Will eBay Move Higher?

With shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) trading around $52, is EBAY an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

EBay provides online platforms, tools, and services to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites. The company operates through three segments: Marketplaces, Payments, and GSI. Ultimately, through its tools and platforms, EBay assists individuals and small, medium and merchants around the globe engage in online and mobile commerce and payments. As commerce moves online at an increasing rate, companies like eBay are poised to see rising profits.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart are Mixed

EBay stock has seen a bullish run in the last several years which has taken it to key price levels. At these price levels, investors must make a decision to push the stock higher or sell at these key resistance prices. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, eBay is trading around its key averages which signal neutral price action in the near-term.

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

(Source: Thinkorswim)

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of eBay options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
eBay Options	30.36%	13%	10%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very small amount of call and put options contracts, as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
May Options	Average	Average
June Options	Average	Average

As of today, there is an average demand from call and put buyers or sellers, neutral over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very small amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on eBay’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for eBay look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q1	2012 Q4	2012 Q3	2012 Q2
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	15.91%	-62.10%	21.62%	140.9%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	14.37%	18.14%	14.77%	23.12%
Earnings Reaction	-5.84%	2.4%	5.45%	8.62%

EBay has seen increasing earnings and revenue figures over most of the last four quarters. From these figures, the markets have generally been happy with eBay’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Poor Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has eBay stock done relative to its peers, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK), Mercadolibre (NASDAQ:MELI), and sector?

	eBay	Amazon	Overstock	Mercadolibre	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	3.22%	0.94%	45.35%	26.80%	14.90%

EBay has been a relative underperformer, year-to-date.

NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW!

Conclusion

EBay provides online platforms to consumers and businesses who are engaging in Internet commerce at an increasing rate, worldwide. The stock has been a strong performer in recent years and is now trading at critical price levels. Earnings and revenue figures have grown at a reasonable pace which has kept investors satisfied. Relative to its peers and sector, eBay has trailed in year-to-date performance. WAIT AND SEE what eBay does this coming quarter.

NBA Tips Off As International Players, Revenues Jump

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Maybe they should change the name to the International Basketball Association.

The National Basketball Association, which tips off its regular season on Thursday night, says a record 92 players from 39 countries and territories will take the court for the 2013-2014 campaign.

The NBA's popularity has grown across the globe as international markets account for 10% of overall league revenue.

Followers of the game invented by Canadian American James Naismith are aware over the past two decades of the surge of international players in the league. Among the most recognized international names are Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Tony Parker (France), Pau Gasol (Spain) and Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands). Basketball has been the United States' most successful sports transplant since Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson teamed with a roster of other superstars to form the 1992 Dream Team. "The summer of 1992 was unlike any in the history of Olympic basketball, becoming the biggest and brashest story of the Games, drawing a level of worldwide interest that ultimately contributed more to the growth of the global game than any other singular factor," reporter Chris Sheridan wrote for ESPN in 2010. The NBA has publicized its ambition to build its international market reach, specifically in China, where Commissioner David Stern has said it expects league revenue to increase at least 10% annually. Stern told Bloomberg in 2012 that he expected television and digital rights to games for last season to drive league revenue to $150 million in China. The season starts Tuesday at 7 p.m. EDT in Indianapolis between the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers. -- Written by Joe Deaux in New York. >Contact by Email. Follow @JoeDeaux

False alarm over Social Security rules for divorced spouses

I received a panicked e-mail from a reader recently, asking if Social Security had changed the claiming rules for ex-spouses.

"A good friend of mine was just told by her local Social Security office that she cannot file for her ex-spouse's benefit when she turns 66," Joanne Busso wrote, explaining that her friend wanted to hold off filing for her own benefit until she is older, thereby allowing her individual benefit to increase for a few years.

"The Social Security representative told her that this is no longer allowed because 'things have changed,'" Ms. Busso wrote.

"But the [Social Security Administration] website still states that this is allowed," she wrote. "Are you aware of new laws that have eliminated the option of filing on an ex-spouse's earnings record at 66 to allow our own benefit to grow?"

I wasn't aware of any changes, but I said I would check with the SSA.

Nope. No changes.

"I'm not sure what happened at the local office, but we have not made any changes to this,” said SSA spokeswoman Kia Anderson.

She sent me a link on the ssa.gov website confirming that ex-spouses who were married for at least 10 years and who are unmarried can restrict their claim to spousal benefits if they wait until full retirement age to claim benefits. That allows their own retirement benefits to accrue delayed retirement credits up to 70.

Although the reader was relieved that no rules had been changed, the situation prompts a bigger question: What do you do when you get a wrong answer from an SSA representative?

Ms. Anderson suggests that you ask to speak to a supervisor.

You can also consult the SSA.gov website, which includes a treasure trove of information, including this page on benefits for divorced spouses (socialsecurity.gov/retire2/divspouse.htm).

The questions about rights of divorced spouses didn't stop there.

Tom, a financial adviser in Virginia, asked: "Can an ex who has remarried file for Social Security benefits on an ex-spouse's earning record?"

No, I replied. To collect on an ex-spouse you must be currently unmarried.

But, I added, if you are a surviving divorced spouse, you are still entitled to collect survivor benefits on your deceased former spouse's earnings record, as long as you wait until 60 or later to remarry.

Another reader asked what happens if you were married twice but are currently unmarried?

"Can you claim on either ex-spouse's Social Security or do you lose the ability to draw off the first spouse because you remarried, even though you divorced again?" Jeff asked.

You can use the earnings record of eith! er ex-spouse as long as each marriage lasted at least 10 years and you are currently unmarried, I responded.

When it comes to claiming Social Security benefits, divorced spouses not only have all the rights of currently married couples, they have an additional benefit. You can claim benefits based on your ex-spouse's earning record even if he or she hasn't yet claimed benefits.

As long as you and your ex are at least 62, you can claim retirement benefits on the other's earnings record. But if you want to restrict your claim to spousal benefits only, you must wai

Hot Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now

Laparoscopic surgery or minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a type of surgical technique where�operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions while small cap stocks ArthroCare Corporation (NASDAQ: ARTC), EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ: EDAP), SafeStitch Medical Inc (OTCBB: SFES) and Arch Therapeutics Inc (OTCBB: ARTH) are all in some way focused on aiding minimally invasive procedures. According to a 2012 report produced by MedMarket Diligence, LLC, approximately 114 million surgical and procedure-based wounds occur annually worldwide,�including�36 million in the US, and perhaps�up to a quarter of these procedures can be described as laparoscopic in nature.�Moreover,�use of the technique is bound to increase�as�it reduces�pain and hemorrhaging plus leads to a�shorter recovery time.

Hot Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now: Fluor Corporation(FLR)

Fluor Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management services worldwide. Its Oil & Gas segment offers design, engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to upstream oil and gas production, downstream refining, chemicals, and petrochemicals industries. This segment also provides consulting services comprising feasibility studies, process assessment, and project finance structuring and studies. The company?s Industrial & Infrastructure segment offers design, engineering, procurement, and construction services to the transportation, wind power, mining and metals, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial and institutional, telecommunications, microelectronics, and healthcare sectors. Its Government segment provides engineering, construction, logistics support, contingency response, management, and operations services to the United States government focusing on the Departme nt of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. The company?s Global Services segment offers operations and maintenance, small capital project engineering and execution, site equipment and tool services, industrial fleet services, plant turnaround services, temporary staffing services, and supply chain solutions. Its Power segment provides engineering, procurement, construction, program management, start-up and commissioning, and operations and maintenance services to the gas fueled, solid fueled, plant betterment, renewables, nuclear, and power services markets. The company also offers unionized management and construction services in the United States and Canada. Fluor Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  South America has become an unsettled region to mine in. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM  ) had its Peruvian Conga project brought to a short stop over environmental concerns, while Vale (NYSE: VALE  ) recently abandoned an Argentinean project because of the country's policies.�Costs for Pascua-Lama have ballooned over the past decade and now stand at about $8.5 billion, putting it at risk of becoming an albatross around the miner's neck even before the court decision. Barrick even resorted to bringing in engineering specialist Fluor (NYSE: FLR  ) to expand the scope of its project management before the court order.

Hot Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras(PBR)

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. primarily engages in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining, trade, and transportation businesses. The company?s Exploration and Production segment involves in the exploration, production, development, and production of oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas in Brazil. This segment supplies its products to the refineries in Brazil, as well as sells surplus petroleum and byproducts in domestic and foreign markets. Its Supply segment engages in the refining, logistics, transportation, and trade of oil and oil products; export of ethanol; and extraction and processing of schist, as well as holds interests in companies of the petrochemical sector in Brazil. The Gas and Energy segment involves in the transportation and trade of natural gas produced in or imported into Brazil; transportation and trade of LNG; and generation and trade of electric power. In addition, the segment has interests in natural gas transportation and d istribution companies; and thermoelectric power stations in Brazil, as well engages in fertilizer business. The Distribution segment distributes oil products, ethanol, and compressed natural gas in Brazil. The International segment involves in the exploration and production of oil and gas, as well as in supplying, gas and energy, and distribution operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Further, the company involves in biofuel production business. Petroleo Brasileiro was founded in 1953 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Arjun Sreekumar]

  Offshore exploration risk
  Deepwater locations, especially off the coasts of Brazil and West Africa, have emerged as popular hotspots. For instance, Brazilian oil major Petrobras (NYSE: PBR  ) is planning to drill exploratory wells off the coast of Tanzania, where it holds 50% stakes in two offshore exploratory blocks, while Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) recently announced that it will move forward with the development of the Moho Bilondo "phase 1 bis" and Moho Nord projects located offshore the Republic of Congo.

• [By Aimee Duffy]

  Transocean is as good a bellwether as any, given it's the world's largest offshore driller. The company's most recent fleet status report shows that a number of rigs that were idle are now booked for work. Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) is no slouch either, with its fleet of 61 drillships and rigs. It just inked a massive $2.7 billion contract with Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras (NYSE: PBR  ) .

Best Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2014: Under Armour Inc.(UA)

Under Armour, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes performance apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and youth primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers products made from moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics designed to regulate body temperature and enhance performance regardless of weather conditions. The company provides its products in three fit types: compression (tight fitting), fitted (athletic cut), and loose (relaxed) extending across the sporting goods, outdoor, and active lifestyle markets. Its footwear offerings comprise football, baseball, lacrosse, softball, and soccer cleats; slides; performance training footwear; and running footwear. The company also provides baseball batting, football, golf, and running gloves, as well as licenses bags, socks, headwear, custom-molded mouth guards, and eyewear that are designed to be used and worn before, during, and after competition. Under Armour sells its products through retai l stores, as well as directly to consumers through its own retail outlets and specialty stores, Website, and catalogs. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  Under Armour is without a doubt a long-term winner, but the stock market is too hot right now for any real conviction, especially since Under Armour is trading at 49 times earnings. Nike wouldn�� be the best safe haven in a bear market, but it would be safer than Under Armour. That said, for investors who are capable of withstanding a hit and willing to purchase more on the way down if the stock gets hit, Under Armour is a long-term OUTPERFORM. This should be a safe long-term approach since Under Armour is highly likely to grow in the coming decades. It�� certainly not going anywhere.

• [By Andrew Marder]

  What comes next
  With Day's resignation, Lululemon is in an interesting position. The company could probably find an internal candidate fairly easily, but since Day's appointment in 2008, the competitive landscape has changed dramatically. Now, Lululemon is facing competition from Gap's (NYSE: GPS  ) Athleta brand, as well as from Under Armour (NYSE: UA  ) and other traditional sporting goods companies.

Hot Safest Companies To Invest In Right Now: Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(The)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, securities, and investment management services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Its Investment Banking segment offers financial advisory, including advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense, risk management, restructurings, and spin-offs; and underwriting securities, loans and other financial instruments, and derivative transactions. The company?s Institutional Client Services segment provides client execution activities, such as fixed income, currency, and commodities client execution related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, and commodities; and equities related to making markets in equity products, as well as commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on stock, options, and fu tures exchanges. This segment also engages in the securities services business providing financing, securities lending, and other prime brokerage services to institutional clients, including hedge funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and foundations. Its Investing and Lending segment invests in debt securities, loans, public and private equity securities, real estate, consolidated investment entities, and power generation facilities. This segment also involves in the origination of loans to provide financing to clients. The company?s Investment Management segment provides investment management services and investment products to institutional and individual clients. This segment also offers wealth advisory services, including portfolio management and financial counseling, and brokerage and other transaction services to high-net-worth individuals and families. In addition, it provides global investment research services. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Jack Daniel’s battles small Ky. distiller

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A white whiskey named for a famed Appalachian moonshiner started out being sold in Mason jars, to honor its roguish roots, but switched to square-shaped bottling. That new look has the upstart distiller embroiled in a trademark infringement fight with Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey.

The legal feuding pits an industry blue blood against a tiny distiller that proudly claims to carry on the tradition of moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton. The irascible Sutton wrote a paperback called "Me and My Likker" and recorded videos on how to make moonshine.

Sutton, known for his long gray beard and faded overalls, took his own life in 2009 rather than go to prison for making white lightning.

Now, the whiskey maker he inspired is facing its own legal problems.

The owner of the Jack Daniel's trademark sued the Nashville, Tenn.-based distiller of Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee White Whiskey. The lawsuit claims the bottling and labeling for the Popcorn Sutton product is "confusingly similar" to the ubiquitous packaging for Jack Daniel's.

The suit filed in Nashville wants the Popcorn Sutton bottle removed from the market. It says the new packaging hit the shelves in either late 2012 or early 2013.

"Defendants' use of the new Popcorn Sutton's trade dress in connection with their Tennessee white whiskey is likely to cause purchasers and prospective purchasers of the product to believe mistakenly that it is a new Tennessee white whiskey product in the Jack Daniel's line," the lawsuit said.

The suit was filed by California-based Jack Daniel's Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Brown-Forman Corp.

Jack Daniel's is the flagship brand of Louisville-based Brown-Forman, which sold 11 million cases of the Black Label Tennessee Whiskey in the fiscal year that ended April 30. Jack Daniel's whiskey is produced in Lynchburg, Tenn.

5 Best Biotech Stocks To Invest In 2014

Named as defendants are J&M Concepts LLC and Popcorn Sutton Distilling LLC, which operate in Nashville.

The defendants did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment Friday.

The small distillery's website says Popcorn Sutton's white whiskey is currently available in Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia.

The suit notes what it said are the similarities between the packing for Jack Daniel's and the Popcorn Sutton spirit. Both bottles are square shaped with angled shoulders and beveled corners, with white-on-black labeling color schemes, the suit said. Even the font style of the Popcorn Sutton labeling is reminiscent of the Jack Daniel's label, it said.

Except for minor tweaks, the Jack Daniel's packaging has been "a consistent commercial impression" for decades, the suit said. That packaging is part of "one of the oldest, longest-selling and most iconic consumer products" in U.S. history, it said.

The suit said the defendants' master distiller, Jamey Grosser, cited Sutton for inspiring the makeover for his brand's look. Grosser noted that Sutton wanted to sell his moonshine in eye-catching packaging once he could afford to do so. The old moonshiner would say: "My whiskey is too good to be in a damn jar," the suit said.

Nick Reifsteck, manager of Old Town Wine and Spirits in Louisville, said the Popcorn Sutton's whiskey seemed more popular in its simpler bottle.

"When it was in the Mason jars, it was a better seller, more of a curiosity," he said Friday.

Jack Daniel's last year released its own white spirit — an unaged rye. So far, the company has produced about 100,000 bottles for sale in the U.S., Brown-Forman said.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop the defendants from using their current bottle. It also asks for unspecified damages.

For Jack Daniel's, it's the latest round of legal fighting in its vigilance to protect its trademark, its parent company said.

"We've taken action against many individuals and ! companies! all over the world for infringing in the Jack Daniel's trademark," Brown-Forman spokesman Phil Lynch said Friday. "We are vigorous in our defense of all our trademarks, and especially Jack Daniel's."

5 Stocks Under $10 to Trade for Breakouts

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

>>5 Big Stocks to Trade for Big Gains

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

>>5 Sin Stocks to Protect Your Portfolio

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

Zagg

Zagg (ZAGG) designs, manufactures and distributes creative product solutions such as protective coverings, keyboards, keyboard cases, earbuds, mobile power solutions and device cleaning accessories for mobile devices under the family of ZAGG brands. This stock closed up 4% to $4.92 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $4.73-$4.92

52-Week Range: $4.21-$8.24

Thursday's Volume: 365,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 429,365

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Hate

From a technical perspective, ZAGG jumped sharply higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $4.56 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of ZAGG within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if ZAGG manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $4.93 to some past resistance at $5.06 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ZAGG as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $4.56 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 429,365 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ZAGG will set up to re-fill its previous gap down zone from July that started near $6. Any high-volume move above $6 will then put another major gap down zone from May that started near $7.

Morgans Hotel Group

Morgans Hotel Group (MHGC) operates, owns, acquires, develops and redevelops boutique hotels, primarily in gateway cities and select resort markets in the U.S., Europe and other international locations. This stock closed up 2.2% to $6.91 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $6.73-$6.92

52-Week Range: $4.66-$8.15

Thursday's Volume: 341,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 177,345

>>3 Hot Stocks on Traders' Radars

From a technical perspective, MHGC rose modestly higher here back above its 50-day moving average of $6.88 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of MHGC within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if MHGC manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.98 to $7.10 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MHGC as long as it's trending above its 200-day at $6.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 177,345 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then MHGC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7.83 to its 52-week high at $8.15.

KiOR

KiOR (KIOR) is a next-generation renewable fuels company, producing cellulosic gasoline and diesel from abundant non-food biomass. This stock closed up 9.5% to $2.64 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $2.36-$2.65

52-Week Range: $1.30-$8.48

Thursday's Volume: 625,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 829,868

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

From a technical perspective, KIOR ripped sharply higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $2.23 with lighter-than-average volume. This stock has been uptrending for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.06 to its recent high of $2.87. During that uptrend, shares of KIOR have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of KIOR within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if KIOR manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.87 to $3.10 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in KIOR as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $2.23 or above more near-term support at $2.20 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 829,868 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then KIOR will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $3.50 to $4.

TravelCenters of America

TravelCenters of America (TA) operates and franchises travel centers along the U.S. interstate highway system. Its products and service include diesel fuel, gasoline, truck repair and maintenance services and restaurants. This stock closed up 5.2% to $8.02 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $7.61-$8.02

52-Week Range: $4.18-$12.50

Thursday's Volume: 219,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 349,042

>> 4 Big Stocks to Trade (or Not)

From a technical perspective, TA ripped higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $7.73 with lighter-than-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of TA within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if TA manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $8.18 to $8.59, and then once it clears its 200-day moving average of $8.64 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in TA as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $7.73 or above more support at $7.55 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 349,042 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then TA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance level at $9.50. Any high-volume move above $9.50 will then give TA a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from August that started at $11.29.

Real Goods Solar

Real Goods Solar (RSOL) is a residential and commercial solar energy engineering, procurement an construction firm. This stock closed up 7.8% to $4.13 a share in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $3.85-$4.23

52-Week Range: $0.40-$7.17

Thursday's Volume: 7.37 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 2.74 million

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy Now

From a technical perspective, RSOL spiked sharply higher here with monster upside volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $1.70 to its recent high of $4.64. During that uptrend, shares of RSOL have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of RSOL within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if RSOL manages to take out Thursday's high of $4.23, and then once it clears some near-term overhead resistance at $4.64 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in RSOL as long as it's trending above Thursday's low of $3.85 or above more support at $3.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 2.74 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then RSOL will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6 to its 52-week high at $7.17.

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>4 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

>>Do You Own These Blue-Chips? Sell Them!

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Australia stocks rise as commodities gain

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks headed higher in the Friday open, tracking overnight gains for U.S. shares and commodity futures. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) rose 0.3% to 5,389.40, after Wall Street ended higher as a near-term tappering of the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus looked less likely. An advance for oil futures helped lift Origin Energy Ltd. (AU:ORG) (OGFGF) up 0.9% and Oil Search Ltd. (AU:OSH) (OISHF) up 0.5%, while a 1.2% rise for Comex gold pushed Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) 1.7% higher and sent Evolution Mining Ltd. (AU:EVN) (CAHPF) surging 2.9%. Shares of Whitehaven Coal Ltd. (AU:WHC) also added 2.9% after the firm reported record coal production. Stock in Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co. (AU:WCB) was on trading halt for the first hour of the session after the company received a fourth takeover bid.

Read the full story:
Asian shares mostly lower; techs struggle in Seoul

Corning Incorporated (GLW) Surges: The Best Small Cap LCD Glass or Flat Panel Display Stocks? OLED, DAKT & SGOC

On Tuesday, large cap LCD glass maker Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) began surging some 20% in after hours trading after announcing that it will take over an existing joint venture (Samsung Corning Precision Materials) with Samsung – meaning it might be worth taking a closer look at some small cap peers like Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ: OLED), Daktronics, Inc (NASDAQ: DAKT) and SGOCO Group Ltd (NASDAQ: SGOC) who also have a piece of the LCD glass or related flat panel display action. Specifically, the deal involves a series of transactions to give Corning Incorporated full ownership of Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. (SCP), which manufactures LCD glass in Korea and it should be noted that Corning already relies on sales of LCD-TV glass for the bulk of its profit. In addition, Corning Incorporated's board of directors has authorized an additional $2 billion of share repurchases through Dec. 31, 2015, dependent upon the transaction closing. Wendell P. Weeks, the chairman, CEO and president of Corning Incorporated was quoted in the press release announcing the deal as saying:

"Synergies from integrating our worldwide fusion glass assets should approach $100 million pretax in 2015 and continue to grow thereafter. We believe that accretion to Corning`s core earnings per share, on a fully diluted basis of approximately 20% in 2014 and 2015, can be generated from the combination of profits from the soon-to-be acquired 50% of SCP."

With that in mind, here is a closer look at some of Corning Incorporated's small cap peers who develop related products:

Universal Display Corporation. A world leader in the development of innovative organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology for use in flat panel displays, lighting and organic electronics, Universal Display Corporation also has one of the largest patent portfolios in the OLED field with licensing rights to over 1,000 issued and pending patents worldwide in a broad array of OLED technologies, materials and processes. At the beginning of the month, Universal Display Corporation's shares dropped as much as 10% to close down 6% after being downgraded to sell from hold by Jonathan Dorsheimer at Canaccord Genuity because he says that his most bullish case for what the company would make off of television set, smartphone and tablet use of OLED materials doesn't support the company's valuation. In addition, Canaccord Genuity's meetings in Europe and Asia indicated increased competition and a pushed out TV opportunity plus they learned that both LG and Samsung have development programs to manufacture their own phosphorescent materials when Universal Displays patents begin to expire in 2017. Otherwise, Universal Display Corporation is scheduled to report earnings on Thursday, November 7, after the market closes. On Tuesday, small cap Universal Display Corporation rose 0.03% to $31.08 (OLED has a 52 week trading range of $21.55 to $38.10 a share) for market cap of $1.44 billion plus the stock is up 26.3% since the start of the year, down 3.7% over the past year and up 192.9% over the past five years.

Daktronics, Inc. A designer and manufacturer electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems and large screen video displays, Daktronics, Inc says it excels in the control of large display systems, including those that require integration of multiple complex displays showing real-time information, graphics, animation and video. Back in September, Daktronics, Inc reported that it had delivered and installed over $20 million of cutting-edge architecturally integrated indoor video displays at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Back in August, Daktronics, Inc reported a 4% revenue increase to $138.7 million on stronger results from its live events and international businesses, but transportation orders fell after it completed the LAX deal while its digital billboard and large video contract units were hurt by a decrease in large orders. Net income also fell to $5.7 million from $6.7 million and the company still expects some revenue growth in fiscal 2014. On Tuesday, small cap Daktronics, Inc rose 0.66% to $12.28 (DAKT has a 52 week trading range of $7.57 to $12.47 a share) for a market cap of $522.23 million plus the stock is up 14.23% since the start of the year, up 42.8% over the past five years and up 2.5% over the past five years.

SGOCO Group Ltd. Focused on product design and brand development in the Chinese flat panel display market, SGOCO Group Ltd main products are computer monitors, TVs, and other application specific products for consumers in China's Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities. Last August, SGOCO Group reported a 38.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $59.2 million, operating income increased 97.3% year-over-year to $4.1 million, operating margin rose from 4.8% to 6.8% and net income increased 175.7% year-over-year to $3.4 million. The CEO noted:

Top 5 Warren Buffett Companies For 2014

"Our four-prong strategy enables us to focus on strengthening our brand portfolio, specializing in high-growth industry verticals, diversifying our product lines and expanding distribution channels across China's tier three and four cities. These strategies are being well-implemented and we are pleased with the results of our efforts."

Otherwise, it should be mentioned that although the SGOCO Group is a Chinese stock, a quick search on Google of the stock's name with the words "fraud" or "scam" does not reveal anything that might be worrisome. On Tuesday, small cap SGOCO Group Ltd fell 3.35% to $3.47 (SGOC has a 52 week trading range of $0.70 to $4.57 a share) for a market cap of $61.28 million plus the stock is up 179.8% since the start of the year, up 271.6% over the past year and down 31.3% since December 2010.

Finally, here is a closer look at the share performance of Corning Incorporated verses Universal Display Corporation, Daktronics, Inc and SGOCO Group Ltd:

As you can see from the chart, Universal Display Corporation has been the best performer for the long term albeit its been an underperformer if you got in at its peak in 2011 (the same goes for Corning Incorporated) plus Daktronics, Inc has been relatively flat while China based SGOCO Group Ltd looks like it got crushed along with other Chinese stocks.

Time Is On Symmetricom’s Side

The atomic clock equipment maker Symmetricom Inc.'s (Nasdaq:SYMM) stock exploded on Tuesday after the power-management chipmaker Microsemi Corp. (Nasdaq:MSCC) offered to acquire the company for roughly $230 million.

The stock, representing the biggest percentage gainer of the day, soared 51.15% on final trading volume of 16,219,312 shares. Volume was nearly 173.7 times the 30-day average of 93,373, according to FactSet. The stock closed today up 24.96% year-to-date compared with 23% for the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Microsemi's $7.18-a-share offer represents a premium of 50% over Symmetrom's closing stock price on Monday.

San Jose-based Symmetricom is not quite what you'd regard as the standard tech-oriented company. It develops, makes and provides timekeeping technology to users in private industry as well as government circles around the world. Its customers have a strong need for very precise timekeeping machinery. Aliso Viego, Calif.-based Microsemi is a semiconductor operation.

While Symmetricom has the ability to find a better deal until Nov. 8, its board of directors voted unanimously in favor of taking the Microsemi acquisition offer.

"The acquisition of Symmetricom by Microsemi will create a powerful combination," Symmetricom CEO Elizabeth Fetter said in a press release. "Microsemi is the ideal company to leverage Symmetricom's technology and capabilities."

How will Microsemi eventually judge the deal to be a success?

For Microsemi, the issue going forward is whether it can successfully broaden Symmetricom's chip-scale atomic clock technology into new markets. The venture will test its ability to reinvent, to some degree, the marketplace's perception of Symmetricom as a deeply specialized company. To date, Symmetricom's technology has had uses in such areas as GPS satellites.

Meanwhile, Microsemi, whose chips supply greater computing power while employing less energy, projected the purchase to bring an additional 22-to-25 cents per share to its profits in 2014.

Symmetricom ranks No.111 in the San Jose Mercury-News' 2013 list of Silicon Valley's 150 largest technology outfits according to revenues. It racked up sales of $228.6 million last year. The newspaper pointed out that Symmetricom, incorporated in 1957, had 544 employees as of June 30, based on its most recent annual report.

Microsemi officials expect the transaction to close by the end of this year.

Disclosure - At the time of writing, the author did not own shares of any company mentioned in this article.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014

Popular Posts: 5 Dividend Stocks Perfect for New Money3 ‘Big Bang’ Income StocksMSFT, MCD Deliver: 17 Companies Increasing Dividends Recent Posts: 3 ‘Big Bang’ Income Stocks 3 Stocks That Aren’t ‘Royalty,’ But Still Rule MSFT, MCD Deliver: 17 Companies Increasing Dividends View All Posts

I’m all for buying “blue chip” stocks for the long-term. Hey, what long-term investor isn’t?

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Colgate-Palmolive Company(CL)

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

• [By Dan Caplinger]

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

• [By Dividend Growth Investor]

  In a previous article, I outlined that it is getting more difficult to find quality dividend paying stocks to buy. Most of the usual suspects like Kimberly-Clark (KMB) or Colgate-Palmolive (CL) are very overvalued today, which prevents me from adding to my positions there. Other companies like Chevron (CVX) are attractively valued today, but unfortunately my portfolio is overweight in them. Currently I find the oil sector to be cheap and have some of the lowest P/E ratios in the market. However, I would hate to be concentrated in one sector which is exposed to the fluctuating prices in its commodity products.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and the price target is now $68 (versus a $59.93 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Chevron Corporation(CVX)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Claudia Assis]

  Major oil companies also reversed course, with shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) �up 0.8%. Shares of Chevron Corp. (CVX) �advanced 0.8% as well, while shares of ConocoPhillips (COP) �gained 0.4%.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  Things aren't quite that bad-yet-for the highly-touted deep ocean oil discoveries off the coast of Brazil, but the October 21 auction for the Libra field-estimated to hold eight billion to 12 billion barrels of oil-is shaping up as a near disaster. Only 11 companies registered for the auction last month-instead of the expected 40-and majors such as Chevron (CVX), ExxonMobil (XOM), and BP (BP) all failed to sign up.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  Dow movers
  Oil has been on quite the run over the past two days. Yesterday, light crude rose 3.25% and today it was up 1.72%. Not surprising, the Dow's big oil companies also moved higher. Shares of Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) closed the day higher by 1.19%, while ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM  ) moved higher by 1.57%. Today's moves followed yesterday's performance when Chevron increased by 1.47% and Exxon by 1.28%. While the two have recently been moving in line with each other, year to date Chevron is up more than 14% while Exxon has only increased by a little more than 4%. A number of analysts have stated that they believe Chevron will outperform Exxon over the next five years, and so far their predictions look good.�

• [By Alex Planes]

  Tale of the tape
  Chevron (NYSE: CVX  ) has only been a current Dow component since 2008, but it first joined way back in 1930, when it was still Standard Oil of California. Chevron's dubious 1999 removal hindered the index's growth for years, but investors who held on enjoyed gains of nearly 150% before the oil supermajor was reinstated. Chevron has ranked as America's third largest company on the Fortune 500 for several years running, a position befitting one of the largest integrated oil and gas companies in the world.

10 Best Insurance Stocks To Watch Right Now: Visa Inc.(V)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Visa Inc. (V)

  Even though Visa did not make my cut, I thought it would be interesting to showcase their phenomenal record. Therefore, dividend growth investors interested in total return might want to take a closer look at Visa.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: McDonald's Corporation(MCD)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  The greatest threat to Starbucks is purportedly McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) and its McCafes or Dunkin Brands (NASDAQ: DNKN  ) and its popular anti-Starbucks branding. These are legitimate threats, but do they really strike at the heart of what makes Starbucks work? Probably not -- neither restaurant chain has ever been seen as a gathering place or a social hub, and I doubt that either will somehow convince the world otherwise anytime soon. The "accessibility" of Starbucks is one of its greatest assets, encouraging customers to come and sit for a while, and it's something no other beverage slinger has really managed to replicate.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  As retail sales rose 9.8%, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) shares jumped 35%. As the Purchasing Managers Index increased 11.9%, General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) shares grew 41% while Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) rocketed 110% on 42% sales increases.

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  By combining the food qualities from La Boulange and the drive-through in more car-centric locations, its easy to see how even McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) might be in for a fight with the fast-food crowd.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: International Business Machines Corporation(IBM)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake Keator]

  International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM  )
  IBM beat second-quarter earnings estimates yesterday but missed on revenue and has lagged the Dow considerably this year. The Dow is a price-weighted index, which means that IBM, at nearly $200 per share, accounts for almost 10% of the index's movements, acting as an anchor when it lags. Buffett began buying shares in 2011, citing strong financial management and impressive future benchmarks. IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo in 2005, exiting the PC and hard disk drive businesses ahead of the recent PC sales slowdown, and has since focused on areas such as business analytics and cloud computing. This about-face in the company's business model lends credence to its reputation as an innovator.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Philip Morris International Inc(PM)

Philip Morris International Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside of the United States. Its international product brand line comprises Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Chesterfield, Bond Street, Lark, Muratti, Next, Philip Morris, and Red & White. The company also offers its products under the A Mild, Dji Sam Soe, and A Hijau in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in the Russian Federation; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Belmont, Canadian Classics, and Number 7 in Canada; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece; and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It operates primarily in the European Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  There are definitely concerns for Phillip Morris, which include decreased market share in many areas and poor debt management. However, up until this point, Phillip Morris has done a good job rewarding its shareholders. While history usually repeats itself, that�� not necessarily an all-positive in this case. Phillip Morris didn�� hold up well in 2008/early 2009. If a similar environment were to present itself again, then Phillip Morris wouldn�� be a top option ��regardless of the impressive yield. In the meantime, Phillip Morris is an OUTPERFORM.

Top 10 Blue Chip Stocks To Watch For 2014: Apple Inc.(AAPL)

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

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  August is often a slow time for technology and consumer spending, but the dying PC market may be about to see a resurrection. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has fixed many of the bad things about Windows 8. We will not go so far as to say that this will resurrect Microsoft Surface tablet sales, but it could make those who want a new PC more interested than they were when they realized that Windows 8 was such a learning experience that they might as well go to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

• [By Quoth the Raven]

  There isn't much that needs to be said about the following slide. In large companies like Apple (AAPL), that have $135 billion in cash, you can take on some debt and it can be very healthy. In a growth stage stock like NGS, I prefer having as low a total debt to EBITDA number as possible. As you can see below, as the company has been growing revenues, it has been hitting the other side of the balance sheet as well, eliminating debt.

• [By Eric Bleeker, CFA, Austin Smith, and Chris Hill]

  With Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) having just released its new iOS 7 mobile operating system at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this week, analysts and consumers alike are clamoring to get a better look at it. In this week's Motley Fool Tech Review, host Chris Hill talks with analysts Eric Bleeker and Austin Smith about the new iOS 7, and Eric gives us a breakdown of where the new system is wonderful and where it could be better.

The Dow's Triple-Digit Gains Left These Stocks Behind

Investors can never predict whether the market will rise or fall on any given day, but lately, a pretty good bet has been to expect some substantial volatility in one direction or the other. For the sixth straight day, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) made a triple-digit move, with today's result being a 138-point gain that signaled investor optimism that the Federal Reserve will remain in control of the markets even after tomorrow's announcement following the Fed's latest meeting. The U.S. market remains a pocket of strength amid less exuberant markets around the world, with rioting in Brazil marking the latest uprising among populations dissatisfied with the sluggish conditions in various economies across the globe.

Only a couple of stocks posted losses today. Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) fell 0.1% in light of a Supreme Court decision that gave the Federal Trade Commission the power to challenge arrangements between primary-drug developers and generic-drug manufacturers that involve upfront payments in exchange for delays in releasing generic versions of name-brand drugs. Clearly, Merck and its peers have incentives to keep brand-name profits going as long as possible, and FTC challenges could reduce their ability to do so going forward.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) also posted the narrowest of losses. Reports that the company will turn to Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM  ) to supply some chips for new versions of its Surface RT tablet were bad news for NVIDIA, which is the existing supplier for the Surface RT, but probably didn't move Microsoft's own stock substantially. In any event, the newer Surface Pro seems like a better prospect for Microsoft going forward, given its ability to run full versions of Windows 8 programs despite its heftier price tag.

Finally, outside the Dow, MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD  ) fell 12%, extending its losses from yesterday after completing its phase 3 trial of its Afrezza treatment for type 2 diabetes. MannKind's management couldn't identify any fundamental news affecting the stock, although later comments from CFO Matthew Pfeffer concerning whether the company might seek a partner before getting an approval decision on Afrezza from the FDA weren't sufficient to wipe out all of the stock's losses. The volatility highlights the danger of investing in small stocks with substantial speculative elements in their results.

Hot Safest Stocks To Buy Right Now

Merck stumbled into 2013 and continues to battle patent expirations and pipeline problems. Is Merck still a solid dividend play, or should investors be looking elsewhere? In a new premium research report on Merck, the Fool tackles all of the company's moving parts, its major market opportunities, and reasons to both buy and sell. To find out more click here to claim your copy today.

The Depressing Dominance of Dollar Stores

Before getting to anything else, let's look at the following chart that compares the performance of the nation's largest deep-discount, dollar stores versus the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) .

If you're anything like me, two things went through your head when you saw this. First, you regret that you missed out on the investment opportunity. Since the end of 2009, shares in all three of these companies, led by Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR  ) , have simply trounced the broader market. Even the worst performer of the bunch, Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO  ) , beat it by nearly a factor of two.

At the same time, however, one can't help lamenting their success and what it means for the United States. I mean, think about it for a second. We're the largest, most economically dominant country in the world, yet the most vibrant companies within our borders are dollar stores? Not to knock their operations, because I firmly believe that there's a time and a place for everything, but have you been in one? Is this really where we want a growing proportion of our citizens to buy food and clothing for their children?

The growth of Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) over the past five years provides a textbook case of this trend. Since the end of 2006, it's opened a net 2,277 new stores, increased the average size of each location, and is making 30% more per store than it was before the financial crisis. All told, its net sales over this time period have gone from $9.2 billion up to $16 billion today -- an increase of 75%. By comparison, Target (NYSE: TGT  ) , a middle-class establishment if there ever was one, has seen its top line expand by only a cumulative 24% while, more tellingly, its sales per store have actually decreased in real terms over the same five-year time span.

My point is that these stores, and thus the performance of their respective shares, are a useful and easily accessible barometer for the health of the underlying economy and particularly that of the oh-so-critical middle class. It can't be forgotten that nearly three-quarters of our gross domestic product derives from consumption. And if that consumption is being channeled into stores that advertise their wares by affixing the word "dollar" to their brand, well, you do the math.

The Motley Fool's top stock for 2013
The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock it is in the brand-new free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Sharing the Wealth

Kathy Kristof, of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, takes a look at companies sharing the wealth. Below, she highlights three blue chip firms that are buying back stock and boosting their dividends.

Steve Halpern: We're here today with Kathy Kristof of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine. How are you doing Kathy?

Kathy Kristof: Great! How are you, Steve?

Steve Halpern: Very good. The November issue of Kiplinger's just hit the newsstands, and in the latest issue, you wrote an article entitled Companies That Share the Wealth. Could you explain this trend?

Kathy Kristof: Absolutely. Companies have been building up cash hordes. Honestly, ever since the debacle of 2008-2009, companies got very nervous about having enough capital, and so instead of raising dividends, a lot of them cut dividends and started hording their cash.

Now companies have more cash on their balance sheets than ever before, and the market doesn't look as tenuous, and so they're feeling much more comfortable about giving back some of that cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks, and both of those things are obviously very good for shareholders. It just puts a little more cash in your pocket.

Steve Halpern: Now, one company you highlight is Apple (AAPL), which has attracted the attention of Carl Icahn, in part, because he wants the company to pay more cash. Could you tell us a little about that situation?

Kathy Kristof: Apple is one of the companies that we've been watching for awhile, because their free cash flow has just soared. This is largely because their products are very popular and profitable for the company, and so each and every quarter, the amount of cash that they have grows, and grows, and grows.

They started paying a dividend a year ago, but they still have about $150 billion in cash, and Carl Icahn bought a big stake in them and wants them to start, either buying back a lot more stock, or giving shareholders a lot more cash, and that is, to some degree, happening.

But I think what he really did was draw a lot of attention to the fact that this is still an excellent company, and because they stopped growing at the pace—they've got a year of kind of a stumble, where they didn't grow as fast because they didn't come up with a bunch of new products.

And people are nervous because Steve Jobs died and so this company stock has gone from $700 to under $500, and I think that makes it a tremendous bargain, and so does Icahn, by the way.

Steve Halpern: You also look at heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT). What's happening there?

Kathy Kristof: CAT had a relatively bad year. They had trouble with mining revenues, and so again, their stock price got hit, but they look at what's been going on as a temporary blip, because what they've seen is that their heavy equipment—the dealers who sell their heavy equipment, have just run down their inventories.

There has not been really a decline in demand from the end customer, and so they said, well, at some point, the dealers have to refresh their inventories. We think that's going to make 2014 a better year.

Meanwhile, because the stock price is at a discount, they've been buying back their own shares and raising their dividend, and so again, it's a stock that you look at and go, to me, one of the things you look at with these stocks is you'd like the market to ring some of the risk out of the stock.

And when a stock is selling at a relative bargain price, you figure that there's upside and a lot less downside than there could be, so I think that's what CAT is showing us.

Steve Halpern: Finally, in your article, among the other companies you discuss, you do look at International Business Machines (IBM), and you note that they're spending billions to buy back their own shares. Could you tell us a little about that?

Kathy Kristof: Absolutely. IBM is a company that is in transition, and because it's such a giant company, the transition is kind of like turning around a battleship, rather than making a quick U-turn, so they've gone from being a big mainframe and computer maker to being a seller of technology services.

They're showing real growth in that, and analysts think there's a lot of potential for a company that spent so much on research and development to be one of the leaders in taking the rest of the world into a world of big data, where more and more companies are mining vast quantities of disparate data, to figure out what consumer preferences are and how to market better to consumers.

And so, they think the potential for IBM is great, and like the others, IBM itself, thinks their stock is a bargain price, so they're buying back shares and they're raising their dividend rates, so that investors, in the meantime, are getting, kind of, paid to wait.

Steve Halpern: Well, we really appreciate you joining us today and sharing some of your insights. Thank you.

Kathy Kristof: Thanks Steven.

Subscribe to Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine here...

Twitter Picking NYSE Bolsters Big Board’s Web-IPO Allure

Twitter Inc.'s decision to list on the New York Stock Exchange is a victory for the Big Board that opens the door for more Internet listings.

Twitter, which announced the decision in a regulatory filing yesterday, joins Pandora Media Inc., LinkedIn Corp. and Yelp Inc. as Internet companies that chose the NYSE since 2011. While Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. scored a coup by landing the Facebook Inc. (FB) initial public offering in 2012, its reputation was tarnished by a software malfunction that delayed trading for the social network. Competition for IPOs is critical for both exchanges, which get about a fifth of revenue from listing fees.

"Companies like to list where other, similar companies are listed," Richard Kline, a Menlo Park, California-based partner at the Goodwin Procter law firm who focuses on technology company funding, said in a phone interview. "Anybody associated with the offering will get an uplift from it, and next time they meet with a company's board they can say 'we won Twitter.'"

Twitter also said in the filing that its revenue more than doubled to $168.6 million in the third quarter. Twitter will probably start a roadshow with bankers to promote the deal in the last week of October, said people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details aren't public.

'Decisive Win'

"This is a decisive win for the NYSE," the exchange operator said in a statement over e-mail. "We are grateful for Twitter's confidence in our platform and look forward to partnering with them."

Choosing NYSE rather than Nasdaq highlights the different paths that Twitter, a microblogging website whose users communicate in 140-character posts known as tweets, and Facebook have taken to go public. Facebook chose Morgan Stanley for its listing, while Twitter picked Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as the lead underwriter and kept a low profile during the process.

The Twitter offering, which seeks to raise more than $1 billion according to the people familiar with the matter, will probably be one of the year's largest. Twitter is fairly valued at about $12.8 billion, based on the value of its common stock at $20.62 a share as of August, according to a regulatory filing. There are 620 million shares outstanding, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Listings Scorecard

"All of us at Nasdaq wish Twitter well as they pursue their initial public offering," Nasdaq OMX spokesman Rob Madden said.

The 25 technology and Internet IPOs through Sept. 24 had raised about $3.84 billion, according to data from Dealogic.

The competition between NYSE and Nasdaq in this area has become increasingly fierce.

From 2001 through 2010, Nasdaq won 261 technology and Internet IPOs and NYSE scored about a third as many. Since the start of 2011 through Sept. 24, NYSE won 50 such listings that raised $9.38 billion, according to Dealogic, while Nasdaq secured 55 and raised $25.63 billion. That figure includes the $16 billion raised by Facebook and $805 million by Groupon Inc.

Oracle Corp., the software maker with a market valuation of more than $150 billion, moved its listing to NYSE from Nasdaq in July, the biggest company to ever switch from one exchange to the other.

Confidential Filing

Twitter said in a Sept. 12 tweet that it had confidentially filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Twitter filed confidentially under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups, or JOBS, Act, allowing the company to keep its financial data under wraps until three weeks before marketing the offering to investors.

The news set off the competition for the right to host its market debut. Bloomberg News reported on Sept. 24 that Twitter was leaning toward NYSE, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Facebook's decision to list on Nasdaq was considered a win for that exchange, with Nasdaq's stock rising 1.2 percent the day after the news was made public. The start of trading on May 18, 2012, went wrong when a software bug caused its delay and prevented some orders from going through. Nasdaq paid $10 million to settle regulatory charges that the error violated securities laws.

'Third Inning'

"Nasdaq won Facebook, NYSE won LinkedIn, and Groupon went to Nasdaq," Adam Sussman, director of research at Tabb Group LLC, said in a phone interview. "In terms of social-media company listings, we're in the third inning. And with Twitter going to NYSE, I think we can say it's a tie."

While there are 13 exchanges among the 50-some venues that trade stocks in the U.S., NYSE and Nasdaq are currently the only two that list companies.

Listing fees and related services made up about a fifth of 2012 net revenue for both exchanges. At NYSE, that amounted to $448 million of its $2.32 billion in revenue. For Nasdaq, fee-related sales contributed $375 million of the company's $1.66 billion in net revenue.

As the primary market for a company's stock listing, an exchange is responsible for providing the rest of the market data such as bids and offers and the price at which shares change hands. It was Nasdaq's quote dissemination service, known as the SIP, that crashed on Aug. 22, causing the halt in its listed stocks that lasted more than three hours.

Lister's Duties

Primary exchanges often also perform some investor relations roles for their listed companies.

The company's home exchange is also a factor in closing auctions as mutual funds and other money managers typically require the closing price on the listing exchange as the stock's price of record. Volume on both NYSE and Nasdaq jumps in the final minutes of each trading session as millions of buy and sell orders are routed their way.

Sussman said that during the regular course of trading, where a company lists is of less importance thanks to the market fragmentation of the past decade that's seen the U.S. stock market grow to more than 50 venues across the country. Over the past 20 days, half of all trades in Facebook shares have taken place off-exchange, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The share of the stock's trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market was about 22 percent.

"Regardless of which exchange Twitter decided to list on, it's likely a good portion of the secondary trading won't occur at that exchange," he said. "While it's a win, and a highly publicized win, it means less today than it did 10 years ago."

Emerging Stocks Advance as Infosys Paces Technology Rally

Emerging-market stocks advanced to a four-month high, led by technology companies, after Infosys (INFO) Ltd. raised its revenue forecast while optimism grew that U.S. lawmakers are moving toward avoiding a nation's default.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.9 percent to 1,023.21, extending its advance for the week to 1.5 percent. Infosys surged to the highest in 30 months in Mumbai. The benchmark gauge for Chinese stocks jumped 1.7 percent after the Shanghai Securities News reported the city may reform state-owned enterprises, while Vale SA led gains in Brazil's Ibovespa. Indonesia's rupiah had its best week since January 2012.

Stocks in developing nations extended a two-day advance to 1.7 percent on expectations President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders are moving toward a deal to extend the nation's borrowing authority as they remained at odds over terms for ending the partial government shutdown. House Republicans offered a plan to raise the U.S. debt limit that would require the president to accept policy conditions attached to a spending measure, according to two congressional aides.

"This is a relief rally related to the news from the U.S. that we could be close to a temporary extension for the debt ceiling," Michael Wang, an emerging-markets strategist at Amiya Capital LLP in London, said by e-mail. "It could continue next week if we get further signs that we are close to an agreement between the White House and republicans."

Technology Rally

All 10 groups in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained today as a measure of technology shares surged to a 13-year high. The benchmark gauge for developing nations has dropped 3 percent this year to trade at 10.7 times projected earnings, compared with the valuation of 13.9 for the MSCI World Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index exchange-traded fund rose 0.4 percent to $42.83. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Emerging Markets ETF Volatility Index, a measure of options prices on the fund and expectations of price swings, decreased 5 percent to 23.73.

Brazil's Ibovespa rose for a third day amid signs of growth in China, the Latin American country's top trading partner. Vale SA, the world's largest iron-ore producer, climbed the most in one month.

Russian stocks dropped from the highest since February as crude oil retreated and OAO Magnit, Russia's largest retailer, slumped. TVN SA, Poland's second-biggest television network, jumped to a two-year high as Deutsche Bank AG recommended buying its shares, citing prospects for a rebound in the domestic ad market.

India, China

India's S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) rallied 1.3 percent to a three-week high as Infosys, which has the second-highest weighting in the gauge, surged 4.7 percent. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS), HCL Technologies Ltd. (HCLT) and Tata Motors Ltd. climbed to a record. ICICI Bank Ltd. (ICICIBC) rallied 5.2 percent. The rupee rose to the highest level in almost two months.

The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) capped the steepest weekly gain in a month. Shanghai No. 1 Pharmacy Co. (600833) rallied 10 percent. SAIC Motor Corp., China's largest carmaker, climbed to a four-month high. The economy may grow about 7 percent for the "foreseeable future," as policy makers rein in the housing "bubble" and local government debt, said Deputy Central Bank Governor Yi Gang.

The rupiah rose 1.1 percent today, the most since Sept. 19, to 11,368 per dollar as of 4:03 p.m. in Jakarta, prices from local banks show. That extended its weekly advance to 1.4 percent, the biggest since the five days ended Jan. 20, 2012.

The premium investors demand to own emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries fell one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 322 basis points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Top Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now

Here are today's top news headlines from�Fool.com. Check back throughout the day as this list is updated, and follow us on Twitter at�TMFBreaking.

Delta Air Lines Initiates Dividend, Stock Buyback Plan

Apache Strikes Oil in Egypt

GE Unveils 1.7 MW Wind Turbine; NextEra Orders 59

Microsoft Names New CFO

Google Fiber Picks Another City

Activists: Disney Can't Trademark Holidays

Starbucks to Triple Products for GMCR's Keurig

Obama to Launch Jobs Tour

SeaChange CFO to Resign

House to Vote to Prioritize U.S. Debt Payments

Google Translate Adds 5 Languages

Cyprus Keeps Limits on Money Flows

NV Energy Keeps Quarterly Dividend at $0.19

Oil Below $96 per Barrel on Jobs, Stronger Dollar

Tesla Model S Outscores Every Car in Consumer Reports Testing

Facebook, Chicago Firm Settle Suit

Engility to Participate in $400 Million USAID Clean Energy Project

Nokia's Asha 501 Smartphone Shipping Next Month

Top Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now: Peabody Energy Corporation(BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in the mining of coal. It mines, prepares, and sells thermal coal to electric utilities and metallurgical coal to industrial customers. The company owns interests in 30 coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia, as well as owns joint venture interest in a Venezuela mine. It is also involved in marketing, brokering, and trading coal. In addition, the company develops a mine-mouth coal-fueled generating plant; and Btu Conversion projects that are designed to convert coal to natural gas or transportation fuels; and clean coal technologies. As of December 31, 2011, it had 9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Next week investors will be waiting for several key earnings reports including�General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG), Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU), Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), PrivateBancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PVTB),Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).

• [By Robert Weinstein]

  Lawsuit after lawsuit, a billion dollars in cost overruns, taxpayer subsidies and the most expensive coal plant to operate causing electric rates to skyrocket, if this becomes the norm. The new project is called Plant Ratcliffe by Southern Co. Plant Ratcliffe is quite the boondoggle, but proponents say it always costs more to build the first one and costs will come down as the technology improves. More plants are in the planning stages and may bring a needed shot in the arm to mining stocks. Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), Walter Energy (WLT), Arch Coal (ACI), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Peabody Energy (BTU), and James River Coal (JRCC) are companies that may benefit from increased demand for coal. Not all coal or coal companies are equal, so it's crucial to discriminate based on your investment time-horizon goals. With that said, the announcement should have been followed by a deep sell-off in coal and utility related stocks. But something happened. Or, rather, didn't happen. The above coal stocks didn't sell off tremendously and are largely moving along with the rest of the market today. This is noteworthy because stocks don't bottom on good news, they reach a bottom on awful news. Let me explain: When a stock chart continues trending lower, what you're witnessing is investors throwing in the towel and moving on. Leaving aside bankruptcies for a moment, almost all stocks have a core group of investors that are commonly known as the "strong hands." A stock is at the bottom when the weak hands are gone. At some point, distressing news (like an unfavorable EPA announcement regarding coal) hits the wire and the related stock or stocks react with little or no movement. This is what we are witnessing right now in coal-related companies.

• [By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South]

  We have evidence in the form of second-quarter results from Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) , Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) and Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO  ) , all three of which hinted at where they believe the two industries are headed. Going over the conference calls, Motley Fool analyst Taylor Muckerman gathered a few interesting tidbits and discusses them with fellow analyst Joel South in the following video.�

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  It has been very easy to pounce on the coal industry lately. Not only is it under pressure because of natural gas and environmental concerns but the price of coal has made it very difficult to make a profit. Not everyone sees it that way, though, and Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) is one company that sees very bright times ahead. Let's take a look at three signs the company sees that could mean good things for the industry, and Peabody specifically, going forward.

Top Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now: Petrotech Oil & Gas Inc (PTOG)

PetroTech Oil and Gas, Inc., formerly Unity Management Group, Inc., incorporated on April 10, 1998, operates and develops Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) opportunities within qualifying oil reservoirs in the United States using its Enhanced Oil Recovery method and technique. The company is also a construction and heavy equipment company. The Company is focussing on developing and acquisitions of technology in secondary oil recovery, oil and gas reporting software, trading software and Nitrogen and CO2 injection equipment. Enhanced oil recovery is also called improved oil recovery or tertiary recovery. The Company�� services include Work over and Installation Services, Heavy Equipment Services, Nitrogen, CO2 and Gas Mixture Treatments, Exhaust Gas Unit, Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage and Reservoir Development. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company acquired On Track Technology, Inc. On June 30, 2012, the Company acquired Metropolitan Computing Corp.

Work over and Installation Services

Drilling Vertical or Horizontal Well Supervision, Traditional Work over, Oilfield Work Over Rigs and Roustabout Services to be on location while recompletion, plugging or equipping of wells for in house leases and third party jobs as well. Where applicable Petrotech will utilize flexible Poly Urethane tubing for testing of wells and permanent installs for some shallow depths. The flexible tubing has a Paraffin�� and Asphalt Ines don�� stick to flexible tubing (as it does to steel tubing); and flexible tubing has an estimated 10 times longer life dependent upon the corrosiveness of production and by products, such as the water produced with hydrocarbons.

Heavy Equipment Services

Heavy Equipment Services includes heavy equipment, oilfield roustabout, crane work, water hauling, setting pumping units, separators, tanks, digging pitts and locations roads and heavy equipment services also includes highways for in house leases, third party oil companies and loca! l and government agencies.

Nitrogen, CO2 and Gas Mixture Treatments

The Company focuses in treating with Nitrogen, CO2 or a combination of the two; through two applications where applicable-Huff and Puff and Steady flooding. In cases, HoCyclic gas injection processes has been primarily restricted to the use of pure CO2 or CO2 that has been slightly contaminated.

Exhaust Gas Unit

The CO2/N2 gas mixture focuses to generated from a patented one-of-a-kind portable exhaust unit capable of producing 2.5 millions of cubic feet equivalent at 2000 psi. The exhaust unit manufacturing facility is capable of building over 100 million of daily of deliverability or 180,000 horse power of equipment per year.

Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage

Natural segregation of its gas mixture at miscibility pressure is a component in recreating a gas cap. Doubling of the primary oil recovery from a reservoir is expected with this EOR method and gas mixture. SPE paper #89357 documents GAGD recoveries averaging 63% of the OOIP.

Reservoir Development

Petrotech Oil and Gas Inc. focuses to use the technology in third dimension geophysics available, drilling and compositional reservoir modeling to devise the reservoir�� development plan. In some reservoirs has two horizontal wellbores; one each for the injection of gas and production of oil.

Top 10 Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd.(HSOL)

Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the manufacture and sale of silicon ingots, silicon wafers, and PV cells and modules. The company also offers mono crystalline and multi crystalline silicon cells; and provides PV module processing services. It sells its products to solar power system integrators and distributors primarily in Germany, Italy, Australia, the United States, the Czech Republic, Spain, and China. The company was formerly known as Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. in December 2010. Hanwha Solarone Co., Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is based in Qidong, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Lights out, China
  China may have its fair share of struggles -- which has caused its strong economy to back off its 30-year average growth rate of 10% -- but when push comes to shove, plenty of investors are still paying close attention to multinational companies making investments in China. However, if there were one sector with a gigantic "beware" stamp attached to it, it would be Chinese solar panel producers like Hanwha SolarOne (NASDAQ: HSOL  ) .

Top Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now: Vecta Energy Corp (VER)

Vecta Energy Corporation is engaged in the exploration for, and the acquisition, development and production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Company has non-operated interests in three areas: the foothills of Alberta, northeast BC and the Brewster area in central Alberta. The Company has interest in the Brewster area of west central Alberta (in townships 42, 43 and 44; range 12-13, W5). These lands are prospective in the Belly River formation at depths of 1,500 to 2,000 meters, as well as deeper zones including Nordegg, Rock Creek, Ellerslie, Ostracod, Falher and Notikewin. A total of six wells have been drilled on Company acreage. The 102/01-26-043-13 W5 well is producing 350 to 400 thousand cubic feet of natural gas with liquids. The 15-11-043-13 W5 well is producing of 350 to 400 thousand cubic feet of natural gas with liquids.

Top Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now: National Fuel Gas Company(NFG)

National Fuel Gas Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Utility, Pipeline and Storage, Exploration and Production, and Energy Marketing. The Utility segment sells natural gas or provides natural gas transportation services to approximately 727,000 customers in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Jamestown, New York; and Erie and Sharon, Pennsylvania. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation and storage services for affiliated and nonaffiliated companies through an integrated gas pipeline system; and 27 underground natural gas storage fields, as well as 4 other underground natural gas storage fields owned and operated jointly with other interstate gas pipeline companies. This segment also transports natural gas for industrial customers and power producers in New York State. It owns the Empire Pipeline, a 157-mile pipeline; and the Empire Connector, which is a 76-mile pipeline extension. The Exploration and Production segment engages in the exploration for, and the development and purchase of natural gas and oil reserves in California, in the Appalachian region of the United States, and in the Gulf Coast region of Texas and Louisiana. As of September 30, 2009, this segment had proved developed and undeveloped reserves of 46,587 thousand barrels of oil and 248,954 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. The Energy Marketing segment markets natural gas to industrial, wholesale, commercial, public authority, and residential customers primarily in western and central New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. The company also develops and operates mid-range independent power production and landfill gas electric generation facilities. National Fuel Gas Company was founded in 1902 and is based in Williamsville, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  National Fuel Gas (NYSE: NFG  ) is hewing tightly to tradition with its upcoming shareholder payout. The company has declared a bump in its quarterly dividend, to $0.375 per share. This will be dispensed on July 15 to shareholders of record as of June 28. That amount is 2.7% higher than the firm's previous four distributions of $0.365 apiece, the most recent of which was paid in April. Prior to that, National Fuel Gas handed out $0.355 per share.

Top Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now: ENSCO plc(ESV)

Ensco plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry. The company engages in the drilling of offshore oil and natural gas wells by providing its drilling rigs and crews under contracts with international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas companies. As of February 15, 2010, it owned and operated 42 jackup rigs, 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs, and 1 barge rig. The company also has 4 ultra-deepwater semisubmersible rigs under construction. It operates in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. The company was formerly known as Ensco International plc and changed its name to Ensco plc in March 2010. Ensco plc was founded in 1975 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  In this segment, Jason and Taylor tell investors why they'll be watching shares of Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) , Ensco (NYSE: ESV  ) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD  ) this week.

• [By Double Dividend Stocks]

  London-based Ensco plc, (ESV), provides offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry worldwide, and operates a drilling rig fleet of approximately 74 rigs, including 9 drill ships, 13 dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, 6 moored semisubmersible rigs, and 46 jackup rigs. ESV currently has the world's second largest offshore rig fleet, behind only Transocean, which has 95 rigs, and just ahead of Noble, (NE), which has 73 rigs. Ensco has the newest fleet of Ultradeepwater rigs, with 3, and, has 4 more on order, which are already contracted.