But the latest software promises to be a worthwhile update for anyone who bought a PC and/or tablet with the Windows 8 operating system. And it represents a critical test for Microsoft as it attempts to satiate critics, address Windows 8 shortcomings, and ultimately improve the company's standing in both the tablet and more traditional PC businesses.
The 8.1-update starts to arrive in the Windows Store at 7 a.m. ET Thursday, and will be rolled out globally over the next 24 hours, Microsoft says. Windows 8.1 will be available on new devices and in standalone retail packaging on Friday.
Hot Recreation Stocks To Buy For 2015: Forge Group Ltd (FRGXF)
Forge Group Limited is engaged in construction, commercial building, engineering, maintenance and workshop fabrication. Forge is the holding company of Cimeco Pty Ltd, Webb Construction West Africa Ltd, Abesque Engineering Ltd (Abesque) and CTEC Pty Ltd, which provide a range of engineering and construction services to a diverse range of clients particularly to the resource and oil and gas sectors through its operating entities. Cimeco provides construction services across a range of disciplines, including, commercial building, civil, concrete, structural, mechanical, piping, tanks and electrical. Webb specializes in structural, mechanical and pipe installation, tank fabrication and erection. Abesque specializes in the provision of engineering design, project management services to the resources sector, including base metals, gold and iron ore. In January 2014, Forge Group Limited announced that BlackRock Inc. and subsidiaries had ceased to be the substantial holder of the Company. Advisors' Opinion:- [By MARKETWATCH]
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australia stocks started solidly lower Tuesday, weighed by large losses on Wall Street, with the S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) retreating 0.8% to 5,248.90. Globally sensitive stocks were among the leading decliners after a 1.3% pullback for the S&P 500 (SPX) in the U.S., with financial major Macquarie Group Ltd. (AU:MQG) (MCQEF) falling 2.2%, News Corp. (AU:NWS) (NWS) -- the parent of MarketWatch, publisher of this report -- off 1.4%, and construction-material firm James Hardie Industries SE (AU:JHX) (JHIUF) 1.2% lower. Miners came under pressure, with BHP Billiton Ltd. (AU:BHP) (BHP) down 0.9% and Oz Minerals Ltd. (AU:OZL) (OZMLF) dropping 1%, while Forge Group Ltd. (AU:FGE) (FRGXF) tumbled 12.8% after issuing a profit warning. On the upside, mild gains overnight for Comex gold futures helped the fortunes of some gold extractors, helping Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) and Evolution Mining Ltd. (AU:EVN) (CAHPF)
Best Prefered Companies For 2014: Air Methods Corporation(AIRM)
Air Methods Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides air medical emergency transport services and systems in the United States. It transports persons requiring intensive medical care from either the scene of accident or general care hospitals to highly skilled trauma centers or tertiary care centers. The company operates through three segments: Community-Based Services, Hospital-Based Services, and United Rotorcraft. The Community-Based Services segment provides air medical transportation services, including aircraft operation and maintenance, medical care, dispatch and communications, and medical billing and collection services. This segment operates 201 helicopters and 15 fixed wing aircraft in 29 states. The Hospital-Based Services segment offers air medical transportation services, and medically equipped helicopters and airplanes for hospitals. It operates 212 helicopters and 6 fixed wing aircraft in 34 states. The United Rotorcraft segment designs, manufa ctures, installs, and certifies modular medical interiors, multi-mission interiors, and other aerospace and medical transport products for domestic and international customers, as well as provides quality assurance and certification services. Air Methods Corporation was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Hill]
We closed today's show with two stocks to watch. Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser has Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM ) on his radar. And analyst Matt Argersinger is watching Universal Display (NASDAQ: OLED ) .
- [By John Kell]
Air Methods Corp.(AIRM) issued a preliminary fourth-quarter profit outlook that missed Wall Street’s expectations, due to flight volume weakness and poor weather that led to cancellations. Shares dropped 5.8% to $48.40 premarket.
- [By Brian Pacampara]
What: Shares of air medical transportation company Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM ) sank 12% today after its preliminary quarterly results disappointed�Wall Street. �
Best Prefered Companies For 2014: BlackRock Inc (BLK)
BlackRock, Inc. (BlackRock) is an independent investment management firm. The Company provides a range of investment and risk management services. The Company serves its clients as a fiduciary, and derives all of its revenues from client business. It invests in capital markets globally. Its clients include taxable, tax-exempt and official institutions (including pension funds, endowments, insurance companies, corporations, financial institutions, central banks and sovereign wealth funds) as well as retail investors and high net worth individuals. Its product range includes single- and multi-asset class portfolios investing in equities, fixed income, alternatives and/or money market instruments. It offer its products directly and through intermediaries in a range of vehicles, including open-end and closed-end mutual funds, iShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other exchange-traded products ( ETPs), collective investment funds and separate accounts. The Company also offers its BlackRock Solutions (BRS) investment systems, risk management and advisory services to institutional investors. In March 2012, it acquired Claymore Investments, Inc. from Guggenheim Partners, LLC.
Equity and Fixed Income
Equity and fixed income assets under management (AUM) include a range of active and passive strategies. Merger-related outflows in equities and fixed income, respectively, due to manager concentration.
Multi-Asset Class
BlackRock�� multi-asset class team manages a range of bespoke mandates. Investment solutions include a combination of long-only portfolios and alternative investments, as well as tactical asset allocation overlays. As of December 31, 2011, institutional investors represented 63% of multi-asset class AUM, while retail and high net worth investors accounted for 37%. Flows were almost evenly split as well. During the year ended December 31, 2011, with 55% of multi-asset class AUM managed for clients based in the Americas, 38% in Europe, the Mi! ddle East and Africa (EMEA) and 7% in Asia-Pacific. As of December 31, 2011, asset allocation and balanced products represented 56% of multi-asset class AUM. As of December 31, 2011, fiduciary management services accounted for 22% of multi-asset class AUM. As of December 31, 2011, target date and target risk funds is 22% of multi-asset class AUM.
Alternative Investments
As of December 31, 2011, the alternative investment client base was predominantly institutional, representing 73% of alternatives AUM with retail and high net worth investors comprising an additional 9% of AUM. As of December31, 2011, iShares consisted 18% of ending AUM. The geographic mix was well diversified, with 56% of AUM managed for clients in the Americas, 22% for clients in EMEA and 22% for clients in Asia-Pacific. The BlackRock Alternative Investors (BAI) group coordinates its alternative investment efforts, including product management, business development and client service. The products offered under the BAI umbrella are: core, which includes hedge funds, funds of funds and real estate offerings, and currency and commodities. Offerings include high yield debt and core, value-added and opportunistic equity portfolios. It also offers open-end hedge funds and similar products and closed-end funds. These products include a range of active and passive products managed through institutional separate accounts.
Cash Management and Securities Lending
Cash management products include taxable and tax-exempt money market funds and customized separate accounts. Portfolios may be denominated in the United States dollar, euro or pound sterling. As of December 31, 20110, its cash management clientele is institutional, with 84% of cash AUM managed for institutions and 16% for retail and high net worth investors. The investor base was also domestic, with 70% managed for investors in the Americas and 30% for clients in other regions, almost all EMEA-based.
Active Strategies
! The Company offers two types of active strategies: those that rely primarily on fundamental research and those that utilize primarily quantitative models to drive security selection and portfolio construction. As of December 31, 2011, active long-term AUM consisted of 23% equities, 52% fixed income, 18% multi-asset and 7% alternatives.
Active Equity
A range of products are offered, including global and regional portfolios; value, growth and core products; large, mid and small cap strategies, and selected sector funds. BlackRock manages active equity portfolios for a range of institutional and retail and high net worth investors globally. Approximately 48% of its active equity AUM was managed for investors based in the Americas, 38% in EMEA and 14% in Asia-Pacific.
Active Fixed Income
Fixed income mandates are tailored to client-specified liabilities, accounting, regulatory or rating agency requirements, or other investment policies. As of December 31, 2011, of BlackRock�� total active fixed income AUM, 81% was managed on behalf of institutional investors and 19% for retail and high net worth investors. The client base reflects 70% of active fixed income AUM managed for investors in the Americas, 21% for EMEA domiciled clients, and 9% for investors in the Asia-Pacific region.
Multi-Asset and Alternatives
During 2011, 97% of AUM in multi-asset class mandates, and 76% of AUM in alternative investments are managed in active strategies. As of December 31, 2011, equity products consisted 64% of institutional index AUM. Fixed income products represented 35% of institutional index AUM. Less than 1% of institutional index AUM is in alternatives or multi-asset class products.
iShares / ETPs
During 2011, the Company introduced 45 new ETPs, maintaining dual commitment innovation and responsible product structuring. Its product range offers investors the building blocks required to assemble diversified portfolio! s. As of ! December 31, 2011, its iShares product mix included 71%, in equity offerings, and 26%, in fixed income ETPs and 3%, in multi-asset class and alternative investments. In addition, the Company is an ETF manager in Mexico and has products in Chile, Peru, Brazil, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan. In addition, the Company is the ETP manager in Latin America.
BlackRock Solutions
BlackRock offers investment systems, risk management, outsourcing and advisory services under the BlackRock Solutions brand name. Its Aladdin operating platform serves as the investment system for BlackRock and institutional investors globally. BRS also offers comprehensive risk reporting through the Green Package and risk management advisory services, interactive fixed income analytics through its Web-based calculator, AnSer, middle and back office outsourcing services and investment accounting. Clients have also retained BRS��Financial Markets Advisory (FMA) group for a range of engagements, such as valuation and risk assessment of illiquid assets, portfolio restructuring, workouts and dispositions of distressed assets and financial and balance sheet strategies.
Transition Management Services
BlackRock also offers transition management services, involving the temporary oversight of a client�� assets as they transition from one manager to another or from one strategy to another. It provides service that includes project management and implementation based on achieving execution consistent with the client�� risk management tolerances. The average transition assignment is executed within three weeks. These portfolios are not included in AUM unless BlackRock has been retained to manage the assets after the transition phase.
Risk & Quantitative Analysis
Across all asset classes, the Risk & Quantitative Analysis (RQA) group at BlackRock provides risk management advice and independent risk oversight of the investment management processes, identifies and hel! ps manage! counterparty and operational risks, coordinates standards for firm wide investment performance measurement and determines risk management-related analytical and information requirements.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Nicole Seghetti]
Goliath flexing his muscles
Earlier this month,�BlackRock (NYSE: BLK ) closed an ETF acquisition deal with Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS ) . The world's largest asset manager agreed to take nearly $18 billion worth of the Swiss bank's ETF fund assets. As a result, BlackRock gained all 58 of Credit Suisse's ETFs, which have been absorbed and rebranded under BlackRock's popular iShares platform.
Best Prefered Companies For 2014: Compliance Energy Corp (CEC)
Compliance Energy Corporation (Compliance) is an exploration and development company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties. Compliance�� main projects are its freehold coal holdings on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and four non-coal exploration properties on Vancouver Island. Through the Comox Joint Venture (CJV), CEC owns 60% of the Raven Underground Coal project. The Company�� main properties are its approximately 29,000 hectares of freehold coal and mineral interests and 2,046 hectares of Crown Coal licenses in the Comox Coal Basin on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Through the Comox Joint Venture agreement, Compliance owns 60% of interests and Itochu International and LG International own 20% respectively. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Hibah Yousuf]
CEC Entertainment, (CEC) the owner of Chuck E. Cheese, announced that private equity firm Apollo Global Management (APO) was buying it for $1.3 billion.
- [By Geoff Gannon] tal, Oracle (ORCL) etc. may also count ��you are imagining yourself as a shareholder and silent partner in a business that will continue to be controlled by the current management team ��or similar successors ��and in which they will decide what your dividends are each year, they will decide how much stock is issued or bought back, etc.
Buy and hold investments should be analyzed on a free cash flow basis. Not an EV/EBIT basis. "Value" investments in the Ben Graham sense of the word ��think cigar butts ��should be analyzed on an enterprise value.
Simply put, make your Ben Graham investments on an EV/EBIT basis. And make your Warren Buffett investments on a price-to-free-cash-flow basis.
We can think of this as a public owner versus private owner choice. Are you buying the company because you think it is cheap relative to its intrinsic value and you expect to receive your investment gain in the forms of capital gains caused by a rising share price that will close the gap between price and value ��some sort of merger, takeover, etc. ��or do you imagine being invested in the company the way Warren Buffett is invested in Wells Fargo (WFC), Coca-Cola (KO), the Washington Post (WPO), etc.?
Enterprise value and operating income (��BIT�� should be used when analyzing an investment as a private owner. This is how Joel Greenblatt seems to work. At least that is how he talks in "You Can Be a Stock Market Genius" and how he designed the magic formula (enterprise value and pre-tax ear
Best Prefered Companies For 2014: Pinnacle Foods Inc (PF)
Pinnacle Foods Inc., incorporated on July 28, 2003, is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded food products in North America. The Company operates in three segments: the Birds Eye Frozen Division, the Duncan Hines Grocery Division and the Specialty Foods Division. The Birds Eye Frozen Division and the Duncan Hines Grocery Division, which collectively represent its North America Retail operations, include the brands. Its brand portfolio enjoys household penetration in the United States, where its products can be found in approximately 85% of U.S. households. Its products are sold through supermarkets, grocery wholesalers and distributors, mass merchandisers, super centers, convenience stores, dollar stores, drug stores and warehouse clubs in the United States and Canada, as well as in military channels and foodservice locations. On June 24, 2011, the Company completed the sale of its Watsonville, California facility which had been recorded as an asset held for sale.
Birds Eye Frozen Division
The Company�� Birds Eye Frozen Division includes its steamed and non-steamed product offerings, with a 27.0% market share, making Birds Eye the recognized frozen vegetables brand in the United States. Birds Eye was the Company to capture a nationwide market share with a product that enables consumers to conveniently steam vegetables in microwaveable packaging.
Duncan Hines Grocery Division
Duncan Hines is the division�� brand and includes cake mixes, ready-to-serve frostings, brownie mixes, muffin mixes, and cookie mixes. During the fiscal year ended September 23, 2012, the Company added two additional items to the line. In February 2012, the Company introduced a line of frosting products, Duncan Hines Frosting Creations, which uses a patent pending frosting system to allow consumers to customize their frosting into one of 12 different flavors. The Company also offers a complete line of shelf-stable pickle products that we market and distribute n! ationally, primarily under the Vlasic brand, and regionally under the Milwaukee�� and Wiejske Wyroby brands. In 2012, the Company introduced Vlasic Farmers Garden, artisan-quality pickle line.
Specialty Foods Division
The Company�� snack products primarily consist of Tim�� Cascade, Snyder of Berlin and Husman��. These direct store delivery brands have local awareness and hold market share positions in their regional markets. The Company also manufactures and distributes certain products, mainly in the frozen breakfast, canned meat, and pie and pastry fruit filling categories, through food service channels. The Company also manufactures and distributes certain private label products in the canned meat, shelf-stable pickles and frozen seafood. As part of its ongoing strategic focus over the last several years, the Company has deemphasized the food service and private label businesses for the benefit of its higher margin branded food products.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CNNMoney Staff]
Pinnacle Foods (PF), which said Tuesday that it agreed to be bought by Hillshire Brands (HSH, Fortune 500), will also report quarterly earnings before the bell.
- [By Selena Maranjian]
The biggest new holdings are Canadian Pacific Railway�and Allstate. Other new holdings of interest include Pinnacle Foods (NYSE: PF ) and Eaton (NYSE: ETN ) . Pinnacle Foods debuted via an IPO earlier this year, and soon after, initiated�a dividend, which yields about 2.8%. Its brands�include Birds Eye, Aunt Jemima, Hungry-Man, Van de Kamp's, Armour, Lender's, Mrs. Paul's, Vlasic, Log Cabin, Mrs. Butterworth, and Duncan Hines, among others. With the company carrying significant debt, it's reasonable that some worry about its interest in acquiring Unilever's�Wish-Bone salad dressing brand and Del Monte Foods' canned foods.
Best Prefered Companies For 2014: Eyes on The Go Inc (AXCG)
Eyes on the Go, Inc., incorporated on August 26, 2010, designs, implements, and provides services for the remote real-time monitoring of, and the control of equipment and devices located at, businesses and other facilities via computers, wireless handheld devices and television equipment using the Internet, through its Website, www.eyesonthego.com, or internal communications. As of May 1, 2011, the Company entered into a Plan and Agreement of Merger by and among the Company, Eyes Enterprises, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, and EOTG, under which Enterprises was merged with and into EOTG, with EOTG being the surviving entity. As a result of this merger, the Company changed its name to Eyes on the Go, Inc. and EOTG changed its corporate name to Eyes Enterprises, Inc. On May 11, 2011 the Company completed a Plan and Agreement of Merger with Mutual Exchange Corp. The Company was considered to be the accounting acquirer, and the merger was accounted for as a reverse merger, whereby the Company being the accounting survivor.
Users of the Company�� services can view monitored facilities from video cameras, as well as receive temperature and other data; can remotely control devices, such as thermostats, lights and locks, and can receive e-mail-based alerts of door entries and other events with video clips and of equipment failures and deviations from temperature and other parameters. Its system can also store images and data for review. The Company markets primarily to business owners and managers in the hospitality industry.
The Company competes with Control4 Corporation, SVAT Electronics, Motorola, Inc., iControl Networks, Inc., Mi Casa Verde, Inc. and ADT Security Services, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Last Friday, small cap stocks Kiwibox.com Inc (OTCMKTS: KIWB), Eyes on The Go Inc (OTCMKTS: AXCG) and Green Endeavors Inc (OTCMKTS: GRNE) were sinking 37.5%, 28.57% and 23.9%, respectively. Moreover, it should be mentioned that all three small cap stocks have been the subject of recent paid promotions or investor relation campaigns which have gotten them mentions in various investment newsletters or investor alerts. So are the promotional or investor relation campaigns over with for these three small caps? Here is a quick look to help you decide:
- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Eyes on The Go Inc (OTCMKTS: AXCG), Quadrant 4 Systems Corp (OTCMKTS: QFOR) and Cloud Security Corp (OTCMKTS: CLDS) were getting attention last week, but all three stocks trended downward on Monday. It should be mentioned that none of these stocks have been overly or heavily paid promotions. So what will these three small cap stocks do on the last trading day of the year and for the rest of this week? Here is a closer look:
Best Prefered Companies For 2014: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (LQD)
iShares iBoxx $ InvesTop Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund, formerly known as iShares GS $ InvesTop Corporate Bond Fund, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the corporate bond market as defined by the iBoxx $ Liquid Investment Grade Index (formerly the GS $ InvesTop Index) (the Index). The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index.
The Index measures the performance of a fixed number of highly liquid investment-grade corporate bonds. The Index is a rules-based index consisting of up to 100 highly liquid, investment-grade, United States dollar-denominated corporate bonds that seek to maximize liquidity while maintaining representation of the corporate bond market. The Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chuck Saletta]
Where to invest?
Domestic stocks. The Vanguard Total Market (NYSEMKT: VTI ) ETF is a one-stop-shop that gives you access to around 99.5% by market cap of the publicly held U.S. stocks traded on major exchanges. A mere 3% turnover and microscopically low 0.05% expense ratio makes this a low-cost way to invest in the overall stock market. Investment-grade bonds. The iShares iBoxx $Invest Grade Corp Bond � (NYSEMKT: LQD ) ETF owns nearly $24 billion worth of investment-grade corporate bonds. A small 4% turnover and low 0.15% expense ratio make this a low-cost way to get bond exposure. Real estate. The SPDR Dow Jones REIT (NYSEMKT: RWR ) ETF has a bit over $2 billion invested in real estate investment trusts, attempting to match the Dow Jones Select REIT index. With a reasonable 7% turnover and a still pretty low 0.25% expense ratio, this is a reasonable way to get real estate exposure without turning yourself into a landlord. Foreign stocks. Vanguard's Total International Stock Index (NASDAQ: VXUS ) ETF has nearly $90 billion in foreign stocks under its control, owning pieces of more than 6,100 stocks from 45 countries. With a mere 3% turnover and low 0.16% expense ratio, it's one of the lowest-cost ways to get your hands on foreign companies without being an international accounting expert. Inflation-protected government bonds. The iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (NYSEMKT: TIP ) ETF has around $20 billion invested in U.S. Treasury inflation-protected bonds. With a low expense ratio of 0.2% and a reasonable 10% turnover rate, it's a decent way to get exposure to inflation-protected bonds. Note, though, that
There are countless possibilities for building your retirement portfolio to cover Social Security's gap, depending on your personal risk tolerance, timeline, and need for cash. Here are decent index-style ETFs across various asset types to consider when building your plan:
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