 to $2.45 per share, versus the consensus $2.78. The stock is down 5.4% at $82.25.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) missed revenue estimates for Q3 by a cool $3 billion, reporting $14.92 billion, down 30%, while beating EPS estimates by 20 cents with 77 cents per share. The company said it sees demand improving. The stock is up 72 cents or 2.4% at $31.25.
Boise (BZ), maker of paper and packaging products, beat EPS estimates by 2 cents and reported sales down 20%, year over year, to $508 million, missing estimates. The stock is up 19 cents, or 4%, at $4.90.
Direct marketing firm Harte Hanks (HHS) met EPS estimates for 22 cents per share, while reporting a 23% drop in revenue, missing the average $216 million estimate by $7 million. The stock is down 11 cents, or 1%, at $11.31.
Mastercard (MA) beat EPS estimates by a mile with $3.48 per share versus the $2.94 average estimate, as revenue rose 2% to $1.36 billion, beating estimates. Purchases globally were about flat with last year, the company said. The company said it will file a universal shelf registration this month. The stock was down $9.21, or 4.4%, at $213.53.
Rugged vehicle maker OshKosh (OSK) is up $2.25, or 7%, at $34.08, after the company this morning handily beat earnings estimates with 27 cents per share, with sales falling 20% but still beating estimates at $1.49 billion. The company forecast revenue growth in 2010 and expects to be “solidly profitable.”
Hospital owner Tenet Healthcare (THC) beat EPS estimates with a profit of 3 cents versus the average 2-cent loss projected, as revenue rose 6% to $2.26 billion, slightly ahead of estimates. Shares were unchanged at $5.30.
Commercial REIT Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) beat estimates by 8 cents with $1.25 per share a! s revenu e fell about 1% year over year to $671.2 million, ahead of estimates. The stock is down 71 cents, or 1%, at $59.56.

Best Wall St. Stocks Today: BBY,CC

On Wednesday we�ll get to see earnings out of Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY). The estimates from First Call are $1.65 EPS on $13.18 billion in revenues.  Next quarter estimates are $0.39 EPS on $8.58 billion in revenues. Estimates for fiscal Feb-2009 are $3.35 EPS on $43.08 billion in revenues.  These numbers may change by Wednesday morning.
Best Buy Co.�s 52-week trading range is $38.75 to $53.90. Analysts have an average price target north of $52.00 and shares closed at $40.56 on Friday.  Year-to-date, its shares are down close to 25%. We recently noted a Banc of America downgrade in the stock.
Normally we’d say to watch Circuit City (NYSE: CC) as well, but that company is so far imploded that a great Best Buy number would be interpreted as at Circuit City’s loss and a bad report from Best Buy would just imply things are bad there too.
One note that we’d like to point out is that while the stock is close to a 52-week low, these prices are close to lows not seen since mid-2005.  If $40.00 doesn’t act as a base for this electronics and appliances retail giant, then seeing this test $35.00 is not out of the realm of possibilities.  Much weak consumer spending should be factored in already, but Wall Street has been very bad in recent months of pricing in good news or bad news ahead of time.
Jon C. Ogg
March 30, 2008
Jon Ogg produces the Special Situation Investing Newsletter and he can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Higher profit seen at Disney in 2012

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) ' Walt Disney Co. is expected to post higher profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, though difficult comparisons with very strong results at ESPN and in home video in the year-earlier period could have an impact.

Disney DIS 'is expected to post a fiscal first-quarter profit of 75 cents a share, excluding stock-option payments, on revenue of $11.19 billion, according to a consensus poll of analysts by Thomson Reuters.

In the same period a year earlier, the company earned 68 cents a share on revenue of $10.7 billion.

Click to Play

NFL boasts another super thriller

Ben Cohen talks about the N.Y. Giants' win against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. (Photo: Getty Images)

Jeffrey Thomson of Hilliard Lyons said late last year that Disney's December quarter 'is likely to produce the smallest year-over-year increase' of fiscal 2012, 'due in part to a tough comparison to the year-ago quarter ' a period that included considerable growth at ESPN and benefits of robust DVD sales of 'Toy Story 3.''

Across the media and entertainment industries, there is optimism about the advertising market, especially in television, which has held most of its appeal for advertisers as one of the few remaining ways to reach mass audiences.

Ad sales and rates are expected to once again be strong at ESPN, where! NBA gam es, college basketball and various shows around the NFL have led to solid ratings gains, but Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger warned in November that comparisons with the fiscal fourth quarter of 2010 would be difficult.

At ABC, the network's situation comedies have received solid ratings, though it ranks third among the Big Four networks among adults 18 to 49 years old ' the group most desired by advertisers because of its apparent willingness to switch brands.

Analysts will look forward to getting more insights from Iger on the online-video model and its potential effect on traditional TV. Comcast Corp. CMCSA 'and Disney unveiled a 10-year deal last month that will make Disney shows available on a wide variety of Comcast platforms, including regular TV, video-on-demand, phones and tablets. Under the deal, Comcast customers can watch Disney shows online that can't otherwise be viewed on the Web.

Disney executives will probably also be asked what last month's Italian cruise-ship tragedy could mean for its own cruise ships. The Carnival Cruise-owned Costa Concordia foundered off the coast of Italy, killing at least 16, and observers fear that the incident could be a concern to would-be passengers in the near term.

Disney recently launched its third ship, the Disney Dream, and some analysts speculated that a fourth could be launched in fiscal 2012.

Best Wall St. Stocks Today: AMR,NWA,DAL,UAUA

In all industries staying out of Chapter 11 is a badge of honor. The sole exception to that is the airline business where bankruptcy is embedded in the culture like ticks are on the hide of a deer.
One of the few large US airlines which stayed out of a significant financial mess over the last decade is AMR (NYSE: AMR), the parent of American Airlines. In the most perverse sort of way, a Chapter 11 filing four or five years ago might have spared AMR from its current perilous state.
One advantage that Northwest (NYSE: NWA), Delta (NYSE: DAL), and United (NASDAQ: UAUA) have in the present difficult economic environment is that they used their trips through the Chapter 11 process to tear away debt as well as employees which they deemed to be redundant. By several accounts, NWA has saved over $2 billion a year because it went through bankruptcy.
All of the large US airlines are at great financial risk now. Ditto for many of their overseas brethren like Alitalia. Fuel costs are up sharply and passenger revenue and revenue miles are likely to fall as the economy keeps people off commercial carriers The very rich can continue to operate their own fleets of private jets.
The present financial trouble does not strike each large US airline equally. Largely because of an advantage of Chapter 11, NWA has $6 billion in debt to its $3 billion in cash. At AMR, long-term debt totals $15.6 billion compared to its $4.6 billion in cash. Last year, AMR’s EBITDA was only about two times it interest expenses. By paying all of its bills, AMR has been placed at a great disadvantage.
AMR had very modest operating income of $965 million last year compared to its $22.9 billion in revenue. The market has figured out the problem. While shares in other national carriers are off about 50% in the last six months, AMR is off 60%. That is a significant negative premium, a vote saying AMR is in a different bucket than its competitors are.
Aloha Air, ATA, ! and SkyB us all went out of business in the last two weeks. Several carriers reported falling traffic for March. At AMR, domestic traffic fell 5.9% for the month.
At some point soon, the dropping revenue effect and rising expenses cross where interest payments matter.
That will be soon at AMR and it puts the company at great peril.
Douglas A. McIntyre

Best Wall St. Stocks Today: ARMH,BRCD,CTF,HRBN,HOVNP,JACK,JASO

Active traders and day traders have many stocks to choose from this Tuesday morning.� We are tracking news and moves in shares of Arm Holdings Plc. (NASDAQ: ARMH),�Brocade Communication Systems, inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD),�China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTF),�Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN),�Hovnanian Enterprises (NASDAQ: HOVNP), Jack In The Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK), and�JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO).
Arm Holdings Plc. (NASDAQ: ARMH) is down 3% to $18.05. the stock is trading withing a 52-week range of $7.53 to $19.96.
Brocade Communication Systems, inc. (NASDAQ: BRCD) is down more than 7% on heavy volume after worse-than-expected 4Q earnings.
China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CTF) is up 4.59% to $4.10 after higher 3Q guidance. Shares of CTF are close to the top of their 52-week range of $1.91-$4.22.
Harbin Electric, Inc. (NASDAQ: HRBN) has slid 6.25% premarket after a 5.6% gain yesterday.
Hovnanian Enterprises (NASDAQ: HOVNP) is up 4.4% premarket on light volume to $6.40, relative to a 52-week range of $4.59 to $11.64.
Jack In The Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) Has fallen an additional 6% premarket after a 3.42% loss yesterday, as a result of disappointing earnings.
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) is down 3.39% premarket to $7.42, relative to a 52-week range of $3.70 to $10.24.
-Michael B. Sauter

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012

Oil services are the best place to invest in the entire energy sector, because every barrel of oil extracted today was marginally more difficult and expensive to get than it was yesterday. And that trend looks inexorable.
That does not mean that I believe there is necessarily a supply constraint in energy right now, only that the technology of extraction continues to get more complex.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Bemis Company Inc. (BMS)

 Bemis Company, Inc. manufactures and sells flexible packaging products and pressure sensitive materials in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, and Australasia. The company operates in two segments, Flexible Packaging and Pressure Sensitive Materials. The Flexible Packaging segment manufactures multilayer flexible polymer film structures and laminates for food, medical, and personal care products, and non-food applications utilizing vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging. It also offers blown and cast stretch film products; carton sealing tapes and application equipment; custom thermoformed plastic packaging; multiwall paper bags; printed paper roll stock; and bag closing materials. The Pressure Sensitive Materials segment manufactures pressure sensitive adhesive coated paper and film substrates comprising label market products, such as narrow-Web rolls of pressure sensitive paper, film, and metalized film printing stocks used in printing and die-cutting. This segment also provides graphic market products consisting of pressure sensitive films used for decorative signage through computer-aided plotters, digital and screen printers, and photographic over laminate and mounting materials, including optical films with built-in UV inhibitors; and technical market products, such as micro-thin film adhesives used in delicate electronic parts assembly and pressure sensitive applications. Bemis Company, Inc. distributes its products primarily through its direct sales force to food and beverage, chemical, agribusiness, medical, pharmaceutical, personal care, electronics, automotive, construction, graphic industries, and other consumer goods markets. The company was formerly known as Bemis Bro. Bag Company and changed its name to Bemis Company, Inc. in 1965. Bemis Company, Inc. was founded in 1858 and is based in Neenah, Wisconsin.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S.A. de C.V. (ASR)

 Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, holds concessions to operate, maintain, and develop airports in the southeast region of Mexico. It operates nine airports located in Cancun, Cozumel, Huatulco, Merida, Minatitlan, Oaxaca, Tapachula, Veracruz, and Villahermosa. The company offers various aeronautical services, including passenger, landing, aircraft parking, usage of passenger walkways, and airport security services. Its non-aeronautical services comprise commercial activities, such as the leasing of space in airports to retailers, restaurants, airlines, and other commercial tenants, as well as advertising; and the provision of complementary services consisting of luggage check-in, sorting and handling, aircraft servicing at gates, aircraft cleaning and maintenance, cargo handling, airport security, aircraft catering, assistance with passenger boarding and deplaning, ground transport, and aircraft fuel supply services to air carriers. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Parke Bancorp Inc. (PKBK)

 Parke Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Parke Bank that provides personal and business financial services to individuals and small to mid-sized businesses in Gloucester, Atlantic, and Cape May counties in New Jersey and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company offers various deposit products comprising checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial real estate construction loans, working capital loans and lines of credit, demand, term, and time loans; equipment, inventory, and accounts receivable financing; and residential mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, fixed rate second mortgages, new and used auto loans, and overdraft protection products. In addition, the company offers overnight depository, ACH, wire transfer services, and merchant capture electronic check processing services; and contemporary products and services, such as debit cards, Internet banking, and online bill payment. Parke Bancorp was founded in 1999 and is based in Washington Township, New Jersey.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Full House Resorts Inc. (FLL)

 Full House Resorts, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manages, invests in, and owns gaming-related enterprises. The company holds interest in Gaming Entertainment (Delaware), LLC, a joint venture with Harrington Raceway, Inc., which has a management contract with Harrington Raceway and Casino that has approximately 1,800 slot machines and 40 table games, a 450-seat buffet, a dining restaurant, a 50-seat diner, and an entertainment lounge area located in Harrington, Delaware. It also owns and operates Stockman?s Casino, which has approximately 264 slot machines, 4 table games, and keno, as well as a bar, a dining restaurant, and a coffee shop situated in Fallon, Nevada. In addition, the company holds interests in Gaming Entertainment Michigan, LLC that has a joint venture with RAM Entertainment, LLC, which has a management agreement with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians for the development and management of the FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan. Full House Resorts, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:IRIDEX Corporation (IRIX)

 IRIDEX Corporation provides therapeutic based laser systems, delivery devices, and consumable instrumentation to treat eye diseases in ophthalmology, and skin conditions in dermatology in the United States and internationally. It offers various ophthalmic products, such as infrared photocoagulator consoles, visible (green) and visible (yellow) photocoagulator consoles, and multi-wavelength laser system configurations; and ophthalmic delivery devices comprising TruFocus laser indirect ophthalmoscopes, slit lamp adapters, operating microscope adapters, EndoProbes, G-Probes, and DioPexy Probes. The company offers its ophthalmic products to treat age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, retinal tears and detachments, retinopathy of prematurity, ocular tumors, and macular holes. It also offers aesthetics products, which include combination infrared/visible wavelength laser, visible (green), and infrared consoles. In addition, the company offers aesthetics delivery devices, such as Dermastat Handpieces that are used as tracing instruments for the treatment of small cutaneous surface lesions; DioLite Handpieces, which are handheld instruments used in the treatment of vascular and pigmented skin lesions; VariLite Handpiece, a handheld instrument used in the treatment of vascular and pigmented cutaneous skin lesions, and small area hair reduction; and ScanLite scanner, a computer pattern generator for the treatment of larger-area vascular and pigmented skin lesions. IRIDEX Corporation sells its products to ophthalmologists specializing in retina, glaucoma, and pediatrics; dermatologists; plastic surgeons; research and teaching hospitals; government installations; surgical centers; and hospitals through direct sales force and distributors. The company was formerly known as IRIS Medical Instruments, Inc. and changed its name to IRIDEX Corporation in November 1995. IRIDEX Corporation was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Lorillard Inc (LO)

 Lorillard, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. The company offers 43 different product offerings under the Newport, Kent, True, Maverick, and Old Gold brand names. Lorillard, Inc. sells its products primarily to wholesale distributors, who in turn service retail outlets, chain store organizations, and government agencies, including the United States? Armed Forces. The company was founded in 1760 and is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Advisors' Opinion:

• By Glenn At 2011-10-6
  Lorillard (LO), through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. The company has paid a rising dividend since becoming a separately traded company in 2008. It yields 5.40% and has a high dividend payout ratio as well.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Dynasil Corporation of America (DYSL)

 Dynasil Corporation of America engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of specialized sensors, precision instruments, and optical products in the United States and internationally. Its products include optical instruments, as well as components that are used for optical instruments, lasers, analytical instruments, semiconductor/electronic devices, automotive components, spacecraft/aircraft components, advertising displays, baggage scanners, and in devices for the solar energy industry. The company also produces analytical instruments, including instruments designed to measure the ?Sun Protection Factor? of sunscreens; handheld instruments to determine whether there is lead in the paint of buildings and whether electronics are in compliance with the reduction of hazardous substances regulations; and medical probes, which reduce the scope of cancer surgery. Dynasil Corporation distributes its products through direct sales force, as well as through manufacturer?s representatives and distributors. Its products and services are used in a range of application markets, including the medical, industrial, and homeland security/defense sectors. The company also involves in contract research activities. Dynasil Corporation was founded in 1960 and is based in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT)

 Lockheed Martin Corporation engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, operation, and sustainment of advanced technology systems and products in the areas of defense, space, intelligence, homeland security, and government information technology in the United States and internationally. It also provides management, engineering, technical, scientific, logistic, and information services. The company operates in four segments: Aeronautics, Electronic Systems, Information Systems & Global Services (IS&GS), and Space Systems. The Aeronautics segment offers military aircraft, including combat and air mobility aircraft, unmanned air vehicles, and related technologies. Its products and programs comprise the F-35 multi-role, stealth fighter; the F-22 air dominance and multi-mission stealth fighter; the F-16 multi-role fighter; the C-130J tactical transport aircraft; and the C-5M strategic airlifter modernization program; and support for the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, and the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The Electronic Systems segment provides air and missile defense; tactical missiles; weapon fire control systems; surface ship and submarine combat systems; anti-submarine and undersea warfare systems; land, sea-based, and airborne radars; surveillance and reconnaissance systems; simulation and training systems; and integrated logistics and sustainment services. The IS&GS segment offers information technology solutions and advanced technology primarily in the areas of software and systems integration for space, air, and ground systems to various defense and civil government agencies. The Space Systems segment provides government and commercial satellites; strategic and defensive missile systems, including missile defense technologies and systems, and fleet ballistic missiles; and space transportation systems. Lockheed Martin Corporation was founded in 1909 and is based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:

• By Jeff Reeves At 2011-10-21!
  Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is America’s premiere aerospace and defense company, and consistently ranks at or near No. 1 in the list of U.S. federal contractors.
  Current Yield: 3.9% ($3 a share annually)
  Dividend History: In June 2010, Lockheed Martin paid a quarterly dividend of 63 cents a share. This July, it will pay 75 cents, or a 19% increase.
  Dividend Outlook: According to Bloomberg, the three-year expected dividend growth rate of Lockheed is a stunning is 15%.
  Recent Performance: Though flat over the past 12 months, as the crisis in Libya has brought defense spending into focus, LMT shares have rallied 14% in 2011, despite talk of federal spending cuts.
  Outlook for Shares: Lockheed has proven it is a necessary player in the U.S. defense budget, and even if that budget sees some reductions, you can bet that Lockheed will still benefit. For instance, it is currently working on the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which will be delivered at the latter part of this decade. Lockheed has the reputation and resources to thrive even if leaner spending lies ahead.
• By Dave Friedman At 2011-9-22
  The shares closed at $70.26, up $1.14, or 1.65%, on the day. They have traded in a 52-week range of $66.36 to $82.43. Volume today was 3,030,515 shares, against a 3-month average volume of 2,513,850 shares. Its market capitalization is $23.41billion, its trailing P/E is 8.80, its trailing earnings are $7.99 per share, and it pays a dividend of $3.00 per share, for a dividend yield of 4.30%. About the company: Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security company that primarily researches, designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates advanced technology products and services. The Company’s businesses span space, telecommunications, electronics, information and services, aeronautics, energy, and systems integration. Lockheed Martin operates worldwide.

Good Stocks To Invest In 2012:Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG)

 Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement savings, investment, and insurance products and services worldwide. The company?s Retirement and Investor Services segment provides retirement savings and related investment products and services, including a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals in the United States. This segment offers products and services to businesses for defined contribution pension plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, and employee stock ownership plan consulting services; and annuities, mutual funds, and bank products and services to the employees of its business customers and other individuals. Principal Financial Group?s Principal Global Investors segment offers a range of equity, fixed income, and real estate investments, as well as specialized overlay and advisory services to institutional investors. The company?s Principal International segment offers retirement products and services, annuities, mutual funds, institutional asset management, and life insurance accumulation products in Brazil, Chile, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Thailand. Principal Financial Group?s U.S. Insurance Solutions segment offers individual life insurance, as well as specialty benefits in the United States. Its individual life insurance products include universal and variable universal life insurance and traditional life insurance; and specialty benefit products comprise group dental and vision insurance, individual and group disability insurance, and group life insurance, as well as fee-for-service claims administration and wellness services. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Advisors' Opinion:

• By Goldman At 2011-8-28
  Principal Financial(PFG) is an insurance and investment man! agement company.
  Principal is due to release fourth-quarter results today. It has an average earnings surprise average of 4.8% and moves 4%, both up and down, in reaction to earnings announcements. Principal's stock has soared 50% in the past 12 months, easily outpacing indices, and 13% in the past three months. Consequently, it has passed many of analysts' price targets. Goldman is still bullish, but predicts just 7% of remaining upside in the next 12 months.
  Principal receives "buy" ratings from just 26% of researchers evaluating its stock. But, it is still notably undervalued relative to its peer group. The stock trades at a forward earnings multiple of less than 12, a book value multiple of 1.2 and a cash flow multiple of 4.5, 21%, 70% and 71% industry discounts. The stock pays an annual dividend, which fluctuates depending upon operating results. This year's 55 cent annual payout translated to a 2% yield on payment.

Apple: UBS Ups Target to $675, Oppenheimer to $700, Raise Estimates

Shares of Apple (AAPL) are down $5.39, or 1%, at $580.18 this morning as the company’s newest iPad goes on sale, and as two upbeat analyst notes surfaced.
UBS’s Maynard Um this morning reiterated a Buy rating and raised his price target to $675 from $550, writing that Apple may “accelerate the number of initial carriers” to whom it offers its iPhone when it introduces an “iPhone 5″ later this year, which he expects to be “still the Big Catalyst Ahead,” and in fact, “the biggest catalyst and launch in Apple’s history.”
Um also thinks something called “account-based billing” could be a plus for Apple. Under that scheme, multiple Apple devices could share a single high-speed 4G bill, rather than each device spawning a new monthly commitment.
Um raised his estimates for fiscal 2013 (ending September of that year) to $180 billion in revenue and $50.43 per share in profit, up from a prior $175 .8 billion and $48.83 per share.
And Oppenheimer & Co.’s Ittai Kidron this morning raised his price target on the shares to $700 from $570, writing that the introduction of the new iPad “looks to be very strong,” and that his “checks” of sales of the iPhone 4S in the U.S. and overseas are “consistently positive.”
Kidron sees “ample reach” to extend the iPhone’s sales, in particular within China, he writes. He expects demand for the iPad to outstrip supply through Q3 of this fiscal year, which ends in June.
“And the iPad is also levered to a still developing market with Apple’s dominance yet to weaken even with many value options available.”
Kidron now models $171 billion in revenue and $46.70 per share this fiscal year, up from $168 billion and $45.78. For next year, he models $200.4 billion and $54.40 per share, up from a prior $193.7 billion and $52.3! 8.
Fin

Stocks: Ready to hold steady

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were expected to open little changed Tuesday, while world markets responded positively to indications that the Federal Reserve is prepared to keep interest rates at very low levels.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were slightly negative. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Investors head into Tuesday's session mulling the latest data on the troubled housing market, and awaiting a new reading on consumer confidence that's on tap.

A slew of reports released last week suggest that the housing market remains a drag on an economy that otherwise shows signs of improving.
On top of home price data from the Case-Shiller 20-City Index, investors will also look at corporate results from homebuilder Lennar for a reading on the sector.
In the afternoon, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a lecture at George Washington University, and a House Financial Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on aid to the eurozone.

Regional banks ready to rally

U.S. stocks rallied Monday, after Bernanke's comments on the job market gave investors reason to believe the central bank will keep interest rates low.
World markets: European stocks were mixed in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) was unchanged, the DAX (DAX) in Germany rose 0.6% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) dropped 0.2%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) shed 0.2%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong gained 1.8% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) jumped 2.4%.
Economy: Home prices in 20 major cities fell to the lowest level since 2002, according to S&P/Case-Shiller.
The index for January dropped 3.8%, after a 4.1% drop in the month prior.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for March is expected to come in at 70.1, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com, down from 70.8 in February.
Companies: Lennar (LEN) posted earnings of 8 cents per share on revenue of $725 million, figures that topped analysts' estimates. The homebuilder said it has seen an uptick in sales and new orders in the first quarter. Shares were up 4% on the news.
Drug-store chain Walgreen (WAG, Fortune 500) reported earnings of 78 cents a share on $18.7 billion in revenue, slightly better than analyst estimates. Shares were up by 0.4% in premarket trading.

Why Netflix's Facebook app would be illegal

Shares of private education provider Apollo Group (APOL, Fortune 500) dropped 6% in premarket trading, despite reporting earnings late Monday that beat Wall Street estimates.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar strengthened against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil for May delivery rose 16 cents to $107.19 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery increased $7.40 to $1,693 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury increased, pushing the yield down to 2.23% from 2.25% late Monday.

A Closer Look at the World of Insider Trading

Recently, insider trading is becoming a very common term, because it’s been in the news lately for all the improper motives. The quick explosion of negative media reports, have nonetheless bewildered many. Many investors, in particular those that happen to be not into stocks full-time, still find it something against the law. Are you one of them?
What’s The Real truth about Insider Trading?
The reality is, it can be both legal and illegal. Most of the controversies around it concern the illegal activities obviously.
In insider trading, the “insider” is a person in the management of the organization. Occasionally people in the panel or the management, and even employees purchase the stocks of the company where they work for. This is called insider trading. When this occurs, the industry perceives this as a “buy” signal just like an insider has the confidence in the stock, then the management must be certain concerning the way forward for the business – this is how the thinking runs.
Legal and Illegal Insider Trading

Legally, corporate insiders are permitted to buy the stocks and shares of the organizations wherever they are employed. There is no rule saying it’s wrong. However it is vital that the SEC or Securities and Exchange Commission comes to know about this trade. So it is completely authorized when the SEC is up to date.
However, it will become illegitimate if there’s a breach in the fiduciary duty or another relationship of confidence and trust. The reasoning here is – insiders may frequently have in possession, some good info or material about the industry or perhaps the business that is not on the market to people away from company, and will also give them an unfair edge. Telling this information secretly to an outsider is undoubtedly an act of tipping, and this can also be illegal insider trading.
Watching out for the hidden signals of insider trading i! s a bril liant method to stay ahead of the market.

Cash for Keys: Avoid Foreclosure, Pay the Bank Less Than What You Owe… and Get $30,000

U.S. banks have a deal for underwater homeowners: Avoid foreclosure by selling your house for less than what you owe... and they'll pay you $30,000 or more to close the deal.

It's called Cash for Keys, and it's working.

Banks typically hate short sales because they lose money. The alternative, however, is even more costly and time-consuming. It can take thousands of dollars to evict homeowners and years to get through the backlog of paperwork.

Now regulatory investigations could lengthen the foreclosure process even more. Banks have been blamed for robo-signing - approving foreclosure papers without reviewing them - and using faulty documents to seize homes.

So instead of blocking short sales, like they have done in the past, lenders are now encouraging them. Banks don't want to keep these assets on the books, and they're willing to pay to speed up the process.

"You could sell your home, owe nothing more on your mortgage and get $30,000," JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) wrote in a letter to an underwater homeowner obtained by Bloomberg News.

Banks Prefer Cash for Keys to Costly Foreclosures

Bloomberg said California homeowner Karen Farley struck a deal with JPMorgan in which she received $30,000 for selling her home for $200,000 less than what she owed.

"I wondered, why would they offer me something, and why wouldn't they just give me the boot?" Farley, 65, told Bloomberg. "Instead, I'm getting money."

U.S. government regulators encouraged the Cash for Keys program in a private meeting with banks in March 2011 to speed up the U.S. housing market recovery.

Banks now encourage short sales by pre-approving deals, simplifying the closing process, and forfeiting their right to purse unpaid debt - in addition ! to payi ng the seller thousands of dollars.

"My guess is they want to get rid of bad loans," Trent Chapman, a realtor who trains brokers and attorneys to negotiate short sales with banks, told Bloomberg. "If they short sale these types of loans, they have less of a headache and have some goodwill with the homeowner."

Lenders ultimately lose about 15% less in short sales than they do on foreclosures, which incur years of taxes and legal costs. Short sales in the United States average about four months to close, according to Bloomberg.

Incentives Boost Short Sales

The incentives are working. Short sale deals accounted for 33% of related transactions in November 2011, up from 24% a year before, according to CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX).

JPMorgan is known for the biggest short-sale incentive payout, but according to real estate agents other banks have followed suit.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) offers as much as $20,000 in relocation expenses for short sellers. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) tried a short sale pilot program with 20,000 Florida homeowners, offering up to $20,000 or 5% of the unpaid loan balance.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) offers about $3,000, but the amount varies depending on each case.

Banks also fork over thousands of dollars to second-lien owners, who can block short sales because the deal wipes out their loans.

A continued increase in short sale transactions could help the U.S. housing market rebound faster than if all those homes went into foreclosure. There are currently more than 14 million U.S. homeowners with homes in foreclosure, who are behind on mortgages, or who owe more than what their properties are worth, according to RealtyTrac.

Those homes will continue to weigh on home prices and keep them low for years. U.S. home prices showed another decline for November 2011, its third straight mon! thly los s, as the U.S. housing market trends toward a bottom this year.

In addition to banks' Cash for Keys incentives, homeowners also can benefit from the U.S. government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program. Started in 2010, it offers up to $3,000 for homeowners who choose short sales.

News and Related Story Links:

• Money Morning: Case-Shiller Home Price Index: U.S. Housing Market Nearing Bottom in 2012
• Money Morning: Romney Avoids Nevada's Housing Market Problems with a Tactic That Could Work – for Now
• Bloomberg News: Banks Paying Cash to Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures
• The Financial Times:
  US banks in ‘cash for keys’ foreclosure talks

(KMT, NHPR, BOB.V, KRC, SSS) Stocks in Focus by DrStockPick.com

Kennametal Inc. (NYSE:KMT) announced that Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Frank P. Simpkins will meet with various members of the financial community in Dallas on May 3 and select cities in New Jersey on May 4-5, 2011. In addition, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos M. Cardoso will meet with various members of the financial community on May 11, 2011, at the Wells Fargo Industrial & Construction Conference in New York City. The presentation slides will be available on the company’s website, www.kennametal.com.
Materion Corporation, a materials solutions company, engages in the production and supply of high-performance engineered materials in the United States and internationally.
National Health Partners, Inc. (NHPR)

Expensive healthcare has become a big issue now days in USA. Over 60% of adults ages 50 to 64 that are working (or have a working spouse) have been diagnosed with at least one chronic health condition, such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund. The one-fifth of older workers and their spouses 7 million Americans either have no healthcare insurance or have been uninsured at some time since age 50. The raises alarms about the ability of the U.S. healthcare system to cope with the future healthcare needs of aging low and middle income baby boomers, who face:
1) Increasing healthcare issues.
2) Unstable healthcare insurance coverage.
3) High medical costs.
4) Debt problems.
National Health Partners, Inc. is a national healthcare savings organization that provides discount healthcare membership programs to uninsured and underinsured people through a national healthcare savings network called “CARExpress.” CARExpress is one of the largest networks of hospitals, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other healthcare providers in the country and is comprised of over! 1,000,0 00 medical professionals that belong to such PPOs as CareMark and Aetna.
National Health Partners, Inc.’s shares are publicly traded on the OTCBB under the ticker symbol NHPR.OB.
National Health Partners, Inc. recently announced that it has signed a new agreement with a major marketing company that will significantly enhance the growth of its CARExpress membership base.
According to the Company, this deal, in combination with the previous partnership with Xpress Healthcare, will enable the company to build its membership base exponentially, initially generating in excess of an additional 2,000 new members per month. The new campaign is set to launch within the next few weeks and will provide a material positive impact on the company’s 2nd quarter sales.
National Health Partners anticipate that this new marketing agreement will provide a major impact on their overall sales not only for the 2nd quarter, but more importantly for the year. They look forward to building on the profits that they anticipate generating in 2011 that will be driven by substantial growth in sales of their CARExpress health discount programs. The combination of their substantial growth with their low price-to-equity ratio should reflect itself in the price of their stock over the coming months.
For more information about National Health Partners, Inc visit its website www.nationalhealthpartners.com
Global Hunter Corp. (BOB.V)

Molybdenum is alloyed with steel making it stronger and more highly resistant to heat because molybdenum has such a high melting temperature. The alloys are used to make such things as rifle barrels and filaments for light bulbs. The iron and steel industries account for more than 75% of molybdenum consumption.
Global Hunter Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada and Chile. It primarily explores for gold, copper, and base ! and prec ious metals. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Other major uses as an alloy include: Tool steels, for things like bearings, dies, machining components; cast irons, for steel mill rolls, auto parts, crusher parts; super alloys for use in furnace parts, gas turbine parts, and chemical processing equipment.
General uses for molybdenum are in machinery (35%), for electrical applications (15%), in transportation (15%), in chemicals (10%), in the oil and gas industry (10%), and assorted others (15%).
Global Hunter Corp. is currently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX.V: BOB) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE: G5D).
Global Hunter Corp. announced that it recently completed a surface sampling program at La Corona de Cobre. The program was designed to collect surface samples from the numerous prospective shear zones. This would aid in the definition of drill targets to expand on the copper oxide mineralization. The company has collected approximately 250 samples from the shear zones listed below.
The shear zones and areas of alteration that have been sampled (from East to West) include the following zones:
- El Manto.
- La Golondrina.
- Cerro Borracho.
- El Tazon.
- La Copa.
- La Varrilla.
- Et Tazon.
- Vino Fino.
- Abisinia.
The samples will be collected from outcrops along the entire strike lengths of the shears and have been shipped to ALS Chemex Labs in La Serena Chile for analysis.
For more information about Global Hunter Corp please visit http://www.globalhunter.ca
Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE:KRC) announced that it has closed on its public offering of 6,037,500 shares at a price of $38.25 per share, which includes 787,500 shares sold to the underwriters upon the exercise of their overallotment option. The deal was upsized from the originally announced 4,500,000 shares (plus 675,000 shares subject to the underwrite! rs’ ; overallotment option). Net proceeds from the offering were approximately $221.2 million. Additional details related to this offering, including the company’s use of proceeds, may be found in the prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 7, 2011.
Kilroy Realty Corporation is a privately owned real estate investment trust. The firm engages in investment, development, and management of properties. It invests in the real estate markets of Southern California.
Sovran Self Storage, Inc., (NYSE:SSS) will issue financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 after the market closes on Wednesday, May 4, 2011. The Company will conduct a conference call to review financial results and discuss operations on Thursday, May 5, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To access the conference call, dial 877.407.8033 (domestic), or 201.689.8033 (international), at least five minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. Management will accept questions from registered financial analysts after prepared remarks; all others are encouraged to listen to the call via webcast at www.unclebobs.com/company/investment/events.
Sovran Self Storage, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed equity REIT that is in the business of acquiring and managing self storage facilities.

TiVo: What’s Next In A Google TV World?

A day after Google (GOOG) launched its TV initiative to great fanfare, it’s reasonable to wonder what impact the move could have on TiVo (TIVO).
The DVR pioneer was already in a tough position following a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals to rehear an appeal in the company’s long-running patent litigation with Dish Network (DISH) and Echostar (SATS). Shares have tumbled nearly 50% since the May 14 ruling.
Now the question is can TiVo compete in the same arena as Google. Tony Wible, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott, says there are still a few factors working in TiVo’s favor.
In a research note Friday, he writes that TiVo is a natural acquisition for Google, “as a means of accelerating its TV ambitions.” Alternatively, given the threat posed by Google in the living room, Microsoft (MSFT) or Cisco (CSCO) could become interested buyers.
Separately, Wible thinks the cable operators could further align themselves with TiVo’s product, to try to fend off the Google threat. While Google TV could push viewers away from cable offerings, TiVo does less to challenge the status quo, Wible says.
He maintains a Buy rating and $24.50 price target on TiVo shares.
TiVo closed up 20 cents, or 2.3%, Friday to $9.04.

With or Without "Obamacare" These Healthcare Stocks Are Headed Higher

The fat lady hasn't sung yet...but she is warming up.

Three days of arguments before the Supreme Court have made it abundantly clear - "Obamacare" is in danger of being gutted or completely wiped off the books.

Only one thing's for sure. Investors will want to keep buying healthcare stocks -especially as 10,000 baby boomers a day turn 65 years old for the next 20 years.

But there's one segment of the healthcare sector that will be sitting in the driver's seat when it comes to delivering healthy profits and investment returns - no matter how the court rules.

Here's what you need to know...

Obamacare's Confusing Details

Fact is, analysts have been struggling to figure out how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would impact various segments of the healthcare sector ever since the bill was passed.

"For most companies, the bill is neither very good nor very bad," Dan Mendelson, CEO of Avalere Health, told NPR after the bill passed in 2010. "Across each of the different segments there are pieces that will be good and pieces that will be more challenging."

That's because in addition to a slew of new taxes on pharmaceutical, hospital, and insurance businesses, Obamacare includes a dizzying array of incentives that will have a dramatic effect on industry profits.

Uncertainty surrounding the law is already rattling stocks.

Healthcare stocks have underperformed the broader market this year, up 6.4% compared to the S&P 500's 11.6% gain.
With the bill's fate up in the air, major players will have to devise new strategies for either outcome.

What Obamacare Means for
Healthcare Stocks

Here's what the law might mean for major players.

Big Pharma - Big drug makers like Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE: LLY), would pay about ! $85 bill ion over 10 years to fund ACA. They also made concessions that would save the Medicare system billions of dollars a year.

In return, they were able to kill a proposal to allow cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and were granted longer patents on generic versions of biotech drugs.

On balance, they probably would come out ahead.

Insurance Companies - The picture appears positive for insurance companies. The infusion of 40 million new people into the system is seen as a gigantic shot in the arm.

But there are huge tradeoffs.

Most importantly, the insurers would no longer be able to deny people coverage based on pre-existing conditions. They also would face billions of dollars in new taxes and restrictions.

But insurers supported the plan for one simple reason - they can pass any cost increases on to their customers.

Hospitals & Doctors -Over the next 10 years, hospitals and doctors would contribute $155 billion to paying for the legislation by taking smaller payments from Medicare and other government programs.

But if the court rules that the individual mandate is constitutional, hospitals would no longer be forced to treat patients who can't pay for their services.

The Ultimate Winner in the Obamacare Debate

There's only one sector that is likely to benefit no matter what the court decides.

Managed care companies, typically known as Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), are already heavily involved in reducing health care costs.

They do that through a variety of techniques to reduce unnecessary health care costs by reviewing the necessity of services, controlling admissions and lengths of stay and intensive management of health care cases.

Although widely criticized for denying medical services, they are also credited with subduing medical cost inflation.
!
But here's the kicker: fully 90% of insured Americans are enrolled in plans with some form of managed care, according the industry's trade association.

That puts them in a position to profit delivering investors solid returns for years to come -- no matter how the Supreme Court weighs in.

Here are three managed-care companies that stand to thrive - whether Obamacare survives or not.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) - the largest managed care company provides services to more than 78 million members. Its products include risk-based health insurance and plan management for mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals. Shares are up 6.2% this year and have a three-year average annual return of 36%.

WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) -- is one of the largest U.S. managed care firms with over 34 million members. The company offers various network-based managed care plans to large and small employers, individual, and Medicaid markets. The stock is up 1% this year and has a three-year average annual return of 24%.

Aetna (NYSE: AET) -- the nation's third-largest managed-care organization with a market value of $16 billion, Aetna provides medical, pharmacy, dental, and vision plans. Shares are up 8.5% this year and have a three-year average annual return of 24%.

News & Related Story Links:

• Money Morning:
  Drug Companies and Hospitals Get a Boost from Healthcare Reform
• Money Morning:
  From Obamacare to Taxes: 5 Hot Topics Politicians Love to Lie About
• NPR:
  Health Care Firms See Mixed Blessing In Overhaul
• Yahoo Finance:
  Health Care Sector Is a Winner Regardless of Supreme Court Ruling

Best Wall St. Stocks Today:

A argument has arisen about whether the facility put together last spring to help finance Greece and to cover future bailouts of eurozone nations if they need it is large enough. The package put together by the EU and IMF totaled nearly $1 trillion.
That fund has put nearly $150 billion into Greece. Many capital markets investors believe that will need to be increased in two years. Ireland may need $130 billion, a
lthough the problems with its banks have not been sufficiently analyzed and the outcome of its austerity package remains unknown. Several EU members want Portugal to tap the fund because its cost to raise money has moved up sustainability. And, there is Spain with 20% unemployment and a housing market which gets into more trouble as time passes.
Several analysts have pointed out that the size of the Spanish economy is more than that of Ireland, Greece, and Portugal combined. It is a very crude measurement to determine what Spain may need in terms of money from the EU/IMF facility.
The total obligations to cover the financial needs of the four nations could rise to $600 billion or $700 billion, which would test the current fund. That test could become harder if any of the four nations’ voters reject austerity and vote in legislators opposed to cost cuts. The changes of heart do not mean the nations can dodge the laws of finance. It only means they may push their days of reckoning further into the future, and that would probably mean bigger bailouts.
There are two opposing arguments about the bailout fund size. The first is that the stronger nations of Europe and IMF should save all the troubled nations at once to salvage the euro and undercut the fears of investors. If this were to work, borrowing costs for the region would drop and perhaps the capital markets would return to normal. Countering that is the point of view that a larger bailout fund would lead to more contagion as the weaker nations grab for the money in the facilit! y to plu g the holes in their budgets. That argument against this is simple. Countries which take aide also lose a large portion of their financial sovereignty which is then transferred to the IMF, France, and Germany in exchange for the help.
The foot race is on: can Spain and Portugal convince investors that their budget plans are strong enough to mitigate their needs for capital? Or, will concerns about their financial futures continue to drive the yields on their sovereign paper higher?
There is middle course. It is for each country to raise taxes so rapidly that, if the increases hold, the need for outside capital will drop. Such a move would essentially make the countries self-financing. It might also cause unprecedented labor riots. Tax increases are the other side of the austerity coin. But, there is a long shot that higher receipts to treasuries may be a solution which keeps Spain and Portugal from the need to rely on outside help.

Will Sprint Nextel Help You Retire Rich?

Now more than ever, a comfortable retirement depends on secure, stable investments. Unfortunately, the right stocks for retirement won't just fall into your lap. In this series, I look at 10 measures to show what makes a great retirement-oriented stock.
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) has come a long way over the years. Since its beginning as a rival long-distance provider to the much better-known AT&T (NYSE: T  ) and MCI, Sprint has reinvented itself as a major mobile network. Yet for a long time, Sprint was on the outside looking in, as AT&T and later Verizon's (NYSE: VZ  ) wireless segment got access to the much-loved iPhone product line before Sprint did. Now that Sprint iPhones are available, can the company finally get its big chip off its shoulder and muscle its way to success? Below, we'll take a look at how Sprint Nextel does on our 10-point scale.
The right stocks for retirees
With decades to go before you need to tap your investments, you can take greater risks, weighing the chance of big losses against the potential for mind-blowing returns. But as retirement approaches, you no longer have the luxury of waiting out a downturn.
Sure, you still want good returns, but you also need to manage your risk and protect yourself against bear markets, which can maul your finances at the worst possible time. The right stocks combine both of these elements in a single investment.
When scrutinizing a stock, retirees should look for:

• Size. Most retirees would rather not take a flyer on unproven businesses. Bigger companies may lack their smaller counterparts' growth potential, but they do offer greater security.
• Consistency. While many investors look for fast-growing companies, conservative investors want to see steady! , consis tent gains in revenue, free cash flow, and other key metrics. Slow growth won't make headlines, but it will help prevent the kind of ugly surprises that suddenly torpedo a stock's share price.
• Stock stability. Conservative retirement investors prefer investments that move less dramatically than typical stocks, and they particularly want to avoid big losses. These investments will give up some gains during bull markets, but they won't fall as far or as fast during bear markets. Beta measures volatility, but we also want a track record of solid performance as well.
• Valuation. No one can afford to pay too much for a stock, even if its prospects are good. Using normalized earnings multiples helps smooth out one-time effects, giving you a longer-term context.
• Dividends. Most of all, retirees look for stocks that can provide income through dividends. Retirees want healthy payouts now and consistent dividend growth over time -- as long as it doesn't jeopardize the company's financial health.

With those factors in mind, let's take a closer look at Sprint Nextel.

Factor	What We Want to See	Actual	Pass or Fail?
Size	Market cap > $10 billion	$8.54 billion	Fail
Consistency	Revenue growth > 0% in at least four of five past years	2 years	Fail
�	Free cash flow growth > 0% in at least four of past five years	1 year	Fail
Stock stability	Beta < 0.9	1.07	Fail
� < td>Worst loss in past five years no greater than 20%	(86.1%)	Fail
Valuation	Normalized P/E < 18	NM	NM
Dividends	Current yield > 2%	0%	Fail
�	5-year dividend growth > 10%	0%	Fail
�	Streak of dividend increases >= 10 years	NM	NM
�	Payout ratio < 75%	NM	NM
�	�	�	�
�	Total score	�	0 out of 7

Source: S&P Capital IQ. NM = not meaningful; Sprint Nextel had negative earnings over the past year and doesn't pay a dividend. Total score = number of passes.

With no points, Sprint Nextel doesn't have any of the comforting traits that conservative investors like to see in a stock. As a highly speculative play, the company is prone to wild swings and hasn't performed well at all in recent years.
In the fast-evolving world of smartphones and mobile devices, Sprint found itself caught in a catch-22. On one hand, not having the iPhone to sell hurt its customer counts. Yet as the company has discovered, having the iPhone raised subscriber counts, but at the huge price of throttling its margins as huge subsidies could eventually threaten its profitability. In fact, at least one analyst believes that a bankruptcy filing might be in Sprint's future if it doesn't get its future strategy straight.
Another problem is that Sprint hasn't navigated evolving network trends as well as it could have. On one hand, Sprint was first to the 4G finish line with Clearwire's (Nasdaq: CLWR  ) WiMAX network. But as the competing LTE techno! logy has gained favor, Sprint has had to look for alternatives to Clearwire -- and its first choice, LightSquared, hasn't had the success Sprint had hoped for.
For whatever reason, Sprint continually appears as a potential buyer for its competitors. Before AT&T's bid for T-Mobile, many thought Sprint would try to combine with T-Mobile to stand up to the big two players in the U.S. industry. More recently, Sprint reportedly considered buying out MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS  ) , and others think Leap Wireless might also make a good target. Yet critics believe the company should stop looking at spending yet more money on dubious takeovers and instead focus on keeping up with its rivals on the service end.
For retirees and other conservative investors, the uncertainties involved with Sprint make it an unsuitable stock. It's true that if Sprint can manufacture a turnaround, the stock could soar. But with no dividend income, no growth, and big share-price losses in recent years, Sprint isn't the best choice for a retirement portfolio.
Keep searching
Finding exactly the right stock to retire with is a tough task, but it's not impossible. Searching for the best candidates will help improve your investing skills, and teach you how to separate the right stocks from the risky ones.
If you really want to retire rich, no one stock will get the job done. Instead, you need to know how to prepare for your golden years. The Motley Fool's latest special report will give you all the details you need to get a smart investing plan going, plus it reveals three smart stocks for a rich retirement. But don't waste another minute -- click here and read it today.
Add Sprint Nextel to My Watchlist, which will aggregate our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.

Good Penny Stocks In 2014

Many thanks to all of you who sent me an email with questions about your stocks. While there was no single company that seemed to be on everyone’s mind, there was a clear trend: Gold.

This week, I’ll cover three different precious metals companies to help show you the challenges and opportunities of the industry. But more importantly, I’m going to give you a clear buy signal for what I think is the very best stock to play the gold surge:

Good Penny Stocks In 2014:Miller Energy Resources Inc. (MILL)

 Miller Energy Resources, Inc. engages in the exploration, production, and drilling of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It primarily holds interests in approximately 600,000 lease acres located in the Cook Inlet area of Alaska; and 54,500 acres of lease holdings located in the Appalachian Basin, Tennessee. The company was formerly known as Miller Petroleum, Inc. and changed its name to Miller Energy Resources, Inc. on April 12, 2011. Miller Energy Resources, Inc. is headquartered in Huntsville, Tennessee.

Good Penny Stocks In 2014:Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund Inc (FAX)

 Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund, Inc. operates as a closed-end, nondiversified management investment company. The fund primarily invests in Asian, Australian, and New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and western Europe debt securities. Its portfolio of investments includes securities issued by governmental entities, banks, companies, and other entities. Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited serves as the investment manager of the fund. Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

Strong gains make these media stocks must-haves

During rough economic times, media companies struggle even harder to capture the eyes and ears of the masses. However, last week�s phenomenal market surge — perhaps combined with the ending of the NBA lockout — has boosted media stocks considerably. Things are looking up for these titans of television and dukes of the digital.
I watch more than 5,000 publicly traded companies with my Portfolio Grader tool, ranking companies by a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. And this week, I’ve got nine media stocks to buy.

Here they are, in alphabetical order. Each one of these stocks gets an �A� or �B� according to my research, meaning it is a �strong buy� or �buy.�
CBS Corp. (NYSE:CBS) is a mass media company known best for its television network by the same name. CBS stock has posted one of the biggest gains in the past year at 35%.
Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) provides video, high-speed Internet and phone services to residences and businesses. CMCSA stock has gained 5% year-to-date.
DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) is known for providing digital television service in the U.S. Despite a drop toward the end of summer, DTV stock has still gained 17% since Jan. 1.
Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) is a pay-television provider with more than 14 million customers. DISH stock is up 35% year-to-date.

The McGraw-Hill Cos. (NYSE:MHP) is known for its printed books, magazines and newsletters, which are distributed online and through wireless and traditional broadcasting. Year-to-date, MHP stock has outpaced the broader markets with a gain of 16%.

News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA) is a diversified global media company that has become a household name, along with its founder Rupert Murdoch. NWSA stock is up almost 20% in the past year, compared to a gain of 4% for! the Dow Jones in the same period.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) is a subscriber-based satellite radio provider that broadcasts music, sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather. A modest gain of 10% year-to-date has ensured a spot on this list for SIRI stock.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) is involved with cable television networks, feature films and magazine publishing. Since the start of 2011, TWX stock is up more than 6%.
Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) is involved with television, motion picture, Internet and mobile platforms, and is best known as the owner of Paramount Pictures. A 7% gain since the start of 2011 means VIAB has outpaced the broader markets for the year.

Get more analysis of these picks and other publicly traded stocks with Louis Navellier�s Portfolio Grader tool, a 100% free stock-rating tool that measures both quantitative buying pressure and eight fundamental factors.

How To Choose Car Insurance Companies With Better Policies

Different states have made it a law to require drivers to get a policy for their cars. True enough, there are a lot of motor vehicular accidents occurring in modern and highly urbanized areas, and the government has to device a way to protect their citizens from incurring large debts. Thus, making use of the services from car insurance companies would be necessary.
Finding a good company may mean searching through various resources online but it can become a little bit difficult to judge the quality of their services. Reading forums may be helpful to get some views of other clients. Moreover, asking for some recommendations from other people may also be useful.
Hiring free lance agents may also be a good idea because these people know the offers of different establishments. By providing these information to their clients, the latter can make comparisons right there and then, and, therefore, arrive at a very carefully thought of decision.
For some straight facts, clients may be able to get cheaper premiums if their cars are of lesser sophistication. Age would also be a determinant in this case because younger drivers tend to commit more accidents than older ones. Statistically, women are also found out to be more careful when on the road than males. Checking on these aspects would provide clients the idea on how much would be probably charged to them.
Finding ways to save up for one’s premium payments may also be another option. Clients who can pay cold cash for the first six months at one time may be able to avail of considerable discounts. Multiple cars that enroll in the same policy provider may pay much lesser too.
To further be one with the attempt to reduce the number of road accidents, insuring establishments also offer driving skills enhancement programs to their clients. It is free of charge and it would provide clients the chance to refresh their minds on the basic rules of the road.

One’s driving record wo! uld grea tly affect the rate that would be given by the establishments. If one has had several instances of collisions in the past, he can expect much higher premiums. This is the company’s way of securing their financial stability knowing they have an accident prone client.
As there are several types of insurances that car insurance companies offer, it is very necessary that clients know beforehand what they should get. Some states mandate specific types of coverages and drivers should know these in order to make a good choice.
You need to find good car insurance companies that offer good policies. If you are interested in New Jersey ins right now, we are here to help you.

There's plenty of chefs in the public offering kitchen

The IPO process is extremely complex. A company must abide by onerous�regulations, such as the Securities Act of 1934 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As a result, even top-notch companies can have problems somewhere down the line. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM), Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) and Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) all faced missteps along the way.

To deal with the complexities, a company must hire a variety of top-notch advisers. Not to mention, businesses also have to get funding from private investors. By the time a company goes public, a ton of people have had their hands in the mix in one way or another. To sort it all out, let’s take a look at the main players in an IPO:
Venture Capitalists

Venture capitalists (also just called VCs) are people or firms that invest in early-stage companies. The funding amounts can range from $1 million to $100 million or more.

A VC often will have a board seat to take an active role with a company. This can include finding top employees, snagging customers and even making acquisitions.

For VCs, it’s usually just a handful of deals that will generate strong returns, as the risks are substantial for start-up companies. But in some cases, the returns can be enormous. An example is Accel Partners, which invested $12.7 million in Facebook in 2005 — and could see a return of more than $11 billion once the company goes public.

Some of the top VCs in the game include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Accel, Benchmark Capital, NEA, Kleiner Perkins and Greylock Partners.

See Also: 4 Reasons Companies Go Public
Investment Bank

An inve stment bank (also known as an underwriter) is a Wall Street firm such as Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) that essentially manages the whole IPO process. This means drafting the necessary documents, coming up with a valuation, finding the right investors and conducting the road show.

For its services, an investment bank will be paid based on the amount of money raised. This usually amounts to a percentage ranging between 2% and 7%.
Attorneys

Companies usually will have in-house counsel, as well as an outside firm that will handle SEC disclosures. Both groups will help put in better check systems and engage in “corporate cleanup,” which means making adjustments to contracts and so on.

Some of the top IPO law firms include Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Latham & Watkins, O’Melveny & Myers, Shearman & Sterling and Sullivan & Cromwell.

See Also: How an IPO Works
Auditors

A company will have an internal auditor and an external auditor. They will focus on making sure a company’s financials are in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The external auditor then will write a “comfort letter” that vouches for the financials.

Having a well-known auditor is extremely important, especially considering the kind of damage an accounting scandal can do. Top auditors include PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Deloitte & Touche.
Public Relations Firm

When a company is in the IPO process, it must abide by the “quiet period.” This means management and insiders are limited in what they can say to the media, as to not hype the offering.

No doubt, this isn’t a f! un task for public relations firms, which traditionally want to increase their clients’ visibility. But experienced PR firms will know how to play within the rules while still keeping the lines of communication open.
Financial Printer

It seems archaic, but a company must print all its SEC filings. This can be a hassle, as S-1 filings can easily be several hundred pages. And speed is important, as an IPO filing often must be turned around to the SEC within 24 hours.

One of the top names in financial printing is R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NASDAQ:RRD), which acquired longtime printer Bowne & Co. in 2010.

Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He also is the author of �The Complete M&A Handbook”, �All About Short Selling� and �All About Commodities.� Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli or reach him via email. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Sears Jumps as Traders React to Takeout Buzz

On a fundamental basis, Sears Holdings (SHLD) is an absolute mess. Sales have slipped well below expectations and the company’s future is murky at best. And CIT Group (CIT) recently halted loans to Sears’ suppliers. But the anxiety surrounding Sears can also lead to sharp moves higher for the stock.
Today, shares are up about 7%, apparently on speculation that the company could be taken private by top shareholder Eddie Lampert and private equity heavyweight Bruce Berkowitz. Trading in the shares has already doubled the normal volume, and options trading is even more elevated, Reuters noted.
Of course, it may simply be a fool’s game trying to figure out what exactly is making the stock move.
Sears stock has fallen 51% in the past year. On days when the shares rise, it tends to be on speculation about Lampert’s motives. But without an actual buyout, that kind of momentum could be short-lived.

How to Handle the Anxiety of Retirement: RIIA Confab

How great is the anxiety over retirement? A study shows even greater, for some, than the worry generated over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

That was the finding of a group of researchers at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, said Andrew Eschtruth, associate director for external relations at the institute.

“Thinking about retirement induces anxiety,” Eschtruth said Tuesday during a presentation at the Retirement Income Industry Association spring conference in Chicago. “People feel powerless. They don’t feel that they have control over their destiny … and could be facing a situation that could have a bad outcome or a good outcome.”

Eschtruth, whose presentation was entitled “How People Behave: New Insights on Retirement Decisions,” broke down his talk into three major areas: retirement anxiety, saving strategies and drawdown behavior.

Unsurprisingly, the Boston institute’s research shows that the financial crash of late 2008 has significantly affected the way people think about retirement and the ability of public institutions and private plans to provide for a safe nest egg.

For instance, in the past few years there have been 613 average monthly Google citations with the search terms “state, local, crisis and pension fund.”

Eschtruth (left) said the web searches reflect a real concern. The institute’s research shows that a larger percentage of people today are at risk of failing to maintain their current standard of living after retirement than before the financial crisis: 44% versus 51%.

Gen Xers will suffer because the retirement age will increase to 67 in the years to come, but Eschtruth also pointed to a nagging problem for most Americans.

Despite the crash in the markets and the housing crisis, individuals still aren’t saving enough for retirement.

In one study, the Boston researchers investigated the behaviors of people in their 50s and older whose kids had left home. It might be reasonable to expect these parents to spend less of household income, but in fact the study found they spent more.

Turning to the draw-down phase of retirement, Eschtruth said that attitudes toward home equity may change in the near future. Until now, research shows that retirees hold onto their homes well into their 80s and downsizing a home remains rare. In the future, however, ignoring home equity may be a luxury that few can afford. Without selling a home, more and more retirees will be at risk of not being able to afford retirement.

Eschtruth suggested that if the investment advisors attending the conference explain the consequences of holding onto home equity, more retirees might sell and downsize. In fact, Eschruth provided data to show that once the threat to retirement health was made explicit, more people changed their behavior and decided to work longer or save more.