6 Internet and Web Service Stocks to Buy Now

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This week, six internet and web service stocks are improving their overall ratings on Portfolio Grader. Each of these stocks is rated an “A” (“strong buy”) or “B” overall (“buy”).

Commtouch Software Ltd () is bumping up its rating from a C (“hold”) to a B (“buy”) this week. Commtouch Software provides messaging, antivirus, and Web security solutions to OEM customers, enterprises, and service providers primarily in Israel, North America, Europe, and Asia. In Portfolio Grader’s specific subcategory of Sales Growth, CTCH also gets an A. .

IntraLinks Holdings, Inc.’s () ratings are looking better this week, moving up to a B from last week’s C. IntraLinks Holdings provides Software-as-a-Service solutions for managing content, exchanging business information and collaborating within and among organizations. .

Akamai Technologies, Inc. () gets a higher grade this week, advancing from a C last week to a B. Akamai Technologies provides services for accelerating and improving the delivery of content and applications over the Internet. .

OpenTable, Inc. () earns a B this week, jumping up from last week’s grade of C. OpenTable provides free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners through an online booking service. .

This week, Jiayuan.com International Ltd. Sponsored ADR () pushes up from a C to a B rating. Jiayuan. com International is an online Chinese dating company. Shares of the stock have been changing hands at an unusually rapid pace, twice the rate of the week prior. .

Sohu.com, Inc. () boosts its rating from a C to a B this week. Sohu.com is an Internet media company that serves as a daily source of information, communication and entertainment for millions of Chinese consumers. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

American Apparel adopts plan to prevent a takeover

  Why we fired American Apparel CEO NEW YORK (CNNMoney) American Apparel is bolstering its defenses following moves by ousted chairman Dov Charney to take over the company.

On Saturday, the company announced that it has adopted a one-year shareholders rights plan in an effort to prevent Charney, or any other person or group, from seizing a controlling interest in the company.

The company's "poison pill" provision kicks in once anyone purchases 15% or more of the company's outstanding stock. At that point, shareholders will be granted the right to purchase shares at $2.75 each in an effort to dilute any potential acquirer's interest.

American Apparel (APP) said the plan is in response to documents Charney filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that expressed his "intent to acquire control or influence over the Company."

On Friday, Charney submitted a regulatory filing with the SEC announcing that he's partnering with investment firm Standard General in an effort to buy large amounts of American Apparel stock.

Charney currently owns 27.2% of the company's stock, according to the filing.

Charney was ousted as chairman earlier this month. An American Apparel director told CNNMoney the decision came after the board learned of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

Allegations of misconduct are not new for Charney, who has faced several lawsuits claiming everything from sexual harassment to assault and battery.

Charney's lawyer Patricia Glaser sent a letter to the company's board of directors last week saying the company acted in "a manner that was not merely unconscionable but illegal."

Charney founded the company in 1998 and took the company public in 2005 at $8 per share. The shares eventually rose to nearly $17. But in recent years, American Apparel has been fighting to stave off bankruptcy.

American Apparel's stock closed Friday at 97 cents a share.

Why Dollar General Corporation, VeriSign, Inc., and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Are Today’s

The S&P 500 Index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) ended modestly higher on Friday, ending the week on a bullish note as the end of the second quarter approaches. Wall Street and Main Street alike are hoping that the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2014 will see higher growth than the first quarter, when the U.S. economy actually contracted at a 2.9% annualized rate. Dollar General (NYSE: DG  ) , VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN  ) , and DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) investors weren't too optimistic about growth today, as those three stocks ended as the worst performers in the entire S&P index. The S&P, for its part, tacked on three points, or 0.2%, to end at 1,960.

Dollar General lost 7.3% today after the company's Chairman and CEO, Richard W. Dreiling, surprised the stock market by announcing his retirement. Investors have plenty of reasons to like Dreiling, 60, who took control of the company at the beginning of 2008. Under his guidance, the dollar store went public in 2009, increased sales by more than 80%, and expanded its store count to more than 11,000 locations. The silver lining is that Dreiling could stay on at Dollar General for nearly another year -- until May 30, 2015 -- as the board searches for a successor.

VeriSign, which offers domain name registry, network intelligence, and other domain name-related services, shed 3.9% on Friday. A downgrade from Wells Fargo is behind today's drop, as the bank lowered its rating from outperform to market perform, noting that overall domain name registrations in the second quarter are trending lower than the company's midpoint expectations. Google's announced entry into the domain name market earlier this week also threatens to hurt VeriSign's business, especially if Google decides to offer domains at steep discounts, or even give them away for free.

DuPont is seeing farmers switch to soybeans as corn prices drop. Image Source: DuPont.

Finally, shares of chemicals giant DuPont slumped 3.3% today, giving the stock the ignominious distinction of being the Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst daily performer. The company warned investors late yesterday that it expects full-year 2014 earnings to come in between $4.00 and $4.10 per share, notably less than the $4.20 to $4.45 in per-share operating earnings it previously projected. In an industry that increasingly relies on genetically modified and patented seeds for a leg up on competition, DuPont is still subject to the whimsy of Mother Nature and Mr. Market, and challenging weather and falling corn prices combined to put the company in a tough position to grow substantially this year.

Leaked: Apple's next smart device (warning, it may shock you)
Apple recently recruited a secret-development "dream team" to guarantee its newest smart device was kept hidden from the public for as long as possible. But the secret is out, and some early viewers are claiming its everyday impact could trump the iPod, iPhone, and the iPad. In fact, ABI Research predicts 485 million of this type of device will be sold per year. But one small company makes Apple's gadget possible. And its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors. To be one of them, and see Apple's newest smart gizmo, just click here!

The Rise of Actively Managed ETFs

Actively managed exchange-traded funds have grown significantly in the number of products offered and assets under management over the past year, and continue to gain popularity as an investment vehicle.

As active ETFs continue to attract greater attention and accumulate more investment dollars, they will start competing with traditional active mutual funds for market share, according to a paper released Tuesday.

To better understand the potential of the active ETF segment, SEI collaborated on the study with ETF Trends to assess the current environment as well as their advantages and the obstacles they face.

Actively Managed ETFs

The paper noted that although actively managed ETF assets under management and number of products are growing, they still make up less than 1% of the global market for ETFs today — as of March 31, 85 products controlled $15 billion of assets out of the global ETF total of $2.7 trillion.

These vehicles come with an innate creation/redemption process that allows for a potentially more tax-efficient product than mutual funds.

Actively managed ETFs are required to make daily disclosures of holdings, yet some providers have petitioned the SEC to increase the time interval beyond daily disclosures.

However, some active managers want to shield their portfolio decision-making from copycats, and now may have a tool in an innovation called exchange-traded managed funds, which are wending their way through the SEC approval process.

Active ETFs now more broadly utilize derivatives, enabling fund sponsors to expand to other asset classes. The paper said it expected more competition between actively managed ETFs and other products utilizing various alternative investment strategies and asset classes, such as commodities or foreign currencies.

The paper noted that active ETFs are now being developed by more traditional mutual fund-only providers, such as T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Resources, Janus Capital Group and Columbia Management Investment Advisers, rather than just by specialist ETF manufacturers.

They are also adding support to the passive indexing providers through tracking “enhanced” indexes that screen for specific stocks.

The Road Ahead

While the actively managed ETF space is still in its nascent stages, active management may represent the next growth phase in the ETF industry, according to the paper.

New product launches have helped propel active ETF flows and total assets, but whether this momentum will continue remains to be seen.

The authors see wind to the industry’s back in the move from fixed-income-only offerings to balanced, alternative and even equity-focused funds.

The SEC’s lifting of restrictions on derivatives in active ETFs may prompt a new wave of active offerings, adding wind to the industry’s back and helping support the move from fixed-income-only offerings to balanced, alternative or even equity-focused funds.

---

Check out ETF-Mutual Fund Hybrid: The Next Big Thing? on ThinkAdvisor.

7 Smart Ways to Take Advantage of Your Tax Refund

Alamy Tax season is a time of stress for many, but it can be a joyful time for the roughly 75 percent of Americans who receive income tax refunds. While the refund really means you're getting back money you loaned to the government at no interest, in practical terms it often means an unexpected infusion of cash into your wallet or bank account. Last year's average income tax refund was $2,755, according to the Internal Revenue Service. That's a nice chunk of change. It's a great problem to have: What do you do with your windfall? The best choice for one person may not be the best choice for another. But experts agree on one thing: If you have debt, apply your refund to paying it off, whether it's credit card debt, student loan debt or other consumer debt. "People should still be focusing first on paying down debt," says Meisa Bonelli, a Wall Street finance and tax professional whose Millennial Tax company advises entrepreneurs on business and tax strategy. Debt, particularly student loan debt, should be a primary target because it limits financial options, preventing people from doing what they want with their money, whether it's buying a house, buying a car or taking a vacation. "Get that debt gone," she says. "It holds you back from everything else you want to do in life." Eric Rosenberg, a financial analyst who writes the blog Narrow Bridge Finance, agrees. "The No. 1 thing anyone should do with a tax refund is pay down debt," he says. After he left graduate school with $40,000 in student loan debt, he focused on aggressively paying it off. Using all his tax refunds and bonuses, he made the final payment just two years and six days after his graduation. With his student loan debt cleared away, he began saving his tax refunds, with the goal of buying a home. He didn't apply any of his refund money to splurges -- instead, he saved for fun and vacation with his regular income. The refunds were earmarked for bigger things. "I treated it like it was extra money that I didn't need to live on," Rosenberg says. "I always encourage people to think long term, not short term." Others believe that giving yourself license to splurge with part of your refund helps you save the rest. Stephanie Halligan, a financial consultant and blogger, signs a contract with herself before she does her taxes, allocating 50 percent of her refund to student loans and 25 percent to long-term savings. She can spend the remaining 25 percent on whatever she wants. "It's easy to react on impulse and emotion when your refund hits, so prepare now for what you'll do with that moolah later," she advises on her personal finance website, The Empowered Dollar. If you're getting a big refund ­-- a check in the ballpark of $1,000 or more for taxpayers who don't have a side business -- consider adjusting your withholding so that you'll have that money available to you during the year. But those who don't have substantial savings want to avoid a scenario in which they owe four figures to the IRS at tax time. "I think people should withhold the maximum they can withhold," Bonelli says. Rosenberg concurs. As his businesses, running Narrow Bridge Finance and building websites, have grown, his refunds have shrunk. Last year he had to pay the IRS. Here are the seven smartest things you can do with your refund: Pay down debt. If you have any consumer debt -- student loans, credit card balances or installment loans -- pay those off before using your refund for any other purpose. Car payments and home mortgages aren't in this category, but you can consider paying extra principal. Add to your savings. "You can never save enough," Bonelli says. You can use the money to build up your emergency fund, your kids' college funds or put it toward a specific goal, such as buying a house or a car or financing a big vacation. Add to your retirement accounts. If you put $2,500 from this year's tax refund into an IRA, it would grow to $8,500 in 25 years, even at a modest 5 percent rate of return, TurboTax calculates. If you saved $2,500 every year for 25 years, you'd end up with more than $130,000 at that same 5 percent rate of return. Invest in yourself. This could mean taking a class in investing, studying something that interests you or even taking a big trip. "Do something that enriches yourself or adds value to your life," Bonelli says. She is planning to take a class in art therapy this year using money from her refund. Improve your home. Consider putting your refund to good use by adding insulation, replacing old windows and doors or other improvements that would save energy, and therefore money. Or perhaps it's time to remodel your bathroom or kitchen. You're adding value to your home at the same time you're improving your living experience. Apply your refund toward next year's taxes. This is common among self-employed taxpayers, who are required to pay quarterly taxes since they don't have taxes withheld. By applying any overpayment toward upcoming tax payments, you can free up other cash.

3 Top-Rated Stocks to Buy on Any Dips

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Back on Saint Patrick's Day I talked about using dips in the market to accumulate some of the very best stocks and the necessity of using Portfolio Grader to review your portfolio. I even gave you a list of stocks to buy when the market pulls back.

Since then the markets have traded back and forth on news from the Ukraine, continued weak economic reports from China and Janet Yellen's slip of the tongue about future interest rate hikes. As market volatility seems to be picking up a little, it's more important than ever to focus on the very best stocks to buy for your portfolio.

Wynn Resorts (WYNN) has two casinos in Las Vegas and has two locations in Macau — the hottest gaming market in the world today. The company is showing extraordinary growth this year, with earnings up 48% so far. The latest quarter was up 98% year-over-year so the pace is accelerating as results from the Macau locations have been exceptionally strong.

There have been fears about Chinese economic weakness spilling over into the casino business but Wynn has a huge market-share advantage with the high-rolling VIP gamblers who are less likely to feel the sting of slower growth.

Portfolio Grader has been tracking the strong performance of company and upgraded it to a buy in December and a strong buy in January. WYNN and I would look to buy on any pullbacks in the market.

A year ago shares of electronics company Garmin (GRMN) was rated a "strong sell." Now that everyone has a smartphone with an accurate GPS, demand for Garmin's satellite-based navigation systems had pretty much evaporated. But management has turned this company around by developing devices for the sporting markets used by hunters, hikers, cyclists, and golfers. Garmin also started selling things like dog tracking systems and expanded its offerings for the marine and aviation markets.

The plan is working and the fundamentals have improved steadily. Portfolio Grader upgraded the stock to a "hold" in September, and upgraded it all the way to the very best ranking of "A" back in February. and is another one I would be buying on a pullback.

Magna International (MGA) provides services ranging from vehicle engineering and assembly to production of exterior trim and building interior door panels to the leading auto manufacturers. As car sales have rebounded since the depths of the recession, this company has been a major beneficiary. Its most recent earnings report saw profits grow 34% year over year, exceeding analyst estimates by more than 30%.

The strong quarter was the fourth consecutive positive earnings surprise, and analysts have jacked up their estimates for both 2014 and 2015.Portfolio Grader upgraded the stock to a "" back in January — this is a stock I would love to be buying in a market pullback.

Markets may be a little more volatile this year than last, especially considering all the geopolitical tumult so far in 2014. Investors who use weak periods to identify superior stocks to buy should navigate the rough waters in profitable fashion.

Louis Navellier is editor of Blue Chip Growth.

Fed dissenter says policy action was a mistake

WASHINGTON — A Federal Reserve official who dissented from this week's policy decision said Friday that the Fed should have said it planned to keep a key interest rate at a record low until unemployment falls below 5.5%.

The Fed's policy statement no longer cites a specific unemployment rate that might lead it eventually to raise short-term rates. The Fed instead says it will monitor a range of information before approving any rate increase.

Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Fed's Minneapolis bank, said this shift, which the Fed approved 8-1, will hurt the economy.

"The new guidance fosters policy uncertainty and thereby suppresses economic activity," Kocherlakota said in a statement explaining his dissent.

Kocherlakota said that lowering the threshold for considering a rate hike from 6.5% unemployment to 5.5% would have enhanced the Fed's commitment to low rates until inflation nears its 2% target. Inflation is now running around 1%, and the unemployment rate is 6.7%.

Kocherlakota said a better approach would have been a statement saying the Fed intends to keep rates at record lows until unemployment has fallen below 5.5% — as long as expected inflation was below 2.25% and any "possible risks to financial stability remain well-contained."

On Wednesday, the Fed held its first policy meeting under its new chair, Janet Yellen. Afterward, it said it would weigh a range of economic measures in deciding when to begin raising its key target for short-term rates. The Fed has held its benchmark rate at a record low near zero since December 2008.

At a news conference afterward, Yellen unsettled financial markets in answering a question about what the Fed meant in saying short-term rates could remain low for a "considerable time" after it stops buying bonds to keep long-term rates low.

Yellen replied that that phrase could mean "something on the order of around six months." That is a shorter time than some investors had anticipated for a possible rate hike.! Her comment appeared to conflict with her other remarks at the news conference that the Fed's decision on when to raise rates would depend on economic conditions.

The Fed is expected to keep trimming its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion at each meeting before ending them late this year. Six months from that point could put the first rate hike in the first half of 2015. Many economists still think the Fed won't start raising rates until the second half of 2015.

Week In FX Europe – Forex Market Seek Risk/Reward Opportunities

EUR Squeezed on the crosses Geo-political risks aids commodities FED content with low-rate environment

All any forex trader requires is some kind of market movement. A move either up or down, not the ‘contained' ranges that ends up more often trading sideways. This has been a common occurrence throughout the fist-half of 2014. Unfortunately, this type of market movement limits notable trading opportunities, and certainly calls into question the risk/reward of undertaking various trades.

For those not World Cup tied, this past week has been a trading feast, full of worthwhile prospects backed by a surprising Fed and a massive uptick in geopolitical risks.

In midweek, Ms. Yellen and company at the Fed gave the market the green light to proceed with business as usual by reiterating “lower for longer rate policy.” This reassurance has taken many in the market by surprise. Dealers and investors were very much positioned for more hawkish rhetoric from the Fed head.

The fixed-income market had been pricing an aggressive showing by the Fed, especially on the back of this weeks surprising American inflation report. The unexpectedly large increase to the May CPI report (+0.4%, m/m and +2.1%, y/y) was suppose to provide fodder for the FOMC ‘hawks'. The market was looking for any indication that the Fed debate would be shifting from “reducing” to “removing” policy accommodation. This favored higher US short-term rates, the dollar in demand and the value of equities being questioned.

However, the dovish outcome had investors scrambling to unwind some dollar longs, squeezed the short EUR positions and breathed some much needed life back into the commodity market (aided by Ukraine and Iraq). Now that that noise is over, where does the market go to from here? Again the market is back to watching fundamentals, looking for inflation data scraps, just like CAD's surprising CPI data that could change the BoC script. The loonie got a lift early Friday, squeezing the EUR on the cross.

A low rate environment certainly promotes low volatility and endorses the popular “carry trade. Until the markets gets sustainable rate divergence by G10 Central Banks, either the Fed hikes or the ECB follows through with an ‘easing monetary policy,' we can expect more of the same, peppered and trumped by geo-political risk. This risk tends to be priced in by weeks end and unwound at the beginning of every week.

The metals markets appear to be increasingly more critical of the Fed's inflation-curbing credentials however, piling into the “store of value” trade. Aiding commodity prices is the escalating tension in Iraq which continues to lure investors into safer haven assets and reason enough to see gold rally to its biggest intraday gain in nine-month ($1,312oz) this week. The yellow metal has managed to climb +5% this month alone. Crude has seen a similar story, with Brent ($115) trading +5.5% during the same time period, supported by distribution and potential supply constraints as the holiday driving season gets underway stateside. The longer the Iraqi insurgency lasts the more difficult it will be for Iraq to fulfill its daily production quota (around +6m bpd) which would have massive implications for oil markets and commodity sensitive currencies in the foreseeable future.

Traders can now be expected to lean more heavily on geo-political concerns until Central Banks break with “business as usual.”

On tap for next week:

The market will be focusing on global manufacturing PMI's, starting with China this weekend. Chinese indices are mixed going into Sunday's flash PMI release. The most recent figure of 49.4 was a five-month high, albeit the fifth consecutive month in contraction. Europe and German follow on Monday. In the midst of the first round of the World Cup, traders will get to gage German business and US consumer sentiment. After US durables the week wounds off with German preliminary inflation numbers.

  Bulgaria Central Bank Confirms Run on Corpbank – MarketPulse IMF's Lagarde: ECB Should Consider QE – MarketPulse BOE Declares Rate Rises Depend on Economy – MarketPulse U.K. House Price Growth Slowing – MarketPulse UK Lobby Group Says Strong GBP Could Stun Manufacturing Growth – MarketPulse UK Retail Sales Drop in May – MarketPulse Dublin Housing Rise Increases Homelessness – MarketPulse Error Leads to UK Trade Statistics Suspension – MarketPulse Oil Drops After Strong Inventories Despite Iraq – MarketPulse Ukraine and Russia Hash Out Ceasefire Plan – MarketPulse Europe Built Up Gas Inventories Preempting Russia-Ukraine Negotiations – MarketPulse Russia Needs US Technology to Access Oil Reserves – MarketPulse GBP Rises To Five Year High On BoE Hawkish Comments – MarketPulse UK House Prices Rise to Four Year High at 9.9% – MarketPulse Russia Withstands Economic Malaise As Putin Ratings Rise – MarketPulse Carney Boosts GBP To 9% Gain in 2014 – MarketPulse European Deflation Fears Advance With Low CPI – MarketPulse UK Low Productivity Unexplained by BOE – MarketPulse BOE's Bean: First Rate Rise Will Signal Economy Is Healing – MarketPulse

WEEK AHEAD

 

* CNY HSBC China Flash Manufacturing PMI
* USD Gross Domestic Product
* JPY Tokyo Consumer Price Index
* EUR German Ifo Business Climate
* GBP Gross Domestic Product

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Posted-In: Forex Markets

Originally posted here...

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Will The Galaxy S5 Beat The iPhone 6?

There have been a lot of rumors and a lot of alleged leaks about a higher-end Samsung (SSNLF) Galaxy S5 hitting the market soon. This version, dubbed the Galaxy S5 Prime, is said to sport 3GB of RAM (up from 2GB in the current S5) and a quad-HD (2560x1440) display, up from 1920x1080 on the pain S5. It is also said to sport either a next-generation Exynos processor coupled with an Intel XMM 7260 modem ora Qualcomm (QCOM) Snapdragon 805 paired presumably with the latest MDM9x35 modem from Qualcomm.

What are the odds that this model even exists? We very recently saw news of the LG G3's 2560x1440 display hit the Web over the last week or so, and given that LG is probably going to play up this feature, Samsung is also likely to want to be able to keep up in the smartphone "resolution wars." Interestingly enough, though, the LG G3 will apparently sport a 5.5-inch 2560x1440 panel. If the rumors around Samsung's phone are correct, the S5 Prime should offer even higher pixel density at the same resolution on a 5.1-inch display.

That being said, such a phone is likely to be extremely expensive to make. Samsung already launched the Galaxy S5 (which had a larger screen than the S4, faster/likely more expensive processor, and other enhanced goodies) for about $100 less than the Galaxy S4 debuted at. This means if the company wants to preserve its margins here, it will either need to sell the purported S5 Prime for significantly more than the current S5, or the S5 Prime won't really sport these BoM-cost-ballooning features.

Should Apple worry? The big question then is whether Apple (AAPL) -- which has been on an absolute roll with its iPhone products lately -- has anything to be worried about vis-a-vis an even higher end, premium-tier Galaxy S5. While Samsung would handily win the "spec wars" with three times the RAM and a much sharper display, it's important to note that Apple's key differentiation point isn't necessarily the hardware, but the harmony of the hardware and the software.

For customers who prefer the ease of use of iOS, there is simply no alternative to Apple, and mainstream customers who are "used to" iOS have a rich library of iOS apps and are also probably hooked into iTunes won't switch to a Samsung/Android phone. It is this differentiation via software (which is R&D intensive but very COGS-friendly) that helps Apple not only maintain its share of the high end, but also allows it to do so with fantasticprofitability.

Conclusion Samsung, LG, and the hordes of Android vendors can bring in the flashiest displays and biggest "on-paper" specifications, but for many users, iOS and the ecosystem that surround it are what make Apple's phones worth the premium, not necessarily the hardware. Any company can buy an obscenely expensive, high-resolution panel and put a ton of RAM in its phones, but not any company can build the ecosystem, the brand, and the customer loyalty that Apple has.

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XOM Stock: Is Exxon Regaining Its ‘Oily’ Mojo?

Popular Posts: 4 Overpriced Energy Stocks To SellDrill Deep With These 5 Dividend StocksIs It Finally Time to Dump Royal Dutch Shell Stock? Recent Posts: XOM Stock: Is Exxon Regaining Its ‘Oily’ Mojo? California Droughts Pose Major Threat to OXY Stock Drill Deep With These 5 Dividend Stocks View All Posts

Exxon Mobil (XOM) has been a pretty sad story for the past few years. As one of the largest integrated energy stocks out there, XOM has had trouble keeping up with production — especially in terms of “Texas tea.” During the past few years, Exxon Mobil has seen overall production dwindle as various legacy fields have dried up.

That has been a big issue amid rising oil prices; namely, Exxon Mobil has missed out on some pretty sizable profit potential. Meanwhile, XOM stock has floundered and underperformed many of the smaller independent shale producers, such as EOG Resources (EOG).

However, one of the United States' biggest energy stocks might finally have regained its oily mojo. The percentage of Exxon's reserves that are liquids-based has surged recently, and the producer has several new oil-based production projects set to hit the tape this year.

That could be turning XOM stock into a buy … as soon as this year.

Reserves Replacement Rising

While Exxon Mobil's profits declined in 2013 thanks to issues in its downstream/refining segment,the integrated energy major did manage to produce some bright spots. Namely, XOM found more oil than several other major energy stocks.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Exxon now has 53% of its reserves in oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) vs. dry natural gas. That compares to just 51% logged in 2012. The key has been that Exxon has been able to discover and add enough crude oil to help boost its reserve replacement ratio. In 2013, XOM managed to replace nearly 153% of the crude oil and NGLs that it pulled out of the ground via production. That's a stark contrast to recent years, where natural gas was the driver of its replacement ratio.

All in all, Exxon managed to finish 2013 with proved reserves of 25.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

That can be seen as a major win for Exxon and XOM stock. The company's 2010 mammoth $35 billion purchase of XTO made it the largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. That buyout was largely criticized, as the timing of the deal was made just before natural gas prices imploded to record lows. Exxon — along with other natural gas-focused energy stocks — have struggled in the low-price environment.

But with a higher "oil cut," Exxon maybe finally silencing critics. If that doesn't do it, its slate of new projects starting production this year just might.

Ten of Exxon's major projects are expected to begin pumping energy throughout this year. These include expansions of Imperial Oil's (IMO) oil sands production in Canada, new deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico as well as finally seeing production from its partnership in Russia. XOM  will start producing oil from the largest offshore oil and gas platform in that nation within a few months. These projects will add about 300,000 barrels per oil equivalent per day to Exxon's production.

What's more is that these projects will help Exxon expand its liquids production by 2% this year and 4% each year from 2015 to 2017. Overall, by the time we flip the calendar over to 2017, oil and NGLs will make up around 69% of Exxon Mobil's total production.

XOM Stock: Still the King of Energy Stocks

Exxon's bullish news on the liquids production front could do wonders for XOM stock. The "reasonably priced high-quality bond" is now only getting stronger.

As we all know, owning XOM stock is about owning its hefty cash flows. Despite the recent earnings hiccups, Exxon is still minting a ton of cash each year. And those cash flows are only going to get better as it produces more valuable oil and natural gas liquids. Prices for these commodities continue to be rich, and the various geopolitical events coupled with rising demand will only keep them high.

That benefits Exxon on the profit margin front. It also benefits investors in XOM stock, as the firm can now send more of that cash back into their pockets via dividend growth and buybacks. Exxon Mobil has increased cash dividends for the last 31 years at an average rate of 10% each year.

But more could be on the way.

Currently, the payout ratio of XOM stock is only about 33%. That leaves plenty of room for more increases down the line — especially when you factor in that Exxon will earning more for its production of oil and NGLs.

That only strengthens the appeal of Exxon's bond-like nature. Shares of XOM stock can be had for a forward P/E of under 13. That could seem like a real long-term bargain once Exxon's oil ambitions start flowing and cash flows trickle back to investors. And while Exxon yields just 2.7%, again, the potential for dividend increases down the road is attractive. After all, long term, it's not about the yield right now, but your yield on cost.

For those looking for a steady Eddie dividend holding, XOM stock continues to be where it's at.

As of this writing, Aaron Levitt did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Is McDonald’s Setting Investors Up to Hike Wages for Employees?

When McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD filed its Form 10-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, the company listed a new risk factor to its business.

The company said that its ability to increase sales and grow profits "depends largely" on how well it can execute its latest initiatives. The quality of that execution depends on a number of factors, including this one:

The impact on our margins of labor costs that we cannot offset through price increases, and the long-term trend toward higher wages and social expenses in both mature and developing markets, which may intensify with increasing public focus on matters of income inequality…

An analyst at research firm IBISWorld told Al Jazeera that McDonald's may be using this SEC filing to warn investors that the company intends to raise its minimum wage this year and  get out ahead of the continuing calls for higher wages for low-wage workers. The IBISWorld analyst, Andy Brennan, also said that any negative impact on McDonald's share price has likely already been priced into the stock and that the impact on the stock price should be minimal.

That does not take into account the impact of a wage hike on McDonald's franchisees. While wages for franchise workers are not set by McDonald's or other franchisors, the parent companies do set prices for virtually everything else, from ketchup packets to remodelling costs. As one policy analyst puts it, " The corporations set wages by setting everything but wages."

Franchisees have no choice but to pay these costs, and on the thin margins in the fast-food industry, raising wages could well mean no profits for the franchise holders. A change in the financial relationship between franchisors and franchisees is likely the only solution to raising wages for workers in the fast-food industry. And the corporations are likely to fight such a restructuring till the end of time.

Shares of McDonald's stock are down about 0.6% today at $95.02 in a 52-week range of $92.22 to $103.70.

Mid-Day Market Update: Kroger Surges On Upbeat Results; Pier 1 Shares Slide

Related KEP Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Kroger Surges On Upbeat Results; Pier 1 Shares Slide Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mostly Flat; BlackBerry Results Beat Estimates

Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.22 percent to 16,870.34 while the NASDAQ declined 0.27 percent to 4,351.03. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.10 percent to 1,955.11.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities sector was the top gainer in the US market on Thursday. Top gainers in the sector included Cleco (NYSE: CNL), Korea Electric Power (NYSE: KEP), and Regency Energy Partners LP (NYSE: RGP).

Technology shares fell around 0.27 percent in Thursday’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT), down 8.9 percent, and ChinaCache International Holdings (NASDAQ: CCIH), off 4.6 percent.

Top Headline

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss.

BlackBerry posted its quarterly GAAP net income of $23 million, or $0.04 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $84 million, or $0.16 per share. Excluding certain items, the company lost $0.11 per share.

Its revenue fell 1% to $966 million from $976 million. However, analysts were expecting for a loss of $0.28 per share on revenue of $1.047 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Measurement Specialties (NASDAQ: MEAS) shares shot up 10.50 percent to $86.19 after the company agreed to be acquired by TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL) for $86 cash per share.

Shares of The Kroger Co (NYSE: KR) got a boost, shooting up 5.65 percent to $49.94 after the company reported strong Q1 results and raised its FY outlook.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) shares were also up, gaining 11.76 percent to $9.27 after the company reported a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) were 12.19 percent to $16.04 after the company reported a drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit and lowered its forecast.

KBR (NYSE: KBR) shares tumbled 9.73 percent to $23.76 after the company reported a Q1 loss of $0.29 per share on revenue of $1.63 billion. The company said it would undergo a strategic review of its businesses.

Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) was down, falling 3.49 percent to $7.18 after the company reported a drop in its first-quarter earnings. Rite Aid’s quarterly profit declined to $41.4 million, or $0.04 per share, from a year-earlier profit of $89.7 million, or $0.09 per share.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.14 percent to $106.12, while gold traded up 2 percent to $1,298.10.

Silver traded up 2.74 percent Thursday to $20.32, while copper rose 0.10 percent to $3.06.

Eurozone

European shares were higher today.

The eurozone’s STOXX 600 surged 0.58 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index gained 0.68 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.85 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX gained 0.74 percent and the French CAC 40 climbed 0.72 percent while UK shares gained 0.45 percent.

Economics

US initial jobless claims fell 6,000 to 312,000 in the week ended June 14. However, economists were projecting claims to reach 314,000 in the week.

The Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index rose to 17.80 in June, versus a reading of 15.40 in May. However, economists were expecting a reading of 14.0.

The Conference Board's index of leading indicators increased 0.5% to 101.7 in May.

Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Posted-In: Earnings News Eurozone Futures Commodities Economics Markets Movers

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Cliffs Natural Resources: Fighting Falling Iron Ore, Losing

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) is trying hard. Really, it is. It beat earnings forecasts. It’s cut costs. It’s suspended an expansion of Bloom Lake. It’s even considering an MLP in the U.S. But no. Its still lost more than a quarter of its value in 2014.

Reuters

And don’t expect Cliffs Natural Resources’ shares to recover anytime soon, thanks to falling iron ore prices. Wells Fargo’s Sam Dubinsky and Amir Chaudhri, who downgraded Cliffs Natural Resources to Underperform from Market Reform, explain:

Global spot pricing is weakening due to a slowdown in China, excess inventories, and ramping supply from low cost miners. While we like the new CEO and see value in shares if management sells high cost assets, we are not yet convinced efforts will be enough to keep shares afloat…

Under our base case of $100 iron ore (vs. $118 today), we believe Cliffs' shares could be worth $5 under today's cost structure and ~$17 under a deeper restructuring. With CLF shares currently trading at $19.55 vs. our $12-14 range we believe an Underperform rating is appropriate

It can’t just be iron-ore prices that got Cliff’s Natural Resources down. Its shares have dropped 27% this year, while Rio Tinto (RIO) is little change, BHP Billiton (BHP) has ticked up 0.7% and Vale (VALE) has dropped 7.9%.

Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources have dropped 2.1% to $19.14 at 3:27 p.m. today, while Rio Tinto has gained 1.2% to $56.45, BHP Billiton has risen 0.9% to $68.63 and Vale has advanced 0.8% to $14.03.

Hostess Bankruptcy Exposes Peril to 10 Million U.S. Pensions

Associated Press/Brennan Linsley When Hostess Brands went bankrupt in 2012, it triggered anxiety among employees at Ottenberg's Bakery, a family-owned enterprise in Maryland. The companies shared a pension plan, and if Hostess couldn't pay its retirees, Ottenberg's would have to pick up the tab. Gary League, 53, who has delivered Ottenberg's bread for almost three decades, worried he might lose his nest egg, maybe even his job. "If you have all these guys out on retirement and you only have Ottenberg's paying into it, the math doesn't add up," he said. "I was thinking I would have to work forever." Last week, he got the good news -- the U.S. government saved his benefits by sacrificing those of Hostess' drivers, who will now get a reduced payout financed by the government. League is one of 10.4 million Americans with retirements tied to multiemployer pension plans, large investment pools long considered low risk because they don't rely on a single company for financing. Two recessions, industry consolidation prompted by deregulation and an aging workforce have funds facing a $400 billion shortfall that has some near insolvency. Dozens already have failed, affecting 94,000 participants. Things are dire enough that a coalition of employers and labor unions is asking Congress for permission to cut benefits to retired truck drivers, miners and others as a last resort in order to prevent plans from going under. The proposal has divided unions and their allies, triggering a lobbying battle as a legislative deadline approaches and retirement security looms large as a growing economic concern. $2 Billion LIability Leads to Plan Being Carved up Hostess, maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies, was one of two employers contributing to the Bakery and Sales Drivers Local 33 Pension Fund. When Hostess went bankrupt, Ottenberg's was left to foot the bill. President Ray Ottenberg didn't respond to requests for comment. Hostess had about $2 billion in liability to its multiemployer plans. Because of the bankruptcy, those pensions will get nothing from the company, said David Rush, chief financial officer of the Hostess estate, known as Old HB. "You have to repay your secured creditors first," he said. "It was an unfortunate situation." The Obama administration acted last month, taking 342 Hostess truck drivers out of the plan to rescue benefits for League and about 360 others. It was the third time in its 40-year history that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. had carved up a fund. The PBGC engineered a merger of Ottenberg pensions into another plan. Since 2005, the agency has paid about $722 million to people in similar failed plans. A coalition of 40 labor and employer groups, including Bechtel Group, United Parcel Service (UPS) and -- at the time -- the International Brotherhood of Teamsters last year said pension trustees should be allowed to cut benefits to current retirees. The once-unthinkable idea is now gaining support as funds falter and unemployment, student debt and longer life spans leave people less financially prepared for retirement. "It's the first attempt by an industry or a sector of the economy to really address what's going to come back and bite us as a country," said Randy DeFrehn, executive director of the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans in Washington and an author of its "Solutions Not Bailouts" report. "If you allow some of these plans to have flexibility, they can take action instead of waiting until the assets are depleted." Slippery Slope for Plans, Federal Agency Others disagree. Giving pensions that option would make the problem worse, and not just for retirees, said Teresa Ghilarducci, an economist at the New School for Social Research in New York. Multiemployer payments are low and concentrated in economically distressed regions, including the industrial Midwest, she said. Once some pensions get the flexibility to cut benefits, others will want it, too, she said. It's a slippery slope that could lead to changes at single-employer pensions, which have 30.4 million participants. "It's bad for households, but it's also bad for the economy," Ghilarducci said. "In some of these communities, it's the retirees that are the mainstay." The PBGC, created in 1974, is on uneasy financial footing itself. The agency charges companies in multiemployer plans an annual insurance premium of $12 per plan participant, less than one-fourth of what other pension plans pay. The agency projects 173 multiemployer plans will exhaust assets, costing it an estimated $10 billion and leading to the insurance program's insolvency in 10 to 15 years. The agency is asking Congress for an increase in insurance premiums and more ability to intervene before funds are insolvent. Although the Hostess partition will cost the agency an estimated $22.5 million, it could ultimately save money because the entire pension plan likely would have failed without it, PBGC Director Joshua Gotbaum said. The agency partitioned its first pension in 1983 to save benefits for restaurant workers and manufacturers in and around Detroit. In 2010, it split a Chicago plan, protecting 3,700 truckers and putting 1,500 on government payouts. Now it's weighing carving up a second Hostess-related fund. "After we announced the Hostess partition we got calls from folks in other plans saying what about us?" Gotbaum said. "If we had a lot more money, we could do a lot more plans." Support for 'Solutions Not Bailouts' The nation's second-largest multiemployer fund, the Central States Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare Pension Funds, is also among the most troubled, with five retirees for every active employee. Covering 410,000 truck drivers, sanitation workers and others, the Teamsters plan paid out $2.1 billion more than it took in in 2012, with the average retiree receiving $15,000. In 2006, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act, giving funds such as Central States temporary leeway to cope with shortfalls. The law expires at the end of this year, and congressional lawmakers have no plans to renew it. Central States is one reason unions, including the Teamsters, lined up behind "Solutions Not Bailouts" last year. James P. Hoffa, then Teamsters president started hearing from his rank-and-file. He retreated in October, calling the proposal he helped craft a "mad rush to destroy what little semblance of retirement security exists in this country." "This issue is about basic economic fairness," Hoffa wrote in an Oct. 28 letter to House lawmakers. He called on labor unions to "ensure that the right to a dignified retirement remains sacrosanct." Hoffa spokesman Galen Munroe declined requests for comment. Cutting retirement income would be "a ticket to poverty," for some, said Bruce Olsson, a lobbyist with the International Association of Machinists, which has aligned with the Teamsters. "It puts the burden on people that are the most vulnerable. Retirees don't have the ability to make up that lost income." The last time Congress tried to rescue unfunded pensions, the move was attacked as a union bailout and failed, said former Representative Earl Pomeroy, a North Dakota Democrat who now advises the employer-labor coalition. Absent congressional action, more companies will abandon their obligations and leave retirees dependent on government aid, he said."You've got the hole getting bigger and bigger," Pomeroy said. "A haircut now beats a beheading later." Trustees at distressed funds can do only so much because the law dictates what benefits they can and can't cut. Had they been able to reduce accruals to retirees, they may have been able to save the Millwrights & Machinery Erectors Local Union No. 1545 Pension Fund. Stories of Two Men With Lower Benefits Peter Scarmozzi, a retired millwright living in Bear, Del., is among those willing to sacrifice. Scarmozzi, 66, is one of 179,000 participants in the millwrights' fund, about half of whom are retired. While the plan had suffered shortfalls before 2008, after the financial collapse, trustees calculated it would cost $23 per hour worked to restore it to health, up from less than $15. Some employers, including General Electric Co., want out and are now in court. "For 10 years we petitioned the trustees to cut the benefits back so the fund would survive," Scarmozzi said. "Now, it's going to fail." Kent Cprek, a lawyer for the Local 1545 fund, said trustees reduced what benefits the law allowed. Pension payments to existing retirees are off limits. "You're not allowed to cut every benefit," said Cprek, a shareholder at Jennings Sigmond in Philadelphia. Sacrificing part of Scarmozzi's pension a decade ago may have helped him and preserved benefits for younger millwrights today, including Thomas Hall, 55. Hall, who has installed turbines, generators and other large equipment for 33 years, began preparing for the worst in 2008. He and his wife cut spending and abandoned work on their unfinished house in North East, Md. Now the millwright fund could be insolvent as soon as next month, Scarmozzi said, and his $3,600 monthly pension will be replaced by an $800 check from the PBGC. "If I could find a part-time job, I'd take it," Scarmozzi said. "There's no golden years -- that stuff's gone." Hall said he will get $980 a month from the agency instead of his $4,000 pension. He's accrued another $226 so far from a separate fund he joined four years ago. "How healthy will that pension fund I'm contributing to now be in 10 years?" Hall said. "I'm stuck in a bad storm."

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now

Writing in the January 2014 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, columnist James Glassman picked Coca-Cola as a favorite for 2014.

Although it did not perform as well as other selections for 2013, Glassman described Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) as, "a classic 'faith-based stock' that is a great company that, by means that can't be predicted, always seems to bounce back."

There are others like that, such as ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).

Glassman is very bullish on the culture of Coca-Cola, which allows it to "always solve its problems." About the brand of Coca-Cola, legendary investor Warren Buffett once stated that, "If you gave me $100 billion and said, ��ake away the soft-drink leadership of Coca-Cola in the world', I'd give it back to you and say it can't be done."

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: Louisiana-Pacific Corp (LPX)

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, incorporated on July 20, 1972, is a manufacturer of building products. The Company operates in four segments: North America Oriented Strand Board (OSB); Siding; Engineered Wood Products (EWP), and South America. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned 21 modern located facilities in the United States and Canada, two facilities in Chile and one facility in Brazil. The Company also operates three facilities through joint ventures, for which it is the provider of product distribution for North America and participate in a joint venture operation that produces cellulose insulation in multiple facilities. The Company�� products are used primarily in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and manufactured housing. In May 2013, Canfor Corp announced that it has completed the sale of its 50% interest in the Peace Valley Oriented Strand Board (OSB) joint venture in Fort St. John, B.C., to Louisiana-Pacific Corp (LP).

OSB

The Company�� OSB segment manufactures and distributes OSB structural panel products. OSB is a smart product made from wood strands arranged in layers and bonded with resin. OSB serves many of the same uses as plywood, including roof decking, sidewall sheathing and floor underlayment. During the year ended December 31, 2012, OSB accounted for approximately 58% of the structural panel consumption in North America.

Siding

The Company�� siding offerings are of two categories: SmartSide siding products and related accessories; and CanExel siding and accessory products. Its SmartSide products consist of a line of wood-based sidings, trim, soffit and fascia. Its CanExel siding and accessory product offerings include a number of pre-finished lap and trim products in a variety of patterns and textures. Additionally, minor amounts of commodity OSB are produced and sold in this segment.

Engineered Wood Products

The Company�� Engineered Wood Products (EWP) segment manufactures! and distributes laminated veneer lumber (LVL), I-Joists, laminated strand lumber (LSL) and other related products. This segment also includes the sale of I-Joist produced by its joint venture with Resolute Forest Products (formerly AbitibiBowater) and LVL sold under a contract manufacturing arrangement.

South America

The Company�� South American segment manufactures and distributes OSB and siding products in South America and certain export markets. This segment also distributes and sells related products to augment the transition to wood frame construction.

Other Products

The Company�� other products category includes its decorative moulding and its joint venture that produces cellulose insulation. Additionally, it other products category includes its remaining timber and timberlands, and other minor products, services and closed operations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  In Weyerhaeuser's report, watch for the company to discuss any plans for potential buyout activity. With tight supplies, smaller rivals Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE: LPX  ) or Potlatch (NASDAQ: PCH  ) might make good targets for the larger Weyerhaeuser or Plum Creek to look at for expansion. Even though those companies have seen their shares rise dramatically as well, it might be worth paying up in order to secure long-term assets that could produce strong growth for Weyerhaeuser.

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: TAL Education Group(XRS)

TAL Education Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People?s Republic of China. It offers tutoring services to K-12 students covering various academic subjects, including mathematics, English, Chinese, physics, chemistry, and biology. The company provides tutoring services through small classes; personalized premium services, such as one-on-one tutoring; and online course offerings. As of May 31, 2011, it operated a network of 199 physical learning centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Xi?an; and eduu.com, an online education platform for online courses. The company also offers education and management consulting services, as well as sells software. It operates under the Xueersi brand. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  TAL Education Group (NYSE: XRS) shares rose 4.30% to $20.86. The volume of TAL Education Group shares traded was 318% higher than normal. TAL Education's PEG ratio is 1.14.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Education is a top priority in China and competition for the best schools are intense. TAL� Education Group (XRS) benefits form the focus on education by offering tutoring services for kids in grades k-12. They operate a network of 270 learning centers and 247 service centers in China and also have 5 call centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

Hot Chemical Companies To Buy For 2015: ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc(ZIOP)

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and commercialization of small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapies in the United States. The company's clinical programs include Palifosfamide, a DNA cross-linker, which is in a phase III clinical trial for the treatment of metastatic soft tissue sarcoma in the front-line setting. ZIOPHARM is also developing Palifosfamide in combination with etoposide and carboplatin in phase I clinical trial to determine safety for initiating a pivotal, adaptive phase III trial in front-line. In addition, the company, in partnership with Intrexon Corporation, is developing DNA-based therapeutics (synthetic biology) that include two phase 1 clinical-stage product candidates, both of which are DNA IL-12 to be turned on/off by an oral activator ligand. Further, it is developing Indibulin, an oral tubulin binding agent, which is in Phase 1/2 for metastatic breast cancer; and Darinaparsin , a mitochondrial- and hedgehog-targeted agent that is in a solid tumor phase I study with oral administration and has been developed intravenously for the treatment of relapsed peripheral T-cell lymphoma. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in New York City, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Biotech in general has been one of the market�� hottest sectors this year thanks to plenty of mostly good news�along with�new IPOs while small cap biotech stocks Delcath Systems (NASDAQ: DCTH), ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: ZIOP), Recro Pharma (NASDAQ: REPH), TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TLOG)�and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) have also produced their share of news�this week or in recent weeks. Just consider the following:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Back on July 16th, I pointed out ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP) was a budding superstar. Though I suggested waiting for the stock to cool off before stepping into it (and it did cool off, by the way), ZIOP has since walked its way above the key line in the sand that was acting like a ceiling then. Though there's still one more hurdle shares need to clear before being a "must-have" stock, the heavy lifting's been done.

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: Whitecap Resources Inc (SPGYF.PK)

Whitecap Resources Inc., formerly Spitfire Energy Ltd., is engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in Western Canada. The Company�� activities are concentrated primarily in Northwest Central Alberta and Southwest Saskatchewan. On July 1, 2010, the Company amalgamated with its wholly owned subsidiary Whitecap Resources Inc. During fiscal 2010, the Company produced an average of 355 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). On July 12, 2010, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire a private company. The primary assets to be acquired are located in the Pembina region of west central Alberta with production and reserves focused in the Cardium formation. In October 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of a Cardium light oil property and a working interest consolidation of its Eagle Lake Viking unit. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Caiman Valores]

  The recent surge in oil prices has renewed investor interest in the small-cap oil and gas E&P sector. One company that stands out for all the right reasons is Canadian domiciled small-cap, Whitecap Resources (SPGYF.PK). Since 2009 the company has unlocked considerable value for investors through a range of acquisitions as well as development and exploration projects. This has seen its share price surge in value to be up by almost 53% over the last year alone. However, it is clear that the market has yet to fully recognize the true value of Whitecap and there is still considerable upside potential of over 30% for investors. This along with Whitecap's dividend growth strategy makes it a particularly appealing deep-value investment in the oil and gas E&P sector.

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: Pervasive Software Inc.(PVSW)

Pervasive Software, Inc. provides embeddable software and SaaS services for data management, data integration, B2B exchange, and analytics. Its embeddable Pervasive PSQL database engine provides database reliability in a near-zero database administration environment for packaged business applications. Pervasive Software?s multi-purpose data integration platform, available on-premises and in the cloud, accelerates the sharing of information between multiple data stores, applications, and hosted business systems, and allows customers to re-use the same software for diverse integration scenarios. Pervasive DataRush is an embeddable parallel-processing platform enabling data-intensive applications, such as claims processing, risk analysis, fraud detection, data mining, predictive analytics, sales optimization, and marketing analytics. The company serves customers in approximately 150 countries. Pervasive Software, through Pervasive Innovation Labs, also invests in the explorat ion and creation of solutions for the data analysis and data delivery challenges. Pervasive Software, Inc. has a strategic alliance with A.D.A.M. Inc. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional offices in Greenville, South Carolina; Brussels, Belgium; Frankfurt, Germany; Paris, France; and London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Pervasive Software(R) Inc. (NASDAQ:PVSW), a global leader in cloud-based and on-premises data innovation, reported that it is in receipt of an unsolicited non-binding letter from Actian Corporation proposing to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Pervasive common stock for $8.50 per share in cash.

Best Warren Buffett Stocks To Watch Right Now: ING Risk Managed Natural Resources Fund (IRR)

ING Risk Managed Natural Resources Fund the (Fund) is a non- diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund�� investment objective is total return through a combination of current income, capital gains and capital appreciation. The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing in a portfolio of equity securities of companies in the energy and natural resources industries. ING Investments, LLC is the Fund�� investment adviser.

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its managed assets in the equity securities of, or derivatives linked to the equity securities of companies that are primarily engaged in owning or developing energy, other natural resources and basic materials, or supplying goods and services to such companies (Natural Resources Companies). Equity securities held by the Fund could include common stocks, preferred shares, convertible securities, warrants and depository receipts.

The Fund�� top 10 holdings include ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Schlumberger Ltd., Occidental Petroleum Corp., Marathon Oil Corp., Valero Energy Corp., Hess Corp., XTO Energy, Inc. and EI DuPont de Nemours & Co.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Value Digger]

  Manitok's total cost per Well (Drill, Case, Complete, Equip & Tie) is about $5.5 million. With average reserves per well ranging from 300 to 850 MMboe, the average payout is about 1.5 years and the peak Internal Rate of Return (IRR) reaches even 150% in some of the most productive properties of the company. Considering the company's balanced production mix, the average operating netback for 2013 is strong and hovers at approximately $33/boe.

German business activity reaches near 3-year high

German business activity grew at the fastest rate in almost three years in February, suggesting Europe's biggest and strongest economy continued to accelerate during the first quarter of the year.

The survey results from data provider Markit on Thursday followed a weak report on French business activity during the same month, and is a new sign that Germany is outpacing other euro nations as the bloc's economy stages a fragile recovery from its fiscal crisis.

Markit's composite purchasing managers' index, a monthly gauge of activity across the German manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 56.1 in February, a 32-month high, from 55.5 in January.

A reading above 50 indicates month-to-month expansion in activity. France's equivalent gauge showed activity shrinking.

"The recovery in the euro zone's largest economy is looking more and more sustainable, underpinned by the strongest rate of job creation in just over two years," said Oliver Kolodseike, economist at Markit.

Growth accelerated in Germany's services sector, but ebbed in manufacturing.

Germany's economy grew 0.4% during the final three months of 2013, picking up slightly from the previous quarter. The euro-zone economy as a whole grew 0.3%.

Write to Alex Brittain at alex.brittain@wsj.com

The New Oil Majors

It takes time to build an empire. Both ExxonMobil and Chevron, the U.S. super-majors of today, trace their history back to the ultimate corporate empire: John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil,  - which was founded more than a century ago.

Unlike asset-light technology companies that can grow quickly, the oil industry is notoriously capital intensive. Because they require so much capital, oil companies generally grow at a slower rate. Most of the large oil fields that can turn wildcatters into giant oil companies overnight have also already been found. So how is it that a new generation of U.S. oil and gas companies are increasingly coming into their own?

The benefit of being nimble
$100 billion is about the cumulative market cap of Pioneer Natural Resources  (NYSE: PXD  ) , EOG Resources  (NYSE: EOG  ) , and Continental Resources  (NYSE: CLR  ) . $100 billion is also roughly half of what ExxonMobil spent on share buybacks over the past 10 years. 

While conventional wisdom is that big players are more efficient because they have economies of scale and lower costs of capital, it turns out that there are benefits to being small as well. What may seem like a small opportunity can become a large one given the right technological advances and a hospitable regulatory environment.

That is just what happened half a decade ago. It was uncertain how promising shale plays were, and because they had long timelines and needed big projects to move the needle, the super-majors didn't take advantage of the opportunity as aggressively as the smaller players. As luck would have it, those small projects turned out to be huge and turned small companies into the next generation of oil majors.

The shale producers' growth rates are astounding. EOG is growing revenues around 32% year over year. Continental Resources, the largest leaseholder in the Bakken, is growing revenue at an astounding 60% clip year over year . The company's proved reserves increased 38% year over year to 1.08 billion barrels of oil equivalent.  

Pioneer Natural Resources, which is growing revenue around 25% year over year, might be the most promising company of the group. The company is one of the leading leaseholders in what it estimates to be the second largest oil field in the world, the Spraberry Wolfcamp field. The field has yet to be fully developed and may contain as much as 50 billion barrels of recoverable oil.  

The bottom line
There's still room for improvement. With pad drilling and other technological advances, the cost of oil production is still trending lower. And there are risks too, of course. Chief among the risks is increased government regulation; fracking is already banned in New York, andhas a chance of being banned in California. 

Some investors are still not convinced of the new oil majors, often using the argument that unconventional wells have faster depletion rates, making the production numbers misleading. While that is true, given the size of the total opportunity, shale oil production will more than likely continue to trend higher for the foreseeable future. Of all the projectionists, Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm may be the most optimistic. He believes that Bakken shale will eventually produce 2 million barrels/day, about twice what the play is producing now.  

After all, every empire begins with great ambition.

3 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.

Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.

While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for investors who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at some of the most active stocks on the market today.

>>5 Huge Stocks to Trade for Huge Gains

These "most active" names are the most heavily-traded names on the market -- and often, uber-active names have some sort of a technical or fundamental catalyst driving investors' attention on shares. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.

Without further ado, here's a look at today's stocks.

OpenTable

Nearest Resistance: $105

Nearest Support: $103

Catalyst: Acquisition

News hit at the open on Friday that OpenTable (OPEN) was getting acquired by travel site Priceline (PCLN) for $103 per share in cash, a $2.6 billion valuation that represents a 46% premium over where OPEN closed on Thursday. The acquisition news is a big win for OpenTable shareholders, but late-to-the-game investors might as well move on. The money has already been made on this deal.

Yelp

Nearest Resistance: $100

Nearest Support: $70

Catalyst: OpenTable Sympathy Move

Online service rating site Yelp (YELP) got a boost from the competition on Friday, rallying close to 14% in the wake of OpenTable's acquisition news. Yelp buyers bid shares up hoping for a similar valuation to potentially get placed on YELP if a suitor were involved in a buyout. But Friday's rally wasn't the first sign of additional upside in Yelp.

That's because this stock has been forming an inverse head and shoulders bottom setup for the last two months, triggering a buy signal at the open on Friday. That move clears the way for another test of resistance at $100, a level that acted like a major price ceiling as recently as March. If you decide to buy here, keep a tight stop in place.

International Game Technology

Nearest Resistance: $16

Nearest Support: $14.50

Catalyst: Acquisition Rumors

The rumor mill is fueling upside in International Game Technology (IGT) from last week. Shares of the $4 billion slot machine maker rallied close to 11% on Friday following news that two firms were competing in a bidding war to acquire IGT. That's a follow-up from Monday, when reports surfaced that IGT had hired Morgan Stanley (MS) to help facilitate a sale.

From a technical standpoint, IGT's downtrend is clearly kaput, but there's still a lot of event risk in this name thanks to the implications that come alongside an acquisition. This isn't a trade for the risk-averse, but a breakout above $16 is an important signal that sellers are on the retreat.

To see these stocks in action, check out the at Most-Active Stocks portfolio on Stockpickr.



-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS:

>>5 Toxic Stocks You Should Sell This Summer

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji

Jim Cramer's Top Stock Picks: WFM STJ WYN ECOM

Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are some of the hot stocks Jim Cramer talked about on Friday's "Mad Money" on CNBC:

WFM data by YCharts

Whole Foods Markets (WFM): Cramer said things might be ready to turn at Whole Foods now that expectations have been reset.

Stock quotes in this article: WFM, STJ, WYN, ECOM 

STJ data by YCharts

St. Jude Medical (STJ): St. Jude has revolutionary technology that no one can match, said Cramer.

Stock quotes in this article: WFM, STJ, WYN, ECOM 

WYN data by YCharts

Wyndham Worldwide (WYN): Sometimes a declining stock is a buying opportunity, said Cramer, especially when that declining stock is Wyndham.

Stock quotes in this article: WFM, STJ, WYN, ECOM 

ECOM data by YCharts

ChannelAdvisor (ECOM): With more shoppers going online, ChannelAdvisor's platform for online retailers is in demand, said Cramer.

To read a full recap of "Mad Money" on CNBC, click here.

To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC. To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here. -- Written by Scott Rutt in Washington, D.C. To email Scott about this article, click here: Scott Rutt Follow Scott on Twitter @ScottRutt or get updates on Facebook, ScottRuttDC

Stock quotes in this article: WFM, STJ, WYN, ECOM  At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had no position in stocks mentioned. Jim Cramer, host of the CNBC television program "Mad Money," is a Markets Commentator for TheStreet.com, Inc., and CNBC, and a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. All opinions expressed by Mr. Cramer on "Mad Money" are his own and do not reflect the opinions of TheStreet.com or its affiliates, or CNBC, NBC Universal or their parent company or affiliates. Mr. Cramer's opinions are based upon information he considers to be reliable, but neither TheStreet.com, nor CNBC, nor either of their affiliates and/or subsidiaries warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. Mr. Cramer's statements are based on his opinions at the time statements are made, and are subject to change without notice. No part of Mr. Cramer's compensation from CNBC or TheStreet.com is related to the specific opinions expressed by him on "Mad Money." None of the information contained in "Mad Money" constitutes a recommendation by Mr. Cramer, TheStreet.com or CNBC that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. You must make your own independent decisions regarding any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy mentioned on the program. Mr. Cramer's past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. Neither Mr. Cramer, nor TheStreet.com, nor CNBC guarantees any specific outcome or profit, and you should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investments discussed on the program. The strategy or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value and you may get back less than you invested. Before acting on any information contained in the program, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser. Some of the stocks mentioned by Mr. Cramer on "Mad Money" are held in Mr. Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio. When that is the case, appropriate disclosure is made on the program and in the "Mad Money" recap available on TheStreet.com. The Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio contains all of Mr. Cramer's personal investments in publicly-traded equity securities only, and does not include any mutual fund holdings or other institutionally managed assets, private equity investments, or his holdings in TheStreet.com, Inc. Since March 2005, the Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio has been held by a Trust, the realized profits from which have been pledged to charity. Mr. Cramer retains full investment discretion with respect to all securities contained in the Trust. Mr. Cramer is subject to certain trading restrictions, and must hold all securities in the Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio for at least one month, and is not permitted to buy or sell any security he has spoken about on television or on his radio program for five days following the broadcast.

3 Huge Stocks to Trade (or Not)

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- Put down the 10-K filings and the stock screeners. It's time to take a break from the traditional methods of generating investment ideas. Instead, let the crowd do it for you.

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Love

From hedge funds to individual investors, scores of market participants are turning to social media to figure out which stocks are worth watching. It's a concept that's known as "crowdsourcing," and it uses the masses to identify emerging trends in the market.

Crowdsourcing has long been a popular tool for the advertising industry, but it also makes a lot of sense as an investment tool. After all, the market is completely driven by the supply and demand, so it can be valuable to see what names are trending among the crowd.

While some fund managers are already trying to leverage social media resources like Twitter to find algorithmic trading opportunities, for most investors, crowdsourcing works best as a starting point for investors who want a starting point in their analysis. Today, we'll leverage the power of the crowd to take a look at some of the most active stocks on the market today.

>>Where's the S&P Headed From Here? Higher!

These "most active" names are the most heavily-traded names on the market -- and often, uber-active names have some sort of a technical or fundamental catalyst driving investors' attention on shares. That's especially true now that earnings season is officially underway. And when there's a big catalyst, there's often a trading opportunity.

Without further ado, here's a look at today's stocks.

Corning

Nearest Resistance: $17.50

Nearest Support: $17

Catalyst: Technical Setup

>>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

Shares of glassmaker Corning (GLW) are working to hold $17 support after an outlook miss for the first quarter shoved shares lower last week. For now, GLW seems to be able to catch a bid at that $17 price level, but for buyers looking for an opportunity to get into this name, it makes sense to wait for a move through $17.50. That's a show of strength that will indicate buyers have regained control of shares.

Until then, Corning is a fundamental bargain that's looking technically weak at the moment.

Cisco Systems

Nearest Resistance: $22.50

Nearest Support: $20.50

Catalyst: Downgrade

>>5 Big Trades to Profit During the Fed's QE Pay Cut

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is trading lower this afternoon after a downgrade from JPMorgan. Shares are down 1.25% on high volume this afternoon, an amount that's really not game-changing for shares. Cisco's chart has been hugely bearish since this past summer – so while today's trading session doesn't change anything, it's far from a buying opportunity.

In fact, Cisco has been in a textbook downtrending channel since late July, and shares have been swatted lower on every test of trendline resistance. I'd recommend staying away from the long side of Cisco until it breaks out of the downtrend. There isn't a trade to be made here.

Ariad Pharmaceuticals

Nearest Resistance: $10

Nearest Support: $6

Catalyst: Technical Setup

>>4 Health Care Stocks Under $10 to Watch

Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA) has been a supremely volatile name ever since FDA concerns shoved shares dramatically lower back in October. Since then, ARIA has looked pretty bullish. A deep inverse head and shoulders pattern in shares broke out in late December, triggering a buy at $6 that ultimately moved up to $10. Now shares are coming back down on high volume to re-test support at $6.

If shares can catch a bid at that support level, expect a tradable bounce higher. Don't try to anticipate the support bounce. Instead, react to it, which will ensure that buying pressure exists at $6 before you put cash on this trade.

It's important to remember that ARIA's price action is made up of some big swings. Even a small day can yield some big performance. But I'd recommend that novice traders avoid this name for the same reasons.

To see these stocks in action, check out the at Most-Active Stocks portfolio on Stockpickr.



-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

RELATED LINKS:

>>3 Stocks Spiking on Unusual Volume

>>5 Short-Squeeze Stocks That Could Pop in February

>>2 Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji